The punt FT% strategy has never been easier to pull off. That statement might sound strange given that there are fewer 90s-style bigs than ever. However, it’s true. Back in the day, this was a tricky build to pull off because the elite punt FT% bigs would go in the early rounds. When Rudy Gobert was in his prime in Utah, he would often cost a top-15 pick on draft day, Andre Drummond would sometimes find his way into the first round, and DeAndre Jordan would be a borderline top-20 pick. Having to take a throwback big that high was less than ideal because it would often lead to issues in the guard categories. The early rounds have always been where most of the strongest sources of points, assists, steals, and FT% impact have been, and having to take a player who produces very little in those categories in that range made building a team with no major weaknesses difficult. These days, we don’t have to worry about that. Elite sources of FG%, rebounds, and blocks who do little in the guard categories can now be easily found in the middle rounds. We can now load up on the league’s top perimeter options who bring the heat in points, threes, assists, and steals in the early rounds and still pick up punt FT% big men with early-round potential in rounds five and beyond.
Bigs that fit this build very well being available at a discount is key because of how we have to approach this build. Punt FT% works a little differently than most strategies. Strategies like punt points and punt assists allow for a lot of creative freedom. There are almost limitless paths to a strong punt assists or punt points team. The same cannot be said for punt FT%. There is a very specific way to approach this build. This is not a build where you can get cute. If you make a couple of poorly thought-out picks early, you are likely to end the draft with an average team—at best. To pull off this punt correctly, you need to…
2025-2026 Punt FT% Guide (Yahoo)
2025-2026 Punt FT% Guide (ESPN)
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