What is the best punting strategy? That is the question I get asked all the time during draft season. My answer to that question is always “it depends.” If you are in an eight-category league, punt FG% and punt blocks both have a strong argument to top the punting build rankings. With five categories geared toward guards and only three geared toward bigs, small-ball builds usually come with the highest ceilings in eight-category leagues. They can still be tricky strategies to pull off, especially in the case of punt FG%, so “highest ceiling” doesn’t necessarily mean “best”, but a well-put-together punt FG% or punt blocks team will be tough to top in that setting. In nine-category leagues, it’s not as straightforward. Small-ball builds become a lot less appealing when rolling with them means losing turnovers most weeks. Punt assists is the easiest build to understand, the easiest to pull off, and comes with a high floor and ceiling. However, I can’t say with confidence that it’s the best overall strategy in nine-category leagues because of this build. Punt threes is that good.
What has caused me to reconsider punt assists as my go-to nine-category punting strategy is how strong of a match punt threes is for many of the elite first-round options and the massive amount of value you can pick up in the middle and later rounds now that traditional bigs are going multiple rounds later than they were just a few years ago. This being arguably the best build to pair both Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with makes it a strategy that has the potential to absolutely dominate both eight- and nine-category leagues. It’s also a very good match for Cade Cunningham-led teams. The Piston has no value tied up in threes, and Cade and his elite assists, when paired with this build’s top big man targets, give your squad a very clear path to winning five categories each week. Teams built around Giannis Antetokounmpo that punt both FT% and three will also come with an extremely high ceiling. If you punt both categories, it will be easy to find players who are likely to outperform their draft position by a handful of rounds throughout the draft.
No build comes close to juicing the value of traditional bigs as much as punt threes. You can find top-20 players in the middle rounds and top-40 players in the later rounds. Mid-round bigs like Jarrett Allen and Ivica Zubac have first-round upside in this strategy. Later-round bigs like Collin Murray-Boyles, Jakob Poeltl, and even Neemias Queta have the potential to flirt with the early rounds when threes don’t count. Only punt points shuffles the board more than punt threes does, and unlike punt points, punt threes is a fairly easy strategy to pull off. You won’t pick up nearly as much value if you opt for a small-build like punt FG% or punt blocks instead. The guards that fit those builds well are rarely ranked significantly below their expected output in either strategy.
For access to the full guides, follow these links:
2026-2027 Punt Threes Guide (Yahoo)
2026-2027 Punt Threes Guide (ESPN) – To be added shortly
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