Fantasy Basketball: Here's the perfect lineup for High Score in December

Happy New Year! As we wave goodbye to 2025 and welcome in 2026, fantasy basketball managers are making resolutions for the new year. Unfortunately, there's no way you can go back and draft Nikola Jokić (though the Nuggets big man is out at least a month due to a knee injury). But you can make plans to be the best roster regulator this year in an attempt to take home a championship. We've learned plenty through the first three months of High Score on Yahoo.

Let's wrap up the year with the perfect lineup from December:

More on the top performers

Luka Dončić, guard: The Lakers superstar has been one of the best case studies so far in High Score — a player who almost always hits a ceiling week-to-week despite missing games and busting out. For example, Dončić missed three games in December and posted low scores of 47 points and 21 points (due to injury) in certain spots. But he also dropped 99 fantasy points on Dec. 18 vs. the Jazz, one of the highest scores all season. December wasn't Dončić's best month; he averaged 31 points, 7.9 assists and 7.2 rebounds while shooting 44.1% from the floor and 28.9% from distance. We'd like to see a more consistent showing from Luka to start 2026. 

Cade Cunningham, guard: Cunningham is in the NBA MVP conversation with the Pistons set to enter 2026 atop the Eastern Conference. In the new year, Cunningham should look to be a more aggressive and efficient scorer; he shot 48.7% from the floor in December but only averaged 17.2 attempts per game.

The volume scoring is holding Cunningham back from his true potential, which we've seen with massive fantasy outputs this season. But his assist and steals totals are helping him remain atop the fantasy scoreboard most weeks. He dished out 17 assists — one shy of a season high — on Dec. 26 against Utah to help him reach 80 fantasy points in High Score. 

Nikola Jokić, frontcourt: It's upsetting that we enter 2026 without Jokić on the court. To start the last week of 2025, Jokić hyperextended his left knee and is expected to miss at least four weeks. At least the Nuggets big left his managers with a parting gift for 2025 in the form of a season-high 108 fantasy points in a Christmas Day win over the Timberwolves. Jokić picked apart Minnesota with 56 points, 16 rebounds, 15 assists and two steals. It was the eighth game this season Joker had 80+ fantasy points.

It was looking like, at minimum, managers with Jokić on their roster would be a shoo-in for the fantasy playoffs. There's no replacing him in the short-term; you can only hope he comes back healthy and picks up where he left off. 

Kawhi Leonard, frontcourt: After missing the start of the season and pretty much all of November, Leonard is back (and then some). He's playing every night, something we've rarely seen throughout his injury-riddled career. His numbers in December are looking MVP-worthy: 29.8 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.1 stocks per game while shooting 49/36/96 over 12 games. Leonard dropped a career-high 55 points with 11 rebounds and eight stocks in a win over the Pistons on Dec. 28 to reach 94 fantasy points for that week. If Leonard can keep this up, he's looking like one of the steals of drafts. 

Alperen Şengün, frontcourt: Like Jokić, the Rockets' big is going to start 2026 on the shelf while dealing with a calf injury that has caused him to miss two games. But he enters Wednesday ranked ninth in average fantasy points per game in High Score at 53.2 on the season. Şengün has sort of been a Jokić-lite to start his fifth NBA season, producing across multiple categories (rebounds, assists, stocks). The issue has been scoring volume, which we don't always see, given the presence of Kevin Durant in Houston. Şengün's top score in December of 88 just made the cut on Dec. 1 against the Jazz (of course, it was against Utah). The elite stock coverage will always elevate Şengün's floor; he averaged 3.5 stocks in December. 

Scottie Barnes, utility: The Raptors swingman snuck his way onto this list thanks to a historic rebounding performance to close last week. He helped Toronto force OT and eventually take home a win over the Dubs on Sunday, scoring 23 points with a career-high 25 rebounds and 10 assists for his first triple-double of the season. Barnes also added a pair of assists and three stocks to help him reach 80 fantasy points and knock Hawks F Jalen Johnson off this list. Barnes has a high ceiling given his category coverage, but the lack of scoring and rebounds giving you only 1 FPT hurts his floor.