The ups and downs of the NBA have made for a more exciting start to fantasy basketball in High Score’s inaugural season in 2025-26. In one minute, you are at the top of the High Score leaderboard for the week with 99 fantastic points. The next day you leave a game early with a bruised leg. But this no longer matters once the High Score is locked. We’ve preached this a lot over the past couple of months: it only takes one game and volatility isn’t always a bad thing.
Let’s talk a little about the player we’re referring to above and the rest of the perfect High Score lineup for Week 9 of the NBA season.
The six best overall performances by position from Week 9.
(Taylor Wilhelm)
Learn more about the top performers
Luka Doncic, goalkeeper: We were reminded of Dončić’s ceiling with his 99-point performance Thursday against Jazz. He finished with 45 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists, plus five steals for 99 fantasy points. It was his second game of the season with 90+ fantasy points and his first 80+ point game since November 25, almost a month ago. We saw Dončić do this dance – missing time due to injury but being able to post a big high score. As the Lakers continue to deal with injuries (to both rotation players and Dončić), the superstar will see his cap hit increased.
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Cooper Flagg, guard: The Mavericks rookie phenom makes his first appearance in the perfect lineup for High Score. He started showing flashes in November and his score has really improved lately. Flagg has at least 22 points in four straight games, one of those games being his 42-point outburst against Utah to start Week 9. He became the youngest player in NBA history to score more than 40 points.s, breaking a record held by LeBron James. Flagg is currently a top 30 High Score asset and he should only improve with more experience.
Nikola Jokić, frontcourt: This story is obviously meant to highlight the best performances, but for Jokić, this is not uncommon. What’s rare is that he doesn’t post a lopsided fantasy point total. So we’ll focus on that since all we do in this article, week after week, is talk about how incredible Jokić is in basketball. After opening the week with 86 Fantasy points against the Rockets, he faced them for the second time on Saturday and posted a game-high 42 Fantasy points on 25-7-5 shooting. The big man played just 29 minutes as Houston took a 16-point lead after the third quarter. Don’t get used to it but know that a team with talent like the Rockets and the length to defend Jokić can slow him down.
Jalen Johnson, frontcourt: We were waiting for Johnson to come back to earth with the return of Trae Young. It appears head coach Quin Snyder is going to make it easier for Young to return to the rotation. The Hawks PG was limited to just 20 minutes in his return from injury Thursday in Charlotte. That meant another game with ATL running the offense thanks to Johnson, who finished with 43 points, 11 rebounds, 9 assists and 2 plays for 78 fantasy points. It was Johnson’s ninth straight game with at least one double-double. As long as Young is restricted, Johnson will keep his fantasy ceiling high.
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Lauri Markkanen, frontcourt: He started the week off on the right foot but missed the last two games with a groin injury. Markkanen and teammate Keyonte George combined to score 70 points in an overtime win over the Mavericks on Monday. The big one finished with 33 points, 16 boards, 5 dimes and 5 shares to get into the perfect lineup. His prospects for Christmas week don’t look very good; the injury is still a concern and Utah faces tough matchups against the Nuggets and Pistons.
Alperen Şengün, utility vehicle: Jokić was not the only one to go out on Monday. The Rockets center recorded his fourth game of the season with 70-plus fantasy points with 72 in the close loss to the Nuggets to start last week. Şengün had a triple-double of 33 points with three actions. Şengün continues to put up Jokić-lite type stat lines as a big man with a similar skill set. The difference between the two is that Şengün has a much lower floor and is not the No. 1 offensive option on his team (this is the case for Kevin Durant).
