The fantasy basketball playoffs for the 2025-26 NBA season are still a couple of months away. However, it is never too early to begin preparing for the postseason. Many fantasy managers are thinking about potential trades to make at the moment, and factoring in the schedule is of the utmost importance.
Today, we will take a look at six total players — three of whom have favorable schedules for the fantasy basketball playoffs, while the other three have schedules that are far from ideal. Most fantasy basketball playoffs will take place during the weeks of March 16 and March 23.
Favorable Fantasy Basketball Schedules
Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors will play eight total games during the weeks of March 16 and March 23. The downside here is that Golden State is set to play six of those contests on the road. From a volume standpoint, though, Curry projects to be a quality playoff option when it matters most for us this season.
The Warriors begin the stretch with a road game against the tanking Washington Wizards, a team that has struggled all season long, and Curry shouldn’t have any problems exploiting this matchup in a variety of ways.
Golden State’s strength of schedule increases over the next few contests with road contests against the Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons. The situation begins to look up once again with games against the Atlanta Hawks and Dallas Mavericks on the road. The Warriors then host the Brooklyn Nets and Wizards again before their final game of the fantasy basketball playoffs on March 29 against the Nuggets in Denver.
It’s a challenging travel stretch, but Curry is more than capable of finding success on the road. Additionally, volume is key in fantasy, especially in points leagues, and the best shooter of all time, health provided, is in as good a spot as any to overwhelm the counting categories and/or in points leagues.
Luka Doncic, Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers have seven games scheduled during the March 16-March 29 stretch. On the surface, the schedule looks rather unfavorable for L.A., as the team opens this window with six consecutive road games — beginning with two straight matchups against the Rockets in Houston.
The Rockets are a top 10 team in defensive rating and are built to sustain that for years to come, not just the coming months. Doncic is still capable of finding success against talented defensive units, but the mini baseball series in Houston will prove to be a challenge nonetheless.
The Lakers follow that set with road contests in Miami, Orlando and Detroit — all of which feature strong defensive teams.
So, why is Doncic a player to target during this stretch?
BREAKING: Luka Doncic is tied as the fastest player ever to reach 1000 PTS, 200 REB, & 200 AST in a season.
He ties himself from 2023.🤯 pic.twitter.com/wDgJArbtY7
— Hoops (@Hoopss) January 14, 2026
Not only is seven games respectable from a volume standpoint, but the Lakers’ final two games of the fantasy basketball playoffs are against the Pacers on the road and Brooklyn Nets at home. Both of those teams have struggled all season long, and Doncic could end up leading fantasy teams to championships with huge performances against Indiana and Brooklyn.
Timing is everything.
Don’t let the challenging first portion of the schedule scare you away from Luka. Doncic has some of his best performances against the most talented teams in the league. Of course, he can absolutely torch any defensive squad that is lackluster, and the Nets and Pacers both happen to rank in the bottom half of the NBA in defensive rating.
He won’t come cheap, but paying up now is a reasonable option if you can justify parting with a few impact pieces, understanding that the reward could be a true league winner.
Jamal Murray, Denver Nuggets
Murray and the Nuggets play seven total games during this stretch — six of which are at home. While Doncic’s favorable schedule stemmed from his skill set of playing well against talented squads to go along with a weak final couple of games, Murray’s all-around schedule during the March 16-March 29 window is favorable for the most part.
The Nuggets open things up with a home matchup against an up-and-down Philadelphia 76ers team. Denver then hosts Toronto and Portland before leaving for their lone road clash of the stretch — a March 24 game in Phoenix against the Suns.
The Nuggets then return for three consecutive home contests against the Dallas Mavericks, Utah Jazz and Golden State Warriors. The Mavs are technically a top 10 defensive team at the moment, but Anthony Davis’ injury uncertainty gives them a grim outlook. Meanwhile, the Jazz are the worst defensive team in the NBA, something that has been stable for the entire season.
Golden State may present a challenge, but it’s still a home game in what concludes a rather favorable window for Murray.
Unfavorable Fantasy Basketball Schedules
Lauri Markkanen, Utah Jazz
Assuming Lauri Markkanen isn’t traded before the deadline in February, he will play the final games of the fantasy basketball season in Utah with the Jazz. His playoff schedule is far from ideal, which leaves Markkanen’s fantasy owners in a challenging spot.
The Jazz play seven total games during the stretch — four of which are at home. The schedule consists of home matchups against the Bucks, 76ers, Raptors and Wizards and three road games against the Timberwolves, Nuggets and Suns.
Four of those teams — the Suns, Timberwolves, Raptors and 76ers — are in the top half of the league in defensive rating and will have the luxury of allocating plenty of resources in this direction given the lack of depth on this Utah roster.
There are also two back-to-backs during this schedule window. Markkanen has dealt with some injury concerns this year, and the Jazz are on track to tank once again. As a result, Markkanen’s playing time could be limited, thus making the raw game count a bit deceiving.
Cooper Flagg, Dallas Mavericks
Sure, rookie season fatigue may be an issue for Flagg in mid-to-late March. With that being said, heavy legs and league-wide defensive adjustments aren’t the biggest reason for Cooper Flagg’s negative fantasy basketball postseason outlook.
The Mavs only have six games scheduled for the fantasy playoff window. It’s an even split, with three contests on the road and three at home. Dallas will host the Hawks, Clippers and Warriors while playing the Pelicans, Nuggets and Blazers on the road.
The final two games of the window are both on the road. Flagg’s final game of the stretch will be played on March 27 — leaving fantasy managers without his production for the final days of their potential championship matchup.
Flagg is a tremendous rookie with a bright future, but he isn’t the guy to rely upon this year in the fantasy basketball postseason.
Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns
Similarly to Doncic, I believe Booker can find success on the road regardless of the matchup difficulty. However, his postseason window opens up with an extremely challenging couple of games.
The Suns play the Celtics and Timberwolves on the road in a back-to-back to kick things off. Boston has been a decent defensive team (could they have Jayson Tatum back in the mix at this point?), and playing at TD Garden as a road opponent is never a simple task. Meanwhile, Minnesota is currently eighth in defensive rating, making them the tougher on-paper matchup of the two.
The Suns then have to travel to play Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs. San Antonio is the third-best defensive team in the NBA from a rating standpoint, and with their length, they are as capable of shutting down any team on any night.
Phoenix does return home for four games following the difficult opening road stretch, with matchups against the Bucks, Raptors, Nuggets and Jazz awaiting them. The Raptors are the only impressive defensive team of the four, so Booker could end on a positive note.
Still, the three-game stretch to begin the fantasy postseason is far from ideal, and if you don’t advance to the second week, a few big games to close the fantasy season won’t matter.
