Ranking prepared Monday 26 October 2026 at 9.02 pm Adelaide time (ACDT), before any Round 7 games. This is a captaincy priority list, not projected fantasy scores. Rankings use the official nine-game Round 7 fixture, the NBL's completed Round 6 SuperCoach recap, verified box-score minutes and the injury register last updated 25 October. Recheck selection and your game's captaincy/lockout rules before committing.
Eight clubs have two fixtures: Perth and Sydney open Wednesday; Brisbane and Cairns meet Thursday; New Zealand and Adelaide meet Friday; Tasmania and Sydney also play Friday; Cairns and Melbourne meet Saturday; Perth and Illawarra play Saturday; Tasmania face South East Melbourne and Adelaide face Brisbane on Sunday; Melbourne and New Zealand finish Monday. South East Melbourne and Illawarra play once. More games create opportunity, not a guaranteed total, and a player who misses either leg can lose much of the apparent advantage.
1. Bryce Cotton — Adelaide 36ers (two games)
Cotton is the first captaincy choice on demonstrated involvement. He scored 37 points with eight assists in 40 minutes against South East Melbourne in Round 6, worth 53 verified SuperCoach points, and the league's Round 6 recap places him atop the season leaderboard on 377. Adelaide play at New Zealand on Friday and home to Brisbane on Sunday. His workload and shot creation give both floor and ceiling, but the 40-minute outing also underscores how much Adelaide currently asks of him. A high workload is not itself an injury diagnosis. Cameron and Kuol remain on the injury register with no confirmed return, so the expected supporting cast remains a pre-game check.
2. Cole Anthony — Melbourne United (two games)
Anthony's 87 SuperCoach points in Round 6 were built from two contrasting games: 26 against Perth and 61 against Sydney, with 30 points and nine assists in the latter. That second-game ceiling is real, but the 26–61 split is a reminder not to mistake a peak for a reliable minimum. Melbourne travel to Cairns on Saturday and host New Zealand on Monday. The injury register estimates Chris Goulding's calf return in Round 7, but does not confirm his clearance. If Goulding returns, the guard rotation could change; if he does not, Anthony's offensive burden may remain high. Anthony stays near the top regardless, subject to team news.
3. Kendric Davis — Sydney Kings (two games)
Davis produced 77 SuperCoach points across Round 6, including 63 from 23 points and 14 assists without a turnover against Illawarra. He then managed 14 SuperCoach points against Melbourne after a difficult shooting night. This is the clearest illustration of both his assist-driven upside and genuine downside. Sydney visit Perth on Wednesday and Tasmania on Friday. Davis offers two bites at a major performance, but managers wanting a steadier path may prefer Cotton or Anthony. The potential return of fellow guard Matthew Dellavedova, listed only as Round 7 on the injury register, is a watchpoint rather than a confirmed change to Davis's role.
4. Sam Mennenga — New Zealand Breakers (two games)
Mennenga offers a frontcourt route to a strong captaincy week without relying on perimeter shooting alone. He had 22 points, eight rebounds and four assists in Sunday's 84–86 loss to Cairns, following 27-and-13 and 36-and-11 lines in his two Round 5 games. New Zealand host Adelaide on Friday and travel to Melbourne on Monday. The important new variable is Parker Jackson-Cartwright's return: the club confirmed his clearance, and he played almost 27 minutes against Cairns. That may reshape who initiates possessions, even if Mennenga remains a major scoring and rebounding outlet. Strong choice, but don't simply add his best recent box score twice.
5. Kristian Doolittle — Perth Wildcats (two games)
Doolittle's Round 6 return was emphatic: 23 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and 38.4 minutes against Melbourne, good for 54 SuperCoach points in one outing according to the league recap. Perth host Sydney on Wednesday and Illawarra on Saturday. The all-round box score gives multiple scoring paths and makes him a legitimate high-upside alternative. The risk is sample size: one exceptional comeback game does not establish a fixed 38-minute role, and Perth's other frontcourt options can change the distribution of touches. Confirm his selection before taking on more risk than the top four.
6. Will Magnay — Tasmania JackJumpers (two games)
Magnay offers a different profile: boards, interior contributions and playmaking from the centre position. Against Brisbane in Round 6 he recorded 12 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in 27.4 minutes. Tasmania host Sydney on Friday and visit South East Melbourne on Sunday. The official SuperCoach recap lists him fifth overall after Round 6 on 323 points. His peripheral production is attractive for managers prioritising multiple categories over pure scoring explosions. Nevertheless, his recent minutes have varied, and the match-ups offer no automatic guarantee of a particular stat line.
7. Parker Jackson-Cartwright — New Zealand Breakers (two games; fitness watch)
Jackson-Cartwright has arguably the biggest gap between ceiling and certainty on this list. The Breakers cleared him from his lower-leg injury for the Cairns game, and he delivered 14 points, six rebounds and nine assists in 26.9 minutes. The league recap reports a 51.3 SuperCoach average from six appearances, but an average accumulated before and after injury is not a forecast for the coming double. Adelaide and Melbourne are real two-game opportunities; repeat minutes and conditioning remain unproven. For managers comfortable with selection risk, he is a compelling alternative; for a safer armband, keep him below the established healthy double-game leaders.
8. Torrey Craig — Sydney Kings (two games; form watch)
Craig topped Round 6 on 88 SuperCoach points, built from 22 points and six rebounds against Illawarra and 22 points and 13 rebounds against Melbourne. The NBL recap also notes seven made threes across those two fixtures. That production earns serious attention for Perth and Tasmania, but recent outside shooting can fluctuate and his role is less secure as a captaincy floor than the headline total suggests. He belongs in the shortlist, particularly for managers chasing upside, rather than automatically leapfrogging players with a longer track record of heavy creation.
Who misses the top eight — and what changes the order?
Nick Rakocevic recorded 18 points and 17 rebounds in Adelaide's Round 6 game, yet new centre Mangok Mathiang has joined the rotation and Gleeson has described a developing role; the split deserves another game of evidence. Andrew Carr delivered 31 rebounds across Sydney's two Round 6 games, but his points and minutes have fluctuated. Nate Hinton scored 70 SuperCoach points in Brisbane's double, and Tyrell Harrison returned after passing an ankle fitness test, so the Bullets' allocation is worth tracking. All are valid considerations without needing invented ownership or breakevens. One-game players such as Phoenix's Nathan Sobey can still outscore an injured double-game pick, but begin at a schedule disadvantage.
Decision rule before lockout: check the final availability of Goulding and Dellavedova, the confirmed squads for the early Perth–Sydney game, and any subsequent updates on Adelaide's absentees. Use Cotton for the strongest blend of proven role and two fixtures; Anthony or Davis for guard-led upside; Mennenga or Magnay for broader frontcourt production; and Doolittle, Jackson-Cartwright or Craig when willing to accept extra variance. These are editorial rankings grounded in past results and actual fixtures, not predictions of specific fantasy points.
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