NBL27 SuperCoach Premiums: Who Is Actually Worth Paying Up For?

Updated: 13 September 2026

The hardest NBL27 SuperCoach decision is not finding good players.

It is deciding which good players deserve 16-24 per cent of your entire $2 million cap.

Bryce Cotton costs $473,900. Kendric Davis is $436,000. Parker Jackson-Cartwright is $405,200. Nathan Sobey is $379,600.

You can afford one or two of those names. You cannot own all of them without turning the rest of your team into a pile of compromises.

That is why this is not another version of our NBL27 SuperCoach Top 50.

The Top 50 answers: who are the best fantasy players?

This article answers a different question:

Who is actually worth paying premium money for in Round 1?

We are judging every expensive option on four things:

1. Raw fantasy ceiling
2. Role security
3. Price relative to the rest of the market
4. Round 1 and early double-game schedule

The last point matters more than usual. New Zealand and South East Melbourne are the only Round 1 double teams, while Adelaide, Cairns and Illawarra begin major double-game runs from Round 2.

If you have not already mapped that schedule, keep our NBL27 SuperCoach fixture guide open next to this one.

The Buckets premium verdict board

There are no bad players in that table.

The point is that a brilliant player can still be the wrong Round 1 purchase.

1. Bryce Cotton - $473,900

Verdict: PAY UP

Cotton costs almost a quarter of the entire salary cap.

That is absurd.

We are still paying it.

Cotton averaged 45.7 SuperCoach points per game last season, the best mark in the competition, and remains the safest combination of usage, scoring ceiling and role certainty in NBL27.

The Round 1 objection is obvious: Adelaide only plays once.

The Round 2-4 answer is stronger.

Adelaide doubles in Rounds 2, 3 and 4, which means the most expensive player in the game immediately enters a three-round stretch where he gets six real games.

That is why our current NBL27 SuperCoach Round 1 team starts with Cotton rather than planning to trade into him later.

You can absolutely build a better-looking Round 1 side without him. The danger is discovering after lockout that finding $473,900 for Cotton before three consecutive doubles is much harder than simply starting with him.

The Blitz average of 27.5 SuperCoach points does not worry us. Adelaide was managing workload and Cotton does not need preseason volume to prove what his regular-season role is.

Buckets call: if you want one set-and-forget mega-premium, Cotton is still our No. 1.

2. Parker Jackson-Cartwright - $405,200

Verdict: PAY UP IF YOU WANT THE ROUND 1 CAPTAIN

PJC is the cleanest Round 1 premium in the game.

New Zealand plays twice. Eight other clubs play once.

That simple fact is why Jackson-Cartwright has a case to be the best Round 1 captain despite costing $68,700 less than Cotton.

The official SuperCoach double-game guide notes that PJC averaged 39.06 across 33 games last season, and he produced 68 SuperCoach points across 50 Blitz minutes.

There is very little role risk here. He is still the Breakers' organiser, still generates assists and steals, and still has the ball enough to control his own fantasy outcome.

So why is he not in our current Buckets team?

Structure.

Fitting PJC beside Cotton forces meaningful downgrades elsewhere. We currently prefer to attack the Breakers double through Sam Mennenga at $303,100 while keeping stronger mid-price value across the rest of the squad.

That does not mean PJC is overpriced.

It means paying $405,200 for him is a deliberate choice: you are buying the best Round 1 captaincy setup in the game.

Buckets call: completely worth the money if your build can absorb him. Not mandatory if fitting him destroys the other nine spots.

3. Nathan Sobey - $379,600

Verdict: PAY UP FOR ROUND 1

Sobey is the premium alternative people may be underrating because PJC owns the obvious captaincy headlines.

South East Melbourne is the only other Round 1 double team.

Sobey averaged 36.59 SuperCoach points across 32 games last season, and the Phoenix double again in Rounds 3 and 5.

The arrival of Skylar Mays creates a fair usage question. It also gives Sobey another high-level creator beside him, which can free him to attack rather than organise every possession.

His quiet Blitz scoring did not concern us because he still found rebounds and assists. That all-category floor is part of why he remains expensive.

At $379,600, he also saves $25,600 from PJC and nearly $95,000 from Cotton.

That can be the difference between a useful final starter and a dead cheapie.

Buckets call: if you want a Round 1 double-game premium but cannot make PJC fit, Sobey is not a consolation prize. He is a legitimate premium anchor.

4. Jack McVeigh - $349,800

Verdict: BUY NOW OR PLAN FOR ROUND 2

McVeigh just made this decision more uncomfortable.

He finished preseason with 33 points against Brisbane, including 26 in the first half, and looked completely comfortable owning large stretches of the Cairns offence.

That matters because Cairns then doubles in Rounds 2, 3 and 4.

The Round 1 problem is the same as Cotton's: one game.

The price difference is not.

McVeigh costs $124,100 less than Cotton, which makes it much easier to start him without compromising the entire structure.

The concern is that Cairns has more mouths to feed than a pure one-star offence. Keanu Pinder, Jaylon Brown and Reyne Smith all need touches.

The final preseason hit-out was encouraging because McVeigh dominated without completely killing Pinder's production.

Buckets call: excellent early-season premium. Starting him now is defensible, but Round 2 is also an obvious planned entry point.

Read our final preseason stock report for the full McVeigh case.

5. Zylan Cheatham - $339,500

Verdict: STARTABLE, NOT ESSENTIAL

Cheatham is the kind of player SuperCoach scoring loves.

He rebounds. He can score efficiently. He can pass. He has genuine double-double upside.

At the Blitz he averaged 32.5 SuperCoach points, and Adelaide's Rounds 2-4 schedule gives him the same early volume benefit as Cotton.

The question is not whether Cheatham is good enough.

It is whether we want to spend two premium slots on Adelaide immediately.

Our preference is Cotton plus cheaper Adelaide value such as Flynn Cameron and Nick Rakocevic rather than Cotton plus Cheatham.

That spreads the cap better while preserving exposure to the schedule.

If you fade Cotton, however, Cheatham becomes much more interesting as a cheaper way into those three consecutive doubles.

Buckets call: very good pick. We simply prefer Cotton as the Adelaide premium if choosing one.

6. Tyrell Harrison - $336,100

Verdict: GOOD PICK, TOUGH PRICE

Harrison has done almost nothing wrong.

He averaged 35.5 at the Blitz, posted 43 SuperCoach points in another tracked preseason game, and then finished the final hit-out with 18 points, six rebounds and four steals.

That is premium-centre production.

The issue is opportunity cost.

Centre is where cheap structures can release enormous amounts of money. Our current team spends almost nothing there so we can afford Cotton and stronger guards/forwards.

Paying $336,100 for Harrison means deciding that centre production is where you want to spend your premium dollars.

Brisbane also only plays once in Round 1 and does not double until Round 3.

None of that makes Harrison a bad pick. It simply makes him harder to prioritise before lockout than the double-game guards.

Buckets call: one of the safest premium centres, but we currently prefer cheaper Round 1 centre structure.

7. William Hickey - $331,600

Verdict: PLAN AROUND HIM

This might be the player we are most likely to regret not starting.

Hickey posted a 55-point SuperCoach preseason score in his tracked non-Blitz game and averaged 31.5 across two Blitz appearances despite Illawarra's crowded backcourt.

More importantly, the Hawks' schedule is ridiculous.

Illawarra doubles in Rounds 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9 and 10.

Seven doubles in the first 10 rounds.

No other club has that volume.

The reason Hickey is not a simple Round 1 lock is price and role competition. Milton Doyle and Tyler Harvey both need the ball, and Illawarra only plays once in the opening round.

But if Hickey's all-category production continues, his schedule can overwhelm small usage concerns.

Buckets call: one of the best early-season trade targets in the game. If you do not start him, know exactly how you plan to reach him before Round 2.

8. Jo Lual-Acuil Jr - $318,100

Verdict: BEST PREMIUM CENTRE SPLURGE

If we decide to spend at centre, JLA is the temptation.

Perth's two Japan games produced 56 real-life points in only 41 combined minutes from Lual-Acuil.

That does not translate directly into SuperCoach points, but the role signal is obvious.

JLA can score, rebound, block shots and trigger the double-double bonus. He has more routes to a monster score than almost any centre in the league.

The schedule is the drawback.

Perth plays once in Round 1 and, unlike Adelaide/Cairns/Illawarra, does not have a huge early run of doubles. The Wildcats double in Round 2, then not again until Round 7.

That makes $318,100 feel more expensive than the raw talent suggests.

Buckets call: if your build spends at centre, JLA is our favourite premium splurge. If schedule drives your structure, waiting is completely reasonable.

9. Kendric Davis - $436,000

Verdict: WAIT

This is not a talent call.

Kendric Davis is elite.

He averaged 25.1 points, 7.1 assists and 3.7 rebounds last season, won Championship Series MVP and is the No. 2 player in our overall rankings.

But Round 1 Classic is not a lifetime achievement award.

Davis only arrived in Australia on 12 September after the passport issue that wiped out his preseason with Sydney. He has not played a preseason game with this version of the Kings, and Sydney only plays once in each of the first four SuperCoach rounds.

Then the schedule flips.

Sydney doubles in Rounds 5, 6 and 7.

That looks like a perfect future buy window.

The worst outcome would be paying $436,000 now, absorbing four single-game rounds, then watching other premiums pile up extra games while Davis is still settling into a new-look rotation.

Buckets call: do not confuse "wait" with "fade". Davis is a future premium target. We just do not need him in Round 1.

So which NBL27 SuperCoach premium should you actually start?

If we reduce the whole article to a few decisions:

Best set-and-forget premium: Bryce Cotton

The Round 1 single is annoying. The Rounds 2-4 triple-double run is too valuable for us to ignore.

Best Round 1 premium: Parker Jackson-Cartwright

Two games, elite assist/steal profile, proven durability and captaincy upside.

Best alternative Round 1 premium: Nathan Sobey

Also doubles, costs less than PJC and has another two doubles inside the first five rounds.

Best premium to target for Round 2: Jack McVeigh

The 33-point final preseason game plus Cairns' R2-4 schedule creates a very obvious early trade target.

Best premium centre: Jo Lual-Acuil Jr

The schedule is weaker, but the ceiling is enormous.

Best premium to wait on: Kendric Davis

The talent is unquestioned. The timing is not right yet.

What our current Buckets build says about premium spending

Our current Round 1 team spends premium money on Bryce Cotton and then attacks value through the middle of the market.

That is deliberate.

We do not think Classic is won by owning the maximum number of famous players.

It is won by buying premium production without killing the rest of the roster.

That is why Sam Mennenga, Arnas Velička, Flynn Cameron and Nick Rakocevic matter to the premium conversation even though they are not the most expensive names. They make the expensive name possible.

If you decide PJC is more important than Cotton for Round 1, build around that choice properly.

If you decide you want Cotton for the R2-4 run, do not then force another $400k guard into the same team just because you can.

Every premium needs to justify what it removes from the other nine spots.

NBL27 SuperCoach premiums FAQ

Who is the best premium in NBL27 SuperCoach?

Bryce Cotton remains our No. 1 overall premium because of his 45.7-point NBL26 average, unmatched role certainty and Adelaide's doubles in Rounds 2, 3 and 4.

Who is the best premium for Round 1?

Parker Jackson-Cartwright has the cleanest Round 1 setup because New Zealand plays twice. Nathan Sobey is the other obvious expensive double-game option.

Is Bryce Cotton too expensive at $473,900?

Not for us. He costs 23.7 per cent of the total salary cap, but Adelaide's three consecutive doubles from Round 2 make starting without him a trade-planning problem immediately.

Should I start Kendric Davis?

We would wait. Davis is elite, but Sydney plays once in Rounds 1-4 and he has arrived without a preseason game with the Kings. Their R5-7 double run is a much cleaner target window.

Who is the best premium centre?

We prefer Jo Lual-Acuil Jr for ceiling, with Tyrell Harrison the safer alternative if you value recent SuperCoach production and role stability.

Is William Hickey worth $331,600?

Yes, especially once Round 2 begins. Illawarra has seven double rounds in the first 10, the strongest early schedule in the competition.

What to read next

• Our NBL27 SuperCoach Round 1 team - see which premium we actually paid for.
• NBL27 SuperCoach Top 50 rankings - overall player quality before salary-cap structure.
• NBL27 SuperCoach fixture guide - every early double-game round and trade window.
• NBL27 SuperCoach final preseason stock report - the players who moved most after the final hit-outs.
• NBL27 SuperCoach cheapies - the cap savers that make premium builds possible.

Sources and methodology

This article uses official SuperCoach NBL launch prices, official NBL preseason/Blitz SuperCoach scoring, NBL26 averages and the current NBL27 double-game schedule.

Key references:

• Top 20 price reveals: SuperCoach NBL Classic
• Your guide to double-game rounds: SuperCoach NBL Classic
• Blitz team-by-team analysis - Part 1
• Blitz team-by-team analysis - Part 2
• Pre-season player-by-player scores: SuperCoach NBL Classic

Buckets is an independent fantasy basketball platform and is not affiliated with SuperCoach or the National Basketball League. SuperCoach is referenced for analysis and scoring comparison.