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NBA Supercoach | Week 11 Captaincy Conundrum

NBA Fantasy and Supercoach analyst Matty G shares his thoughts on navigating the NBA fixtures ahead to maximise games played

NBA
Matty G

NBA Supercoach and NBA Fantasy Basketball analyst | Follow @nbageewhiz on X and Instagram

January 6, 2026

There is a silence in NBASuperCoach when certainty leaves the room.

It’s not comfortable.
It’s not dramatic.
It just hurts.


That’s where we are now. Because the Captaincy Conundrum has officially begun.

The instructional manual and the dependable go to, is gone.

Now the games/fun/terror and overthinking can begin.

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The Jokic Void (or: When Gravity Turns Off)

Nikola Jokić wasn’t just the best captain option; he was the end of the discussion.

The sun around which all NBASuperCoach logic orbited. You captained Jokic the way you put your phone on charge at night. Reflexively. Or the way you start thinking about that second whiskey before the first is close to completion. You get to savour and know another on the way. Easy.

And now he’s out. A month, at least, as “re-evaluation” is never just a set predisposed time, which is more destabilising than people realise.

Because Jokic didn’t just score points, he, in essence, outsourced our decision-making.

He removed anxiety. He let you spend your energy elsewhere. Worry about your trades more than that orange C tag.

With him sidelined, the game doesn’t feel harder so much as lonelier.

There’s no obvious answer anymore. Just options. And options are dangerous.

Wembanyama, or: The Captain as a Question Mark

Then there’s Victor Wembanyama, the most intoxicating and unnerving player in the game.

All indications are that he returns in Week 11, after missing the final two games of Week 10.

The detail matters. He didn’t miss time quietly.

He went down late, fourth quarter, second game of the week, against the New York Knicks, the kind of injury that doesn’t just tweak a body, but rattles trust.

When Wemby plays four games, he is a SuperCoach must.

At least in theory, or how it was when the season started. Now, injuries have rattled the trust in the relationship. He is truly an alien. Blocks turn weeks. Stocks swing leagues. His ceiling isn’t theoretical… It’s historical.

But captaincy isn’t about what a player can do.

It’s about what you believe they will do, with managed minutes, cautious rotations, and the ever-present spectre of “out next game (injury management).”

And with the Spurs playing four games that are two sets of back-to-back games, it is a pass. \

So Wembanyama just can’t be considered a default captain anymore.

At least not right now or until he rebuilds the trust and takes us to a nice dinner.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: Always the Bridesmaid

Which brings us, inevitably, to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

SGA is the no-brainer. The adult in the room. The player who has worn the VC badge in NBASuperCoach, like a bridesmaid who’s held the bouquet through 27 weddings, dependable, elegant, always there… somehow never the one we fully commit to.

(Shout out to prime Katherine Heigl.)

Shai gives you everything you want in a captain: usage, efficiency, defensive stats, consistency. His floor is reassuring. His ceiling shows up just often enough to remind you it exists.

And yet, captaining Shai still feels like settling.

In Week 10, he ranked 7th. His three-week average leading into Week 11 is 9th.

Maybe that is Shai’s SC role, to be our dependable back-up C option. The VC. Our SC Katherine Heigl Bridesmaid.

The thing is, everyone else knows he’s safe, too.

So, as far as risk plays go. Yeah, this is not one of them.

The Speed Round Seven

(Seven names. Seven cases. No overthinking allowed.)

Jalen Johnson

Because he’s become the guy you don’t plan to captain until you realise he’s doing everything.

Points, boards, assists, defensive juice, and the kind of role security that turns “nice season” into “oh, this is real.” Feels like the captain pick you make when you’re ahead of the curve or desperately want to be.

Trae Young returns this week, presumably.

Yet, we saw him still produce when with Young in the Hawks lineup.

Tyrese Maxey

Pure momentum play. Usage spikes, emotional scorer, heat-check energy.

Maxey captaincy is about embracing upside and betting that confidence can overpower matchup logic.

When it hits, it really hits. And Maxey has hitting again lately. He can be volatile.

However, with the 76ers about to go on a 4, 3, 4, 4, 4, 5 run in SC you need to bring him in, then ask the question of captaincy.

Anthony Edwards

The “alpha declaration” captain. Big wolves go “WOOF” or at least howl. Ant doesn’t ease into weeks; he attacks them.

The ceiling is monstrous, the floor is occasionally annoying, but the captaincy appeal is simple: he wants the moment.

You don’t captain Edwards to be safe. You do it because you want to make a move and are not risk-averse.

We’ve seen him absolutely cook, and then we’ve seen him simply reheat in a microwave with appalling efficiency.

Kawhi Leonard

This is the most dangerous click in SuperCoach.

When healthy, Kawhi is an SC assassin: efficient, defensive, surgical. The problem is the when.

Captaining Kawhi is less about stats and more about trusting the calendar, the reports, and your tolerance for emotional whiplash.

He has been playing regularly and looked incredible.

And after the Clippers’ loss to Boston, he seemed to have a look of bother about him.

Like he won’t let that happen again anytime soon.

Apple Time.

Paolo Banchero

Volume captaincy. Paolo gives you points, boards, assists, and the keys to the offence sometimes all at once, sometimes in waves.

He’s not always elegant, but he’s always involved.

This is the C pick that says, “I believe in role over reputation.”

He broke our hearts in Week 9 and was traded out, but many a frustrated owner based on his form that week. ‘

Then, in a redemption arc that would make Anakin Skywalker blush, he serves up the best performance of any player in Week 10 with a total of 140.

Can we take him to the BANKhero as captain?

It’s a curious case he makes.

Deni Avdija

The sicko pick.

And I mean that lovingly. Deni’s captaincy is about minutes, opportunity, and going with your gut.

He fills categories, thrives when structure breaks down, and rewards managers who stare too long at rotation charts.

This is not a consensus. This is conviction.

He has had a brilliant run so far this year in SC and is sitting in 6th on total points, yet his average of 28.4 belies the benefit he has provided Supercoaches.

Scottie Barnes

Because he does everything.

Barnes piles up rebounds, assists, and stocks even when the scoring isn’t pretty.

He just keeps accumulating stats as if they were those ugly tourist spoons your old aunt collects and hangs proudly on the wall. Barnes quietly posts captain-worthy totals without needing a heater.

And when he goes on one, it is rarely points that he has an outburst in.

It will be on the defensive end of the court, coupled with an insane rebound total. His small-ball centre usage is also intriguing, and I’m here for it.

This is a floor-and-ceiling play wrapped in versatility, the kind of captain you trust to age well by Monday morning.

The Uncomfortable Truth (That Makes the Game Better)

Captaincy was never meant to be easy. Jokic just spoiled us.

Without him, NBASuperCoach is doing what it always promised: asking you to decide, not just select. To commit, not just comply. To live with your logic instead of hiding behind consensus.

You don’t lose rounds because you picked the wrong captain.

You lose them because you didn’t believe in the one you chose.

The crown is vacant.

The bridesmaid is waiting

And now, finally, the decision is yours.

Put a C on it.

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