March Madness may dominate the sports headlines over the next few days, but meaningful basketball is also taking place for every fantasy basketball manager still battling for championship glory. Whether your team is in the quarterfinals, semifinals, or championship round, we’re here to highlight the free agents and streamers that could help you achieve fantasy glory.
As we all know, a number of variables play into fantasy wins and losses at this time of the year — injuries, tanking, and load management all come to mind during the infamous ‘Silly Season.’ We also must pay particular attention to each team’s schedule before blindly adding him to our squad. We’re not playing for the longterm anymore — every decision we make must produce immediate dividends, unless of course we find ourselves in a blessed first-round bye.
Our job, as it has been all season: to pinpoint strong potential value and help you land the guys who could legitimately help your squad go on a deep playoff run. We first highlight the must-have players who are available in 25-50 percent of leagues. Then we select the best crop of players who can be found in over 50 percent of Yahoo leagues, and explain why they could be of worth to your fantasy title pursuit.
Let’s get right to it, as you have plenty of work to do. Here are our must-roster players available in 25-50 percent of leagues, as well as the top waiver adds amongst those available in over 50 percent of leagues. Good luck in this crucial stretch, and be sure to keep checking back in with us throughout your run at the championship!
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Best Waiver Wire Pickups for Fantasy Basketball Playoffs and Championship: Must-roster players available in 25-50 percent of leagues
The following players are available in 25-50 percent of Yahoo leagues and should be considered ‘must-roster’ players in standard 9-cat formats.
Markelle Fultz, G, Magic (74 percent rostered)
Fultz has been a star for the Magic this season, finally showing the kind of across-the-board skills that the 76ers saw in him when they selected him No. 1 in the 2017 NBA Draft. Of course, he’ll never live up to No. 1 pick expectations, but he’s absolutely No. 1 on the list of players owned in under 75 percent of fantasy leagues. Fultz is the 34th-ranked 9-cat player over the past month, averaging 16.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and 1.3 steals while shooting 52.3 percent from the floor and 91.2 percent from the line. If you’re still battling for something — or play in a keeper league — gobble him up on the off-chance he’s available.
Tyus Jones, G, Grizzlies (72%)
Jones will be the starting point guard for the foreseeable future with Ja Morant checked into a counseling center in Florida. We have long believed Jones is the best backup point guard in the NBA and deserves an everyday starting role, and he bolsters that case every time he cracks the starting five. He shoots well from deep, always provides great assists and steals numbers, and rebounds well for a guard. He consistently ranks among the league leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio, and should be consistently owned in 100 percent of fantasy leagues.
Derrick White, G, Celtics (71%)
What is this, a guard convention? Hey, you can’t argue with the numbers. DWhite has been one of the better role-playing guards in the Association this season, and he’s one of the only bright spots in the Celtics otherwise-gloomy stretch of late. Over the past six games, White has averaged over 14 points, four boards, and four assists while knocking down at least one trey per game. And he may not be a 50/40/90 guy, but 46/37/87 is pretty dang close.
Mike Conley, G, Wolves (68%)
Okay, we’re officially in the Point Guard Fan Club now. But again, we’re talking about a guy who has played like a must-roster asset since he arrived in Minnesota via deadline trade. Over the past 10 games, he’s averaging 11.8 points, 5.4 assists, 3.1 boards, and 1.2 steals while downing 2.1 triples per game. The Wolves need his veteran presence to keep the wheels from falling off, and he could quietly help your fantasy team win it all.
Trey Murphy, F, Pelicans (66%)
Don’t look now, but Murphy is the second-ranked 9-cat player over the past week. In that span, he’s shooting 55.8 from the floor, 51.4 percent from three-point land, and 92.9 percent from the free-throw line. He’s averaging 22.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 2.5 stocks in that span, while also dropping 4.5 treys per contest. I might enter counseling for trading him from my dynasty team last season. You should enter counseling if he’s available in your league and you don’t pick him up.
Kelly Olynyk, F/C, Jazz (66%)
Olynyk still has plenty of fantasy relevance, even when his offensive skills take a backseat to the heroics of Lauri Markkanen and Jordan Clarkson. The veteran scores when needed, dishes the rock well for a big, and has even improved his defensive counting stats through the years. You may not want him for the Jazz’s current two-game week, but grab him Monday morning if your championship starts next week.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, G/F, Nuggets (56%)
KCP is one of the top three-point shooters in the NBA and one of the best steals streamers in all of fantasy. He’ll occasionally put up a scoring dud, but he almost always contributes enough peripheral stats to be a useful fantasy asset. His efficiency on all three scoring levels and low turnover numbers are icing on the KCP cake.
Zach Collins, F/C, Spurs (60%)
Collins was Gregg Popovich’s second-favorite center next to Jakob Poeltl before Poeltl got dealt back to Toronto, so expect the sixth-year vet’s minutes range to remain in the high-20s to low-30s from here on out. He has plenty of real-life deficiencies, but his fantasy appeal seems obvious game in and game out. He put up 23/11/4 in San Antonio’s last game, and typically contributes one or two stocks per game.
Kyle Anderson, F, Timberwolves (56%)
SloMo might be the least exciting player worth rostering in fantasy hoops, but you can’t argue with his numbers! And Minnesota needs every last number Anderson has provided of late. You’ll regularly see the veteran forward put up lines of 12/9/5/2/1 while shooting 50 percent from the floor and 100 percent from the free-throw line. That kind of production from the wire — not highlight reel plays — is what leads to fantasy championships.
Kevon Looney, C, Warriors (53%)
Looney has been the old-reliable rebounds and field-goal percentage streamer for a while, but he has also become a reliable source of modest assists and scoring. With Andrew Wiggins remaining out due to personal reasons, expect Looney to continue holding his own as a solid fantasy contributor.
Jalen Duren, F/C, Pistons (52%)
Duren recently returned from a six-game absence due to an ankle injury, and the stud rookie big man has looked as good as ever in the three games since. In that span, he’s averaging 12 points, 10.3 boards, two assists, and 1.3 blocks per game. He’s also shooting 50 percent from the floor and 80 percent from the line since his return, while averaging just two turnovers per game. He’s a silly-season All-Star.
Best Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Sleepers for the Fantasy Basketball Playoffs and Championship: Five top pickups under 50 percent rostered
The following six players are available in over 50 percent of Yahoo leagues and make for solid additions and streamers in standard 9-cat formats.
Kenyon Martin Jr., F, Rockets (48 percent rostered)
KJ cracked the top 100 in 9-cat leagues over the past two weeks, propelled by his awesome 61.3 percent field-goal shooting and solid shooting and rebounding. He has also improved his shooting from three-point land and the free-throw stripe over the past couple months, and he typically chips in some steals. Don’t expect a ton of assists or blocks from K.J., but six or seven cats out of nine equals must-roster.
Xavier Tillman, F/C, Grizzlies (45%)
Tillman has been great for the Grizzlies ever since big man Steven Adams went down, and he has stepped up even more in the absence of Ja Morant. He’s a solid rebounder, an efficient scorer, and an above-average defender. He also has a baseline of two assists per game. Come for the stocks — leave happily pleased with all the other contributions.
Delon Wright, G, Wizards (44%)
Don’t be discouraged by Wright’s underwhelming stat line from the Wizards’ 112-93 loss on Sunday night. That’s clearly an outlier, as Wright has been a fantasy stud over the past couple weeks. He’s an elite free-throw shooter (90.9% over the past two weeks), the best steals streamer in fantasy (2.9 spg), and a fantastic distributor (5.8 apg). He’ll be stunted a tad now that Monte Morris is back from his six-game injury absence, but Wright has been so much better that not even Wes Unseld Jr. could reduce his minutes too drastically.
Austin Reaves, G/F, Lakers (38%)
Reaves has been a silent stud since LeBron James got hurt, and his numbers over the past two weeks demand the respect of managers across fantasyland. In that span, he’s shooting 55 percent from the field, 85.7 percent from the line, and averaging 15.1 points, 1.4 treys, 5.4 assists, 2.0 boards, and 1.0 stocks per game. He’s not sexy by any stretch of the imagination, but he’s absolutely worth a pickup in a 12-team league. The Lakers have games on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, so one pickup could net you three games.
Cam Reddish, F, Blazers (40%)
Reddish has been great from a fantasy perspective since he landed in Portland via the deal that sent Josh Hart to the Knicks. The Duke product has become a bit of a young journeyman, but he may have finally found a home. His numbers over the past two weeks round up to 14/4/3/1, he’s shooting the ball well from all three levels, and he’s dropping in some triples. With Damian Lillard nursing a right calf injury, expect Reddish’s usage to stay high over at least the next few games. The Blazers have three more games this week, but buyer beware: they have zero games on low-volume days next week.