Happy 2023, fantasy basketball owners! It's already Week 13, and we're back to focusing on the best waiver-wire pickups and potential free-agent streamers for each day in this scoring period.
With just seven or eight weeks of the fantasy hoops regular season remaining, owners must stay on top of the wire to either maintain their playoff positioning or push further up the standings. It's easy to feel post-holiday fatigue at this level of the season — it's the reason many don't make it through the marathon of fantasy basketball — but your perseverance will be handsomely rewarded if you stay with it and put in the work.
Every Monday, we scour the free agent pools on Yahoo and list the best available options in nine-category leagues. We start by mentioning the guys between 50 percent and 75 percent rostered who should absolutely be owned in 100 percent of leagues. We then feature the cream of the proverbial crop among the sub-50-percent guys, highlighting our favorite guards, forwards, and centers for the week. Finally, we pick one top streamer for every day of the current slate, providing you with a blueprint for your head-to-head matchups.
Let’s get to our Week 13 waiver wire gems, first listing the must-roster players and then featuring the best players available in over half of all leagues. Good luck this week and beyond!
Best Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Pickups Week 13: 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.
De'Anthony Melton, G, 76ers (75 percent rostered). We've been preaching all season that Melton is a must-roster player, and somehow he's still available in a quarter of all Yahoo leagues. Wake up, people! The man has yielded third-round value in 9-cat leagues, averaging 12/5/3/2 and half a block. He's one of the best three-and-D players in the NBA, and the absence of Joel Embiid (calf) means his usage will continue despite Tyrese Maxey returning from a foot injury of his own. Grab this guy and he'll be Melton your heart before you know it.
Bogdan Bogdanovic, G/F, Hawks (74%). Bogdanovic returned from injury in early December, but a lot of people apparently failed to notice. If you need a steady source of three-pointers, points, rebounds, assists, and some stocks, Bogdan is your man. You may see a slight knock to your field goal percentage when he's having an off week, but overall, the pros outweigh the cons with the veteran. He's always going to have a role in Trae Young and Dejounte Murray's fast-paced offense, which benefits greatly from his floor-spacing range.
Kevin Huerter, G/F, Kings (74%). Don't look now, but Huerter has been a top-25 fantasy asset over the past two weeks. He's shooting 50/40/90 in that span while averaging 18 points, four boards, three assists, and one steal per game. He's a huge part of the success story Mike Brown has put together in Sac-town, so don't expect his role to suddenly diminish in the second half of the season.
Killian Hayes, G, Pistons (68%). Hayes has been lighting it up ever since 2021 No. 1 pick Cade Cunningham went down, supplying his investors with insane fourth-round value after a lackluster first few seasons in the Association. He's doing it all — aggressively penetrating to the hoop, knocking down jumpers from range, dropping dimes left and right, even gobbling up 8.7 rebounds and swiping three steals a game over the past week. Get this guy and hold onto him. He's a Dwayne Casey favorite now, which means his volume will only go up.
Onyeka Okongwu, F/C, Hawks (67%). If you need boards, "stocks," or field goal percentage, Okongwu is your guy. He has filled in admirably while Clint Capela recovers from his calf injury, averaging 10 points, nine rebounds, two blocks, an assist, and a steal per game over the past week. Big men don't grow on trees, so when you find a good one on the wire, you should hold onto him.
Markelle Fultz, G, Magic (65%). It's wild to see a guy averaging around 11/5/5/2 sitting on 35 percent of waiver wires. Maybe it's the stigma of this kid being a bust at the No. 1 pick or that he plays for a gross Magic squad, but this is a point guard who should be rostered in all 9-cat leagues.
Monte Morris, G, Wizards (54%). He may be a boring player to own — and who really enjoys watching the Wizards? — but Morris provides plenty of worthwhile fantasy contributions. Over the past two weeks, the former Nugget has averaged 9.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 6.3 assists with shooting splits of 48/40/83. Boring but dependable, like peanut M&Ms.
*Bonus* IL-eligible stashes: Gordon Hayward, F, Hornets (60%); Bol Bol, F/C, Magic (69%); Colin Sexton, G, Jazz (67%); Cameron Johnson, F, Suns (42%)
Best Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Sleepers Week 13: Five top pickups under 50 percent rostered
The following players are available in over 50 percent of Yahoo leagues and make for solid additions and streamers in standard 9-cat formats.
Bruce Brown, G/F, Nuggets (50 percent rostered). Brown does a little bit of everything, a major reason why Denver head coach Mike Malone and Nikola Jokic love him. He knocks down open treys, attacks the hoop aggressively, creates for others, pounds the glass, and plays fantastic perimeter defense. He won't pour in 20 points each night, but he'll certainly help you win a ton of 9-cat matchups with his peripheral stats and efficiency. If you're strictly looking for scoring and three-pointers, though, you might want to opt instead for teammate Bones Hyland (G, 50%) or Clippers veteran Marcus Morris (F/C, 50%).
Dennis Schroder, G, Lakers (48%). Schroeder has stepped up in a major way for the Lakers ever since Anthony Davis went down with a foot injury. The veteran guard has showcased his explosive quickness to the hoop and nailed nearly three triples a game over the past two weeks. He's knocked in at least seven shots and three triples in each of L.A.'s past three contests and should continue to see high usage for as long as AD remains sidelined. Other scorers who mix in assists and triples include Denver's Kentavius Caldwell-Pope (G/F, 49%) and Cleveland's Caris LeVert (G/F, 49%).
Daniel Gafford, C, Wizards (42%). Gafford has become an everyday starter for the Wizards since Bradley Beal's injury, and the results have been tremendous. Over the past two weeks, the big man has averaged 12.7 points, 7.8 boards, 1.5 assists, and 1.7 blocks while shooting an impeccable 76.7 percent from the floor. You won't see this kind of production from a guy available in over half of all leagues very often. The best comp right now (but nowhere near Gaff) is probably the Cavs' Kevin Love (F/C, 36%) or Spurs' Jeremy Sochan (F, 22%).
Delon Wright, G, Wizards (8%). This is purely a steals stream with some assists and shooting mixed in, but Wright could materialize into something more worthwhile if Bradley Beal (hamstring) remains on the shelf for longer than a week or two. Other strong steals streamers include Golden State's Donte DiVincenzo (G, 31%), Chicago's Ayo Dosunmo (G/F, 26%), Memphis' Tyus Jones (G, 40%), and Minnesota's Kyle Anderson (F, 32%).
Montrezl Harrell, F/C, 76ers (24%). With Joel Embiid making his yearly trip to the IL (foot), Harrell has stepped it up big time in short order. He has knocked down eight shots in each of Philly's past three games while averaging 18.6 points, five boards, and 1.6 blocks in that span. He's not our favorite big man to own, but when given the playing time he tends to fill it up. Ride it while you can, just like Kevin Durant owners should spring for Royce O'Neal (G/F, 41%) or T.J. Warren (F, 22%).
Best Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Streamers Week 13: Sleepers for each day of the upcoming slate
Best streamer under 50 percent owned for every day of the upcoming slate.
Monday, Jan. 9
Bruce Brown, G/F (50 percent rostered), Bones Hyland, G (50%), and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (49%), Nuggets (vs. LAL)
Tuesday, Jan. 10 and Wednesday, Jan. 11
Alec Burks, G/F, Pistons (@ PHI, 38%)
Thursday, Jan. 12
Caris LeVert, G/F, Cavaliers (@ POR, 49%) or Dennis Schroeder, G, Lakers (vs. DAL, 48%)
Friday, Jan. 13 and Saturday, Jan. 14
Kyle Anderson, F, Wolves (vs. PHO, vs. CLE, 32%) or Jalen Smith, F/C, Pacers (vs. ATL, vs. MEM, 46%)
Sunday, Jan. 15
Quentin Grimes, G/F, Knicks (@ DET, 32%)
