Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 12 (2024-25): January 13 - January 19

We are closing in on the midway point of the basketball season, as most NBA teams will cross the 41-game threshold this week. As injuries pile up, the waiver wire gets thinner every week, but working the wire to maximize games played is still something you should do whenever possible!

Most leagues have a weekly moves cap, and some have season-long caps. Always check your league settings to plan how many moves you want to make each week, and if you have a season-long cap, save some of those moves for the playoffs!

I am a big advocate of being aggressive on the waiver wire. If your league has daily lineups, you should use that to your advantage and maximize your weekly games in H2H formats. I'll give you my top adds for standard leagues (20-40% rostered) and deeper formats (less than 20% rostered) every week and the schedule breakdown for all 30 teams. Let's see who we should be eyeing to add to our teams in Week 12!

Week 12 Schedule Breakdown (1/13 - 1/19)

• Teams with only TWO (2) games: CHA, UTA
• Tues-Wed B2B: ATL, BKN, DAL, DEN, MIL, NOP, PHI
• Wed-Thurs B2B: HOU, LAC
• Thurs-Fri B2B: OKC
• Fri-Sat B2B: BOS, MIN
• Sat-Sun B2B: PHI, POR, WAS

Standard Leagues - Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire for Week 12

Percent owned numbers for Yahoo! "Standard Leagues" refer to 10- or 12-team leagues.

Nikola Jovic - PF/C (32% rostered)

Jovic is one of the hottest commodities on the wire, and as someone who recommended him back when he was on only 4% of rosters in Week 1, it feels good to be validated that he is finally getting consistent minutes and showcasing his talent.

21 PTS 🔥 8 REB 🔥 5 AST

Nikola Jović did it all for the @MiamiHEAT last night! The @SFSkyforce alum nearly posted a double-double and recorded season-highs in points and rebounds to help lead the Heat to a road win over the Trail Blazers. #GLeagueAlum pic.twitter.com/oHKYrIUiRc

— NBA G League (@nbagleague) January 12, 2025

He had a 21-8-5 line with four threes on Saturday and another impressive 20-6-4 performance last Tuesday. With Jimmy Butler's future in Miami very much in doubt, Jovic and Jaime Jaquez Jr.'s stocks continue to rise. Four games for the Heat this week and Jovic belongs on rosters in all formats!

Jaden McDaniels - SF/PF (29% rostered)

McDaniels has flashed his 9-cat upside a few times in the last few weeks with a 19-8-2 line with four threes and then most recently with a 21-6-1 line with three treys and three blocks.

His scoring is very uneven, but the defensive stats are worth it if you're willing to sacrifice the points. He has 10 steals and five blocks just over his last five games, and with four games this week, he could help put you over the top in one or both of those categories.

Cole Anthony - PG (27% rostered)

Who knows how long the Cole Anthony experience lasts as Jalen Suggs is just day-to-day and Paolo Banchero is working his way off a minutes cap. But it's hard to ignore how effective he has been on offense and that he gives the Magic another dynamic scoring option that their other guards simply can't match.

While the days of Anthony playing 35+ minutes are most certainly numbered, he could have earned a larger bench role going forward, which could keep him as fantasy relevant for a bit longer.

Keldon Johnson - SG/SF/PF (25% rostered)

Johnson has settled into his role as a bench scorer quite well and he's carved out enough minutes to maintain some low-end value in points, rebounds, threes, and percentages. Over his last five games, he's averaging 15 points and six boards with 1.6 threes on 48% shooting. Those numbers will play for an end-of-the-bench guy.

Spencer Dinwiddie - PG/SG (24% rostered)

Dinwiddie is bouncing on and off teams every other night. It feels like he was a very hot pickup when Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic first went down and then was dropped by a lot of teams after a cold stretch.

But his last three starts have been solid as he's posted 17-5-8 over that stretch. The FG% will be a drag probably, but he does enough in the counting stats and steals to be worth holding onto until the Mavs get healthy in the backcourt.

Lonzo Ball - PG (19% rostered)

Lonzo Ball is trending up in a big way and coming off his best week as a pro in several years. I had him as a deep league add last week and he came through in a big way for us.

Lonzo Ball is in the starting lineup for the first time in nearly three years.

His incredible comeback story continues 🙏 pic.twitter.com/wWRSA5BjfN

— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) January 12, 2025

Ball played 26 minutes yesterday and had a season-high five threes to score in double digits for the second game in a row. His minutes continue to creep up as he is slowly proving he can stay healthy and on the court.

Even though his scoring and assists have been spotty, his defense has been stout. Even in limited minutes, he has two or more steals in six of his last seven games.

Deeper Leagues - Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire for Week 12

Percent owned numbers for Yahoo! "Deeper Leagues" refer to 14-team leagues or more.

Max Christie - SG/SF (17% rostered)

Christie cooled off a bit last week but is still seeing 30+ minutes and scoring efficiently. He's been in the top 75 over the last two weeks and belongs on more rosters for his efficiency, even if his scoring volume takes a hit on nights that LeBron James, Austin Reaves, and Anthony Davis eat up a lot of the shots.

Peyton Watson - SF/PF (14% rostered)

Waston continues to be a big part of the Denver rotation with Aaron Gordon out. Forget the scoring, he's adding defensive stats in big chunks with 1.1 steals and 1.9 blocks over the last two weeks.

Cason Wallace - PG/SG (13% rostered)

It's a little bit of a theme this week, but defensive specialists are emerging with major value right now and Wallace is one of them. Starting alongside SGA, Wallace isn't asked to score much but is now up to 1.7 steals per game on the season while playing around 30 minutes per game. And when he's making shots, the offense is a nice little bonus.

Cason Wallace tonight

15 PTS
6/8 FG
3/3 3PM
3 AST

Showed up and showed out

— 22 (@casonfc) January 9, 2025

He's gone for double-digit points in three of his last four and is looking more comfortable out there in this OKC offense.

Jonathan Isaac - SF/PF (11% rostered)

We aren't likely to see another 20-11 game out of Isaac soon, but last night's performance was a good reminder of what he's capable of doing. Isaac is a low-usage player who can still stuff the stat sheet in his 15-20-minute role, especially with blocks (1.3 BLK on the season).

Tim Hardaway Jr. - SG/SF (11%)

With Jaden Ivey out, Hardaway and Malik Beasley have both seen an uptick in minutes and usage. It doesn't matter which of them starts, as both of them are gunning while on the floor and taking turns having big offensive games.

Hardaway is a very one-dimensional player who offers little beyond points and threes, but with 26- and 27-point games in the last week, he's proved that he's still one of the better outside shooters in the game when he's hot.

The Single Digit Crowd (Super Deep Leagues)

Naji Marshall - SG/SF (9% rostered)

Jaylen Wells - SF (9% rostered)

Ziaire Williams - SF/PF (9% rostered)

Jaden Hardy - PG/SG (8% rostered)

Luke Kennard - SG (8% rostered)

Chris Boucher - PF/C (6% rostered)

Isaiah Collier - PG (5% rostered)

Anthony Black - PG/SG (4%)

Aaron Wiggins - SG/SF (4% rostered)

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