Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 13 (2024-25): January 20 - January 26

Week 13 starts with eight games on Monday as the NBA celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. Day. But the back half of the week gets a bit wonky as there are only three games on Friday night, then 14 games on Saturday, and only one game next Sunday.

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 13!

Week 13 Schedule Breakdown (1/20- 1/26)

• Teams with only TWO (2) games: SAS, IND
• Mon-Tues B2B: NYK
• Tues-Wed B2B: BKN
• Wed-Thurs B2B: ATL, BOS, DAL, GSW, LAC, MIL, OKC, SAC
• Thurs-Fri B2B: POR
• Fri-Sat B2B: CHA, CLE, MEM, NOP, PHI

Standard Leagues - Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire for Week 13

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

Nikola Jovic - PF/C (34% rostered)

I'm not going to bother including Nick Richards or Tari Eason here, as both are right around 40% rostered and won't be available in most competitive leagues by the time you read this article.

So, let's start with the other "best available" out there - Nikola Jovic.

Jovic is a nine-cat stud who has been flourishing for Miami for nearly a month now, but his recent explosion while Jimmy Butler was suspended finally got fantasy hoopers' attention.

Nikola Jovic tonight:

16 points
4 rebounds
4 assists
6/12 FG

Looking more and more like a threat on the floor every game that goes by 🔥 pic.twitter.com/AbQAtvczNn

— Playbook Sports (@PlaybookSN) January 18, 2025

The good news here is that Jovic played 31 minutes in Butler's first game back from suspension and posted a 16-4-4 line with two threes. All this guy needs is minutes, and he's going to produce counting stats and threes with excellent percentages. He's a player you should add and hold onto for the rest of the season, I think his value is here to stay.

Jaden McDaniels - SF/PF (34% rostered)

If you're worried about rostering a guy who only averages 10 points a game, you're not approaching category leagues the right way. McDaniels has been inside the top 60 over the last two weeks on the strengths of his rebounding, three-point shooting, and defense.

We talk a lot about how coveted players who can go 1-1-1 (threes, steals, blocks) are in fantasy hoops, and McDaniels is nearly there, with his blocks (0.8) being the only thing holding him back. His numbers from the last two weeks include 1.5 threes, 1.3 steals, 1.1 blocks, 52% FG%, 88% FG%, and only 0.4 turnovers.

He's a great H2H or roto player who is finally rounding into form, grab him wherever you can.

Ayo Dosunmu - PG/SG/SF (31% rostered)

Dosunmu is back after missing 10 games, and he immediately played 25 and 28 minutes off the bench for Chicago. The Bulls have a lot of guards in their rotation with Lonzo Ball, Josh Giddey, Coby White, and Zach LaVine, however, Dosunmu brings a different skill set to the table than any of them.

He's much more of a passer and defender than a scorer, and Chicago needs perimeter defense, with White and LaVine both being known as poor defenders. Dosunmu offers low-end production for now but is always just one injury away from a bigger role and has added SF eligibility on Yahoo.

Toumani Camara - SF/PF (28% rostered)

After Jovic, I think Camara is my next favorite add this week, as the Blazers play four games, and Camara is available in even more leagues.

Toumani Camara :

📍 17 points 🔥
📍 5 rebounds
📍 3 assists
📍 2 steals
📍 1 block
📍 58.3/25/33.3

Toumani balled once again. Showed he can defend in the paint against Sengun. If he can defend 1-5 effectively that alone makes him a weapon, but now his offense too?? It’s 🆙 pic.twitter.com/5fQtocmDYk

— CamaraMuse (@CamaraMuse) January 19, 2025

After a dude against the Kings on Thursday, Camara bounced back in a big way last night with a performance that was much more in line with what he's been doing in Portland over the last few weeks.

Camara is a defense-first wing player who is now up to 2.0 steals/blocks on the season, thanks to the recent increase in his playing time. He has seven blocks and five multi-steal games in his last seven starts! He's adding some solid rebounds as well while also contributing from behind the arc. He's a foundational piece in Portland who should continue to play solid minutes for the foreseeable future.

Cason Wallace - PG/SG (25% rostered)

Wallace is a repeat from last week, but we move him up into the standard league conversation as his rostership has increased significantly.

He continues to be a steals machine as he had four swipes in OKC's game against Dallas on Friday. He's even offering 0.6 blocks per game as a guard, and those out-of-position stats are usually pretty tough to find.

Ziaire Williams drills the triple to give the Nets the lead 🔥pic.twitter.com/mzPg8vLpel

— Nets Nation (@NetsNationCP) January 18, 2025

Grayson Allen - PG/SG/SF (24% rostered)

As a player whose value is very reliant on his shooting on a nightly basis, Allen's game log is going to look uneven at times throughout the season. He will have games where he scores 20+ and drills five threes and then turn around to score in single digits the next night.

However, the minutes are trending in the right direction for Allen. He's averaged 28 minutes per game over his last three. The Suns are reconfiguring their rotation, but Allen should be in the mix for a major role off the bench and is simply one of the most efficient three-point shooters in the league.

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 (15% rostered)

Christie's lousy shooting on Friday night (2-13 from the field) has managers dropping him, but I am still bullish on him in his current role with the Lakers. He's still playing 30+ minutes and is surrounded by playmakers with LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Austin Reaves being able to create and find Christie for open looks.

Buy low on Christie after one poor shooting night - he's still in a great position for low-end, efficient production in deep leagues.

Ziaire Williams - SF/PF (13% rostered)

It's hard to trust many Nets right now. Their rotation is a mess and it seems like they are rolling out a new lineup just about every night. We simply have to make some bets on talent here, and instead of talking up Noah Clowney this week, I decided to focus more on Williams, who has been far more consistent with his production.

Ziaire Williams drills the triple to give the Nets the lead 🔥pic.twitter.com/mzPg8vLpel

— Nets Nation (@NetsNationCP) January 18, 2025

Whether he starts or comes off the bench, Williams is seeing minutes in the mid-20s most nights and getting up plenty of shots while on the floor. He's scored in double-digits in seven of his last eight games while also pulling down four or more rebounds. He's added 1.3 steals over the last two weeks while also shooting a solid 84% from the free throw line on 2.7 attempts per game.

Naji Marshall - SG/SF (12% rostered)

Dallas plays four games this week. I have no idea how many of those games Kyrie Irving is going to play (and neither does he probably). Luka Doncic is still on the mend and not quite ready to return. So Spencer Dinwiddie, P.J. Washington, and the rest of the Dallas role players will continue to have to do more of the heavy lifting for this team.

Naji Marshall tonight

14 PTS
10 REB (season high)
3 STL
1 BLK
63/60/100%

— KNIFE TALK 🔪🔪🔪 pic.twitter.com/iQXNMhRTuI

— MavsMuse (@MavsMuse) January 18, 2025

Marshall has been great since returning from a four-game absence earlier this month, doing a little of everything to fill the stat sheet and his numbers of 12-5-4 with 1.6 steals and 1.3 threes put him inside the Top 100 during the last two-week stretch.

Ryan Dunn - SF (10% rostered)

Phoenix has been shaking things up - sending Bradley Beal (who is now injured) to the bench while acquiring Nick Richards to play center. Dunn's defense has allowed him to stick in the starting lineup, and he's doing just enough to be useful in deeper leagues.

His averages over the last two weeks are 11.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.5 threes, and 53% FG%. He's doing that while only turning it over 0.3 times per game. These numbers are boring, but if you value efficiency, then there is some value here.

Chris Boucher - PF/C (10% rostered)

Boucher has cooled off a bit in his last two games, but the versatile big man is still playing a significant role off the bench for Toronto. He had a three-game stretch from January 9 to 13, where he was red hot and averaged 17 points, seven boards, and four threes. He's shooting nearly 50% from the field, and his 1.4 threes per game and 10.4 scoring average are his best marks since the 2020-2021 season.

The Single Digit Crowd (Super Deep Leagues)

Isaiah Collier - PG (9% rostered)

Cam Whitmore - SF/PF (9% rostered)

Luke Kennard - SG (6% rostered)

Jose Alvarado - PG (6% rostered)

Dalano Banton - SG/SF (3% rostered)

Tosan Evbuomwan - SF/PF (2% rostered)

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