Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 16 (2024-25): February 10 - February 23

Week 16 is a big one as we have the All-Star Break right in the middle of it and thus most leagues count the the first four days of this week and the last four days of next as all one week for H2H scoring purposes. And once Week 16 finally does wrap up, we have just 3-4 more weeks before fantasy playoffs begin in most leagues so the time to be aggressive in securing your spot in the postseason is now!

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 - which are just around the corner!

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 16!

Week 16 Schedule Breakdown (2/10 - 2/23)

• All teams play 4 or 5 games
• Tues-Wed B2B: CHI, DET, IND, MEM, NYK, PHI, PHO, TOR
• Wed-Thurs B2B: DAL, GSW, HOU, LAC, MIA, MIN, NOP, OKC, SAC, UTA
• Wed-Thurs B2B (After break): CHA, LAL
• Thurs-Fri B2B: CLE, MEM, MIL, NYK, ORL, SAS
• Fri-Sat B2B: HOU, UTA
• Sat-Sun B2B: PHX

Standard Leagues - Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire for Week 16

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

Isaiah Collier - PG (33%)

I have been imploring folks to pick up Collier for the last week and he's finally picking up steam, so I hope it's not too late to snag him in your league. The rookie has secured a spot as the starting point guard for Utah and I don't think that's likely to change down the stretch as the Jazz have nothing to play for other than to develop their young core of talent.

Last four Jazz to record three consecutive games with 10+ PTS and 10+ AST:

John Stockton
Deron Williams
Mike Conley

And now, Isaiah Collier. pic.twitter.com/FL8fRxwxI3

— Extra Muse (@extra_muse) February 8, 2025

Collier has been an assists machine, piling up 9.1 dimes per game over the last two weeks. That's serious production in a category that is scarce. He could be a league-winning addition to your squad with that type of production.

Buddy Hield - SG/SF (31%)

Hield has played 30+ minutes in three straight games and drilled four treys in each game. He even started last night with Jimmy Butler in the lineup and he could stick as the starting shooting guard in the new-look Warriors lineup. With 30 minutes, Buddy is easily worth rostering in standard formats.

Matas Buzelis - SF/PF (26%)

I went on record multiple times this week that my biggest add and most exciting post-trade player to watch is the Chicago rookie Buzelis. While the Bulls moved Zach LaVine last week, they held onto Nikola Vucevic but have still signaled that they are moving towards a rebuild by inserting Buzelis into the starting lineup.

"SEE YOU IN THE DUNK CONTEST."

MATAS BUZELIS GETTING #ATTSlamDunk READY 💥💥 pic.twitter.com/z3TTItII63

— NBA (@NBA) February 9, 2025

Buzelis dropped 24 points in his debut as a starter and has made two starts since. He's been playing around 30 minutes a night and is a gifted scorer who has also picked up the pace on defense with ten blocks over his last six games. He's a priority add in all formats for me we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg in terms of his talent.

Max Christie - SG/SF (24%)

Christie's tenure in Dallas has started impressively. In three games with the Mavericks, Christie is averaging 17.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 3.0 assists while adding 2.7 threes. He's been coming off the bench but has played 30+ minutes in all three games.

MAX CHRISTIE CLUTCH THREE 🔥 pic.twitter.com/BK9hddjvQF

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 8, 2025

It looks like Dallas wants to use him as an important piece of the second unit and with this level of involvement, he's worth picking up until we see how his minutes shake out. It seems pretty clear, though, that the Mavericks like him and that he was a bigger part of the AD-Luka trade than we expected.

Yves Missi - C (23%)

It might be a tough sell for managers who can't afford Missi's lack of points, but the rookie seems to have a stranglehold on the starting center spot in New Orleans.

The Pelicans look like they are on track to tank sooner than later, Missi's minutes should be guaranteed down the stretch. He just had a 13-rebound, 4-block game last night in which he only scored two points - a perfect example of how his scoring will be uneven but his rebounding and shot-blocking are his strengths.

Zaccharie Risacher - SF (21%)

Risacher has picked up his scoring and is shooting the ball better from beyond the arc, but he's still not doing much in other categories and it was a bit disappointing seeing him play just 24 minutes yesterday with the new arrival Georges Niang debuting at PF for Atlanta. I'm not giving up on the rookie yet, but his breakout may be still a year away as the Hawks aren't ready to give him full starters' minutes just yet.

Precious Achiuwa - PF/C (20%)

Achiuwa has slid into the starting lineup lately with injuries to other starters opening up more playing time for the big man. If you remember last season he was a standard league player down the stretch when the Knicks had no other big men for a while, but this is not the situation this year.

Precious is just a short-term add who is mainly a boards and defensive stat specialist when he's playing PF alongside Karl-Anthony Towns. He won't hurt you anywhere but don't expect big production unless Towns were to go down at some point.

Deeper Leagues - Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire for Week 15

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

Jose Alvarado - PG (18%)

Alvarado was a popular pickup when Dejounte Murray went down for the season but he was dropped by a lot of teams after he didn't start the next game and he sat out the following game.

However, he played 29 minutes last night and had nine assists and three steals. It's only a matter of time until he plays more regularly down the stretch and he can be a real difference-maker in assists and steals.

Nick Smith Jr. - PG/SG (16%)

Smith was relevant for the Hornets when most of their lineup was out for a few weeks, but it was a good sign that he started and played 34 minutes this weekend in LaMelo Ball's first game back. If he sticks as the starting shooting guard for Charlotte down the stretch he could hold onto deep-league value.

Bub Carrington - PG/SG (16%)

Go get Carrington now...I'll wait. Sure, we haven't seen the debut of Marcus Smart or Khris Middleton since they were acquired but I don't think Washington is going to devote many minutes to those veterans down the stretch when they can be giving their young players minutes.

Bub Carrington vs. ATL:

23 PTS (career-high)
7 AST
4 REB
9-13 FG
5-7 3pt (!)

The rookie is shooting 63% (12-19) 3pt over his last 3 games. pic.twitter.com/orpZRU4rmd

— Greg Finberg (@GregFinberg) February 9, 2025

Carrington played 38 minutes last night and had what was probably his best game of the season - even with Malcolm Brogdon healthy and playing. He's the future in Washington and if he can keep up the improved efficiency he's going to be a huge asset in the final months.

Kyshawn George - SG/SF (16%)

George sat out last night but looks to have the beat on the starting PF slot for Washington between him and Justin Champagnie. Yes, Middleton will play eventually but I can't imagine they will push him beyond 25 minutes a night and he will probably have plenty of rest days.

George has flashed some solid numbers when he's been given the minutes. He can contribute in points, threes, and boards with a smattering of defensive stats as well.

Jaxson Hayes - PF/C (15%)

The big news last night is that the Hornets and Lakers trade that was going to send Mark Williams to L.A. for Dalton Knecht has been rescinded. That means the Lakers are still going to have to roll with Hayes as their starting center, giving him some deep league appeal with around 25 minutes per night.

It also means Knecht and Moussa Diabate (and Jusuf Nurkic, too) can be left on waivers for now - both were popular pickups when the trade was first announced.

Aaron Wiggins - SG/SF (13%)

Wiggins has emerged as the third scoring option on offense for OKC in the last two weeks with some huge performances. He had a 41-point outing on February 1st which was a fluky game where he piled up big stats in a blowout win, but his 26 points, 11 boards, and eight made threes last night against Memphis was no joke.

He could evaporate again if OKC shifts their rotation as they get Chet Holmgren back in the mix, but Wiggins is likely to hold onto at least 25 minutes even off the bench.

Ochai Agbaji - SG/SF (12%)

Sometimes the most important stat to monitor is minutes. While Agbaji had an ugly shooting performance on Friday night, he played 30 minutes and finished with eight boards and two steals.

He was a guy who was flirting with top-120 relevancy earlier this season with starter's minutes and he has enough statistical diversity to be an asset if he can keep carving out 30 minutes a night - which will remain to be seen as the Raptors get Brandon Ingram into the lineup and other rotational players healthy.

Naji Marshall - SG/SF (10%)

Marshall continues to be productive off the bench and has formed a dynamic duo with Max Christie since the latter was acquired from the Lakers. The injury to Anthony Davis is supposedly minor, but if he misses time then look for either Christie or Marshall to slide into the lineup at small forward with P.J. Washington moving over to PF.

Washington left yesterday's game early, too, so Dallas might need all hands on deck this week.

The Single Digit Crowd (Super Deep Leagues)

• Isaiah Stewart - PF/C (9%)
• Corey Kispert - SG/SF (8%)
• Vit Krejci - SG/SF (6%)
• GG Jackson II - SF/PF (5%)
• Day'Ron Sharpe - C (4%)
• Georges Niang - SF/PF (3%)
• Moses Moody - SG/SF (3%)
• Quinten Post - C (2%)

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