Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 5 (2024-2025): November 18 - November 24

The NBA season is a month long already and I hope you find your team in decent repair. The injury bug has already forced managers to fill up their IR slots in a hurry and go running to the waiver wire to find help filling out their rosters.

My stance on injuries is pretty straightforward. If a player is a top-50 or better caliber contributor, then stash them for as long as you can. But don't hold marginal players who are hurt for longer periods, especially in H2H leagues with a lot of weekly moves where it pays to have as many active players on your roster every day.

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 (25-40% rostered) and deeper formats (less than 25% 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 5!

Week 5 Schedule Breakdown (11/18 - 11/24)

• Teams Playing Only Two Games: MIA, MIN, OKC, PHX
• Tuesday-Wednesday B2B: CLE, MEM, OKC
• Wednesday-Thursday B2B: ORL
• Friday-Saturday B2B: CHI, DEN, GSW, HOU, MIL, POR

Standard Leagues - Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire for Week 5

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

Ochai Agbaji - SG/SF (38%)

Despite cracking the top 80 on the Yahoo player rater and logging 32 or more minutes in nine straight games for the Raptors, Agbaji is still under our 40% threshold. I suppose players might be overvaluing points and undervaluing his other statistical contributions.

Agbaji averages 13.1 points but is contributing 1.9 threes, 1.3 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game while shooting 52% from the floor and keeping his turnovers low at 1.1 per contest. Those numbers will play and he should be rostered in far more leagues until we see Toronto get back to full health, which could be at least a few more weeks.

Shaedon Sharpe - SG/SF (36% rostered)

He did it again! Sharpe poured in 32 points last night for his second straight game with 30 or more points. Anfernee Simons and Deandre Ayton have been out, but even when they return, Sharpe has a secure spot in this  rotation and is worth having on rosters even when his role gets reduced back down to a supporting cast member instead of being the "main character."

Shaedon Sharpe had himself a DAY!

🔥 32 PTS
🔥 25 in the 2H
🔥 Scored POR's last 11
🔥 @trailblazers 3rd straight W pic.twitter.com/BucqbkGeko

— NBA (@NBA) November 18, 2024

Donovan Clingan - C (29% rostered)

We don't know how much longer DeAndre Ayton's finger injury is going to keep him on the shelf, but Clingan is making the most of an early-season opportunity to start at center for Portland in his stead.

The big man is a rebound and blocks machine! He recorded his first double-double against Minnesota last week when he scored 17 points, pulled down 12 boards, and blocked eight (yes, 8!) shots. He's now averaging over two blocks per game in only 16 minutes!

Patrick Williams - PF (27% rostered)

Every season it seems like we get teased with Pat-Will's upside when he goes on an early-season hot streak, only to pick him and be disappointed when he inevitably cools off.

Patrick Williams is heating up in a big way

In his last 5GP, he averages:

32.8 mpg
14.0 ppg (49% FG on 9.4 FGA)
2.4 3pm (50% 3PT on 4.8 3PA)
5.2 rpg
3.6 apg
1.8 spg
0.8 bpg

Looks more comfortable as a scorer and playmaker, while playing strong defense pic.twitter.com/pg7kzUuvK0

— Point Made Basketball (@pointmadebball) November 17, 2024

Well, he already had a stinker of a game last night, though the Bulls were blown out by the Rockets, and all of the starters were benched early. I still think Williams is worthy of a pick-up this week as he's been playing solid minutes and getting excellent results over the last week (not counting last night). The schedule is set up nicely, too, with Detroit, Milwaukee, Atlanta, and Memphis on the calendar. I'm a sucker for Pat-Will on a four-game week.

Robert Williams III - PF/C (26% rostered)

There are two risks involved with adding the "Time Lord" this week. One is that DeAndre Ayton is day-to-day and could return by Wednesday for the OKC game. And the other one is that Portland plays a B2B set with Houston on Friday and Saturday, which means Williams is likely to sit out one of those contests as Portland has been careful with him so far this season.

However, the rewards are likely worth the risks as two games of stats from Williams could still help your team immensely! The stat-stuffing big man is posting some eye-popping numbers when he is on the floor this year.

Kevin Huerter - SG/SF (23% rostered)

The Kings are getting crushed by the injury bug early this season. Malik Monk is out at least another week, while DeMar DeRozan is set to miss his third straight game tonight, and Domantas Sabonis his second in a row.

Huerter is going to have to play heavy minutes and hoist up a lot of shots, too. He's even seen an uptick in assists and steals lately and is simply too good of a player to be this widely available when he's likely looking at 35 minutes a game for the rest of the week.

Malik Beasley - SG (23% rostered)

The Pistons have dealt with injuries to several of their backcourt players, most notably it's been their usual starting small forward Tim Hardaway Jr. who has missed the last three games. Beasley has filled in quite impressively, knocking down an absurd 18 three-pointers over the last three games while cracking 20 or more points in each as well. It's possible he could hold onto the spot even when Hardaway Jr. gets healthy as he's been the better shooter of the two.

Deeper Leagues - Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire for Week 5

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

Dalton Knecht - SG (18% rostered)

The rookie's role in Los Angeles is growing and he busted out in a big way in his first start on Saturday. Knecht drew the start at small forward with Rui Hachimura out and dropped 27 points to go along with seven boards and five threes.

Dalton Knecht looks like a starting caliber player…

Very serious shooter. Off the catch/bounce. Off unstable platforms or standing still. Also a bouncy leaper—makes sure leave no doubt at the rim throwing down dunks. Room to grow defensively, but he's a confirmed good player. https://t.co/kUvD5oaOLl pic.twitter.com/3eqcOwjiPB

— NBA University (@NBA_University) November 17, 2024

He flashed a sweet shooting stroke this preseason and the Lakers drafted him with the idea that he would be rotation-ready sooner than other younger players.

Moritz Wagner - C (15% rostered)

It was the Goga Bitadze show at center for the Magic when Wendell Carter Jr. first went down, but Wagner has slowly started to cut into Goga's minutes and it's become a timeshare situation. Wagner has scored in double digits in six straight games and offers three-pointers from the center position to go along with the points and boards as well.

Dillon Brooks - SG/SF (14% rostered)

I'm not a fan of Brooks in general, but for fantasy purposes, we should take note of his recent resurgence and the fact that he continues to earn minutes on the wing even with all of the other youngsters on Houston's rosters. If you need threes and steals, then Brooks is a solid add in deep formats.

Kris Dunn - PG/SG (11% rostered)

Dunn has entered the starting rotation for the Clippers, who needed some help defensively and did not need another shooter or scorer on the floor with James Harden and Norman Powell already in the lineup.

Kris Dunn back-to-back 🪣s pic.twitter.com/6YmazgjfNA

— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) November 16, 2024

Anytime Dunn is getting starters' minutes, I am interested in him for fantasy. He has a solid fantasy skill set if you're looking for help in assists and steals without sacrificing FG% and turnovers. He's an underrated asset and a great guy to occupy the last spot on your roster as long as he's going to be playing decent minutes.

Jay Huff - C (10% rostered)

Huff has found it tough to get enough minutes to be very relevant, but the door may have cracked open a little last night as rookie Zach Edey twisted his ankle and had to leave the game. The Grizzlies' rotation is still very deep and Huff is probably capped at 15 minutes, but he's been uber-efficient this year offering 1.6 threes and 1.7 blocks in 14 minutes per night.

The Single Digit Crowd (Super Deep Leagues)

Nikola Jovic - PF (9% rostered)

Jake LaRavia - SF/PF (8% rostered)

Ty Jerome - PG/SG (7% rostered)

Dalano Banton - SG/SF (6% rostered)

Zach Collins - PF/C (4%)

Trey Lyles - PF/C (3%)

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