Onyeka Okongwu (C, ATL) - Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 17

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues

ROSTERED IN: 14% of leagues

ANALYSIS: The first piece of the trade deadline domino fell on Sunday when Kyrie Irving was sent to Dallas in the first winter blockbuster. That has nothing to do with Atlanta, of course, but it might be a sign of things to come--mostly regarding John Collins leaving the Hawks once and for all.

Onyeka Okongwu has not started a game since he did for the last time on January 18. That matchup wrapped up a 12-game span of consecutive starts for the young man made possible by Clint Capela getting injured. Now that both Capela and Collins are back, OO is an off-the-pine daily performer logging some 20 MPG.

In the 17 games he's started this season (he's appeared in 51 total matches), Okongwu has averaged nearly 30 FPPG and stat lines in the 10-9-1-1-2 vicinity, getting around 33 MPG in those games. For context, only two players in the NBA are doing that over the full season this year: Anthony Davis and Nic Claxton. Even lowering the 2.0 BPG down to 1.0 BPG, you still only get seven players on a season-wide 10-9-1-1-1 average line.

It's impossible to know whether or not Atlanta will finally pull the trigger on a Collins deal, and what would happen with Okongwu if that happens. Even if he keeps playing off the pine with a similar set of teammates, though, OO is still a viable fantasy asset for those managing in deeper leagues.

In his last eight games (all of them in the second unit), he's averaging nearly a 10-7-1 line with 0.5 SPG and 1.5 BPG. The shooting percentages are always sublimely high because he just never stretches the floor, and the blocks are nonsensical with 66 total swats over 52 games--only 10 players in the NBA have blocked more shots than Okongwu this season and only four of those have logged fewer total minutes.

More Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Pickups

League Winners: Players To Stash For the Stretch Run - 2024 Fantasy Basketball

The All-Star Break is upon us and while it's nice to have some time off from setting lineups, making DFS lineups, and placing bets. It's also a nice time to look ahead and what moves you can make to put your team in the best position possible to win a fantasy basketball title. Remember, the […]

Dan Palyo 9 months ago

Trendon Watford (PF, POR) - Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 23

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 7% of leagues ANALYSIS: According to Shams Charania of The Athletic (reporting on Sunday morning), the Portland Trail Blazers are leaning toward shutting down Damian Lillard for the remainder of the season. The Blazers, mind you, have been without Jerami Grant, Anfernee Simons, Lillard, and Jusuf […]

Antonio Losada 2 years ago

Xavier Tillman Sr. (PF, MEM) - Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 23

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 7% of leagues ANALYSIS: With just a week and a half remaining in the regular season and Memphis sitting pretty in the no. 2 seed in the Western Conference, it's hard to envision Steven Adams returning before the playoffs and risking any sort of setback in […]

Antonio Losada 2 years ago

Deni Avdija (SF, WAS) - Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 23

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 8% of leagues ANALYSIS: The surge of Deni Avdija in all fantasy leaderboards has a very easy-to-grasp reason and that's Kyle Kuzma missing time with an injury. Ruled out Sunday, that made it four consecutive outings missed by the Kuz, which has clearly opened the door […]

Antonio Losada 2 years ago

Nick Richards (C, CHA) - Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 23

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 9% of leagues ANALYSIS: Rookie Mark Williams returned to the Charlotte Hornets' rotation on Friday and logged 21 minutes coming off the pine. Nick Richards started at center for the seventh consecutive time, but keep in mind Williams had done so for 12 straight games before […]

Antonio Losada 2 years ago