Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Pickups and Streamers for Week 3 (2025): 10/27 to 11/2

Thunder Dan's fantasy basketball waiver wire pickups for Week 3 of the 2025-26 NBA season. Consider these players as fantasy basketball adds, streamers, and stashes.

We are still very early in the season, so the balancing act between being aggressive and picking up players off the wire without dropping players who have long-term upside is a tough one. Luckily for you, I started a new piece called the Fantasy Basketball Cut List that will accompany this one a bit later in the week and should be published every week going forward. At the end of the day, you have to trust your fantasy basketball intuition, as there is going to be plenty of stuff that I get wrong each week.

We hit waiver wire gold with last week's cover athlete, Jaime Jaquez Jr, and several others made a big impact, too! Most leagues have a weekly moves cap, and some have season-long caps. I would recommend checking your league settings to plan how many moves you want to make each week. This week, I'm looking at players who are still widely available to start the season despite a strong start to the year.

I have always been an 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 when necessary. Every week, I will give you my top adds for standard 10-12 team leagues as well as deeper formats and the schedule breakdown for all 30 teams. I am using Yahoo for the percentage rostered; however, I am adjusting my benchmarks as the new 10-team high score leagues on Yahoo have impacted those percentages.

Week 3 Schedule Breakdown (11/3 to 11/9)

Schedule Highlights

• The Charlotte Hornets are the only team that plays only two games this week.
• Just one game on Thursday (Clippers-Suns)
• Most valuable back-to-backs: LAC (Mon-Tues), MIL (Mon-Tues), IND (Sat-Sun), PHI (Sat-Sun)
• Most valuable streaming schedules: LAC (Mon-Tues-Thurs-Sat), MIL (Mon-Tues-Fri-Sun), PHI (Tues-Wed-Sat-Sun), IND (Mon-Wed-Sat-Sun)

Standard League Adds - Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire for Week 3

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

We are using 25% or lower as the cutoff again this week, with 10% or below being right around where I draw the line between standard league and deep league adds.

I also have to keep these blurbs somewhat short or I'll end up with a 3,000-word article, and I know your time is valuable!

Aaron Nesmith - SF (25%)

A lot of folks dumped Nesmith after his dud against Dallas when he shot just 2-16 from the floor; however, his 31-point (5 made threes) outing against the Warriors in an unlikely win was a good reminder that he is still very capable of scoring even without a healthy point guard on the team to create looks for the Pacers' shooters.

Indy has a great schedule this week, and we don't have return dates for Bennedict Mathurin or Andrew Nembhard yet, so fire up Nesmith if you need points, threes, and boards, even if the rest of his game is fairly limited.

Russell Westbrook - PG (25%)

I have held a pretty staunch anti-Westbrook stance for fantasy basketball for the second half of his career. But I will admit that last year in Denver, he seemed to really embrace being a role-player and played in such a way that was actually quite useful for fantasy purposes.

After a slow start in Sacramento, he's already making an impact there and is being asked to take on more minutes and ball-handling duties. He's started and come off the bench, but either way, he's giving us some solid numbers without totally killing percentages and turnovers since he's taking far fewer shots than in his prime.

With Malik Monk out again tonight and Dennis Schroder questionable, we could see a lot of Westy against his former Denver team, and he could end up playing quite a bit in the Kings' four-game week.

Royce O'Neale - SF/PF (24%)

O'Neale is a repeat here from last week, and he actually graced the cover of my NBA prop picks piece on Friday. We still haven't seen Jalen Green yet, and Dillon Brooks remains out. As long as those two continue to sit, we are going to see several Suns' role players continue to have value.

Josh Minott - SF/PF (23%)

Minott was off my radar last week, but drew a surprise start on Monday and posted a solid line against the Pelicans. He followed it up with a double-double against the Cavs and became one of the hottest pickups of the week.

However, he busted against Philly and played just 19 minutes on Saturday against Houston, so he's getting dropped just as quickly as he was added. I still think there's something there with Minott, and I am intrigued by his upside. I'd give him another week and see what happens before we decide his production in those two games was a fluke.

Collin Gillespie - PG (22%)

What if I told you that Gillespie ranks inside the top-50 on Yahoo right now? It's pretty silly as he's obviously not a top-50 player, but his stat lines have been robust coming off the bench for the Suns as their sixth man for the last week and a half.

The 0.9 blocks aren't sustainable, but Gillespie is an efficient player who is knocking down nearly three long balls per game and dishing out 5.4 assists. His minutes should drop once the Suns get healthy, but we still don't know when that is going to be, so ride him and this elite production as long as you can.

Jeremiah Fears - PG (21%)

The Pelicans are embracing the youth movement a bit earlier than we anticipated, sliding Fears into the starting lineup in just his third game as a pro. He stunk in that first game, but has posted 21, 13, and 16 points in his last three games while handing out 18 assists.

The FG% is going to be his big weakness, but the assists and steals aren't easy to find off the wire. He certainly deserves to be rostered right now with this much playing time and a green light to shoot as much as he wants.

Daniel Gafford - C (16%)

Tread lightly here, as Gafford was limited to just 17 minutes in his return to the court, even with Anthony Davis and Dereck Lively II out. Those two injuries are really the only reason I'd consider streaming Gafford, because if Dallas gets their entire frontcourt healthy at the same time, then Gafford and Lively are heading for a messy timeshare where both will struggle to be relevant in standard leagues.

Jake LaRavia - SF/PF (14%)

The Lakers only play three games this week, but LaRavia is playing too well to leave on waivers. At some point when LeBron James returns, he may turn back into a pumpkin with a major minutes cut, but right now, he is cooking with the second unit and taking advantage of his opportunity.

Last night, LaRavia poured in 25 points, 8 boards, 3 assists, 4 steals, and two made threes while shooting 77% from the floor.

He's contributing across the board in everything but blocks. He's showcasing his top-notch fantasy game and just needs minutes to be productive, as we saw with him in Sacramento and Memphis.

Quenton Jackson - PG/SG (13%)

Jackson went from two DNPs to start the year to posting an incredible 25-6-10 line (three treys, three steals) against the Warriors this weekend. There's nothing but opportunity right now in Indiana, and Jackson has earned more playing time this week with that performance. He's a great pickup this week, even if it's just for the short-term.

Kevin Huerter - SG/SF (13%)

I'm trying to keep these short for guys who were on here last week, but why isn't Huerter more widely rostered? He wasn't great yesterday, but has been super consistent all season and is doing more than just score the basketball, adding 4.2 boards, 2.7 assists, and 1.0 blocks. Coby White could return later this week, but until then, Huerter should be rostered in standard leagues.

Keldon Johnson - SF/PF (9%)

Johnson has shot 50% or better from the floor in every game this season, posting a very efficient 13 and 5 on 61% from the field. His lack of peripheral stats are tough to stomach, but as a points and rebounds streamer, he has plenty of value right now.

AJ Green - PG/SG (9%)

The sharpshooter has nailed three or more treys in every game this season while shooting an impressive 57% from the floor. He does little else, but that kind of efficient three-point shooting is valuable. He's another version of Sam Merrill (but a healthy one!)

Isaiah Joe - SG (9%)

Joe wasted little time putting up points off the bench after returning from injury last week. He's already averaging 16.5 points per game and four three-pointers through his first two games and giving OKC the type of scoring punch they need with their second unit.

Ryan Dunn - SF/PF (9%)

Dunn, like Royce O'Neale, has benefited the most from Dillon Brooks's absence in the Suns' lineup. He's put up two really solid games in a row and offers some defensive stats to go with points and rebounds. As long as Brooks it out, Dunn is worth a look.

Jusuf Nurkic - C (9%)

I did not think I would be typing Nurk's name this season, but a shoulder injury to Walker Kessler has thrust Nurkic into the starting lineup at center for Utah. His minutes probably will max out around 20 to 25, as Utah has a ton of guys they want to play and can move Kyle Filpowski to center, too, but Nurk does enough on a per-minute basis to make him relevant for however long his run as the starter may be.

Deep League Adds - Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire for Week 3

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

Terance Mann - SG/SF (7%)

I swore off any Brooklyn players this season, but that doesn't count streamers, right? Mann is seeing a lot of run to start the year and producing some usable numbers, especially his recent uptick in assists and steals. He's a high FG% guard who can rebound, which is always something that catches my eye.

Jock Landale - C (6%)

Landale continues to start for Memphis at center and has put together a few really nice games in a row. He offers solid FG%, points, and boards, but has not done much on the defensive end. He should continue to function as their starting center for at least another week or two until the Grizzlies get some healthy big men back.

Luke Kennard - PG/SG (6%)

Kennard is set for an uptick in minutes and possibly usage with Trae Young's injury. Nickeil Alexander-Walker is the starter at point guard with Keaton Wallace backing him up, but Kennard should play a big role off the bench. With Wallace hurt, he played 32 minutes last night and drilled three treys, finishing with 15 points. He's yet another efficient three-point shooter who can also chip in with some assists.

Max Christie - SG/SF (6%)

Christie has started three straight games for Dallas, and his last effort against Detroit was his best as he went 13-6-5. We saw him play like this for the Lakers for a stretch last season (and in Dallas after the trade), producing some efficient threes, points, and a handful of assists. He's a nice stream until Dallas sorts out this mess of a roster.

Collin Murray-Boyles - PF (5%)

Jakob Poeltl's injury has opened up minutes for the Raptors' first-round pick, and after a few underwhelming performances, he finally posted an excellent line last night against Memphis. The big man had 15 points, 9 boards, 5 assists, and 3 steals across 31 minutes for Toronto and should continue to see some solid playing time while Poeltl is out.

Jaylon Tyson - SF (5%)

The Cavs have given second-year swingman Tyson a lot of playing time recently, mainly because they have needed healthy bodies. But Tyson has been impressive in his last three games, scoring 18, 18, and 19 points on some solid shooting. His role will surely diminish once Darius Garland and Sam Merrill return (and eventually Max Strus), but give him a look in the meantime.

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