Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 1 (2024-2025): October 22 - October 27

The NBA season tips off tomorrow and you have probably completed your drafts unless you happen to be in one of those leagues that drafts the night before the season. Either way, it's great to have NBA basketball back in our lives and I am thrilled to be able to bring you my favorite weekly players to add for fantasy basketball this season!

We are going to start strong right out of the gates this season with a Week 1 piece that features some players you should snag who likely should have been drafted in your league. Did you draft an injured player who you can stash on IR and open up a spot to add a healthy player for Week 1? Or maybe you checked out of your draft before the final few rounds and got auto-picked some players you're not thrilled about. Either way, there is an opportunity this week to add some players who will have both short-term and potentially long-term value this season.

I am a big advocate of being aggressive on the waiver wire. If your league has daily lineups, you should absolutely be using that to your advantage and maximizing your games played each week 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 as well as the schedule breakdown for all 30 teams. Now let's see who we should be eyeing to add to our teams in Week 1!

Week 1 Schedule Breakdown (10/22-10/27)

Teams Playing Only Two Games: DAL, DEN, MIA, NYK, SAC, SAS, UTA, WAS

Friday-Saturday B2B: CHA, CHI, CLE, DET, HOU, LAL, MEM, ORL, PHX, TOR

Saturday-Sunday B2B: LAC, OKC

Standard Leagues - Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire for Week 1

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

Al Horford - PF/C (39% rostered)

Put some respect on Big Al's name! A late addition to the list, Horford's rostership dropped under 40% in today's update and that's unacceptable!

Yes, he's boring and he might sit out a few B2Bs, but for the first few months (at least) he should be on rosters as the Celtics will be without Kristaps Porzingis. In 19 games as a starter last season, the ageless wonder averaged 11.6 points, 7 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 0.7 steals, 1.1 blocks, and 2.5 threes. You'd be silly not to think that those numbers aren't helpful, especially on 52% from the field.

Jaime Jaquez Jr. - SF (36% rostered)

As you know, 40% is my cutoff for this piece as I don't see much value in recommending players who are rostered in 40-50% of leagues. If you are playing in a competitive 10 or 12-player league, then those players should already be rostered!

So hopefully Jaquez Jr. is off our list next week as I would expect him to get added a few more times this week thus pushing his rostership up over the threshold. I'm not sure what's not to like about the sophomore wing this season.

Yes, he's likely coming off the bench, but I think that helps his overall usage. He filled in admirably quite often last season as a starter and delivered a solid 12-4-2.5 per game on solid shooting numbers (49% from the floor, 81% from the line).

Andre Drummond - C (32% rostered)

If you employ a punt FT% strategy in H2H leagues, Drummond is a must-own player. Even if you don't, he's a solid player for the end of your bench as he's probably going to draw 20 starts this season with the news that Joel Embiid may sit out every back-to-back.

Andre Drummond tonight:

20 REB (!!)
12 PTS
3 STL
6-9 FG

How many RPG for him this season? pic.twitter.com/X8JwjEyVH1

— StatMuse (@statmuse) October 19, 2024

Drum is an elite rebounder, averaging nine boards per game last season in only 17 minutes a night. And his FT% won't hurt as bad as it used to during his days as a starter since his volume of attempts is way down (just 2.8 per game last season).

Dennis Schroder - PG (32% rostered)

It's going to be an ugly season in Brooklyn, but that doesn't mean that we can't find some fantasy value there. While I have no interest in Cam Thomas and his volume scoring, I do think Schroder should be rostered in standard formats.

He played 29 games for Brooklyn last season after being traded from Toronto and posted 14.6 points and 6.0 assists while hitting 2.1 threes per contest. He's not giving you any defensive stats and his FG% is lackluster, but you won't find players who can give you six assists on the wire very often.

Kelly Oubre Jr. - SG/SF (31% rostered)

Oubre might end up being only an early-season streamer, but with Paul George's preseason injury leaving his status up in the air for Week 1, Oubre should be on your radar. With Tobias Harris gone and PG13 potentially on the shelf, we could see Kelly functioning as the third option on offense after Embiid and Maxey.

Kelly Oubre Jr. ELECTRIC slam out of the pick-and-roll ⚡️

PHI-ORL | Live on NBA League Pass
📲 https://t.co/2pNg1MUQMJ pic.twitter.com/CC3fcNX6Z3

— NBA (@NBA) October 18, 2024

He finished last season with 15 points and five boards a game to go along with 1.5 threes, 1.1 steals, and 0.7 blocks. Once PG13 returns to the lineup, Oubre Jr.'s role will be reduced but he's still going to get minutes with the second unit.

Grayson Allen - PG/SG (32% rostered) 

Allen is moving to the bench this season but should thrive as a sixth man for the Suns. He had an impressive first year in Phoenix, nailing 2.7 threes and adding 0.9 steals while shooting 50% from the floor.

An efficient three-point assassin who won't hurt your percentages will always have a spot on my teams. Allen should be on more teams and will be a hot pickup as soon as he goes out and puts up a hot shooting night -- get ahead of the field.

Wendell Carter Jr. - C (27% rostered)

WCJ is a relatively boring fantasy player, but he's the starting center for a team that made the playoffs last season and is perfectly productive in his role, even if his minutes are capped in the 25 to 28 range.

He was good for 11 points and seven rebounds a game last year with 1.2 threes from the center position. Hopefully, he can stay healthy this season, he appeared in just 55 games for Orlando last year which destroyed most of his value.

Deeper Leagues - Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire for Week 1

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

Caris LeVert - SG/SF (22% rostered)

Sadly (I am a Cavs fan, remember), Max Strus is out for at least six weeks. That may or may not bump Caris LeVert into the starting lineup, but either way, it does mean more minutes for him on a nightly basis.

I prefer him off the bench where he can get up more shots and produce more assists, but he's a guy who can still produce in only 25 minutes a night. I expect something around 12-4-4 nightly from LeVert with close to a steal per game and he's an elite handcuff in case either Garland or Mitchell happens to miss some time.

De'Anthony Melton - PG/SG (19% rostered)

Melton loves to play defense and the Warriors need defense in a big way, which is why I think he'll find his way onto the floor for around 24 minutes a night, even if it's coming off the bench.

De'Anthony Melton with a SMOOTH delivery to Trayce Jackson-Davis 🔥pic.twitter.com/lENd6i0AhV

— Warriors Nation (@WarriorNationCP) October 19, 2024

Melton was good for 2.0 threes and 1.6 steals per game last season in a 27-minute-per-game role for Philly. His only real wart is his FG% but he also attempted fewer than 10 shots per game last season. He should be on more rosters with his skill set and path to playing time.

Gary Trent Jr. - PG/SG (16%)

Trent Jr. had a down year in Toronto but could fit nicely in Milwaukee alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard. The Bucks badly needed a "three-and-D" wing player and Trent Jr. fits the mold of what they've been looking for. He's really only a points, threes, steals fantasy asset but he could be a good one if he manages to hold onto a starting spot and get around 30 minutes per game.

Dyson Daniels - PG/SG (17%)

Daniels is a sleeper that just about every fantasy analyst has touted at some point this season, yet he's still under 20% rostered somehow -- amazing! He should probably be in the first section of this piece as I think he could end up being an add in all formats with his statistical diversity and defensive ability.

Dyson Daniels ball pressure pic.twitter.com/oJys6XxdP1

— Kevin Chouinard (@KLChouinard) October 18, 2024

Daniels is set to have a major role in Atlanta and could produce some big numbers this season with meaningful minutes. His 1.4 steals per game in just 22 minutes last year is just one example of his upside as a 30-minute role for him could push that number up to over 2.0 steals per contest.

He's shown some improved shooting, too, which would help round out his fantasy skill set nicely as he's already a plus rebounder and shot blocker for his position.

Tari Eason - SF/PF (17%)

Eason is oozing upside but has a tough path to consistent minutes as Houston's roster is loaded with young talent. I'm still enamored with his ability to stuff the stat sheet on a per-minute basis as he has averaged 1.3 steals and 0.75 blocks per game through the first two seasons of his career despite barely playing over 20 minutes a night.

Nick Richards - C (12%)

Mark Williams' status is still up in the air for the opener and Richards has a chance to start at center in his absence. He averaged close to a double-double last season in 26 minutes per game with 1.1 blocks while shooting 69% from the floor. Even if Williams does return to the lineup, Richards is a nice handcuff to own and can contribute enough stats in a bench role to be rosterable in deeper formats.

Jalen Smith - PF/C (8%)

Smith could end up carving out a nice role off the bench with the Bulls. He averaged nearly ten points a game last year in only 17 minutes with 1.0 threes while shooting 59% from the floor. He's still just 23 years old and can pile up points, boards, threes, and blocks with enough playing time.

Jalen Smith tonight:

10 PTS
8 REB
3 AST
1 STL
4/8 FG

BULLS WIN🔥 pic.twitter.com/1JSdglDcJD

— BullsMuse (@BullsMuse_) October 17, 2024

Nikola Jovic - PF/C (4%)

Jovic could start at power forward for Miami and I think he has a leg up in that position battle with Haywood Highsmith. I am a big fan of his game as he's a solid shooter from deep and an excellent passer out of the post. He's a great stash for Week 1 until we see how this rotation unfolds, he only needs about 25 minutes a night to have value in deep leagues with solid contributions in threes, boards, assists, and percentages.

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