By the All-Star break, most teams have played 60-65% of their games. Despite being called the second half, it’s really the season’s final quarter. In fantasy basketball, this is when crucial roster decisions, trades and playoff spots are decided. With fantasy playoffs underway and the season almost over, here are seven players who elevated their performance after the break to help fantasy managers.
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Stars who turned it up late
Desmond Bane, Orlando Magic
9-cat rank: 55th ➡️ 10th I Points rank: 45th ➡️ 36th
Bane came to Orlando as one of the best players never to make an All-Star team and has been proving it since the break. A jump from 55th to 10th in 9-category formats was aided by Franz Wagner’s injury, but also by finally finding his footing in his new environment.
Over 18 games since the All-Star break, he’s averaging 22-4-4 with 53/43/90 shooting splits. He’s sporting a ridiculous 66% true shooting percentage while also adding 1.4 steals to just 1.4 turnovers playing nearly 35 minutes a night. Oh, and when factoring in his perfect attendance (he hasn’t missed a game yet) with that top-tier efficient production, Bane has become one of the most reliable fantasy assets down the stretch in 9-cat leagues.
Bam Adebayo, Miami Heat
9-cat rank: 60th ➡️ 17th I Points rank: 60th ➡️ 6th
Bam’s moved mountains since the break. Scoring 83 points in a game — the second-highest single-game total in NBA history — will certainly help inflate his numbers. Still, Adebayo’s numbers have been trending up since Feb. 15, averaging 26-10-3. He’s improved his fantasy points per game (FPPG) to 48, an increase of over 10 points from earlier in the season. As if the 83-point game wasn’t enough, he notched his first 30-20 game in Week 21.
The leap from being the 60th player in both formats with two-thirds of the season complete and morphing into a top-20 and top-10 value, respectively, is quite impressive. The Heat are in the midst of a five-game losing streak, so there will likely be another spike game from Bam incoming for fantasy managers to rage about.
Donovan Clingan, Portland Trail Blazers
9-cat rank: 52nd ➡️ 13th I Points rank: 69th ➡️ 20th
A 39-spot climb in 9-cat formats since the break is the kind of movement that wins fantasy championships. Through 16 contests since mid-February, he’s averaging 14.8 points, 12.4 boards, 2.5 assists, 3.2 stocks and hitting 1.4 3s while shooting 51.6% from the floor. He’s averaging 41 fantasy points per game and has registered a double-double in seven of his last eight outings.
Clingan’s confidence has grown tremendously after the break, launching more 3s (3.6/g) and knocking them down at a 38% clip. Between the improvement in shooting and his ability to snatch up 4.6 offensive rebounds per game (leads the league), he provides the perfect balance of rim protection, glass cleaning, efficiency and shooting for a modern big in fantasy.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Atlanta Hawks
9-cat rank: 42nd ➡️ 14th I Points rank: 69th ➡️ 59th
NAW was already beating expectations, ranking 42nd before the break. Since then, he’s become a top-15 asset, thanks to enhanced efficiency: 52% from the floor, 96% at the line and 47% on 3s with over 7.0 attempts per game. His steal numbers have climbed to 1.7 per contest over his last 15 games, too.
The efficiency gains partially masked the minimal improvement in his points leagues, as his FPPG only went from 33.3 to 33.7 post All-Star break. Still, NAW is one of the best values from the preseason and is showing no signs of slowing down for fantasy managers in the playoffs.
Waiver wire heroes
Precious Achiuwa, Sacramento Kings
Post All-Star: 9-cat rank: 31st I Points rank: 49th
Achiuwa has been one of the best waiver additions from the final quarter of the season. Since the All-Star break, he’s collected six double-doubles in the last 16 games while averaging 16-10-2 with over 2 stocks in 32 minutes, shooting 57% from the floor.
He’s playing his way into becoming a hot commodity in free agency, helping fantasy managers in the process by chipping in across nearly every category except for 3s and FT percentage. He’s doing numbers in points leagues as well, transforming into a top-50 guy, averaging 35 FPPG since mid-February. It’s the best basketball he’s played in his life and we can thank the Kings for somehow letting vets cook while also actively tanking.
Maxime Raynaud, Sacramento Kings
Post All-Star: 9-cat rank: 48th I Points rank: 55th
The 2025 second-round pick who spent time in the G League earlier this season has become one of the more valuable waiver wire stories in the league. Over 16 contests since the All-Star break, the rookie center is averaging 17.9 points, 9.3 boards, 2.1 assists and 0.8 blocks per game.
Sacramento’s frontcourt is thin, leaving Raynaud to handle a bulk of the duties in the paint and he’ll continue to do so the rest of the way. He’s a league-winner type of pick-up.
Ace Bailey, Utah Jazz
Post All-Star: 9-cat rank: 33rd I Points rank: 63rd
Bailey is getting more playing time post-All-Star because the Jazz are being conservative with their veterans, often holding them out of the lineup for injury or rest. Bailey was one of my top pickups in High Score this week and he continues to score at a high rate, recording 33, 25 and 37 points in his last three games. The 37-point outburst was a career-high, along with hitting 7 3s!
Since the break, he’s averaging over 19 points, 5 rebounds, and nearly 4 triples per game. While the increased scoring is great, his defense has also quietly improved his categorical ranking: he’s collected 15 steals and 16 blocks over his last 14 games. This adds significant value to his fantasy profile, especially as Bailey was initially pegged as a scorer who can rebound with not much of an impact on the defensive end. Seeing him thrive and make a push towards All-Rookie honors has been a nice come-up for fantasy managers.
Reed Sheppard, Houston Rockets
Post All-Star: 9-cat rank: 35th I Points rank: 70th
Sheppard spent the first part of the season frustrating managers who expected a breakout (me included). It’s nice to see Ime Udoka slowly coming around to the idea of the Rockets giving more floor time to Sheppard as the primary ball-handler who can also shift off-ball to provide the much-needed shooting that they often lack.
Dating back to Feb. 15, he’s averaging 16.1 points on 39.1% 3-point shooting, 4.6 assists, 3.5 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 1.0 blocks across 31 minutes per game. The stock combination has been a game-changer for his value, as that’s the type of Derrick White, SGA outlier defensive production that you don’t typically see from guards. Houston is a mess, but they have no choice but to play Sheppard heavy minutes til the end of the season to maximize their seeding and positioning heading into the playoffs.
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