Very rarely are fantasy leagues won solely via the draft. Sure, a manager can hit on every pick regarding production and health, but successfully navigating the waiver wire remains essential. With that in mind, below are some of the top waiver wire pickups of the season, starting with a guard who was one of the NBA’s most improved players.
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While a few of the most valuable players made good on their expected value, others exceeded expectations in a major way.
G Ryan Rollins, Milwaukee Bucks
Rollins was one of the best waiver wire additions of the season, as his value did not fall off after the initial rush to pick him up. The Bucks guard posted career-best averages in points, rebounds, assists, steals and three-pointers. The one issue that may keep Rollins out of Most Improved Player conversations is Milwaukee’s lackluster season. But the team’s struggles don’t erase the fact that he was far more valuable than fantasy managers expected Rollins to be.
G/F Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Atlanta Hawks
While he did start two of the Hawks’ first three games, Alexander-Walker did not become a must-add player in fantasy leagues until Trae Young injured his knee during an October 29 game against the Nets. From Halloween onward, NAW started 69 of the 73 games he appeared in, averaging 21.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.3 steals, 0.5 blocks and 3.3 three-pointers in 33.6 minutes, shooting 46.2 percent from the field and 90.4 percent from the foul line. Yes, some took a late-round flier on Alexander-Walker. But he wasn’t hard to find on waiver wires in late October, either.
F Saddiq Bey, New Orleans Pelicans
After missing all of last season recovering from a torn ACL and moving to a new team, Bey was not on the radar of many fantasy managers last fall. That initially changed in December, with the Pelicans forward averaging 17.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.1 three-pointers per game. Bey would be even more productive from mid-January onward, averaging 19.9 points on 45.8 percent shooting in his final 38 games. Unless your season ran through Week 24, as Bey missed the Pelicans’ final three games, he likely provided solid value during the fantasy playoffs.
C Neemias Queta, Boston Celtics
What Queta would bring to the table in his first season as a starting center was unknown to just about everyone outside of the Celtics organization. The fifth-year center offered top-100 fantasy value for the East’s No. 2 seed, averaging 10.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.8 steals and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 65.3 percent from the field and 70.3 percent from the foul line. Each average was a career best for Queta, who has a team option worth just under $2.7 million for next season.
G/F Cason Wallace, Oklahoma City Thunder
While teammate Ajay Mitchell also offered solid fantasy value, Wallace appeared in 77 games this season to Mitchell’s 57. The third-year guard’s averages of 8.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.3 three-pointers per game were modest but still good enough to be close to a top-100 player in category leagues. Oklahoma City’s depth limits Wallace’s fantasy ceiling, but injuries to key players gave him more opportunities to shine throughout the course of this season.
G/F Julian Champagnie, San Antonio Spurs
Champagnie started the Spurs’ first nine games of the season, but the production wasn’t much to write home about on most nights. However, he would return to the starting five for good just before the calendar flipped to 2026, and the fourth-year wing finished with career-high averages in points, rebounds, assists, steals and three-pointers. Also, Champagnie’s availability has been excellent, as he appeared in all 82 games for a second consecutive season.
F/C Precious Achiuwa, Sacramento Kings
A superior option for points league formats than category leagues, Achiuwa was one of the better post-All-Star break adds in fantasy basketball. In 25 games, the Kings forward averaged 15.7 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocks in 31.0 minutes, shooting 55.5 percent from the field. Keegan Murray‘s injury woes opened the door for the former first-round pick, and he would ultimately provide solid value to those needing frontcourt help in the final two months of the regular season.
C Maxime Raynaud, Sacramento Kings
Like Achiuwa, injuries opened up opportunities for Raynaud to emerge as a worthwhile waiver wire pickup. Kings starting center Domantas Sabonis (knee) made his final appearance of the season on February 4. Raynaud started each of the team’s final 30 games, posting averages of 16.8 points, 9.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.6 blocks in nearly 32 minutes while shooting 59.2 percent from the field and 82.7 percent from the foul line.
F Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
Tatum wasn’t your run of the mill waiver wire add, and there were certainly those who drafted the Celtics star and stashed him in hopes of a return. However, there were also the skeptics who left him alone, prompting a mad dash to computers and smartphones once it became clear that a return was on the horizon. In 16 games, he averaged 21.8 points, 10.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.4 steals and 2.9 three pointers in 32.6 minutes. Peak Tatum? No. Good enough to help fantasy managers win their leagues? Absolutely.
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