Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Pickups and Streamers for Week 1 (2025): 10/21 to 10/26

October 21, 2025

Thunder Dan's fantasy basketball waiver wire pickups for Week 1 of the 2025-26 NBA season. Consider these players as fantasy basketball adds, streamers, and stashes.

Fantasy Basketball has returned, and I am back for another season of NBA content here at RotoBaller. I'm "Thunder" Dan Palyo, and I was once awarded the title of Basketball Writer of the Year back in 2021 by the Fantasy Sports Writers Association. I'll be your guide this year for working the waiver wire every week and outworking the other players in your league in the pursuit of that title.

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 strong preseasons or injuries that should open up opportunities for more playing time.

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 1 Schedule Breakdown (10/21 to 10/26)

Schedule Highlights

• Chicago, Denver, Houston, New Orleans, Philadelphia, and Utah play only two games this week.
• Most valuable back-to-backs: CHA (Sat-Sun), IND (Sat-Sun)
• Most valuable streaming schedules: OKC (Tues-Thurs-Sat), IND (Thurs-Sat-Sun)

Standard League Adds - Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire for Week 1

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

Cason Wallace - PG/SG (31%)

So the threshold for standard league adds is going to start at 30% this week, and we will adjust from there. I will make an exception for Wallace, who is an absolute must-start this week, with Jalen Williams already ruled out for tonight, and he could miss another game or two this week.

Wallace should slide into the starting lineup, and he was a solid source of points, threes, and steals last season with solid efficiency. He should see around 30 minutes in the opener, and even if Williams returns by later in the week, Wallace is locked into a role in which he should see plenty of playing time this season.

Nikola Jovic - PF (29%)

I have been waiting for a Jovic breakout for several seasons, but perhaps it's finally here. Jovic started at power forward often this preseason alongside Bam Adebayo, with Kel'el Ware coming off the bench. That dynamic was really good for both Jovic's and Ware's production, though we probably shouldn't read too much into preseason stats.

Jovic has a very fantasy-friendly game and can stretch the floor while also being a plus passer. He should be on standard league rosters until we see how the Miami rotation shakes out, and a lot of these Miami guys are going to see a boost with Tyler Herro set to miss a chunk of time to start the year as well.

P.J. Washington - SF/PF (29%)

A lot of folks are down on P.J. this year with the logjam that Dallas has at the center and power forward positions. But he's coming off a fantastic fantasy season in which he averaged over one steal, block, and three per game with really solid scoring and rebounding.

With Daniel Gafford likely to miss some time this week, P.J. should pick up some more minutes. His fantasy game is good enough that he can produce even in a bench role.

Jaylen Wells - SG/SF (27%)

Memphis is banged up to start the season. Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. are both set to play on opening night, but Ty Jerome, Scotty Pippen Jr., Zach Edey, and Brandon Clarke are all out. Wells had a nice preseason, and while he is one of the last options with the first unit, he could end up getting some more high-usage minutes with the second unit, with the Memphis bench unit having so many injuries.

Collin Sexton - PG/SG (26%)

I am baffled by how widely available Sexton is! He will come off the bench for Charlotte, but is perfectly suited for that sixth-man scorer role and is an excellent source of points, assists, and solid percentages. I think he will thrive in that role for the Hornets, and he's also a LaMelo Ball injury (we know those are pretty common) away from being a top-75 guy.

Aaron Nesmith - SF (26%)

Nesmith is my kind of 9-CAT player - nice and boring! All kidding aside, his 12 points and four rebounds don't jump off the page, but he also hit 1.9 threes while shooting over 50% from the floor and keeping his turnovers under 1.0 for the second straight season.

The Pacers' role players should all have to step up and could see boosts in their counting stats this season.

Kyshawn George - SG/SF (19%)

George flashed some impressive stat lines at times last season and posted some nice numbers in preseason. You have to eat some bad FG%, but George stuffed the stat sheet with threes, steals, and blocks from the wing. With Bilal Coulibaly out to start the year, George should see plenty of run, and I expect him to improve upon last year's numbers.

Neemias Queta - PF/C (20%)

Queta is slated to start at center for Boston and brings major upside in rebounds and blocks. He's probably not going to play more than 25 minutes per night, but based on his career averages, that should be plenty of minutes to make him a potentially very valuable asset.

Davion Mitchell - PG (19%)

Mitchell should start at point guard for Miami with Herro out, and while he is a low-volume scorer, he can chip in with assists, steals, and threes. The minutes should be there for now, and Mitchell won't hurt your percentages or turnovers.

Kon Knueppel - SF (16%)

I am high on the rookie sharpshooter from Duke. He can do more than just shoot; he's a very good passer, and he could be the missing piece that makes the Hornets a playoff contender this year (as long as Ball, Brandon Miller, and Miles Bridges all stay healthy). Knueppel could be a very efficient source of points, threes, and even some assists.

Alex Caruso - SG/SF (15%)

Caruso had a tremendous postseason after having a fairly reduced role during the regular season last year. He should be pressed into more minutes and shots here this week, though, with Williams still recovering from wrist surgery. He's a steals machine who can also chip in some sneaky threes and boards from the SG position.

Deep League Adds - Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire for Week 1

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

Isaiah Jackson - C (14%)

Jay Huff - C (12%)

The Pacers' schedule is great in Week 1, and there's a chance that both Jackson and Jay Huff can carve out fantasy value in a timeshare at center. Jackson is an elite shot-blocker on a per-minute basis, but also struggles with foul trouble often. Huff can block some shots, too, but also add some threes as a stretch five.

Jackson and Huff may trade good nights, but both are worthy of being on fantasy rosters in deep leagues for now.

Cam Whitmore - SF/PF (13%)

Whitmore has generated a decent amount of buzz this preseason, as a trade to Washington may have finally opened up a path to playing time for him. He's not starting, but he should be gunning off the bench, and we know he can fill it up in a hurry. His game is a bit hollow with scoring and threes being his main contributions, but he's someone to keep an eye on (or stash for now) until we see how things play out in Washington.

Mitchell Robinson - C (11%)

Mitch Rob is slated to start at center with KAT bumping over to power forward. We will have to see how that lineup does, but it makes sense against the Cavs' twin towers on Wednesday. Robinson is a guy who has battled injuries and foul trouble often in his career, but the potential for 10+ boards and 1.5 blocks is there if he can keep his starting job.

Chris Boucher - PF/C (10%)

Boucher has been a streaming option for years when his teams have had injuries that thrust him into more playing time, but now he has a chance to possibly start and play solid minutes for a Celtics team that lacks big men with experience. His game is very fantasy-friendly, and he's always crushed it on a per-minute basis.

DEEP LEAGUE SPECIAL: Cam Spencer - SG (0%)

I mentioned the Grizzlies have both their backup point guards injured, so Spencer could see 15-20 minutes off the bench for the first few weeks of the season, which could give him enough value for deep leagues!

LIKE ROTOBALLER?

CLICK HERE, ENTER ROTOBALLER.COM, THEN CHECK THE BOX

More Fantasy Basketball Analysis