Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Pickups and Streamers for Week 18: 2/23-3/1

February 22, 2026

Thunder Dan's fantasy basketball waiver wire pickups for Week 18 of the 2025-26 NBA season. Consider these players as fantasy basketball adds, streamers, and stashes.

We turn the calendar over to March by the end of Week 18, and the fantasy playoffs start in some leagues. There's a pretty good case for moving the playoff weeks up next year with how bad the tanking situation has gotten this year, but that's probably a conversation for another day!

For other managers who aren't yet in the playoffs, this week is likely still a crucial one in terms of battling for a playoff spot or securing a top seed. There is no shortage of widely available options, so I'll do my best to go as deep as possible and cover a wide variety of players in this one.

As a reminder, I have been using the 25% rostered threshold on Yahoo as my cutoff for standard leagues, so there could be some players not mentioned in this article who are still valuable pick-ups, especially if you play in 10-team leagues or shallower formats. For those deep-leaguers, I always feature a section of players who are rostered in 10% or fewer leagues. Here are my top waiver adds and streamers for Week 18 of the fantasy basketball season.

Week 18 Schedule Breakdown (2/23 to 3/1)

Schedule Highlights

• Two teams to avoid in this scoring period are the Clippers and Suns, who both only play TWO games.
• All the teams playing on Monday have FOUR games this week, except Utah, which only has THREE.
• The coveted Sat-Sun back-to-back to close out the week - Lakers, Pelicans, and Trail Blazers.

Standard League Adds - Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire for Week 18

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

Jalen Smith - PF/C (24%)

I am going to try to keep my analysis of some players who have appeared in this column often this year short, since I have a lot of players to cover! Smith is healthy and back in the starting lineup. Sure, he's played just 24 and 25 minutes in his first two games back, but that's honestly enough to provide some very steady value in rebounds, threes, and blocks with solid percentages.

Jay Huff - C (23%)

Huff had two very good games against the Wizards this week, highlighted by 22 points and five three-pointers in only 16 minutes on Friday night. He appears to be fairly safe from the random rest days, as the Pacers simply don't have a lot of extra big men. Like Smith, his fantasy output on a per-minute basis is quite good, and he offers a rare combination of stats for a center-eligible player.

Day'Ron Sharpe - C (23%)

Nicolas Claxton has yet to suit up since the break, meaning Sharpe has drawn two straight starts. With four games this week, and a back-to-back set in there for Brooklyn, we could see another start or two for Sharpe, who is a points-rebounds-assists machine on a per-minute basis.

GG Jackson II - SF/PF (21%)

Jackson continued his steady play with 28 points and nine boards last night against Miami, and he needed only 26 minutes to get there.

Straight down Ocean Drive 🌊

📊 @_ggjackson 5/5 FG pic.twitter.com/8YzTdszrgZ

— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) February 22, 2026

He's now averaged 15 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.6 combined steals/blocks on 53% shooting over his last 12 games. His only real wart is some substandard FT%. He's one Memphis player that we should be able to trust going forward, unlike the crowded situation in the backcourt, where Scotty Pippen Jr., Ty Jerome, and Cam Spencer are all splitting minutes and getting random rest days.

Dylan Harper - PG/SG (19%)

Harper ran his streak of double-digit scoring games to five with another solid 12-5-5 outing last night. His minutes are up, while he's not posting big scoring or assist totals, his efficiency has been vastly better. He's shooting 62% from the field over his last nine games!

Four games for the Spurs this week, and Harper is locked in his very valuable, high-usage sixth-man role.

Nolan Traore - PG (18%)

The Nets have a couple of nice rookies in the backcourt right now with Traore and Egor Demin, but it's been Traore who has been the more valuable fantasy asset since he moved into the starting lineup.

rookie backcourt makin' it happen pic.twitter.com/WqyZNgMd4z

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) February 20, 2026

Over his last six games, Traore has posted 15.7 points, 6.7 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.5 threes on 51.5% from the field. Brooklyn has been starting both rookies together lately, and anytime that Michael Porter Jr. or Claxton get rested, Traore and others are going to get some nice usage bumps. He could be a real difference-maker down the stretch and is one of my favorite pick-ups this week.

Scoot Henderson - PG (17%)

Scoot finally cooled off in his last game, but he had strung together four really good outings before that in a row since being activated. His minutes are probably capped in the 20-25 minute range, but he offers some value in assists as long as he can keep up the increased efficiency.

Marvin Bagley III - PF/C (17%)

Bagley is winning the battle for minutes at the center position in Dallas, which is not hard to believe since Daniel Gafford has been such a huge disappointment all season. He has two double-doubles since arriving in Dallas and should have some decent value in points, boards, and FG% going forward.

Gui Santos - SF/PF (17%)

Shoutout to Santos, who makes his debut as the cover athlete on the article today! I'm pretty blown away by his lack of rostership right now. Are that many managers tuned out, or do people still doubt that his production can stick?

Santos has been fantastic for the past few weeks and has picked up right where he left off after the break. Over his last nine games, he's averaging 14.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.7 steals, 0.7 blocks, and 2.0 threes on 56.5% shooting! He's arguably been the most consistent Warrior lately, and his role and minutes feel pretty secure for at least another week or two until Stephen Curry returns and Kristaps Porzingis gets back up to speed.

Brook Lopez - C (17%)

I'm not a huge Lopez fan, but I can't argue with the minutes as he's played 30+ in three straight for the Clippers. His skills are pretty clearly diminished at this stage of his career, but he can still step out and knock down threes, while also being able to block some shots.

Isaiah Joe - SG/SF (15%)

Joe has been rolling right along with 17 or more points in five of his last seven games. He's a pretty limited fantasy player, but he's been scoring the ball efficiently of late - both from behind the arc and from the free throw line, too.

Nique Clifford - SG/SF (14%)

The last three games have been rough with some pretty bleak shooting numbers, but the rookie wing is still playing 30+ minutes a night and chipping in boards, assists, and steals. I think he's worth hanging onto through this tough stretch, and he could pay off in a big way as the Kings look to rest Russell Westbrook and DeMar DeRozan more often down the stretch.

Precious Achiuwa - PF/C (14%)

The player that Josh Lloyd refers to as "the Big Sneeze" has moved into the starting lineup at power forward and posted two straight solid lines. De'Andre Hunter is out for the year, and Dylan Cardwell is out for another three weeks at least, so Precious should see plenty of run going forward.

Deep League Adds - Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire for Week 18

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

De'Anthony Melton - PG/SG (10%)

We're getting 25 minutes a night from Melton, and most nights that's been enough for him to have some low-end value in threes and steals. I think he's a solid play this week with Steph out, and hopefully he doesn't get rested on the B2B either Tuesday or Wednesday.

Tristan Vukcevic - PF/C (10%)

Vuk is questionable tonight, but is only dealing with a bad bruise on his hand, so it's not a serious injury that should keep him out long, if at all. Managers who snagged him recently may be frustrated by the 17 and 20 minutes he's played in two games since the break (as a starter with Alexandre Sarr out), but he delivered two very good stat lines in each.

He doesn't need big minutes to be productive, and he should be rostered in far more leagues given his per-minute upside.

Ousmane Dieng - PF/C (10%)

I have no clue whether the minutes stick at all, but the Bucks appear somewhat interested in auditioning Dieng here at the end of the season. Right before the break, he drew a start and went absolutely crazy, going 19-11-6-1-4. He's got a nice fantasy game, and I'm intrigued by his upside if he sticks in the rotation.

Pat Spencer - PG/SG (7%)

Spencer should be on your radar while Curry is out. He had his worst game as a starter against Boston, but still delivered seven assists and two steals in 27 minutes. He's not going to post big scoring totals, but he can chip in across the board everywhere else, other than blocks.

Devin Carter - PG (6%)

He only played five minutes last night, and managers who picked him up for this week are indignant. I have no idea what the Kings are doing, but I think Carter should eventually work his way back into a starting role, or at least a significant 25-minute role off the bench if nothing else. Stash him where you can, and hang on for another game or two if you already have him on your roster to see how the minutes shake out.

Olivier-Maxence Prosper - PF/C (6%)

The Grizzlies don't have many warm bodies to deploy at the four or the five, which has led to Prosper getting minutes in the 25 to 30 range lately. He can stretch the floor with three-point shooting, while offering some boards and defensive stats.

Jared McCain - PG/SG (6%)

McCain is taking advantage of some increased playing time with his new team, scoring 12, 13, and 21 points in his last three games while averaging 23 minutes per game over this most recent stretch.

Got his birthday buckets 🥳 pic.twitter.com/OicokxXbJH

— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) February 21, 2026

We know his game is fairly limited to points, threes, and percentages, but with SGA and Jalen Williams both out for this week and beyond, expect McCain to keep getting those minutes in a valuable bench-scorer role.

Danny Wolf - PF (5%)

The Nets have been walloped twice in a row since the break, but it probably doesn't matter too much for most of their players for fantasy, as the guys who we are most interested in are still playing pretty close to their usual minutes. Wolf only needs around 25 minutes a night to provide some solid scoring, boards, assists, and threes, and I think he can keep that up with how often MPJ is going to rest and Brooklyn's approach to giving all their first-round picks from this year some meaningful court time to develop.

Micah Potter - PF/C (3%)

Potter has played 26 minutes or more in five straight games, scoring in double-digits in his last four. Indiana will get Pascal Siakam back this week, but will continue to rest him occasionally, and they appear content giving Potter at least half the minutes (or more) at center behind Huff.

Julian Strawther - SG/SF (3%)

Here's another guy who is flying completely under the radar! Strawther has been super solid for Denver lately, both as a starter and a reserve. He moved back into the starting lineup last game and posted an impressive 19-6-4 line in 29 minutes. He's scoring the ball efficiently and should continue to see solid minutes while Aaron Gordon and Peyton Watson are out.

Good luck this week, friends, and never hesitate to reach out with questions on roster moves!

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