Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Pickups and Streamers for Week 5 (2026): 11/16 to 11/22

November 15, 2026

Thunder Dan's fantasy basketball waiver wire pickups for Week 5 of the 2026-27 NBA season. Consider these players as fantasy basketball adds, streamers, and stashes.

What a great-looking week of games coming up. I love it when the schedule starts to balance out, and we have more of these awesome 6 to 9-game slates. As someone who does daily content, it makes my life a lot easier, and as someone who likes to stream players, it's also a beautiful thing.

Let's all take a big, collective deep breath. This is a long season, and it might sound cliché, but "it's a marathon, not a sprint." Short-term pickups are usually a good idea, but don't drop players with long-term upside for these marginal short-term gains! If you have the roster spots free to stream aggressively, however, you should do it!

I've been informed (by many of you) that 25% or lower for the Yahoo rostership threshold might be a bit low and that there are some very solid pickups in the next band of rostership. For you 10-team leaguers, I'm going to expand to 35% this week, but the remainder of my picks and analysis are aimed at 12-team leagues or deeper. As always, feel free to hit me up on X or Reddit with specific questions, but always include your league size, roster depth, and league scoring format.

Week 5 Schedule Breakdown (11/16 to 11/22)

These ratings are now generated using team statistics from this season.

Schedule Highlights

• Only two games from the Hornets - yuck. Brandon Miller is supposed to return today; he's probably the only guy I keep active in a weekly lineups league.
• Wednesday is the only day with double-digit games, and we have at least four games on every day. You know what that means -plenty of streaming opportunities!
• Boston and New York have four-game weeks with the coveted Saturday-Sunday B2B to end the week.

Standard League Adds: Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire for Week 5

Percent-owned numbers for Yahoo! "Standard League" refers to 12-team leagues.

Cameron Johnson - SF/PF (33%)

It's your weekly reminder that Cam Johnson should be rostered in standard formats. He's now inside the top-140 with room to grow. There's simply no good reason why DeMar DeRozan is rostered in the same number of leagues! Oh, and the Nuggets have the top-rated four-game week on the board!

Egor Demin - PG/SG (27%) 

Cam Spencer - PG (24%)

Cam got a spot start for Ty Jerome yesterday and delivered a beautiful 17-and-8 with 3 threes and two steals on 60% shooting. I compared him to Steve Nash recently, and perhaps that's a tad bullish, but this kid is fantastic.

Last laugh of the half 🔥 https://t.co/98Yg2m9WQt

— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) November 15, 2026

He should be held while Scotty Pippen Jr. remains out, and especially since Ty Jerome could rest in one of the next games in a B2B series this week, too.

Meleek Thomas - SG (24%)

Last night's game was an aberration as the Cavs benched all their veterans. However, let's not ignore the fact that Thomas and the other Cavs young guys beat Dallas, who was playing their starters. Thomas had 20-4-2 on 47% shooting and was already seeing his role grow in recent weeks. He's played well enough to hang onto a role even when Cleveland gets healthy.

De'Andre Hunter - SF/PF (23%)

Hunter is a pretty limited fantasy player, but he's scoring the ball well lately and is coming off a 24-point game against Portland in 42 minutes! He's played 30+ minutes now in eight straight games and is clearly locked into the rotation even with Keegan Murray back.

If you need points and threes with a handful of boards and steals, then Hunter is a nice add for the second half of the week as the Kings play three games in four days from Wednesday to Saturday.

Tristan da Silva -  SF/PF (22%)

It was a bummer that da Silva missed two games this week, but if he was dropped in your league, I think he's still an add. He started on Friday night and had a modest 12-6-2 with two threes, but played 31 minutes. He's going to stick in the rotation as either the starter or get big minutes off the bench.

Derrick Jones Jr. - SF/PF (21%)

DJJ has been on the list now for a few weeks, and he continues to produce some viable stats. Over the last two weeks, he's playing 29 minutes a night and putting up 11 points, 5 rebounds, 1.8 threes, and 1.6 blocks. Don't sleep on him; he's a nice end-of-your-bench piece in 9-CAT.

Kelly Oubre Jr. - SF/PF (20%)

Oubre has played his way into a bigger role in Indiana. He's started the last two games and logged 30 minutes in each. He's not a great fantasy player anymore, but he can put up some serviceable numbers in points, boards, steals, and threes. He's certainly worth a look in the short term.

Bones Hyland - PG/SG (17%)

Bones has seen 20+ minutes in Minnesota's last two games, and poured in 24 points and 5 threes against Dallas in a blowout. He's now scored in double digits in five of his last six and seven of his last nine games. His game is pretty limited to scoring, threes, and some steals, but a 20-minute role for Bones puts him on the radar.

Danny Wolf - PF/C (17%)

Wolf continues to stick in the starting lineup for the Nets, who are playing extremely big with Wolf, Day'Ron Sharpe, MPJ, and Julius Randle all in the starting lineup. He had a great week this week and is seeing his rostership shoot up quickly.

I have always been a fan of his fantasy game; he can pass and shoot better than most big men.

Kevin Huerter - SG/SF (15%)

The red-haired three-point assassin is enjoying a pretty darn good run right now as the Pistons' main bench gunner. He's putting up 14-2-3 with 2.0 threes, 1.0 steals, and 1.8 blocks in 28 minutes over his last six games. The blocks are fluky, and his 51.6% shooting is due for some regression, but he's a good fantasy player with minutes.

Headband Huerter with a triple on one end.
A block on the other. https://t.co/WeVhXOhP5A

— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) November 15, 2026

I'm riding him until Jalen Duren gets back, and then we have to see how the rotation shakes out. But Detroit needs outside shooting on the floor, so expect Huerter and Duncan Robinson to continue to have significant roles.

Isaiah Stewart - PF/C (13%)

That's two games in a row now that Zach Edey has missed, and I am sure you are all being very rational with your reactions. I don't have any Edey shares, but I would be nervous, too. Meanwhile, "Beef Stew" has been filling in admirably at center, even in fairly limited minutes. His shot-blocking comes with solid percentages, so I like streaming him knowing that he won't take any of my efficiency categories.

It's a four-game week for Memphis, with a B2B on Wednesday-Thursday, so even if Edey does return to the lineup, we could see him sit out one of those games.

Santi Aldama - PF (13%)

So Daniel Gafford went down last night (oh, really, I didn't expect that!), and while it was Morez Johnson Jr. who was the direct sub for Gafford, Aldama closed the game out for Dallas in the fourth quarter at center.

It may have just been a matchup thing with the Cavs playing small, but Aldama is the guy I'd add, with Johnson also deserving some consideration.

Mo Bamba - C (10%)

Jaxson Hayes is out today, so expect Bamba to start at center for the Jazz. We don't know how long Hayes will be out, but this is likely a short-term add anyway, since Jusuf Nurkic's return looms.

Utah has a nice four-game week with a few great spots for centers (Phoenix and Dallas, namely), so ride the Bamba block train to a win.

Keldon Johnson - SF/PF (10%)

I hope you listened on Keldon last week. I told you that the Spurs had four games and that they'd probably blow everyone out! They did exactly that, except for the Bulls game, which they had to come from behind to win. But anyways, the point is Johnson had a really solid week and is an excellent streamer for points, boards, and percentages while Tobias Harris remains out.

Deep League Adds - Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire for Week 5

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

Tyrese Proctor - PG/SG (10%)

Proctor was added in so many leagues yesterday that he nearly moved up into the standard league part of the article. He was 2% rostered before yesterday's game, friends. But I guess a triple-double gets people's attention! Proctor had 22 points in 27 minutes on Friday night, too, so he's clearly coming on strong and playing well.

CLEVELAND: NEXT. MAN. UP!

With no player available averaging 25+ MPG coming into tonight, Cleveland's bench stepped up to the challenge and secured the W 🔥

Tyrese Proctor: 24p, 11r, 10a, 4 threes
Mario Hezonja: 22p, 7r, 4a
Meleek Thomas: 20p, 4r, 3 threes
Thomas Bryant: 19p, 11r
Jaylon Tyson: 18p, 4r, 4a, 3 threes

— NBA (@NBA) November 15, 2026

The only buzzkill is that the Cavs have a lot of mouths to feed. Sam Merrill is still hurt and will likely need minutes eventually, but in the short term, I think Proctor and Thomas are both going to get run for the Cavs.

Jaylon Tyson - SG/SF/PF (9%)

Tyson has been back from injury for three games now. He drew the start on Friday night for Evan Mobley and then posted 18-4-4 in last night's win. He's probably the safest of these Cavs bench guys for minutes, as he was already locked into a sixth-man role before Cleveland started losing players to injury.

Patrick Williams - SF/PF (8%)

Time is a flat circle! Yes, Patrick Williams is back in our lives and is doing impressive things on the basketball court again.

PATRICK WILLIAMS CLUTCH 3 🔥

Up to 15 PTS on the night https://t.co/QWi8xE6ntn

— Bulls on CHSN (@CHSN_Bulls) November 15, 2026

The Leonard Miller experience didn't exactly work out in the regular season, and P-Will has had a chance to get back into the rotation since Caleb Wilson went down. Now Jalen Smith is hurt, too, so look for Williams, Miller, and even Zach Collins to help pick up the slack at the 4 and the 5 while Nicolas Claxton is being eased back into regular minutes.

Terrence Shannon Jr. - SG/SF (8%)

It didn't work out the first time we added him, as he quickly got hurt and has had to work his way back into minutes. However, Jaylen Clark went down last night, and TSJ finished with 14 points in 22 minutes. He's played 20+ minutes now in two straight games, and the Wolves have a four-game week with a B2B against Portland on Monday and Tuesday to kick it off.

Dylan Cardwell - PF/C (7%)

I am a sucker for Cardwell, I admit it. I love how hard he plays, and he's shown a unique ability to rack up steals and blocks in bunches while also being a force on the glass. The minutes are not quite where we want them yet, but with Precious Achiuwa nursing an injury and Maxime Raynaud still not playing, Cardwell deserves a look this week.

Jordan Poole - PG/SG (6%)

While I'd rather not roster any Pelicans right now, I think Poole is worth a look for deep leagues with the announcement that Dejounte Murray is likely not returning to the team anytime soon. Trey Murphy has been hurt, too, and Poole has averaged 12 points, 3.3 assists, and 1.3 threes over his last three.

Charles Bassey - C (5%)

The Warriors need warm bodies, especially in the front court. Bassey is capable of putting up solid numbers in 18-20 minutes a game. He's averaging 10 points, seven boards, and 1.0 blocks over the last two weeks in around 17 minutes a game. Those numbers will work just fine in deep leagues.

Brice Sensabaugh - SG/SF/PF (4%)

He's more of a points-league guy because all Sensabaugh does is score. But he's played pretty decent minutes in his last two games and should lead their bench unit in usage with all the injuries in Utah. For roto guys, he can boost points, threes, and FT%, but he can also damage your FG% on some bad shooting nights, so use discretion.

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