The fantasy basketball playoffs get closer by the day and may even start next week if you are in a league that has moved the start of the playoffs back as early as Week 19. It's do-or-die time, and you need to do whatever it takes to secure that playoff spot!
Most leagues have a weekly moves cap, and some have season-long caps. Always check your league settings to plan how many moves you want to make each week. This week I am going to include MORE names with shorter blurbs, to give you a lot of options!
I am a big 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. I'll give you my top adds for standard leagues (20-40% rostered) and deeper formats (less than 20% rostered) every week, as well as the schedule breakdown for all 30 teams. Let's see who we should be eyeing to add to our teams in Week 18!
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Week 18 Schedule Breakdown (3/3 - 3/9)
- All teams play three or four games
- Three Games in four Days: ATL, BOS, CLE, GSW, HOU, LAC, NOP, NYK, PHI
- Mon-Tues B2B: ATL, GSW, HOU, PHI
- Tue-Wed B2B: CLE, LAC, MIL, MIN
- Wed-Thurs B2B: BOS
- Thurs-Fri B2B: NYK
- Fri-Sat B2B: CHA, MIA, TOR
- Sat-Sun B2B: DET, NOP
| Team | Games | MON | TUES | WED | THURS | FRI | SAT | SUN |
| Atlanta Hawks | 4 | @MEM | MIL | IND | IND | |||
| Boston Celtics | 3 | POR | PHI | LAL | ||||
| Brooklyn Nets | 3 | @SA | GS | @CHA | ||||
| Charlotte Hornets | 4 | GS | MIN | CLE | BKN | |||
| Chicago Bulls | 3 | CLE | @ORL | @MIA | ||||
| Cleveland Cavaliers | 4 | @CHI | MIA | @CHA | @MIL | |||
| Dallas Mavericks | 4 | SAC | @MIL | MEM | PHO | |||
| Denver Nuggets | 3 | SAC | PHO | @OKC | ||||
| Detroit Pistons | 4 | @UTA | @LAC | @GS | @POR | |||
| Golden State Warriors | 4 | @CHA | @NY | @BKN | DET | |||
| Houston Rockets | 4 | @OKC | @IND | @NO | NO | |||
| Indiana Pacers | 3 | HOU | @ATL | @ATL | ||||
| Los Angeles Clippers | 4 | @PHO | DET | NY | SAC | |||
| Los Angeles Lakers | 3 | NO | NY | @BOS | ||||
| Memphis Grizzlies | 4 | ATL | OKC | @DAL | @NO | |||
| Miami Heat | 4 | WAS | @CLE | MIN | CHI | |||
| Milwaukee Bucks | 4 | @ATL | DAL | ORL | CLE | |||
| Minnesota Timberwolves | 4 | PHI | @CHA | @MIA | SA | |||
| New Orleans Pelicans | 4 | @LAL | HOU | @HOU | MEM | |||
| New York Knicks | 3 | GS | @LAL | @LAC | ||||
| Oklahoma City Thunder | 4 | HOU | @MEM | POR | DEN | |||
| Orlando Magic | 3 | TOR | CHI | @MIL | ||||
| Philadelphia 76ers | 4 | POR | @MIN | @BOS | UTA | |||
| Phoenix Suns | 3 | LAC | @DEN | @DAL | ||||
| Portland Trail Blazers | 4 | @PHI | @BOS | @OKC | DET | |||
| Sacramento Kings | 4 | @DAL | @DEN | SA | @LAC | |||
| San Antonio Spurs | 3 | BKN | @SAC | @MIN | ||||
| Toronto Raptors | 3 | @ORL | UTA | WAS | ||||
| Utah Jazz | 4 | DET | @WAS | @TOR | @PHI | |||
| Washington Wizards | 3 | @MIA | UTA | @TOR |
Standard Leagues - Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire for Week 18
Percent owned numbers for Yahoo! "Standard Leagues" refer to 10- or 12-team leagues.
Stephon Castle - PG/SG (35%)
If the last two games (21-5-6) are any indication of what Castle could bring to the table the rest of the way, you should be investing in the rookie who continues to improve as the season goes along.
Scoot Henderson - PG (34%)
Scoot has been a bubble player for standard leagues for most of the season, but lately, his arrow is pointing up and the Blazers have no reason not to give him 30 minutes down the stretch.
Keldon Johnson - SG/SF/PF (34%)
The days to grab Johnson are nearly gone, he's jumped up 20% in rostership just this week. He's settled into a very productive bench role for the Spurs and has been one of the biggest benefactors of the Wemby injury in terms of his production.
Bol Bol - PF/C (32%)
The Suns are a disaster in real life as they simply can't figure out how to win despite having a very talented roster. But one bright spot lately has been Bol Bol's play as posted three straight impressive stat lines since re-entering the starting lineup.
Bol Bol put in WORK in the Suns' victory!
💪 25 PTS
💪 2 BLK
💪 5 3PMA new season high in PTS for the PHX center. pic.twitter.com/Y6bk1BF4xd
— NBA (@NBA) March 1, 2025
He did this before, only to get benched for a three-game stretch, but I like his chances of sticking this time.
Nick Richards - C (31%)
We thought Richards would erupt as the starting center in Phoenix, but he's been incredibly inconsistent and Phoenix has resisted playing him major minutes at times. But he's played 29 and 31 minutes in his last two games and - no surprise - posted a double-double in each.
Yves Missi - C (29%)
I've been holding Missi in a few leagues all season and I almost cut him after a 12-minute outing against Sacramento earlier this month. But I am glad that I held as we've him re-emerge lately with three straight solid outings, including a season-high in scoring against Phoenix on Friday when he dropped 24 points.
If he's going to play 28 to 30 minutes a night the rest of the way, he's a cheap double-double who also can block some shots. The Pelicans are fully embracing the tank, and I won't be surprised if they shut down CJ McCollum and Zion Williamson soon.
Zach Collins - PF/C (29%)
Collins is one of the hottest commodities on the wire right now. With Nikola Vucevic out again today and a potential shutdown looming, Collins could be a real difference-maker for "Silly Season," and we've seen him do it before.
Giddey with the perfect feed to Zach Collins 🤝@CHSN__ | #SeeRed pic.twitter.com/BL0Wfi4qcJ
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) March 1, 2025
His last three games - since entering the starting lineup - have resulted in averages of 18 points, 11.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.0 threes, and 2.0 stocks.
Aaron Wiggins - SG/SF (26%)
I mentioned Wiggins last week. It's never going to be sexy production, but he's solidified himself as the sixth man for OKC and he's offering very steady production in points, threes, and percentages.
Guerschon Yabusele - PF/C (24%)
Joel Embiid is done for the season, and his career is even in jeopardy. Andre Drummond is a one-dimensional veteran who offers very little on offense. Yabusele went for 18-6-5 last night against the Warriors and nailed five threes, showing off his versatility.
Zaccharie Risacher - SF (22%)
I've been banging the drum for Risacher now for a few weeks, but his rostership has been slow to catch up to his production. He's scored in double digits in seven of his last eight games and has been drilling 2.2 treys over the last two weeks. He's coming on and has a very secure role as the Hawks are depleted on the wings.
Deeper Leagues - Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire for Week 18
Percent owned numbers for Yahoo! "Deeper Leagues" refer to 14-team leagues or more.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker - SG/SF (17%)
The player we have come to know as "NAW" has carved out some low-end value by playing huge minutes for the Wolves lately. The FG% will never be all that great, but it's hard to argue against his recent production as he's averaged 16-3-2 with 2.8 treys over the last two weeks.
Day'Ron Sharpe - C (17%)
Sharpe's managers are probably frustrated that he continues to play only around 18 minutes a game as a reserve most nights. But if he's going to explode any time that Nicolas Claxton rests (as he did for a 25-15-5-2-3 line against OKC), then he's worth hanging onto until we see what Brooklyn plans to do with their rotations down the stretch. Don't forget they have a five-game week next week, too!
Aaron Nesmith - SF/PF (16%)
Nesmith had a four-game stretch of double-digit scoring come to an end on Friday night, but he was still out there for 35 minutes and appears to have locked down the starting spot at small forward in Indiana for the time being.
Kris Dunn - PG/SG (15%)
Dunn has gone nuts lately with Norman Powell out of the lineup. He could single-handedly win you the steals category with his current rate of thievery as he's racked up 31 steals in his last ten games!
Moses Moody - SG/SF (13%)
Moody is an underrated player in real life, but in fantasy, he's just barely doing enough to be rosterable since he's the fifth option on offense while in the starting lineup.
The Warriors are now 11-0 when Moses Moody starts. pic.twitter.com/iWapb9DcWb
— WarriorsMuse (@WarriorsMuse) February 28, 2025
He cracked the top 100 over the last two weeks, however, as he's been a fantastic low-volume scorer with great shooting percentages and some sneaky blocks (0.8 per game).
Georges Niang - SF/PF (10%)
The guy whom Josh Hayes of RotoBaller Radio refers to as "the Minivan" has done just enough to be worth using in deeper leagues. The shooting is not pretty (and neither is his game, in general), but the low-end production and minutes have been there.
Karlo Matkovic - PF/C (10%)
He bombed on Friday night after a sweet 17-10 outing the night before, and his game log is a roller coaster right now. But at some point, if Zion is finally shut down, we could see Matkovic emerge as a Silly Season winner - don't forget about him!
The Single Digit Crowd (Super Deep Leagues)
- Cason Wallace - PG/SG (9%)
- Killian Hayes - PG/SG (9%)
- Davion Mitchell - PG/SG (9%)
- Terrence Shannon Jr. - SG (7%)
- Kevin Huerter - SG/SF (6%)
- Jordan Hawkins - SG (4%)
- Jabari Walker - SF/PF (3%)
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