Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Pickups and Streamers for Week 11: 12/29/25 -1/4/26

Thunder Dan's fantasy basketball waiver wire pickups for Week 11 of the 2025-26 NBA season. Consider these players as fantasy basketball adds, streamers, and stashes.

Week 11 of the Fantasy Basketball season sees us turn the calendar over from 2025 to 2026 and contains arguably the most balanced schedule of the season so far, with only two "light days" on Tuesday and Thursday and at least eight games on the other five days.

Every team plays at least three times, and we have a bunch of teams that won't have any back-to-backs. That opens up our pool of streamers and pick-ups quite a bit, and maybe (just maybe) it will also limit the number of "injury maintenance" days for players already on your rosters.

Let's ring in the new year with a bang, as usual, the wire is pretty loaded with solid options at every position. I'll break it all down for you in Week 11 and offer up many options for leagues of all sizes.

Week 11 Schedule Breakdown (12/29 to 1/4)

Schedule Highlights

• We don't have any teams playing fewer than three games this week, so you don't have to avoid any teams specifically for pick-ups.
• Only back-to-backs: BKN, SAC (Thurs-Fri), ATL, CHA, CHI, GSW, NYK, POR, SAS (Fri-Sat), MIA, MIN (Sat-Sun)
• Twenty teams play without a back-to-back this week, so let's hope that cuts down on those rest days for key veterans!

Standard League Adds - Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire for Week 11

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

I am going back to 25% or lower as the cutoff again this week, with 10% or below being right around where I draw the line between standard league and deep league adds.

Bilal Coulibaly - SG/SF (25%)

Coulibaly has returned to the Washington lineup and made an immediate impact on the floor and in the boxscore. The Wizards won two of those games, and Coulibaly has posted three strong lines in each of those games, including the type of contributions in steals (six) and blocks (four) that we have come to expect from him.

The offense is going to come and go, but Coulibaly can contribute across the board nearly everywhere else and looks like he's playing with some renewed confidence. He's easily one of the top adds this week as the Wizards play four times and his minutes continue to trend up.

Jaylon Tyson - SG/SF (25%)

I thought Tyson's run of productivity may come to an end with the return of Evan Mobley to the lineup. However, Tyson came off the bench for 16 points, six boards, and two three-pointers on Christmas Day and followed that up with a massive 23-15 game against Houston on Saturday.

DeAndre Hunter is struggling, and the Cavs are desperate for production from other guys besides their top four. His strong play is forcing Kenny Atkinson's hand to get him on the floor, so with a four-game week upcoming, I think he's a very solid pick-up based on what we've seen him do this season already. He's a fantastic young player who is really emerging in his second season.

Brook Lopez - C (23%)

Lopez got everyone's attention when he dropped 31 points against the Blazers last Friday, drilling nine three-pointers in the process.

Brook Lopez becomes the third player in NBA history with NINE 3-PT FG in a game after turning 37, joining Stephen Curry (four times) and LeBron James (twice). pic.twitter.com/7rMSYTu4fe

— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) December 27, 2025

He took a backseat last night to Kawhi Leonard, who poured in 55 points against Detroit, but still logged a season-high 35 minutes. With John Collins banged up and Zubac on the shelf for multiple weeks, we should see 30+ minutes a night for Bro-Lo, who does enough as a rebounder and shot-blocker to be rostered, even when he's not scoring all that much. The 31-point game was a major outlier, but there's no reason Lopez can't give us something like 12-6-2 with 1.5 blocks and 1.5 threes as a starter in this Clippers offense.

Sandro Mamukelashvili - PF/C (22%)

The Raptors play on three times this week, but this is your last chance to grab Mamu before he's going to be universally rostered in competitive leagues. Jakob Poeltl's back just isn't right, and he continues to miss time. Mamu has been very good as the starting center in Toronto and has a sneaky good offensive repertoire.

Beautiful finish at the rim by Sandro Mamukelashvili.

Mamu time!!! 😤 pic.twitter.com/IIl88Vi9ov

— Omer Osman (@OmerOsman200) December 28, 2025

Mamu can give you the same type of production as Brook Lopez, with some more consistent scoring and rebounding. I have been imploring you all to pick him up; it feels like every week in this column, since the early days of the season, when he was like 5% rostered. Mamu can play, and he's getting a major opportunity for minutes with Poeltl's injury and Toronto's lack of depth in the frontcourt.

Naji Marshall - SF/PF (22%)

Marshall got moved back to the bench in Dallas's last game, but was still productive in 26 minutes. With Anthony Davis out several more games, the Mavs need scoring, and Marshall can help pick up that slack whether he's starting or not. He's been remarkably consistent for the last month, and can boost your FG%, FT%, and steals without hurting you in turnovers. He's an underrated fantasy player if you value efficiency.

Moussa Diabate - C (18%)

The Hornets will be without centers Ryan Kalkbrenner and Mason Plumlee again tonight, so Diabate should be looking at his third straight game of heavy minutes. Who knows how long this monopoly of minutes at the center position will last, but Diabate is a beast on the boards and worth a speculative add as he could end up having value even when the rookie Kalkbrenner returns, since there's evidence that the Hornets are actually better as a team with him in the lineup.

Moussa Diabaté appears in 4 of these 6 lineups. The Hornets players +/- with him on the court:

LaMelo Ball: +13.7 (-8.3 off)
Kon Knueppel +4.0 (-5.0 off)
Brandon Miller +9.7 (-3.3 off)
Tidjane Salaün +4.9 (-0.9 off)

Team is flat out better with Moussa on the court. https://t.co/UFGDEpdJsT

— Owen O’Connor (@OwenOConnorNBA) December 28, 2025

Tim Hardaway Jr. - SG/SF (16%)

THJ has been balling out for the Nuggets since being inserted into the starting lineup, scoring 19 or more points in four straight starts and drilling 20 three-pointers (5.0 per game!) He has the green light to fire away and is getting some quality looks playing alongside the elite duo of Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic.

Hardaway is a pretty one-dimensional player, but he's shooting the ball well and can be a boon to your scoring and threes while also helping out in percentages. This run won't last forever, but right now he's one of the best streamers out there and should be rostered in all formats.

Isaiah Collier - PG/SG (15%)

Collier finally had a dud against the Spurs on Saturday, playing only 15 minutes and handing out only four assists. But he had been on a tear in terms of assists before that, racking up eight or more dimes in seven straight games.

Ace Bailey is dealing with an injury, and I would expect Collier to see his minutes jump back up into the mid-20s in their next game. He does little else to help out in 9-CAT, but those assists are gold if you need help in that category, so give him a look if you need help there.

Keldon Johnson - SF/PF (15%)

Johnson has appeared in this article a bunch of times already this season, so you regulars know the drill by now. His fantasy game is a lot like Naji Marshall's but with more threes and boards. His minutes are less secure, though, as he's played as few as 14 in the last two weeks and has topped out at 25.

He does have two huge games in his last three, with 25-point and 27-point performances against OKC and Utah. Those are probably outliers, but Johnson's efficiency allows him to usually contribute 13 and 6 even in a 20-minute role.

Sam Merrill - SG/SF (13%)

Merrill is healthy and back in the starting lineup for the Cavs. His numbers won't jump off the page, but he's flirting with top-100 production this year thanks to 3.6 three-pointers per game on good percentages and low turnovers. Cleveland needs his floor spacing, and I think his role as the fifth-starter is pretty secure right now. He's locked into something like 26-28 minutes a night and can get hot from behind the arc and carry you in threes when he's going good.

Deep League Adds - Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire for Week 10

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

Egor Demin - PG (10%)

Demin is a rookie with an intriguing skill set, and he seems to be coming on lately. Before his lousy game against the Timberwolves this weekend, he had scored in double-digits in four straight, while pouring in 14 treys over that stretch.

His minutes have been steadily increasing, and perhaps the Nets finally feel comfortable giving him the majority of minutes at point guard. Sure, Cam Thomas returned to the lineup and scored 30 points in 20 minutes, but his return likely hurts guys like Terance Mann and Drake Powell on the wings.

It's a four-game week for Brooklyn, and my expectations are fairly low here, so if Demin's recent play was more of a fluke, I can always cut him and stream someone else midweek.

Pelle Larsson - SG/SF (7%)

Larrson has had two really good games since returning to the lineup and has a window for production here this week if Tyler Herro continues to miss time with his troublesome toe. It's hard to know just how much playing time he will see when the Heat are fully healthy, but he's played really well all season when given the opportunity.

Tyler Kolek - PG (7%)

Kolek torched my Cavs on Christmas Day and nearly triple-doubled in a spot start last week against Minnesota. So it was bizarre to see him only log 19 minutes in the Knicks' last game. I am not sure how those minutes are going to shake out between him, Miles McBride, and Jordan Clarkson, but I am intrigued by his skills and what he's shown when given the opportunity this season.

Max Christie - SG/SF (6%)

Christie is healthy and moved back into the lineup as a starter for the Mavericks, logging 34 and 30 minutes in his last two games. We know that he's not going to score a ton of points, but his efficiency is usually pretty good, and he can chip in with some modest threes and assists as well.

Dylan Cardwell - C (6%)

I had Cardwell in last week's article, and not much has changed with Sacramento's situation since then. He had a very productive week and logged 20 or more minutes in every game. With Sabonis on the shelf and Drew Eubanks also out, he should keep playing enough to be a big help in blocks and boards.

Spencer Jones - SG/SF (2%)

Jones has played 41 and 34 minutes in his last two games since the Nuggets are so short-handed and posted 12-8 and 14-6 in those two games with some threes and blocks. I am not sure how long that lasts, but he's worth a look with the Nuggets playing four games.

Good luck this week - and Happy New Year!

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