Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Pickups and Streamers for Week 12: 1/5/25 -1/11/26

January 5, 2026

Thunder Dan's fantasy basketball waiver wire pickups for Week 12 of the 2025-26 NBA season. Consider these players as fantasy basketball adds, streamers, and stashes.

As we welcome in the new year and close in on the halfway point of the fantasy basketball season, I just want to thank every one of you for reading this column and interacting with me on social media. Covering fantasy hoops is something I love to do, and the amount of support that I have received from the community has been tremendous. It helps me to keep getting up early to write and stay up late to break down those box scores.

For the second straight week, we have a very nice, balanced weekly schedule with every team playing three or four games. There are more back-to-backs this week (check the breakdown section for more details), and plenty more injuries continue to pile up, opening up opportunities for backups to have a fantasy impact for your teams.

Let's dive deep today and review as many options as possible, including those deep-league gems.

Week 12 Schedule Breakdown (1/5 to 1/11)

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.
• Valuable back-to-backs: LAL, MEM, NOP, ORL, SAS, WAS (Tue-Wed), CHA, CHI, UTA (Wed-Thu), BOS, LAC (Fri-Sat), MIA, MIN, SAS (Sat-Sun)

Standard League Adds - Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire for Week 12

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.

Nikola Jovic - PF/C (24%)

Want to hear something funny? About this time last year, I tweeted out, "Has Nikola Jovic arrived?" when promoting this very article and touting Jovic as a pick-up. Now here we are a year later, and Jovic is playing his best basketball of the season, drawing us back in with his multi-faceted game.

This would be a no-brainer add if we knew that his minutes were going to stay in the mid-20s going forward, but Tyler Herro (toe) could return any day now, and Jaime Jaquez Jr.'s ankle injury doesn't seem to be all that serious. So don't go dropping anyone with long-term value for Jovic, but he (and Pelle Larsson) could have a few more games this week with big minutes.

I am still a believer in Jovic in the long-term, but it's very likely that when Miami has everyone healthy, he'll be topping out around 15-18 minutes a night, which simply wouldn't be enough to hold onto standard-league value.

Jake LaRavia - SF/PF (22%)

I am adding LaRavia to the article retroactively, and I have no idea how I forgot to put him in this morning, other than I was up too late watching the Steelers game and had a major brain fart. He's played heavy minutes three games in a row and posted two really great stat lines in his last two. He's done this before when given the opportunity.

Ayo Dosunmu - SG/SF (22%)

Another team with injuries to monitor this week is the Chicago Bulls. Josh Giddey (hamstring) is out likely all week, Jalen Smith is in the concussion protocol, and Coby White is day-to-day with a calf injury but has missed three games in a row.

Ayo has been playing really well over the last week, seeing anywhere from 21 to 32 minutes over his last five games. He's a solid source of points, threes, and assists, and continues to shoot the ball well as he's still up over 50% from the field this season. Stream him as long as you can. I think he has another good week of production left.

Isaiah Stewart - PF/C (22%)

How is Stewart still this widely available? If you didn't notice, the Pistons lost starting center Jalen Duren (ankle) for at least a week and starting power forward Tobias Harris (hip) for at least two weeks. Stewart can play either position, but is going to start at center in the short term and has been a blocks machine this year. He's already swatted eight shots in his first two starts at center and is now up to 2.1 per game this season in just 23 minutes per game.

Your @NBA Eastern Conference Defensive Player of the Month for December...

ISAIAH STEWART pic.twitter.com/p0AwWnXvag

— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) January 2, 2026

Add him for his defense, but he's also a solid asset in percentages and boards, even if he's not scoring the ball that often.

Sandro Mamukelashvili - PF/C (18%)

Did you drop Mamu after his 4-1-1 performance in just 12 minutes off the bench last week? Shame on you! The big Euro bounced back in a big way with a near-triple-double on Saturday, going 13-12-8 with three blocks. If someone in your league dropped him, go pick him up ASAP and remember to hold him through any bumpy games - you'll ultimately be rewarded with some big performances.

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

Yes, Christian Braun is returning to the lineup this week, but he was not sharp in his first game back, scoring just three points in 24 minutes while Hardaway filled it up with 26 points and five threes off the bench. If you have THJ on your team right now, don't cut him yet - remember that Cameron Johnson is out still and that the Nuggets need scorers to help fill the void left behind by Nikola Jokic's absence.

I think Hardaway should continue to see some decent run as the sixth man, even with Braun and Aaron Gordon sliding back into the lineup.

Isaiah Collier - PG/SG (16%)

Without sounding like a broken record, let me remind you that assists are the hardest statistic to find on the waiver wire and that Collier averages 6.6 dimes per game this season. He's doing it on 50% shooting from the field, too, so he won't drag down your FG% if you value efficiency.

Max Christie - SG/SF (14%)

Christie makes his return to the column this week, only he's been moved up to the standard league conversation after another terrific week of production. His numbers on the season won't knock you over (12-3-2 with 2.4 threes and 0.9 combined blocks/steals); however, his recent stretch of production is a glimpse at what he could offer if he continues to improve and trend up the rest of the season.

Make way for MAX 👀 pic.twitter.com/c7gOMKHOS0

— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) January 4, 2026

He's been incredible from beyond the arc, leading the NBA with a 46% mark from deep, and that efficiency gives him a lot of appeal for 9-CAT leagues. He's been one of the best players on this team over the last few weeks, and I think the Mavericks are finally realizing how much value he offers to their offense as a shot-maker alongside Cooper Flagg and Anthony Davis.

Caleb Love - PG/SG (13%)

Love continues to make the most of his opportunities with Portland as Jrue Holiday (calf) remains out, as well as Jerami Grant (Achilles). He's a less efficient version of Christie, but with a tad more scoring upside. So if you need points and threes and don't care about FG%, then Love is your guy.

Kevin Huerter - SG/SF (11%)

I mentioned how banged up the Bulls are right now, which is why Huerter should still be on your radar. His fantasy game is very solid for 9-CAT when he gets the minutes, and he's played 29, 24, and 31 minutes in his last three. He even flirted with a triple-double last time out, going 9-11-7 against the Hornets.

Miles McBride - PG/SG (11%)

Josh Hart remains out of the lineup for the Knicks with an ankle injury, which has opened up a lot of minutes on the wing for McBride. He hasn't missed a beat since returning from an injury that held him out for nearly three weeks, scoring in double-digits in all four games with two 20+ point games mixed in there. His fantasy game is a lot like Christie's, with his value tied to scoring, threes, and efficient shooting.

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%)

It wasn't anything special from Demin this week, and he ended up missing one game, but he continues to improve, and I think he could be a really compelling option in a few months. I'd be stashing him in deeper formats - he has the skill set to make a difference in the Silly Season with a potentially larger role in Brooklyn.

3GOR STEPBACK THREE 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/7u0OxocT1l

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) January 4, 2026

Brandon Williams - PG (10%)

Yes, the timeshare with Andrew Nembhard is annoying, but perhaps it's a good thing for Williams to keep coming off the bench as he's been getting some very good results with that arrangement. He will continue to struggle with efficiency, but there's some nice upside here in counting stats and steals.

Tre Johnson - SG/SF (9%)

There are probably better options out there if you are just looking for streamers, but Johnson is a compelling stash candidate for me. He's been playing much better over the last few weeks and is starting to look much more comfortable out there.

I want to keep seeing Tre Johnson, who has look much more comfortable getting to his spots and scoring since returning, tap into his playmaking

He’s got a lot more to offer as a passer than he’s shown thus far, in my opinion pic.twitter.com/OCFk5g3HbE

— Point Made Basketball (@pointmadebball) January 5, 2026

If the Wizards want to give him and Bub Carrington an audition as starters down the stretch, we could see him produce some really great numbers for fantasy. He can shoot the lights out and would see a big boost in assists if he were moved into a starting role (please, Washington, just do this and shut down CJ McCollum and Khris Middleton when it's time!)

Paul Reed - C (7%)

"Small Ball Paul" is back in our lives and getting minutes for Detroit at center with Jalen Duren out. If you've been playing fantasy hoops for long, you know the per-minute upside that Reed brings, especially with defensive stats. If you need steals and blocks, Reed is a nice streamer for the week.

Jock Landale - C (7%)

After missing some time, Landale is back and doing his thing as part of the timeshare at center with Christian Koloko. Landale is the guy to own there and is coming off a double-double against the Lakers. He'll continue to provide some low-end value until Zach Edey (ankle) is back.

Clint Capela - C (5%)

Are we really picking up Clint Capela in the year 2026? Yeah, well, Alperen Sengun is out tonight and could miss additional games with a bum ankle and Steven Adams is questionable to return from an injury of his own. If we get Capela starting and playing 28-30 minutes, he's a good bet for 10+ boards and a few blocks.

Even in a timeshare with Adams, Capela could produce enough stats in like 20-22 minutes, as we know Adams rarely plays more than half the game anymore.

Jordan Goodwin - PG/SG (5%)

Is Grayson Allen (knee) ever going to come back? It feels like he's been "almost ready to return" for weeks. In the meantime, Jordan Goodwin continues to randomly pop off with some big lines, the latest one being a 26-point outing against OKC in which he drilled eight threes.

That was an outlier result, but he's also only a few games removed from a 15-rebound performance against Cleveland. The Goodwin experience isn't for everyone, but if he's playing 25 minutes a night, he's more likely than not to put up some counting stats.

Micah Potter - C (5%)

And just like that, the Jay Huff breakout is over? Huff has been replaced by Potter in the starting lineup, and the latter has performed admirably, including a double-double in his latest game and a 16-point, 4-trey performance the game before.

Micah Potter drains a triple 👏 pic.twitter.com/ke4VQ04KyH

— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) January 3, 2026

It's anyone's guess as to what Indiana will do at the center position when Isaiah Jackson returns to the lineup from a concussion, but in the meantime, Potter deserves a look in deep leagues for those who need some boards.

Good luck this week - and as I mentioned in the introduction, thanks so much for supporting my content this season and throughout my time covering the league!

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