Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Pickups and Streamers for Week 9 (2025): 12/15 -12/21

Thunder Dan's fantasy basketball waiver wire pickups for Week 9 of the 2025-26 NBA season. Consider these players as fantasy basketball adds, streamers, and stashes.

It's another wonky week in terms of the NBA schedule as the first half of Week 9 is still impacted by the NBA Cup Final on Tuesday. There's also the biggest imbalance in the schedule in terms of games played by each team as just three teams play four games, while another 13 teams play just twice.

I'll be mainly focusing on those teams that play three or four times this week, as my recommendations are mainly geared toward short-term moves and daily streaming options.

There's still plenty of talent out there on the wire, even if we eliminate almost half of the teams from our player pool. Let's dive into the schedule and then get right to the picks, shall we?

Week 9 Schedule Breakdown (12/15 to 12/21)

Schedule Highlights

• We have the most unbalanced schedule of the year, thanks to the NBA Cup disrupting this week's schedule at the beginning.
• The following teams only have TWO games this week - note that the NBA Cup Final does NOT count as a regular season game. (BKN, CHA, CLE, GSW, IND, LAL, MIL, NO, OKC, ORL, PHI, PHX, POR)
• Three teams have FOUR games, and we will be targeting them heavily with picks. (HOU, TOR, and MIA)
• The remaining teams all play three games. The following teams play three games in four nights to close out the week. (ATL, HOU, MIA, NYK, SAC, SAS, TOR, WAS)

Standard League Adds - Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire for Week 9

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

I am using 30% or lower as the cutoff again this week, since we have so few teams playing more than one game, with 10% or below being right around where I draw the line between standard league and deep league adds.

Davion Mitchell - PG (29%)

Mitchell has been cut in some deeper formats, dropping his rostership below the 30% threshold on Yahoo! However, with four games on the schedule this week for the Heat, he's my top pick up this week if you need assists and steals.

Mitchell has stuck as a starter for Miami even after they've gotten healthy with players such as Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Kel'el Ware, who were part-time starters for a while, heading back to the bench. Erik Spoelstra has had a lot of praise for Mitchell's hustle and defense. Miami really doesn't have another pass-first point guard on the roster, and Mitchell's 7.8 assists per game are a major asset in category leagues.

He may not finish the year with that many assists per game, and there are plenty of low-scoring nights, but if you can afford to take on his lack of scoring, he can single-handedly help you win assists this week.

Jaylon Tyson - SG/SF (28%)

The Cavs play only twice this week (both games against Chicago), but with the news this weekend breaking that Evan Mobley is going to miss 2-4 weeks, I feel it is imperative to remind everyone that Tyson is a must-roster player in all formats.

Jarrett Allen returned to the starting lineup yesterday at center, with Dean Wade at power forward and DeAndre Hunter at small forward. Tyson moved to the bench but outplayed all three of them with 16 points, 13 rebounds, and two three-pointers, logging 35 minutes, which was good for third on the team behind Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell.

AMAZING. INCREDIBLE.@jaylontyson | #LetEmKnow pic.twitter.com/9g2CGVCYpL

— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) December 14, 2025

It's becoming quite clear that Tyson has a major role on this Cavs team and that he's going to be locked into big minutes for probably another month. He's been a top-70 player this year. Get this guy on your team (even in 10-team leagues!)

Dylan Harper - PG/SG - (24%)

I really wanted to see what Harper's minutes would look like after Stephon Castle returned to the lineup, and the early returns are good as he played 20 and 25 minutes in Castle's first two games back and took 12 and 13 shots, respectively.

He's going to have some rough shooting nights, but Harper's game is smooth, and he's getting to the rim with relative ease. If you add him, understand that the NBA Cup finals game tomorrow won't count towards this week's stats, but he still has three other games later in the week that will.

Harper's talent is such that he is worth adding and holding in leagues beyond this week, too. It feels like the Spurs want to make sure that he remains a major part of the rotation, and a three-guard rotation with Castle and De'Aaron Fox could go a long way to keeping all of their minutes lower and all of them healthier for the stretch run.

Dennis Schroder - PG/SG (25%) and Malik Monk - SG (24%)

I really don't want to add either of those guys; however, Zach LaVine rolled his ankle last night and left after only 15 minutes. This led to both Schroder and Monk playing close to 30 minutes off the bench and putting up some decent numbers. If LaVine is going to miss time, one of these two will surely enter the starting lineup, and the other one should function as the first guard off the bench.

Both players have major holes in their fantasy games, but are can also put up useful stats with Schroder being an asset in points and assists, while Monk is more of a points and threes guy.

Jordan Walsh - SG/SF/PF (23%)

I didn't get a chance to recommend Walsh last week because Boston played just one game, but Walsh had yet another huge performance for the Celtics in that game, going for 20 points, eight rebounds, and three steals on 8-10 shooting.

Is Jordan Walsh the key to the Celtics' success? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/uZnjjgRqsY

— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) December 10, 2025

I did write about Walsh as a third-year breakout here. His combination of defense and efficient scoring has been incredibly valuable in real life to the Celtics and to fantasy managers. He's now inside the top-100 on the season and looks like a guy who could stick at power forward for Boston going forward.

Peyton Watson - SF/PF (22%)

Watson's output has leveled off since his really hot month of November. However, he's still putting up some very useful numbers for fantasy. Watson's scoring can vary quite a bit from night to night as he scored only 9 points against Atlanta last week, but then finished the week with 21 points (in just 23 minutes) against the Kings. But his defense is always there as he continues to be very helpful in blocks (1.2).

Aaron Gordon isn't likely to be ready until after Christmas, so Watson has at least another few weeks of productivity and three games this week.

Maxime Raynaud - C (20%) 

Raynaud had a big week and was one of my top priority adds last week. He was having a nice game last night, but then got benched for the final quarter and a half when Rudy Gobert left the game early for personal reasons (apparently his wife was having a baby, feels like a good reason!)

Sabonis is getting closer to a return, but there's been no indication that will happen this week, and the Kings, who are already doomed this season, have no reason to rush back their franchise player. So I expect Raynaud to get all three starts for the Kings this week.

Jaylen Wells - SG/SF (20%)

This is the first time Wells has made this column this year, and oddly enough, it's after Ja Morant has already returned to the lineup for the Grizzlies. Wells has been on an upward trajectory now for several weeks as he's finally started to score the ball more consistently.

Wells has averaged 18.4 points per game over his last eight games, shooting an impressive 59% from the field and 56% from beyond the arc. He had 19 points in Morant's first game back and his minutes and role shouldn't be too affected by Morant being back in the lineup. If anything, Morant brings more balance to the Memphis offense and adds another threat for defenses to worry about. He can also create for his teammates, which means more good looks for Wells and company.

He doesn't do much of anything else, but there's always a need for scorers in fantasy hoops, and Wells' improved efficiency makes him an appealing option.

Naji Marshall - SF/PF (19%)

Marshall's recent run of productivity puts him firmly on my radar for standard leagues. Dallas really needs his toughness and interior scoring as they really aren't getting that from their big men (Lively is out for the season, Gafford is constantly hurt, and PJ Washington would rather play on the perimeter).

Naji Marshall on shots less than five feet from the rim: 73.2%

This is better than Anthony Davis, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, LeBron James, Cade Cunningham, Austin Reaves, Jalen Brunson, Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Maxey, Anthony Edwards, and Alperen Sengun.

He is ELITE in the paint. pic.twitter.com/qpGhYShci1

— Noah Weber (@noahweber00) December 13, 2025

Marshall provides scoring, efficiency, and some threes (1.0) along with defense (1.2 steals) and relatively low turnovers (1.1). I love his game, and his ability to chip in across the board in multiple categories makes him an underrated fantasy option.

Bub Carrington - PG/SG (18%)

Carrington should be a popular pick-up this week. He was just 10% rostered as of Saturday and has shot up to 18% by this morning. He's logging big minutes (36+ in three straight) and has dished out 22 assists in those three games. His scoring is always going to be uneven, and his FG% is hard to stomach for efficiency enthusiasts like me. However, he's piling up enough counting stats to be worth adding for teams that need points, threes, and assists.

Cam Spencer - SG (18%)

Ja Morant returned to the starting lineup for the Grizzlies, but it was Vince Williams Jr. who took the hit in minutes, not Cam Spencer. In fact, Spencer played one of his best games of the season, scoring 20 points on 6-6 from beyond the arc while dishing out four assists.

I have been railing on Spencer all season. He is a good, young player, and as long as the Grizzlies don't have other backup point guards healthy (Pippen Jr. and Jerome), I think we see Spencer hang onto value.

Marvin Bagley III - PF/C (16%)

The Wizards came out yesterday and acknowledged that Alexandre Sarr has not resumed on-court activities and that he could be facing a prolonged absence. This comes on the heels of Bagley posting two straight double-doubles, including a massive 23-14 against the Pacers on Sunday.

Bagley is mainly a points and boards guy, but he did have a random 5-block outing against Philly a few weeks ago and is at 0.8 blocks on the season. He's a must-add this week for the Wizards' three games if you need help in scoring and rebounding.

Jock Landale - C (11%)

It was Santi Aldama who started in Zach Edey's stead at center for Memphis against Utah this weekend; however, Landale was still productive in 27 minutes off the bench, adding 9 points, 8 boards, and two threes.

With Edey out for possibly a month, Landale should be on our radar as a guy with some low-end value in points, boards, FG%, and threes (1.1 per game from the center position).

Deep League Adds - Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire for Week 9

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

Jamal Shead - PG (5%)

We are diving DEEP into the bowels of the waiver wire for our deep league adds this week, with every player at 5% rostership or lower.

Shead was impressive in his first start of the year last week, going for 18 points and eight assists with four threes. And I was hoping we might get another start or two for him this week with Immanuel Quickley being banged up, but Quickley is set to return to the lineup tonight.

However, with four games this week, the Raptors' top reserve guard is still a great pick-up if you need assists or steals. He's been a thief lately, with 16 steals in his last six games, and he continues to see around 20 minutes a night with RJ Barrett still on the shelf.

Brandon Williams - PG (5%)

The point guard drama in Dallas continues! Just when you thought Ryan Nembhard was going to run away with the job, he put up a complete dud and was held scoreless before being benched for Williams against Brooklyn.

You know the drill with Williams; he's a guy who is unpredictable in terms of his offensive output, but he's a pretty consistent source of assists and steals. With three games this week (and one really good matchup against the Jazz tonight), he's worth a speculative pick-up in deeper leagues.

Sandro Mamukelashvili - PF/C (4%)

Mamu put up a stinker against the Knicks last week, but he's been too good this season to ignore for the four-game week that Toronto has on the schedule. With a back-to-back later in the week, we may see Jakob Poeltl rested in one of those games, with Mamu picking up a spot start at center.

Aaron Holiday - PG (3%)

Holiday continues to fly under the radar, but has scored in double-figures in seven of his last eight games. He's been playing pretty consistent minutes in the twenties for Houston now for several weeks and is a widely available source of points and threes if you need some.

Tristan Vukcevic - PF/C (3%)

I already mentioned Marvin Bagley as the guy who is going to keep logging starts at center for Washington with Sarr out, but the "other Vooch" (he spells it differently, people!) is a player you should have on your radar.

He's a stretch-five with range from deep and a talented offensive player who can score with ease. His minutes are going to fluctuate from the mid-teens to the mid-20s, depending on how Bagley is playing, but he's a viable fantasy option for deep leagues even in limited minutes

Good luck this week - happy streaming, friends!

More Fantasy Basketball Analysis