Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire: Top Rising NBA Pickups You Need Now

With the fantasy basketball playoffs approaching, now is the time to lean on updated NBA intel to gain an edge. Successful managers are tracking fantasy basketball rankings and NBA season projections while monitoring the NBA injury report and shifting NBA depth charts. In-season moves matter just as much as draft prep. This week's waiver wire targets are rising assets based on role, NBA player stats and opportunity — key factors that can swing matchups in season-long fantasy basketball leagues.

Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Pickups

Saddiq Bey, New Orleans Pelicans (45% rostered)

The Pelicans may have one of the worst records in the NBA, but they are one of the healthiest teams in the league right now. Zion Williamson returned Tuesday after missing just one game with an ankle injury. Trey Murphy III is back from his shoulder ailment and Dejounte Murray is playing again. The Pelicans don't own their first-round pick in the 2026 Draft, so they aren't really incentivized to rest their players to improve their lottery odds.

Even with the Pelicans healthy, Bey is playing heavy minutes. Over their last 11 games, he averaged 33 minutes. That helped him produce 21.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.8 three-pointers a night. In what has been a breakout season for him, he looks to be locked into a prominent role. He should be rostered in more than half of leagues.

Brandin Podziemski, Golden State Warriors (42% rostered)

Stephen Curry is expected to miss at least another week with a knee injury. The star guard sat out the entire month of January and there haven't been many positive updates regarding his recovery. It might make sense for the Warriors to shut him down if they were out of the playoff picture, but they currently occupy the eighth seed in the Western Conference and aren't in any real danger of falling out of the Play-In Tournament. Still, with a spot in the tournament likely all but wrapped up, the Warriors could remain cautious with Curry and not bring him back until closer to the playoffs.

Curry being sidelined has opened up added minutes and responsibilities for Podziemski. He has become a valuable fantasy contributor, averaging 15.7 points, 8.2 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.7 three-pointers over his last nine games. That type of all-around production warrants rostering him in the majority of formats.

Kyle Filipowski, Utah Jazz (42% rostered)

Keyonte George recently returned from injury for the Jazz. That has been their only positive news lately as their frontcourt continues to drop like flies. Lauri Markkanen is now dealing with a hip injury that will force him to miss a minimum of two weeks. Given how blatant the Jazz have been about trying to improve their lottery odds, it's possible that we have already seen the last of Markkanen for the season.

Filipowski has remained a regular in this column as the Jazz continue to rule out big men for the season. Over their last seven games, he has averaged 14.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.3 steals and 0.9 three-pointers. There is no reason that he shouldn't be rostered in more than half of fantasy leagues.

Maxime Raynaud, Sacramento Kings (38% rostered)

Raynaud was in this column last week and was only rostered in 38% of leagues, a fact that has not changed. Since then, he has played three games. He produced two double-doubles on his way to averaging 20.0 points and 9.7 rebounds. Across his last nine games, he has recorded 15.8 points and 11.0 rebounds a night, while shooting 60.4% from the field and 87.0% from the free-throw line.

The Kings don't have much choice but to play Raynaud a lot right now. Dylan Cardwell (ankle) should be out for at least a couple more weeks, so Precious Achiuwa and Drew Eubanks are the only real competition for playing time. Achiuwa is needed more at power forward right now with Keegan Murray (ankle) out, which makes Raynaud even more appealing in fantasy.

Nique Clifford, Sacramento Kings (27% rostered)

The Kings have the worst record in the NBA for a reason. They entered the season without much of a margin for error. Once injuries set in, things went downhill quickly. In addition to all their missing big men, Zach LaVine (finger) and De'Andre Hunter (eye) are out for the season. This is the time for them to give more opportunities to their younger players, one of which is Clifford.

Clifford has started and played at least 39 minutes in each of the last three games. Going back even further, he has averaged 13.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.3 three-pointers over his last 13 games. With no shortage of playing time on the horizon, Clifford has a great opportunity to remain productive.

Brandon Williams, Dallas Mavericks (18% rostered)

Cooper Flagg (foot) has missed eight straight games for the Mavericks. The team is now eight games out of the last spot in the play-in with only 21 games left to play. Their chances of making it are slim, to say the least. Flagg needs to play 16 more games to qualify for the Rookie of the Year Award, which might be the only reason for the team to even consider playing him right now.

One player who is on the rise as the Mavericks continue to rack up losses in Williams, who has averaged 24 minutes over the last 10 games. That helped him average 15.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists. He is not a good three-point shooter, making just 23.6% of his attempts from behind the arc for the season. Still, he shoots 47.2% from the field overall. He's not a must-roster in 10 and 12-team leagues, but he does have appeal in deeper formats.