Welcome to the Playlist. Each week, I'll share the latest waiver-wire pickups and schedule info for the upcoming week in fantasy basketball. Every league is different. Sometimes a 50% rostered player is sitting on waivers, or a low-rostered player could pop, either because of the schedule or a newfound opportunity. I'll cover the names I'm seeing available in most of my leagues and, hopefully, get ahead of the masses and your leaguemates as well.
Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Basketball league for the 2026-27 NBA season
First, the bad news. Kings PG Ben Simmons tore his Achilles, which is awful news for him and his NBA comeback. It's also a real gut-punch for the Kings and fantasy managers who scooped him up before the season. He'll miss the rest of the season, so if you drafted him, you can drop him. The NBA tips off on Tuesday, with three games on tap starting at 3 p.m. ET. Let's get to the pickups for Week 1.
🎧 Who's in My Rotation
Sandro Mamukelashvili – PF/C, Los Angeles Lakers – (52% rostered)
Mamukelashvili had a career year last season in Toronto (11.2 points, 4.9 boards, 1.9 assists and 1.4 threes in 80 games on 52.3% shooting), signed a four-year, $52 million deal with the Lakers this summer and then had a strong preseason: 13.4 points on 55.6% shooting, 2.6 3s a night on 4.8 attempts (54.2%), 4.2 boards and 3.4 dimes in 19.9 minutes over five games. He could start at power forward next to Walker Kessler or come off the bench, but either way he's in the rotation, and that preseason should earn him real minutes. Add him wherever he's available.
Kevin Porter Jr. - PG/SG, Milwaukee Bucks (49% rostered)
Simmons' injury has the Kings making calls around the league to replace their injured guard. NBA Insider Jake Fischer has mentioned KPJ as a possible replacement, which would quickly elevate his fantasy profile. Malik Monk is dealing with an ankle injury, so the Kings could use another creator in their backcourt. It's a mere stash at this point, but this is part of getting ahead of a potential trade. If it doesn't work out, you can either hold or wait it out. Given Milwaukee's guard talent, a move at some point seems inevitable.
Jeremiah Fears – G, New Orleans Pelicans – (43% rostered)
Fears played all 82 games as a rookie and averaged 14.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.6 stocks in 25.7 minutes. This preseason, he led the Pelicans in scoring at 13.3 points on 50% shooting, with 1.8 3s on 3.5 attempts, 3.3 dimes and 1.5 steals over four games. He did that in only 19.7 minutes a night, and he started when Dejounte Murray sat with a toe injury, including a 20-point game against the Rockets. The starting five hasn't been set, so he could start, and the Pelicans’ front office appears ready to give him more minutes than he got last season early on. That's a big upside play. Even if he's a bench guard, his preseason play puts him in line to be valuable depth for points, threes, assists and steals. The Pelicans play Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, giving you three chances to play him out of the gate.
Isaiah Jackson – C, Los Angeles Clippers – (16% rostered)
Jackson won the starting center job over Brook Lopez and the minutes backed it up in the preseason: Jackson played 19.4 minutes a night over three games, while Lopez averaged just 10.2. Yanic Konan Niederhäuser (foot) is also out at the start of the year. Jackson averaged 7.0 points on 53.3% shooting with 4.3 boards, 2.0 dimes and 1.3 stocks. His three turnovers per game were uncharacteristically sloppy, but that's a small price for the opportunity—especially when his career average is 0.88 per game. The Clippers' frontcourt is pretty thin, so more minutes means more blocks and boards for any fantasy manager who needs a big man who is widely available in most leagues.
Jalen Smith – C, Bulls – (15% rostered)
Smith has been the starting center all preseason with Nic Claxton (hamstring) and Zach Collins both banged up. With Claxton expected to miss at least the next two weeks, Smith should remain a viable short-term center option for fantasy managers. He averaged 11.0 points on 51.7% shooting with 5.8 boards, 1.5 dimes and 1.0 steals in 17.0 minutes over four games, making two 3s per game on 4.3 attempts (47.1%). Last season, he averaged 10.2 points, 6.7 boards and 1.5 threes in only 20.6 minutes. Chicago plays Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. There's only so many stretch bigs who can block shots available on the wire.
Dennis Schröder – G, Hornets – (6% rostered)
Charlotte picked Schröder up from Cleveland in the Tre Mann trade, and now he's getting a bigger role than anyone expected this early. Coby White and Kon Knueppel are both out at the start of the season and Hornets head coach Charles Lee said there is no timetable for either return. That leaves Schröder as the lead guard for however long they're out, with rookie Christian Anderson mixing in. His preseason line was modest: 4.8 points on 42.1% shooting with 2.8 dimes in 18.8 minutes over four games, but the veteran PG can handle the job. The Hornets play three games this week (one on a lighter slate) and a bigger workload should push those numbers up. He'll likely struggle with efficiency, but he'll be useful as backend guard depth across leagues, getting counting stats in 3s, points and assists with at least an 80% free-throw percentage.
Leonard Miller – F, Bulls – (5% rostered)
Miller led the Bulls in scoring in the preseason at 16.4 points on 62.0% shooting, with 2.0 3s a night on 3.6 attempts, 6.4 boards, 2.0 dimes, and 1.0 steal in 19.7 minutes over five games. That includes 26 points and 7 boards off the bench against the Nuggets, and he's leapfrogged Noa Essengue and Patrick Williams in the rotation. Miller’s a deeper-league play, after averaging only 7.8 points in 15.7 minutes last year. His preseason play has been some of the best in the league. If you don't have space for him now, put him on your watchlist because he's aiming to not only crack the rotation, but also contribute for an ascending Bulls team that is becoming a fantasy-friendly squad.
Jared McCain - PG/SG, Oklahoma City Thunder (19% rostered)
McCain is a quick streaming option on Tuesday and Thursday, since Tuesday has only three games and Thursday has two, the lightest slates of the week. Of course, look at Ajay Mitchell or Cason Wallace first, but McCain's 3-point shooting will keep him in the rotation for around 20 minutes and could be a short-term flier if you need 3s and points with low-end assists in 9-cat or Roto formats. In 18 minutes per game this preseason, McCain averaged 12.8 points with 3.2 3s per game.
Week 1 Schedule
Week 1 starts Tuesday with only three games (Celtics at Pistons, 76ers at Knicks, Thunder at Spurs), and Thursday's another thin day with only two (Cavaliers at 76ers and Nuggets at Thunder). Wednesday has 11 games and Friday has 12, so most of your action is packed into those two days.
Teams to target
Philadelphia 76ers: The Sixers are the only team with four games this week (at the Knicks on Tuesday, the Cavaliers on Thursday, the Bucks on Saturday and the Pistons on Sunday).
Oklahoma City Thunder: The Thunder play three games, with two on Tuesday and Thursday (lighter slates).
Detroit Pistons: The Pistons have tough Eastern Conference opponents, facing the Celtics on Tuesday,
New York Knicks: The Knicks play three games this week, but if you're streaming, do it for Tuesday's matchup against the Sixers or Sunday's game against the Magic.
Teams to avoid for streaming (barring notable injuries)
Five teams play only two games, which isn't great for daily formats because you can't fill every lineup slot:
Boston Celtics: Tuesday at Detroit and Friday against the Knicks.
Cleveland Cavaliers: Thursday at Philadelphia and Saturday against the Nets.
Denver Nuggets: Thursday at Oklahoma City and Saturday against the Pelicans.
Phoenix Suns: Wednesday at Portland and Saturday against the Warriors.
Portland Trail Blazers: Wednesday against the Suns and Friday at Sacramento.