Last Updated on February 9, 2026 12:39 am by Keston Paul | Published: February 9, 2026

Hopefully you enjoyed the Super Bowl!

Now, let’s focus on basketball with the start of a 14-day matchup.

The Fantasy Basketball All-Star Week Ahead will help you make plans for the next 14 days of action.

Top Pickups of Sunday

This is the “general must-add” section regardless of the slate. If these players are being overlooked and remain chilling on the waiver wire, consider adding them to your squad.

Justin Champagnie (11%)

I had the honor of blurbing Champagnie today.

Justin Champagnie was good for 13 points (4-of-11 FG, 4-of-4 FT), a triple, seven rebounds, one assist and a steal across 25 minutes in Sunday’s loss to the Heat.

While Champagnie’s minutes are still being held back a bit, the extra opportunity is still translating into 12-team value. Champagnie has started three games in a row, scoring no less than 13 points in any of those games. He has at least one triple, seven rebounds, one assist and one defensive stat in each of those games as well. With limited minutes, he is at around a top-125 level for 12-team leagues and it will only get better if the Wizards unleash him a bit.

The issue is that since the Wizards are tanking, Champagnie is one of the players whose minutes get pulled back a bit for being “too good,” but the opportunity in front of him is worthy of a flier anyway.

Kel’el Ware (57%)

Look at that. I’m a little more wary of Ware than others, but knowing his upside, a 19-point, 14-rebound game with one triple, one assist and a block across 30 minutes deserves some attention. Ware was likely (deservedly) dropped over the past week or two and this game is a signal to get him back on a roster and see where it goes.

Jay Huff (16%)

Huff was also likely dropped in some parts when Ivica Zubac was traded to the Pacers. We now know that Zubac may not play for a while. Huff delivered 15 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals, two blocks and two triples across 30 minutes on Sunday. While his role varies wildly and I am also more wary of Huff than others because of that (despite liking him), he should be in the 12-team mix right now.

Games

Pistons – Hornets @ 7:00 ET
Bulls – Nets @ 7:30 ET
Jazz – Heat @ 7:30 ET
Bucks – Magic @ 7:30 ET
Hawks – Timberwolves @ 8:00 ET
Kings – Pelicans @ 8:00 ET
Cavaliers – Nuggets @ 9:00 ET
Grizzlies – Warriors @ 10:00 ET
Thunder – Lakers @ 10:00 ET
76ers – Trail Blazers @ 10:00 ET

Teams on Second Night of a Back-to-Back

Note: Teams on the second night of a back-to-back must submit their injury report by the release of the 4:15 pm ET Official NBA Injury Report. 

MIA, MIN

Norman Powell exited Sunday’s game with lower back tightness.
Pelle Larsson exited Friday’s game and missed Sunday’s game with a right elbow contusion. Their statuses for Monday is unclear, but there is a real chance they are out.

The Wolves don’t usually have any back-to-back risks for management.

Teams on First Night of a Back-to-Back

Lakers

Luka Doncic will miss a second consecutive game with a mild left hamstring strain.

Top Stories to Watch

Daniss Jenkins got standard contract!

Update: Daniss Jenkins will sign a two-year, $8 million deal with the Detroit Pistons, league sources said. Jenkins will earn the highest single-season conversion amount ever for a two-way player. https://t.co/sTGqRGEgeI

— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) February 8, 2026

For now, Jenkins is a 16-team flier I would say, but monitor his role. If he gets a starting job over Duncan Robinson for example, Jenkins is an easy 12-team option.

Bulls Rotation

So far, Anfernee Simons and Jaden Ivey are starting with Josh Giddey (hamstring) and Tre Jones (hamstring) out — both of whom happen to be doubtful for Monday. Jalen Smith (calf) is questionable and if he is out, Guerschon Yabusele could start again, while Nick Richards would also benefit. I think Ivey will start next to Giddey when the Bulls are 100%, because they will want to “see what Ivey is” and “try to develop him.” I don’t think Ivey is more than a 14-team option, but he can be a 12-team streamer.

Nolan Traore: I mentioned him as a deep-league option in a previous Cheat Sheet and that is playing out. Keep an eye on Ben Saraf too.

Keyonte George got another ankle sprain: Isaiah Collier is must-roster!

Franz Wagner is questionable. 

Here was my blurb:
Wagner has missed 25 of the past 27 games as he appeared to return too soon after his initial 16-game absence, suiting up in two games before experiencing severe soreness. A potential return will make the rotation interesting due to the emergence of Anthony Black, but at this point, Black has at least earned a sixth-man role off the bench and should retain 12-team value once Wagner is up to speed.

Blurb: Dejounte Murray (right Achilles rupture) was back in practice on Sunday, according to Will Guillory of The Athletic, but there was no mention of a timeline to return.

The Pelicans posted photos of Murray in practice and the last update we got in early January was that they will assess whether or not he can return this season when he gets back onto the practice court. We are now at that stage, so we should be getting an update in the coming weeks. Given the Pelicans’ status in the standings, even if Murray returns, he likely won’t be pushed enough for 12-team value and he is not worth stashing in standard formats.

Julian Strawther: With Spencer Jones still concussed, Strawther could be a deep-league source of threes once again.

Grizzlies rotation: We will have Ty Jerome, Scotty Pippen Jr. and Cam Spencer all available on Monday, while Walter Clayton Jr. is questionable. Personally, while I think Clayton is interesting, he is fourth among those names for me in terms of priority in the short-to-medium term. In the frontcourt, there is GG Jackson II, Kyle Anderson, Olivier-Maxence Prosper anad Taylor Hendricks with Santi Aldama out. Despite the big game last time, I think O-Max and Hendricks are shaky fantasy options in general.

Pat Spencer standard contract: With Steph Curry out, Spencer is must-roster. He should stick in the rotation when Curry is back, but it should be more as a deep-league guy. Gui Santos has 12-team intrigue right now.

Jalen Williams is off the injury report, meaning he is available on Monday.

Scoot Henderson made his season debut on Friday, tallying 11 points, five rebounds, nine assists, two triples and a steal in 21 minutes. I am not sure that he will be a starter when the team is fully healthy and the Blazers should treat him with kid gloves after a hamstring tear kept him out for so long. For that reason, I think Henderson maxes out for around 14-team leagues.

Blurb: Cam Thomas has agreed to a deal with the Bucks, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania on Sunday.

Thomas joins a team that already has Kevin Porter Jr. and Ryan Rollins in the backcourt. While Thomas will not be shy about “getting his,” the path to 12-team value still isn’t the easiest due to his minute-and-usage-reliant stat profile of points, threes and free-throw percentage. If you are taking a flier, you need to hae a massive need for that stat profile with an ability to absorb some of his volatility on a night-to-night basis, but he isn’t a must-grab.

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Stay up to date on news for this slate with our NBA Blurb Feed! 

Check out our Live Injury Report to see who is probable, questionable, doubtful or sidelined for this slate!

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Streamers

We are not including players who are either most likely on a roster or should be on a roster.

Standard Formats

Isaiah Stewart – blocks, rebounds, points, 3s, solid FG%

Duncan Robinson – 3s with occasional upside in other areas

Jaden Ivey – points with upside for 3s or assists

Day’Ron Sharpe – rebounds, FG% and sometimes adds steals or blocks
(12-team worthy recently)

Danny Wolf – points & rebounds with potential 3s and assists
(MPJ is out, Wolf usually starts)

Isaiah Collier – assists, upside for points
(must-roster with Keyonte George out)

Ace Bailey – points, 3s, rebounds & potential for steals (bad percentages)

Nique Clifford – hypothetical general stats but hope for points & 3s or anything really

Dylan Cardwell (must-roster) – blocks, rebounds, FG%

Maxime Raynaud (if Sabonis is out) – points & rebounds with upside to produce in all areas

Keon Ellis – steals, 3s, upside for blocks

Sam Merrill – 3s, 3s & also 3s with occasional low-end assists upside

Christian Braun – points, rebounds, possible steals

Tim Hardaway Jr. – hit-or-miss points & 3s

Bruce Brown – mainly points & rebounds but across-the-board upside

Scotty Pippen Jr. – across-the-board stats
(I am assuming Ty Jerome and Cam Spencer are already rostered)

GG Jackson II – decent points, 3s, rebounds, blocks

Pat Spencer – points, rebounds, assists, steals

Moses Moody – 3s, steals, upside for points, rebounds, blocks

De’Anthony Melton – steals specialist with upside for 3s & assists

Gui Santos – points, 3s, steals, blocks with a little rebounds & assists

Cason Wallace – steals specialist with upside for 3s, assists, low-end rebounds

Aaron Wiggins – points & 3s with upside for rebounds, occasional steals & blocks

Alex Caruso – steals specialist with upside for 3s, assists, rebounds, occasional blocks

Rui Hachimura – points with upside for 3s and rebounds

Jake LaRavia – general stats

Marcus Smart – steals, assists, rebounds & upside for 3s

Scoot Henderson – points, assists, 3s, steals, FT%

Quentin Grimes – points, 3s, upside for steals, assists & more

On a B2B from Sunday (look out for injury report): 

Ayo Dosunmu – general stats & good percentages
(can likely be a low-end hold)

Jaime Jaquez Jr. – points, rebounds, assists, usually good FG%

Davion Mitchell – big assists with upside for steals

All three of these are likely already on a roster, but just in case…

Deep Leagues

Daniss Jenkins – points, 3s, assists, steals

Ron Holland II – steals, out-of-position rebounds, occasional scoring outbursts

Collin Sexton – points, assists, FT% & occasional upside for 3s or steals

Isaac Okoro – low-end boom-or-bust 3-and-D stats

Guerschon Yabusele – general stats (12-team upside if Jalen Smith is out)

Nick Richards – big-man stats (12-team upside if Jalen Smith is out)

Ryan Kalkbrenner – blocks, FG%, possible rebounds & steals

Ziaire Williams – boom-or-bust points & 3s with potential steals & rebounds

Nolan Traore – points, assists, possibly bad percentages

Ben Saraf –  assists with potential for steals or out-of-position rebounds

Zaccharie Risacher – 3s & steals with upside for rebounds

Corey Kispert – 3s

Devin Carter – steals, rebounds, decent assists/points/3s

Jalen Pickett – boom-or-bust upside for points, rebounds, assists, 3s

Olivier-Maxence Prosper – 3-and-D stats

Kyle Anderson – general stats (12-team upside if he starts)

Al Horford – low-end across-the-board upside

Isaiah Joe – 3s

Lu Dort – extremely boom-or-bust 3s, upside for steals, occasional rebounds

Luke Kennard – points, 3s, occasional upside for assists

Caleb Love – points, 3s, low-end across-the-board upside

Vit Krejci – explosive hit-or-miss 3s & points with occasional steals upside

Dominick Barlow – rebounds, blocks, upside for steals, solid FG%

On a B2B from Sunday (look out for injury report): 

Myron Gardner – 3s, rbounds, steals, points if he gets hot

Kasparas Jakucionis – points, 3s, assists with upside for steals & rebounds

Bones Hyland – points, 3s, assists

Dru Smith – steals specialist with assists upside

Simone Fontecchio – boom-or-bust 3s with low-end rebounds upside