Jan. 19-21 Fantasy Basketball Takeaways: Top Rookies and Waiver Wire Options | Bilal Coulibaly, Dillon Brooks, Jeremy Sochan, Jabari Walker, Amen Thompson and More

There were plenty of big outings across the NBA over the weekend, but they got drowned out beneath the NFL playoff contests.

Let’s get into some of the better performances from waiver wire options, including some rookies, from Jan. 19-21. Check back every day this week for similar articles.

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Sunday’s Best Performances

Washington Wizards’ Bilal Coulibaly tallied nine points, four blocks, three rebounds and an assist and steal across 31 minutes played in the team’s loss to the Denver Nuggets.

Coulibaly, who is owned in 20% of leagues according to FantasySP charts, tallied 14 points, four boards and one block and assist in the team’s previous, so he’s delivered back-to-back productive outings. 

On a rebuilding Washington team, Coulibaly should continue to play plenty of minutes, especially if he keeps filling the stat sheet. He’s not quite to the point of adding in all leagues, but he’s a solid option in deeper leagues, and should be rostered in just about every dynasty league (with a reasonable amount of roster spots available). Keep an eye on him, as he might work his way into possibly adding in all leagues.

Houston Rockets’ Amen Thompson posted his second double-double of the season in the team’s loss to the Boston Celtics on Sunday. Thompson posted 15 points and 14 rebounds, while also tallying five assists and a steal across nearly 32 minutes of action.

Thompson has now scored in double figures in three of the past five games, with eight or more boards in three of those contests as well. His playing time is still inconsistent, but outings like Sunday should help him out going forward. He’s owned in 23% of leagues and should see that number rise as owners in deeper leagues and dynasties add him.

Houston’s Dillon Brooks went off for 25 points, five rebounds, four steals and an assist across 40 minutes played on Sunday. Brooks, who is owned in 55% of leagues, was playing in his fifth game since missing the previous nine games.

Brooks has scored in double figures in four of his first five games back and fills up the stat sheet quite well in other areas, so there’s no reason not to add him if you have the roster space. He’s quite the character on the court, but his numbers can definitely help fantasy teams out.

Saturday’s Standouts

Detroit Pistons’ Ausar Thompson recorded 22 points, nine rebounds and one assist and block in the team’s tight loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday. He shot 10-of-15 from the floor and made both of his 3-pointers.

Thompson, owned in 69% of leagues, has double-digit scoring outings in two of the past three games, and has gone over six rebounds in five straight contests. He took advantage of Cade Cunningham being out for the game, so these kinds of scoring nights won’t happen regularly, but if he can provide 10-15 points and a healthy amount of rebounds, he’s a solid fantasy asset in all formats. Another thing to note is that Thompson plays the Bucks again on Monday night.

Detroit’s Alec Burks finished with 33 points, seven rebounds, six assists and a steal across 30 minutes in the loss to Milwaukee.He’s owned in 67% of leagues right now.

Burks has now scored in double figures in 13 straight games, averaging 19.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.5 steals and 0.3 blocks over that span. Up until Saturday, Burks had mainly just been a scoring threat, but if he can fill the stat sheet like this, he’s a much better fantasy option, even if he were to score less points.

San Antonio Spurs’ Jeremy Sochan had a couple of good outings this weekend. On Saturday, he tallied 23 points, four rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal across 28 minutes played in a win over the Wizards. Sochan posted 11 points, eight rebounds and assists and one steal and block across 34 minutes the night before against the Charlotte Hornets.

Sochan, who is owned in 78% of leagues, is averaging 13.3 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.1 steals and 1 block over his past 10 games. He’s getting a healthy amount of minutes each night, and should be owned in a few more leagues probably. You can always add him until he starts to cool off, but his pretty well-rounded game is something I’d want on my team if I had the space to make it work.

Friday’s Top Players

Portland Trail Blazers’ Jabari Walker had a couple of nice showings this weekend, with his best coming on Friday night. He tallied 13 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and a block across 41 minutes in a win over the Indiana Pacers. Walker played 22 minutes in a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, tallying 12 points and seven rebounds.

Walker, owned in 54% of leagues, is averaging 11.4 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.4 steals and 0.2 blocks across his past five games. More solid outings like his past two games should bump that own percentage up a few more ticks - for now, he at least needs to be owned in deeper leagues and dynasties.

Charlotte’s Brandon Miller also had two strong showings this weekend. On Friday, he recorded 24 points, nine rebounds and two assists and steals across 35 minutes in a win over the Spurs. He played 35 minutes in a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday, posting 23 points, seven rebounds, three assists and one block.

Miller is owned in 78% of leagues and will continue to see that number rise with more performances like the past two. He recently missed a couple games with an injury, but has played well in his first two games back. Miller needs to be owned in deeper leagues and dynasties, and should get plenty of consideration in all standard leagues.

Wendell Carter Jr. had a pair of solid outings for the Orlando Magic over the weekend. On Friday, he went for 25 points and 11 rebounds in a loss to the 76ers. Carter accumulated 17 points, nine rebounds, two assists and one steal on Sunday in a win over the Miami Heat.

Carter, who is owned in 84% of leagues, also recently missed a handful of games, but is averaging 19.3 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.5 blocks in the four games since. He should be added in all formats if you have the space for him.

Brooklyn Nets’ Cam Thomas continued to light it up over the weekend. His best game was on Friday, when he tallied 33 points, four assists, three rebounds and one steal across 32 minutes in the team’s win over the Lakers. Thomas finished with 20 points, six assists and two boards across 27 minutes in the team’s loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.

Thomas is owned in 82% of leagues, and that’s probably only because of his sporadic playing time. He’s capable of huge scoring nights, and if he can fill the stat sheet like he has the past couple nights, he’s not going to be on the waiver wire for long. I’d try to make room for him now before he’s scooped up by someone else.