October 24 Top Fantasy Basketball Performances from Possible Waiver Wire Players | Payton Pritchard, Jaden Hardy, Julian Champagnie, Aaron Wiggins, Christian Braun and More

Fantasy basketball takeaways from the third night of the NBA season.

Every NBA team has now played at least once this regular season. 

After discussing some takeaways and top waiver wire performers after action on Tuesday and Wednesday, let’s talk about Thursday’s action to make sure we hit on every NBA team.

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Celtics Roll Again

Boston moved to 2-0 after a 122-102 win over Washington.

Al Horford is a possible streaming option until Kristaps Porzingis comes back, but didn’t score on Thursday. He had five rebounds and one assist across 20 minutes.

Payton Pritchard went for 15 points, two assists and a rebound across 28 minutes. He’s going to be a streaming option most of the season, and is an even better option against bad defenses or teams because he’ll get more playing time.

Neemias Queta tallied 12 points and seven boards across 14 minutes. Sam Hauser missed the game with a back injury, so Queta got a little more playing time, even though he doesn’t play the same position. 

Washington was led by its best three fantasy players - Jordan Poole, Kyle Kuzma and Jonas Valanciunas. Not many others accomplished much.

Carlton Carrington is a player to keep tabs on after he started and played 26 minutes in the opener. He suffered an ankle injury late in the game and only had three points and rebounds and two assists and blocks, but the playing time could eventually lead to some nice fantasy showings.

Corey Kispert played 24 minutes off the bench, while Kyshawn George played 20 minutes. Neither were huge contributors, but the playing time is again the thing I’m taking notice of.

Mavericks Take Down Spurs

It was the most-rostered Dallas players who led the way - Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, P.J. Washington, Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II - but the sparsely-owned Jaden Hardy also had a good fantasy night.

He tallied 11 points, two assists and a rebound across 20 minutes played. If Hardy can continue playing that many minutes, he’s at least a good deep league fantasy option.

Naji Marshall, Quentin Grimes and Maxi Kleber all played 15 or more minutes, so they are other names to keep an eye on. Their fantasy values probably would only rise if a starter or two were out for an extended period though.

Julian Champagnie totaled 18 points, seven rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal across 27 minutes for the Spurs. He’s barely owned in any leagues, and at least needs to be added in deeper leagues. Another performance like this one will get Champagnie some looks in standard leagues.

Jeremy Sochan posted 18 points, six rebounds and two assists across 27 minutes. He’ll be a streaming option to 10-20% of fantasy owners most of the season. He’s one to utilize in the right matchups.

Harrison Barnes went off for 17 points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal. He’s not rostered in too many leagues, but deserves to be in a lot of deeper setups. He should play plenty this season, and that will help him put up decent numbers.

Keldon Johnson and Tre Jones played 25 and 16 minutes off the bench, respectively, so they are names to keep in mind in case an injury to a starter occurs. Zach Collins played 14 minutes, and would be a big-time pickup if Victor Wembanyama ever gets dinged up.

Thunder Ease Past Nuggets

It was mostly the usual OKC players leading the charge - Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams. Aaron Wiggins was the only other player in double figures.

Wiggins had 15 points, six rebounds, two blocks and an assist across 20 minutes. He’s barely owned in any leagues, but should get some love in deeper leagues now.

Cason Wallace played 23 minutes off the bench, making him another deep league possibility, despite him not producing too much in the opener. Isaiah Joe started and played 20 minutes, making him another deep league target, at least for now.

Christian Braun started and played 29 minutes for Denver. He had 16 points, seven rebounds, two blocks and assists and a steal. Braun is available in a bunch of leagues, and should be getting more love all around. Add him in deeper leagues, and keep him on your watch list in standard leagues.

Russell Westbrook played 20 minutes off the bench and had six points (on 2-of-10 shooting), five rebounds and assists, two blocks and one steal. He’s available to a few of you readers, and should be a decent daily option if you need a few extra fantasy points.

Peyton Watson and Julian Strawther played 15 and 17 minutes, respectively, and are players to keep in mind in case a starter misses extended time. They could be deep league options in the meantime.

Timberwolves Edge Kings

There wasn’t a Minnesota player who stood out that isn’t already a heavily-owned fantasy asset - Julius Randle, Anthony Edwards, etc. 

Nickeil Alexander-Walker played 18 minutes off the bench and had nine points, two assists and a rebound. He needs to be rostered in a bunch of deeper leagues. 

Mike Conley struggled again, with just six points, four assists, two rebounds and a block across 27 minutes and should be dropped in a bunch of standard leagues. If you need some long-term help at point guard, Conley is worth adding and stashing, as better play is certainly coming.

Sacramento’s Malik Monk is available to a few of you reading. He played 26 minutes off the bench and had 17 points, four assists and a rebound. Don’t let his bench role fool you, he’ll be a good fantasy asset most of the season, so add and play him.

Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan, Keegan Murray and De'Aaron Fox led the team on Thursday and should all season.

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