Category: Basketball

By Adam King, RotoWire

Special to Yahoo Sports

The majority of names on this list were likely not even on the radar for you a month ago. However, as is the experience at this time every year, deep-diving is a skill in itself. All five teams featured here have well and truly packed their bags for this season and are marching proudly toward the 2025 NBA Draft. If you are lucky enough to have made it this far, your season could very well come down to quantity over quality.

Whether it's targeting an offensive threat capable of delivering points and threes or a defensive-minded player who can help boost your blocks and steals, narrowing your focus can prove vital as you battle for seedings. Let's dive into five players who are currently rostered in fewer than 50% of Yahoo leagues.

Adem Bona, Philadelphia 76ers (31% rostered)

It's been a meteoric rise for Bona over the past week, putting up top-30 value in that time. Across four games, he is averaging 16.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 3.5 blocks in 30.8 minutes, shooting 80.6% from the floor and 69.2% from the line. He had built some momentum earlier in the month before an injury ended up costing him five games. However, he has well and truly established himself as the starting center and, honestly, should serve as the primary backup behind Joel Embiid next season. Andre Drummond, despite still being an elite rebounder, is very limited offensively, and speed is certainly not a strength. As for the remainder of this campaign, Bona is someone who simply needs to be rostered in all formats.

Carlton "Bub" Carrington, Washington Wizards (15% rostered)

Carrington's rookie season has been a mixed bag, despite playing a relatively consistent role. Fresh off a career-high 32 points in a loss to the Magic, Carrington has now played at least 35 minutes in three straight games. He has scored double-digits in five of the past seven fixtures, seemingly becoming more comfortable on an NBA court. In nine games over the past two weeks, he is averaging 12.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2.3 3-pointers in 29.8 minutes per game. While his offensive output will likely fluctuate from one game to the next, he is a reliable source of assists and 3s, while also providing above-average rebounding numbers from the guard position.

Jamal Shead, Toronto Raptors (10% rostered)

Although his role is typically dependent on whether Immanuel Quickley is resting or not, Shead has done enough over the past two weeks to warrant a roster spot in most formats. Across seven games during that time, he is averaging 12.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.4 3-pointers in just 23.8 minutes per game. The Raptors appear to have settled into a rhythm in which they give Quickley every second game off. This means Shead should be viewed as a part-time starter, at least for now. However, with a floor of 24 minutes per game, managers should seriously consider grabbing him, especially if in need of assists and steals.

Matisse Thybulle, Portland Trail Blazers (5% rostered)

Thybulle was basically a forgotten man this season due to an ankle injury, which prevented him from making his season debut until mid-March. However, since making his debut, Thybulle has played in 10 straight games, logging at least 25 minutes in each of the past two contests. The Trail Blazers are in no hurry to rush anyone back onto the court, meaning Thybulle should be able to hold down a relatively solid role for the remainder of the season. His fantasy value is quite clearly tied up in just one category, that being steals. Across his 10-game span, Thybulle is averaging 2.4 thefts per game. For anyone battling in their playoffs, 8-10 steals across a seven-day period could mean the difference between winning and losing, making him a viable streaming candidate, assuming he fills a need on your squad.

KJ Simpson, Charlotte Hornets (2% rostered)

With LaMelo Ball undergoing surgery on his wrist and ankle, Simpson has seemingly supplanted him as the starting point guard for the remainder of the season. He has assumed that role in four straight games, averaging 10.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.8 3-pointers in 30.8 minutes per contest. His offensive game leaves a lot to be desired, but he is going to be given every opportunity to demonstrate what he can do down the stretch. Player development is the top priority for the Hornets at this point, and Simpson should be near the top of that list. Much like Shead, Simpson offers upside in assists and steals, while history would tell us that he could get hot at some point in the next two weeks, providing managers with a sneaky points boost.

Drop Candidates:

• Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns (96% rostered)

• Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia 76ers (92% rostered)

• Anfernee Simons, Portland Trail Blazers (89% rostered)

• Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans (86% rostered)

Why LeBron likens Warriors' Butler trade to KD acquisition originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

LeBron James had plenty of praise for the new-look Warriors with Jimmy Butler, likening the mid-season trade to Golden State’s signing of Kevin Durant in 2016.

In the aftermath of Golden State’s 123-116 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday, James gave his thoughts on facing the Warriors with Butler.

“I’ve been a part of them making big acquisitions that changed the dynamic of their team before,” James told reporters. “I had to go against them when they added Kevin Durant. So, Jimmy Butler is great. He adds toughness to them, and he adds championship DNA. It’s always the same; they always figure it out, and they always add someone that makes them dynamic.”

The Warriors sputtered through the first half of the NBA schedule, well on their way to another mediocre season, until making the trade deadline move for Butler on Feb. 5. Since then, Golden State is 20-5 and surging up the Western Conference standings.

Just like those golden years with Durant, Golden State now is brimming with swagger and confidence. Steph Curry continued his late-season scoring barrage, dropping 37 points on Los Angeles, who had no answer for the Warriors’ sharpshooter. The offensive explosion was enough to give Golden State its first win over Los Angeles this season.

With six games left in the regular season, the Warriors are one game back of the Lakers for the West’s No. 4 playoff seed. Moreover, the organization has a renewed sense that it can make a deep postseason run.

Still, challenges await in the next two games as they face the Denver Nuggets (47-30) and the Houston Rockets (50-27), two of the elite teams in the Western Conference.

Expect plenty of dynamic performances from Butler, Curry and the rest of the Golden State squad as they make their playoff push.

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Podziemski reveals season-long half-court competition with Steph originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Over the course of an 82-game NBA season, Warriors teammates Steph Curry and Brandin Podziemski have found a fun yet competitive way to keep things light.

The sharpshooters are partaking in a friendly half-court shooting competition that began at the start of the season and will continue for the six remaining regular-season contests.

And the standings are closer than some might have guessed — as in tied.

“Me and Steph have shooting competitions, half-court competitions all the time,” Podziemski told reporters Thursday night in Los Angeles after the Warriors’ big 123-116 win over the Lakers. “We’re actually tied, 24-24, right now on the half-court competition.

“Just a few shootarounds left, but I think we just try to have fun with it and understand that Steph’s the best shooter that’s stepped foot on Earth so to pick his brain, not only with shooting but that flow state that he gets into when he’s shooting lights out like he did in Memphis, just trying to pick his brain on that and try to get in that type of rhythm yourself. I’ve had two good shooting games on this trip, so just continuing to lean on that.”

Podziemski wowed the crowd at Crypto.com Arena after banking in a half-court shot as the shot clock expired just before halftime. But no one was as impressed as the Warriors’ bench.

PODZ FROM THE LOGO TO BEAT THE BUZZER 🚨 🚨🚨

pic.twitter.com/hvC61QT4UC

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 4, 2025

And per usual, leading that reaction was veteran teammate Draymond Green, who got on Podziemski for passing up a buzzer-beater opportunity against the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday.

“Him and Steph shoot half-court shots against each other every day,” Green told reporters in LA postgame. “I know you’d imagine the standings is Steph [winning]. I’m not sure what their count is but BP could be possibly leading. He hits those shots very frequently. So we get in the game in San Antonio and he’s at the buzzer and he threw it to Jimmy [Butler]. And we’re all like, ‘What’re you doing? No, you have to take that shot.’

“He took it tonight and he made it. So that’s why you seen everyone’s reaction from the bench going crazy. And he’s running off yelling, ‘Get me my money,’ because we shoot half-court shots when someone’s late for money and he’s yelling and running, ‘Get me my money, get me my money.’ So it was a great moment. It’s good to see him make that shot. It was a huge shot. Completely shifted the momentum going into the half back to us.”

Podziemski finished with 28 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field and a career-best 8 of 10 from 3-point range, with eight rebounds, six assists and one steal in 36 minutes.

After struggling early in the 2024-25 NBA season, the second-year guard appears to have turned things around. And it all starts with the good vibes behind the scenes with his star teammates.

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