When you’re in a deep, competitive fantasy basketball league, you find yourself perpetually on the lookout for not who’s great on the waiver wire right now but who could, possibly, become great in the near future, because the actual great finds have probably already been snagged if the league you’re in is even remotely competitive. Jaime Jaquez Jr., for example, is still available in over half of Yahoo leagues right now despite averaging 18-7-5, but if you’re in any kind of 12-team league worth its salt, he was probably picked up by someone weeks and weeks ago. This is why guys I’ve highlighted in articles this year tend to include prospects like Trendon Watford and Ace Bailey; sometimes they’ll pan out and sometimes they won’t, but it’s imperative to be aware of who’s possibly on deck if you want to dominate your league.
And this is why I’ve got my sights set on Bilal Coulibaly. The former Wizards first round pick returned to the lineup last night and produced 6-3-4-2-2 in 28 minutes. Stellar numbers? Not really. But there’s huge upside here and it’s why I’m adding him wherever I can. For one thing, the opportunity is absolutely going to be there for him to break out. The Wizards have started Coulibaly every time he’s played over the past two seasons and were giving him 33 minutes a night last year; the Wizards also happen to be atrocious and so there’s no reason for him not to be getting as much playing time as he can handle so long as he’s healthy (more on that later); but what’s really intriguing with Coulibaly is how great a defender he is. There are very, very few guards capable of getting you over a block a night, and yet that’s exactly what he’s doing through five games. This makes him a rather intriguing prospect because even if he doesn’t score a ton of points, he’s still capable of producing stat lines that are diverse enough to make him a bona fide fantasy asset.
Case in point, check out his averages so far. Right now Coulibaly is putting up 9.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.2 steals, 1.2 blocks and 1 three a game. Individually, none of those numbers are eye-popping and it’s one of the reasons he’s available in 80% of Yahoo leagues, but consider how few players in the league are putting up at least that much in all of those categories this season: it’s literally only Evan Mobley and Scottie Barnes among players who qualify. In other words, Coulibaly’s baseline of production is pretty damn solid, and if he can actually start to prosper and start averaging, perhaps, 13 or 14 a game while still giving you a consistent amount of rebounds, assists, steals and blocks, then all of a sudden we might be looking at the next Derrick White.
There are trade-offs with Coulibaly, of course. To put it mildly, he’s been a super inconsistent shooter in his career (which limits how much scoring you should expect from him), and for another he’s constantly, constantly hurt (which is of course very annoying to deal with). And yet, so long as he’s healthy, I would strongly consider adding him if you’re hunting for the next great fantasy find, because as a 21-year-old with a pretty big runway on a crappy Wizards team and who has an enticing stat portfolio, his upside is probably significantly higher than almost anyone else you can still add in four out of five fantasy leagues.
Other notes:
John Collins had 17 points and 2 rebounds in 30 minutes last night. Those aren’t amazing numbers but with Derrick Jones Jr. getting hurt, Collins should have a decent chance to stick in the starting lineup for the foreseeable future.
Reed Sheppard had 16-and-7 in the Rockets’ win against Orlando. With Tari Eason out through the rest of 2025 possibly, Sheppard should get a ton of run on a Rockets team without a ton of depth. He’s absolutely worth rostering right now (he’s only owned in 39% of Yahoo leagues), especially if you need help in steals.
Derik Queen put up 9-7-6 last night. The looming presence of Zion Williamson makes it hard to project Queen’s rest-of-season value, and he might be too early in his career to take on a larger role, but the talent is absolutely there for him to be really, really good one day.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 26 against the Suns. It’s very possible that his numbers will crater when Trae Young returns, but I wouldn’t be itching to drop him until that happens, especially given how middling Zaccharie Risacher has been.
Collin Gillespie notched 15-8-7-2-2 against Atlanta. Gillespie has sneakily had a very solid year coming off the bench this season. His numbers have been aided by injuries to Jalen Green and now Grayson Allen, but he’s not a bad streamer at all so long as he’s getting this opportunity.
Coby White had 27-8-4 in his season debut, immediately vindicating everyone who had the patience to draft him despite him starting the season with an injury.
Ace Bailey played only 10 minutes in a double overtime game because of foul issues. As annoying as that is, he should be a mainstay in the Jazz starting five from here on and has a chance to be a certified difference-maker later in the year if the Jazz wind up dealing Lauri Markkanen (who by the way scored 47 last night).
Peyton Watson had 12 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals and a block against the Timberwolves. With Christian Braun out for a while and with Cameron Johnson having the season from hell, Watson is worth keeping an eye on if nothing else.
One game after producing an impressive stat line of 29-10-5-4-1, Kyle Kuzma came back to reality and scored just one measly point versus the Lakers. That’s a pretty good summary of the Kyle Kuzma experience. He’s been playing pretty well this year and is capable of justifying being rostered, but yeesh is he inconsistent.
Zach Edey made his season debut on Saturday, accumulating 13 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks. He’s an obvious must-own player if for some reason he’s still hanging around in your waiver wire.
