Fantasy basketball waiver targets: Collier, Grimes, Eason headline early-January adds
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ESPN fantasy analyst Dr. André Snellings released his first waiver column of 2026 on Jan. 5, pointing managers toward several lightly rostered players who have produced solid numbers as the NBA season nears its midpoint.
Point guards
Isaiah Collier, Utah Jazz (18.4% rostered) — The rookie has averaged 8.5 assists over his past 11 outings, hitting at least seven dimes in 10 of them while coming off the bench. That playmaking volume makes him a nightly double-double threat.
Brandon Williams, Dallas Mavericks (5.0%) — Williams has scored 14 plus points in four straight games, a span in which he is supplying 19.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists across 27 minutes.
Shooting guards
Max Christie, Dallas Mavericks (7.3%) — Reinserted into the starting five four games ago, Christie just completed his best three-game scoring run of the season at 22.3 points and 3.7 made threes in 31 minutes.
Quentin Grimes, Philadelphia 76ers (38.4%) — Working as the sixth man, Grimes has posted four consecutive double-figure scoring efforts. During that stretch he is adding 3.0 threes, 1.8 steals and 1.3 blocks per contest.
Small forwards
Tari Eason, Houston Rockets (38.2%) — Five games back in the starting lineup after an injury layoff, Eason is nearly averaging a double-double over his past three appearances (15.7 points, 9.0 rebounds) while knocking down 2.0 threes and collecting 2.0 combined steals and blocks.
Julian Champagnie, San Antonio Spurs (7.2%) — Filling in for the injured Devin Vassell, Champagnie has produced 21.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 5.7 made threes in 31.3 minutes over his three starts.
Power forwards
Jake LaRavia, Los Angeles Lakers (18.3%) — Starting while Rui Hachimura nurses a calf injury, LaRavia has averaged 11.5 points, 6.0 boards, 1.9 steals and 1.2 threes across 11 starts, with individual outings ranging from 27 to three points.
Nikola Jović, Miami Heat (8.6%) — With Tyler Herro (toe) and Jaime Jaquez Jr. (ankle) sidelined, Jović has taken on a larger bench role, delivering slightly more than 15 points, five assists and five rebounds per game over his last five contests while sinking nearly three triples a night.
Center
Luke Kornet, San Antonio Spurs (9.2%) — Kornet moved into the first unit after Victor Wembanyama hyperextended his knee last week. Even if Wembanyama returns as soon as Tuesday, Kornet’s recent run — 11.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks over eight games (five starts) — keeps him in the streaming mix.
The NFL schedule may be finished, but the fantasy basketball grind continues. Managers looking to bolster their rosters ahead of the season’s second half can find immediate value among these under-rostered options.
Source: ESPN
