Pickups: Add Anthony Black, Cedric Coward before it’s too late

As the NBA enters the last week of the 2025 calendar year, the league is in full swing. This is the time of year when many are starting to pay more attention to the NBA, after the Christmas games that some see as the unofficial start to the season. But the season is more than two months old, and players have been taking advantage of extra opportunities due to injury or increased playing time to increase their value.

Let’s get your fantasy hoops squads an end-of-the-year boost by going through and identifying some lightly-rostered players that deserve more attention and can help your fantasy squads thrive.

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Point guard

Ajay Mitchell, PG, Oklahoma City Thunder (rostered in 43.2% of ESPN leagues): Mitchell missed a couple of games last week with a concussion but returned to game action on Sunday. He was playing well before the concussion, averaging 15.3 PPG, 6.0 RPG and 3.0 APG in 24.7 MPG in the three games prior to the injury.

Anthony Black, PG, Orlando Magic (41.9%): Black has exploded of late, seemingly making good on the flashes he has shown multiple times this season. The No. 6 overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft is growing into his draft status. He has averaged 24.2 PPG in his last six outings, including a career-high 38 points on Saturday.

Shooting guard

Pelle Larsson, SG, Miami Heat (3.3%): Larsson returned from a five-game absence and moved straight into the starting lineup with Tyler Herro (toe) sidelined indefinitely. In those two starts, Larsson has shown that he can fill the box scores with averages of 18.5 PPG, 6.0 APG and 5.0 RPG.

Tim Hardaway Jr., SG/SF, Denver Nuggets (6.3%): Hardaway was already playing some of his best ball of the season when Cameron Johnson went down injured, and he has continued his strong play as a starter in the last two games. Overall, in his last four outings, Hardaway has been a consistent 20+ PPG scorer knocking down about five 3-pointers per game.

Small forward

Cedric Coward, SF/SG, Memphis Grizzlies (36.2%): Coward missed a game last week with a heel injury, but in his return he continued his run of strong play. Coward is good for about 15 points and seven boards per game in the month of December.

Bilal Coulibaly, SF/SG, Washington Wizards (12.0%): Coulibaly missed much of the month of December with ankle and oblique injuries, but he is finishing the month strong. In his first two games back, he has shown again that he can be a plus scorer and rebounder in addition to his 3-and-D skills.

Power forward

Moussa Diabate, PF/C, Charlotte Hornets (12.4%): Diabate has stepped into the starting lineup for the Hornets with Ryan Kalkbrenner sidelined and responded with two straight double-doubles. He is working on a streak of three straight games with at least 13 rebounds.

Sandro Mamukelashvili, PF, Toronto Raptors (16.5%): Mamukelashvili has gotten several spot starts in the last couple weeks with Jakob Poeltl (back) sidelined. Poeltl is still out, but RJ Barrett has returned from injury and pushed Mamukelashvili back to a reserve role. When Mamu gets minutes, though, he is consistently productive. He has scored in double figures in every game this season when he has played at least 21 minutes, so if he keeps getting run he should remain a viable streamer or free agent pickup.

Center

Brook Lopez, C, LA Clippers (17.6%): Lopez has moved into the Clippers’ starting lineup with Ivica Zubac sidelined. In his first start, he notched only five points but returned with 31 points in his second. While consistency might not be a strong point anymore, Lopez can be a scoring, 3-point shooting threat as long as he gets starter minutes.

Jusuf Nurkic, C, Utah Jazz (20.3%): Nurkic misses games regularly for injury maintenance, but when he plays he’s a walking double-double. In his last six games, Nurkic has averaged 13.5 PPG, 10.8 RPG and 6.0 APG.