André SnellingsDec 29, 2025, 11:00 AM ETCloseDr. André Snellings is a senior writer for men’s and women’s fantasy basketball and sports betting at ESPN. André has a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from Michigan. He joined ESPN in 2017 after a 16-year career as a neural engineer, during which time he was also a writer and analyst for Rotowire.
play0:15Brook Lopez cashes a corner 3 for the ClippersBrook Lopez cashes a corner 3 for the Clippers
play0:27Anthony Black gets the and-1 to fallAnthony Black gets the and-1 to fall
play0:22Cedric Coward somehow gets the and-1 to fallCedric Coward somehow gets the and-1 to fall
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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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.
Anthony Black gets the and-1 to fallAnthony Black gets the and-1 to fall
Cedric Coward somehow gets the and-1 to fallCedric Coward somehow gets the and-1 to fall
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.
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.
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.
Brook Lopez cashes a corner 3 for the ClippersBrook Lopez cashes a corner 3 for the Clippers
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.
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.
CloseDr. André Snellings is a senior writer for men’s and women’s fantasy basketball and sports betting at ESPN. André has a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from Michigan. He joined ESPN in 2017 after a 16-year career as a neural engineer, during which time he was also a writer and analyst for Rotowire.