The NBA season is picking up steam and moving along quickly. Sample sizes are getting bigger, rotations are becoming clearer, and as a result, there’s plenty to read into as it pertains to fantasy basketball.

For our Week 3 Stock Up, Stock Down, we explore the east and west coasts while visiting the south in the process.

Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire: Kon Knueppel steps up for Charlotte

Rookie Kon Knueppel has made the most of his opportunities early into the 2025-26 season.

• Zak Hanshew,

→ Watch the NBA Coast 2 Coast Tuesday on NBC and Peacock:The Celtics take on the 76ers at 8pm ET, followed by the Nuggets at the Kings at 11 pm ET. Both games are available on Peacock. Check your local listings for the NBC game in your area.

STOCK UP

Grayson Allen – SG/SF, Suns

Here are some numbers for you to digest: 107 points, 10 steals, 19 assists, and 27 three-pointers — those are the November totals for Grayson Allen through five games. Essentially, for any fantasy managers out there needing a high-volume three-point shooter that can make contributions in other statistically relevant categories for fantasy leagues, Allen’s the guy. He’s kept his starting spot in every one of the Suns’ 11 games this season and maintained his role, regardless of which other players have been in or out of Phoenix’s lineup. What he’s providing seems sustainable — he’s simply doing what he’s done well throughout his career, which is shoot the ball with high accuracy from deep. The playmaking bump this season has been an added bonus. Nonetheless, Allen could be a solid roster addition in fantasy leagues, even if it's just for streaming purposes.

Jaime Jaquez Jr. – SG/SF/PF, Heat

Jaquez Jr.’s third NBA season is going about as well as anyone could have imagined, especially after a somewhat disappointing sophomore season in which he could hardly crack the nightly rotation by its end. Despite not starting in any of Miami’s 11 games thus far, he’s played nearly 30.0 minutes per contest and ranks second on the team in assists per game and third in rebounds per game, all while being one of four Heat players to average more than 17.5 points per contest. These are all career-best marks for the former UCLA Bruin, who’s been on triple-double alert the last three games. The three-point production has dipped, but that may be a non-issue for those looking to add talent to their fantasy rosters.

Karl-Anthony Towns – PF/C, Knicks

I almost included KAT in last week’s “Stock Down” section, but figured I could probably wait. My patience was rewarded, apparently, as the seasoned 11th-year forward has since put up some fantastic numbers. He’s up to 24.0 points and 12.5 rebounds per game across New York’s current four-game winning streak, while also averaging 1.0 steals, 1.0 blocks and 4.0 assists over that time. The three-point shooting is one of the last parts of his game yet to arrive this season. If Towns can return to form, or even improve slightly on what’s been career-worst three-point accuracy to this point, his fantasy production would take another bump.

Fantasy Basketball Week 4 Schedule Primer: Avoid the 76ers

Philadelphia has a two-game week, which lowers the fantasy value of its deep-league options.

• Raphielle Johnson,

STOCK DOWN

Desmond Bane – SG/SF, Magic

The early-tenure results for Bane and the Magic likely haven’t gone the way either party had expected. Orlando traded for the sharpshooting wing in hopes that his proven track record as a scorer would help take the Magic to the next level. There have been flashes, but instead, the sixth-year player is having his least productive season on offense since his rookie campaign. His 43.7 field-goal percentage is the lowest of his career, as is the rough 27.7 percent shooting from beyond the arc. Such struggles have led Bane to a big decrease in points per game, with his assists, rebounds, and minutes per game also taking a hit. Bane did score 22 points and sink a game-winning three-pointer on Monday night to help the Magic beat the Trail Blazers – perhaps that’ll serve as the turning point in what’s been a slow start.

Ja Morant – PG, Grizzlies

The discourse surrounding Ja Morant has been very loud of late for several reasons. Over his last five games, he's averaging 15.0 points, has shot just 3-of-28 from beyond the arc, and hasn’t shot above 35.0% in any of the five games. Add to that the 4.4 turnovers per game, and you get a player who has provided fantasy managers with much value of late. He’s sustained high-level production throughout his career and is obviously talented enough to get back on track here rather quickly. But it’s already been a bumpy ride for Morant and the Grizzlies over the first few weeks of the season. The pathway to a quick turnaround isn’t necessarily straightforward.

Daniel Gafford – C, Mavericks

Maybe it’s unfair to put this lob-threat, play-finishing type of center in the “Stock Down” category, given his late start to the season due to a previous ankle injury, and the Mavericks’ current point guard situation. However, Gafford’s been in the lineup for six games now, with neither Anthony Davis (calf) nor Dereck Lively II (knee) available to take reps away from him, and he’s proceeded to produce the type of scoring and rebounding averages that would mark his lowest since 2020-21 if the season ended today. He probably needs a table-setter out on the floor with him in order to see a noteworthy increase in production, but that seems more like wishful thinking than something that’ll become a reality anytime soon.