WNBA: Aziaha James is among the hottest fantasy basketball pickups

Staying on top of injuries is a major key to winning any fantasy basketball league. Not only is it important to keep track of who isn’t playing (and for how long), but if you know which players are in line for more minutes or larger roles as a result of those injuries, you can make more informed waiver wire pickups or trades.

The Dallas Wings are a good example of how injuries to several rotation players have opened up major opportunities for others. Things haven’t gone according to plan for the Wings thus far, but they’ve been getting big contributions from some younger players who may not have seen much playing time otherwise. These players—Aziaha James and Luisa Geiselsöder—highlight this week’s installment of our WNBA Fantasy Grab Bag.

Aziaha James and Luisa Geiselsöder have become must-add players

As a rule of thumb, any time a team is down multiple starters, it’s worth looking at which players stand to benefit from those absences. The Wings have been without DiJonai Carrington since June 22 due to a rib injury, and Arike Ogunbowale is now also on the shelf with an injured thumb. Factor in Tyasha Harris, who underwent season-ending knee surgery earlier in June, and you get a Wings backcourt that has virtually no remaining options to play next to Paige Bueckers, save for fellow rookie Aziaha James.

Luckily for the Wings, James has risen to the challenge. She’s started in Carrington’s place and, in those five games, has been highly productive, averaging 15.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game in 31.5 minutes played (27.8 fantasy points). In her most recent game, with Ogunbowale joining Carrington on the bench, James dropped a career-high 28 points to go along with six rebounds and six assists in a whopping 38 minutes of playing time.

James isn’t the only Wings rookie who has been thriving lately. Luisa Geiselsöder, who recently returned from a stint playing for Germany in FIBA Women’s EuroBasket, started at power forward in the team’s most recent game and recorded four points, four rebounds and four defensive stats in 33 minutes. Geiselsöder shot poorly from the field (1-for-9), but for a Dallas frontcourt that doesn’t have much in the way of defensive playmaking, she’s likely to have a consistent role for the remainder of the season.

As for James, things aren’t as immediately clear. When Carrington and/or Ogunbowale are cleared to return, she won’t be shooting the ball as often as she is right now. It’s possible, though, that the Wings, who drafted James at No. 12 overall in the 2025 WNBA Draft, will want to keep her in the starting lineup as they evaluate their young talent in what’s shaping up to be a lost season for the franchise. James is undoubtedly a must-add fantasy player right now, and it’s not inconceivable that she’ll retain some value even when the Wings get healthy.

Aari McDonald is stepping up in Caitlin Clark’s absence—again

McDonald gained cult hero status among Fever fans earlier in the season when she signed with the team on a hardship contract and filled in admirably for an injured Caitlin Clark over a three-game stretch. Due to the nature of such contracts, McDonald had to be released when the Fever got healthy, but with Clark once again on the sidelines (this time with an injured groin), McDonald is back in Indiana, and she’s once again giving the team a much-needed boost.

Since returning to the Fever, McDonald is averaging 9.8 points, three rebounds and 5.5 assists in four games. Most importantly, she’s playing 28.5 minutes per contest, and it’s largely been alongside Indiana’s other starters. Sydney Colson may have been the Fever’s backup point guard of choice heading into the season, but it’s clear that the team now prefers McDonald to play the lion’s share of the minutes next to Kelsey Mitchell; she’ll lose most of her fantasy value when Clark returns, but just like in her first stint with the Fever, McDonald should be rostered until that happens.

Is NaLyssa Smith worth an add now that she’s in Las Vegas?

Smith was dealt to the Aces last week in exchange for a 2027 first-round draft pick, having played just 18 games for the Wings prior to being traded. At the time of the deal, she was averaging career-lows in minutes (19.3), rebounds (5.1) and points per game (6.6), and she didn’t seem to have the kind of consistent offensive role in Dallas as she did her first few seasons with the Fever.

Needless to say, Smith was not living up to her ADP of 39.7, but there’s reason to believe that she could now be a worthwhile waiver-wire pickup. The Aces have been scrambling to find help in their frontcourt for A’ja Wilson; Kiah Stokes is more or less ignored by opposing defenses, and neither Megan Gustafson nor Cheyenne Parker-Tyus have played this season. The fact that they gave up a first-round draft pick for a player whose trade value had already cratered suggests that they were enthusiastic (or, as our Mykah Horrell puts it, desperate) to add another big with some offensive skill.

Of course, with Wilson and other big-name players like Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray on the roster, Smith won’t be a focal point of the Aces’ offense, either. Until Gustafson (lower leg) and Parker-Tyus (pregnancy) are ready to suit up, though, the Aces simply don’t have many other options at the position. Even if Smith is only marginally productive for the Aces (she recorded four points and seven rebounds in her first game with the team), she’s worth rostering in deeper leagues until they get their act together.