2024-25 Fantasy Basketball Week 14 Schedule Breakdown

All 30 teams will play stateside during Week 14, with the Pacers and Spurs returning from Paris. Most of the league will play four games during the final full week before the February 6 trade deadline. The statuses of players like Jimmy Butler, Bradley Beal, Nikola Vucevic, and Zach LaVine (to name four) loom large over the NBA and fantasy basketball. Let’s look at the Week 14 schedule, beginning with how many games each team will play.

Week 14 Games Played

4 Games: ATL, BOS, CHA, CHI, CLE, DAL, DEN, DET, HOU, LAC, LAL, MIL, MIN, PHI, PHO, TOR, UTA, WAS

3 Games: BKN, GSW, MEM, MIA, NOR, NYK, ORL, POR, SAC, SAS

2 Games: IND, OKC

Week 14 Storylines

– Avoid the Pacers and Thunder due to light schedules.

Indiana and Oklahoma City are the only teams playing two games during Week 14. The two teams are in action on Wednesday and Saturday, two of the schedule’s busier days. Eleven games will be played on Wednesday and nine on Saturday, with Monday (12 games) being the busiest day of Week 14. While the schedule won’t impact fantasy studs like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, or Tyrese Haliburton much, low-rostered players on the Pacers and Thunder are essentially off the board for Week 14. Luguentz Dort (24% rostered, Yahoo), Cason Wallace (22%), and Andrew Nembhard (22%) are among the players who, for scheduling reasons, won’t be worth the risk.

– Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday are the “streaming days” to target.

Four games will be played on Tuesday, with Thursday and Sunday having five-game slates. Among the teams that will play on at least two of those days are Atlanta (Tuesday and Thursday), Cleveland (Thursday and Sunday), Houston (Tuesday and Thursday), and Philadelphia (Tuesday and Sunday). In the case of the 76ers, Tuesday’s matchup with the Lakers is the first of a back-to-back, so that will be something else for fantasy managers to deal with.

Joel Embiid (knee) is expected to be re-evaluated either at the end of Week 13 or the beginning of Week 14. With Andre Drummond (toe) also dealing with an injury, Guerschon Yabusele will continue to have added fantasy value. As for Atlanta, it’s unknown how long they’ll be without Jalen Johnson, who has a left shoulder injury and is out. Vit Krejci, who has been starting for Zaccharie Risacher, De’Andre Hunter, and Larry Nance Jr. are all players who will be worth a look if Johnson isn’t ready for the start of the Hawks’ four-game Week 14 slate on Monday against the Timberwolves.

– Beware of tanking “opportunities” for teams more focused on draft lottery odds than the competition for a play-in spot.

Charlotte appeared to be hitting its stride toward the end of Week 12, winning three straight games, while New Orleans ran off a four-game win streak. And then, the lineup changes began to happen. The Pelicans had a game postponed during Week 13, and the time off led to Zion Williamson sitting out a January 24 loss to the Grizzlies for conditioning reasons (he would play the following night in Charlotte). As for the Hornets, who will play the rest of the season without Brandon Miller (wrist), LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges were among those held out of their January 24 loss to Portland, and Mark Williams did not play the following night against New Orleans.

The good news for fantasy managers who may have any Pelicans rostered is that they play three games during Week 14 but no back-to-backs. Charlotte has a four-game slate but ends with a Friday/Saturday home back-to-back against the Clippers and Nuggets. Players like Nick Smith Jr. (who is worth adding with Miller done for the season) and Moussa Diabate may have added value, especially if the Hornets decide to rest some of their mainstays during that back-to-back.

– Five teams begin Week 14 with a Monday/Tuesday back-to-back, including the Jazz.

Speaking of lottery-bound teams that have not hesitated to sit established players, Utah certainly qualifies. Due to either injury or injury management, John Collins has appeared in two games since December 21, and Jordan Clarkson has not played in a game since January 4. Lauri Markkanen, Collin Sexton, and Walker Kessler have also missed time since the calendar flipped to 2025. Those absences have opened opportunities for young players like Isaiah Collier, Brice Sensabaugh, Cody Williams, and Kyle Filipowski. In the case of Collier, he may be competing with Keyonte George to determine which guard is best equipped to run the show during Utah’s rebuild.

As for the other four teams with Monday/Tuesday back-to-backs, the Hawks (Johnson, as noted above) and Lakers (LeBron James) have significant health situations to deal with heading into Week 14. Also, Houston may feel the need to rest Tari Eason for one of its first two games of the week, as it will be the first back-to-back for him since missing 13 games with a lower left leg issue (he was limited to 22 games last season by another lower left leg injury). Between the trade deadline and the All-Star break, this is a time when some teams may not hesitate to rest their key players.

– Detroit and Milwaukee will end Week 14 with back-to-backs.

The Pistons and Bucks are among the ten teams that will play on Sunday, and they’re the only two in action on Saturday. While Detroit ended Week 13 with a clean injury report outside Jaden Ivey, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton were on the Bucks’ injury report ahead of their January 25 matchup with the Clippers. The good news for Milwaukee is that both stars were probable, so the concern (at least for Middleton) is more about the schedule than an actual injury. With the Bucks also having a Monday/Tuesday back-to-back, it’s conceivable that Week 14 is a two-game week for Middleton instead of four (if he sits on Sunday (February 1) and not Monday (February 2). Detroit only has one back-to-back to navigate.

Light Game Days

Tuesday: 4 Games

Thursday: 5 Games

Sunday: 5 Games

Week 14 Back-to-backs

Sunday (Week 13)-Monday: None

Monday-Tuesday: ATL, HOU, LAL, MIL, UTA

Tuesday-Wednesday: GSW, PHI

Wednesday-Thursday: CLE, MIN, WAS

Thursday-Friday: None

Friday-Saturday: CHA, DEN, PHO, SAS

Saturday-Sunday: None