The NBA has a fun four-game slate on Saturday night with games from across the country to fill up the evening. The NBA TV doubleheader features the Warriors-Hawks and Bucks-Kings matchups, but the other two games on the board are also interesting, especially with the potential return of The King in Los Angeles. Looking at the eight-team player pool, these three NBA must-start options stand out as plays that are set up for success this Saturday.
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PG/SG Brandin Podziemski, Golden State Warriors at Atlanta Hawks, $6,000
The Warriors won’t have Steph Curry in this juicy pace-up spot against the Hawks, so Pod Racer should be revved up and ready to roll. He just returned from a five-game back injury of his own and produced 30.25 and 23.75 fantasy points in his two games since returning. Despite battling multiple injuries in 2025, he averaged 28.9 fantasy points per contest in his 22 games and improved that to 35.24 fantasy points per game in the two games during that span without Steph available.
Podziemski’s usage rate is just 17.9% on the season, but it increases to 23.2% with Curry off the floor since the start of 2025. Since the Hawks play so fast, Podziemski should get plenty of opportunities to step up on Saturday, and he’s a great backcourt option with a very high ceiling at only $6,000, making him one of my NBA must-starts for Saturday.
PF/C, Trey Lyles, Sacramento Kings vs. Milwaukee Bucks, $3,600
This is probably the first time that Lyles has been in the NBA must-starts all season, but I think this is a great place to take advantage of his bargain salary against the Bucks. You might even be able to save up enough to buy into the big PF/C on the other side of this matchup.
Lyles is typically a good per-minute producer but hasn’t gotten much playing time when the Kings are healthy. However, Domantas Sabonis (ankle) will miss at least the next week or so, leaving plenty of minutes for Lyles and Jonas Valanciunas ($7,700). While Valanciunas’s salary has increased as a result, Lyles is still a bargain.
In the two games since Sabonis went down with his injury, Lyles had 31.25 fantasy points in 30 minutes against the Cavs followed by 37.5 fantasy points in 24 minutes against the Bulls. In each of those games, he actually played more minutes than Valanciunas.
He has played 20+ minutes in four straight games with over 17 fantasy points in each game and an average of 27.0 fantasy points per game. He’s not a guarantee to go for 30 fantasy points, for sure, but he doesn’t have to in order to return outstanding value at his salary under $4,000.
PG Ryan Rollins, Milwaukee Bucks at Sacramento Kings, $3,800
The final option in my NBA must-starts for Saturday is another player getting a bigger role while filling in for an injured star. Damian Lillard (calf) will miss a second straight game, opening the door for Rollins to get another big opportunity on Saturday, this time against the Kings.
On Thursday, Rollins started and played 29 minutes against the Lakers while Kevin Porter Jr. ($4,000) played just 17 minutes off the bench. Rollins struggled with his shot, making just 3-of-11 field-goal attempts, but he did hit two three-pointers and contributed 30.75 fantasy points on 10 points, five rebounds, four assists, three steals and a blocked shot.
Like Lyles, Rollins doesn’t have to go off to be a great value at this low salary, but he does have the potential for much more if he gets another start and his shot is better than it was on Thursday. Rollins had 34 fantasy points against the Kings in his previous start before Thursday and he has that kind of ceiling again on Saturday, which is outstanding for a player under $4,000.
