The NBA season starts Tuesday night, and we're here with some opening night DraftKings picks for NBA DFS contests, both the two-game main slate and Showdown lineups. With Warriors vs. Nets and Lakers vs. Clippers both featured on the NBA's first night of the year, it should be fun.
Below, you'll find both a lineup for the two-game main slate, along with single-game Showdown lineups for each game. You'll find a lot of overlap between our main-slate lineup and our Showdown ones, with DK's pricing aligning on each slate to be similar. The early season provides some value opportunities if we can spot roles that are more secure than DK's pricing suggests, and we've definitely done that below.
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DraftKings NBA DFS Picks for Tuesday, Dec. 22
PG LeBron James, Lakers vs. Clippers ($9,600). James not being the highest-priced player on this slate is just a bit of disrespect for one of the greatest players ever. His ability to record triple-doubles gives him added upside on DK.
SG Joe Harris, Nets vs. Warriors ($4,800). All signs point to Harris starting for the Nets, and he's one of the planet's best shooters. With defensive attention elsewhere, Harris should get a number of open looks.
SF Luke Kennard, Clippers @ Lakers ($3,600). Kennard should see heavy bench minutes for the Clippers as a secondary scorer alongside Lou Williams. He's got good scoring upside for a low price.
PF Eric Paschall, Warriors @ Nets ($3,800). Paschall should see more minutes because Draymond Green isn't healthy, and he's a good enough shooter and rebounder to return solid value at a cheap price.
C Anthony Davis, Lakers vs. Clippers ($10,000). Unless there's chatter about minutes limits on James and David, they should both have big games on opening night and are both great plays thanks to their multi-position eligibility on DK.
G Talen Horton-Tucker, Lakers vs. Clippers ($3,500). Because of the hype THT has received this preseason, he might see high ownership at a cheap price, and if anything he could disappoint in the early going. But he's the best we're finding in this price range.
F Kevin Durant, Nets vs. Warriors ($9,800). Playing a lineup with James, Davis and Durant seems too good to be true, but here we are. Let's embrace the studs.
FLEX James Wiseman, Warriors @ Nets ($4,900). Wiseman is shaping up to play, although confirm that before the early game's tip. Even if he's coming off the bench, that's fine at his price. He should pile up points, rebounds, and blocks in a hurry.
DraftKings Showdown NBA DFS Picks: Warriors vs. Nets
CAPTAIN (1.5x points, 1.5x price): Joe Harris, Nets ($7,200). Harris is too good a shooter at this price, especially since he's supposed to start.
FLEX: Kevin Durant, Nets ($10,600). His Nets debut should be a good one. Durant has looked healthy in the preseason.
FLEX: Stephen Curry, Warriors ($10,000). Speaking of looking healthy, Curry's looked great in the preseason and should be flying around the court after missing most of last season.
FLEX: Kyrie Irving, Nets ($9,600). Playing a value captain allows us to play this game's three best players, and that'll get us a long way toward cashing. Whether you think Kyrie is weird or not, he certainly gets buckets.
FLEX: Kelly Oubre Jr., Warriors ($7,200). Oubre flew under the radar in Phoenix, but joining Curry in Golden State will soon show him to be one of the league's most talented wing players, and he's underpriced for opening night.
FLEX: James Wiseman, Warriors ($5,000). As we said above, confirm that Wiseman is playing. We don't care if he's starting or not at this price, just playing, because the No. 2 overall pick should quickly turn into a DFS stud.
DraftKings Showdown NBA DFS Lineup: Lakers vs. Clippers
CAPTAIN (1.5x points, 1.5x price): LeBron James, Lakers ($15,900). Going with a different tact in the nightcap, giving ourselves the player who we've deemed most likely to score the most DK points in this matchup.
FLEX: Anthony Davis, Lakers ($11,000). It's worth it to pair James and Davis, just as we did in our main-slate lineup.
FLEX: Kawhi Leonard, Clippers ($10,000). We're fading Paul George here, so we've gotta have Leonard in this marquee matchup at the forward position.
FLEX: Dennis Schroder, Lakers ($6,600). Schroeder is dealing with an ankle issue, so swap him out for Kyle Kuzma if Schroeder is ruled out. If he plays in his Lakers debut, he'll be an exciting secondary ball-handler for the purple and gold.
FLEX: Luke Kennard, Clippers ($3,200). Kennard should provide solid scoring off the Clippers' bench, with his shooting giving him a good floor at this price.
FLEX: Talen Horton-Tucker, Lakers ($2,800). THT has been a preseason darling, and if he plays even half as well in the regular season, he's a bargain at this price.