The 2022-23 NBA regular season is set to begin on Tuesday with a tremendous opening-night daily fantasy basketball slate that features the Sixers taking on the defending Eastern Conference champion Celtics and the Lakers facing off against the reigning NBA champion Warriors. Our first NBA DFS DraftKings lineup has a great mix of All-Star players and a few rising young stars in the league, including Tyrese Maxey, Jordan Poole, and Jonathan Kuminga.
We built our lineup around the two superstar pillars of Joel Embiid and LeBron James, who are the anchors of their respective teams and the focal points on offense. We wanted to find a way to get either Jaylen Brown or Jayson Tatum in our lineup; however, Tyrese Maxey, Jordan Poole, and Andrew Wiggins should make up for their production at fractions of the cost.
Before we break down all of our picks, here are the most notable scoring rules for DraftKings contests: Made three-point shot (+0.5 points), rebound (+1.25 points), assists (+1.5 points) steals and blocks (+2 points), double-double (+1.5 points -- max one per player) and triple-double (+3 points -- max one player).
NBA Opening Night DraftKings Picks: NBA DFS lineup for GPP tournaments
Tuesday main slate, $50,000 budget
PG Tyrese Maxey, Sixers @ Celtics ($5,000). Even though Tuesday's slate features Stephen Curry and James Harden, who can fill up the box score from the point guard position, we will roll with Maxey. Last season, the 21-year-old Maxey averaged 17.5 points, 4.3 assists, and 3.2 assists per game. He also improved his three-point shooting from 30.1 percent as a rookie to 42.7 percent last season. He will be one of the Sixers' top scorers on Tuesday night despite being primarily defended by Jaylen Brown or Marcus Smart.
SG Jordan Poole, Warriors vs. Lakers ($6,700). To fill out our backcourt, we will depend on another young guard in Poole. Poole just inked a four-year contract extension and will be Golden State's first option off the bench. Last season, we saw the former first-round pick come into his own, averaging 18.5 points per game and shooting 36.4 percent from three-point range. Poole is instant offense off the bench and could easily score upwards of 30 DraftKings points on opening night.
SF Andrew Wiggins, Warriors vs. Lakers ($7,000). Sticking with the Warriors, Wiggins stepped up in a big way for Golden State last season in the NBA Finals. The former No. 1 overall pick showed not only could he be a scorer, but he also can be a good rebounder. Last season, he averaged 38.4 DraftKings fantasy points per game and 29.3 DraftKings FPPG in four games vs. Los Angeles, and hopefully, with his newfound rebounding skills, he can increase that number.
PF LeBron James, Lakers @ Warriors ($9,200). The 37-year-old James is showing no signs of slowing down and will look to make a statement against the defending champs. The future Hall of Famer had another big statistical season, averaging 30.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game. When you have James in your lineup, you have to consider the fact that he's a double-double/triple-double threat. It wouldn't be crazy to think he could do this on Tuesday night, as he averaged 38.7 points, 12 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game in three games against Golden State last season.
C Joel Embiid, Sixers @ Celtics ($9,900). Embiid will look to pick up where he left off last season after finishing second in MVP voting. The five-time All-Star center well last season against the Celtics, averaging 24.5 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game (three games). Embiid is another player who could get an additional 1.5 points, thanks to his ability to be a double-double machine. Al Horford will have the tough task of defending Embiid, as the Celtics are without Robert Williams (knee). In his past three games against Horford, Embiid is averaging 19 points and 13.3 rebounds per game.
G Payton Pritchard, Celtics vs. Sixers ($3,500). At our guard spot, we will roll the dice with Pritchard, who had a couple of nice performances in the preseason. The former Oregon standout posted 15 points, seven assists, and three rebounds in 27 minutes off the bench against the Hornets. In the previous game against the Raptors, Pritchard had 17 points, five assists, and four rebounds. If Pritchard can fill up the box score against the Sixers, it will be a nice boost for your lineup at $3,500.
F Jonathan Kuminga, Warriors vs. Lakers ($4,200). The second-year forward will play a huge role off the bench for the Warriors this season and should see quality minutes on Tuesday night. Last season, Kuminga averaged 9.3 points and 3.3 rebounds in 16.9 minutes per game. Kuminga can give you a little bit of everything in the box score, and he could really provide nice value against a Lakers' squad that does not have strong frontcourt depth.
UTIL DeAnthony Melton, Sixers @ Celtics ($4,200). Melton is another one of our value plays for Tuesday night's slate, as he's good on both ends and can stuff the stat sheet. The veteran combo guard will likely be paired with Maxey and is a solid three-point shooter (37.4 percent last season). Melton is also a good defender and can get you points through steals (1.4 per game last season). If you can get at least 15 DraftKings points from Melton, it's a win for your lineup.
