NBA DFS picks, Thursday lineup advice from daily Fantasy professional who's won $2 million

SportsLine's Mike McClure, a daily Fantasy pro with more than $2 million in winnings, gives optimal NBA DFS lineup advice for Thursday, Jan. 8

By Daniel Kohn

Jan 8, 2026 at 5:02 pm ET • 3 min read

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There is a limited four-game NBA schedule on Thursday, which begins at 7 p.m. ET and has the last tip at 9 p.m. ET. Even with the schedule low on quantity, there is a high quality in the NBA DFS player pool to build your daily Fantasy basketball lineups around. Stars like Keyonte George, Donovan Mitchell, Cooper Flagg, Anthony Davis, Lauri Markkanen and Pascal Siakam are in action, so you certainly have plenty of directions to go with NBA DFS picks. Finding someone who can outperform his price tags on sites like FanDuel and DraftKings is key to that and to constructing a winning NBA DFS strategy.

Donte DiVincenzo (undisclosed), Josh Giddey (hamstring) and Isaiah Jackson (concussion) are among those who are out for tonight. That means there are several players who could make a difference in their absences. Who should find their way into your daily Fantasy basketball lineups? Before making any NBA DFS picks, be sure to check out the NBA DFS advice, player rankings, stacks, and top daily Fantasy basketball picks from SportsLine's Mike McClure.

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McClure is a DFS professional with more than $2 million in career winnings. He's also a predictive data engineer at SportsLine who uses a powerful prediction model that simulates every minute of every game 10,000 times, taking factors like matchups, statistical trends and injuries into account. This allows him to find the best NBA DFS values on sites like DraftKings and FanDuel and create optimal lineups that he shares only over at SportsLine. They're a must-see for any NBA DFS player.

McClure has turned his attention to NBA action on Thursday and locked in his top daily Fantasy basketball picks. You can only see them by heading to SportsLine.

Top NBA DFS picks for Thursday, January 8

For Thursday, one of McClure's top NBA DFS picks is Mavericks PF/C Anthony Davis, who is listed at $9,300 on DraftKings and $10,900 on FanDuel. The 14th-year veteran is off to a solid start to the season. In 18 games, all starts, he is averaging a 20.4 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.7 blocks and 1.2 steals in 30.8 minutes. He is connecting on 52.2% of his field goals and 72.6% of his free throws. Davis should fare well against the Utah defense, which ranks 27th in the league by allowing 119.8 points per game.

Dallas has won two games in a row thanks in part to Davis' play. He is coming off back-to-back double-doubles. In a 100-98 win at Sacramento on Tuesday, he scored 19 points, while grabbing 16 rebounds. He poured in 26 points, while adding 12 rebounds, five blocks and three assists in a 110-104 win over the Houston Rockets on Saturday.

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Another part of McClure's optimal NBA DFS strategy includes stacking Davis with forward Naji Marshall ($5,000 on DraftKings and $5,400 on FanDuel). The fifth-year veteran is averaging 13.2 points in 37 games played, including 14 starts. He is coming off a 15-point, seven-rebound effort in the win over the Kings.

In a 140-133 overtime loss at Utah on Dec. 15, he poured in 15 points, while grabbing three rebounds in 36 minutes of action. The Jazz have also allowed the most Fantasy points, on both DraftKings and FanDuel, to opposing small forwards, which is the position where Marshall spends most of his time. See McClure's other NBA DFS picks right here.

How to set your NBA DFS lineups for Thursday, Jan. 8

McClure is also targeting a player who could go off for massive numbers on Thursday because of an optimal matchup. This pick could be the difference between winning your tournaments and cash games or going home with nothing. You can only see who it is here.

Who is DFS pro Mike McClure putting in his optimal NBA DFS lineups for Thursday? Visit SportsLine now to see optimal NBA DFS picks, rankings, advice, and stacks, all from a professional DFS player who has over $2 million in career winnings, and find out.