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There is a 12-game NBA regular season slate on Thursday, which begins at 7 p.m. ET and has the last tip at 10 p.m. ET. The schedule also means the NBA DFS player pool has some top options for daily Fantasy basketball lineups. Stars like Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Cade Cunningham, Jalen Johnson, Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama 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.  

James Harden (calf) is among those stars that are out, so there could be several other Clippers who could provide a great return on investment tonight. Should the likes of Kris Dunn or Jordan Miller 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.

New users can also target the DraftKings promo code, which offers $200 in bonus bets if your initial $5 bet wins:

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.

New users can also target the latest Underdog promo code, which may include a play $5, get $75 offer:

Top NBA DFS picks for Thursday, December 18

For Thursday, one of McClure's top NBA DFS picks is Lakers guard Luka Doncic, who is listed at $12,000 on DraftKings and $12,500 on FanDuel. The eighth-year veteran is healthy and is having his best year of his career so far. In 19 games, all starts, he is averaging 34.7 points, 8.8 assists, 8.7 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 37.3 minutes. He is connecting on 46% of his field goals and 81.1% of his free throws.

Los Angeles (18-7) have won seven of 10 behind the play of Doncic. He is coming off a 29-point, six-assist, three-rebound and one-steal effort in a 116-114 win over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday. He had 31 points, 15 rebounds, 11 assists and two blocks in a 112-108 win at Philadelphia on Dec. 7. New users can see the latest FanDuel promo code to get $250 in bonus bets at FanDuel if your $5 bet wins:

Another part of McClure's optimal NBA DFS strategy includes stacking Doncic with center Jaxson Hayes ($3,500 on DraftKings and $3,800 on FanDuel). The seventh-year veteran is averaging 5.5 points and 4.2 rebounds in 22 games, including two starts. He is averaging 16.9 minutes of action per game and gets to face a Utah defense tonight that ranks 29th in points allowed (126.1) and 26th in field goal percentage (48.8).

He is coming off a near double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds in Sunday's win over the Suns. He scored in double digits in three games this season and is line for more playing time on Thursday with Deandre Ayton (elbow) out. For his career, Hayes has 11 double-doubles, including four in his two-plus seasons with the Lakers. See McClure's other NBA DFS picks right here.

How to set your NBA DFS lineups for Thursday, December 18

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.