After Thursday, all 30 NBA teams will have played their first game of the 2024-25 NBA season. The league left some star players in the NBA DFS player pool to wait until night three to make their debuts. The Thursday NBA DFS player pool includes superstars like Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, Victor Wembanyama and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, so which of these top options for NBA DFS picks should daily Fantasy basketball players be sure to include in NBA DFS lineups?
In order to include the elite options, your NBA DFS strategy will need to find values in the NBA DFS player pool as well. The Celtics and Timberwolves are playing their second games of the season, so after seeing Timberwolves guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker score 14 points off the bench and Celtics forward Xavier Tillman secure seven rebounds over 18 minutes, can they outperform their prices for NBA DFS 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.
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.
On Wednesday, McClure highlighted Bucks power forward/center Giannis Antetokounmpo as one of his top picks in his NBA DFS player pool on both sites. The result: Antetokounmpo had 25 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists and a block, returning 55 points on DraftKings and 52.3 points on FanDuel. Anybody who included him in their lineups was well on the way to a profitable day.
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 Thursday, October 24
For Thursday, one of McClure's top NBA DFS picks is Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, who is listed at $9,300 on DraftKings and $10,100 on FanDuel. If anyone thought Tatum would be satisfied with just one championship ring, his performance in the season-opener screams otherwise. He had 37 points and 10 assists over 30 minutes as Boston dominated New York, 132-109, on Tuesday. Tatum made 14 of 18 shots, including 8 of 11 3-pointers, while adding four rebounds, an assist and a block.
The Celtics play the Wizards, who allowed the most points (123.0 points per game) in the NBA last season. Tatum averaged 32.7 points in just 31 minutes per game in three matchups against Washington last season while scoring at least 30 points in each contest. Lock him in your NBA DFS lineups and look for a big return against the Wizards.
Another part of McClure's optimal NBA DFS strategy includes rostering Thunder shooting guard/small forward Alex Caruso ($4,800 on DraftKings and $5,300 on FanDuel). Caruso, entering his eighth season, averaged a career-high 10.1 points per game with the Bulls last season and was acquired from Chicago for Josh Giddey this offseason. The 6-foot-5 wing also set per-game career-highs in minutes (28.7), field goal percentage (46.8%), made 3-pointers (1.9) and rebounds (3.8) last season as Oklahoma City was intrigued enough in his skillset to move a player like Giddey this offseason.
Caruso is expected to start and play a key backcourt role behind Gilgeous-Alexander. The veteran guard didn't play with a point guard as dynamic at both scoring and creating plays for others as Gilgeous-Alexander over his last three seasons in Chicago, which will allow Caruso to play off the ball. See McClure's other NBA DFS picks right here.
How to set your NBA DFS lineups for Thursday, October 24
McClure is also targeting a player who could go off for massive numbers on Thursday because of a dream 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.
