FanDuel NBA DFS Picks for Today (Friday, 1/24/25): Daily Fantasy Basketball Advice

It's one of the smaller Friday night slates in recent memory, as we have just three games to dissect on tonight's FanDuel NBA DFS slate. Two of these games have some blowout potential with double-digit spreads. Of course, we have some injury news to monitor, too, as LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges, and Caris LeVert all carry questionable tags, and their presence or absence could affect this slate.

I recommend some higher-priced players for cash games and GPPs in today's edition while highlighting some of my favorite value plays and game stacks. If you want DraftKings picks, see who Zach Thompson likes by reading his piece here.

This article will provide my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for FanDuel on 1/24/25. Remember to monitor NBA injury news and our awesome NBA injuries report tool, as the slate can completely change before lineups lock at 7:00 p.m. EST on FanDuel. 

Today's FanDuel NBA DFS Core Picks

Tyrese Maxey, PHI - PG ($9,600) 

Maxey should continue to carry the burden on offense for the Sixers, as Joel Embiid is set to miss yet another game tonight. While Paul George is set to play tonight, too, he simply hasn't been all that effective even when healthy, and he'll face some solid defense on the wing from Dean Wade and others.

Maxey has poured in 28 or more points in seven straight games for the Sixers. His assist totals can vary on any given night, but one thing we know is that he will play close to 40 minutes and get up as many shots as he can. Hopefully, he can help this underperforming Sixers team hang with the Cavs, and it might help that Cleveland is down Evan Mobley and potentially Caris LeVert, too.

Jarrett Allen, CLE - PF/C ($7,800)

Did someone say, Mobley? When Mobley misses, Jarrett Allen feasts! With no Embid or Andre Drummond in the paint to defend Allen, he should dominate the glass and rack up plenty of dunks and putbacks.

Allen is PF-eligible on FD, which is a beautiful thing and allows us to play multiple centers. His 49 FD-point performance against Houston in 32 minutes on Wednesday night is a pretty good indication of what he's capable of with his full allotment of minutes when he's not sharing boards and shots with Mobley in this Cleveland offense.

Mark Williams, CHA - C ($8,500)

Our options are limited at each position tonight, but at the center position, it's a no-brainer for me, with Williams being the one Hornet who doesn't carry an injury designation and with him coming into this game in just incredible recent form.

Mark Williams over the last 5 games:

25.0 PPG
14.0 RPG
3.2 APG
65% FG

Breakout season. 🔥👀 pic.twitter.com/2wgNiBrkia

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) January 23, 2025

Portland is playing their second game in as many nights, and whoever they roll out in the paint is going to struggle to stop Williams, who has simply been a force on the interior.

Others Under Consideration: Dejounte Murray - PG ($8,600), Desmond Bane - SG/SF ($7,700)

Today's FanDuel NBA DFS Tournament Pivots

Darius Garland, CLE - PG ($7,700)

Garland's performance on Wednesday night (26 points, five assists, three steals) was overshadowed by how the game ended as he missed two of three free throws, and the Cavs came up one point shy of a win in Houston.

Darius Garland will be fine.

Stars ALL eventually miss late-game FT’s.

AND… Curry. Nash. Billups. Best to ever do it at the line weren’t all 100% at the line in the clutch.

Next time DG is in that situation, he’ll be ready to go. pic.twitter.com/LZCT1b1TSG

— Across The Cavs (@AcrossCavs) January 23, 2025

While Donovan Mitchell has been underperforming compared to his numbers from last season, Garland has been having a big bounceback year in 2024-2025. He's been as good or better than Mitchell in terms of production for the last month or so, yet he still costs $1,100 less on this slate tonight.

With Mobley out, Garland, Mitchell, and Allen should all pick up some of the slack and Garland has shown he has a solid ceiling at this price.

Trey Murphy III, NOP – SG/SF ($8,100)

Figuring out which Pelicans scorers we want tonight will be tricky as Murphy, CJ McCollum, and Murray all are priced similarly and all carry some upside with 50+ FD point ceilings in recent games.

I like Murphy the most, as he's eligible at SF and brings a little more upside with defensive stats. McCollum is very scoring-dependent, and Murray relies a lot on his rebounding and assists. But Murphy is a stone-cold assassin shooting the ball and a very good defender, too.

Others Under Consideration: CJ McCollum - PG/SG ($8,000), Deni Avdija - SF/PF ($7,100)

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Today's FanDuel NBA DFS Value Picks

Toumani Camara, POR – SG/SF ($5,100)

I have been touting Camara as a pickup in fantasy hoops leagues and he remains an underpriced DFS play, too. He's had a few busts in the game log, but his role in the Portland rotation is probably one of the safest right now and he had his full arsenal of skills on display in the win over Orlando last night.

Toumani Camara tonight :

🔥 16 points
📌 6 rebounds
📌 3 assists
📌 2 blocks
📌 2 steals
📌 +26
📌 66/100/75 splits

Came back from the game off ready to go. Looking more consistent on offense… watch out league 🙌🏼 pic.twitter.com/Xy1e2YZw6e

— CamaraMuse (@CamaraMuse) January 24, 2025

Camara's defensive stats have been so darn good, and FanDuel's scoring system rewards those steals and blocks with three points each. At this price, he doesn't have to do all that much offensively to make value as long as he continues to pile up those peripheral stats.

Nick Smith Jr., CHA - SG ($4,300)

Charlotte just lost Brandon Miller for the season and continues to deal with a slew of injuries that have opened up playing time for Smith Jr. He's logged 30 minutes in two straight games, and there's a chance they could be without Ball or Bridges tonight, too.

Luke Kennard, MEM - SG/PG ($4,800)

Kennard is a bit of a dice roll in that his minutes have been very uneven despite how solid his play has been off the bench.

The last three times he cracked 25 minutes, however, he posted 29, 25, and 37 FD points. Memphis tends to go deep into their bench often, and perhaps they will give their second team more run tonight if they happen to get well out in front of the Pelicans in this one.

Jabari Walker, POR - PF/C ($3,700)

Portland is a mess. Donovan Clingan is out. Deandre Ayton was out last night, so Robert Williams III started and played well. However, the "Time Lord" has not played many back-to-backs in recent years, so if he were to be rested tonight, then we could see some Duop Reath and Jabari Walker filling in at the center position.

Walker played 19 minutes last night and had six steals! He's so cheap and only needs around 20 minutes to hit value. Keep an eye on the Portland injury situation with their big men.

Others Under Consideration: Vasilije Micic - PG/SG ($4,200) only if LaMelo Ball is out, Justin Edwards - PF ($3,900), Robert Williams III - PF/C ($4,700) only if he's active and Ayton is out, Ty Jerome - PG (4,800) if Caris LeVert is out.

My Favorite NBA DFS Picks for Today

Here is where I leave you with some of my favorites.

• My favorite OVERALL play on the slate: Jarrett Allen
• My favorite CASH play on the slate: Mark Williams
• My favorite GPP play on the slate: Darius Garland
• My favorite VALUE play: Toumani Camara

NBA DFS News and Injury Alerts

More DFS Lineup Picks and Analysis