FanDuel NBA DFS Picks for Today (Friday, 1/31/25): Daily Fantasy Basketball Advice

FanDuel has left the Golden State-Phoenix late game off the main slate today, leaving us with six games to pull plays from for our lineups.

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 1/31/25. 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 ($10K) 

Maxey has been terrific this season and has led the Sixers to four straight wins despite not having Joel Embiid or Paul George in the lineup. Maxey has been a scoring machine, putting up 28 or more points in eight straight.

Despite being nine-point underdogs, I think Philly can hang with Denver tonight, which is the last team it lost to before the winning streak. In that game, Maxey had 28 points and 10 assists in just 33 minutes as the game got out of hand late, and he sat for the final six minutes.

If we get 40 minutes out of Maxey tonight in a pace-up spot against the Nuggets, I love his chances at going for 50-60 FD points and I think he makes for a great anchor for cash and GPP lineups.

Coby White, CHI - PG/SG ($6.1K)

White returned to the lineup for the Bulls on Wednesday, scoring 16 points in 30 minutes. He was on a minutes restriction but played more than his coach said he would, anyway. He was a bit rusty, shooting 6-of-15 from the field, but he should have an opportunity to bounce back tonight and lead this Chicago offense with Zach LaVine out again.

White is too cheap for his role tonight and I like this game between two teams that don't play all that much defense. The total is set at 233, and the Raptors are just 4.5-point favorites. It feels like a great game to stack.

Daniel Gafford, DAL - C ($7.6K)

I had Gafford as a core play on Wednesday, and while other value opened up at the center position, Gafford still dominated his matchup against New Orleans and poured in 22 points, pulled down 12 boards, and posted 51 FD points in the process.

Daniel Gafford in his last three games:

19.7 PPG
11.7 RPG (6.3 OREB)
4.0 BPG
2.7 APG
67.6% FG
86.7% FT

The landlord has been on a different level.
pic.twitter.com/5SbUbUD9uc

— MFFL NATION (@NationMffl) January 30, 2025

He's a beast and continues to post big numbers as a starter. And now he gets a matchup with Jalen Duren in Detroit, who has been known to be a terrible defender in the paint. This game has one of the closest spreads of any on the slate and I have an interest in multiple pieces from this one that also carries a solid 229.5 point total.

Others Under Consideration: Scottie Barnes - PF/SF ($9.7K), Jaylen Brown - SG/SF ($8.4K)

Today's FanDuel NBA DFS Tournament Pivots

Kristaps Porzingis, BOS - PF/C ($7.8K)

How about that performance from the Zinger on Wednesday night? I hope you played him in some lineups, as he went off for 59.7 FD points against the Bulls with 34 points and 11 boards.

27 feet

That was the SHORTEST 3-pointer Kristaps Porzingis made tonight. He averaged 29.6 feet on a career-high tying eight 3PM. Never even got close to the arc 🤯

Here they are in order:
27 ft
33 ft
28 ft
31 ft
28 ft
27 ft
31 ft
32 ft pic.twitter.com/GwCSqkdd0j

— Taylor Snow (@taylorcsnow) January 30, 2025

I'm going right back to Porzingis tonight, whose price went up only 100 bucks despite his huge outing. We know the Pelicans can be handled by centers (see Gafford, Daniel) and that the Celtics are always willing to feed the hot hand. Perhaps Porzo keeps his hot shooting going tonight, and even if he doesn't score a ton, he should still dominate the glass and rack up some blocks.

P.J. Washington, DAL – PF ($7.4K)

Washington and Gafford are both finally priced appropriately for their roles in this Dallas offense without Luka Doncic and Dereck Lively II. That means they should probably go under-rostered tonight in what is a sneaky good spot against the Detroit Pistons.

Washington is averaging 17 points, 9.4 boards, and 2.5 assists this year in the 25 games that Doncic has missed. He was dominant against New Orleans on Wednesday with 51.8 FD points and will be a major matchup issue for Detroit, which will have to cover him with someone like Tobias Harris or Ausar Thompson.

Again, the mid-range always goes overlooked in tournaments and Washington is a $7K player who brings seven times the upside for your GPP lineups.

Others Under Consideration: Zion Williamson - PF ($9.3K), Damian Lillard - PG ($9.2K)

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Today's FanDuel NBA DFS Value Picks

Bruce Brown, TOR – SF ($5.1K)

Keep an eye on the statuses of Gradey Dick and Immanuel Quickley tonight. Quickley has been out for weeks but has been upgraded to questionable. Dick has been starting at SG but is also questionable with an illness.

Brown has been coming off the bench and doing major damage with the second unit. He's played anywhere between 19 and 28 minutes in the last seven games but has been very productive on a per-minute basis, thanks to very solid rebounding and assist numbers. He makes for a nice, cheap piece of a Toronto-Chicago game stack.

Eric Gordon, PHI - SG ($4.6K)

Gordon delivered again on Wednesday with 23 FD points despite playing only 22 minutes. He's going to get up shots when he's out there, and he doesn't need to connect on too many to make value at this price.

Moussa Diabate, CHA - C ($4.6K)

Mark Williams is out again tonight. While Taj Gibson has been starting in his stead, it's been Diabate who is playing more minutes and being more productive. This game could get ugly with the Hornets as big underdogs, so I am more likely to play some cheap pieces than spend up on Miles Bridges.

Patrick Williams, CHI - PF ($4.6K)

Don't look now, but Williams has slapped together two good outings in a row and is still a very cheap asset in DFS. His minutes are trending up as he played 30 against Boston, and he's been knocking down shots from the outside. He's very much a high-risk/reward play as he doesn't have much of a floor.

Others Under Consideration: Lonzo Ball - PG ($4.9K), Malik Beasley - SG/SF ($5.2K), Gary Trent Jr. - SG/SF ($4.3K)

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: Tyrese Maxey
• My favorite CASH play on the slate: Tyrese Maxey
• My favorite GPP play on the slate: Kristaps Porzingis
• My favorite VALUE play: Bruce Brown

NBA DFS News and Injury Alerts

More DFS Lineup Picks and Analysis