NBA DFS: Top Daily Fantasy Expert Picks for DraftKings, FanDuel (10/28/24)

I'm thrilled to have become a part of the RotoBaller team this year, and hopefully, my NFL content has brought you some success through the first half of the season! I'm also equally excited to be joining the NBA DFS team this year, as this scene has been my bread and butter for over a decade now.

This article will focus primarily on the best plays in the high, middle, and low tiers for cash, with the best GPP pivots sprinkled in. Today we have nine games to choose from on DraftKings, which is really the sweet spot for NBA DFS. FanDuel, however, has decided to keep the two 10 PM EST games, bringing the slate total to 11.

A word of note before we begin - please remember that the sites are different. DraftKings pricing is a lot more dynamic, and there are different scoring elements among the sites as well (DK has bonuses for double-doubles, FD weights steals and blocks heavier, etc.) Remember to extensively familiarize yourself with each site's scoring. This article will provide you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on 10/28/24. Remember to monitor NBA injury news and our excellent NBA injuries report tool, as the slate can completely change before lineups lock at 7:00 p.m. EST on FanDuel and DraftKings. Good luck, RotoBallers!

Today's NBA DFS Core Picks

Here is a look at some of the higher-priced players we can use as building blocks for cash and GPP contests.

You'll notice Luka Doncic tops our DFS ratings today just a few spots ahead of Jayson Tatum and Trae Young who are slightly ahead of him on my priority list. He'll vault to the top if enough values open up between now and then that make Luka easier to jam in.

Jayson Tatum continues to be underpriced for the production he's shown this season. In three games, Tatum has put up DK scores of 66, 52.5, and 53.5 while posting a 33.5% usage rate. The Bucks were a top-ten pace team last season, and the 9.5-point spread in this game seems excessive.

If you can get up to Doncic, do it. His ceiling is unrivaled by anyone on the slate not named Nikola Jokic, and his calf injury really seems to be more of a case of "I-don't-wanna-play-in-the-preseason-itis". Doncic has played 36 and 39 minutes in his first two games and has logged a 35.1% usage rate. After finishing ninth in pace factor last season, Utah is third to start this year.

Trae Young also has to be considered a top play despite being on a back-to-back. Young's usage is predictably soaring without Dejounte Murray, as he's taken 52 shots en route to 30.7 PPG through the first three games. He's contributing outside of scoring as well, with 30 assists and 14 rebounds.

Blowout risk exists here, but Washington is fourth in pace factor after finishing first a year ago and is 28th in overall defensive efficiency since the beginning of last season.

1. Jayson Tatum, BOS vs MIL - SF/PF ($9,700 DK/$10,400 FD)
2. Luka Doncic, DAL vs UTA - PG ($11,300 DK/$11,700 FD)
3. Trae Young, ATL vs WAS - PG ($9,800 DK/$10,100 FD)

GPP Honorable Mention - Cade Cunningham, DET at MIA - PG ($9,000 DK/$8,900 FD)

With Miami as his opponent, Cade Cunningham will almost certainly come with muted ownership. That said, his 35.6% usage rate through three games is tied for the league lead, and he just crushed Boston and Cleveland (both theoretically bad matchups as well). If Detroit keeps this close, it's on Cade's back.

Today's NBA DFS Value Picks

Dyson Daniels is thriving in Atlanta. In three contests, he's shooting 17-33 and has crossed to 33-FPS threshold twice. The same matchup data in the Trae Young blurb above applies to Daniels, and he also has 12 stocks (steals and blocks) across his first three games.

The shooting is likely unsustainable over the long haul, but his price on DK does not match his level of use and production.

Scotty Pippen Jr, man. I stupidly pivoted off him last game for Harrison Barnes (vomit) just because Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. were ruled in. Pippen has proved that he has standalone value AND upside, though, as he's averaging near a double-double and 1.32 FPPM.

Memphis and Chicago are currently the top two teams in pace factor for 2024-25, so targeting a cheaper piece like Pippen is a good way to get exposure.

Bilal Coulibaly is more of a "cash-floor" play than a "GPP upside" play, but we always need guys like that. Coulibaly's usage rate is up almost 4% from last season and he's playing a full complement of minutes. He only took two shots in game one but showed his versatility with an 8-6-6 line. Atlanta-Washington is another fun pace-up game to target.

In the same game, Onyeka Okongwu doesn't start but is still an amazing piece of this game. Washington was dead last in rebounding rate a year ago and they're currently the same (almost two rebounds per game less than the next lowest team).

Okongwu is averaging a robust 30.1 FPPG despite running right around 25 minutes per game, and the fact that he has PF eligibility on both sites gives him even more value (especially on DK where it's like having the ability to play another center for the double-double bonus).

EDITOR NOTE: Okongwu has been ruled out. Clint Capela stands to benefit as he is likely to pick up more minutes at center.

Top Value Plays:

1. Dyson Daniels, ATL vs WAS - PG/SG ($5,600 DK/$6,900 FD) DraftKings Preferred
2. Scotty Pippen Jr. - PG ($5,200 DK/$5,300 FD)
3. Bilal Coulibaly - SG/SF ($4,900 DK/$5,600 FD) 
4. Onyeka Okongwu - PF/C ($5,500 DK/$6,100 FD)

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NBA DFS Positional Ranks

Point Guard

1. Trae Young
2. Luka Doncic
3. Dyson Daniels
4. Scotty Pippen Jr. (value)

Shooting Guard

1. Zach LaVine
2. Jamal Murray
3. Bilal Coulibaly (value)
4. Christian Braun (value)

Small Forward

1. Jayson Tatum
2. Kyle Kuzma
3. DeAndre Hunter (Q)
4. Braun and Coulibaly also SF eligible on DK

Power Forward

1. Jayson Tatum
2. Paolo Banchero
3. Jalen Johnson
4. Jeremy Sochan (value)

Center

1. Nikola Jokic
2. Karl-Anthony Towns
3. Nikola Vucevic
4. Clint Capela (value)

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: Trae Young
• My favorite CASH play on the slate: Ivica Zubac
• My favorite GPP play on the slate: Zion Williamson
• My favorite value play: Dyson Daniels

NBA DFS News and Injury Alerts

More DFS Lineup Picks and Analysis