New Orleans Pelicans rookie PF Zion Williamson is set to make his NBA debut Wednesday vs. the San Antonio Spurs. DraftKings released prices for Wednesday’s 12-game slate and Zion is currently being listed at $5,000. He is expected to start but will be on a minutes restriction of around 15-20. With that, let’s break down what this price means and if he’ll be worth playing.
Daily fantasy basketball analysis: Zion Williamson’s price in NBA debut
First off, this price is actually a bit surprising given the talent that Zion possesses. Yes, I know that he’s going to be on a minutes restriction, but 15-20 minutes is plenty of time for a talented player like Williamson to return value on this slate. The tricky part is gauging whether it’ll be closer to 15 or 20 minutes. If it’s around 15, things may get tough, but the matchup is strong. If it’s closer to 20 minutes, I think Zion would have a shot at returning some value.
We can assume that his ownership percentage will likely be pretty low because of the minutes limit. Zion wouldn’t be an option at all in cash games, only GPPs. I could see him getting to around 10-12 points and 5-6 rebounds in this time frame. So 3-4x value is attainable, but we want 5x. So with that, I don’t think I can advise you to play Zion on the opening slate. It would mostly be for the “lawlz” and the narrative really. If you wanna throw away some $$$ on a lineup with Zion, be my guest, but I’m NOT — I repeat NOT telling you to play him.