It’s baaaaaaaaaack.
After a two-game appetizer to get the season going, the NBA will truly be in full-swing on Wednesday night, with a 12-game featured slate on DraftKings. With so many teams playing and so many injuries (already) to keep track of, I’m here to assist with your NBA DFS lineups.
Here are three assets that need to be in your player pool this evening.
Set your DraftKings NBA DFS lineups here: NBA $400K Zone Special [$100K to 1st]
PF/C Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks vs. Washington Wizards, $11,100
Look, you can’t take last year’s stats and completely transfer them over to this season, but it’s worth remembering that the Wizards were a historically bad defense in 2024-25. Not only did the team surrender 118.0 points per 100 possessions, they also gave up the most FPTS per game to opposing power forwards. I don’t know if that’s exactly how you’d like to classify Giannis Antetokounmpo, yet that’s sort of the point. The Greek Freak does it all in NBA DFS and he’ll likely be stuffing the stat sheet on Wednesday night to kick off the season in style. Antetokounmpo averaged 30.4 points per contest last season and did so while leading the league in field goals made per game (11.8). The former MVP’s usage rate was 35.2%; however, without a true co-star in Milwaukee, I wonder if we see Antetokounmpo back up around the 38.8% mark that led the NBA in 2022-23. If that’s the case, there’s no limit to the veteran’s fantasy ceiling.
SF Michael Porter Jr., Brooklyn Nets at Charlotte Hornets, $6,700
Do we all credit Bill Simmons with the “good stats, bad team” moniker? Either way, that’s exactly what is going to be happening with Michael Porter Jr. this season in Brooklyn. In fact, we saw a preview of what the former lottery pick’s new role might look like last week in Toronto. It was the preseason, but it 33.4 minutes of action, Porter scored 34 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and easily led his squad with a 31.3% usage rate. I won’t come out and say that Porter is cemented in as the Nets’ No. 1 scoring option — he’ll fight over that honor with Cam Thomas ($7,600) — but the 27-year-old is definitely the more tantilizing DFS option considering his current price tag. Calling my shot now: Michael Porter Jr. will have a salary of at least $8,000 by the end of November. Get in now.
PF Chris Boucher, Boston Celtics vs. Philadelphia 76ers, $5,400
Navigating the Celtics’ frontcourt depth (or lack thereof) might end up proving to be a headache, but at this precise moment, it looks like an opportunity for Chris Boucher to have an established role. Boucher started every Boston preseason contest, so I’d be surprised not to see him in the team’s starting five on opening night against the 76ers. To say that Boucher has been inconsistent throughout his NBA career would be accurate, yet the veteran has also tended to be a per 36 king. To wit, during the 2024-25 season with the Raptors, Boucher averaged 21.0 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per 36 minutes. Will he see anything close to 36 minutes on Wednesday night? Probably not. However, I wouldn’t be shocked if Boucher logged over 25 minutes. That would be more than enough time on the court to have a major statistical impact.
