As the calendar turns to February, the NBA playoff push is, at long last, approaching. Now that we’ve seen these teams in action for nearly 50 games each, we have a sense of where every squad stands and what’s at stake for the final two-plus months of the season.
We’ll have an even clearer picture after tonight’s seven-game slate, which features the defending champion Boston Celtics and reigning MVP Nikola Jokić in action. Here are three must-start players for January 31 on DraftKings’ six-game featured set:
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $300K Friday 8’s [$100K to 1st]
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PG Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia 76ers vs. Denver Nuggets, $9,700
Despite Philadelphia’s underwhelming 19-27 record, Maxey was arguably one of the biggest snubs from the All-Star reserves that were announced last night. Averaging 27.1 points per game, the seventh-most in basketball, he certainly would be justified if he is miffed about not being selected. His efficiency hasn’t been great, but it might not be fair to blame him entirely when Paul George ($8,300) and Joel Embiid ($9,600) both miss large swaths of the season. He is seventh in the league in usage among players who have appeared in 30 games or more, and of those seven players, he has the fifth-highest effective field goal percentage.
Andre Drummond ($5,100), George, and Embiid remain sidelined, so Maxey should continue putting up big numbers. He has scored at least 28 points in each of his last 12 games, and since George left early in a 109-97 win over the Chicago Bulls on January 25, Maxey has posted 57.75-, 55.25-, and 48-FPT performances, leading the 76ers to victory in each one. His usage rate in those three games is a sky-high 33.3%, but he’s still averaging 34.7 points on respectable 53-33-100 shooting splits over that stretch. I would expect a big fantasy performance tonight as Philadelphia takes on Denver, which plays at the league’s fifth-fastest pace and has given up the seventh-most fantasy points to opposing point guards.
C Ivica Zubac, LA Clippers at Charlotte Hornets, $7,500
While Clippers fans will surely be happy about James Harden ($9,300) earning his 11th All-Star selection and miffed about Norman Powell ($7,100) getting snubbed, they might not think as much about how incredible Zubac has been in the last few weeks. The ninth-year Croatian big is coming off his second 20-point, 20-rebound performance of the season, making him one of just four players — along with All-Star starters Nikola Jokić ($12,000) and Karl-Anthony Towns and egregious All-Star snub Domantas Sabonis — to record two 20-20 games this season. Zubac has posted at least 55 FPTS in each of his past two games and is averaging 44.9 FPTS over his last five games.
Zubac has an extremely friendly matchup tonight against a Hornets team that has allowed the fifth-most points to opposing centers and is currently without Mark Williams ($8,400), who has been another early breakout star in 2025. Instead, 39-year-old Taj Gibson ($3,300) will likely get another start and play around 20 minutes. Gibson is hardly an effective stopper at his advanced age, and beyond him, Charlotte will probably go with Moussa Diabate ($4,200); while the former LA man is an above-average defender, he is 30 pounds lighter than Zubac.
C Jalen Duren, Detroit Pistons vs. Dallas Mavericks, $6,200
While Duren’s offensive role is limited — he averages just 6.2 field goal attempts per game — his interior presence is consistent, and he has recorded six double-doubles in his last seven games. In his last five contests, he has averaged 13.2 points, 12.0 rebounds, and 3.0 combined steals/blocks (36.9 FPTS), and he has a great matchup tonight against a Dallas team that allows the sixth-most fantasy points to opposing centers and lost Dereck Lively II ($6,000), Dwight Powell ($3,000), and Maxi Kleber ($3,000) to injuries. Over the last nine games, since Lively’s injury, the Mavericks have had the 13th-worst defensive rating in basketball.
