Draftkings NBA Showdown Picks: Grizzlies vs. Thunder 4/26/25
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Memphis Grizzlies
April 26, 2025 3:30 pm EDT
Later today, the NBA presents Draftkings basketball fans with a Western Conference playoff matchup featuring the Memphis Grizzlies and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Let’s take a look at this game from a DFS perspective.
Before we dive into the Memphis Grizzlies vs. Oklahoma City Thunder game let’s review the rules for the Draftkings single game showdown contest.
Draftkings Single Game Showdown Contest Rules
You have $50,000 to utilize on five players from either team. However, one of those players will be designated as your team captain. The captain accumulates 1.5 times the standard fantasy points. Additionally, the captain is 1.5 times the standard cost of the flex position.
The remaining four players in your lineup will receive the standard fantasy points. Having stated that, it is highly important for you to identify the correct player for your captain position if you hope to win a large field DFS GPP (guaranteed prize pool) showdown contest.
If you have additional questions regarding the rules for the single game showdown contest, I recommend that you check out the Draftkings website for more details.
*I recommend that all readers review the starting lineups for both teams prior to setting your DFS lineup for this one game slate.
Here are my Draftkings picks for this afternoon’s Memphis vs. Oklahoma City matchup.
Draftkings NBA Showdown Picks
Captain-Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Point Guard, Oklahoma City Thunder $11,400
Veteran point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has quickly established himself as one of the best point guards in the National Basketball Association today. Let’s examine Gilgeous-Alexander’s relevant player data from the 2024 NBA season (including playoff games) to better illustrate his contributions to his team.
In the 78 games that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has played for the Oklahoma City Thunder this season, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging a rather impressive 32.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.1 blocks a game.
Looking closer at the data just presented, in the 78 games that point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has played for the Oklahoma City Thunder this season, Gilgeous-Alexander has compiled a 51.9% field goal percentage, a 37.5% three-point percentage and an 89.8% free throw percentage.
It should also be noted that these two teams have met multiple times this season. How did Gilgeous-Alexander perform in the most recent matchup? In the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 114-108 win over the Memphis Grizzlies two days ago, Oklahoma City Point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander played exceptionally well. More specifically, the talented point guard amassed 31 points, four rebounds, eight assists, one steal and one block in the Thunder’s defeat of the Grizzlies.
What did we learn from the data just presented? Clearly, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander can post a high number of DFS points on any given night. I fully expect that trend to continue in this afternoon’s Western Conference playoff matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies.
In my opinion, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the most likely player to post the most Draftkings points in this NBA playoff game. For that specific reason, I am backing Oklahoma City point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at the captain position for this one game Draftkings NBA Showdown contest.
Flex Plays
Jalen Williams, Forward, Oklahoma City Thunder $9,000
In the 72 games that Williams has played for the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2024 NBA season (including playoffs), Williams is averaging 21.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.7 blocks a game.
Looking closer at the data just presented, in the 72 games that Jalen Williams has played for the Thunder this season, Williams has averaged 40.4 Draftkings points a game.
Additional flex plays I like to play well in this Western Conference playoff game (Draftkings price noted): Jaren Jackson Jr., Power Forward (Memphis Grizzlies) $8,200: Zach Edey, Center (Memphis Grizzlies) $6,600.
