Draftkings NBA Showdown Picks: Lakers vs. Thunder 4/8/25
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
April 8, 2025 8:00 pm EDT
The NBA presents Draftkings basketball fans with a regular season matchup featuring the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Los Angeles Lakers. Let’s take a look at this game from a DFS perspective.
Before we dive into the Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Los Angeles Lakers game let’s review the rules for 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 tonight’s Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Los Angeles Lakers matchup.
Draftkings NBA Showdown Picks
Captain-Jalen Williams, Forward, Oklahoma City Thunder $8,800
Veteran forward Jalen Williams has been a standout performer for the Oklahoma City Thunder this season. With that said, how has Williams performed from a statistical perspective? Let’s examine Williams relevant game data from the 2024 NBA regular season to answer that question.
In the 67 games that Jalen Williams has played for the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2024 NBA regular season, Williams is averaging 21.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.7 blocks a game.
Looking closer at the data just presented, in the 67 games that Jalen Williams has played for the Thunder this season, Williams has compiled a 48.1% field goal percentage, a 36.7% three-point percentage and a 78.6% free throw percentage.
More recently, in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s dominant 119-103 victory over the Detroit Pistons six days ago, Thunder forward Jalen Williams played rather well. Williams amassed 23 points, five rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal in the Thunder’s win over the Pistons.
As I noted in the rules section above, selecting the correct player at the captain position for a Draftkings NBA showdown lineup is absolutely vital if you hope to win a large field GPP (guaranteed prize pool) DFS contest. Keep that in mind as you construct your lineups.
In my opinion, Jalen Williams presents the best fantasy value on this slate. For that specific reason, I am backing Oklahoma City forward Jalen Williams at the captain position for this one game Draftkings NBA Showdown contest.
Flex Plays
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Point Guard, Oklahoma City Thunder $11,400
In addition to forward Jalen Williams, point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been a key contributor to the Oklahoma City Thunder’s success on the basketball court this season.
In the 75 games that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has played for the Oklahoma City Thunder this season, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging a robust 32.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.1 blocks a game.
Last month, in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 125-104 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies, Oklahoma City point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tallied 37 points, three rebounds, six assists and three steals.
Additional flex plays I like to play well in this NBA regular season game (Draftkings price noted): Austin Reaves, Guard (Los Angeles Lakers) $9,400: Luka Doncic, Point Guard (Los Angeles Lakers) $12,400: Isaiah Hartenstein, Center (Oklahoma City Thunder) $7,400.
