Draftkings NBA Showdown Picks: Magic vs. Wizards 4/3/25
Orlando Magic vs. Washington Wizards
April 3, 2025 7:00 pm EDT
On Thursday night, the NBA presents Draftkings basketball fans with a regular season matchup featuring the Washington Wizards and the Orlando Magic. Let’s take a look at this game from a DFS perspective.
Before we dive into the Washington Wizards and the Orlando Magic 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 evening’s Orlando Magic vs. Washington Wizards matchup.
Draftkings NBA Showdown Picks
Captain-Paolo Banchero, Forward, Orlando Magic $12,600
Forward Paolo Banchero has certainly been an essential part of the Orlando Magic’s starting lineup this season. Let’s take a look at the talented forward’s relevant player data from the 2024 NBA season to better shed light on my previous statement.
In the 43 games that Paolo Banchero has played for the Magic this season, Banchero is averaging a rather impressive 25.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.6 blocks a game.
Looking closer at the data just presented, in the 43 games that Banchero has played for the Orlando Magic this season, Paolo Banchero has compiled a 45.3% field goal percentage, a 33.4% three-point percentage and a 72.7% free throw percentage.
More recently, in the Orlando Magic’s 108-103 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers earlier this month, Orlando forward Paolo Banchero played exceptionally well. Banchero amassed a massive 24 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, one block and one steal in the Magic’s victory over the Cavaliers. It has to be said, those are the type of DFS numbers that I need to see from a player that I select at the captain position.
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 view, Paolo Banchero is the most likely player to post the most Draftkings points in this NBA regular season game. Having stated that, I am backing Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero at the captain position for this one game Draftkings NBA Showdown contest.
Flex Plays
Franz Wagner, Forward, Orlando Magic $11,000
Veteran forward Franz Wagner’s versatility and consistent performances have made him a key player for the Magic. With that said, let’s take a look at the talented forward’s relevant player data from the 2024 NBA season.
In the 57 games that Franz Wagner has played for the Orlando Magic in the 2024 NBA regular season, Wagner is averaging a robust 24.2 points. 5.7 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.4 blocks a game.
Additional flex plays I like to play well in this NBA game (Draftkings price noted): Alexandre Sarr, Center (Washington Wizards) $8,400: Jordan Poole, Guard (Washington Wizards) $8,000.
