On Sunday night, the NBA presents Draftkings basketball fans with a regular season matchup featuring the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Milwaukee Bucks. Let’s take a look at this game from a Draftkings perspective.
Before we dive into the Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Milwaukee Bucks 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 tonight’s Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Milwaukee Bucks matchup.
Draftkings NBA Showdown Picks
Captain-Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Point Guard, Oklahoma City Thunder $12,800
If the NBA playoffs began today, the Oklahoma City Thunder would be the number one seed in the Western Conference. There is little doubt in my mind that the main reason that is the case is talented point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Having stated that, how has Gilgeous-Alexander performed from a statistical perspective?
In the 65 games that the veteran point guard has played for the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2024 NBA regular season, Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 32.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.1 blocks a game.
Looking closer at the data just presented, in the 65 games that point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has played for the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2024 NBA regular season, Gilgeous-Alexander has compiled a 52.8% field goal percentage, a 37.6% three-point percentage and a 90.2% free throw percentage.
Earlier this week, in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 118-112 victory over the Boston Celtics, Oklahoma City point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander amassed 34 points, five rebounds, seven assists, one block and one steal. It should also be mentioned that in the Thunder’s win over the Celtics, Gilgeous-Alexander amassed a massive 51.3 Draftkings points.
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, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the most likely player to post the most Draftkings points in this NBA regular season game. With that said, I am backing Oklahoma City point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at the captain position for this one game Draftkings NBA Showdown contest.
Flex Plays
Damian Lillard, Point Guard, Milwaukee Bucks $10,600
In the 56 games that point guard Damian Lillard has played for the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2024 NBA regular season, Lillard is averaging 25.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 7.2 assists, and 1.2 steals a game.
More recently, in the Milwaukee Bucks 125-110 win over the Utah Jazz in January, Damian Lillard certainly played at a high level. Lillard tallied 35 points, five rebounds, eight assists and one block in the Bucks victory over the Utah Jazz.
In conclusion, I fully expect Milwaukee Bucks point guard Damian Lillard to continue his outstanding play in this evening’s NBA regular season game.
Additional flex plays I like to play well in this game (Draftkings price noted): Giannis Antetokounmpo, Power Forward (Milwaukee Bucks) $13,000: Brook Lopez, Center (Milwaukee Bucks) $7,200.