Draftkings NBA Showdown Picks: Thunder vs. Nuggets 5/11/25
Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Denver Nuggets
May 11, 2025 8:00 pm EDT
The NBA presents Draftkings basketball fans with a Western Conference playoff matchup featuring the Denver Nuggets and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Let’s take a look at this game from a DFS perspective.
Before we dive into the Denver Nuggets 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 tomorrow night’s Thunder vs. Nuggets matchup.
Draftkings NBA Showdown Picks
Captain-Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Guard, Oklahoma City Thunder $12,000
Point Guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has certainly established himself as one of the best point guards in the National Basketball Association today. With that said, how has Gilgeous-Alexander performed from a statistical perspective this season? Let’s examine the veteran point guard’s relevant player data from the 2024 NBA season to answer that question.
In the 81 games that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has played for the Oklahoma City Thunder this season, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 32.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.1 blocks a game.
Looking closer at the data just presented, in the 81 games that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander played for the Thunder this season, Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging a massive 53.5 Draftkings points a game.
It should be noted that these two teams have met multiple times this season. How did Gilgeous-Alexander perform in the most recent matchup? Who won? In the Denver Nuggets 113-104 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves last night, Timberwolves point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander played exceptionally well. More specifically, Gilgeous-Alexander amassed 18 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and two steals in the Denver Nuggets defeat of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
In my view, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the player most likely to amass the highest number of DraftKings points in tomorrow evening’s Western Conference playoff game. Having stated that, I am backing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as the captain for this single game DraftKings NBA Showdown contest slate.
Flex Plays
Nikola Jokic, Center, Denver Nuggets $13,000
Denver center Nikola Jokic has been the driving force behind the Denver Nuggets success on the basketball court this season. Let’s examine the Jokic’s player data from the 2024 NBA season to better shed light on my previous statement.
In the 80 games that center Nikola Jokic has played for the Denver Nuggets in the 2024 NBA season (including playoff gamess), Jokic is averaging a massive 29.2 points, 12.8 rebounds, 10.2 assists, 1.8 steals and 0.7 blocks a game.
In conclusion, I fully expect Nikola Jokic to continue his outstanding play in tomorrow’s playoff game.
Additional flex plays I like to play well in this Western Conference playoff game (Draftkings price noted): Jalen Williams, Forward (Oklahoma City Thunder) $9,600: Jamal Murray, Point Guard (Denver Nuggets) $9,200: Christian Braun, Guard (Denver Nuggets) $7,000.
