FanDuel Best NBA DFS Picks: Mavericks vs. Thunder

After a 109-109 win over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday, the Mavericks travel to the Paycom Center for a matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Before we dive into this evening’s Mavericks vs. Thunder game, let’s review the rules for FanDuel single game showdown contest.

FanDuel Single Game Contest Rules

Here are the single game contest rules. You have $60,000 to utilize on five players from either team. However, one of those players will be designated as your team MVP. The MVP accumulates 2x times the standard FanDuel fantasy points value.

The remaining four players in your lineup will be the star, pro, and flex plays. The star player will receive 1.5x the standard fantasy points value. The pro player will accumulate 1.2x the standard fantasy points value.

The final two flex positions will receive the standard points value. Having stated that, it is important for you to identify the correct player for your MVP position if you hope to win a FanDuel single game contest.

If you have additional questions regarding the rules for the single game contest, I highly recommend that you check out the FanDuel website for more details.

Here are my FanDuel Player Selections for tonight’s Dallas Mavericks vs. Oklahoma City Thunder matchup.

FanDuel Player Picks

MVP-Kyrie Irving $14,000

In last night’s Mavericks win over the Warriors, talented Dallas guard Luka Doncic suffered an apparent hamstring injury that resulted in Doncic exiting the game early. The Mavericks have listed Doncic as a game-time decision for tonight’s game. Having stated that, I would be shocked if Doncic was active this evening.

If Luka is indeed out for tonight’s game, the question we need to ask is crystal clear. Which Dallas player will see an increase in offensive efficiency? For me, that player’s name is Mavericks point guard Kyrie Irving.

Kyrie Irving has been posting some outstanding offensive numbers in 2024. Through 62 games played this season, Irving is averaging 25.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1.2 steals a game.

Due to Irving’s quality play this season and my belief that Luka Doncic will eventually be ruled out for this contest, I like Dallas point guard Kyrie Irving as my MVP.

Star-Shai Gilgeous-Alexander $16,000

How important is Oklahoma City point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to the Thunder offense? In his last three games played, Gilgeous-Alexander has averaged an impressive 30 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1 block, and 1 steal a game. I think it’s fair to say that the Thunder offense runs through the Oklahoma City guard.

It should also be mentioned that Gilgeous-Alexander will be facing a Dallas Mavericks defense that has clearly had issues allowing fantasy points to point guards recently. In the last 15 games played in the NBA, the Mavericks are ranked 23rd in total FanDuel points allowed (48.68) to the point guard position.

Pro-Dante Exum, $8,000

For my pro player selection, I am going to take a chance on Dallas Mavericks guard Dante Exum. I noted earlier in this article that Dallas guard Luka Doncic will most likely miss tonight’s game. Similar to Kyrie Irving, I think Exum sees a significant bump in playing time versus this Thunder team tonight due to Luka’s absence.

In the Mavericks last game that Doncic left early due to injury, Exum accumulated 9 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists, and 1 steal. In my opinion, Exum presents outstanding fantasy value at the low FanDuel price of only $8,000.

Additional flex plays I like: Chet Holmgren $13,000: P.J. Washington $9,500: Derrick Jones $7,000.