NBA DFS, Opening Night 2026: Top DraftKings, FanDuel daily Fantasy basketball lineup picks
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SportsLine's Mike McClure, a daily Fantasy pro with more than $2 million in winnings, gives optimal NBA DFS lineup advice for NBA Opening Night on Tuesday
• 2 min read
The NBA returns on Tuesday as 2026 Opening Night brings three highly-anticipated matchups. The action begins with a matinee matchup between the Celtics and Pistons at 3 p.m. ET, followed by 76ers vs. Knicks at 7 p.m. ET and Spurs vs. Thunder closing the action at 9:30 p.m. ET. Some of the most expensive players in the NBA DFS player pool include Cade Cunningham, Victor Wembanyama, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jayson Tatum.
One of the big questions for NBA DFS lineups is how to utilize players from the Sixers and Celtics, given that those rosters saw some major changes over the offseason as Philadelphia welcomes newcomers LeBron James and Jaylen Brown, while the Celtics have added Paul George. Before making any NBA DFS picks, be sure to check out the NBA DFS advice, player rankings, stacks, and top daily Fantasy basketball picks from SportsLine's Mike McClure.
McClure is a DFS professional with more than $2 million in career winnings. He's also a predictive data engineer at SportsLine who uses a powerful prediction model that simulates every minute of every game 10,000 times, taking factors like matchups, statistical trends and injuries into account. This allows him to find the best NBA DFS values on sites like DraftKings and FanDuel and create optimal lineups that he shares only over at SportsLine.
McClure has turned his attention to NBA action on Opening Night and locked in his top daily Fantasy basketball picks. You can only see them by heading to SportsLine.
Top NBA DFS picks for Opening Night
For Tuesday, one of McClure's top NBA DFS picks is Thunder forward Chet Holmgren at $5,900 on DraftKings and $6,800 on FanDuel. He dealt with a quad injury in the preseason, but is not on the official injury report as of Tuesday morning, clearing the way for him to likely carry a full load against the Spurs. Holmgren is coming off a season where he ranked in the top 50 in the NBA in scoring (17.1 ppg), 11th in the league in rebounding (8.9 rpg) and was second in blocks (2.9 bpg). McClure is high on him as a mid-priced option despite the tough matchup with Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs. See McClure's other NBA DFS picks right here.
He's also building around Pistons center Jalen Duren ($6,500 on DraftKings, $6,600 on FanDuel), who should post even bigger numbers this season with Tobias Harris and Isaiah Stewart no longer in Detroit. Duren got his contract situation worked out and showed no rust in the preseason, which include a 24-point game against the Timberwolves on Oct. 14 as he quickly worked his way into game shape. See McClure's other NBA DFS picks right here.
How to set your NBA DFS lineups for Tuesday, Oct. 20
McClure is also targeting a player who could go off for massive numbers on Tuesday because of an optimal matchup. This pick could be the difference between winning your tournaments and cash games or going home with nothing. You can only see who it is here.
Who is DFS pro Mike McClure putting in his optimal NBA DFS lineups for Opening Night? Visit SportsLine now to see optimal NBA DFS picks, rankings, advice, and stacks, all from a professional DFS player who has over $2 million in career winnings, and find out.
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