NBA Daily Fantasy Picks & Playbook: October 25, 2026

James Grande | @The_Real_Grande | DraftKings and FanDuel main slate

We have a split slate! FanDuel has six games on it's main slate while DraftKings sits at just four. Players such as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Cade Cunningham, Anthony Edwards. and Kawhi Leonard make both main slates player pools while Domantas Sabonis and Tyrese Haliburton are two players you can play only on FanDuel's main slate.

Before actually diving into the meat and potatoes, welcome to the NBA DFS season. If this is your first time reading our column on NBA DFS picks, I just want to welcome you and give you a few tips and tricks on what you should be looking for each night.

• News outlets: reliable sources that give us injury news & starting lineups
• Pace of play: who's playing fast vs. who's playing slow. Which teams get a pace-up spot (more possessions) vs. pace-down (fewer possessions)
• Usage rates: is a percentage of how many plays that player is being used in
• NBA DFS Projections
• Lineup Generator
• NBA Ownership

Slate Snapshot & Injury Updates

Last updated: 3:10 p.m. ET

4 games on DK & 6 games on FD | Lock: 7:00 p.m. ET on DK & 6:00 p.m. ET on FD

• Ausar Thompson did not go through shootaround this morning. Not the best look for today's game.
• Memphis & Sacramento are a slate high 234.5 implied points. This game is not on the DraftKings main slate.

NOTABLE INJURY UPDATES

Game Environments

Numbers read away / home. TOR @ MIN pairs the slate's top total with its closest spread. LAC @ OKC carries blowout risk. DET @ PHI has the best pace matchup on the slate. 3 games are also on the schedule but not on this DFS slate. Ranks are league-wide, 2025-26; pace rank 1 is fastest, and off and def rank 1 are best.

Top Tier Core Plays

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander - PG · OKC (FanDuel)

I lean rostering SGA in tournaments only because of the 15.5-point spread in this game, but if the game were to stay competitive he has an elite ceiling. Even with his awful Game 2, SGA has a 30.7% USG on the year. The two-time league MVP is a monster.

Cade Cunningham - PG · DET

The Pistons are already without Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson didn't go through shootaround, so that means the Pistons could be without their second and third best options today. Since the start of last year, Cunningham's USG is over 33% and 1.39 FP/min without Jalen Duren. One of the top plays of the day.

Domantas Sabonis - C · SAC (FanDuel)

He's just such an elite fantasy producer when he's healthy. He has a double-double and a triple-double and 47 and 60 FDP in those two games. Since the start of last year, without Russell Westbrook, he's averaged 1.3 FP/min and now gets a Memphis team without Zach Edey anchoring it's defense.

Mid-Tier Core Plays

Scottie Barnes - PF · TOR

For some reason, the sites are not adjusting Scottie Barnes' price and that's on them and that's something we should take advantage of. Through two games, Barnes has a 35.2% USG rate and leads the team in that and the FP/min categories.

LeBron James, Jaylen Brown & Tyrese Maxey- PF, SF & PG · PHI

The 76ers are incredibly appealing today again because, like yesterday, they're missing one of their big dogs. With Joel Embiid off the floor (in a small sample)  Brown has a 38.5% USG, Maxey has a 29.7% USG and LeBron James is LeBron James and is coming off sitting the front end of their back-to-back. LBJ has averaged 1.33 FP/min this year, which is the highest on the team outside of Embiid. If you're looking to differentiate in tournaments just play the lowest owned of the three (currently Brown).

Pascal Siakam - PF · IND (FanDuel)

We've seen a better floor from Tyrese Haliburton this year but Siakam, at his price, has a better ceiling. Siakam's been a bucket in his first two games and has a team-leading 33.5% USG. This is actually a fantastic paced spot as the Nets are playing FAST this year.

Franz Wagner, Desmond Bane & Jalen Suggs - SF, · ORL

I love that nobody is playing Franz Wagner or Desmond Bane today. Since the start of last year, Franz Wagner has a 30.4% USG, Bane sits at 27.2% and Suggs is at 23.3% without Paolo Banchero on the floor this season. Only Suggs is getting ownership and while I like him, there's no reason Wagner and Bane should be sub-10% on a small slate.

Chet Holmgren & Jalen Williams - PF & SF · OKC

Same risk that SGA has above (blowout) but they're a LOT cheaper. I'm OK with both, but still prefer using them in GPPs.

Michael Porter & Julius Randle - SF & PF · BKN (FanDuel)

When looking at Brooklyn, it's Randle and Porter and then everyone else. Randle has a 27.5% USG and MPJ sits at a team-leading 28.1%. They're the only two players on the Nets over 1 FP/min and both are over 1.3 FP/min. I love them both and if trying to figure out which to play, I'd just play the lower owned option.

Value Tier Core Plays

Paul Reed - C · DET

IMPOSSIBLE to ignore at his DraftKings price. Impossible. He's going to be the highest owned player the day by quite a wide margin. Since the start of last year, Reed is a 1.4 FP/min player without Jalen Duren and should play mid-to-high 20s minutes in this game.

Jonathan Kuminga & Ayo Dosunmu - SF & SG · MIN

The TWolves are running a thin rotation, per usual, and Kuminga and Dosunmu are both hovering right around 30 minutes per night. I like them both as value options here because they're both good fantasy players. I lean Dosunmu (1.27 FP/min) but also like Kuminga (1 FP/min).

Cedric Coward - SG/SF · MEM (FanDuel)

If Coward plays today, he's too cheap and the price dipped seemingly because of one bad game and he was injured in the next one. He's a plus rebounder and can stuff a statsheet. He's a sub-5K play on FD against a bad defense and in the best game environment in the league.

Egor Demin - PG/SG · BKN (FanDuel)

Bad first game, awesome second game, and now Mikel Brown is now ruled out giving him a longer leash as the lead guard. Demin hit five threes and scored 22 points last night and has played 27+ minutes in each of the first two games this season and that's with Brown in. I love this game environment to boot.

Obi Toppin - PF/C · IND (FanDuel)

So we're going to just get an elite role out of Obi Toppin. That's where we are. He's played 24 and 25 minutes as a PF and C this season and that's exactly the run he needs. He's put up 22.5 and 31.1 FDP 

Adem Bona - C · PHI

It'll be interesting to see if the 76ers go with Adem Bona starts or if they go small-ball with Dean Wade. Bona is near min price and is a good FP/min player when extended. He's definitely in play if starting.

Late-News Core Plays

Players we are considering core plays based on late-breaking news and research

Core Lineup

Cash Core (DK): Jalen Suggs, LeBron James, Scottie Barnes, Paul Reed

GPP Leverage (DK): Cade Cunningham, Franz Wagner, Jaylen Brown, Paul Reed

Cash Core (FD): Egor Demin, Jalen Suggs, Domantas Sabonis, Paul Reed

GPP Leverage (FD): Cade Cunningham, Franz Wagner, Obi Toppin, Michael Porter

Player Pool

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Stacks

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