NBA Daily Fantasy Picks & Playbook: October 21, 2026

James Grande | @The_Real_Grande | DraftKings and FanDuel main slate

After a three-game appetizer on opening day, we have a main course of an 11-game NBA DFS main slate on Wednesday. The top NBA DFS Picks of the day are littered throughout the playbook as we have ENDLESS options on today's monster slate. We have stars such as Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard, and Anthony Edwards making their season debuts.

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

NBA DFS Picks & Daily Fantasy Playbook Today, October 21st

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Slate Snapshot & Injury Updates

Last updated: 4:15 p.m. ET

11 games | Lock: 7:00 p.m. ET

• Deni Avdija is the biggest QUEST tag of the day.
• Reports coming out today that Ja Morant is going to start alongside Damian Lillard to start the year.
• UTA @ MEM is the game to attack: the highest total on the slate.
• There are a LOT of great mid-tier options that present an opportunity for fair-and-balanced builds. Always OK spending up on the likes of Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, etc., but the pricing is really soft in the mid-tier.

NOTABLE INJURY UPDATES

Game Environments

Numbers read away / home. UTA @ MEM carries the slate's top total. CHI @ TOR and DAL @ HOU carry blowout risk. UTA @ MEM has the best pace matchup on the slate. Ranks are league-wide, 2025-26; pace rank 1 is fastest, and off and def rank 1 are best.

Top Tier Core Plays

Luka Doncic - PG · LAL

Last year, without LeBron James, Luka Doncic posted a 42.9% USG and 1.8 FP/min and if you haven't heard, LBJ plays in Philly now. The Lakers have the fifth-highest implied team total at 122.9 points

Giannis Antetokounmpo - PF · MIA

We're putting one of the best players in the league on a team that played at the fastest pace in the league. They ranked 12th in ORtg. In a year that saw Antetokounmpo injured throughout, he still averaged 27.6 PPG, 9.8 RPG, and 5.4 APG.

Anthony Edwards - SG · MIN

The highest usage player on the Wolves and Edwards could be one of the league's leading scorers and highest usage players to boot. It's a fantastic spot for the Wolves as they're right atop the list in implied team total.

Mid-Tier Core Plays

Darius Garland - PG · LAC

The Clippers are without many rotation pieces and Darius Garland is going to DOMINATE the ball and usage for this team. Since being traded to the Clippers, when Kawhi Leonard was off the floor, Garland had a 35.1% USG. Garland is incredibly price.

Anthony Davis & Trae Young - PF & PG · WAS

I love the Wizards here especially without AJ Dybantsa on the floor. Davis and Young are both under-8K on DraftKings. They're harder to get to on FD, but they have a massive ceiling against the Bucks. The Bucks were 26th in DRtg last year and then lost Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Ty Jerome - PG/SG · MEM

After dominating the ball in Memphis last year, he did much of the same in the preseason as well. He had a team-leading 30.6% USG in four preseason outings. His matchup against the Jazz is fantastic as they ranked 29th in DRtg and 2nd in pace.

Kawhi Leonard - SF · TOR

The price on DraftKings is insane. A healthy Kawhi Leonard is a 9K+ player. The Bulls are going to be a BAD defense and Kawhi Leonard should dominate them, but obviously there is some blowout risk here.

LaMelo Ball - PG · MIN

This offseason, Anthony Edwards posted a 33.5% USG in the preseason and LaMelo Ball was at 23.4%. The gap is obviously there and that's why there is a pricing gap between them to boot. Ball is an elite option under 8K.

Value Tier Core Plays

Dennis Schroder & Grayson Allen - PG & SG/SF · CHA

The Hornets are down two starters and we should see both Schroder and Allen start in their place. They're popular, but they're incredibly cheap for the role they're going to have without Coby White and Kon Knueppel. Schroder is under 4K on DK and is 4.3K on FD while Allen is under 5K on both platforms.

Jalen Smith - C · CHI

If you look at Jalen Smith last year without Nikola Vucevic, this was a player that averaged 1.16 DKP/min and 1.14 FDP/min. The Bulls being without Nic Claxton is similar because Smith's role should be similar to what it was without Vooch last year. We should see mid-20s minutes and at 1.1 FP/min, that's great.

Obi Toppin - PF · IND

I really like Obi Toppin with the Pacers down two key rotation pieces in Aaron Nesmith and T.J. McConnell. The Pacers used Toppin at multiple positions during the preseason including small-ball center. Toppin was at 1.03 FP/min on DK last year and .98 FP/min on FD. He has a path to 20-22 minutes here.

Isaiah Jackson - C · LAC

If Jackson can stay out of foul trouble, he's a very good option because he's incredibly active on the glass and defensively. Jackson was at 1.1 FP/min on both DK and FD in the 262 minutes he played with the Clippers.

Late-News Core Plays

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

• Nobody cares about Luka Doncic, it seems. I love the mid-tier, but so does everyone if you're looking at ownership. I'm really leaning towards changing my leverage options to include Luka Doncic.
• The Warriors only have 10 available players tonight, the fewest of any team on the main slate. Highly interested in them in tournaments despite the 112 implied points.

Core Lineup

Cash Core: Dennis Schroder - Kawhi Leonard - Anthony Davis - Jalen Smith

GPP Leverage: Dennis Schroder - Darius Garland - Luka Doncic - Obi Toppin

Player Pool

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Stacks

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