The 2025-26 NBA season tips off tonight with a star-studded two-game slate perfect for FanDuel DFS lineups. Our expert picks and projections cover the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder hosting Kevin Durant's Houston Rockets debut, plus the Golden State Warriors visiting the Los Angeles Lakers on Opening Night.
With LeBron James (back) sidelined until mid-November, massive usage opportunities emerge for Luka Doncic ($11,700) and Austin Reaves ($7,900), while Jalen Williams' absence boosts MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's ($11,100) ceiling even higher. Whether you're building cash game lineups or tournament stacks, our comprehensive FanDuel DFS breakdown includes elite plays, expected chalk like Alperen Sengun ($9,100) and Stephen Curry ($8,100), plus key value picks under $6,000 positioned to exceed 5x value.
Get our top NBA FanDuel picks, optimal lineup construction strategy, and player projections to dominate Opening Night contests.
Slate Overview
Visit RotoWire's NBA Daily Starting Lineups and NBA News for up-to-the-minute information!
For the latest spreads and over-unders, visit RotoWire's NBA Odds page. There, you can also find player props, futures, picks articles and sportsbook bonus codes.
Listed spreads/totals are from FanDuel Sportsbook and current as of Tuesday, Oct. 21 @12:00 p.m. ET:
Houston Rockets at Oklahoma City Thunder (-7) (O/U: 228.0)
Golden State Warriors (-2.5) at Los Angeles Lakers (O/U: 226.0)
The Thunder dropped two games to the Rockets last season, but the rested defending champions are unsurprisingly comfortable home favorites to start their title-defense campaign. Meanwhile, the Warriors' slim road favorite status is in no small part due to the absence of LeBron James (back) to begin the season.
Both totals are certainly solid for DFS purposes, and OKC particularly projects for a successful offensive night
Injury Situations to Monitor
For all the latest updates, visit RotoWire's NBA Injury News page and our comprehensive NBA Injury Report.
LeBron James, LAL (back): OUT
James is expected to be out until at least mid-November with his sciatica issue, and in his absence, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves should particularly enjoy massive usage. However, the remainder of the first unit will also benefit to varying degrees, and Jarred Vanderbilt should serve as LeBron's direct replacement on the first unit at power forward.
Jalen Williams, OKC (wrist): OUT
Williams is still in the final stages of his recovery from offseason surgery, and in his stead Tuesday, Alex Caruso and Aaron Wiggins should enjoy notable upticks in minutes at small forward.
Other notable injuries:
Jimmy Butler, GSW (ankle): PROBABLE
Jonathan Kuminga, GSW (ankle): PROBABLE
Moses Moody, GSW (calf): OUT
Dorian Finney-Smith, HOU (ankle): OUT
Isaiah Joe, OKC (knee): OUT
Elite Players
Try our FanDuel NBA Lineup Optimizer to discover more expert recommendations, customize the player pool, set exposure percentage and mass-enter DFS lineups.
We have two players with five-figure salaries on Tuesday's slate – Luka Doncic ($11,700) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ($11,100).
As noted previously, Doncic should be set for even more usage than usual as the true engine of the Lakers' attack while LeBron remains out. Luka sported a 42.1 percent usage rate when not sharing the floor with James during Doncic's first two months-plus with Los Angeles last season (including the playoffs).
SGA should sport very similar usage again this season to his 2024-25 MVP campaign, and even more so Tuesday with Jalen Williams sidelined.
Expected Chalk
Other likely chalk plays include:
Alperen Sengun, HOU ($9,100)
Sengun averaged 42.5 FD points per contest last season and postseason and scored 45.4 FD points over 33 minutes when he last saw OKC back on April 4.
Kevin Durant, HOU ($8,900)
Durant will be making his highly anticipated Rockets regular-season debut fresh off inking a two-year extension and lines up as a key cog of Houston's attack, especially with Fred VanVleet (knee) presumed out for the season.
Stephen Curry, GSW ($8,100)
Curry won't have to worry about any run-ins with LeBron's defense on Tuesday and wrapped up last season and postseason averaging 40.7 FD points per contest.
Jimmy Butler, GSW ($8,000)
Butler has had a full offseason to get further acclimated to the Warriors and is free of any injury designation after dealing with an ankle issue in the preseason.
Austin Reaves, LAL ($7,900)
Reaves should also be very busy alongside Luka in the backcourt with LeBron out, and he posted a 28.5 percent usage rate while averaging 25.3 points, 7.2 assists, 5.4 rebounds and 1.6 steals per 36 minutes last season and postseason when not sharing the floor with James.
Key Values
Isaiah Hartenstein, OKC vs. HOU ($5,800)
Hartenstein posted career bests nearly across the board last season, his first campaign in OKC. The veteran big flashed plenty of upside for his current salary, hitting or exceeding 40 FD points on 15 occasions and exceeding 30 FD points on 46 occasions overall. That included tallies of 32.6, 38.4 and 45.6 FD points in three of four matchups with the Rockets, and a solid 27.0 in the other game in that sample. Hartenstein also averaged 14.8 points, 15.7 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.7 blocks and 1.0 steals per 36 minutes with Williams off the floor last season and postseason, furthering the big man's case.
Jonathan Kuminga, GSW at LAL ($5,500)
Kuminga has some peace of mind after settling his up-and-down contract situation with the Warriors, and he's now set to once again play a key complementary role during the coming campaign. Kuminga's salary isn't commensurate to the ceiling he offers, as he delivered 5x or more on his current salary in 23 games last season and postseason, including a pair of tallies over 50. Kuminga is versatile enough to round out his fantasy production with his defense on occasion as well, posting multiple steals on 11 occasions last season. He's dealt with a minor ankle issue this preseason but is fully expected to play without limitations Tuesday, and he should see some benefit from avoiding LeBron as well.
Rui Hachimura, LAL vs. GSW ($5,200)
Hachimura is another Laker that stands to benefit from added opportunity Tuesday, and he'll be facing a Warriors squad he produced three tallies of over 20 FD points against last season, including totals of 26.3 and 34.7. Hachimura also shot over 50.0 percent overall for the second time and over 40.0 percent from behind the arc for the third occasion in his career last season, and he boosted his rebounding average back up to 5.0 after three straight seasons of 4.5 or less. He should have a more active role on both the offensive end and the glass with LeBron out, as he contributed 15.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per 36 minutes last season and postseason when not sharing the floor with his star teammate.
ALSO CONSIDER: Al Horford, GSW at LAL ($4,800); Buddy Hield, GSW at LAL ($4,200)
