This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
The Oklahoma City Thunder will attempt to put away the Minnesota Timberwolves in five on their home court Wednesday night, and I have my favorite single-game FanDuel builds for your perusal in today's article. The action begins with an 8:30 p.m. ET tip-off in front of a raucous crowd at Paycom Center.
SLATE OVERVIEW
Before we begin, let's take a look at the Game 3 winning lineup from one of FanDuel's most popular multi-entry contests.
MVP Jalen Williams 78.15
UTIL Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 63.8
UTIL Jaden McDaniels 42.8
UTIL Chet Holmgren 41.9
UTIL Nickeil Alexander-Walker 41.8
UTIL Donte DiVincenzo 33.1
I took it in the teeth Monday evening. My cashing streak came to a crashing end, and the only plays I got right were Alexander-Walker, DiVincenzo and SGA. Moving off Williams after using him throughout the playoffs proved to be my biggest mistake of the night. OKC's smothering defense figured out a way to keep Anthony Edwards nd Julius Randle in check, and Ant's 80% exposure meant that there were a lot of disappointed DFS players Monday night.
If the Thunder can replicate their success against the Timberwolves' top two, a stamped ticket to the Finals might be in their immediate future. I won't abandon Minnesota completely, but I will try to balance my selections across both teams.
MVP CANDIDATES
Some salary shifts are noticeable for Game 5, with Williams and Holmgren leapfrogging Julius Randle after a disappointing night from the Minnesota standout. We begin with $10,000 per slot as usual, but I'll include two MVP candidates who are well over that number.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (MVP $24,600, UTIL $16,400)
Chet Holmgren (MVP $15,000, UTIL $10,000)
Anthony Edwards (MVP $22,800, UTIL $15,200)
Jalen Williams (MVP $18,600, UTIL $12,400)
I listed this quartet in order of preference. Thanks to some budget saviors in this series, it's a lot easier to stomach spending up at MVP, but you need two bargain bin options to include the guys who don't make the cut here. For those who still believe in the living highlight reel, I've included Edwards for the faithful. SGA has proven he can top the box score with video game numbers almost every night, so I'm going to first make every effort to take his salary and make it work.
UTILITY CANDIDATES
Nickeil Alexander-Walker ($3,000)
I'm singling Alexander-Waker out again tonight, as FanDuel has refused to budge on this basement-level salary point. His inclusion with SGA gives you an average of $8,100 remaining per slot, so it's a matter of finding one more guy to open up the door and let more elites in.
Donte DiVincenzo ($4,400)
Dollar-for-dollar, I think DiVincenzo is the ideal second bargain for an SGA MVP build. The SGA/Alexander-Walker/DiVincenzo combo raises our slot average to $9,333, which puts Holmgren and Williams squarely in our sights. With three slots remaining, we'll need one more budget call to get Williams or Edwards in.
Naz Reid ($5,600)
While Rudy Gobert has faded down the stretch in this series, Reid's floor has remained consistent, and he's proven to be more effective than his counterparts when it comes to racking up a respectable fantasy total. From here, you can finish with Williams/Holmgren with no problem, but you'd need someone like Alex Caruso ($4,200) if you wanted to fit Edwards into this build.
ALTERNATE BUILDS
Those who want SGA and Edwards included while remaining balanced would have to do without a 1.5x multiplier from the superstars. My most interesting discovery is a Reid-based build with his $8,400 MVP salary. I'm able to couple him with an SGA/Edwards/Williams/DiVencenzo/Alexander-Walker utility spread. If Edwards doesn't appeal to you, you can replace him with Holmgren and upgrade DiVincenzo with Julius Randle ($9,600) or Jaden McDaniels ($8,400). I also like these builds because they give us perfect 3-3 splits between the two teams, achieving the balance we spoke of earlier.
Obviously, there are a number of alternate paths to take for the MVP, but I found that going with Edwards yielded very similar UTIL results, and going lower with a guy like Holmgren or Williams left us a limited ability to go higher. I'd take the original four and do some tinkering to find what works best for you. Below are my two favorite builds of the evening.
SGA (MVP)/Williams/Holmgren/Reid/DiVincenzo/Alexander-Walker
Reid (MVP)/SGA/Edwards/Williams/DiVincenzo/Alexander-Walker
