If you're new to daily fantasy basketball -- maybe you started your DFS journey during the MLB or NFL seasons, or maybe basketball is your sport and this will be your first year giving it a shot -- you're in for a treat. The NBA scene changes hugely on a week-to-week, day-to-day, and -- depending on injury news -- even a minute-to-minute basis, making every slate a unique one that requires an ever-changing approach.
With so much changing so quickly, we're here with plenty of tools to help you out. We have daily projections, a matchup heat map, a lineup optimizer, and a ton of other great resources to help give you an edge.
We'll also be coming at you with this primer every day, breaking down a few of the day's top plays at each price point.
Let's take a look at who you should target on today's main slate.
Best of the Best
LeBron James ($12,000): The Los Angeles Lakers are fighting to stay in the playoff hunt, and that has meant 2009-esque minutes for LeBron. Two of his eight games since returning from injury were blowouts of 20-plus points, but the other six have seen him play an average of 39.9 minutes per game. Still one of the league's most efficient fantasy producers, that has translated to a huge 62.1 FanDuel points per game. He's one game removed from dropping 64.4 fantasy points in 38.5 minutes against the New Orleans Pelicans, and he draws that great matchup again. The Pels have been a plus matchup all season, ranking only 22nd in defensive rating and 5th in pace, and the reduction of Anthony Davis' minutes make the spot even better, as they get worse in both defensive rating (by 2.8 points) and total rebound rate (by 2.5%) with Davis off the floor compared to on. This game only has a 5.5-point spread, so there's not much blowout risk, and that gives LeBron both an elite floor and ceiling, making him a top play in all formats.