It’s Friday, which means the NBA Cup is back for another round of group-stage action. The DraftKings main slate features seven games, all of which tip off between 7 and 8 PM ET.
Let’s dive into some of the top plays on the slate using the FantasyLabs tools and projections.
Also, don’t forget that for large-field tournaments, you can utilize our Lineup Optimizer to effortlessly create up to 300 lineups or use our Lineup Builder if you like to hand-build your lineups.
You can also use our SimLabs Lineup Generator, a tool that creates the most user-friendly lineup generation process.
Note: Projections and Leverage Scores/Ratings may change throughout the day after this article is posted. The NBA DFS landscape changes quickly.
Consult the NBA Player Models directly for any updates as we get closer to lock.
NBA DFS Point Guard Picks
Stud
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ($10,200)
On the heels of a shaky run of form, the two-time reigning NBA MVP has really kicked it into gear this week. In back-to-back wins over the Cavs, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander totaled 85 points, 16 assists, and seven rebounds on an average of just over 30 field-goal attempts per game. That comes out to an average of 42.5 points and eight assists in 37 minutes per game. Not too shabby!
Gilgeous-Alexander is going to have to take charge of the Thunder’s offense with Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams both sidelined for the foreseeable future. SGA’s usage rate is up by 3.2% with his fellow All-Stars off the floor this season, all the way up to 39.3%. Tonight’s matchup against a Grizzlies team ranked 10th in pace on the year is a good one, and Shai is currently projected for modest 15% ownership.
Value
Brayden Burries ($4,400)
It’s going to be a long season in Milwaukee. The Bucks are off to a grim 1-7 start to kick off the post-Giannis Antetokounmpo era, and they’ve already started the youth movement. Brayden Burries – the 10th pick in this summer’s draft – was moved into the starting unit two games ago after beginning the season playing a reserve role. Burries is only averaging about 18 minutes per game for the year, but he’s averaged 24 minutes since becoming a starter.
Burries has been productive, averaging 0.96 DK fantasy points-per-minute through his first eight games as a pro. There are still plenty of mouths to feed in this offense – Burries’ 21.6% usage rate is fifth on the team – but he’s still only $4,400. Burries has the fourth-highest projected Plus/Minus among point guards.
Fast Break
Scottie Barnes ($8,800) – Barnes is officially questionable for tonight’s game with a sore groin, but if he plays, he’s one of the best spends on the slate against a Bucks team ranked 27th in the league in defensive efficiency. With the injured Kawhi Leonard off the floor, Barnes leads the Raptors in usage (32.5%) alongside a sparkling 1.36 FP/minute average.
Kyrie Irving ($7,400) – Kyrie missed all of last season with a torn ACL, but he’s looked no worse for wear since returning. Across six appearances this year, Irving is averaging 22.7 points, 4.8 assists, and 4.0 rebounds on his usual efficient shooting from the field. His minutes limit also seems to be a thing of the past, as he’s played at least 35 minutes in back-to-back games.
NBA DFS Shooting Guard Picks
Stud
Tyler Herro ($6,900)
Now in Milwaukee, Tyler Herro has emerged as the Bucks’ No. 1 option offensively. The Wisconsin native leads his new team in usage (26.9%), scoring (22.3 PPG), and minutes per game (30.6). Herro is also knocking down better than 42% of his attempts from three-point range, which would be the highest mark of his career if he’s able to keep it up.
Herro’s ceiling projection in the Player Models is the fifth-highest among shooting guards on this slate, yet he’s only the ninth-most-expensive option at the position. The matchup against the Raptors isn’t ideal, yet Milwaukee is, somewhat surprisingly, only a 6.5-point underdog in this one. If the game stays close, Herro should play a full allotment of minutes.
Value
Ja’Kobe Walter ($5,000)
Taking Kawhi out of the mix not only opens up a bunch of usage for the rest of the Raptors, but it also clears 30-35 minutes they’ll have to fill. Ja’Kobe Walter has started each of the six games Leonard has missed so far this season, and he’s averaged 31 minutes in those starts.
Walter is nowhere near a top option for this offense – his usage rate is hovering around 15% without Kawhi – but his 0.85 FP/minute average is solid for a low-usage role. Walter also comes with useful SG/SF eligibility and an affordable $5,000 salary. Factor in the matchup against a Bucks team ranked second in the league in pace and 27th in defense, and Walter looks like a versatile salary-saver viable in all formats.
Fast Break
RJ Barrett ($7,300) – RJ Barrett is one of the many beneficiaries of Kawhi’s absence offensively. Barrett’s 1.3% usage boost is the second-best among Raptors in Leonard’s absence, and he’s topped 20 points in seven of Toronto’s eight games on the season. Despite a climbing salary, Barrett is still the top-ranked player at the shooting guard position, according to projected Plus/Minus.
Ayo Dosunmu ($6,700) – Ayo Dosunmu had a few underwhelming showings immediately following the injury to Anthony Edwards, but he’s really come on strong in recent games. Over the last four games, Dosunmu is averaging 20.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 4.7 assists in just under 35 minutes a night. Ayo should also thrive in a potentially up-and-down matchup against a Pelicans team running at the NBA’s fourth-fastest pace this season.
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NBA DFS Small Forward Picks
Stud
Cooper Flagg ($9,900)
Kyrie’s return hasn’t done anything to negatively impact Cooper Flagg’s role. If anything, adding Irving back to the mix has only made Flagg better in his second pro campaign. Through seven games, the former No. 1 overall pick is doing a little bit of everything, contributing averages of 24.3 points, 6.3 assists, and 6.3 rebounds in north of 34 minutes per game. The scoring is extra impressive when you factor in Flagg’s subpar 21% shooting from beyond the arc.
Flagg has topped 50 fantasy points twice already, and the Mavs get arguably the best matchup on tonight’s slate with the lowly Jazz in town. Utah comes into this one ranked 24th in the league in defensive efficiency, and the absence of Jaren Jackson Jr. won’t help moving forward. It also looks like Flagg may fly almost completely under the radar, as he’s projected for measly 3% ownership.
Value
Mario Hezonja ($4,100)
Former lottery pick Mario Hezonja flamed out of the NBA back in 2022 and vowed never to return. Well, just a half-decade later, he’s back and playing a big role off the bench for the Cavaliers. Through eight games, Hezonja has posted rather modest averages of 8.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, and a couple of assists per game, but he’s only averaging around 19 minutes a night.
Hezonja has topped 20 minutes in each of the last three games with Jaylon Tyson sidelined, while he logged 27 and 23 minutes, respectively, in the last two with Peyton Watson also out. Watson and Jarrett Allen are both questionable for tonight’s game, while Tyson remains out. There could be a boatload of minutes in the Cleveland frontcourt available, and Hezonja has an impressive 1.07 FP/minute rate this year with Tyson off the floor.
Fast Break
AJ Dybantsa ($6,200) – Wizards coach Brian Keefe said before the last game that AJ Dybantsa would no longer be on a minutes restriction on the heels of an ankle sprain. Dybantsa struggled in 32 minutes against the Hawks in that one, but the rookie has quickly asserted himself in the Wizards’ offense (26% usage). He’s still underpriced for the role ahead of a rematch against the fast-paced Hawks tonight.
Paul George ($7,500) – Jayson Tatum is back after missing the last game, but Tatum’s presence hasn’t negatively impacted Paul George’s numbers so far this season. PG-13 is averaging a stellar 1.32 FP/minute through his first couple of weeks in a Celtics uniform on healthy 28.7% usage. This is a great matchup against a Hornets team yielding the fourth-highest three-point percentage to opponents on the year (38.9%).
NBA DFS Power Forward Picks
Stud
Jayson Tatum ($10,000)
The Celtics rested Jayson Tatum in Monday’s win over the Bucks, and he’ll return tonight for an NBA Cup showdown against the Hornets. With Jaylen Brown now in Philly, Tatum has taken on even more usage (33.7%) en route to an average of 27 points in 35 minutes per game. If anything, Tatum’s poor shooting means he’s leaving some points on the table. The six-time All-Star is shooting just 41% from the field and 23% from deep, both well below his career marks (46% FGs, 37% 3P%).
Perhaps most impressively, Tatum is averaging a career-best 7.9 assists early in the campaign. His 39% assist rate leads the Celtics. This matchup against Charlotte isn’t ideal with the Hornets ranked dead-last in the league in pace, but paying up for Tatum is one way to flip your build and get an edge, as he’s projected for just 3% ownership.
Value
Collin Murray-Boyles ($4,800)
Collin Murray-Boyles was one of the league’s most impressive rookies last season, and he managed to play his way into a major role for a surprising playoff team. The 21-year-old is known primarily as a tenacious defender with impressive versatility. Despite his 6’7″ frame, CMB spent a lot of time last season playing as a small-ball center for Toronto.
Murray-Boyles’ minutes this season are down slightly (20.6) through the Raptors’ first eight games. He’s still averaged a solid 0.98 fantasy points-per-minute, and he’s started back-to-back games at center over Jakob Poeltl. That includes a season-high 28 minutes in a start a couple of games ago against the Clippers. In a matchup with the perimeter-oriented Myles Turner, we could certainly see a third consecutive start for CMB tonight.
Fast Break
LeBron James ($7,500) – LeBron will make his first appearance back in Cleveland as a member of the Sixers tonight. While I think we’re probably well past any revenge narrative for James at this point when it comes to the Cavs, he is still a stellar point-per-minute producer (1.23 DK) averaging around 33 minutes per game for his new team. LeBron is more of a high-floor than a high-ceiling fantasy option these days, but it’s a sneaky-good spot with Cleveland ranked a disappointing 22nd in defensive efficiency so far.
Cameron Boozer ($8,200) – The Rookie of the Year race is loaded this season, and Cameron Boozer is right in the thick of it. The former Blue Devil is contributing 16.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 5.4 assists for the surprising 6-2 Grizzlies, and tonight’s matchup against Oklahoma City isn’t quite as imposing without Chet Holmgren in there to protect the paint for the Thunder.
NBA DFS Center Picks
Stud
Joel Embiid ($8,700)
The Sixers’ offense is crowded with Jaylen Brown and LeBron James now in the mix, so the days of Joel Embiid posting elite usage rates are likely in the past. Still, the big fella is one of Philly’s key cogs offensively while he’s out there. Embiid has the second-highest usage rate among Sixers (28%) – trailing only Tyrese Maxey. Perhaps most surprising of all is that Embiid is still logging north of 33 minutes a night despite his lengthy and well-documented injury history.
Cleveland’s frontcourt has a track record as one of the league’s stingiest, but that hasn’t really been the case so far in 2026-27. The Cavs are actually allowing the league’s sixth-most paint points per game (52). Things likely won’t get any better for Cleveland on that front if Jarrett Allen (Q) misses this game.
Value
Aday Mara ($4,600)
Things could be going better for the Thunder, especially on the injury front. With Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace potentially done for the year and Chet Holmgren sidelined for the next couple of months, Mark Daigneault is already having to test the depth of his roster. It doesn’t end there, either, as Jaylin Williams will also miss a second consecutive game tonight with a back injury.
Rookie center Aday Mara has been thrust into a big role almost immediately as a result. He’s played at least 20 minutes in three of the Thunder’s last four games, including his first career start in the last one. Mara hasn’t exactly lit it up from an FP/minute standpoint (0.96), but a 25-minute projection is enough to make him stand out as a useful value at this $4,600 salary.
Fast Break
Rudy Gobert ($5,500) – Gobert’s lack of scoring ability gives him a low floor, but he is still averaging 11.9 rebounds in just over 30 minutes per game on the season. This is also an elite matchup, as the Pelicans have allowed the second-most fantasy points to opposing centers early on. New Orleans doesn’t have much size to throw at Gobert with Yves Missi sidelined by a knee injury.
Myles Turner ($4,900) – The Bucks are going nowhere fast, but they might as well showcase Myles Turner ahead of the trade deadline. The veteran has perked up lately, with at least 31 fantasy points in three of his last five games. He logged a season-high 35 minutes in the last outing and is still only $4,900 on DK.
Pictured: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Photo Credit: Imagn
