We are in a key stretch of the NBA season, about two weeks from the NBA trade deadline and there are tight races all around the league in this particular moment. The DFS lineups are interesting for this week, especially with the MLK Day slate on Monday the 20th. I had a decent week last week with my three picks, especially with SGA and Maxey having over 50 fantasy points on Sunday. This should be a fun week, so with that being said here are my picks for this week.
Victor Wembanyama ($12,100 FanDuel)
Victor Wembanyama is going to win the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award because of his ability to get many blocks in any given game. In the last few games, Wembanyama has hit the magic number you want in fantasy basketball when it comes to total fantasy points, which is in the high 50s or low 60s. He has performed in the high 50s or low 60s in almost every game he has played in the last few weeks.
Wemby is and will be my lock of the Week for this Main slate because Wemby is that dude. I have a bold prediction about Wemby this week, I think he has a triple-double with points, rebounds, and blocks this week one night. The Spurs are a fun watch because of Wemby and my next pick of the week which we are about to get into right now.
Chris Paul ($6,400 FanDuel)
CP3 is an interesting play in fantasy because the old CP3 would be an amazing play consistently but these last few years have been hoping he hits the 40-point fantasy point mark for a great night. This year with Wemby has been the best fantasy season that CP3 has had over the last few years since the 2020-21 season where he went to the NBA Finals for the only time he was on that stage.
I love Paul this week as a budget play on the days the Spurs play because they have revamped the starting lineup around him and Wemby by starting Stephon Castle and Devin Vassell. That leads to easy facilitation for the Point God which means the fantasy potential is boosted to possibly hit that high 30s-low 40s needed from a budget player perspective in DFS.
Anthony Edwards ($9,300 Fanduel)
Edwards has the potential to take over because we have seen it in the playoffs over the last couple of seasons. The doubters of Anthony Edwards say that he’s coasting in the regular season, so he doesn’t have the highest equity when it comes to fantasy basketball. However, Edwards will turn it on now, with Minnesota in a questionable spot in the playoff standings. Edwards better turn it on if they want to be where they want to be in May and June, and that should start on MLK Day.
Final Thoughts
This week will be a fun one in sports, with the NFL Conference Championship Weekend, the National Championship in College Football, and the Winter X Games. But the NBA is in a crucial week for teams to begin thinking about trades and whether or not they should sell for draft stock or buy for a playoff push.
This week’s NBA DFS slate that I pitched is a little riskier than last week but I think that if you use these guys in the right spots throughout the week, you’ll make money. Follow along with Total Apex Fantasy for more NBA fantasy advice, future MLB redraft outlooks, and the NFL Championship Weekend DFS slate for this weekend.
