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Dan's favorite FanDuel NBA DFS picks for today, Friday - 3/21/25. His top daily fantasy basketball lineup sleepers and value picks for FanDuel DFS contests.
Normally, I might grumble about having three extra games on the FanDuel slate to break down, while DraftKings is only featuring the first seven games of the evening. But the late games are going to provide us plenty of solid plays and more options tonight, which might not be a bad thing with how funky these games have been the last month.
I always make it a point to recommend some higher-priced players for cash games and GPPs while highlighting some of my favorite value plays and game stacks. If you want DraftKings picks, see who Zach Thompson likes by reading his piece here.
This article will provide my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for FanDuel on 3/21/25. Remember to monitor NBA injury news and our awesome NBA injuries report tool, as the slate can completely change before lineups lock at 7:00 p.m. EST on FanDuel.
FanDuel NBA DFS Core Picks
Aaron Gordon, DEN - PF ($6.2K)
Nikola Jokic is set to miss his third straight game tonight as the Nuggets and Denver's other leading scorer, Jamal Murray, is questionable. Aaron Gordon, along with Michael Porter Jr. and Russell Westbrook, has been picking up the slack lately for Denver as they attempt to replace the two most important offensive players on the team.
Gordon has been fantastic the last two games, scoring 42 and 38 FD points against Golden State and L.A., respectively. Expect the offense to run through him often tonight, even if Murray plays. He's easily one of the best point-per-dollar plays on the board and should be a staple of cash game lineups.
Scotty Pippen Jr., MEM - PG ($6K)
Ja Morant is set to miss tonight's late-night contest against the L.A. Clippers, which should mean we see plenty of Pippen for Memphis. He missed the game against Sacramento on Monday but returned Wednesday night to score 37 FD points in 31 minutes off the bench.
Really big bucket by Scotty Pippen Jr pic.twitter.com/a3EduX2lnA
— eric (@EricTweetsNBA) March 11, 2025
The Grizzlies chose to start Luke Kennard over Pippen, but Scotty is easily the more productive player, and Memphis badly needs another shot-creator and scorer on the floor to help Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr.
This price is fair for 30 minutes of Pippen Jr., who has been suitable for 30+ in his last four games. I will be anchoring my builds with him in my PG slot tonight.
Kawhi Leonard, LAC - SF/PF ($8.7K)
We are finally seeing "the old Kawhi" lately, with Leonard going for 45 FD points in four straight games. On Tuesday night, he had one of his best performances of the season, dropping a 33-7-4 line with four steals in a big win over the Cleveland Cavs. That was good for 57 FD points and reflects the type of upside that Leonard brings to the table with his across-the-board production.
The Grizzlies are allowing the fifth-most FD points to power forwards this season. As long as Memphis keeps this game close, I expect Kawhi to continue to assert himself as the alpha dog on this team and take more pressure off James Harden to be the main playmaker and scorer.
Others Under Consideration: Cade Cunningham - PG ($10.8K), Michael Porter Jr. - SF/PF ($6.7K)
FanDuel NBA DFS Tournament Pivots
Jrue Holiday, BOS - PG/SG ($5.9K)
The Celtics won't have Jaylen Brown again tonight, so perhaps Holiday will continue to be more aggressive and assertive on offense as he has been lately.
Jrue is usually happy to let the other Celtics get their buckets and stats most nights, taking a backseat on a loaded roster. But he's been darn good lately, going for 40+ FanDuel points in three straight games which is close to 7x value at this current price tag.
The Celtics are big favorites tonight against the Jazz, so there is some blowout risk here, but the price is still quite nice on Holiday, and he's also eligible at SG, which allows for some flexibility in roster builds.
Stephon Castle, SAS – PG/SG ($7.2K)
The price continues to rise on Castle, but I think we can still go after him tonight as the spot couldn't get any better for him and the Spurs as they take on the tanking Philadelphia 76ers.
Stephon Castle has 20 games with 20+ points this season
NO other rookie has more than 8 such games
6 of Steph’s 20 20-point games have come in March & he’s heating up at the right time with averages of 20.6-4.3-4.1 this month
ROTY Frontrunner?pic.twitter.com/o0SE26Jrtx
— Point Made Basketball (@pointmadebball) March 20, 2025
Castle has at least 20 actual points in three of his last four and continues to be the guy who has benefitted the most from the shutdown of De'Aaron Fox. He loves attacking the rim, and he could have a field day tonight as the Sixers have almost no healthy big men to protect the paint.
Evan Mobley, CLE - PF/C ($8.8K)
Right around the same price as Kawhi is another stud in a great spot - Mobley vs. the Suns.
Mobley had 31 points against Sacto on Wednesday night, but the Cavs ended up dropping their third straight game anyway. Cleveland should be anxious to get back on another winning streak tonight, and Phoenix certainly qualifies as a "get-right spot" for the Cavs, as the Suns have been one of the worst defensive teams in the league this season.
Mobley has been ascending to superstardom this season, and I wouldn't be surprised if he put on a display tonight in Phoenix against Kevin Durant and Phoenix's non-existent interior defense.
Others Under Consideration: Anthony Edwards - SG/SF ($9.5K), Bam Adebayo - PF/C ($8.6K)
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FanDuel NBA DFS Value Picks
Tristan Vukcevic, WAS – PF/C ($5.0K)
I am very enamored with Vukcevic and his fantasy game. The Wizards have finally benched veteran Richaun Holmes and are getting Vuk minutes behind their other rookie big man Alex Sarr.
The European big man has 17 points in two straight games and two blocks. Even in a 20 to 24-minute bench role, Vuk has the per-minute numbers to produce value at this price. I expect Washington to keep playing a deep rotation and spread the minutes around, so you can't trust any of the higher-priced plays.
Ryan Dunn, PHX - SF/PF ($4.6K), Royce O'Neale, PHX - SF/PF ($4.7K)
The Suns had to lean on Dunn and O'Neale more with Bradley Beal out of the lineup. The Bol Bol experiment is pretty much over, and the Suns are focusing instead on trying to play smaller and get more versatile defenders on the floor with Booker and Durant.
Sandro Mamukelashvili, SAS - C ($4.4K)
Mamu was unconscious in his last game against the Knicks, coming off the bench to pour in 34 points, nine boards, and three assists. He made all seven of his attempts from behind the arc and put on quite a show.
We always knew Mamu had a solid fantasy game, but that performance was nuts. It is an outlier for sure, but the Spurs seem like they want to give him some minutes, and he could eat tonight against a banged-up Philly team.
Chuma Okeke, PHI – PF ($3.6K)
Okeke came out of nowhere to score 14 points and rack up 15 boards against the Thunder on Wednesday. The Sixers were so desperate for bigs that they signed Okeke, and he immediately earned 37 minutes. Guerschon Yabusele is back tonight, but Okeke could still play big minutes at PF or C off the bench, and he's free!
Others Under Consideration: AJ Johnson - SG ($4.5K), Justin Edwards - PF ($4.9K), Peyton Watson - PF ($4.5K)
My Favorite NBA DFS Picks for Today
Here is where I leave you with some of my favorites.
- My favorite OVERALL play on the slate: Kawhi Leonard
- My favorite CASH play on the slate: Aaron Gordon
- My favorite GPP play on the slate: Evan Mobley
- My favorite VALUE play: Tristan Vukcevic
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