NBA DFS: Top Daily Fantasy Expert Picks for DraftKings, FanDuel (12/27/25)

December 27, 2025

Get winning NBA DFS lineup picks and player projections for tonight's games on DraftKings and FanDuel. Zach's expert analysis helps you build optimal daily fantasy basketball lineups for December 27th, 2025.

Welcome back, RotoBallers! The final Saturday of 2025 features nine games on the scoreboard as teams look to gather some momentum heading into 2026, which is just around the corner. The Mavericks and Kings get things started with a matinee, and the rest of the games tip off at either 7:00 p.m. ET or 8:00 p.m. ET, giving us a compressed eight-game slate on both DraftKings and FanDuel this Saturday night.

At this point in the season, every slate is radically impacted by key injuries, and Saturday's is no exception. Half of the 18 teams in action are playing for the second day in a row, which means keeping up with the injury reports as they come out will be key. We do already know that Alperen Sengun, De'Aaron Fox, and Anthony Edwards are questionable, and many more stars are likely to join them on the injury report throughout the day. The slate is likely to continue to shift and change up until tip-off, but some strong plays are already standing out early in the day, which can help anchor your strategy and lineups this Saturday night.

This article will provide you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on 12/27/25. 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 and DraftKings. To keep up with all the latest developments and get access to updated projections, grab an NBA season pass and also gain access to our RotoBaller Premium Discord, where our experts are talking about the slate up until lineups lock!

NBA DFS Core Picks

Jalen Johnson, ATL - PF on DK, SF/PF on FD (DK $9.7K, FD $11K)

The Hawks have continued to get outstanding production from Jalen Johnson all season, even after the return of Trae Young to help carry the scoring load. Johnson has posted monster stat lines all season long, and he and the Hawks will be searching for a win at home against the Knicks on Saturday night after dropping five straight, including last night's matchup against Miami.

Despite his team's losing skid, Johnson continues to post impressive numbers. On the season, he's averaging 23.8 points, 10.4 rebounds, 8.3 assists, and 35 minutes per game. He's producing 53.7 DraftKings points and 50.8 FanDuel points per contest. In each of his last two games, he has posted exactly 24 points, 10 assists, and nine rebounds, coming up just short of a triple-double. He had four straight triple-doubles just before Young returned and has been either one rebound or one assist short in four of his five games since then.

Jalen Johnson somehow gets the and-1 to fall (via espn) pic.twitter.com/V9mGx33kD1

— Hardwood Report (@HardwoodReportX) December 27, 2025

He has the potential to absolutely go off and carry your Saturday night lineup with a monster game, and he still comes cheaper than the other elite plays, especially on DraftKings, where he is still under $10K.

Norman Powell, MIA - SG/SF (DK $6.8K, FD $7.3K)

With both Tyler Herro (toe) and Bam Adebayo (back) out on Friday, Powell carried the load for the Heat against Johnson and the Hawks. Powell played 33 minutes and finished with a well-balanced line of 25 points, seven rebounds, and five assists for over 40 DraftKings points.

NORMAN POWELL WITH BACK TO BACK 3s 🚨 pic.twitter.com/Q33jF32IEJ

— Heat Central (@HeatCulture13) December 27, 2025

Powell has produced at least 39 DraftKings points in six of his nine games this month, and he and the Heat are in a great matchup at home against the Pacers on Saturday night. Indiana has the worst record in the Eastern Conference and just gave up 140 points last night to the Celtics. If Powell is positioned to carry the load again on Saturday night, he should be a strong and flexible midrange producer with the potential to go off for another huge game.

Collin Gillespie, PHX - PG/SG (DK $6.4K, FD $6.5K)

While he hasn't been nearly as flashy and productive as Johnson, another one of this season's biggest emerging producers has been third-year guard Collin Gillespie, who has helped the Suns keep rising even with Jalen Green a non-factor. Gillespie has become a key to the offense, averaging 13.5 points, 5.0 assists, and 3.9 rebounds per game.

He has scored exactly 16 points in four straight games and has at least 12 points in 15 of his last 16. He typically adds good assists and strong non-scoring numbers overall, making him a reliable option as a mid-range play in the backcourt.

He and the Suns face the Pelicans for a second straight night on Saturday after winning a tight game on Friday, 115-108. Gillespie finished with 16 points, nine assists, and 37.2 DraftKings points, and he stepped up with this huge play to help secure the win.

Suns use Devin Booker as a screener for Collin Gillespie. Murphy is up but no switch, Gillespie get to his spot and scores. pic.twitter.com/mVVHLX9xJz

— Steve Jones (@stevejones20) December 27, 2025

The Pelicans have been one of the most favorable matchups all season long, especially for point guards, so Gillespie is a solid building block to include in your Saturday night builds.

NBA DFS GPP Pivots

Nikola Jokic, DEN - C ($12.5K DK, $12.8K FD)

It's amazing how Jokic can be so much more expensive than the rest of the players on the slate and still seem like a play that has to be considered. He and the Nuggets are in Orlando to face the Magic, and the Joker brings the highest pure ceiling of any player on the slate by a wide margin.

He's looked like a cheat code lately, including on Christmas Day when he dropped a cool 106.5 DraftKings points and 98.7 FanDuel points against the Timberwolves.

NIKOLA JOKIĆ WITH VIDEO GAME STATS ON CHRISTMAS DAY 🤯

🃏 56 PTS
🃏 16 REB
🃏 15 AST
🃏 2 BLK
🃏 4 3PM

THE FIRST 55/15/15 GAME IN NBA HISTORY 🚨 pic.twitter.com/8LPXlFWO6V

— NBA (@NBA) December 26, 2025

He's capable of absolutely going off and being "must-own" on any slate, but he is pricey to build around, so you'll need to find the right value plays to stack around him in your GPP "stars and scrubs" lineups.

Jalen Brunson, NYK - PG (DK $9.3K, FD $9.2K)

Brunson and the Knicks are in Atlanta for their first game since their Christmas Day rally past the Cavs. Brunson finished that game with 46.75 DraftKings points on 34 points, four assists, and a rebound in 39 minutes. He had an even better showing in his previous game against the Heat, dropping 47 points and eight assists for 65.75 DraftKings points.

The Hawks have been struggling lately, and guards have specifically had plenty of success against them. Brunson and his NBA Cup Champion Knicks have been in great form lately, and he is a big name to consider building around for some GPP leverage on Saturday.

Bobby Portis, MIL - PF/C (DK $6.1K, FD $6.2K)

Portis gets a revenge game against his former team in Chicago on Saturday as the Bucks finish a back-to-back. While he is a volatile play, he brings enough upside to be a solid mid-range target for GPP builds based on his recent form. Portis has played over 31 minutes in each of his last four games and has moved into the starting lineup for his last three. In those four games, 17.3 points, 11.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.3 steals, and 37.1 DraftKings points per contest.

On Friday night, he had 15 points and 12 rebounds against the Grizzlies, and he is just one rebound short of posting a double-double in each of his last four and five of his last six contests. He's once again helping the Bucks fill in for the absence of Giannis Antetokounmpo, and he's in a great matchup against the Bulls on Saturday night, who have allowed the second-most DraftKings points per game to power forwards this season.

NBA DFS Value Picks

Egor Demin, BKN - PG on DK, PG/SG on FD (DK $4.3K, FD $4.9K)

The Nets have been getting good contributions from rookie point guard Egor Demin, who has averaged 10.9 points, 3.8 assists, 3.2 boards, and 25.5 minutes per game since moving into the starting lineup for good in early November. He has scored double-digit points in four straight games and had 20 points, five assists, and 31 DraftKings points against the Sixers on Tuesday.

Nets rookie Egor Dëmin 20 PTS (6-11 FG, 5-9 3P, 81% TS), 5 AST, 2 REB vs. Sixers https://t.co/0onLamyQvV pic.twitter.com/qAR4zsiuI5

— Role Player Performances (@BenchHighlights) December 24, 2025

Demin has over 30 DraftKings points in three of his last four games, so getting him at just over $4K is a great bargain option in the backcourt this Saturday. Since he's already in a starting role and getting usage, his production should be fairly stable amid the swirl of injury reports throughout this Saturday.

Brice Sensabaugh, UTA - SG/SF (DK $4K, FD $4K)

Sensabaugh has flashed scoring potential when given opportunities in the past and is heating up again for the Jazz. On Friday, he had 20 points in 33 minutes against the Pistons to help Utah get an upset win in Salt Lake City. He has at least 12 points in four of his last five games and has found ways to return value in Utah's second unit.

He had those 20 points on Friday with a mostly healthy rotation for Utah since only Ace Bailey (hip) was unavailable. Keep an eye on the injury report since the Jazz often rest players on a back-to-back, and if Sensabaugh is lined up for opportunity, he has a good chance to return excellent value in your Saturday lineups.

Oso Ighodaro, PHX - C on DK, PF/C on FD (DK $3.5K, FD $4.1K FD)

Mark Williams played 27 minutes and had a big game against the Pelicans on Friday night, but he normally sits out the second half of the Suns' back-to-back games. He has missed four games this season in this scenario, and Ighodaro typically has helped carry the load.

In his four games without Williams this season, Ighodaro is averaging 22.3 fantasy points in 25.0 minutes per game. He started the last game that Williams missed and posted eight points, eight boards, three assists, and 26 DraftKings points against Jokic and the Nuggets. Ighodaro will be in a shams spot as a top value play if he's in the starting lineup again on Saturday in the Big Easy.

Oso throws it down 💥 pic.twitter.com/P8H324UMvQ

— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) December 27, 2025

Tari Eason, HOU - SF/PF (DK $4.5K, FD $4.8K)

Eason moved into the starting lineup on Christmas, while Josh Okogie moved to the bench. Eason contributed 13 points and 31.75 DraftKings points in 26 minutes by stuffing the stat sheet and producing elite defensive numbers and meaningful energy plays.

Tari Eason follows with the STEAL and SLAM 😤

He leads the way with 7 of HOU's first 18 PTS! https://t.co/lhqLbZw8Xe pic.twitter.com/9ewDjiuPh8

— NBA (@NBA) December 26, 2025

He ended up with 13 points, three rebounds, two assists, two blocks and four steals, and if he can stick in the starting unit, he comes loaded with multicategory upside. The Rockets have been one of the best matchups in the NBA for forwards, so if Eason starts again, he'll be a great value play to stuff upside into your Saturday night lineup.

Today's Top Game Stacks

Jazz at Spurs (245 O/U)

Knicks at Hawks (244.5 O/U)

Suns at Pelicans (238.5 O/U)

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: Jalen Johnson
• My favorite CASH play on the slate: Collin Gillespie
• My favorite GPP play on the slate: Bobby Portis
• My favorite VALUE play: Tari Eason

NBA DFS News and Injury Alerts

More DFS Lineup Picks and Analysis