NBA DFS: Top Daily Fantasy Expert Picks for DraftKings, FanDuel (4/16/25)

April 16, 2025

Free daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for today's slate on DraftKings and FanDuel. Use Zach's NBA DFS expert picks to building winning DFS lineups on April 16, 2025.

The NBA Play-in Tournament continues this Wednesday with the first two postseason elimination games. The winners of these two games will play Friday for a chance at the No. 8 seed, while the losers will start their offseason. The excitement of elimination games is always fun, as the teams will go all-out to keep their season alive. These two spotlight games should be a great night of fantasy basketball.

Both matchups come with plenty of intrigue and storylines to follow. The Heat and Bulls were both streaky down the stretch but showed the potential to put up plenty of points. The Kings and Mavs each traded their star primary point guard midseason but still managed to make the Play-in Tournament. The four teams offer plenty of good fantasy options to build around at a wide variety of price points.

This article will provide my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on 4/16/25. Remember to monitor NBA injury news and our excellent NBA injuries report tool, as the slate can completely change before lineups lock at 7:30 p.m. EST on DraftKings and FanDuel. 

Today's NBA DFS Core Picks

Josh Giddey, CHI - PG/SG (FanDuel Only) ($9.5K DK, $9.2K FD)

Giddey has been spectacular since the trade that sent Zach LaVine to the Kings. In his 17 games since the All-Star break, he produced 55.0 DraftKings points and 51.5 FanDuel points per game. During that stretch, he averaged 21.2 points, 10.7 rebounds, 9.3 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.9 three-pointers per game and carried the Bulls to this spot in the tournament. Along the way, he also hit the shot of the season:

Giddey calls GAME 🚨

Josh Giddey's halfcourt heave at the buzzer is The Shot of the Regular Season

📸 presented by @madebygoogle. #sponsored pic.twitter.com/jrFFYDYOhh

— NBA (@NBA) April 15, 2025

He had a 28-point triple-double against the Heat last Wednesday with a massive 78.5 DraftKings points and has over 49 DraftKings points in four straight. He's officially probable due to a forearm issue that sidelined him the last three games of the season, but if he plays as expected, he has both a high ceiling and a high floor that make him a great core piece to build around.

Andrew Wiggins, MIA - SF/PF ($7K DK, $6.6K FD)

Wiggins missed seven of the last nine games of the season with a hamstring issue, but he has been cleared to play on Wednesday and should be a key part of the Heat's rotation. When available, he has been very productive for Miami since coming over from the Warriors, and one of the games he did play over the last month was against the Bulls last week.

🇨🇦 Andrew Wiggins today highlights vs. Bulls:

🏀 14 POINTS
🏀 6 REBOUNDS
🏀 5 ASSISTS

Heat lost to Bulls 111-119 ❌ pic.twitter.com/yczWsO5qTr

— DV highlights (@DVhighlights) April 10, 2025

Wiggins had 26.75 DraftKings points and 28.7 FanDuel points in that game, and since March 1, he produced 33.7 DraftKings points and 33.3 FanDuel points per game on 19.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.0 blocked shots in 11 games.

Even if he isn't 100% healthy, the Heat need his contributions on the wing to supplement Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo. Since taking his talents to South Beach, he has been typically turning in solid non-scoring numbers, whether or not his shot is falling, which gives him both a high floor and high ceiling at this mid-range price point.

Keegan Murray, SAC - PF/SF (FanDuel Only) ($5.4K DK, $5.9K FD)

Murray is another forward who brings good multi-category production at a reasonable price point this Wednesday. Like Wiggins, he has battled injury but is cleared to play on Wednesday. Murray missed three games with a back issue earlier this month but played the last two games for Sacramento as they secured homecourt for this matchup.

Murray has been a big part of the Kings' new-look rotation since the team shook things up at the trade deadline. He started 24 games since the All-Star break, averaging 13.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.0 blocks per game.

He came up huge last season in the Play-in Tournament, dropping 32 points and nine rebounds against the Warriors.

Keegan Murray scored 32 PTS and knocked down a Play-In record 8 threes in the Kings' 24-point win over the Warriors

Keegan: 8/13 3PT
Warriors: 10/32 3PTpic.twitter.com/9fEz1geB4N

— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) April 17, 2024

While that's definitely a ceiling game, it does show he has the potential for a big contest. He feeds off the crowd and thrives in big games, so getting him under $6K makes him a core consideration on Wednesday.

Today's NBA DFS Pivots

Domantas Sabonis, SAC - C ($10.5K DK, $10K FD)

Sabonis is remarkably consistent but also brings a very high ceiling. He had 48+ DraftKings points in three of his last four regular-season games and posted 52.5 DraftKings points in the finale against the Suns despite playing just 24 minutes.

He averaged 48.4 DraftKings points in his two games against Dallas this season and is a great way to spend your salary if you can save enough in other spots to put his five-figure salary within reach.

Coby White, CHI - PG (FanDuel Only)/SG/SF ($8.2K DK, $7.9K FD)

White has a little more value on DraftKings than FanDuel since he relies on three-point shooting for his scoring and also comes with the added flexibility to slide to small forward (he is PG/SG eligible on FanDuel). On either site, though, White brings a high ceiling since he has shown he can definitely carry Chicago's offense.

White scored at least 15 points in 23 of his last 24 games before playing just 19 minutes in his last regular-season contest. He had over 41 DraftKings points in 13 of those games and has the kind of sky-high ceiling you want for GPP contests. Especially if you're fading Giddey, White is the obvious pivot.

Spencer Dinwiddie, DAL - PG/SG (FanDuel Only) ($5.7K DK, $6.1K FD)

Dinwiddie is a total wild card on this small slate, but his boom-or-bust production makes him an intriguing flier play for GPP lineups. The veteran has had some monster games for the Mavs and almost disappeared in other contests over the last few months.

Since Brandon Williams (oblique) is questionable, Dinwiddie could have to carry even more workload without a real true point guard on the bench behind him. Dinwiddie can post double-doubles and fill them out from outside in some contests. He had at least 39 DraftKings points in five of his last 12 games, but he also made just one shot from the field in each of his last three games, going a combined 3-for-22 (13.6 percent). The extra days off should help the veteran coming into this matchup, but he's such a boom-or-bust play that he's only usable in GPP despite his potential for a monster game.

Today's NBA DFS Value Picks

Keon Ellis, SAC - PG/SG ($5K DK; $5.3K FD)

Ellis will have to carry more of the workload for the Kings with Malik Monk (calf) ruled out. In the nine games Monk has missed since the All-Star break, Ellis averaged 27.8 DraftKings points and 28.5 FanDuel points per game, and his usage increased by almost two percentage points in the games Monk missed.

Ellis has played heavy minutes since interim coach Doug Christie took over, and his workload gives him a very high floor in a favorable matchup against Dinwiddie.

Kevin Huerter, CHI - SG/SF ($4.6K DK; $5K FD)

Part of the reason Ellis has had more work is that De'Aaron Fox and Huerter were traded in the deal for LaVine. Huerter has fit right into his role in Chicago and has been very productive with the Bulls. Since March 1, 14.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.2 steals in 32.4 minutes per game. He had 22 points and 40.5 DraftKings points against the Heat last week.

Trey Lyles, SAC - PF/C (DraftKings Only) ($3.9K DK, $4.4K FD)

Lyles is especially underpriced on DraftKings, but he's my favorite value play on both DFS sites in Wednesday's matchups. He started three games while Murray was out earlier this month and had a much larger role, but he played enough minutes off the bench to still be productive. His best game during that stretch came against the Nuggets:

🇨🇦 Represent The Canadians 🇨🇦

Trey Lyles | vs. Denver

17 POINTS
2 THREE POINTERS
9 REBOUNDS
4 ASSISTS pic.twitter.com/0tKcC6srfm

— NBA Canada (@NBACanada) April 10, 2025

Over the last six games of the regular season, he averaged 22.2 DraftKings points and 21.6 FanDuel points in 31.8 minutes per game. While he'll probably be closer to 20 minutes, he should still find a way to return great bargain value against the Mavs.

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: Josh Giddey
• My favorite CASH play on the slate: Josh Giddey
• My favorite GPP play on the slate:  Domantas Sabonis
• My favorite value play: Trey Lyles

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