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Today's free NBA DFS picks for DraftKings, FanDuel (October 20, 2026). Jamie's daily fantasy basketball lineups, values, stacks, pivots, sleepers for NBA DFS.
I'm literally like a kid on Christmas morning. I couldn't sleep last night. I woke up early. And I will be on the edge of my seat all day while we wait for the first NBA games of the season. Luckily, we don't have to wait long because we get a special matinee game between Boston and Detroit at 3:00 PM EST. The main DraftKings slate includes this game, while FanDuel opted to just go with two evening games.
The two evening games are potential Conference Finals previews as the new-look super Sixers face the defending champion Knicks and the Oklahoma City Thunder take on the reigning Western Conference champs, the San Antonio Spurs.
This article provides my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on 10/20/26. Monitor NBA injury news and our awesome NBA injuries report tool, as the slate always changes before lineup lock. To keep up with all the latest developments and get access to updated projections, grab the RotoBaller Premium Pass, which is highly discounted and includes DFS, betting, props, and season-long tools like the Team Sync platform. Also, gain access to our RotoBaller Premium Discord, where our experts are talking about the slate up until lineups lock!
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NBA DFS Core Play
Karl-Anthony Towns, NYK - PF/C
- DraftKings: $7.8K
- FanDuel: $7.7K
The easy click tonight among the star players is KAT. While a lot of players are underpriced on this opening slate, he's at least $1,000 cheaper than he will be most of the season.
While his scoring has gone down in New York, his rebounding has gone up as he moved back to center from power forward. He also was featured as a hub on offense quite extensively last year in the playoffs and this preseason.
Towns was one assist away from a triple double in Knicks preseason win over Toronto.
13 PTS, 15 REB, 9 AST, 2/5 3PT, 67 TS%
Another reminder of how much he brings to the Knicks beyond scoring. https://t.co/I8k2UsjedR
— Basketball Performances (@NBAPerformances) October 16, 2026
Mitchell Robinson is now in Boston, and I think the Knicks have given up on the big lineups where they move KAT to the four to play alongside another big man, like Robinson's replacement Andre Drummond.
His rebounding and passing give him a high floor tonight, and he was really good against Joel Embiid last year in the playoffs.
Also consider: Jayson Tatum, BOS - PF (not on FD main slate)
NBA DFS Value Play
Dylan Harper, SAS - PG/SG
- DraftKings: $5.1K
- FanDuel: $5.2K
This price is just silly for Harper, who now slides into the starting lineup for the Spurs this season. We were all hoping it would happen, and it didn't take San Antonio long to make the decision to get their five best players on the court together. His performance in the playoffs was eye-opening, and you could argue he's easily their second-most important player on the roster after Victor Wembanyama.
Dylan Harper 14 straight points to open the 3rd https://t.co/NmykPu2TAU
— Brett Usher (@UsherNBA) October 17, 2026
The three-guard lineup could be an experiment, but I am willing to bet they stick with it, which means Harper is looking at 30 minutes a night. He's going to crush this price tag with those minutes.
On a really small slate, he'll get extremely chalky. But he's the good chalk that we want in all our lineups tonight.
Also consider: Paul Reed, DET - C
NBA DFS Tournament Pivots
This is where our writers are focused on really good, less popular plays. But on this slate, pretty much all the best plays are going to be highly-rostered, so it's going to come down to getting the right combination and jamming in as many studs without punting more than a few spots.
