Christmas Day is one of the most exciting days of the NBA season. With five games on the NBA Christmas Day 2024 schedule and some of the biggest names in the NBA DFS player pool such as LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic and Kevin Durant available, there are many different avenues to borrow when forming an NBA Christmas DFS strategy. Some basketball fans view Christmas as the unofficial start of the NBA season, with each game putting a little more emphasis on preparing for the playoffs. The biggest stars consider performing on Christmas Day an honor and often put on some of their best performances. So is the best way to form NBA DFS lineups to include multiple superstars as well as budget-friendly NBA DFS picks?
The Suns vs. Nuggets will be the final game on the Christmas slate as they meet for the second time in the last three days. Nuggets reserve guard Jalen Pickett had 11 points and eight assists in 23 minutes on Monday, so is he that cheaper value you’d want to include to fill out NBA DFS rosters? Before making any NBA DFS picks, be sure to check out NBA DFS tips, player rankings, stacks and top daily Fantasy basketball picks from SportsLine’s Mike McClure.
McClure is a DFS professional with over $2 million in career winnings. He is also a predictive data engineer at SportsLine that uses a powerful prediction model that simulates every minute of every game 10,000 times, taking into account factors like matchups, statistical trends and injuries. This allows him to find the best NBA DFS values ​​on sites like DraftKings and FanDuel and create optimal lineups that he shares only on SportsLine. They are a must-have for any NBA DFS player.
On Thursday (when McClure last made NBA DFS picks), McClure highlighted Pistons guard Malik Beasley as an under-the-radar play and one of his top NBA DFS picks among the pool of NBA DFS players on the two sites. The result: Beasley had 26 points, two rebounds and four assists, returning 40 points on DraftKings and 37.4 points on FanDuel. Everyone who included him in their lineup was on track to have a profitable day.
McClure turned his attention to NBA action on Christmas Day and locked in his top daily fantasy basketball picks. You can only see them by going to SportsLine.
Best NBA DFS Picks for Christmas Day
For Christmas, one of McClure’s top NBA DFS picks is Warriors point guard Stephen Curry, who is listed at $8,900 on DraftKings and $8,500 on FanDuel. Curry has been a Christmas Day staple for most of his career, and the 10-time All-Star had 18 points against the Nuggets last year during the holiday. The 36-year-old is coming off one of his worst shooting performances of the season, going 2-of-13 (15.4%) from the field and finishing with 10 points on Monday. But in the only other game Curry shot less than 20 percent from the field this season, he responded with 31 points and 10 assists in the ensuing game.
The Warriors face the Lakers on Christmas for the first time this season in another Stephen Curry vs. LeBron James battle between two of the faces of the NBA. Curry averaged 33 points, 4.3 rebounds and 7.0 assists in four games against the Lakers last season. Given his success against Los Angeles and the rarity of his back-to-back mediocre games, McClure expects a strong bounce-back performance from Curry for the Christmas NBA DFS lineups.
Another part of McClure’s optimal NBA DFS strategy includes rostering Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson ($8,000 on DraftKings and $8,300 on FanDuel). Brunson is averaging 24.6 points and 7.6 assists per game. He struggled on Monday with just 12 points on 4-of-13 shooting, but the previous game the 28-year-old had 39 points and six assists.
Brunson is coming off a career year in which he finished fifth in NBA MVP voting after averaging 28.7 points and 6.7 assists, both of which were career highs. The Knicks face the Spurs, who are coming off a 111-106 loss to the 76ers on Monday, and Brunson had a monster performance for 61 points against San Antonio last season. Brunson has at least 25 points in all three games against the Spurs while playing for New York. See McClure’s other NBA DFS picks here.
How to set your NBA DFS lineups for Christmas Day
McClure is also targeting a player who could leave in a big way over Christmas due to a dream match. This choice could mean the difference between winning your tournaments and cash games or going home with nothing. You can only see who it is here.
Who is DFS pro Mike McClure showing off his optimal NBA DFS lineups for Christmas? Visit SportsLine now to see the optimal NBA DFS picks, rankings, tips and stacks, all from a professional DFS player who has more than $2 million in career earnings.and find out.
