The NBA season continues Wednesday with a massive slate of 13 games, and DraftKings has released a new fantasy format for DFS players to attack! Snake Drafts are now available in the DraftKings lobby for both NBA and NFL.
If you’ve ever played season-long fantasy before – either for NBA or any other sport – you’re likely familiar with how a Snake Draft works. In short, for these contests, once the allotted number of entries are filled in a contest, the draft will begin one minute later. The entrants are assigned a random draft order and will commence in that order. The player with the first pick gets dibs on anyone while the player with the last pick will get a double pick, as it’ll end the first round and thus begin the second.
Roster requirements for lineups: G – 2, F/C – 2, Util – 2
Visit the DraftKings NBA lobby to view all the available NBA Snake contests!
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Rockets-Thunder game scheduled for December 23 was officially postponed by the NBA and removed from Wednesday night’s DraftKings slate.
Big Trey Payday
Opt-in and if a player hits a 3-pointer in the last minute of the fourth quarter in tonight’s Milwaukee vs. Boston game or tonight’s Dallas vs. Phoenix game, you get an entry to an exclusive $100K contest on 12/29! See the DraftKings Big Trey Payday page for more details!
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $1M Fadeaway Special [$200K to 1st]
Favorable Early Round Targets:
Luka Doncic, G, Dallas Mavericks
Snake Classic Rank: 3rd
Doncic is my top overall choice for this slate. He opens the 2020-21 regular season against the Suns and this contest presents the highest O/U game total of Wednesday night’s massive 13-game slate, at 237 points via DraftKings Sportsbook. When the game total was 230 points or more last season, the 21-year-old superstar was stellar, producing 61.4 DKFP per game. Additionally, Kristaps Porzingis (knee) will be out for Dallas, putting even more offensive responsibilities on Doncic. When Porzingis was off the floor last season, Doncic’s usage rate increased to a team-high 39%.
After a magical 2019-20 season that featured 17 triple-doubles, Doncic is primed for an MVP caliber campaign this year. At +400 on DraftKings Sportsbook, he is the current favorite to be named the 2021 MVP and getting him at the three spot in snake drafts for tonight would be an absolute steal.
Devin Booker, G, Phoenix Suns
Snake Classic Rank: 11th
Booker is also a great target in this projected shootout between the Suns and Mavs. Phoenix failed to make it to the playoffs this past summer, but Booker was tremendous in the bubble. He led the Suns to a perfect 8-0 record at the Orlando campus and scored a team a high 43.2 DKFP per game.
Furthermore, in his last three meetings with the Mavs, Booker has amassed 47.2 DKFP per game. Overall, his strong combination of safety and upside in this high scoring matchup isn’t reflected in Booker’s snake draft ranking.
Early Round Matchup To Avoid:
Bradley Beal, G, Washington Wizards
Snake Classic Rank: 14th
Beal dealt with a lingering back injury during the preseason and we have to expect his role to take a hit this season with Russell Westbrook joining the Wizards. Even while playing alongside James Harden, Westbrook posted a robust 34.1% usage rate last year. He has always been one of the most usage commanding players in basketball and it’s very hard to imagine Beal’s usage staying close to his 35% average from last season with Westbrook as his backcourt mate.
On top of these concerns, Beal gets a very difficult matchup vs. the Sixers. Philadelphia ranked 8th in defensive efficiency and 24th in pace last season. In this range of your draft, there are a plethora of more appealing options than Beal.
Late Round Fliers:
Coby White, G, Chicago Bulls
Snake Classic Rank: 54th
Before the pandemic suspended the NBA season back in March, White was on a tear, scoring 40.5 DKFP per game in his final nine contests. He now enters his sophomore season as the Bulls’ starting point guard and gets a juicy matchup vs. the Hawks.
Last season, this Atlanta club ranked 4th in pace and 27th in defensive efficiency. This Eastern Conference matchup sports one of the highest O/U game totals of Wednesday at 231 points on DraftKings Sportsbook, and White has a much higher ceiling than his draft ranking suggests.
Christian Wood, PF/C, Houston Rockets
Snake Classic Rank: 59th
Expect a big season from Wood as the Rockets’ starting center. During the preseason, the former Piston averaged 27 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block in only 23.9 minutes per game. Now, in the regular season, Wood should log closer to 30 minutes on a nightly basis.
In Detroit last season, the 25-year-old scored 1.2 DKFP per minute and this should be a friendly matchup vs. the Thunder. Steven Adams signed with the Pelicans this offseason, leaving Al Horford and Mike Muscala as the Thunder’s main centers. Horford has always been regarded as an above-average defender throughout his career, but at only 6’ 9”, the 34-year-old is undersized to be a full-time center in the NBA. Wood should bully this Thunder frontcourt in his Rockets debut and is one of my preferred mid-round targets for snake drafts Wednesday.
Larry Nance Jr., PF/C, Cleveland Cavaliers
Snake Classic Rank: 71st
With Kevin Love (calf) ruled out for Wednesday’s regular-season opener against the Hornets, Nance Jr. will start at power forward for the Cavs. This isn’t a new situation for Nance Jr. and in the seven games he was active for last season sans Love, the 27-year-old generated 28.9 DKFP per game with 31.2 minutes per game.
This matchup against the Hornets is also very intriguing for Nance. Last year, they ranked 24th in defensive efficiency and allowed the 7th most points in the paint per game. Nance Jr. has double-double upside in this spot and he is a player that could potentially slip to the final rounds of snake drafts for this large of a slate.
Visit the DraftKings NBA lobby to view all the available NBA Snake contests!
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is Hunta512) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.