NBA DFS: LeBron James and top DraftKings, FanDuel daily Fantasy basketball picks for Jan. 9, 2022

The Sunday NBA DFS main slate begins at 6 p.m. ET, and by then, most daily Fantasy basketball tournaments will begin without names like Kevin Durant, James Harden or Trae Young in the mix, who all play earlier in the day. Fortunately, with eight other games to choose from, there should still be plenty of talent available in the NBA DFS player pool. One of the biggest names in those games is also one of the biggest question marks in Dallas’ Luka Doncic, who is questionable with a right ankle sprain against the Chicago Bulls.

If Doncic is unable to go, Jalen Brunson and Trey Burke would be in line for expanded roles against Chicago. Brunson is averaging 16.0 points and 5.6 assists, while Burke is knocking down 43 percent of his field goals this season. Before locking in your NBA DFS picks, be sure to check out the NBA DFS advice, player rankings, stacks and top daily Fantasy basketball picks from SportsLine’s Mike McClure. 

McClure is a DFS professional with nearly $2 million in career winnings. He’s also a predictive data engineer at SportsLine who uses a powerful prediction model that simulates every minute of every game 10,000 times, taking factors like matchups, statistical trends and injuries into account.

This allows him to find the best NBA DFS values and create optimal lineups that he shares only over at SportsLine. They’re a must-see for any NBA DFS player.

On Saturday, McClure included Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo as one of his top NBA DFS picks on both DraftKings and FanDuel. The result: Antetokounmpo had 43 points, 12 rebounds, and two blocks to return 70 points on DraftKings and 67.9 points on FanDuel. Anybody that included him in their lineups was well on the way to a profitable day.

Now, McClure has turned his attention to the Sunday, January 9 NBA DFS slate and locked in his top daily Fantasy basketball picks. You can only see them by heading to SportsLine.

Top NBA DFS picks for Sunday, January 9

One of McClure’s top NBA DFS picks for Sunday is Lakers forward LeBron James at $11,600 on DraftKings and $11,500 on FanDuel. James is always expected to perform, but he has been especially strong over his last 10 starts. He’s scored at least 30 points in each game during that stretch and has shot 55.3 percent from the field. In his last start against Atlanta on Friday, he made just one of his six 3-point attempts, but otherwise finished with 32 points, nine assists, eight rebounds, four steals and three blocks.

On Sunday, James takes on Memphis, who beat Los Angeles in their last matchup on December 29. That was the second game of a road back-to-back for the Lakers, but James still finished with 37 points and 13 rebounds, and made eight of his 14 3-point attempts. Meanwhile, Memphis could be without top scorers Ja Morant (thigh) and Dillon Brooks (ankle) and will definitely be without top rim protector Steven Adams (protocols).

Another key in McClure’s optimal NBA DFS strategy includes rostering Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns ($9,900 on DraftKings and $9,700 on FanDuel). Towns has gradually been returning to form after a six-game layoff due to health and safety protocols. In his last start on Friday against the Thunder, he recorded 19 points, eight rebounds and five assists in his second game back.

Minnesota plays at Houston on Sunday, and Towns scored 30 points with 10 rebounds and two blocks in the Timberwolves’ season-opener against the Rockets. Houston has surrendered the fourth-most points in the paint (49) this season to opponents, and has been even worse (51.3) over its last three games. The Rockets also are a little lighter in the front court heading into the matchup with Alperen Sengun out for the game, so Houston will have fewer bodies to throw at Towns in the post.

How to set NBA DFS lineups for Sunday, January 9

McClure is also targeting a player who could go off for massive numbers on Sunday because of a dream matchup. This pick could be the difference between winning your tournaments and cash games or going home with nothing. You can only see who it is here.

So who is DFS pro Mike McClure putting in his optimal NBA DFS lineups for Sunday? Visit SportsLine now to see optimal NBA DFS picks, rankings, advice, and stacks, all from a professional DFS player who has almost $2 million in career winnings, and find out.