NBA DFS: Top DraftKings, FanDuel daily Fantasy basketball picks for Oct. 20, 2022 include Kawhi Leonard

SportsLine's Mike McClure, a daily Fantasy pro with over $2 million in winnings, gives optimal NBA DFS lineup advice

After a 12-game NBA slate on Wednesday, just two contests will take place on Thursday, with games involving the 76ers and Lakers. Both of these squads also played on opening night so we have some data to utilize when crafting Thursday's NBA DFS strategy. The stars from those teams -- Joel Embiid, James Harden, LeBron James and Anthony Davis -- all had standout performances as you would expect from players of their caliber. But what unsung players from those teams could come at a discount as NBA DFS picks for tonight?

Lonnie Walker IV logged 29 minutes on opening night and he looks to be a big part of the Lakers' youth movement. Meanwhile, many think Tyrese Maxey will be the Sixers' second-best player, behind Embiid, by season's end and he put up 21 points on Tuesday. Neither player would do too much damage to your NBA DFS salary cap and should at least be considered for tonight. Before making any NBA DFS picks for Thursday, 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 over $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 Wednesday, he highlighted Nuggets center Nikola Jokic as one of his top NBA DFS picks on both DraftKings and FanDuel. The result: Jokic produced 27 points, six assists, four rebounds and three steals to return 46 points on DraftKings and 46.8 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 NBA action on Thursday and locked in his top daily Fantasy basketball picks. You can only see them by heading to SportsLine.

Top NBA DFS picks for Thursday, October 20

For Thursday, one of McClure's top NBA DFS picks is Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard, who is listed at $8,400 on DraftKings and $8,600 on FanDuel. This will be Leonard's first game since June 2021 as he missed all of last season with a torn ACL. But he was stellar before the injury and averaged 30.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 2.1 steals through an 11-game postseason run at the end of the 2020-21 season.

Leonard looked fully healthy during preseason in addition to being noticeably bigger and stronger. He should be able to pick up right where he left off, especially considering the Lakers' porous defense will be what he's going up against. LA allowed 123 points on opening night and just three teams allowed more in their opening games this season. Leonard isn't even among the top three most expensive forwards on DraftKings or FanDuel, so you want to jump on him before his price tags rise.

Another part of McClure's optimal NBA DFS strategy includes rostering Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo ($10,700 on DraftKings, $11,300 on FanDuel), who averaged a career-high of 29.9 points last season to go along with 11.6 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.1 steals per game.

The two-time MVP put up 21.5 PPG and 10.5 RPG in just 26.4 minutes during the preseason, giving a glimpse of what Bucks fans can expect this season. However, Antetokounmpo will log much more than 26.4 minutes with Khris Middleton (wrist) sidelined, robbing the team of its second option. In last year's playoffs when Middleton exited the lineup, Antetokounmpo took more of the scoring burden and averaged 32 points over a 10-game stretch. With tonight being the Bucks' season opener, he'll look to put on a show in front of a national TV audience.

How to set your NBA DFS lineups for Thursday, October 20

McClure is also targeting a player who could go off for massive numbers on Thursday 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.