NBA DFS, 2025: FanDuel, DraftKings tournament picks, advice for Thursday, May 1 from a daily Fantasy pro

The 2025 NBA Playoffs continue on Thursday with a pair of Game 6 matchups with Knicks vs. Pistons at 7:30 p.m. ET, followed by Clippers vs. Nuggets at 10 p.m. ET. Despite a smaller NBA DFS player pool, there are several high-quality options like Jalen Brunson, Cade Cunningham, Nikola Jokic and Kawhi Leonard. Big-name players like that also come with big-time price tags on NBA DFS sites like FanDuel and DraftKings. That forces you to pair them with more affordable options, and role players like Bogdan Bogdanovic and Mitchell Robinson are coming off impressive Game 5 performances. Should you consider them for Thursday's daily Fantasy basketball lineups?

Before setting your NBA DFS strategy on sites like DraftKings and FanDuel for Thursday, May 1, you need to see what Mike McClure has to say.

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 at SportsLine. They're a must-see for any NBA DFS player. 

On Wednesday, McClure identified Timberwolves forward Julius Randle as one of his top NBA DFS picks on both sites. The result: Randle had 23 points, five rebounds, four assists and one steal, returning 36.2 points on DraftKings and 35 points on FanDuel. Anybody who included him in their lineups could have been well on the way to a profitable day!

For Thursday, one of McClure's top NBA DFS picks is Clippers point guard James Harden, who is listed at $8,700 on both DraftKings and on FanDuel. Another part of McClure's optimal NBA DFS strategy includes Nuggets small forward Michael Porter Jr. ($5,100 on DraftKings and $5,200 on FanDuel). After a rough Game 3, Porter bounced back with 14-plus points on 50%-plus shooting in both Games 4 and 5. He scored at least 17 points in each of his last three regular-season games versus the Clippers, so he knows how to find success versus their stifling defense.

McClure is also targeting a player who could go off for massive numbers on Thursday! This pick could be the difference between winning your tournaments and cash games or going home with nothing. You absolutely need to see who it is before locking in any lineups.

What are the top NBA DFS picks for Thursday? And which player is a must-roster? ... Join SportsLine now to see DFS pro Mike McClure's top picks, stacks, and player pools for FanDuel and DraftKings, and cash in BIG on NBA DFS!