The 2025 NBA Finals have arrived with Game 1 of the Indiana Pacers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder taking place at 8:30 p.m. ET on Thursday. Stars like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam will be sought after options as NBA DFS picks, but any winning NBA DFS strategy knows you'll have to fill your lineups with low-cost options. Can Alex Caruso turn his prior Finals experience into production for both OKC and for NBA DFS lineups? Or, can Aaron Nesmith continue his strong Game 1 performances after averaging 23.5 points over his last two series openers?

Before setting your NBA DFS strategy on sites like DraftKings and FanDuel for Game 1 of Pacers vs. Thunder on Thursday, 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. 

For Game 1 on Thursday, one of McClure's top NBA DFS picks is Thunder point guard Gilgeous-Alexander. Another part of McClure's optimal NBA DFS strategy includes Pacers power forward Obi Toppin. He's coming off back-to-back double-digit point outings and is coming off his best game of the 2025 NBA playoffs. In closing out his former team in the Knicks, Toppin had 18 points, six rebounds and three blocks, with his points and rebounds being his second-most of this postseason, while the blocks set a new playoff career high.

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!