NBA DFS: DraftKings Picks, Core Plays & GPP Lineup | November 9, 2026

Cover The Slate · November 9, 2026 · DraftKings NBA main slate · 7 p.m. ET

Alperen Sengun is our preferred building block, Victor Wembanyama leads the premium tier, and Detroit’s inexpensive guards help keep the rest of the lineup competitive. Austin Reaves is questionable with an illness, and Doncic is absent from the Lakers’ submitted report. The Reaves-based example lineup is on hold pending a fresh role assessment.

Today’s DraftKings picks at a glance

This seven-game player pool includes LAL–ATL, CLE–CHA and WAS–DET at 7 p.m.; MEM–TOR at 7:30; IND–DAL at 8; DEN–HOU at 8:30; and SAS–PHX at 9. All times are Eastern. New Orleans–Golden State is outside this DraftKings main slate.

1:15 p.m. ET injury update: Reaves is questionable with an illness, Quentin Grimes is out and Walker Kessler is available. Doncic is not listed on the Lakers’ submitted report, so do not use the Doncic-out assumption behind our early Reaves play. Hold the example lineup below until Reaves’ availability and the Lakers’ roles are reassessed. Detroit and Dallas have not submitted their reports; Detroit’s value options remain conditional.

Core plays

Alperen Sengun, PF/C, Houston: $9,000

Sengun is the most comfortable starting point for a balanced roster. The salary is $2,300 below Wembanyama and $2,800 below Nikola Jokic, enough room to improve a second position rather than filling it with a minimum-salary gamble. PF/C eligibility also lets us use another center.

Houston is without Steven Adams and Clint Capela. That reduces the team’s experienced center depth, although it does not guarantee extra minutes for Sengun. His appeal is broader than that injury situation: he can accumulate fantasy points as a scorer, rebounder and passer. His 48.6 DK-point average is past production, not a forecast for tonight.

Denver’s availability is the main complication. A depleted Nuggets lineup could make the matchup easier but also shorten competitive minutes. Sengun remains a core candidate, while a full Houston stack is less appealing if the game becomes heavily one-sided.

Victor Wembanyama, C, San Antonio: $11,300

Wembanyama is the preferred expensive center before Jokic’s status is resolved. His scoring, rebounding and blocks give him a route to a slate-leading result without requiring one unusually efficient shooting night. Phoenix is missing Mark Williams, adding to the matchup’s appeal.

The counterargument is playing time in a comfortable win. Wembanyama finished Saturday with 29 points and seven rebounds in just 24:05 as San Antonio beat Portland 125–103. That is an excellent real-life performance, but a short fourth quarter can still hurt an expensive DFS selection. Official box score.

Build around him when you like the value available around him. Do not downgrade four other positions simply to squeeze him in. Our example below takes the balanced route instead.

Austin Reaves, PG/SG, Los Angeles: $8,000

Reaves is a conditional core play, not a blind plug-in. He scored 43 points on 27 shots Sunday with Doncic absent. The useful signal is the offensive responsibility, not an expectation that another 43-point night follows. Sunday’s game record.

The 1:15 p.m. ET report changes the decision: Reaves is questionable with an illness and Doncic is not listed. Keep Reaves on hold rather than carrying over Sunday’s workload. He would need both medical clearance and a fresh role assessment before entering a lineup. The Lakers are also playing on consecutive nights.

Midrange targets and tournament pivots

Dyson Daniels, PG/SF, Atlanta: $6,500

Daniels fits because he does not need to score 25 real points to help a lineup. Against Brooklyn on Saturday, he collected 10 rebounds, seven assists and six steals. The first two categories support the case for his all-around role; six steals is a ceiling event, not a reasonable nightly expectation. Official box score.

His PG/SF eligibility is especially useful when pairing expensive big men. He also provides an Atlanta counterpart to Reaves or Kessler without needing to force a large game stack.

Walker Kessler, C, Los Angeles: $7,700

Kessler grabbed 16 rebounds in roughly 29 minutes Sunday. He is a way to retain rebounding and defensive upside while spending less at center. The concern is opportunity cost: this slate includes Wembanyama, Jokic and several cheaper centers, so Kessler needs more than an ordinary rebounding night to separate.

He fits the balanced example because Sengun can occupy UTIL. Do not assume Atlanta’s questionable Jock Landale is already out, and do not turn one strong rebounding game into a guaranteed double-double.

Jalen Johnson, Cooper Flagg and the Toronto decision

Jalen Johnson at $9,700 and Cooper Flagg at $9,900 are premium forward alternatives. They are especially useful in builds that skip Wembanyama and spend more at the wing positions. Flagg’s Dallas team is on a back-to-back, so its final report matters.

Toronto is the most important midrange news spot. Kawhi Leonard is out; Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley are questionable. RJ Barrett ($7,600), Walter ($5,300) and Jamal Shead ($5,500) deserve another look after those decisions. Shead becomes more interesting if Quickley sits. Walter is a tournament option with either outcome, but his price does not make him an automatic value.

Value plays without chasing the last box score

Kevin Huerter, SG/SF, Detroit: $4,100

Huerter played 35 minutes off the bench Sunday. That opportunity is why he makes the shortlist. His five blocks are not. A lineup that requires him to repeat that defensive outlier is built on the wrong assumption.

The salary leaves room for an ordinary shooting night if his role remains useful, but the back-to-back and Detroit’s final rotation still need attention. He is salary relief with upside, not a dependable 35-minute starter.

Daniss Jenkins, PG/SG, Detroit: $4,300

Jenkins produced 31 points in about 32 minutes Sunday, with eight made threes driving the result. The minutes make him relevant at this price; the conversion rate makes the box score dangerous to chase. Use him as a tournament guard who can outperform his salary, not as a projection of another 30-point game.

Pairing Jenkins and Huerter is an aggressive way to finance stronger players elsewhere. It also makes the lineup more dependent on Detroit’s bench deployment. In smaller fields, consider using only one if dependable value opens elsewhere.

Tari Eason and Ja’Kobe Walter

Eason ($5,000, SF/PF) supplies rebounds and defensive-event upside, but his recent 23-minute appearance is a reminder that he does not come with a star’s workload. Walter’s recent minutes have been more useful than his shooting results: he played 29 minutes in Toronto’s latest game and had seven points, six rebounds and two assists. Eason game log; Walter game log.

Both are tournament pieces whose role should be checked again before their games. Neither needs to be sold as a must-play to make a balanced construction work.

Example GPP lineup: $49,900

This early example is on hold, not ready to enter. It is salary-legal and position-eligible, but its Doncic-out assumption is not supported by the 1:15 p.m. ET report, and Reaves is questionable with an illness. Reassess the guard slot and all featured players’ roles before use. Its main risk is concentration in two Lakers and two Detroit bench guards.

Sengun sits in UTIL because his game starts later. With Doncic absent from the injury report and Reaves questionable, one possible guard change to reassess is Reaves to Andrew Nembhard ($7,200), leaving $900 instead of $100. Nembhard’s case is supported by Tyrese Haliburton’s confirmed absence, although T.J. McConnell’s status still matters. That is an alternative to reassess, not an automatic one-for-one upgrade.

Final injury and late-swap checks

• Denver: Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun, DeMar DeRozan and Cameron Johnson are questionable. Do not assign all of their minutes to the same replacement.
• Cleveland–Charlotte: Jarrett Allen is questionable and Moussa Diabate is doubtful. An Allen absence would strengthen Evan Mobley’s case at $7,900.
• San Antonio: Devin Vassell is questionable. Watch the starting lineup and wing rotation before upgrading the cheaper Spurs.
• Before 7 p.m.: Recheck the Lakers, Pistons and Mavericks reports, then rebuild if the assumptions behind the early values have changed.

Injury statuses reflect the NBA’s November 9, 1:15 p.m. ET report. Salaries and roster eligibility were checked against the 12:26 p.m. ET listing for DraftKings slate #139483. Starting lineups remain projected. Check the latest report and confirmed starters before entering contests.