NBA DraftKings DFS Picks: Best Plays for October 26, 2026

Monday starts with Alperen Sengun, Donovan Mitchell and Dennis Schroder. That combination buys a frontcourt creator, a scoring guard and salary relief without making the last few roster spots an exercise in guessing. Jalen Johnson is my favorite expensive forward, while Tari Eason is the cheaper tournament piece I want in the conversation.

The October 26 DraftKings NBA main slate has seven games and starts at 7 p.m. ET. Late GPP focus: Jared McCain at $4,000, with Jaylin Williams at $3,600 for a smaller slice of builds. We are keeping Ajay Mitchell and Isaiah Hartenstein in the Oklahoma City mix, rather than fading strong value just to be different. Jay Huff is confirmed starting for Indiana. Clemente Almanza reports McCain, Ajay Mitchell and Hartenstein in Oklahoma City’s starting five, with Shai and Kenrich Williams. Caruso and Jaylin are not in that reported five; workloads remain uncertain.

Best DraftKings plays at a glance

Player	Team	Position	Salary	Where he fits
Alperen Sengun	HOU	PF/C	$8,400	Preferred frontcourt anchor
Donovan Mitchell	CLE	SG	$8,500	Scoring guard priority
Dennis Schroder	CHA	PG	$5,600	Preferred salary-saving guard
Jalen Johnson	ATL	PF	$9,400	Premium forward ceiling
Dyson Daniels	ATL	PG/SF	$6,200	Flexible midrange connector
Tari Eason	HOU	SF/PF	$4,600	Tournament forward value
Grayson Allen	CHA	SG/SF	$5,300	Cheaper Charlotte tournament wing
Giannis Antetokounmpo	MIA	PF	$9,900	Premium alternative
Jay Huff	IND	C	$3,500	Salary-saving center; confirmed starter
Jared McCain	OKC	SG	$4,000	Preferred late GPP alternative
Jaylin Williams	OKC	PF/C	$3,600	Smaller-slice tournament option

The seven-game slate

Game	Tip-off ET	My lineup angle
Minnesota at Cleveland	7 p.m.	Mitchell as a standalone guard
Washington at Charlotte	7 p.m.	Schroder first; Allen for tournaments
Dallas at Miami	7:30 p.m.	Giannis ceiling; monitor Flagg
Chicago at Boston	7:30 p.m.	Avoid forcing thin center value
Phoenix at Oklahoma City	8 p.m.	Ajay and Caruso value; assess center rotation
Indiana at Milwaukee	8 p.m.	Huff value; confirmed starting center
Atlanta at Houston	8:30 p.m.	Preferred two- or three-player pairing

The core plays

Alperen Sengun, $8,400, PF/C

Sengun has played 30, 36 and 33 minutes to open the season, with five, seven and seven assists.

Sengun is my first frontcourt click because he can produce through passing and rebounding as well as scoring. His PF/C eligibility also matters: using him at power forward leaves room for a cheaper center if that position opens up later. I prefer that flexibility to paying for a center whose lineup needs a big scoring night to justify the expense.

Atlanta-Houston is my favorite game to take two or three pieces from. Sengun with Johnson is the ceiling pairing; Sengun with Daniels is easier on the budget. There is no need to force a four-player stack when several teammates are competing for the same production.

Donovan Mitchell, $8,500, SG

Mitchell played 35 minutes in both games, scoring 32 then 22 points.

Mitchell is my preferred scoring guard in a balanced build. Pairing him with Sengun spreads the offensive bet across two teams and two different ways of generating fantasy points. I would rather take that combination than add an expensive Cleveland teammate simply to call it a stack. Edwards is available for Minnesota; Mitchell’s appeal does not depend on an opponent being ruled out.

Dennis Schroder, $5,600, PG

Schroder played 38 minutes Saturday, producing 25 points, six rebounds and four assists.

Charlotte has Coby White and Kon Knueppel out, which keeps Schroder high on my list at this price. He gives an expensive forward build a plausible source of ball-handling instead of a cheap player who needs someone else to create every shot. The recent workload is encouraging, but the selection does not require another 38-minute game. He is the value guard I would use first.

The ceiling spend: Jalen Johnson

Jalen Johnson, $9,400, PF

Johnson recorded 26 points, nine rebounds and 16 assists in 38 minutes against Houston on Saturday.

Johnson is my favorite premium forward because the appeal extends beyond points. He can help a tournament lineup even when a teammate is doing the finishing. The salary difference from Sengun is $1,000, though, so I prefer Johnson as the centerpiece of a forward-led lineup rather than forcing both into every entry.

Johnson with Dyson Daniels at $6,200 is a useful Atlanta pairing. Daniels’ PG/SF eligibility makes it easier to finish the lineup, and the two do not both need a huge scoring game. Add Eason on the other side if the rest of the build works. I would not add another expensive Hawk automatically.

Salary relief and tournament alternatives

Tari Eason, $4,600, SF/PF

Eason played 27 then 31 minutes; Saturday brought 19 points.

Eason is my cheaper tournament forward. The cost and two-position eligibility fit a Johnson or Sengun build without requiring an extreme punt elsewhere. Houston’s rotation is the risk: Fred VanVleet is off the injury report for Monday, so Saturday’s guard workloads should not be carried forward unchanged. Eason is a value bet on his own contribution, not an assumed beneficiary of VanVleet sitting again.

Grayson Allen, $5,300, SG/SF

Allen made four of 10 threes in 34 minutes Saturday.

I prefer Schroder first, but Allen is the Charlotte alternative for tournament builds that need a wing rather than a point guard. The two can fit together without demanding an expensive game stack. Allen’s path is more sensitive to shooting, so I would not confuse a lower salary with a safer outcome. At $900 less than Daniels, he is a salary-saving alternative, not a reason to abandon a stronger lineup.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, $9,900, PF

Giannis scored 35 then 36 points before fouling out in 25 minutes Saturday.

Giannis is my premium alternative to Johnson. He gives us a direct way into Miami-Dallas without relying on a Dallas replacement player. At only $500 more than Johnson, the choice is about construction rather than an enormous salary jump. Giannis with Schroder and Allen gives a lineup a different shape from the Atlanta-Houston combinations. I would not call it a low-owned build without verified ownership numbers.

Jay Huff, $3,500, C: salary-saving center

Huff is now a serious salary-saving option. The Pacers’ game preview reports that Ivica Zubac sprained his ankle Sunday and did not return. The afternoon report confirms Zubac is out.

Indiana confirmed Huff in its starting five at 7:44 p.m. ET. That removes the starting-role question and strengthens the $3,500 salary-saving case for expensive forward builds. It does not guarantee every available center minute: fouls, matchup adjustments and the bench rotation still matter. He is a value option, not an automatic lock.

Oklahoma City value: Ajay Mitchell and Alex Caruso

Ajay Mitchell ($4,600, PG/SG) is now my first Oklahoma City value option. Alex Caruso ($4,100, SF/PF) is the cheaper forward alternative. The 2:15 p.m. ET NBA report confirms the Thunder absences listed below. Schroder remains my balanced-build guard priority, while Mitchell offers a cheaper route to a premium forward. Thunder beat reporter Clemente Almanza lists Ajay Mitchell, McCain, Shai, Kenrich Williams and Hartenstein as the starters. Caruso is not in that reported five.

Mitchell had 18 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals Sunday. Caruso produced 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists in 22 minutes. Their recent production supports considering both, but the steals and shooting are not numbers to pencil into the next game.

Williams was injured with 1:14 remaining Sunday. Sunday was not a full-game sample with both players absent. Jared McCain also played 21 minutes and took eight shots Sunday. There is still competition for the available minutes and possessions, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander remains the expensive offensive centerpiece. Ajay is in the reported starting five and Caruso is not, but that does not establish either player’s final workload.

Mitchell saves $1,000 versus Schroder while retaining guard eligibility. Caruso saves $1,200 versus Grayson Allen, but occupies SF, PF, F or UTIL rather than a guard slot. I prefer choosing the one that best fits a balanced lineup. Both can work in a deliberate tournament build that spends the savings on a premium player; they are not an automatic pair, and doubling up carries shared rotation risk.

Different ways to play Oklahoma City in GPPs

Jared McCain ($4,000, SG) is my first alternative to the Ajay Mitchell-Caruso route, now backed by a reported starting assignment. We do not have verified ownership for this slate, so this is a different construction, not a claim that any Thunder player will be overlooked. If the field concentrates on the obvious injury replacements, McCain is the first alternative I want to consider.

McCain played 18-22 minutes across his first three games. That is an existing rotation role rather than a minimum-salary name who needs a surprise promotion. He is $600 cheaper than Ajay, but SG-only eligibility is less flexible. My tournament case is that he contributes enough scoring to justify taking a different route at guard. The risk is that available minutes go elsewhere, or the shots do not fall. Ajay plus McCain costs $8,600 and can work in a deliberate two-guard build; I would not force the pair into every lineup.

Jaylin Williams ($3,600, PF/C) is the more speculative frontcourt option. Jaylin is cleared for Monday; his first two games brought 17 and 15 minutes. That is Jaylin, not the injured Jalen Williams. The price saves $1,300 versus Hartenstein, and PF/C eligibility helps a premium-forward build. Jaylin is not in the reported starting five. With Holmgren unavailable, he remains a smaller-slice tournament alternative, not a core piece with a promised workload.

My order: McCain first, Jaylin for a smaller slice of tournament builds. Keep Ajay and Hartenstein in the pool and vary the combination. A less common lineup can come from pairing Shai with one value option rather than forcing four or five cheap teammates together. Do not downgrade the entire lineup just to be different.

Two more center alternatives: Isaiah Hartenstein and Khaman Maluach

Isaiah Hartenstein, $4,900, C: Hartenstein posted 12 points and 12 rebounds in 27 minutes Sunday. Holmgren’s absence makes Hartenstein a more attractive center alternative, particularly if you want Oklahoma City exposure without pairing both cheaper perimeter options. He costs $1,400 more than Huff. I would pay that difference for a distinct construction, not because another double-double or a fixed minutes increase is guaranteed.

Khaman Maluach, $5,100, C: Maluach played 28 minutes Saturday, finishing with nine points, nine rebounds and two blocks. Phoenix’s depleted center rotation puts him in the tournament pool. He is $200 more than Hartenstein and $1,600 more than Huff, so the value argument needs more than simply being available. I prefer him as an alternative rather than forcing both opposing centers together. Phoenix confirmed Maluach in its starting five at 7:30 p.m. ET. Foul trouble or a smaller lineup can still change his workload.

Three practical core builds

These are three-player starting points, not complete entries. Each leaves five roster spots to fill under the $50,000 DraftKings Classic cap.

Build	Three-player core	Cost	Left for five players
Balanced starting point	Donovan Mitchell + Alperen Sengun + Dennis Schroder	$22,500	$27,500
Atlanta-Houston tournament core	Jalen Johnson + Dyson Daniels + Tari Eason	$20,200	$29,800
Giannis-led alternative	Giannis Antetokounmpo + Dennis Schroder + Grayson Allen	$20,800	$29,200

Position priorities

• Guard: Mitchell for scoring, Schroder for salary relief, Daniels for positional flexibility.
• Forward: Johnson is my preferred premium option; Giannis is the alternative. Eason and Allen are tournament connectors.
• Center: Sengun leads the pool. Huff is the cheaper value option and a confirmed starter, with workload risk remaining.

Injury decisions before lock

October 26, 7:15 p.m. ET report: The official NBA injury report rules Nembhard out and clears Nesmith. Starting roles and workloads still need separate confirmation. These are the availability decisions that affect the builds above:

• Charlotte: Coby White, Kon Knueppel and Grant Williams are out. Naz Reid is available after being listed with an illness. Schroder remains the preferred value guard; Allen is the wing alternative.
• Houston: Steven Adams and Marcus Smart are out. VanVleet is off the injury report for Monday. Do not build around another automatic absence.
• Dallas: Cooper Flagg is available. Naji Marshall, Dereck Lively II, Santi Aldama and Caleb Martin are out. Do not build around Flagg sitting.
• Chicago: Nic Claxton and Patrick Williams are out; Noa Essengue is available. Jalen Smith is a possible center alternative, but I prefer not to force that rotation bet into the core.
• Phoenix: Mark Williams and Oso Ighodaro are out. Check the final center rotation rather than assuming a specific replacement workload.
• Indiana: Ivica Zubac and Andrew Nembhard are out; Aaron Nesmith is available. Do not use Nembhard in an unlocked lineup.
• Minnesota: Anthony Edwards is available after knee injury management; Donte DiVincenzo is out.
• Oklahoma City: Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace and Chet Holmgren are out.

Keep later-game players in G, F and UTIL when eligibility permits. That matters most if waiting on Indiana value or using the 8:30 p.m. Atlanta-Houston game. Have an affordable, position-eligible alternative before the earlier games lock.

Bottom line: Sengun, Mitchell and Schroder are the balanced starting point. Johnson is the premium forward priority, Eason the cheaper tournament forward, and Giannis the alternative ceiling spend. Ajay Mitchell and Caruso now offer Oklahoma City salary relief; Huff is the cheaper center option. Confirm starters before turning that opportunity into assumed minutes.

NBA Research Center and past slate coverage.