NBA DraftKings DFS: Main Slate (October 20, 2026)

NBA Opening Day · DraftKings Main Slate · October 20, 2026

Last updated: October 20, 2026 at 1:13 p.m. ET. Original edition: October 19, 11:37 p.m. ET. Earlier injury snapshots below are retained as dated history.

11:15 a.m. ET availability report: The NBA’s October 20 report now lists Elijah Harkless (EJ Harkless in the salary file) out, G League – Two-Way. This supersedes his earlier available designation below. Taurean Prince remains out. No new starter, workload or core-play promotion is inferred.

Morning availability update: The October 20, 9:15 a.m. ET NBA injury report lists Detroit’s Taurean Prince out (personal reasons) and Elijah Harkless, listed as EJ Harkless in the salary file, available. These supersede their questionable entries in the overnight table. Do not treat Harkless’s availability as a starter or minutes confirmation. Prince’s absence does not automatically establish a new value play; confirm Detroit’s starting lineup. Our core pool is unchanged pending role confirmation.

The NBA season opens October 20, and this slate starts well before dinner. Boston and Detroit tip at 3 p.m. Eastern, Philadelphia visits New York at 7, and Oklahoma City meets San Antonio at 9:30. That six-and-a-half-hour spread between the first and last games makes roster flexibility part of the assignment.

Our first look starts with Jalen Brunson’s price, Victor Wembanyama’s ceiling, and a group of midrange players who let us build without inventing a minimum-salary rotation. Dylan Harper, OG Anunoby, John Collins and Jalen Williams belong in that conversation. Chet Holmgren is the important wait-and-see name, not a plug-and-play bargain.

How to use this article: These are salary-based recommendations and conditional construction ideas, not model projections. No ownership percentages or projected fantasy totals are being published. Every salary and position below comes from the 125-player DraftKings slate file. Its historical fantasy-points averages are reference data, not forecasts.

Research the full player pool: Open our NBA Research Center for all 125 salaries, position eligibility and the dated official injury snapshot.

The slate at a glance

The NBA’s official schedule announcement confirms the three-game opening-day schedule. Make sure your contest includes all three games rather than a later two-game or single-game slate.

Three facts that change the player pool

1. The new team assignments are real

LeBron James and Jaylen Brown are in Philadelphia, while Paul George is in Boston. The Sixers’ announcement and George’s NBA profile confirm those moves.

That matters more than a familiar name beside a friendly salary. Philadelphia now has several players who can finish possessions. We will not copy Maxey’s or Brown’s old offensive role directly into this lineup. Salary savings are useful, but they do not create extra shots to share.

2. Harris being out does not automatically make a Spurs forward the value play

NBA.com’s October 19 report identifies Fox, Castle, Harper, Vassell and Wembanyama as San Antonio’s planned starting group. It also notes Holmgren missed the preseason with a quadriceps injury. Read the NBA’s opening-week report.

Our salary-based takeaway: Harper at $5,100 deserves attention before blindly moving Julian Champagnie or Harrison Barnes into every lineup. The three-guard setup gives us a reason to investigate Harper’s opportunity, but it also means three creators are sharing the floor. Confirm the actual starters and any workload guidance before committing.

3. A blank injury cell is not an all-clear

The slate file’s Starting column is blank throughout. It does not provide confirmed starters. It also misses three Detroit designations that appear in the official report.

The same report lists Dominick Barlow, Tacko Fall, Ariel Hukporti, Otega Oweh, Thomas Sorber, Nikola Topic and Jayden Quaintance as out. Holmgren is not listed; that does not resolve his workload. Official injury report, both pages.

Drew Eubanks has an OUT tag in the DraftKings slate file but no entry in that checked report. Keep him excluded pending roster and availability verification. The salary file is a contest-player list, not proof that every listed player has a rotation spot.

Our first-click DraftKings pool

Jalen Brunson, $7,600, PG: the balanced-build starting point

Brunson costs $1,900 less than Cade Cunningham and $2,600 less than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. That gap is large enough to change two other roster decisions. If we are trying to fit Wembanyama without leaning on a questionable bench player, Brunson is where we start at point guard.

The choice is about price and lineup structure, not a promise that he outscores the more expensive guards. Philadelphia’s changed personnel also makes last year’s matchup assumptions less useful. We prefer evaluating Brunson alongside one Philadelphia player rather than forcing a full game stack.

Victor Wembanyama, $10,500, C: our preferred premium ceiling play

Wembanyama is the slate’s most expensive player. NBA’s game log shows 14 points, eight rebounds, two steals and two blocks in 17 preseason minutes Friday. Official player log.

The salary question is whether the other seven spots remain strong enough. He costs only $300 more than Shai, but he occupies C or UTIL rather than a guard slot. We prefer paying that premium when we can still use real rotation players everywhere else. We would rather switch to a balanced build than force two uncertain punts just to say we rostered Wemby. The preseason workload is not a prediction of his opening-night minutes.

Dylan Harper, $5,100, PG/SG: the role-change value to verify

Harper costs $1,000 less than Fox and $1,700 less than Castle. His PG/SG eligibility is useful both for initial construction and for a late-game swap. The expected promotion makes him one of our first values to check, rather than an automatic last player in.

Our condition is straightforward: confirm the planned starting group holds and that there is no new limitation. If Harper is moved back to a smaller bench role, his appeal changes. If he starts, we still do not assume he inherits all the usage of a lead guard while Fox and Castle are beside him.

OG Anunoby, $5,300, PF: a useful way to finish the forward slots

Anunoby is $900 cheaper than Josh Hart and $400 cheaper than Mikal Bridges in this file. More importantly, his exact DraftKings eligibility here is PF/F/UTIL. Do not accidentally treat him as an SF when building.

We like that price as a way to reserve salary for a primary scorer elsewhere. The risk is an ordinary low-volume scoring night. He is a lineup stabilizer candidate, not someone we need to lead New York in shot attempts. If the rest of a roster already relies heavily on low-usage forwards, we would consider a different construction rather than stacking that same weakness.

John Collins, $4,700, PF/C: inexpensive flexibility in the early game

Detroit’s team coverage identified Cunningham, Thompson, Duren, Collins and Duncan Robinson as its presumed starting five. Pistons preseason report.

At $4,700, Collins can occupy PF, C, F or UTIL. That is valuable when the top end is expensive. Our preference is to place him in the most restrictive suitable early slot, leaving later flex positions open if the contest supports late swap. Confirm he starts; do not let Prince’s absence substitute for checking Detroit’s actual lineup.

Jalen Williams, $6,600, SF: the middle tier deserves a real look

Williams is $1,400 cheaper than Brown and $900 cheaper than LeBron. In a three-game pool with several expensive guards and centers, that makes him a useful way to avoid hollowing out the small-forward position.

His Friday news update records 18 points and seven rebounds in 25 minutes in Oklahoma City’s preseason finale. NBA player update. We treat that as evidence of preseason participation, not a 25-minute opening-night forecast. He fits both balanced builds and Wembanyama builds, provided the final availability check is clean.

The other spend-ups and where they fit

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, $10,200, PG

Shai is the premium alternative if you prefer spending at guard. Pairing him with Wembanyama uses $20,700, leaving $29,300 for six players, an average of about $4,883 each. That is possible, but there is no need to force it before reliable value appears. We prefer comparing a one-star build with a two-star build slot by slot rather than assuming two famous names make the better roster.

Jayson Tatum, $9,000, PF

Tatum gives us a premium option at a different position. Boston’s October 14 recap records 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists in 29 minutes. Celtics recap.

He is a natural alternative when the midrange centers fit better than Wembanyama. A Tatum-plus-Embiid build spends $17,100 on those two slots, compared with $20,700 for Shai and Wembanyama. That $3,600 can improve the weakest remaining position. The tradeoff is committing the Tatum portion of the lineup at the afternoon game.

Cade Cunningham, $9,500, PG

Cunningham is a defensible early spend-up, particularly if the Boston-Detroit game is your preferred place to invest. We would not remove him simply because the later stars are more convenient for swaps. But the $1,900 premium over Brunson has to be funded somewhere, so compare the complete eight-player constructions. Do not make that choice from one player’s historical average alone.

Joel Embiid, $8,100, C

Embiid’s preseason finale produced 27 points, eight rebounds and five assists in 29 minutes. Official player log. At $2,400 below Wembanyama, he is a serious construction alternative.

We want a fresh check for any game-day workload guidance before treating him as a core piece. Philadelphia’s additional creators create uncertainty about how possessions are divided, even when everyone is available. The absence of a current injury designation should not be turned into an invented minutes guarantee.

Game-by-game decisions

Boston at Detroit: solve the early positions, not the entire night

Collins is the first low-cost player we want to verify here. Jalen Duren at $6,500 and Ausar Thompson at $5,200 are also in the conversation. Duren gives a middle-price alternative at center; Thompson fits a forward slot without the spend-up price. We would not roster both automatically just because they are on the same team.

For Boston, Derrick White at $7,000 is meaningfully more expensive than Payton Pritchard at $5,400. That makes the starting group and rotation distribution important. Pritchard is a value candidate, but his previous opportunities do not automatically carry forward unchanged.

The center decision is less clean. Neemias Queta is $4,800, Mitchell Robinson $4,500 and Luka Garza $4,300. Boston added Robinson to a frontcourt that already had Queta. NBA transaction coverage. We are not calling any one of them a safe value without more role clarity. A starting label alone is not a promise of closing minutes.

Philadelphia at New York: pick the role you want, not every name you recognize

Maxey is $8,300, Embiid $8,100, Brown $8,000 and LeBron $7,500. They are all usable salaries, but combining the four costs $31,900 before filling the other four roster spots. That build needs both a productive game environment and enough production across several teammates. It is a tournament construction, not the default.

VJ Edgecombe at $6,000 also needs to be judged in the new team context. If Simons sits, that does not by itself establish how many extra minutes or possessions Edgecombe receives. Wait for a specific rotation reason rather than automatically attaching a boost to every healthy teammate.

On the Knicks side, Karl-Anthony Towns at $7,800 has PF/C eligibility and is an easy comparison with the similarly priced Philadelphia stars. Brunson, Towns and Anunoby are our initial salary checkpoints. Hart at $6,200 and Bridges at $5,700 can round out a build, but we do not need all five Knicks just to capture the game.

Oklahoma City at San Antonio: retain options for the last decision

Holmgren at $5,900 is tempting, particularly because he is PF-only in this slate file, with PF/F/UTIL roster eligibility. The preseason interruption makes him a conditional target. His NBA player profile carries an October 19 availability report for this game, reviewed at 1:12 p.m. ET on October 20. That supports availability, not normal minutes or an unrestricted workload. We still need clarity on any restriction; do not anchor a cash-style construction to an assumed full workload.

Isaiah Hartenstein at $4,900 and Cason Wallace at $4,600 are the next prices we want to inspect once the Thunder’s lineup is known. Ajay Mitchell at $5,100 and Jared McCain at $4,300 offer different salary routes, but none should receive a made-up minutes bump simply because another player missed exhibition games.

For San Antonio, Fox at $6,100 versus Castle at $6,800 is a real roster-choice question. Fox’s lower salary is useful, while Castle’s SG-only eligibility may solve a different need. Harper’s cheaper dual-guard eligibility gives a third route. We prefer choosing the combination that makes the rest of the lineup work rather than assuming all three can reach their individual ceilings together.

Small samples worth using carefully

There is some useful preseason role evidence, but it is too early to treat it as a stable projection:

• San Antonio: The Fox-Castle-Harper trio generated 68 points on 54 possessions together in its last two exhibitions, less than 23 minutes of court time.
• Philadelphia: The full starting five played together in only one preseason game. Its 30 points on 23 possessions cannot settle the season-long usage split.
• New York: Towns played exclusively at center in the preseason, with no shared minutes alongside Drummond. That is worth tracking alongside his broader DraftKings PF/C eligibility.

Those observations come from NBA.com’s opening-week analysis. Our takeaway is to prioritize role confirmation over extrapolating exhibition efficiency. None of these samples establishes opening-day pace, minutes or fantasy output.

Salary reference: candidates, not projections

The last column below is the slate file’s historical fantasy-points average. Its underlying game sample is not specified. It should not be used as an expected score for opening day, a minutes estimate or a current-role-adjusted value rating.

Two legal construction examples

These are pre-lock illustrations, not optimized or finalized lineups. Salaries and roster-slot eligibility have been checked against the slate file. They show how different spend-up choices fit under DraftKings’ $50,000 cap. Replace any player whose role, availability or workload changes; do not enter a sample unchanged without doing those checks. DraftKings Classic overview.

Example A: Wembanyama with a midrange supporting cast

Total: $49,800. Remaining: $200.

This example pays for Wembanyama while retaining Brunson and Williams. Its most important checks are Harper’s start, Pritchard’s role and Wallace’s availability and rotation assignment. Collins is in PF and Pritchard in SG, leaving later players in G, F and UTIL. That preserves more legal swap paths after the early game locks.

Example B: Tatum and Embiid without a five-figure salary

Total: $49,900. Remaining: $100.

This example spends on Tatum and Embiid instead of a player above $10,000. It also puts a second center in UTIL. Embiid and Hartenstein are both C/UTIL in this file. Once the early positions lock, a later replacement still has to fit those exact slots. Rebuilding around Towns is a different option because his PF/C eligibility is broader. Never assume real-life positional flexibility matches the contest file.

Late-swap plan for the three start times

First check the contest details. DraftKings offers formats with different locking rules; do not assume every NBA contest allows late swap. If your contest does, reserve G, F and UTIL for later players whenever equivalent slot arrangements are available. Official Classic contest guidance.

1. Before 3 p.m. ET: Verify Boston and Detroit starters, the updated injury report and each early player’s role. Decide whether Tatum or Cunningham is worth the early commitment. Do not leave an early player in UTIL when an equally legal restrictive slot is open.
2. Before 7 p.m. ET: Recheck Philadelphia’s questionable players and any star workload guidance. Use the salary and eligibility you actually have left. Do not assume an early locked player can be moved to make room.
3. Before 9:30 p.m. ET: Confirm Oklahoma City’s lineup and Holmgren’s situation, then verify San Antonio’s three-guard setup. Keep at least one legal alternative for every unresolved late player rather than relying on a last-second guess.

A concrete example: a $5,100 Harper slot can reach $6,100 Fox only if you have another $1,000 and the slot accepts a point guard. A $4,600 Wallace slot can reach $4,300 McCain only if it accepts a shooting guard. Wallace is eligible at SF but McCain is not, so that swap fails if Wallace occupies SF and there is no other legal rearrangement. Salary alone does not make a pivot legal.

The CTS bottom line

Start with Brunson as the balanced-build guard, decide whether Wembanyama is the spend-up you want, and check Harper, Anunoby, Collins and Williams before digging into speculative bench values. Embiid and Tatum create a strong alternative construction. Keep Holmgren conditional until the final information supports the role you need.

The most avoidable opening-day mistake is paying for a role a player no longer has. Follow the new lineups, preserve legal swap paths and let confirmed news change the pool. There is no prize for locking in your first idea before 3 p.m.

DFS involves risk. Set an entry budget in advance, play only where legal and do not chase losses. These recommendations do not guarantee a result.