All eyes on Tuesday, December 17 will be on Las Vegas as the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Milwaukee Bucks clash in the NBA Cup Championship at T-Mobile Arena, with tip-off scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET.
That means our NBA picks for DraftKings’ Pick6 will all come from this one game, but there’s no shortage of star power or worthy entries to target. We’ll dive into them below.
DraftKings NBA Pick6 Picks for today
The first three picks are our favorite plays for a 3-player lineup. If you want to play a 6-player lineup, use all six stat projections below.
?? Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Less Than 32.5 Points
?? Giannis Antetokounmpo More Than 31.5 Points
?? Jalen Williams More Than 5.5 Rebounds
?? Damian Lillard More Than 23.5 Points
?? Isaiah Hartenstein More Than 3.5 Assists
?? Bobby Portis Less Than 11.5 Points
Click on each pick to read full analysis.
DraftKings NBA Pick6 fantasy basketball lineup for December 17
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 32.5 Points: LESS
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is one of the brightest stars in the Association and the No. 1 reason the Oklahoma City Thunder are a force to be reckoned with. He’s again putting up godly numbers in 2024-25, averaging 30.3 points, 6.3 assists, and 5.5 rebounds.
The Canadian guard erupted for 32 points in the NBA Cup semifinals on Saturday to book the Thunder’s ticket to the grand finale, but his total is quite high, sitting at 32.5. SGA has only registered more than that once in his last six appearances.
Also, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged just 17.5 ppg in two contests against the Bucks last season. He’ll surely make an impact, but this total is too high for me.
Giannis Antetokounmpo 31.5 Points: MORE
Even when the Milwaukee Bucks struggled to begin the season, Giannis Antetokounmpo was still a beast night in and night out. By no surprise, he’s doing it all for Milwaukee with averages of 32.7 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 6.1 assists.
The Greek Freak has put up more than 31.5 points in three consecutive outings, scoring 32, 37, and 34,, respectively. He always seems to rise to the occasion when the stakes are highest and I don’t expect any different tonight.
Giannis averaged just under 31 points in 2023-24 vs. the Thunder. He'll bring his best and do everything he can to help the Bucks take home the NBA Cup trophy.
Jalen Williams 5.5 Rebounds: MORE
Jalen Williams may not be the superstar for OKC like SGA but he’s an extremely important player on both sides of the floor who has carved out a nice role for himself. While his 21.7 ppg is very impressive, one of Williams’ other main strengths is rebounding.
He’s averaging 6.1 rebounds and has registered more than 5.5 in three of the last four games. Milwaukee is just 22nd in the league in rebounding, too. I like Williams to make his presence felt on the glass tonight at T-Mobile Arena.
Damian Lillard 23.5 Points: MORE
Damian Lillard didn’t practice Monday due to calf soreness but said he’ll be playing in today’s final. That’s obviously huge for Milwaukee, who need all hands on deck to beat the red-hot Thunder.
Dame has been playing very well lately. He’s dropped more than 23.5 points in nine of his last 10 appearances and scored 25 in the semifinals against the Hawks. Even with Giannis getting the majority of the workload, Lillard has no shortage of opportunities to score.
Isaiah Hartenstein 3.5 Assists: MORE
No, he’s not a Nikola Jokic-type passer, but Isaiah Hartenstein is one of the better playmaking bigs in the NBA. The 26-year-old is averaging an impressive 4.1 dimes per contest, which gives the Thunder another quality facilitator in their starting lineup.
While Hartenstein was held to less than 3.5 assists across the last two games, he dished out more than that number in five straight outings before that. The Bucks are also allowing 3.85 assists per night to centers this season.
Bobby Portis 11.5 Points: LESS
Bobby Portis is one of Doc Rivers’ most vital players off the Bucks bench. He’s averaging 13.1 points and just erupted for 20+ in back-to-back games before scoring just 10 in the semifinal win over Atlanta.
However, he’s compiled less than 11.5 points in six of the last nine contests and only averaged 9.5 ppg against the Thunder last season. I believe OKC will keep him at bay here.
Jon Metler's DraftKings NBA Pick6 lineup for today
IT’S THE NBA CUP FINAL, JERRY!!!
— Jon Metler (@JonMetler) December 17, 2024
?? Isaiah Hartenstein
?? Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
?? Alex Caruso
?? Khris Middleton
?? Giannis Antetokounmpo
?? Jalen Williams https://t.co/70s1njrGIv pic.twitter.com/K5B0uE7tcV
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