LeBron James and 4 Other NBA DFS Picks to Go Beast-Mode on the Court (January 17th)

I absolutely love these (5) plays in my Saturday, January 17th Main Slate NBA DFS lineup.

Jan 15, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) reacts against the Charlotte Hornets in the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Yesterday provided us with a five-game slate and let me say, it was very entertaining. The Clippers-Raptors led the charge with an OT finish. We also had many other high-scoring outputs, including that of Tyrese Maxey and Jay Huff, out of nowhere. As I dive into our Saturday Main Slate, I find an endless list of injuries, ranging from Luka Doncic to Devin Booker, Jalen Brunson, and many others. However, I will not let that stop us from picking contest-winning players. Here we go...

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, PG (OKC) — $10,700 (FanDuel) | $10,300 (DraftKings)

I know, this is a big-ticket play here, but Gilgeous-Alexander does find to have great value, even at this price. He is one of multiple big splashes I will make today. He is averaging a solid 4.7x of this salary, and the Heat are opposing the Thunder tonight as the 24th Ranked Defense versus Point Guards.

In Usage, you will find few other NBA players playing at Gilgeous-Alexander's 32.1% Rate. He is also putting up 60+ fantasy points once every four games, or so. Tonight would be a more favorable matchup to hit that mark for the first time in five games.

Caleb Love, SG/PG (POR) — $5,700 (FanDuel) | $5,800 (DraftKings)

Caleb Love: automatic from beyond the arc 🔥 pic.twitter.com/cEQLyNLgf7

— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) January 13, 2026

With one big-ticket item, we will play a discounted item in Love. He is recently playing to a higher usage rate, proving that he is worth a draft pick that he was not awarded. Truthfully, I was surprised as to where Love fell in the draft. Post-2022, he could have entered the NBA and been a potential lottery pick. The Trail Blazers won with Love here.

Anyway, down to business here, Love is playing in the high-20 Minutes per Game over the last month. This takes his average of fantasy points to be in the mid-20's, in contrast to his season-long average of (18.72). The Lakers are 23rd versus Shooting Guards, and Love is 4th on the Trail Blazers in Usage Rate (22.2%), and rising.

Jaylen Brown, SF/SG (BOS) — $9,600 (FanDuel) | $10,000 (DraftKings)

I am splashing again with Brown. He fits the bill with honors. Brown is playing to elite usage, being at a rate of 35.7%. He gets a matchup against the Hawks that is the best that you can earn, with Atlanta being 30th versus Small Forwards. Brown will be a mid-risk, high-upside play. He has 41+ fantasy points in all but (1) game since December 11th. In this matchup, he is much closer to >50 fantasy points than <35.

LeBron James, PF/SF (LAL) — $9,400 (FanDuel) | $8,900 (DraftKings)

We cannot play all of these big-ticket items, but that is not our aim. Our aim is to find the best picks to consider using. As for James, he is actually my top pick of the entire slate. If I leave anyone out of my lineup, it will be Gilgeous-Alexander. It will never be James.

James will have no load-management worries in this game. Despite a minor injury designation, he played (32) minutes on Thursday, going for (54.8) fantasy points. He now has no less than (54) points all but (1) game since January 2nd. The Trail Blazers are 22nd versus Power Forwards and James is playing to a (27.2%) Usage Rate, but even higher with Doncic out.

Jalen Duren, C (DET) — $7,200 (FanDuel) | $7,100 (DraftKings)

Jalen Duren tonight:

16 Points
18 Rebounds
2 Assists
2 Blocks
8/13 FGM
+21 +/-
28 Minutes pic.twitter.com/BSgxPZTTol

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) January 16, 2026

Duren is finally back from injury, and the limitations appear to be non-existent. Duren returned on Thursday and stepped right into (28) Minutes. In that time, Duren went wild for 16 Points and 18 Rebounds. He is averaging over 5x of this salary tonight.

In this matchup, the Pistons will host a Pacers team that is playing a back-to-back. Meanwhile, the lack size to contest with the rebounding of Duren. He should be able to play to his best effort tonight.