The NBA season gets underway with two star-studded matchups on Tuesday, October 21 for Opening Night. The Thunder will host the Rockets at 7:30 p.m. ET, while the Warriors will take on the Lakers at 10 p.m.ET. Both games will air on NBC and Peacock.
Headlining Opening Night is Kevin Durant in his Rockets debut returning to Oklahoma City as they celebrate their first NBA Championship in front of a home crowd — it should provide plenty of spectacle
Below, we'll give you the breakdown of four of the top NBA DFS picks and PrizePicks NBA player picks for Opening Night tonight, including for Rockets F Kevin Durant and Thunder F/C Chet Holmgren.
Opening Night NBA DFS Picks for PrizePicks: 10/21/25
Here are the top NBA DFS picks for Opening Night tonight, including four picks for PrizePicks. Player projections via the PrizePicks real money NBA game.
Rockets F Kevin Durant vs. Thunder Projection – 23.5 Points
- Durant averaged 26.6 points per game with the Suns last season.
- The superstar forward has averaged at least 25.1 points per game in every season since his rookie campaign.
- One of the keys to Durant’s scoring prowess is his efficiency. He has shot at least 50.3% from the field in each of the last 12 seasons.
- The former MVP has also shot 39.0% from behind the arc for his career.
- The Rockets will be without PG Fred VanVleet (knee), who averaged 14.1 points per game last season.
- In the Durant trade, the Rockets sent SG Jalen Green to the Suns. He averaged 21.0 points and had a 27.3% usage rate last season. For his career, he had a 26.7% usage rate with the Rockets.
- The Thunder played at the fifth-fastest pace (100.90) in the league last season.
Rockets C Alperen Sengun vs. Thunder Projection – 24.5 Pts+Asts
- Sengun has averaged at least 19.1 points and 4.9 assists in each of the last two seasons.
- The Rockets have already said that they will deploy a big starting lineup against the Thunder, rolling out Steven Adams at center alongside Sengun. Amen Thompson will also start at point guard.
- The loss of VanVleet is significant because he averaged 5.6 assists per game last season. As one of the best passing big-men in the league, the Rockets could look to Sengun to help facilitate their offense more.
- In four meetings with the Thunder last season, the former first-round pick averaged 18.8 points and 5.3 assists.
Thunder F/C Chet Holmgren vs. Rockets Projection – 16.5 Points
- After averaging 16.5 points during his rookie season, Holmgren averaged 15.0 points last season.
- Part of the reason for Holmgren’s decline in production is that he logged 27 minutes per game last season, down from 29 minutes per game as a rookie.
- The former second overall pick might be forced to play more Tuesday with Jalen Williams (wrist) out.
- Not only could Holmgren play more, but the Thunder might ask for more scoring from him as Williams put up 21.6 points per game last season.
- Across five games that he played without Williams last season, Holmgren averaged 18.0 points.
Lakers F Rui Hachimura vs. Warriors Projection – 12.5 Points
- Hachimura averaged 13.1 points and 32 minutes per game last season.
- In both of his two full seasons with the Lakers, the Gonzaga product has provided at least 13.1 points and 1.4 three-pointers per game.
- Hachimura has shot at least 41.3% from behind the arc in three of the last four seasons.
- The Lakers will play this game without LeBron James (sciatica), who averaged 24.4 points and 35 minutes per game last season.
- The Warriors allowed the 12th-highest three-point shooting percentage (36.3%) in the league last season.
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The stars will be out for NBA Opening Night with the Thunder, Rockets, Lakers, and Warriors all in action.
We will be missing some big names, though, with LeBron James, Jalen Williams, and Fred VanVleet sidelined. The Williams absence could lead to more scoring from Holmgren, while missing him on the defensive end could help Durant in the scoring column.
With James being out for the Lakers, Hachimura could receive ample playing time and shot attempts.
With plenty of positions and projection categories to consider, now is the time to build your NBA Lineup on PrizePicks.
Just pick More or Less for at least two NBA player stat projections to build your Lineup on PrizePicks. Check out the Playbook for more NBA DFS picks and analysis all the way through the season.
