Thursday’s NBA Sleeper Picks Player Predictions: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, Jalen Williams (5/22)

Welcome to Sleeper Picks. Sleeper’s newest offering promised plenty of entertainment and action, and they delivered. We will break down our top three picks for tonight’s NBA action. Sleeper is quickly becoming one of the most popular season-long fantasy platforms, and they are expanding into other areas based on demand. Each week in this space, we’ll talk about some strategy for the new platform while providing our favorite NBA more/less picks.

NBA Sleeper Picks Player Predictions (5/22)

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (G – OKC): 24.5 points (alt line)

M-V-P. SGA was announced as the winner of the 2024-25 NBA MVP award, drawing 79 first place votes compared to just 21 for Nikola Jokic. SGA was considered the runaway favorite for this award for most of the season, but three-time award winner Nikola Jokic, messing around and posting a career season, had many thinking that the voting would be closer than expected, especially with the controversial selections we have seen in and outside of the NBA in recent seasons. Alas, the voters got it right for once, and SGA will have a chance to build on his legend in Game 2. Averaging 29.2 points per game in the playoffs, SGA has dropped 25 or more points in 10 of his last 11 postseason contests. Slap the More on the MVP for Thursday night at Sleeper Picks.

Pick: More

Anthony Edwards (G/F – MIN): 19.5 points (alt line)

Ant-Man scored just 18 points in Game 1 but lamented afterward about taking just 13 shots in a loss. With this in mind, we can expect Edwards to come out firing with an eye on shouldering more of the load offensively. Edwards has scored 20 or more points in nine of 11 postseason contests and should be aggressive enough tonight to hit 20, even if he has an off night from the field. Light up the More on Ant-Man for Thursday night’s NBA action.

Pick: More

Jalen Williams (G/F – OKC): 14.5 points (alt line)

Jalen Williams remains one of the driving forces behind the Thunder’s success. Now he’ll get to ply his wares in front of a national audience, allowing the all-star to become a household name alongside the newly minted MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Averaging 19.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 5.7 assists per game, Williams has the opportunity to be the X-factor in this series despite being the Thunder’s second star. The Timberwolves have no one outside of Anthony Edwards to match up with Williams and make him work consistently on both ends of the court. And with SGA more likely to draw the T’Wolves’ best perimeter defender, Williams has a chance to shine. He dropped 19 points in Game 1 and has scored 15 or more points in 10 of his 12 playoff games. Williams is shooting just .436 this postseason and is streaky enough to fall under this number once or twice this series, but barring an atrocious showing from the field, Jalen should be able to hit at least 15 tonight. Jab the More on Jalen for Thursday night basketball.

Pick: More

Writers note: The lines are constantly changing on Sleeper (and sometimes expiring), so there is a high probability that one or all of the numbers may no longer be the same when you open your app. There are excellent values when they are first posted, with the only catch being that they are not all released at the same time. Vigilance could provide a solid return on investment this season, literally.