While the internet has provided a variety of leisure options, it has also become a way to make traditional entertainment even more exciting. This is particularly true in the realm of fantasy sport which has become a hugely popular choice among sports fans since it went online in the 1990s.
Managing a team in an NBA fantasy league has become an increasingly popular way to enhance the enjoyment of National Basketball Association games. As well as offering the chance to experience the excitement of managing a fantasy team, it’s a great way for enthusiastic sports fans to make use of their encyclopedic knowledge of the game and win bragging rights over their friends, family, and colleagues.
Such is the popularity of fantasy sport that it has become almost as popular as the game itself and some of the biggest networks have their own websites to help players keep track of their teams’ performances. Most fantasy basketball leagues track between three and eleven categories including:
- Points
- Rebounds
- Assists
- Blocks
- Steals
- Field goal percentage
- Three-point field goals
- Turnovers
- Fouls
- Free throw percentages
League commissioners can choose the categories that will be tracked and players choose their team based on the categories to ensure that their players have the best chance of gaining higher points in the categories selected.
Picking a fantasy team
A traditional fantasy basketball manager will draft has thirteen players for their team, although some have fourteen to allow for an injury reserve to replace any players that experience a prolonged injury that takes them out of the game indefinitely. Some leagues place a limit on the number of positions that can be drafted to prevent managers from drafting all the best players in any position and leaving slim pickings for their competitors.
One of the most important things for fantasy managers to consider is to focus on the format of the game. There are four standard ways of scoring:
Roto: your team earns you points every time one of them contributes to an activity in that category in the game with each team being awarded points based on their ranking within the league. In a twelve-team league, the top team in each category is awarded twelve points, with the team scoring the least points in any category scoring one point.
Points: in many ways the simplest system, points leagues maintain a straight calculation of the number of points scored by each team based on a standardized scoring system. Typically, each point scored is worth one league point, with rebounds counting for 1.2 or 1.25, assists netting 1.5, steals and blocks being awarded 3 points, and minus 1 for each turnover.
Head-to-head roto: this is a similar system to traditional fantasy baseball leagues, where pairs of teams are competing against one another each week to see which comes out as the winner and goes through to the playoffs. This system only looks at who won and lost in each category for a total overall score to see who wins the matchup overall with the most winning categories.
Head-to-head points: this works in the same way as the head-to-head roto, but using a total of preset points awarded in each category. The values are chosen by the commissioner, so check the details to ensure that your team stands a chance of achieving high points values.
How to choose your players
Your league may have rules on how many players you can draft for each position, with many limiting the number of guards and forwards to one in each spot, but allowing two or more centers. You can usually draft more utility spots and a couple of bench spots to give you the opportunity to switch things up when needed, although some leagues are stricter on numbers than others.
This gives you the flexibility to choose a team that can be played in various different formations, with some managers choosing to play two or more centers in a game to allow them to boost the scores for rebounding and blocking. You can also rotate players to ensure that you are including those that are most likely to play in your team and give yourself the best chance of high scores as the games approach.
You can use your weekly picks to maximize your odds by studying the players’ form and identifying which ones are most likely to play key roles. The more research you do, the better your picks will be, and you will need to take into account salary caps, league caps, and any up-and-coming players that might be about to break through from the college scene.
Playing in a fantasy NBA league can make the basketball season even more fun and exciting and many managers enjoy the social aspect of being involved in a league as well as enhancing their enjoyment of the sport.