With the start of the NBA season underway, NBA fans across the country are lining up to play fantasy basketball. The two most popular formats used include seasonal fantasy leagues and daily NBA fantasy contests. Both formats are available online through popular sports sites like Yahoo.com, NBA.com, DraftKings.com and FanDuel.com, among others. Each format requires a different approach, providing something for players of all experience levels.
NBA fantasy leagues
For years, fantasy sports leagues have been run for the benefit of coaches who want to run their own team through the rigors of a full season. While most leagues are played for fun, some league commissioners run leagues with an entry fee and prize money distributed at the end of the season.
The process begins with an organized draft. The most popular draft format is the standard “snake-draft” in which players’ draft position is determined by a random draw. For returning goalkeeping leagues, draft positions may be determined by the coach’s placement in the previous season. In recent years, auction spins have increased in popularity. With this format, each manager is given a budget, which is used to bid on players until their squad is full.
In both formats, each manager must select a full team of players based on the league setup settings. Most leagues have up to 10 starting roster positions plus bench players. Depending on league rules, managers can make player moves either daily or weekly. Scoring is determined by league rules and competition is weekly head-to-head. Towards the end of the season, the teams with the best overall records head to the playoffs, which usually cover the last 2-3 weeks of the NBA regular season.
Daily NBA Fantasy Contests
For managers who like their fast and furious action with cash, popular fantasy sites provide access to daily contests. These daily contests come in a variety of formats that are listed on the website. Managers can choose to compete head-to-head with a smaller group of managers ranging from 2 to 25 contestants. These contests are usually designed and published by one of the contestants, who then opens the entry process to any contestant who wishes to participate based on the contest settings. Entry fees range from $5 to $1,000 per contestant. While some contests are winner-takes-all, contests with more than 10 entrants may offer small consolation prizes. For all contests, the fantasy sports site will charge a fee (usually 10%) to cover administration costs plus winnings.
The other popular format is the sponsored contests provided by the website. These contests usually have thousands of entries with huge guaranteed prize packages on offer for a relatively small entry fee. The greater the participation in these contests, the greater the number of places that will be paid. Prize packages can include big cash prizes, consumables, or prize packages for special events where something like Super Bowl weekend might be at stake. Many times managers can earn a free entry fee by winning smaller satellite contests along the way.
The website provides the contest rules and scoring parameters. Each manager is given a salary cap (normally $50,000) to use when selecting players. Each player who is scheduled to play on a given night will be assigned a salary cap value. Obviously, the better the player, the higher the value. The team structure is usually PG, SG, SF, PF, C, G, F and UTIL player.
Now that you have a general idea of how to play fantasy basketball, it’s time to join the fray. If you choose to play in daily contests, you should remember that many managers have a significant amount of experience, which could put you at a disadvantage. The bottom line is that you should never put more money on the line than you can afford to lose.