Fantasy sports are a phenomenon that cannot be denied; millions of people around the world take part every week, and while offerings like fantasy football are the most well-known, there are many other sports with thriving fantasy competitions.
What they all have in common is a demand for commitment; it takes dedication and time to prevail in a fantasy league, as you need to keep on top of all the latest developments and statistics to ensure you’re always fielding the best team possible.
This is certainly true of fantasy basketball, as the NBA has one of the densest schedules of any sport during its regular season; 82 games per team over the course of six months.
So, when it comes to having a successful fantasy basketball campaign, one of the best things you can do is commit. Find the best sources of statistics and analysis, and check them regularly.
With so many games taking place each week, there are bound to be injuries, upsets and developing trends in the statistics, so it pays to be on top of all this data and knowledge.
That being said, don’t let it take over your life; there are dozens of websites and outlets dedicated to summarising the NBA action and sifting through the data, so let them do the hard work for you.
Further still, don’t get bogged down in the mountains of data available and be selective in what numbers and statistics you keep an eye on. For example, the league tracks ‘chances’, which are essentially rebounding opportunities. A player has a ‘chance’ if they are within 3.5m of a rebound.
Rebounds are an important category in most fantasy basketball leagues, so staying up to date with which players consistently get a lot of rebound opportunities is smart.
Touches are another useful stat to follow, as this tells you how actively involved players are in the game with the ball in their hands. Obviously certain positions, like a point guard, will lead these stats but you can filter these out of the data to give you a clearer idea of how players are performing.
Before any of this, though, you need to properly understand the format you’re working with. Fantasy basketball is different from fantasy football in that a single game has much less impact on the overall season, as there are far more of them.
This means keeping a cool head if you’re having a rough run of games; it’s usually wiser to ride out the storm, rather than make adjustments for every single game.
Plus, fantasy basketball leagues can take different forms. Most will be measured on eight; points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, threes, field goal percentage and free throw percentage. Some leagues include a ninth category, which is turnovers.
As with most other fantasy sports, fantasy basketball leagues are usually played over the course of a season. This could be in the traditional format where the player with the most points at the end of the season wins, or it could be in a head-to-head format.
This is where, each week, you are pitted against another player in the fantasy league. The highest-scoring team based on the categories of the league ‘wins’ that game and receives a certain number of points. Usually, this format is structured as a league and then moves into ‘playoffs’, which is a knockout format, culminating in a head-to-head final.
However, there is also the option to play daily fantasy basketball. This is where the competition is held over a much shorter period of time, usually a single day but sometimes up to a week, meaning a winner is determined much sooner, with cash prizes usually on offer.
Whatever format you’re working with, make sure you’re familiar with how it’s structured and manage your team accordingly.
All that being said, there is a tip that will help over the course of a season; stick to your guns, and trust in your stars. At the start of the fantasy season, you’ll draft players into your roster and you should always try to include some big-hitters.
Unlike in fantasy football, where situations can sometimes make it smarter to bench some of your superstars, you should field them as much as possible in fantasy basketball. The only time you should not do so is when they’re injured or being rested in real life.
This is because the NBA season moves at such a high clip that a spell of bad form can quickly be turned around, and there are so many opportunities for these big players to rake in mountains of fantasy points.
Lastly, it’s also wise to keep an eye on the waiver wire. This is the group of players who either weren’t drafted or have been let go by other fantasy players. If one of your picks isn’t panning out how you’d hoped, you can release them and pick someone else up on the wire.
Don’t dawdle, though, as that player on the wire you had your eye on could be scooped up by another fantasy player.
Fantasy basketball requires a lot of attention and commitment, but it’s a rewarding and exciting game to be involved in. With such a hectic NBA schedule in the regular season, stick with your star players and keep on top of the stats that matter most – the most successful fantasy players are usually the most dedicated.
