For most, the dream of completing an alley-oop dunk in front of tens of thousands of screaming fans were obliterated before they even learned what dunking meant. It can be tough being a die-hard NBA basketball fan without having the game to match. Fantasy basketball is a haven for those fans and a means to get more involved in the day-to-day grind of the NBA, while not having to lace up sneakers or even get into playing shape.
Fantasy basketball is basically an interactive numbers game that factors player performances during a season to give a fantasy team owner an overall score. There are several different types of fantasy basketball games and scoring methods. Each different type comes with different strategies for success.
Rotisserie (or "roto") style is one of the most popular styles of fantasy basketball. It factors specific statistical categories (or Stat Cats) as determined by whomever sets the league up. Teams earn points based on how they finish in each category with each Stat Cat being worth the same amount. That means that winning in, say, steals and getting dead last in, say, points should give a team the same amount of overall fantasy points as a team that gets the median points in each Stat Cat. If there are 20 teams in a league, winning in any Stat Cat would earn a team 20 points. Getting second in that Stat Cat would earn a team 19 points, third would earn 18 points, and continue that process til the team in last earns just one point. Teams that tie, share the Stat Cat (if two teams both earn 10 points in a particular Stat Cat, they would each receive 9.5 fantasy points rather than one earning 10 and the other earning nine). After adding all the points earned in each Stat Cat, owners get their overall score which adjusts throughout the season depending on how well their players perform.
The most important thing to remember in roto leagues is to always pay attention to what Stat Cats are being factored. Moreover, remember that fantasy basketball magazines that provide sample pre-rankings of players don't often make clear what Stat Cats or scoring systems they're considering when ranking players. For example, turnovers can significantly alter a player's fantasy worth. If a league does not factor turnovers, players like Dwayne Wade and Gilbert Arenas, who are both prone to turnovers, may be ranked near the top of the league. Conversely, Shawn Marion and Dirk Nowitzki might slip a bit on a player pre-rank if turnovers are not factored.
The most common types of roto scoring systems are nine Stat Cat leagues (factoring points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, threes made, turnovers, field goal percentage and free throw percentage); eight Stat Cat leagues (factoring points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, threes made, field goal percentage and free throw percentage); and five Stat Cat leagues (factoring points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals).
Head-to-Head (or H2H) leagues are similar to roto leagues, except that each manager sets his/her lineup daily (or however often the league settings stipulations allow) and faces other fantasy teams in his/her league each week. Whichever team accumulates the most fantasy points for that week wins the match. There are two ways this usually works. In the first scenerio, if one team wins, for instance, five of nine Stat Cats, that team gets a record of 5-4 for that week. This makes it ideal to have more balance on one's roster. In the second scenerio, if one team wins five of nine Stat Cats, that team earns just one win while the losing team earns just one loss. In non-playoff leagues, the team with the best winning percentage at the end of the season wins the title. In playoff leagues, the top teams have an elimination tournament (playoffs) to determine the winner. These playoffs usually consist of the final week or two of the season. The criticism of this style is that the final week or two of the season typically features bench players and non-stars. This is because the coaches typically rest their stars at this point to prepare them for the arduous NBA playoffs.
In H2H, injury proned players can hurt a team more than anything. If a team loses a star player for multiple weeks, that's potentially multiple losses accumulating. It's not like rotisserie where a team can build a huge lead as a buffer. At least, not in the same way. In H2H, each week is almost like a clean slate against a new opponent.
Another type of fantasy basketball league is a Points-Based league, where each statistic that's factored in earns a team a pre-determined amount of fantasy points. Those fantasy points get lumped together to form an overall score.
Keeper leagues are simply leagues that will continue after one season. In keeper leagues, managers may opt to retain a certain amount of players on its roster from the prior season. Keeper leagues typically run for three seasons.
Pick ‘em leagues are like playing the stock market. Every week, day, or month (or however the league is set up), participants select what players they think will produce during that allotment of time. Multiple participants can select the same players.
A couple other notes:
Some leagues have a fake salary structure in place that teams have to work around. If that’s the case, get to know that salary structure as they will be an integral part of how well you finish.
Some leagues are set up so that each NBA team is represented. There is often no fantasy draft in these leagues and managers are assigned the line up of that particular NBA team. These leagues are often seen as more of role playing leagues. They are still competitive, but obviously certain teams start off at a huge disadvantage.
