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Fantasy basketball how it works
Fantasy basketball how it works
ESPN Fantasy Basketball 101 - How to play
Sep 26, 2022
You love basketball. You follow the NBA, root for your favorite team and watched in amazement as Stephen Curry led the Golden State Warriors to another championship.
And you still haven't played fantasy basketball?!
If that sounds a lot like you, this is the perfect season to give it a try -- there is just so much exciting stuff happening around the league. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic can do everything on the court. Luka Doncic and Trae Young have moved into the MVP discussion. Zion Williamson is coming back from a missed season. And superstars LeBron James and Kevin Durant continue to put their teams on their backs like they did 10 years ago.![]()
There has never been a better time to jump right into the fantasy game.
Create or join an ESPN Fantasy Basketball league today and draft your league any time before the first game tips off every Monday. Your league starts fresh with 0-0 records for the new matchup period.
Sign up for free!
Imagine having Curry on your team when he gets on a roll from 3-point land and carries you to victory. Or what it feels like to have LaMelo Ball on your squad when he stuffs the stat sheet in his third NBA season.
These are the moments you remember as a fantasy manager!
In fact, many of those who've played fantasy basketball over the years can recall specific games that certain players had for them. An epic scoring night by James Harden or Damian Lillard, or maybe a timely triple-double by Russell Westbrook.
So fun. So, so fun!
If you're not an expert, don't worry -- we have everything you need to know about how to enter a league and draft a winning team.
Even if you're a total beginner, you will still have the tools to experience the joy of fantasy basketball like millions do every year.
Make the league your own
Every fantasy basketball league is different. While there are basic rules and settings that apply across the board (you will learn about those below), each league takes on its own identity based on settings like roster size, injury spots, stat categories and other specifics.
We encourage you to join or start a league that fits what you're looking for. If you want to be more casual and set your lineups once a week, find a league that uses weekly lineup changes. If you're a little bit more diehard with all this and want to be able to add and drop players and craft new lineups on a daily basis, that's the type of league you should enter.
The bottom line is to do what's fun for you. Find a league that keeps you tuning in to watch your players every night.
With that in mind, we've put together ESPN Fantasy Basketball 101 to give you an overview of how to get started, how to prepare for your draft and how to play during the season.
Now it's time for you to sign up and join the fun!
Getting startedESPN Fantasy Basketball FAQ
Click here for a quick reference for basic game-related questions.
How to sign up on the ESPN Fantasy app
Were you invited to an ESPN Fantasy Basketball league? Do you want to create your own as a League Manager? We have complete instructions for you right here.
How to sign up online
Whether you were invited to join an already-existing league or want to create your own as a League Manager, you'll find everything you need to do so right here.
League settings
If you created your own league, you'll need to make sure all of your league's rules and settings -- including roster size, scoring, regular-season schedules and playoff schedules -- are to your liking. We have all of the details of how to do that right here. Note: This season
You've signed up, now what?
Check out your league and team pages
It's time to learn more about your league and team pages, so you know where everything is.
We've got you covered with a detailed tour right here.
Know your rules
This might seem incredibly basic, but even veteran fantasy basketball players often assume they know their league rules even when they don't. The result of overlooking a rule can be costly, so be sure you know the rules before your draft.
Go to your fantasy basketball league page, click on League, then Settings. Here, you'll be able to find all the rules that are in place for your league this season. This includes roster construction, scoring, schedule, playoff structure and more.
Take the time to carefully go over every section. To make sure you understand the thinking behind each rule, check out our League Settings overview.
Draft prep
A good draft will put you in position to have a successful season, and taking time to prepare beforehand is key. That includes formulating strategies and printing out rankings that reflect your league's scoring format.
Don't worry, we have you covered with customized expert rankings and draft strategies in the ESPN Fantasy Basketball draft kit.
Autodraft prep
If you don't plan to take part in a live draft, that's OK. Our system will automatically draft for you.
Still, you have the option of guiding how our system will draft your team. Go to your Team page and click "Edit Autopick Strategy." Here, you can decide which player positions you'd like to pick in which parts of the draft and how many players at each position you want to select overall.
Mock drafts
Mock drafts are simply practice drafts that don't count for anything. It's a terrific way to get used to the ESPN draft software, make sure you know how everything works and test out different strategies. For example, that might mean drafting a point guard in the first round versus drafting a small forward in Round 1 and waiting on a point guard until the fourth round.
These practice drafts also let you see which players are going higher than expected and which are routinely slipping down a round or two (or more).
This is extremely useful knowledge that you can take with you in your real draft and use to your advantage, avoiding those "sliding" players until later rounds when you have a good idea that they will still be available.
For an overview of how everything in the ESPN draft room works, click on this link.
The draft
Draft day is the most exciting day of the season, because it's when your team goes from a plan to a reality. It's when you finally get the chance to assemble the group of players you get to root for all season. Of course, you can always add and drop players throughout the year, but the draft is still the most fundamental part of your roster and you want to make sure you don't miss on your top players.
If you have prepared for your draft by reading up on players and strategies, and by participating in several mock drafts, you're on the path to success. Believe in your hunches and don't look back.
To make everything go as smoothly as possible, be sure to follow these handy rules.
The season is starting, let the fun begin!
Trading
In most leagues, there are at least a few managers who enjoy the art of the deal. If you're one of those people, trading is going to be one of the most fun aspects of fantasy basketball. When done well, it's a great opportunity to improve your roster while unloading someone you perhaps no longer want or need.
There are several important factors to keep in mind. You must look at the roster of the team you're trading with and understand which, if any players, that manager might be willing to part with. For example, it'd be unwise to make a trade offer for a point guard on a team that is battling injuries and down to one healthy point guard. Also, while you may never want to send your best trade offer with your first proposal, be careful not to offer up too little. That can be offensive to the other manager and can lead to that person not only declining your offer but ending all future trade talks with you.
In-season strategies
Beyond trading, there are other factors to consider during the season like how to manage your games played in roto leagues, how to approach head-to-head playoffs, and how best to work the waiver wire. Check out the in-season strategies section of our draft kit.
Fantasy basketball etiquette
Every few years, no matter what type of league you're in, you'll run into someone who causes problems. Sometimes it name-calling on the message board and being a bully. Other times it is a constant stream of wild trade offers and questionable transactions. Whether you are in a hyper-competitive league or just trying to have some casual fun, you want to avoid being this way or having others in your league who conduct themselves like this.
Generally speaking, that just means following the golden rule: Treat others the way you'd want to be treated in your league.
How to sign up on ESPN Fantasy app
Chris Elise/NBAE via Getty Images
Sep 26, 2022
Get the ESPN Fantasy Sports app
Go to the Google Play Store or the App Store, search for ESPN Fantasy Sports, and install the ESPN Fantasy Sports app. Then sign in or create an ESPN account, if you are a first-time user.
Click on the basketball icon in the top row to access ESPN Fantasy Basketball via the app.
How to join a public league
If you don't have enough people to create your own league, or if you just want to join a random league, click the orange "GET A TEAM" button to find a public league that fits your desires.
For detailed explanations of each setting (number of teams, scoring, draft, etc.), click here.
How to start your own league as a commissioner/league manager
Click the orange "CREATE LEAGUE" button, then choose the settings you want to use in your league. In order to create your league, you'll need to choose your basic settings, including League Name, Number of Teams, Scoring Type and Draft Type. Don't worry about being perfect with these settings -- you can change any and all of them all the way up until the league draft.
For a detailed look at all of the basic and advanced settings, click here.
Invite friends
Once you've created a league, you can invite your friends via Twitter, Facebook messenger, email or text message. You can also copy the invitation link to send it to them in any other manner you choose.
While it's best to invite the other owners as soon as possible, you can always create your league now and invite participants at a later date.
Or, you can provide the invitation link to active members of your league and encourage them to invite friends or family members who might be interested in playing.
League manager tools
As commissioner/league manager, it's your responsibility to make sure all of your basic and advanced settings are done correctly. That can be done by tapping the three-bar menu button on the top left, then selecting "League Manager Tools."
Once there, you can edit the basic draft settings and add/remove owners as needed.
In order to edit advanced settings for your league (including scoring and rosters), you'll need to visit your league web page on ESPN Fantasy Basketball.
For a detailed look at all of the basic and advanced settings, click here.
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How to play fantasy league?
This season in the Parimatch Championship of the Nizhny Novgorod region we are again waiting for the fantasy league, which has already managed to catch the fancy of many fans over the past year.
How fantasy league works : 1) A user registers on fantione.com. You can register through Vkontakte with one click, or you can use an email address, but then the mail will need to be confirmed - without confirmation it will not be possible to play fantasy.
2) Then the user searches for the league he needs (the list of active leagues will be on the main page). In our case, this is the Major League of the Championship of the Nizhny Novgorod Region.
3) After selecting a league, the user goes to its page, clicks "Play" and becomes a member.
4) Next, you need to open the card sets to find out which players can be fielded for the upcoming fantasy tour.
You will have 15 sets of cards. Each set contains 5 cards (for each position - point guard, attacking defender, small forward, heavy forward, center).
5) After opening all the cards, ideally, you need to look at what has fallen. There will almost certainly be duplicate cards - duplicates can be removed, leaving only 1 card of the same cards available. When deleted, the user receives points, which can then be exchanged for new sets of cards (1000 points for 1 set). Removal of a simple card - 100 points, removal of a silver card - 200 points, removal of a gold card - 500 points. The difference in the color of the card is the bonuses that are awarded for each useful action by the player. Regular cards have no bonuses, silver cards have 1 bonus, gold cards have 3 bonuses. Bonuses and which cards drop out are all randomly generated. There will always be 1 silver card in one set. Possibility of getting into the gold card set - 10%. You can delete not only duplicate cards, but also cards of players that, in the user's opinion, will not be useful in fantasy, and he will not put them on upcoming rounds.
It is impossible to remove a previously played card in one of the rounds. It is also not recommended to delete everything in a row - a situation may occur that there is no player in the position, and then 0 fantasy points will be awarded to the user for this position.
6) When all the cards are open, you need to go to the selection of the composition in the menu. The choice of the composition is 5 players for the next games, one player for each position. You just need to scroll down and choose from among the available cards those that, in the opinion of the user, will be most useful in the next tour. The choice is simple - scroll down, find a card from the available ones, click on it, and it should automatically appear at the top. Click "Save", etc. no need. Everything is saved. Changes to the selected five can be made before the start of the first game in the upcoming round. You can replace an already issued card if the changes are not blocked yet.
7) After choosing the composition, you can go to the prediction league.
The League of Predictions is an additional opportunity to earn points for new sets of cards. There you need to guess the outcomes of matches and some random events. Correct predictions go to the overall standings, as well as to the standings of points that can be sprayed.
At the end of all games, the results for the round are processed, and the site in the "Leaders" section displays user data with their five players by fantasy points. And in the section "Statistics" - indicators of fantasy-points of the players of our Championship. By default, summary indicators are opened, but you can switch to a specific tour.
Please note that one round in the Parimatch Championship of the Nizhny Novgorod region lasts 2 weeks, but in the fantasy league we play for a week, so points are calculated every Monday.
You can play Fantasy League here - https://fantione.com/
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History and types of fantasy sports
Analytical articles
The gambling industry is a wide variety of forms of entertainment, and mostly thrill and excitement arises when the player relies on the whim of lady luck.
The dice are rolled, the cards are dealt, the roulette is spinning, and it is impossible to say exactly what will happen next. But some players are looking for other pleasure, such as using their analytical skills and extensive knowledge of their favorite sport to succeed. Today's article is dedicated to the unique alternative sports betting fantasy sports.
What is fantasy sports?
In simple terms, fantasy sports is a game based on sports statistics. Players assemble virtual teams of athletes and these teams are ranked based on the results of real athletes in real competitions. Players manage these teams like real managers or coaches: they select promising athletes, participate in drafts and monitor results as the season progresses, and make adjustments to the team.
Originally points were calculated by hand, but modern fantasy sports leagues use computers to keep track of scores. In its simplest form, the game can be played with a small group of people and with a scoring system, but other formats allow for large numbers of participants.
The game has grown from a fairly niche hobby to a global multi-billion dollar industry ($18.6 billion in 2019) that is projected to grow by 120% in the coming years.
According to the latest reports from the American Games and Fantasy Sports Association (FSGA), there are 59.3 million gamers in the US who spend an average of $653 annually. The FSGA estimates the market at $7.22 billion, split between traditional and daily varieties ($3.27 billion and $2.91 billion respectively), with the remaining $1.04 billion coming from additional industry-related services.
History
Fantasy sports originated in the early 50s. The first version of fantasy baseball was played using one of two baseball-themed board games: American Professional Baseball Association and Strat-o-matic. Players used a combination of dice rolls and statistics from previous seasons to determine the winners.
In the 1960s, Wilfred "Bill" Winkenbach, who was a partner in the Oakland Raiders team, with the support of sports reporters Scotty Stirling and George Ross, invented the first fantasy American football.
Winkenbach had experimented with fantasy golf and baseball earlier in the 1950s and developed a set of rules that launched the first-ever American football fantasy league, the Oakland Professional Football Predictor League (GOPPPL), based at his home in California.
The author collected statistics on his own, and since there were no online sources at that time, everything was done the old fashioned way - Winkenbach called the sports departments of various newspapers, which received statistics by telegraph. Subsequently, the fantasy American football or gridiron grew from a friendly competition on paper into a business venture.
The earliest fantasy baseball leagues were popular at various colleges and universities in the 1960s and were mostly attended by professors. One of the students at the University of Michigan at the time was Daniel Okrent, who later invented roto, a fantasy baseball variation.
Roto or Baseball The Rotisserie, inspired by APBA and Strat-o-matic, was formed by a group of avid baseball fans who chose Le Rotisserie Francais, a Manhattan restaurant, as their regular hangout spot (hence the name).
The biggest difference from the version using the board game was that the game was based on recent statistics rather than data from previous seasons. Players earn points based on the number of home runs, successful passes and saves, and other metrics. As the season progresses, numbers fluctuate and managers replace underperforming players in order to succeed.
Fantasy baseball went mainstream during the 1981 Major League Baseball strike when sports magazines covered fantasy leagues in the absence of real competition, and by 1989 fantasy sports had already attracted millions of players.
After the 90s, the industry grew rapidly thanks to the development of the Internet. Not only have more people been able to connect and join leagues, but the sports data required for fantasy sports has become much more accessible.
During the fantasy of the 2000s, the sport became popular enough to serve as the basis for the television show The League, which aired from 2007 to 20191st year on the FX channel.
How the game goes
Usually, the rules of fantasy sports are as follows: a group of players decide to form a league and, before the start of the sports season, recruit players into their fantasy teams. They then track those players' stats on a weekly basis to determine which team is performing better. The winner takes the pot or the prize.
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Of course, each type of fantasy sports has a unique points system, its own specific selection of players and its own rules of participation.
Players manage their teams by removing or swapping players, and at the end of the season, the teams with the most points win.
In traditional fantasy sports, teams are usually recruited each season, but in a dynastic format, a certain number of selected players can be retained by a team from year to year.
In classic American football (gridiron), each team consists of a certain number of players, limited by roles (only one quarterback, two wide receivers, etc.
). The draft takes place in a simple format - each team takes turns choosing one player in the first round, and in the following rounds, the team that selected last becomes the first. After the draft is completed, teams can trade players with each other or take players that no one else has selected.
In classic American football on the grid, each team consists of a certain number of players, limited by roles (only one quarterback, two wide receivers, etc.), while in the draft follows a simple format, where each team takes turns choosing one player from the first round, and in the following rounds, the team that chose the last one becomes the first. After the draft is completed, teams can trade players with each other or claim players that weren't drafted at the time of the draft.
In some formats, drafting is limited by budget, much like a real team manager can afford only a few highly paid premium players on a team roster. For example, in Italy, where fantasy football is extremely popular, such a system exists in tournaments organized by the country's main sports newspaper, Gazzetta dello Sport.
Players have a certain number of "millions" which are used as currency to add players to a team.
Athletes score points by scoring goals, earning assists and saves and losing points by conceding goals, as well as for penalty cards and missed penalties.
The tournament also has weekly prizes (ranging from a year's newspaper subscription to a luxury car) and a significant jackpot. For 2020-2021, the amount is €244,929.
The data provided by the newspaper can also be used to run a private league, separate from official competitions.
Modern fantasy sports offered by companies such as Draft Kings and Fanduel in the US are played in shorter periods of time - days rather than weeks or seasons. Daily fantasy sports are usually run as competitions where participants pay an entry fee that makes up the prize pool, with a portion of the amount going to the provider.
The format is extremely popular, but was controversial when sports betting was largely banned in the US.
The game has been defined as a game of skill in many American states, but due to the shorter time period of the competition, it has been argued that participants are essentially betting on the performance of athletes in a single game - a much less controlled environment.
However, according to Bloomberg Businessweek, most daily competitions are won by a minority of skillful players who not only understand the statistics behind the game, but also know how to choose the right opponent.
In addition to baseball, football, and American football, there are many more fantasy sports: hockey, basketball, cricket, as well as non-team disciplines such as racing or golf.
Difference from virtual sports
Fantasy sports are often confused with virtual sports, but they are very different in nature. Virtual sports are powered by random number generators (RNGs) and therefore the result of each virtual competition is completely random. The experience is closer to the slot machine: the result of a virtual game or race is available instantly, and the player can place many bets in a short period of time.
Virtual sports are completely independent of real events and are positioned as an alternative to traditional sports betting during the off-season, as well as a way to interest players in other more traditional casino games, such as slots or roulette.
The unpredictable nature of virtual sports makes them less attractive to fans of classic sports betting, because deep knowledge of a specific sport and the capabilities of real athletes and experience does not matter.
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Different from regular sports betting
Fantasy sports was originally conceived as a way to bet on sports in the US, where betting was mostly illegal. Bets were not placed directly on the outcome of the competition, but still provided an exciting experience for sports fans because they rewarded extensive knowledge and analytical thinking and allowed them to win cash rewards.
The US is still the largest market for fantasy sports, but the legality of daily fantasy sports is an issue in many states: Arizona, Hawaii, Alabama, Iowa, Idaho, Montana, Louisiana, Nevada, and Washington State. The key issue is that the daily variety of fantasy sports is much less skill-based, and their unpredictability is similar to regular sports betting. In Texas, specifically, daily fantasy sports are banned, unlike traditional fantasy sports that last an entire season.
In the rest of the world, the position of legislation regarding fantasy sports is not very specific. In many countries, the regulations do not mention fantasy sports in any way, in others the legal provisions are embarrassingly ambiguous, leaving the potential operator and its players under constant threat from the law.
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In Estonia, fantasy sports are considered bookmaking if there is a wager or prize for participation, and in Ukraine, where most forms of gambling have recently been legalized, fantasy sports are not regulated in any way.
In Japan, where gambling is heavily restricted, fantasy sports are not prohibited by the Penal Code, while in Argentina and Brazil, fantasy sports are completely unregulated, leaving it up to local authorities to decide whether an individual operator is allowed to enter the market.
It is also possible that the law on fantasy sports differs in different parts of the same country, for example in India where in Sikkim and Nagaland fantasy sports are subject to local licensing, they are not regulated in most other states and in some states expressly prohibited.
Fantastic potential
Fantasy sports are an unusual part of the gambling industry (and in some countries not at all), but the rise in popularity and complexity since its invention is a good indicator that this unique and exciting form of entertainment has a great future.
In many countries, fantasy sports is a completely unknown phenomenon, and the industry is waiting for the next innovators to come up with exciting new forms of fantasy sports and shake up the market.
Slotegrator works with sportsbooks and online casino platforms all over the world and we are always on the lookout for new horizons. If your company offers fantasy sports or you want to expand and reach new regions, or maybe take the industry by storm by offering your own unique business model, get in touch with Slotegrator's partner department.
Contact partner department
I have been working in the gambling industry for more than five years and have experience in managing sales teams in the B2B and B2C sectors. I started my career in the gambling business working in the support service of an online casino, and then became the head of a department that specialized in working with VIP players. Later I joined Slotegrator, and now I pay special attention to working with our company's products, where understanding of the needs of the players came in handy. My passion for the industry motivates me to expand my knowledge every day.
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