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How to play fantasy basketball for beginners
How to play fantasy basketball for beginners
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 online
EPA/JUSTIN LANE SHUTTERSTOCK OUT
Sep 26, 2022
How to join a league with friends, family or co-workers
If you received a fantasy basketball invite via email, Facebook, Twitter or SMS to join a friend's league, you must click the unique link on the invite to join that league. Please check your email or other messages for your invite to join the league. Contact your commissioner to resend the invite, if needed.
How to start your own league or join a public league
Getting a team is easier than ever this year and can be accessed here.
Create a League
You're the League Manager here.
Set up a private league to play with your family and friends! As the League Manager, you have access to LM Tools throughout the season to help you manage all aspects of your league, including draft settings, the number of teams in your league, your regular-season and playoff schedules, and scoring adjustments. ESPN will preserve your league's history (and keepers) from year to year. Access to League Manager-run leagues is by private invite only.
To create your LM league, you'll need to choose your basic settings, including League Name, Scoring Type and Draft Type. You don't have to put too much thought into them while creating your league, because you can change all of these settings at any time before your draft.
Get a Team
Hop into one of our public leagues and we will find people for you to play with! This is helpful if you don't have enough people to create your own league, or if you just want to join one more. You can filter down the type of league you'd like to join based on Draft Type (snake or auction), Number of Teams (8, 10 or 12) and Scoring Type.
For a detailed look at all of the basic and advanced settings, click here.
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How to Play Fantasy Basketball - Art School House of Artists
With the start of the underground NBA season, NBA fans across the country are lining up to play fantasy basketball. The two most popular formats in use include seasonal fantasy leagues and daily NBA fantasy contests. Both formats are available online on popular sports websites such as Yahoo., NBA., DraftKings.
and FanDuel.. Each format requires a different approach that offers something for players of all experience levels.
NBA Fantasy Leagues
For years, fantasy sports leagues have been for managers who want to manage their own team for an entire season. While most leagues are played for fun, some authorized leagues organize leagues with an entry fee and prize money distributed at the end of the season.
The process begins with an organized project. The most popular draft format is the standard "serpentine draft", in which the position of players in the draft is determined by a random draw. For leagues of returning goaltenders, draft positions may be determined by the manager's placement in the previous season. Auction checkers have grown in popularity over the past few years. In this format, each manager is given a bankroll that is used to bet on players until their lineup is full.
In both formats, each manager must recruit a full team of players based on the league setup configuration.
Most leagues have up to 10 starting positions plus substitutes. Depending on league rules, managers may move players daily or weekly. Scoring is determined by league rules and competitions are held weekly. Toward the end of the season, the teams with the best overall record go to the playoffs, which usually spans the last 2-3 weeks of the NBA regular season.
NBA Daily Fantasy Contest
For managers who like to act fast and furious with cash at stake, popular fantasy sites provide access to daily contests. These daily competitions come in a variety of formats which are listed on the website. Managers can compete directly against a small group of managers consisting of 2-25 members. These contests are usually developed and published by one of the contestants, who then opens the application process for any contestant who would like to enter depending on the contest setup. Entry fee varies from $5 to $1,000 per participant. While some contests have a winner take all, contests with more than 10 entrants may offer small consolation prizes.
In all competitions, the fantasy sports site takes a commission (usually 10%) to cover administration costs plus profits.
Another popular format is website sponsored contests. These contests usually offer thousands of entries with huge guaranteed prize packages for a relatively small entry fee. The more participation in these competitions, the higher the number of places that will be paid. Prize packages may include large cash prizes, consumer goods, or special prize packages where something like Super Bowl Weekend might be at stake. In many cases, managers can earn a free entry fee by winning small satellite competitions along the way.
Contest rules and scoring parameters provided by the site. Each manager receives a salary cap (usually $50,000) to use when selecting players. Each player who is scheduled to play on a particular night will be assigned a maximum salary value. Obviously, the better the player, the higher the value. The team structure usually consists of PG, SG, SF, PF, C, G, F and UTIL players.
Now that you have a basic idea of how to play fantasy basketball, it's time to join the fight. If you choose to participate in daily competitions, you need to remember that many managers have significant experience, which can put you at a disadvantage. The bottom line is that you should never bet more money than you can afford to lose.
#How to #play #fantasybasketball
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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 the fantasy league works : 1) 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.
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