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How to set fantasy basketball lineup
ESPN Fantasy Basketball 101 - How to play
Sep 26, 2022
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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 started
ESPN 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.
A rookie’s guide to fantasy basketball — Andscape
So, it’s your first time playing fantasy basketball, huh? Either your friends asked you to play, or you wanted to try something new. And you think it’s going to be just like fantasy football, right?
Wrong.
Can't even keep up with fantasy football. Not gonna do it for basketball
— Heat in 6 (@DroGotti_94) October 23, 2016
my lack of success in fantasy football this year makes me look forward to fantasy basketball a hell of a lot more @afish220
— T.R. (@tyler_sansone) October 23, 2016
Don’t look lost out there on the fantasy court. Here are some tips and tricks to help you out:
1. Team name is a major key.
The team name is critical. It can make or break your season depending on how legendary the name is. Some of the most clever names can come from the players on your own team, so don’t be afraid to make your team name after the draft.
Here are some great examples of team names:
Joakim Noahs Arc
— Brian Gantt (@briangantt1) September 28, 2016
Obi Wan Ginobili https://t. co/xc6l2w4kBV
— Justin Hodges (@HodgepodgeHoops) October 23, 2016
Also, in my other league, Fried Gallinari https://t.co/CCQhrBoCh2
— Sal Maggio (@MaggioNBA) October 23, 2016
Justise For All
— Mike Selzo (@mike_selzo) October 23, 2016
I don't even play, but I would definitely be "Durant Durant" https://t.co/TZQew1qo2y
— Andrew Horn KFYR-TV (@theandrewhorn) October 23, 2016
2. You gotta keep up.
Fantasy basketball is way different from fantasy football depending on the game mode you play. Unlike the NFL, in which there are only games three days a week, the NBA has games pretty much every day. What that means is that you are going to have to adjust your lineup almost every day if you want to be on top on things.
I know this one should be obvious, but you could really miss out on some prime opportunities in the draft if you are unaware of the scoring system. For example, if you get bonus points for double-doubles and triple-doubles, you should definitely take a look at how important that can be.
4. Check the waivers.
Since there are games every day, you will need to find certain players who can fill the void for some days. If you have players on the roster who you think you can drop and get back, feel free to drop and add them again depending on when they play. The more players who you can get to play on certain days, the more points that you can likely get. If you are in a league with really active competition, you might lose some players you drop. However, that comes with the territory.
Good luck to you all. Let’s go get buckets.
Kofie Yeboah asks for Sweet Tea at every restaurant and recites approximately 2.5 Spongebob lines per hour.
Fantasy Basketball is the best way to follow the NBA. The main thing is to add a commissioner, a lottery, fake news and a ring - PRO Basketball - Blogs
American fantasy basketball is a great way to follow the NBA, your favorite players and get the latest news.
I only discovered this thing last year and immediately made a league of friends. Among them are amateur basketball players, a VTB United League player, coaches and just fans. Age of participants from 20 to 36 years. Someone has been following basketball since childhood, and someone started thanks to fantasy. The main thing is that everyone is equally interested. And in this article I will tell you why.
You will be interested in the article:
if your idea of fantasy ends with a tournament on Sports.ru;
if you don't know what fantasy is;
if you don't play because you don't speak English;
if you want to know more about the NBA;
if you have been playing fantasy for a long time, but you do not have enough real NBA attributes: draft lottery, news, commissioner or ring, for example.
What is fantasy
Let's take the ESPN.com tournament as an example.
Fantasy is a virtual game for basketball fans. They recruit real basketball players from the NBA to their team and act as a general manager: they carry out the draft, form the starting lineup for the week, expell, sign and trade players.
The essence is the same - every week to score more points than a rival in the league, to win, to rise in the standings and at the end of the season to become the strongest in the playoffs.
This is the result of a match from last season and two fantasy squad
Fantasy basketball is based on the statistics of players in real basketball matches. It is important for the manager to gather the most effective players in the squad. After all, besides the fact that the effective action of a player in a real match brings points to the fantasy team. His losses and misses take away these points. Therefore, Russell Westbrook, with his triple-doubles and trash throws, is not the best option for fantasy.
The fantasy site or application calculates players' fantasy points in real time. Therefore, it is convenient and easy to follow. For example, a 3-pointer scored by Luka Doncic earns the team manager five fantasy points, and a Miles Turner block gives four points at once.
The table shows all the scoring actions of players who score in fantasy:
And this picture shows how the statistics of a player from a real match are translated into fantasy points:
As you can see in a single confrontation, the center and point guard can be equally valuable.
The most important thing about fantasy on ESPN is the interface and the possibilities. Everything resembles the official NBA website and helps to feel involved in the basketball world. And each real basketball player can only be on one team. Therefore, the number of teams in the league is limited - from 4 to 20.
Why play fantasy
Understand the NBA. Fantasy Tournament is a great introduction to the NBA. Even for those who played basketball only on the console and most of the players do not know at all. Such fans begin to deal with fantasy, select lineups and develop their own tactics. And they organically immerse themselves in the NBA: they start watching matches, find out the names of the players, understand the difference between role players and the main team, and gradually understand the rules.
At the start, managers will definitely make mistakes and learn. For example, in our league, a basketball rookie gave away Drew Holiday and got Buddy Hill. This trade jeopardized the fantasy rookie season and helped the opponent win the championship.
Keep a close eye on the regular season. Fantasy motivates you to follow all regular season matches. The manager of a virtual team must know everything about the players of his team and a little about the players of the opponent: who was injured and how much, who is on fire now, and who fell on the bench.
At the same time, the manager monitors free players, reads the news and understands who replaces whom in real matches in order to sign the most valuable free agent. Therefore, every morning the fantasy manager checks the results of the matches, sometimes watches the games, finds the best players and changes his roster.
Watch matches with excitement. The manager gathers players from different teams. Therefore, he can always choose a match with his players and worry about them. For example, the outcome of a fantasy duel is decided by the match between Indiana and Chicago. The manager in the Sabonis team, and the rival Lavigne. Whoever plays better will win. The manager turns on the match, worries about every productive action of Sabonis and gets angry from every hit of Lavin.
Learn English. The site and app offer an English interface: main tabs, news, injury reports, statistics and forecasts.
At first it is difficult to navigate, but then the manager begins to understand basic basketball terms, watch broadcasts with his players and understand American commentators.
7 Tips for Making Fantasy Interesting
To make fantasy exciting, you need to create an entourage of the real basketball world around it.
1. Come up with a legend. When I launched the PRO League, I invited members through a letter from the NBA. The letter contains the date and time of the draft, highlights of the organization, and the commissioner's name and signature. Legend has it that Adam Silver appointed Kobe Bryant our heavenly commissioner. But a legend is nothing without live reinforcements.
2. Appoint a secret commissioner. In real life, one of the league members or an outside observer is hiding behind the commissar's mask. Kobe Bryant was commissioner last year and Wilt Chamberlain this year.
The commissioner explains the rules to the participants, conducts the draft lottery, helps with the application, resolves conflicts and takes comments from the managers.
3. Create a Telegram channel and chat for discussions
The commissioner writes to the league members on Telegram and asks them about tactics, trades, player injuries, match results and draft expectations. He turns it all into stories and publishes it in the closed Telegram channel "Office PRO League". And he makes it all look like cards from the NBA on ESPN Instagram account.
Chat managers discuss each other's comments, matches, injuries and agree on exchanges. Sometimes they gather for a joint viewing. But most often they swear and tease each other in a comic manner. Therefore, the most reckless atmosphere can be created only in a chat with friends and acquaintances.
4. Hold a draft lottery. One of the most important attributes of fantasy basketball. By default, the computer distributes spades randomly. But in our league, the commissioner runs the draft lottery two weeks before the draft. Managers have time to swap picks if necessary, prepare a draft strategy, draw up a list of desirable players and complain a little about bad picks.
The commissioner runs the lottery backstage and then shoots a video of the draft order. It looks spectacular because the participants do not know the place in advance and do not know the person under the mask.
This is how the lottery went this year:
5. Call and conduct a draft. One of the most exciting parts of the fantasy tournament. The draft takes place on a certain day and a certain hour. So everyone should join. To make it more interesting, we arrange a video conference, because the participants live in different cities. This is how we show emotions when we take away other players or take away someone very desirable. At the same time, we have time to discuss our thoughts on teams and players. You can also get together live and assemble lineups face to face.
6. Make bets and forecasts. This is optional. We play fantasy for fun and have not yet connected the financial part. But they began to think about paid participation and the purchase of various valuable prizes with the money raised. You can also add weekly motivations. For example, advance bets on the outcome of fantasy fights. Or a weekly cash transfer from the manager of the worst team to the manager of the best.
7. Give the champion's ring. Fighting for such a prize is much more interesting than just playing for money. The ring is canonical and unique. After the first season, the champion received a 100 gram artifact with the inscription Fantasy Champion and a basketball hoop on the surface. He came from the USA exactly the size of the winner. Next year, the champion will receive an even more custom ring with their fantasy team logo and, ideally, the final score.
That's it. Thank you for your time.
Tell us in the comments what is interesting about your fantasy leagues. Leave questions here or in my Telegram.
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) The 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 the Fantasy League here - https://fantione.com/
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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.
We've got you covered with a detailed tour right here.
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.
And you think it’s going to be just like fantasy football, right?
co/xc6l2w4kBV
Even for those who played basketball only on the console and most of the players do not know at all. Such fans begin to deal with fantasy, select lineups and develop their own tactics. And they organically immerse themselves in the NBA: they start watching matches, find out the names of the players, understand the difference between role players and the main team, and gradually understand the rules. 
Therefore, every morning the fantasy manager checks the results of the matches, sometimes watches the games, finds the best players and changes his roster. 
He turns it all into stories and publishes it in the closed Telegram channel "Office PRO League". And he makes it all look like cards from the NBA on ESPN Instagram account. :no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/20061162/MLBScoring.png)
For example, advance bets on the outcome of fantasy fights. Or a weekly cash transfer from the manager of the worst team to the manager of the best. 
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.
