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How to start a draft in fantasy basketball
Fantasy: 5 tips to help you nail your basketball drafts
LeBron James and the Lakers will look to bounce back this season.
The NBA season starts next Tuesday, and if you’re like me, you will be knocking out your final fantasy drafts this weekend. Here are five tips below that will help you cram last minute and dominate your drafts!
Utilize Yahoo’s Draft Analysis Tool
Do you want to know where players are being drafted? The Draft Analysis tool is the easiest and best way to do so. By evaluating the Average Draft Position (ADP) for a particular player, Yahoo is essentially conducting a market analysis across their draft platform for when players are being selected. ADP is a valuable data point when constructing a fantasy team because you’ll want to make decisions based on the latest trends in the market. Which, at times, may be viewed as an overcorrection (an opportunity to capitalize on falling value) or a reaction to new information (such as LaMelo Ball’s recent ankle injury).
Check out my fantasy basketball ranks, tiers and sleepers!
Rankings are not one-size-fits-all but similarly to ADP, they are another data point that can help fantasy managers come draft time. It’s impossible to predict the correct outcome for every player. However, you can get a feel for which players are higher or lower than the ADP. If I’m higher on a person, there’s a good chance I’ve mentioned them in my positional tiers articles, my guys, or sleepers columns.
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These guys are the NBA insiders that you’ll want to follow for the latest NBA news that may impact your fantasy draft. From injuries to player absences, projected starting lineups and more, it’s critical to get an understanding of the latest news so that you can go into drafts with the most updated information as possible.
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Per-game value versus the total value
I prefer to evaluate players on their per-game value instead of their total value because injuries are, unfortunately, part of fantasy basketball. Players like Mikal Bridges are often ranked higher in head-to-head leagues because of their ability to play in a majority of games each season. Using Mikal Bridges as an example, he finished last season 24th in total value, but if you look under the hood, he finished outside of the top 50 (54th) in per-game value. So he got a significant boost by simply playing more games.
On the flip side, if you look at LeBron James from a season ago, he finished fourth in per-game value versus 16th in total value. You have to be somewhat optimistic and look at the ceiling before heading into drafts. Several players in the first three rounds of fantasy basketball drafts will be load managed this year, but that doesn’t mean they won’t produce. Availability is certainly something to consider, but don’t bypass a player’s upside. Basketball Monster is a great resource that allows you to toggle between the per-game and total values from last season.
Evaluating player breakouts using betting odds
Are you wondering who might be the Ja Morant of last season? Or who makes the All-Star leap? Well, I often use betting markets to determine those candidates. Evaluating the player award markets and their respective odds of winning provides another data point for consideration. The markets I’d be most interested in viewing would be most points, assists, rebounds, steals, blocks, most improved player, MVP, rookie of the year and defensive player of the year.
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It may seem trivial, but I’m confident you’ll see several of the names listed for those markets emerge as viable candidates to win their respective awards and be valuable fantasy assets this year.
Top draft trends, strategies for 2022-23
Mikal Bridges averaged 14.2 PPG and 4.2 RPG in his third season in the NBA last year and looks to improve those averages this season. AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin
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Oct 14, 2022
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The 2022-23 NBA season is less than a week away and fantasy basketball draft season is in full swing. Our fantasy basketball experts have been busy participating in a number of drafts across leagues as well as offering advice about strategy in different formats.
However, there are always a few last-minute takeaways that can help anyone just starting their draft now. André Snellings, Eric Moody, Eric Karabell, Jim McCormick and John Cregan break it all down.
Waiting on centers can pay off
In the most recent draft I did, nine starting centers went between picks 76 and 121, including all three of my centers on that team. I was able to go perimeter early and often and was still able to balance out my squad with quality big men late. -- Snellings
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Depth at point guard
There is a lot of depth at the point guard position, with a lot of quality starting options for managers. In my h3H category tiers column, I mentioned how essential it is to leave your draft with one from the top three tiers even with the depth at the position. There are 15-point guards in those tiers combined. -- Moody
Lack of quality small forwards
I seem to have this issue every season, but even more so this season: I just can't find many small forwards I feel good about at their ADP, so I keep on passing them up and ending up with Portland's Josh Hart or the Suns' Mikal Bridges in the end. I like those Villanova products, of course, and it's not a bad idea to load up on point guards and power forwards, but still, I find the top-100 depth lacking at the position. -- Karabell
Fear of tanking teams is leading to overlooked players
The fantasy market seems to be fading most of the tanking teams and their respective players. I think there is value in this trend, as the market is likely letting team goals influence player expectations too much. Take Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for instance; his recent knee injury has tanked his fantasy stock, but a good degree of the fade is also drive by the risks associated with being on the Thunder. There's Sexton, who is bound to finish in the top 10 or 12 in usage rate this season, but has relatively zero buzz. Young, and arguably emergent, players from the likes of the Spurs (Devin Vassell, Tre Jones), Pacers (Jalen Smith, Isaiah Jackson), and Rockets (Alperen Sengun, rookie wings) are all somewhat discounted in drafts this season. -- McCormick
Clinging to established names over emerging young stars
The second round has the same concentration of uncertainty as the 10th round. Once you get beyond the seventh pick, (let's say Ja Morant), the next 15 picks are a crapshoot. There In the late-first, early-second round range, managers are clinging to established names with pronounced injury concerns (Durant, LeBron Lillard, Harden, KAT). I think it speaks to how 2022-23 looks like a transitional year in the NBA overall, with this under-recognized rash of under-25 talent staging a low-level takeover. -- Cregan
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 the 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.
Why should Football Manager fans start playing Fantasy Draft?
F Fantasy football leagues have become increasingly popular in recent years. The dream of James Collins and Robert Huth teaming up is encouraging more and more people to challenge themselves and assemble their own version of the perfect 11-player team. Football Manager did not stand aside and rolled out its own "Fantasy Draft" mode, but the players, in general, did not pay attention to it, preferring their favorite and already familiar game modes.
What is Fantasy Draft in Football Manager?
At its core, this game mode has remained the same as in the previous version of the game. You enter any tournament of your choice - from the Cup, which is held in the playoff format, to the Championship, where you have to play home and away matches. Then you have to play against other players using a team of football players that you recruited within a limited budget. This budget can range from $20 million to $250 million. It is the choice of budget size that has a key influence on how you draft.
Lionel Messi, for example, is worth £68 million. Even though your budget is £250 million, choosing the Argentine will leave you little wiggle room going forward. You can select up to 25 players per team, which equates to £10 million per player on average. However, it would be reasonable to have only 18 players in the team, which will give you enough players for the main squad + 7 replacements. Given that you play very few games compared to a full season, you should be able to get through the season without major injuries and can therefore get by with a smaller team.
But even with an 18 player limit, your £250m only gives you £13.89m per player. Matt Ritchie is worth around £14m which means you have to look for good cheap players if you want to bring 1-2 superstars to the team.
Take the time to study the pool of players, and you will be able to assemble a combat-ready team.
How are prices set in Fantasy Draft?
Fantasy Draft player prices are not taken from the main Football Manager 2017 game, but are calculated based on a proprietary system. The price per player depends on four main factors:
personal statistics,
player's club,
age,
fame.
If you want to find a strong cheap player, then you should pay attention to the players who have strong statistics, but the rest of the points sag.
New in Fantasy Draft Football Manager 2017
A key addition to this year's Fantasy Draft mode is the ability to play against the computer. Previously, you could only play in multiplayer mode against other players. So if you wanted to play Fantasy Draft in Football Manager 2017 with your friends, then you had to adjust the daily routine for each other. Considering that the Football Manager audience is generally older than the audience of other video games, trying to play multiplayer became a real problem due to the fact that most people have responsibilities related to work, children, spouses, etc.
Now, playing Fantasy Draft in single player mode, you can go from draft to selection within an hour. A great way to spend time if you don't hang out with friends. Sometimes you only have a small amount of free time and don't want to go into the details that go along with the process of starting a new career: studying a new team, understanding who to keep and who to sell, scheduling training sessions, assigning tasks to scouts, and managing staff. Instead, Fantasy Draft mode gives you the ability to start and finish an entire game in just an evening. Sounds fantastic, because in previous versions of Football Manager this was simply not possible.
What else does Fantasy Draft give you?
Another cool benefit of Fantasy Draft is the ability to "cheat" in the main Football Manager game. Let's say you're playing for Portsmouth and you're thinking about signing a new player like Omar Bogle from Grimsby Town to boost your attack. There is little money for transfers and any miscalculation in the transfer market can cost you a lot - after all, you play for a team from Ligue 2, where it is more difficult to earn money than in the Premier League. What to do? How not to make a mistake?
The answer is simple - you can quickly launch the Fantasy Draft mode, recruit the Portsmouth starting line-up to the team and add Bogle to them. By playing him around your current players and trying out different tactics, you can see if he will fit in with your team or not. Think of it as some kind of high-tech simulation tool that helps you figure out your moves in the transfer market.
Several players in the first three rounds of fantasy basketball drafts will be load managed this year, but that doesn’t mean they won’t produce. Availability is certainly something to consider, but don’t bypass a player’s upside. Basketball Monster is a great resource that allows you to toggle between the per-game and total values from last season.
There are 15-point guards in those tiers combined. -- Moody
There's Sexton, who is bound to finish in the top 10 or 12 in usage rate this season, but has relatively zero buzz. Young, and arguably emergent, players from the likes of the Spurs (Devin Vassell, Tre Jones), Pacers (Jalen Smith, Isaiah Jackson), and Rockets (Alperen Sengun, rookie wings) are all somewhat discounted in drafts this season. -- McCormick
And in this article I will tell you why. 
This trade jeopardized the fantasy rookie season and helped the opponent win the championship. 
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. 
But a legend is nothing without live reinforcements. 
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. 
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. 
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. 
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Previously, you could only play in multiplayer mode against other players. So if you wanted to play Fantasy Draft in Football Manager 2017 with your friends, then you had to adjust the daily routine for each other. Considering that the Football Manager audience is generally older than the audience of other video games, trying to play multiplayer became a real problem due to the fact that most people have responsibilities related to work, children, spouses, etc. 
Sounds fantastic, because in previous versions of Football Manager this was simply not possible. 
