- At the beginning of each NBA season the real draft for many fans takes place: the fantasy basketball draft
- Here each participating fan becomes the general manager of their own team
- Whoever uses the best fantasy basketball strategy will be on top at the end of the season
- There are a variety of fantasy basketball tips that fantasy players can use in any year to advance their chances of ruling their league
Here, at Electro-Mech, we not only produce electronic basketball scoreboards but we’re big fans of all basketball games including fantasy basketball. Fantasy basketball, for those who are new to it, are free fan leagues hosted by a variety of web sites on the internet. Here fans can form their own leagues or be assigned to a public league with fans from around the world. Once a league is set, a draft occurs where fans pick their players in order until their teams are filled. These players are set for each fan fantasy team and that will generate points for them throughout the season. As these real NBA players perform each night, total points are earned across all statistical columns for individual players. The win-loss records of the real NBA teams are not relevant in the fantasy league scorekeeping. Only the individual player performances will add to the top fantasy basketball teams.
Fantasy basketball strategy depends somewhat on the little variances of rules between leagues. Some leagues limit the amount of money you spend on each draftee, some limit which position players are eligible for and so forth. These limits change draft tactics somewhat but the first strategy does not rely on these variations: draft for scarcity. One type of scarcity is the talent the real life players possess. For example, trying to get a Kobe Bryant later in the season will be impossible because no value would compensate for your loss. The other type of scarcity is by position. Here centers are the most valued position because of the general lack of talent and statistics in the league. If you have a shot at a quality center, take it.
Top fantasy basketball managers also look to player value like their real-life counterparts. If you can get names that may have outstanding career performance but stunk it up last season and are cheap, it is good strategy to bet on them if they are available. An example of this was in 2009: in fantasy leagues across the country, Dwayne Wade was very cheap due to his injury-riddled 2008 season. As the season went on, Wade’s value skyrocketed when he showed his normal outstanding form, making fantasy managers who picked him a ton of points.
Like their real-life counterparts, the best fantasy basketball teams are often those whose players are not injured during the season. Injuries stop any point collection for fantasy teams and the GM must turn to his bench, often a weak spot, to look for a star. The GM may also want to make a trade but any player with stats is going to command a big part of the budget. Injuries are the big variable that creates surprises for every league. These are the same tough decisions that the real teams must make throughout their season.