With the 2024-25 NBA season right around the corner, now is the perfect time to get into a fantasy basketball league if you haven’t already. The final pre-season matches will be played on Friday (October 18), making the weekend a good time to create your teams ahead of the opening night doubleheader on October 22. Raphielle Johnson and Noah Rubin have come up with some tips that you can use to draft the best team possible and make a run to win your league.
1. Know the league’s roster rules.
When you join a fantasy league, this should be one of the first things you do regardless of sport. In terms of fantasy basketball, how many active rosters will you have to work with? Positions? Is it a one-center link, or will you need two for your active lineup? The IL points are also important here. IL+ points are best because of the versatility they allow regarding player absences. And how many of those places will you have at your disposal? Factoring roster rules into your draft strategy is essential, and this will make the process more fun. – Raphaelle Johnson
2. Adapt to the draft.
You can enter the draft with the perfect plan, which can be thrown off the rails before the first round is over. It’s good to have plans AZ ready, but in reality, there is no perfect plan that works for every fantasy draft. You might plan on getting Anthony Edwards in the second round, but what happens when he goes in the first round because someone is a huge fan? That probably knocks some first-round talent down the draft board, allowing you to have a better team than expected. It may force you to change your pitching strategy, so adapting is essential. – Noah Rubin
3. Have some flexibility with your “punt” strategy.
Working out a pitching strategy before your draft is perfectly fine, especially if you know the draft order ahead of time. However, a successful manager maintains some flexibility to account for potential surprises during the draft. Acquiring Giannis Antetokounmpo doesn’t mean you have to shoot free throw percentage any more than Luka Doncic or Trae Young doesn’t lock you into building a shooting rotation. As with driving, the route to a destination can change for various reasons. Try to maintain some level of flexibility. – RJ
4. Have no “do not draft” players.
Often, we can get frustrated with players who have a bad year or are constantly injured, causing us to say, “I’m never drafting him again!” Simply put, that’s a bad strategy. For example, Jordan Poole burned me (and everyone else) last season. I drafted him early in one league because I believed in him, and it didn’t work out. However, I absolutely draft Jordan Poole this year, especially since I can get him a few rounds later than I did last season. His current Yahoo ADP has him going in round eight. If you were so frustrated with him last year that you still hold a grudge, set a number for yourself. “I’ll only take Poole if he’s still there at pick 100.” At that point, you’re playing it safe but still giving yourself a chance to make a valuable pick, depending on how the rest of the draft shakes out. – NO
5. Get your guys.
Fantasy basketball is supposed to be fun, so why wouldn’t you get the players you like? Sure, you can wait and play the classification game on the platform you use, but the managers who win leagues aren’t afraid to reach out if they really believe in a player. Everyone has at least one guy they are taller than everyone else every year. Don’t go off the rails to get that player, but please get some. It’s better to reach in a round or two to get a guy you believe will blow their ADP out of the water than to play it safe and have them go out for another manager in your league. – NO
6. For online sketches, use your tail.
Any online link will have a section of your draft room page allowing admins to build a queue (this explanation is for the newbies). Before the draft begins, add “your kids” to the section, starting with a few options you expect to come off the board around your first-round pick (if you pick 10, there’s no need to have Wemby or Nikola Jokic in your lineup ). From there, as the queue clears, add more targets. This not only protects you if you get distracted or there’s an emergency, you’re covered. And it can also help those who tend to get distracted stay on task. – RJ
7. Get big early.
There are a handful of incredibly effective big men you can get in the first 3-4 rounds. Make sure to get 1-2. There are plenty of exciting guards you can draft in the early, mid, and late rounds, but the bigs don’t go that deep. Maybe it’s the draft pick on me, but if I’m not careful, I’ll only draft guards for the first 4-5 rounds, leaving me without some options I like at center. You may feel differently about the center picks in the middle rounds, but I’m much more excited about the guard picks in that range, and I don’t want to wait until the 10th round to start picking up centers. I believe in drafting value over position, but don’t neglect the centers early. – NO
8. Trust your process.
Playing fantasy sports is our little virtual way to compete. You can think of analysts as your coaches, but you have to make the final decision on the court. Honestly, training helps, but trust that you’re good at it! Your research and knowledge of the game gives you an edge over your league mates who also use different analysts for help. Trust your gut when deciding who to pick each round. Fantasy sports is the ultimate competition of who knows the most about the sport, so put your skills to the test with the help of some coaching from your favorite analyst(s). – NO
9. Take advantage of fellow managers who aren’t paying attention.
This is for the personal editors. We all know those friends who would rather joke around and focus on everything but the draft itself. Their turn comes, and the struggle ensues because they didn’t follow the board. That can result in some opportunities to get players you might have thought would be out of reach. Take advantage of this (carrying quality snacks/drinks can help in personal settings). As for the repeat offenders, there must be some penalty involved when trying to pick players who are off the board. – RJ
10. Keep the wins (and losses) in proper perspective.
If you’ve been around the fantasy sports space long enough, you certainly have stories of exciting wins (and the cash that can come with it) and disappointing defeats. And those who finish last may have some embarrassing penalties to pay. But, as long as no one goes too far, this should be a fun experience. Losing a fantasy league doesn’t mean you lack knowledge, just like winning one doesn’t mean you’ll be taking Tim Connelly or Sam Presti’s job in the next 12 months. And, as always, never bear what you cannot handle losing, either financially or mentally. Not keeping that in mind is how the process quickly stops being fun. – RJ
