NBA Fantasy 9-Category Strategy
I have been playing on Yahoo for over a decade and play in dozens of leagues each season. The reason I love playing on Yahoo so much is because the standard format is 9-Category head-to-head links, which is the format I thrive in. If you don’t believe me, here is a link to my Yahoo profile. :
Fantasy Profile – Yahoo Fantasy Sports
The rules for this format are simple. You play one opponent each week and compete in nine categories to see who can finish with the best overall record. Those categories include: points scored, rebounds, assists, three-pointers made, field goal percentage, blocks, steals, free throw percentage and turnovers. The perfect week would be 9-0, but that’s nearly impossible because a dominant team will almost always lose turnovers and finish 8-1. You add up these totals in the standings and try to finish as high as possible.
There are a number of strategies you can use when playing in 9-Kat formats. It would be simple to sit here and say play this or that, but it all depends on how the rest of your league drafts and plays the season. One of the most popular strategies is to nudge categories, so let’s go ahead and start there.
Punting
Many fantasy managers like to toss out categories and focus on a few to guarantee those each week. The most popular shooting strategy is to punt free throws and go heavy against big men. That simply means you focus on stacking your roster with big men who provide elite value in rebounds, field goal percentage and blocks, while neglecting your free throw percentage. Those usually go hand-in-hand as most big men specialize in those stats when struggling with their free throws. You’ll also likely struggle with assists in that approach, but that’s not my favorite pitching strategy.
My favorite way to punt is to not care about the percentages at all. I love high volume players who fill up the stat sheet. Getting all of these counting categories is the simplest approach because you can stream each week and try to grab categories on the waiver wire. Some people care so much about those shooting averages that they don’t want to risk hitting them. Using your maximum moves each week is critical, especially when you follow the schedule and select players who play three games in four nights.
Surrounding Construction
While pitching can be profitable, an all-around build is the safest bet. Here you don’t risk individual stats and try to make sure every player contributes in every category. The main thing you need to focus on during drafts is that you don’t draft anyone that will hurt any of your percentages. That means you need to find big men who shoot over 70 percent from the free throw line and guards who can shoot 45 percent from the field. Filling your roster with these performance-type players is the easiest way to approach a draft because you can pivot in any direction depending on how the draft plays out.
Simple 9 Cat Tips
After playing in these types of leagues for a decade, there are a few simple tricks I’ve developed to help gain an edge over the field.
a stream
The most effective thing you can do during the season is scrub the waiver wire and flush players every day. Most Yahoo leagues have a weekly limit of four moves, which is why I love to gather players in a back-to-back set. It’s shocking to see how that can add up over the course of a week, especially when most players only play three games a week. If you stream three back-to-backs in a week, it’s almost impossible not to exceed the production of any replacement player who has three games. That’s why it’s critical to keep a roster spot open at all times.
Know Your Opponent
Knowing your opponent’s strengths and weaknesses can be critical on any given week. If you know someone is throwing a category, be sure to take advantage of that. If you have a disadvantage in any category, be sure to stream to put yourself in play for that stat. You can also look to see if you have more games than your opponent and sit players near the end of the week if you have some of your percentages locked up.
Bench Players on Sunday
We only briefly mentioned this in the last section, but benching players is something fantasy managers need to do more of. If you have your scoring categories locked in and a small lead in percentages, bench players can help you win all of those categories. If you need a bump in field goal percentage, play the big men and bench the guards. Don’t be afraid to bench your centers if you need to salvage a free throw percentage as well. It seems strange to bench players, but keeping any categories at the end of the week could be the difference in the standings at the end of the season.
Grind Away, But Don’t Worry About Weekly Losses
It’s easy to look at a bad week and give up, but that’s just not an option in a 9-Cat-to-head league. Fighting for each category is critical because a handful of games will decide the standings at the end of the season. That’s why limiting the massive 1-8 and 2-7 losses is essential because those can add up and knock you out. Just getting those bad weeks back to 3-6 or 4-5 can be critical because you will inevitably have some massive weeks. It’s also important to know that you’re going to miss a few weeks, but limiting that damage is all that matters because the season is over 20 weeks. There will inevitably be teams that fold later in the season, and you can make up for those small deficits when you face an inactive team in the final weeks.
Favorite Players in 9 Category Leagues
After analyzing some strategy tips, let’s talk about some guys who thrive in this format. These are players that don’t hurt you anywhere and are good values based on their ADP.
Tobias HarrisDetroit Pistons (ADP: 73)
Fans in Philadelphia would have you believe that Harris is a below-average pick in the NBA, but his situation with the 76ers just didn’t work out for this all-around player. That’s why this move to Detroit is beneficial, as Harris should return to the efficiency we’ve become accustomed to in the past. Harris has consistently provided a Top 50 profile, averaging 17.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 0.8 steals, 0.6 blocks and 1.5 threes over the last 10 seasons. That looks even better when you consider his shooting performance, shooting 48.1 percent from the field and 84.3 percent from the free throw line. There aren’t many players who provide solid value in all of those categories while hurting you in none of them. A rebound for Harris on this disastrous Detroit roster looks like the most likely outcome, and his ADP has dropped too far over the offseason.
Malcolm BrogdonWashington Wizards (ADP: 129)
I like Brogdon for the same reasons as Harris. Brogdon drops to the end of drafts because he can’t stay healthy, but that doesn’t matter when you select him with one of your last picks of the draft. We’re still talking about a player who averaged 17.5 points, 5.6 steals, 4.7 rebounds, 0.7 steals and 1.9 threes over the last five seasons. He also shot 45.4 percent from the field and 86.4 percent from the free throw line during that time. Brogdon did most of that damage in a backup role, but he is projected to be Washington’s starter during the 2024-25 campaign. That should allow Brogdon to run the show as he is one of the only true playmakers on this team. While the risk of injury is scary, the upside is too high not to take the chance at the end of your draft.
