How to Draft a Fantasy Basketball Team

Fantasy basketball is a great way for basketball fans to get further involved with the season. The most essential element to a successful fantasy basketball season is to have a good draft. A good draft for fantasy basketball will set you on the path to that coveted championship.

Instructions

    • 1

      Do some homework. Rank players according to their overall value and by their value by position. Have an idea of what player you would take at any given pick and always have a backup just in case your player gets taken earlier.

    • 2

      Know how your league works. It is important to know what players will be most valuable in your league. Your league may be a two-center start league so you need to be sure to have at least a couple of centers. On the other hand, your league may be big on shooting guards so you need to adjust your draft values accordingly.

    • 3

      Use your early picks on sure-fire players. You need solid players to be successful so your first five or so picks should be spent on safe, talented players. They may not be the coolest or most daring picks, but getting your solid, franchise players early on will give you a foundation to be riskier later on.

    • 4

      Pick out some sleepers. These are players that will do better than people expect and will be available later in the draft. Finding good sleepers will take quite a bit of research, but having one or two sleepers for the latter rounds of the draft will help solidify a good team.

    • 5

      Take some risks later on. Pass up the superstars with attitude problems or off the court troubles in the early rounds, but jump all over them if they are still available later on. This is a good place to pick up that injury-plagued point guard with huge potential or a rookie that is completely unproven.

    • 6

      Keep your personal loyalties out of it. Every basketball fan has their favorite players and teams, which is a downfall to many fantasy teams. You have to be able to compare your favorite players to those you despise and pick the best one solely based on numbers if you truly want the best fantasy team possible.

    • 7

      Consider other factors than just numbers. Look to see if a guy is in his contract year or if he just resigned. A player in a contract year is likely to have big numbers because they will be trying to earn a big payday. The opposite is true of players who just signed mega-deals because they might feel they don't have as much to play for. Don't forget the possibility of injuries as well.