NBA Fantasy Draft 2020
No matter where in the world you go, fantasy sports are going to be very popular for the top sports in that region. The games have been around for many years, but it was the advent of the internet in the 1990s that took them to the next level. Now it is a multi-billion dollar industry that is constantly going from strength to strength. People are becoming millionaires overnight just for their fantasy sports expertise.
Fantasy basketball in itself is very popular. The amount of games in an NBA season lends itself well to this offering. You can rack up serious amounts of points in a given week and there are always changes and developments to consider for your team. Once you are well versed in the basics of fantasy basketball, you will then be able to embrace some of the more complex types of techniques.
This article specifically looks at the different types of NBA fantasy drafts you will come across, as well as providing you with some fantasy basketball advice on how you should best tackle your fantasy basketball draft.
Key points about NBA drafts
- Auction drafts and snake drafts are the most popular draft options
- Auction drafts are a bit fairer
- It is good to avoid rookies in the early rounds, as well as focusing too much on one position
- You want to take dependable points scorers in the early rounds and use your knowledge in the later rounds to identify potential sleepers
- Players who can play in a number of different positions can give you a lot of flexibility
Different types of fantasy basketball drafts
There are many different types of leagues or you to choose from. Some will only last for a day, a week or they will last for the entire season. Some will have different types of drafts than others. Therefore, you need to be fully aware of what the rules and conditions of your specific league may be. There are two main types of fantasy basketball drafts for you to use.
Snake draft
This is a type of draft that will be similar to what the pro teams use when drafting rookies. The person that gets the first pick in the first round will then get the final pick in round two and so on, so forth. Therefore, you want to have the first pick as you will get the best player in the draft. There are two main types of snake draft. A live snake draft means that all players need to be on the respective fantasy basketball platform when the draft is taking place and submit their pick in real-time. This means that you are going to be dealing a lot more reactively in this case. There are also automatic drafts whereby each player in the league ranks the players in order they wish to draft them. When all of the teams have submitted their rankings, the draft will be conducted automatically by the platform. Therefore, players do not necessarily have to be on the platform at a particular time for the draft to take place.
Auction draft
This is perhaps a fairer type of draft. This is because everyone has the same chance of obtaining any player depending on how they use their budget. You will be given a budget of virtual money with which you can use to bid against other league members for a particular player. Therefore, you need to properly manage your budget so you can adequately cover all of the positions on your team.
Advice on fantasy basketball drafts
The fantasy basketball draft is the most important part of your season as a manager. While if you have a poor draft this does not mean that your season is doomed, it just makes matters a lot easier if you have a good start with a good roster. If you get a good draft, you do not have to instantly worry about trading players and constantly shuffling your lineups. Instead, you can have a few bankers that will remain in your lineup week to week. There are a lot of different variables that will dictate how well your drafting goes. Therefore, there is never going to be a one size fits all answer, everything is dependent on the particular case at hand.
League size
The number of teams in your league is going to affect your drafting strategy. The fewer teams in a league, the more accessible better players will be. The other way around you will have to deal with scarcity issues with the better players. The smaller leagues will have quicker drafts and each team will have their share of star players. The middle rounds of these leagues tend to be more difficult as you have to make trade-offs about different positions.
A twelve team league is not going to be great for those that are new to fantasy basketball. You need a lot more skill in drafting and roster management is going to become very important. Therefore, starting off you will be advised to avoid these sized leagues. You need to have a more long term strategy in this case and be well versed in the fantasy basketball space.
Having the first pick
If you happen to be the person in the league with the first pick, it offers you a good tumbling effect as the draft progresses. This is more of an advantage in the smaller leagues. You should avoid what all the experts are saying about who the number one pick should be in your draft. You need to put a strategy hat on as you will not be able to draft another player until the end of the second round. Your selection therefore depends on who will be the most reliable pick for your team, being the crux of your team going forward.
Different positions
There are many different ways you can draft per position. Most leagues will have ten active players and a number of bench players. You want to take a blanched approach to your picks and not be too stacked in one particular area. The last thing you want to happen is to have a lot of talent sitting on your bench while other areas of your team are lacking. It is also a good idea to avoid rookies in the first few rounds. These players are untested and there is a big step up the need to meet when it comes to the pro league. They are better suited for value picks later on in the draft. You should be picking consistent point scorers in the opening few rounds and then using your analytical skills and expertise to find sleepers in the later rounds.
You can keep an eye out on what types of players your fellow league members are choosing. You can see what positions may have talent left in later rounds and you can use this information to tailor your strategy accordingly. The bigger quality players will be among the first to go. You can compete for these players or instead leverage it to get the high value forwards and guards. If you are near the last pick, you can take both. This can ensure that you are shoring up the players with good shooting stats.
Develop a solid strategy
As you can see, there is a lot of strategy that goes into fantasy basketball. While this article looks at some of the more simple strategies when it comes to drafting your team, there are so many variables that it can take a lot of planning for you to get to a good position. This is the enjoyable part of the off season, you can take the time to develop your strategy without having to worry about watching games and the likes.
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