Sports news, scores, and updates on Yahoo

The fantasy football season may be coming to a close, but fear not! Keep your competitive spirit alive by joining a fantasy basketball league. Whether you're on the brink of victory or feeling the sting of defeat, there's always another opportunity to prove your skills in a new sport. Don't hang up your competitive hat just yet – keep playing and stay in the game!

Fantasy basketball brings a new challenge with plenty of excitement for seasoned fantasy players and rookies alike. With the 2024-2025 NBA season underway, here’s a 101 guide on how to play and some helpful tips to get started:

Add to your fantasy sports portfolio

Maybe you’re a die-hard football fan who hasn’t really given basketball much thought. Fantasy basketball can be a gateway into the NBA. You’ll start recognizing player names, picking up on team dynamics and figuring out why Victor Wembanyama is a defensive monster or why Nikola Jokić is a triple-double machine. It’s like an all-access pass to basketball fandom; trust me, you’ll quickly find yourself checking game stats daily and chiming in on MVP debates.

It’s never too late to join

Unlike football’s tight week-to-week window, fantasy basketball gives you way more flexibility. Missed the season kickoff? No worries. Yahoo Fantasy Basketball draft rooms stay open until March 2025. That means you have ample time to draft, play, and hopefully, win. Didn’t love your first team? Fine, draft again.

Just like fantasy football, there are options to play for free or for cash on Yahoo. The same goes for fantasy basketball. Want to keep it casual with no monetary stakes involved? Join a league with friends or jump in on a free Public League. But if you're confident and want to up the ante, join a Public Prize League and put some money on the line.

There’s room to experiment, win and, most importantly, have fun.

Keep the momentum going!

Fantasy basketball is the perfect cure for the long, post-football-season layoff. Just like in fantasy football, there are multiple formats for playing fantasy basketball. Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned pro, there's a league that caters to your skill level. There are also different scoring formats to choose from, such as points leagues, head-to-head categories leagues and rotisserie leagues. This variety allows for a more diverse and enjoyable playing experience.

Test the waters with a points league

If you’re coming from fantasy football or want to keep things simple, points leagues are a great starting point. They mirror football scoring in simplicity — players rack up points based on their performance and production. It’s easy to follow and you can set your lineups daily or weekly, whatever is easiest to manage your squad.

For those looking for the classic fantasy basketball experience try your hand at a head-to-head 9-categories leagues. In this format, it's a balance of production and efficiency, where you’re graded on nine statistical categories — points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, free-throw percentage, field-goal percentage, 3-pointers made and turnovers. It's my preferred choice, but it can be a tougher test if you're new to this. If you want to learn more and explore the right format for you, this 101 guide on how to play covers them all.

Do a mock draft!

Before you jump into a real draft, give a mock draft a try. Yahoo’s mock draft tool lets you practice your strategy, get comfortable with draft formats (snake or salary cap) and helps you understand who’s being drafted where (average draft positions, or ADP for short). Things shift fast during the season — injuries, trends and breakout stars all change ADPs — so having a sense of the market is huge. And yeah, practice makes perfect.

If you're looking for a baseline expectation or range of where to expect certain players to get drafted, Yahoo Fantasy's draft analysis tool helps understand each player's ADP. Some will go later, and others will go early, so mocking will help get a sense of the market value when it's time to draft.

Once you're ready to draft, look at my articles to know who's trending up or down along with the latest fantasy basketball rankings when you're actually on the clock in the draft experience. That'll be crucial for preparing a team that can win now, not a team that could've won two months ago.

Fantasy basketball can be more hands-on than football, but the added layers of strategy are what make it my favorite fantasy sport:

Keep an eye on daily player status updates. Knowing who’s in, who’s out and who’s riding a hot streak can give you a huge edge — just like fantasy football.

Exploit scheduling quirks. If a team has extra games in a week, add players from that team to gain a competitive advantage.

Don’t sleep on the waiver wire. Players emerge all season long, and a savvy pickup could win you a week or even the league.

If setting your lineup becomes too time consuming, Yahoo! + offers a lineup tool that solves that. With one click, you can set optimal lineups for the week ahead, making this game super accessible even if you’re low on time.

Top-3 in points leagues: Nikola Jokić, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Dončić

Top-3 in 9-category leagues: Nikola Jokić, Victor Wembanyama, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Payton Pritchard has been the best value relative to ADP

The Celtics are the most fantasy-friendly team with five players in the top 75 and six in the top 100 in 9-cat formats

Joel Embiid surpassed Kawhi Leonard as the most frustrating player in fantasy. Buyer beware.

Kawhi Leonard has not played in an NBA game this season

Zion Williamson has played in six games this season

NBA trade season is open and the biggest move thus far was Dennis Schröder being dealt to the Golden State Warriors

The Wizards, Jazz and Pelicans have won a total of 13 games combined. The tank is in session.

Karl-Anthony Towns

Jalen Williams

Alperen Şengün

Nikola Vučević

Derrick White

Jalen Johnson

Dyson Daniels

Payton Pritchard

Franz Wagner

OG Anunoby

Isaiah Hartenstein

Darius Garland

Tyler Herro

John Collins

Josh Hart

Jalen Suggs

Trey Murphy III

Norman Powell

Cameron Johnson

Malik Monk

Zion Williamson

Jusuf Nurkić

Jabari Smith Jr.

Jalen Duren

Brandon Ingram

Deandre Ayton

D’Angelo Russell

Kyle Kuzma

Lauri Markkanen

Joel Embiid

Jerami Grant

Terry Rozier

Mark Williams

Collin Sexton

Klay Thompson

Alex Caruso

Bogdan Bogdanović

Jrue Holiday

Tobias Harris

Nic Claxton

There’s no better time to jump into fantasy basketball. Whether you’re itching for a post-football fix, looking to try something new, or just wanting to understand how Wembanyama is dominating the NBA, fantasy basketball offers endless excitement. Draft, play, win and keep that competitive spark alive all season long! What are you waiting for? Get in the game.