Fantasy basketball: The pros and cons of points, roto and category leagues
In a fantasy sports context, formats make things more fun.
When it comes to fantasy basketball, some managers are drawn to a season-long balancing act; curating each statistical category to remain competitive in 3-pointers while also making sure to have enough rim protection. Such managers would be ideal for rotisserie (roto) leagues — or weekly head-to-head category leagues — where statistical balance across your roster is the ultimate goal.
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Others might prefer to compete in something closer to the fantasy football experience; which we call points leagues in fantasy hoops. These leagues lean on a scoring legend that rewards a specific number of points for each stat accumulated (one point for a rebound, four points for a block, for instance). Check out ESPN’s default scoring for points leagues to better understand how this format values each category.
With this in mind, we’ve done some of the work for you; laying out the pros and cons of roto/category and points-driven formats to help refine the process. The good news is that you can also choose to play in each of these unique formats if you participate in multiple leagues.
Roto leagues
Using a 10-team roto league as an example, the team that has the most steals by the end of the season earns 10 points, while the least-larcenous team is left with a single point. This is true for each of the categories your league employs.
Each starting roster spot is afforded an 82-game limit, so maximizing games played isn’t an applicable angle in the vein that it fuels success in weekly head-to-head competition. That said, you don’t want to fall behind too far in games logged, either, as your competition might end up many games ahead once spring arrives.
As for the specific categories your roto or categories league selects, it’s advisable to go with a traditional eight-category setup (points, rebounds, steals, blocks, assists, 3-pointers and both field goal and free throw percentages) versus including turnovers, which are ultimately a tax on ball-dominant players. Some possible additions for a ninth category: assist-to-turnover ratio, which considers turnovers but also values efficient distribution and ball-security, or double-doubles, which put more emphasis on bigs who can rebound.
In roto, the team with the highest total of cumulative points in across each category takes home the title. There are no playoffs or late-season upsets to consider, as we must in weekly head-to-head leagues. This does not mean the format isn’t exciting or compelling; roto merely demands a season-long grind from managers. Finally catching your friend in steals thanks to an awesome surge of swipes from Marcus Smart in early April is undeniably rewarding.
H2H Category leagues
Another fun format, head-to-head category leagues, stems from the old-school energy of rotisserie, but is a bit more modernized in that teams compete each week. My home league, for instance, competes head-to-head weekly just like a fantasy football format might, but we use the nine categories noted in the prior paragraph. So, for instance, a dominant week might see you go 7-2 across said categories, while many weeks the margins are 5-4 or 6-3. The top records head to the playoffs come spring.
In these two formats, we covet players who can contribute a consistently diverse collection of statistics, as each category is weighted equally in regards to points. Which is to say, you don’t get more points for leading your roto league in points than you do for pacing the competition in steals — it simply all matters in this format.
The Pros of Roto and Category Leagues
Nuance and balance drive success. Basketball is a sport that counts so many meaningful statistics, while football is largely centered around touchdowns, receptions, and yardage.
Research with a purpose is rewarded. It takes an ability to recognize which 3-point specialist can also find you steals (i.e., Gary Trent Jr.), or which shot-blockers won’t tank your free-throw accuracy (i.e., Brook Lopez or Jaren Jackson Jr.).
In rotisserie leagues, the full season plays out. The volatility of a playoff bracket is removed. The winner is truly the most balanced and well-crafted team. There is some volatility present in head-to-head category leagues, but the balance of leveraging eight-to-nine categories also buffers the upset factors that we find in points leagues.
The Cons of Roto and Category Leagues
It’s a grind. In what is a counter to some of the pros above, not all of us want to carefully balance our fantasy rosters. Sometimes, it’s just fun to chase volume over nuance.
It’s tougher to make a comeback: In a roto league, as the games mount, it becomes more daunting to scale the standings if you’ve punted (ignored a category) or simple fell victim to lots of injuries. This makes staying enthused into the spring more challenging for some.
The total points generated by the players on your roster are tallied each week, and you get a win or a loss that week based on whether you outscore your weekly opponent. If this sounds a lot like how weekly fantasy football works, it’s because the formats are quite similar. At the end of the regular season, the top grouping of teams makes the playoffs and the final team left through this elimination bracket is champion.
The comparison to football isn’t perfect, however, as the NBA season is obviously far longer and there are dozens more games played by each team. In most weeks, your fantasy basketball players will play three or four games rather than the singular outcomes of the NFL.
An extra two months of games helps remove some of the volatility and variance that can make fantasy football feel a bit vexing at times. With the marathon of the NBA, surviving a slow start is much more reasonable (shout out to those 1-4 fantasy football teams still keeping the dream alive). Even more fun is that basketball players have more on-and-off court time to develop over the course of the long season, unlike the sprint and unforgiving nature of the gridiron.
The joy of points leagues is the sheer value volume. Big-time scorers, rebounders, and playmakers drive some amazing point totals. Just imagine how many points a hot-streak from Nikola Jokic or Giannis Antetokounmpo might generate. Consider the elation of having helio-centric playmakers like Luka Doncic or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander driving your team to glory each week.
The Pros of Points Leagues
Volume is fun: Superstars shine brighter in the NBA more than maybe any other pro league. The single-named superstars: Luka, Embiid, “Joker,” LeBron, et cetera, are even more celebrated when accumulation is king.
Aligns with our love for fantasy football. Week-by-week, it’s about who has more points. The victor simply has more points.
Helps simplify a long season. Some want to have a fun and competitive companion to help augment the NBA marathon. While roto and category leagues are awesome for us spreadsheet warriors, points leagues are more accessible and relatable.
The Cons of Points Leagues
Lack of nuance. Basketball is an analytically-friendly game and points formats can in some ways oversimplify outcomes.
Volatility and variance: Many of us have had elite, once-in-a-decade fantasy basketball or football rosters felled by a single bad week in the fantasy playoffs. Such results are still natural in head-to-head points league in hoops.
Recognizing that we have choices is empowering. Part of this power comes from being able to research and realize which type of fantasy league is best for us and our friends that we compete with throughout the NBA season.