NBL Fantasy Fix Season Preview – NBL21

They say patience is a virtue.

Well, it’s been 313 days since the last instalment of Fantasy Fix (yes I counted) and I think we’ve all been quite virtuous in waiting for NBL21 to come around.

One thing we’ve learned this year is to just roll with the punches. Everyone’s lives have been impacted differently, but we’ve all faced challenges that have had to be overcome. Getting this NBL season started, for instance, has been an enormous challenge, so we deserve to enjoy it as much as possible and have some fun along the way.

And that’s where NBL Fantasy comes in.

With the opening night less than three weeks away it’s time to set up your leagues, get your friends on board, catch up on all the player moves and strap yourselves in for a big year of NBL Fantasy fun.

This year’s NBL Fantasy game is once again brought to you by the NBL Store, with more great prizes on offer, so sign up at fantasy.nbl.com.au and get your league started today.

The NBL Fantasy Fix will bring you tips and advice every week to help you along the way, so let’s get started.

What you need to Know

There is no change to the format, with both the season long and game day options available to you again. Here’s a quick recap.

Start Date

The season tips off on Sunday 10 January 2021 with the Melbourne Throwdown (MEL vs. SEM). 

NBL Fantasy will commence scoring with that game, including points towards overall rankings.

Leagues

In the ‘Season’ game, you can either create a league or join one that’s already been set-up. Head to the Leagues menu on the site and choose ‘create a league’ or ‘join a league’ to get started.

You can create up to 5 leagues, but you can join as many you like. Each league can be customised by the League Commissioner to vary whether it’s public or private, how many teams can enter, when head-to-head scoring starts, as well as finals and scheduling options.

The default setting is for 8 teams, with head-to-head commencing in Round 3.

Team Selection

Once you’re in a league, it’s time to select your team. You need to select eleven players – six starters and five on your bench. 

Your starting line-up of 6 players must be 1 Point Guard, 1 Shooting Guard, 1 Small Forward, 1 Power Forward, 1 Centre and 1 Sixth Man. You then need to select a further 5 bench players (1 player per position, excluding the sixth man).

Scoring 

In the ‘Season’ format, the starters score points towards your total team score, with the bench players in the Season format contributing 50% of their score towards your team’s total. 

You also need to select a Captain and Vice Captain each week. Your Captain scores double points, and your Vice Captain’s score will be doubled if your Captain does not play. 

However in the ‘Game Day’ version, you receive triple points from your Captain and double points from your Vice Captain. 

Dual Position Players

Certain players can be used at more than one position in your line-up to give you more flexibility if they have dual-position eligibility. 

There are a lot of dual-position players again this year, with some updates such as Mitch Creek who is now SF/PF eligible, and several new to the league players like Adelaide’s Donald Sloan (PG/SG), Cairns’ Next Star Mojave King (SG/SF), Melbourne’s Jock Landale (PF/C) and the Kings’ new import Jarrell Martin (PF/C).

That makes trading players or substituting between positions easier as well.

It has been a long wait, but NBL21 is just around the corner and despite the uncertainty due to COVID-19, it is still shaping up to be one of the most competitive seasons we’ve had in recent memory. The rosters are stacked with exciting new talent, as well as our favourites from last season, so be a part of the fun and join in.  

Make sure to get your Fantasy team off to a good start by maximising that schedule and striking the right balance between cash cows and those that will produce week in and week out.

And don’t forget to come to nbl.com.au to get your Fantasy Fix each week, with advice on how best to manage your roster and dominate your league.

Sign up today at fantasy.nbl.com.au