The new NBA season brings with it so many things. Hope. Joy. Things to do on a random Tuesday night. Excitement. The one thing that it also brings is fantasy basketball.

I am not sure how many of you out there actually play it, but it does add a fun element to watching the sport that we all love. Oh, the Oklahoma City Thunder are playing the Orlando Magic on a night in which the Phoenix Suns are off? If you have one of their players on your fantasy team, you might tune in just to watch.

I’ve been an avid player of fantasy sports for years. I remember being stationed at Camp Casey in South Korea in 2004 and drafting a fantasy football league. I’ve been playing fantasy baseball since that time as well, and it wasn’t until I returned home stateside that I began playing fantasy basketball. Oh, those Seven Seconds or Less Suns. They sure did poop out Fantasy points.

So this is a story about fantasy basketball. And I know. There’s nothing more annoying than somebody sharing their fantasy team with you. We have that friend — or in my case, brother — who must always tell me what’s going on with his fantasy football team. I don’t care. It’s your team. You manage it. But when they ask for advice, it’s a reminder of the connectivity of sports. We give the advice knowing they’ll never take it.

This story is about the pSuns Podder Food er League. It’s a league in which several Suns content creators get together once a year, hop on a Streamyard call, and conduct our fantasy basketball draft. Boring? I didn’t think so. I cracked open a couple of Coors Lights and enjoyed the ride.

My goal? To inform you all of the existence of fantasy basketball, p[perhaps sparking your interest in playing. And to process what I did a few beers in.

Scoring

Fantasy basketball scoring comes in a variety of flavors, like a buffet for the stats-obsessed. Here’s a taste:

• Rotisserie (Roto): The classic. In this style, teams are ranked from first to last in each statistical category, earning points based on their order. Think of it as a season-long game of “who’s best at everything,” where the top overall score wins. It’s like a decathlon, but with fewer javelins and more spreadsheets.
• Season Points: Here, every stat gets a point value, and teams pile up points across the season. Whoever hoards the most by the end wins. It’s straightforward, like collecting coins in a video game—just keep grabbing points until you’re on top.
• Head-to-Head: Points: If you like fantasy football, this one’s your jam. Each matchup pits you against a single opponent, and whoever racks up the most points across the week gets the win. It’s like a series of cage matches, but with box scores instead of steel chairs.
• Head-to-Head: Each Category: The most popular head-to-head format, where teams battle it out across multiple statistical categories each week. Every category can lead to a win, loss, or tie (like 6-3-1 in a 10-category league). You’ll need a balanced roster to succeed—kind of like being good at trivia across multiple subjects, from history to ‘90s sitcoms.

But no, we don’t play any of those modes on the Sleeper app. We play “Lock In Mode”. It’s Head-to-Head, but with a twist:

• After your player hits the court, you can decide to “lock-in” their game and have it count towards your fantasy score for the week. But here’s the twist: if you want to lock it in, you’ve got to do it before they hit the floor for their next game. It’s like calling dibs, but with stats.
• Once you lock in that player’s game, they’re off-limits for the rest of the matchup week. No swapping them to another position, no do-overs. Like putting a ring on it, you’re committed. And don’t even think about rewinding to a better game earlier in the week; that’s not how this works.
• If your player doesn’t end up playing, it’s on you to swap them out. Otherwise, you’re stuck with a big, fat zero, and no one likes zeroes—unless it’s the end of a big score.

As for how the points work? Pretty basic stuff here.

There are numerous scoring options you can do in your league.

The Players

In our 12-team league, the dynamics become more intricate, blending challenge with excitement. The larger pool of players amplifies the stakes of each draft pick, turning every decision into a critical pivot point that can shape the entire season. As the competition deepens, so does the strategic complexity.

Each move requires careful consideration, not only of the immediate impact but also of how it ripples through future matchups. But when you’ve had a few beers, you start picking players you think will get you the most points.

Your draft position can significantly alter your strategy. Landing the number one pick is fantastic, especially with players like Wemby or Jokic available, but then comes the long wait until your second pick. That’s the nature of a snake draft—picks go from 1 to 12, then reverse from 12 to 1, and back again, making patience just as important as your early selection.

Here are the 12 teams in this league, listed by pick order from our snake draft:

1. NickysFalcon — Nate from the Aussie Suns Fan Podcast
2. SunsGeek — SunsGeek, Suns YouTube content creator
3. Boods83 — Boyd from the Aussie Suns Fan Podcast
4. DarthVoita — Yours truly
5. AussieSunsFans — Gavin from the Aussie Suns Fan Podcast
6. matthewplissy — Matthew Lissy, Bright Side contributor and co-host of the Suns JAM Session Podcast
7. DelGriffen — Jake from the Suns Planet Podcast
8. SUNSWORLDWIDE — SunsWorldWide, Bright Side contributor and Suns Instrgam content sniper
9. EspoPHX — Espo from PHNX Sports
10. SoSaysJ — Justin, Bright Side contributor and co-host of Fanning the Flames
11. DervishOfWhirl — Paul, co-host of Fanning the Flames
12. JaysonHOF — Jayson, co-host of He’s On Fire Podcast

The draft order was random, but it sure played well for the Aussie Suns Fans Podcast boys, eh? And Fanning the Flames got the butt end of the stick. In this league, we all pay a fee of $20. The winner gets a pair of Book 1’s.

Remember, this is a keeper league, so you get to hang onto three players for next season. Like your own mini-dynasty. That means drafting young talent is a bit like investing in stocks, except you actually understand what’s going on. So, while snagging a veteran might seem tempting, just remember: Father Time is undefeated, and your team could end up looking like an All-Star retirement home if you’re not careful!

The Draft

Here’s the big board and how the draft shaped out:

I’m not going to go pick-by-pick, but I will share some of the highlights.

Drafting from the fourth spot, I still had a chance to grab some of the players I had my eye on. And by “targeting,” I mean guys I was hoping would somehow fall to me. I knew Jokic and Wemby would be off the board right away — Jokic is a fantasy juggernaut, especially coming off a season with 25 triple-doubles. He’s practically a cheat code. Then there’s Wemby, the future of the league. And of course, Luka. With 21 triple-doubles last season and his youth, he’s like a blend of Jokic’s production and Wemby’s potential — an absolute fantasy dream.

I won’t go through every pick, but here are some highlights. Giannis? AD? Tatum? I decided to go with SGA. He’s got youth on his side, and with his ability to rack up double-doubles, I figured he’s a solid choice for both now and the future.

You can read through the rest of the picks and question what was going through our minds. You can see that Kevin Durant and Devin Booker went to back-to-back. That Trae Young went before Anthony Edwards. That Ryan Dunn was drafted in the 10th round.

Fantasy basketball is a blast, especially if you’ve got a group of friends who are just as into the sport. It’s your chance to play GM — to channel your inner James Jones and make the big decisions for your squad. The strategy, the competition, the thrill of building a team, it all makes the game even more fun.