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Fantasy has taken over the sporting world with more fans joining in on the fun. Arguably two of the more popular fantasy sports out there are fantasy football and NBA fantasy. Fantasy football has in large part been the more popular of the two. But NBA fantasy is slowly, but surely, creeping up there among sports fans.
I'm sure fantasy football fans have their reasons why they prefer to just stick with their thing rather than explore NBA fantasy. But if they give it a shot, they may find out that NBA fantasy has a lot more to offer that fantasy football doesn't.
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Why fantasy basketball > fantasy football
1. More game days
NBA teams have 82 scheduled games throughout the season and play several times over the course of a week. Meanwhile, NFL teams only play 17 times during a season and play just once a week. With significantly more games in the NBA, there is a lot more to look forward to while playing fantasy.
Furthermore, more game days allow for more opportunities to produce. If the star player you rely on to bring home the goodies has a stinker of a game, you would have to live with that for the rest of the week.
Meanwhile, NBA players can make up for their poor performance with a juicy stat line the next game. For example, if Stephen Curry stunk it up like he did against the San Antonio Spurs with a 7-of-28 shooting night, he could still bounce back and erupt like he did versus the Orlando Magic, where he went for 31 points and seven 3-pointers.
Furthermore, with more game days, it will be easier to replace injured players during a given week. If a player gets injured mid-week, fantasy owners will still be able to find other players to replace their production, or even plug in the player who will take their spot in real life.
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2. NBA players can affect more stats
Basketball is a two-way sport, which means its players are able to play both sides of the floor. Meanwhile, in football, players can only play on one side of the ball (typically). With that said, NBA players could be more well-rounded in terms of their production and, thus, affect fantasy stats in various ways. NFL players, on the one hand, can only give you points depending on their position, which limits their production.
Therefore, NBA players can differ in varying ways depending on their strengths, weaknesses, and how they affect the game. This allows for players to establish their own niche. For example, Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner is such a rare commodity given his elite shot blocking and ability to contribute 3-pointers as a center.
An NBA player can be a strong scorer, rebounder, and playmaker, but lack defensive stats. Someone can provide you with a bunch of points, but negatively affect your percentages and efficiency with his poor volume shooting. Furthermore, small players who you wouldn't think would be a good source of rebounds, such as Trae Young, could give you double-digit boards when the ball finds his way multiple times throughout a game.
3. Category-based scoring
As it relates to the previous point, NBA fantasy incorporates category-based scoring, whereas fantasy football accumulates points, and this serves as the sole determinant for the winner on a given week. NBA fantasy's head-to-head matchups can be determined by which team wins the most categories. This allows for more excitement as NBA fantasy owners can make their own strategies for winning. For example, an owner can punt categories, while choosing to strengthen more categories.
Fantasy football stats also have their own predetermined weights as well. For example, 10 rushing yards can net you 1 point and a touchdown can give you 6 points. NBA fantasy, meanwhile, reflects the real-life stats based on what's actually seen on an NBA box score. This makes it easier for NBA fantasy owners to formulate their strategies on how to go about with their drafts.
