Fantasy Basketball: Lessons learned from the 2024-2025 NBA season
Fantasy basketball isn't just a numbers game; it's a survival game. Navigating injuries, lineup changes and tanking antics felt like an even bigger challenge this past season, but there were plenty of lessons for those who managed to stay afloat. Whether you crushed your league or fell victim to chaos, here are the major takeaways from the 2024-2025 fantasy hoops season.
Buying Into Bad Teams Was a Bad Decision
If you invested in players from tanking teams, your patience was probably tested to its limits. Bad teams meant unreliability, as injuries and "tanking for Flagg" wreaked havoc. The New Orleans Pelicans were a glaring example. While you can't predict who will go down, Dejounte Murray and Herb Jones suffered season-ending injuries, while Zion Williamson played in 30 games. Trey Murphy III and CJ McCollum, while great, didn't eclipse 60 games played.
Advertisement
The Raptors were solid until the second half of the season, when everyone was rested except for Scottie Barnes. Barnes was the only key contributor to suit up for 65 games, which makes him eligible for postseason awards.
The Utah Jazz added to the frustration by resting young talents like Walker Kessler. Kessler's total games played have declined each season. He played in 74 games as a rookie, 64 in his second season and 58 in 2024-25. Even the production from veterans was undesirable, as Lauri Markkanen had a down season, playing under 50 games. John Collins lasted 40 games. Although they showcased potential, trusting them for a full season was risky at best.
On top of that, the Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards were brutal for fantasy managers. Each team managed to have only one player crack the top 100 in 9-category formats this season, further illustrating the inconsistency of bad teams when it came to fantasy production.
Advertisement
The lesson: If you do end up picking players projected to be at the bottom tier of the league, get your money's worth early and trade those players before they become more of a problem than an asset.
Depth Was More Important Than Ever
Between the war of attrition and front offices doing everything to skirt the player availability guidelines to improve their lottery odds, it felt like this was the most challenging season for managing lineups. Whether it was tanking, extended injuries, or questionable player designations that magically turned into DNPs, managers in daily leagues had their hands full. If you didn't prioritize roster depth, you likely spent half the season scrolling through waiver wires in a panic.
The lesson: Pay attention to late risers coming out of the preseason to snag some sleepers who are poised to outperform their ADP. Players like Malik Beasley, Payton Pritchard and Christian Braun went undrafted in over 80% of leagues.
Advertisement
If your team is down bad, utilize savvy tools like the Missing Teammate Impact Report to weigh replacement options and keep notifications from reliable sources like @underdog_nba turned on to remain ahead of announcements. Having a reliable bench of viable replacement-level guys was critical to lasting through the end of the season.
Don't Draft Players Who Are Disgruntled Or Hurt
The cost and value relative to ADP may be enticing, but oftentimes, it's not worth it. Joel Embiid had a late-first, early-second-round ADP even with an offseason littered with evidence that his knee was going to be a lingering issue throughout the regular season. Kawhi Leonard, while phenomenal during the fantasy playoffs, didn't play a game until January. As Jimmy Butler stood 10 toes down in his fallout with Pat Riley and the Miami Heat, he was only available for 25 of their 49 games until he was traded to Golden State. Remember Khris Middleton? He was drafted in 99% of leagues with an 11th-round ADP. That was a miss, and no need to belabor my dismay for Zion Williamson. We've all been there. You take a chance on a star player, convincing yourself their upside is worth the risk, only to regret it by Week 5.
Advertisement
The lesson: Be risk-averse and avoid frustration early in the season by spending draft capital on players who are trending towards missing a handful of games before the season actually starts.
Commissioners Need to Plan for Chaos
If you're a fantasy league commissioner, this season emphasized the importance of proactive rules. If your league didn't have IL+ spots, chances are your managers were less than happy with you as they struggled to keep rosters functional.
The lesson: Two IL+ slots should be a minimum requirement moving forward, providing participants with a better way to manage the player availability crisis. Additionally, it's time to rethink playoff schedules. With teams mailing it in earlier than ever, starting playoffs around Week 18 or 19 helps avoid late-season nonsense. These changes won't solve every problem, but they'll make leagues far more manageable for everyone involved.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Ace Bailey, No. 5 overall pick in 2025 NBA draft, finally reports to Jazz on Saturday
Utah Jazz rookie Ace Bailey has finally reported to the team on Saturday after an unusual draft process, in which Bailey declined to workout with individual teams ahead of the draft. A Jazz representative told ESPN's Jonathan Givony on Friday afternoon that Bailey will join his new team over the weekend with a Sunday press conference. "We've had good communication with Ace Bailey and his representatives. We feel good about everything. Ace and his family are coming to Utah tomorrow. We'll have a press conference Sunday, and a practice Monday." "This has always been the plan, including for our other rookies, Walter Clayton and John Tonje — to let them go home and collect their belongings, and then fly right to summer league from Salt Lake City." Advertisement Then, on Saturday, Bailey landed in Utah, with the Jazz posting a video of Bailey touching down. Prior to the draft, it was reported that Bailey wanted to land with one of three teams. The Jazz were not one of the team's on Bailey's reported list. Despite that, the team took him with the No. 5 overall pick. After the draft, it was reported that one of Bailey's reps told a team in the top five that it should not select Bailey in the draft. It's unclear which team was told to stay away from the Rutgers guard. Bailey was asked about the situation after the Jazz selected him with the No. 5 overall pick on Wednesday. He didn't seem openly angry about it, instead giving a neutral answer and saying, "I can control what I control. How they feel [is] how they feel." Advertisement The situation has only gotten murkier from there. Following Day 2 of the 2025 NBA Draft, Bailey's manager, Omar Cooper, declined to comment when asked about the former Rutgers' star's future in Utah. On Friday morning, however, Andrew Witlieb, the president of GSE Worldwide, which represents Bailey, appeared on a Front Office Sports podcast and said Bailey was excited about going to Utah. "He's thrilled to be going to Utah," Witlieb said. "Obviously, it's an honor to be selected in the top five of the NBA Draft. We think he can do a lot of great things out there." Advertisement The fact that Bailey had yet to report to the Jazz as of Friday morning isn't necessarily a big deal. Dallas Mavericks No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg waited until Friday to join his new team. The Jazz's other pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, Walter Clayton Jr., reportedly joined the team earlier. If Bailey had opted to not report to Utah, he would have been ineligible to play in the NBA this season. Who is Omar Cooper? Until Friday, Bailey's relationship with Cooper and GSE Worldwide was also unclear. Some outlets referred to Cooper as Bailey's agent despite reports Cooper is not a certified agent. Witlieb shed some light on that situation during his podcast appearance, referring to Cooper as Bailey's manager. Advertisement Witlieb said Cooper was focused on finding the best fit for Bailey, and was not necessarily concerned about how high Bailey was picked in the 2025 NBA Draft. "This was led by Bailey's long-time manager, Omar Cooper, who we are partnering on with this. And Omar really focused more on fit rather than going third in the draft kind of thing. He wanted some place where Ace could have the best possible basketball fit for his game. And we think Utah is one of the best places he could have gone." Cooper is listed as the "C.E.O and Founder of LifeStyle Sports Agency" on his Instagram page. A link to the agency's website leads to essentially a "coming soon" page. Despite GSE Worldwide officially representing Bailey, Cooper appears to have served as the main point person for a lot of comments and interviews regarding Bailey leading up to the 2025 NBA Draft. If Bailey truly doesn't want to play for the Jazz, he doesn't have many choices. The team reportedly has no interest in trading Bailey, per ESPN's Shams Charania.
USA Today
3 hours ago
- USA Today
Pelicans' Derik Queen delivers a perfect response to draft-night trade criticism
The New Orleans Pelicans were heavily linked to Maryland center Derik Queen ahead of the 2025 NBA draft, and the organization made an aggressive move to trade up and select him with the 13th pick on Wednesday. But not everyone was a fan of the move. Pelicans president Joe Dumars sent the 23rd overall pick (Asa Newell, Georgia) and an unprotected 2026 first-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks for the draft rights to Queen. The Hawks will receive the more favorable pick between the Pelicans and the Milwaukee Bucks. The deal has been widely criticized, with one assistant general manager reportedly telling The Athletic that it was the worst trade outside of the Luka Dončić one in the last decade. Queen, when asked Saturday about the criticism the team has received, delivered quite a response. I don't think nobody in that class is ever going to be better than me. I block all of the noise out. (Joe) got a lot of faith in me. Most of those guys I beat on in high school, so it doesn't really matter. I know that the NBA is a whole different level, so I just got to continue to get better. Don't get too big-headed, don't get too low and just beat on them next year when they come in and make Joe look like a genius. Queen was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, averaging 16.5 points, nine rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.1 blocks in 36 games on 52.6% shooting from the field. He helped lead the Terrapins to their first Sweet 16 appearance since 2016. The 6-foot-10 standout was viewed as one of the most skilled big men in the draft thanks to his offensive versatility, competitiveness and ability to impact games on defense, with his 7-foot wingspan. He ranked sixth in scoring average among Power Four freshmen. After a dazzling year, the Pelicans saw enough in Queen to jump 10 positions in the draft to take him. Dumars & Co. believe they made the right move and aren't concerned with any noise from the outside. "I've been doing this for way too long to give credence to naysayers," Dumars said. "I will say this, though: We're going to trot our own path here. We're not going to go by anyone else's playbook. These are the guys that we really, really wanted as Pelicans and we're super, super happy to have them here."
USA Today
13 hours ago
- USA Today
How the NBA collective bargaining agreement is helping programs like Wisconsin
The Utah Jazz selected Wisconsin basketball wing John Tonje No. 53 overall in the 2025 NBA draft on Thursday. He joins Rutgers forward Ace Bailey and Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. as the team's three draftees. If the NBA's current collective bargaining agreement, signed in 2023, hadn't existed, there's a decent chance Tonje would've gone undrafted. Here's why. In 2023, the NBA Players Association and the league agreed on a new collective bargaining agreement, which featured a brand new and impactful rule: the second apron. This new rule was designed to help combat the rising trend of 'superteams,' with the most successful example being the Golden State Warriors, who won titles with Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, and Klay Thompson all on one team. The old CBA had a much softer salary cap than the new agreement, meaning that teams could go over the cap while only having to pay a small luxury tax as a penalty. That is different than other leagues, including the NFL, which has a hard salary cap and severe penalties for exceeding it. The new bargaining agreement and the 'second apron' rule aimed to limit the amount of money that franchises could spend on team-building. Some of those penalties include significant fines, teams not being able to trade first-round picks from seven years out and teams not being able to use cash in trades. Those are in addition to the numerous first-apron penalties as well. This idea sounds positive. However, it is having major consequences on the league. For example, many teams are so scared of exceeding the second apron that they are being forced to trade key rotation pieces or stars on their roster. The Boston Celtics were forced to trade both Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, two key members of their 2024 championship team. This past Tuesday, Nuggets general manager Josh Kroenke floated the idea of trading multiple-time MVP Nikola Jokic if the team come too close to exceeding the second apron. Instead of stopping teams from overspending, it is having an inverse effect which is causing NBA franchises to penny pinch. The reason why this affects college stars like John Tonje is that NBA franchises are in dire need of inexpensive, pro-ready rotational players that can fill the gaps that were previously filled by expensive role players. Teams can only afford a couple of high-profile players before they exceed the second apron, so many NBA franchises are filling the gaps with collegiate stars like John Tonje, players who can come in and fill a bench role for a few years before reaching free agency. We've seen this trend with many different teams in the NBA including the Los Angeles Lakers, who drafted 23-year old Dalton Knecht in the first round last year, or the Memphis Grizzlies, who drafted Zach Edey with the ninth overall pick. Players like John Tonje who played well in March Madness and have NBA tools are being giving more chances by franchises that are tiptoeing close to the second apron and are in need of cheap, low-risk and high-reward players. While there were a record number of freshman drafted in the 2025 NBA Draft, there was also a high number of senior and super seniors drafted, including Nique Clifford, Walter Clayton Jr, Johni Broome, Ryan Kalkbrenner, Chaz Lanier, Koby Brea, and Brooks Barnhizer. Very few of these players would've been drafted just a couple of years ago and even fewer would've been drafted in the first round like Clifford and Clayton. This shift will be a positive one for college basketball programs like the Wisconsin Badgers, who tend to produce a ton of upperclassmen NBA talent. Next year, it is possible that both juniors John Blackwell and Nolan Winter enter the NBA draft process and eventually get drafted. The second apron might not be the most beneficial to the leagues' franchises, but it will definitely benefit players like Tonje and programs like Wisconsin who thrive on collegiate development. Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion
