by Todd Pheifer

Created on: January 22, 2009   Last Updated: February 09, 2009

Explosion of popularity

Fantasy sports has become increasingly popular in today's society, as people enjoy living vicariously through their favorite players and teams. Fantasy sports can help fans feel like they are part of the action, as they root for their "teams" to do well each night. Internet access has allowed the fantasy world to expand by leaps and bounds as people have access to vast quantities of statistical information. Here are a few thoughts on how people can get started with fantasy basketball.

Find a league

Plenty of websites such as ESPN, Yahoo, and CBS Sports run free fantasy leagues. For the more daring player, pay leagues can also be found. Oftentimes, friends and co-workers are good people to play with and leagues can be easily set up. If no one else creates a league, a person can easily set up their own and invite people to play.

Learn the rules

The next step in fantasy play is learning the rules of that particular league. Various leagues have different rules for scoring, substitutions, and player-to-player competitions. It is important to understand these details so that people pick players accordingly. When people start their own leagues, they can customize rules to their particular tastes.

Do your homework

After understanding league rules, it is time to do homework on players. This is where people have to decide how serious they want to be. Fantasy baskeball includes a great deal of statistics so people have to know what they are looking for. Also, people have to distinguish between "stars" and people who pile up stats. The two do not always go together.

Read your history

Looking at players should also include at least a cursory look at previous seasons. Sometimes players were hurt or in different playing situations, which can make their current statistics a bit deceiving. Looking at past seasons can help in finding players that may have been forgotten because they are no longer on people's "radar."

Pre-ranks and flexibility

Typically, a fantasy basketball league will have some sort of draft. Sometimes this draft is "live" and other times people put in their selections and the computer picks for them. What is important in this stage of the process is to have some sort of plan. People should rank their players so that when it is their turn, they have some idea of what to do. Usually in a live draft people will have limited time to pick. If they don't plan ahead, they may have to make a snap judgment, which may or may not end well.

Clear some time

As mentioned, basketball is a sport that is constantly going. Games are packed together and lineup changes can be fast and furious. Therefore, some fantasy basketball leagues must be monitoring on a regular basis. If people do not have a lot of spare time, they may want to stick to football, which usually has to be checked only once a week.

Leave your heart at the door

Finally, people have to remember that winning fantasy sports is about setting aside sentimentality. A person's favorite players may not be the best statistical choices, so if people want to win, they may have to leave their favorite players off of their "team." Other than that, fantasy sports should be enjoyed for what it is. Some people can get a bit obsessed, so people should make sure they can let it go before getting involved.

Have fun

Most of all, people have to remember that fantasy basketball is about having fun. If people are getting all stressed out, then perhaps they should take a year off and re-evaluate. Getting started in fantasy basketball can certainly be an enjoyable diversion for some, but the result should not be concern and stress. If that is the case, people should look to get started with another hobby.

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