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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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