FIBA World Cup Fantasy game: Tips and tricks to beat the competition / News - Basketnews.com

Having options ready for substitutions, considering two captains, and exploiting matchups are few of the necessary moves to beat the competition.

Credit: Federación Española de Baloncesto, USA Basketball Credit Federación Española de Baloncesto, USA Basketball

With the start of the 2023 FIBA World Cup, BasketNews launched a fantasy game that lets people from around the globe compete for a prize while following the tournament.

In a new and improved game, players have to select 10 players with a budget of 12 million euros. It would seem easy at first, but it gets more complicated as you begin to think about the rules and how they dictate the game.

Fantasy players have to select a starting five consisting of players from three different positions - guard, forward, and center. All five starters will receive 100% of the fantasy points they earn.

Additionally, you must select a captain whose fantasy points double. The sixth man also brings 100% of his points to the overall tally.

Players are allowed to change the starting five, the captain, and the starting five's formation after the first day of the round. After Friday's matches (August 25th), fantasy players can make changes and substitute in players who haven't played yet (those who will play on August 26th).

That's the tricky part where savvy players can gain an advantage over others. Here are some tips and recommendations to follow while building your squad.

You can join BasketNews Fantasy and create your team HERE. You must have a BasketNews account to log in.

Captain Options

The number one rule to follow is to have two captain options ready - one player from Day 1 games and another player from Day 2 games.

For example, players like Karl-Anthony Towns, Lauri Markkanen, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Dennis Schroder, and Nikola Vucevic all play on the first day of the FIBA World Cup. If you go for the most expensive options as the building blocks of the entire squad, it's good to have an option ready if the expensive player doesn't live up to expectations on the first day of the round.

When you build a team, two solid options on both Day 1 and Day 2 of the round allow more flexibility between the days while maintaining a chance at scoring more points.

Possible captain combinations (ranging at a total price of around 4M-4.5M) may include:

Lauri Markkanen (Day 1) and Anthony Edwards (Day 2) Simone Fontecchio (Day 1) and Luka Doncic (Day 2) Nikola Vucevic (Day 1) and Willy Hernangomez (Day 2) Jonas Valanciunas (Day 1) and Walter Tavares (Day 2) Karl-Anthony Towns (Day 1) and Ahmet Duverioglu (Day 2) Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Day 1) and Wenyen Gabriel (Day 2) Dennis Schroder (Day 1) and Bogdan Bogdanovic (Day 2)

Of course, you can go a little cheaper on the captains and spread the funds throughout the team. Here's where options like Josh Giddey (Day 1), Jordan Clarkson (Day 1), and Bogdan Bogdanovic (Day 2) come in.

The rule always remains the same - have two good captain options ready unless you're certain that the player you select from either Day 1 or Day 2 will put up a score you'll be proud of.

Roster and Matchup Exploitation

As the BasketNews Power Ranking shows, the first round of the FIBA World Cup features a variety of matchups that would seem to be uneven, at least at first sight.

If you compare the power rankings of both teams, the games between the USA and New Zealand, Lithuania and Egypt, Brazil and Iran, Slovenia and Venezuela, Spain and Cote d'Ivoire, Greece and Jordan, Latvia and Lebanon come to mind.

If there is a substantial point difference at halftime, players from the favorites might get extra minutes on the court. Those players, whose price is relatively lower, may score more fantasy points than their price suggests.

At the same time, the leaders of those higher-ranked teams are more likely to score fantasy points easier than their counterparts who face tougher matchups. However, one thing has to be taken into account - those leaders may play fewer minutes if the favorite has a huge advantage on the scoreboard. Will those minutes be enough to collect enough fantasy points? That's for the manager to decide.

In a matchup like Canada vs. France that we will see on Friday, August 25th, the main players will most likely receive more minutes on the court due to how closely matched the two teams are.

Players like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, RJ Barrett, Rudy Gobert, Evan Fournier, or Nicolas Batum will most likely get more time on the court. Additionally, fantasy managers have to keep in mind that the efficiency might drop as the competition is tougher to score against.

Taking advantage of the matchups while not overusing one strategy is the key to victory.

Last but not least - bonus points. Players get added an extra 10% to their fantasy points tally if their teams win the game, and deducted 10% if their team loses. Hence, choosing players from relatively weaker teams poses a risk that such a player might lose fantasy points at the end of the day.

Choosing too many players from the favorites poses a risk of those players not getting enough playing time to rack up fantasy points. At the same time, picking a proven producer from a team that might lose is always better than a role player from a winning team.

Smart Substitutions

After the first day of the round, fantasy players can change the starting five depending on how the players performed on Day 1.

As such, it is recommended that the starting five on Day 1 features all players that will play on Day 1, or at least the majority. If a player has an underwhelming performance, he can be substituted to the bench, where he will still get 50% of the points, but a new player will give 100% of the fantasy points he earns.

Only at certain lucky times will all players from the initial starting five have excellent games. When such a day arrives, the day for fantasy managers gets a lot easier. In other times, it's good to have several reliable options to substitute in the starting five after the first day, players that will only compete on Day 2 of the round.

After Day 1 of the round, fantasy players can change the formation of the starting five. For example, if you have a guard-guard-forward-forward-center formation on Day 1, you can change it to have three forwards, one guard, and one center if your forwards are the best players on the team. If all four forwards have played excellent games or are primed to do so, you can place the fourth forward as the sixth player, who will still earn 100% of the points.

Searching for underrated players

There are always at least several players that look to be underpriced. If you guess correctly and the player becomes one of the better fantasy options as time goes on, you will have a major advantage over other players.

Even if the player costs 450,000 like Juan Nunez or 500,000 like Zach Edey and plays on Day 1, it's always better to have such a player in the starting five before the round starts.

No matter how much the player costs or how good you think he really is, it's best to place that player in the starting five if he plays on Day 1. An unexpected performance happens more often than people think, and having such a player give 100% of the points is an advantage. Besides, you can always put the player on the bench after Day 1 if the player doesn't live up to expectations.

Ultimately, the most important thing to remember is that this is a game, and basketball is a game. BasketNews Fantasy game offers an unparalleled opportunity to follow the 2023 FIBA World Cup closely while competing for a prize simultaneously.

Good luck, managers!

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