Fantasy Basketball and the Illusion of Opportunity

Why fantasy basketball isn't fond of team-switchers + who to watch out for in your drafts.

With the regular season right around the corner, something else also lurks: fantasy basketball drafts. We cling to the idea that maybe this year Zion is a reputable bet who isn’t going to make our decisions look foolish due to injury — though that remains to be seen. One of the more interesting things about fantasy draft time is how to gauge recently traded stars. For example, Kevin Durant jumping ship to the Warriors was a boon for actual wins, but his overall fantasy points dropped by about 500 points per season. For those of you who don’t care for fantasy basketball, I’ll save you the explanation of what goes into scoring those points (which changes depending on each league’s rules), but know that high PPG scorers are always beneficial, just like the real thing. So with many of our fantasy drafts coming into focus, let’s take a look at what usually happens when stars switch teams — and if fantasy is of little concern to you, it’ll still be a good exercise in NBA statistics. You’ll be surprised at what you find.