The NBA continues to show its interest in the fantasy sports space, this time with contests based on its minor league.
The NBA announced the launch of a fantasy product for the recently rebranded G League. That announcement comes after the NBA had been doing partnerships for daily fantasy basketball for its top league via FanDuel and PlayON.
NBA G League launches DFS game
The NBA G League is the official minor league organization for the NBA. It was known as the Developmental League (or “D League”) prior to this season.
The “G” in the new moniker comes from a partnership with Gatorade, part of a full overhaul for the 2017 season.
The NBA G League fantasy product was developed by Fanhub, which has partnerships with a number of other sports leagues and media outlets. The game is available on both desktop and mobile via the G League app.
How G League fantasy works
NBA G League fantasy users will create five-man rosters for each week of games. Each player is assigned a star rating — either one, two, or three stars. The five-man team must have a combined value of ten stars or less, and there are no positional restrictions.
Contests use the Official NBA Fantasy Scoring, which the league developed this season:
- Point: 1 point
- Rebound: 1.2 points
- Assists: 1.5 points
- Steal/Block: 3 points
- Turnover: -1 point
Since the G League includes three categories of players, there are also some unique bonuses based on their weekly performances:
- NBA call-up bonus: 25 points
- Bonus for playing in an NBA game: 5 points
- Bonus for starting an NBA game: 5 points
- Multiplier for stats accrued in NBA: 2x
Contests are open to residents of all 50 states and Washington D.C., along with most of Canada.
The NBA G League season begins Nov. 3.
Prizes include store credits, All-Star trip
The G League contests are free to play, and there are no cash payouts. There are, however, some decent prizes up for grabs.
The top 25 winners for each week receive gift cards for the NBA G League Store. Credits range between $10 and $300 with a total value of $800 per week. The top five users for each of the first five weeks also receive a copy of the NBA2K 18 video game.
The grand prize for the first ten-week period is a trip to the 2018 NBA All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles.
The NBA and fantasy
The NBA has been consistently trying to engrain fantasy into the fabric of what it does. The latest example was the aforementioned standardization of fantasy scoring.
The NBA holds equity in FanDuel, which also developed a free-to-play game for the league called NBA InPlay. Earlier this year, the NBA inked a deal with PlayON for rolling out fantasy contests in international markets.
