In light of the highly anticipated 2023-24 NBA season, SIS students have started their own NBA Fantasy Leagues, an opportunity for the members of a self-created league to run a professional basketball team.
The league is run by ESPN, a reputable sports source, and rewards players with points based on their NBA game performances. Players can draft NBA athletes before the season, which adds to the authentic experience.
The fantasy league lasts for the entire NBA season, totaling 20 matchups. During the league setup, an even number of teams are split into the East and West divisions. In each matchup, two teams compete against each other over five days. By having five-day games, each player on the team can play at least one game and take control of the results. Another aspect of the Fantasy League is that there are certain settings to choose from; the league manager can decide on the total capacity of players on a team and the injured reserve (IR).
“With the entire process, I feel like I am actually the manager of an NBA team,” Hanjoo Lee (12), NBA fan, said. “Also, because we can choose the members of our league, the whole experience seems really personalized and unique. The league I am in, for example, is from seniors who I watch and play basketball with.”
Due to these attractive qualities, more SIS students have set up their own leagues across various grades. “We were really intrigued by competing against each other based on basketball knowledge,” William Park (11), basketball enthusiast, said. “Even more, the members of the league could trade with each other, making the game more realistic and appealing.”
In the case of the junior’s league, they have implemented their own punishments to make the matchups more fun. “We made punishments for the last three places at the end of the season,” Sungwook Kim (11), NBA Fantasy player, said. “The punishments made everything much more competitive and fostered a sense of mutual entertainment. For example, the loser has to wear the outfit chosen by the winners for three days.”