Nothing makes the regular season more enjoyable than cheering on your fantasy team, and nothing is more important than the NBA playoffs. So why can’t we have both?

This is a nice and simple format which allows you to draft a fantasy team, follow the playoffs, and never have to worry about setting lineups or making pickups.

You have a $15 budget to build a team of five players. You can’t have multiple players on the same team, and you can’t go over your $15 budget. Everyone is available for every team, and the goal is to build the highest-scoring team that goes the furthest.

Each NBA playoff team is broken down into five tiers. The best player is worth $5, second-best $4, $3, $2, and then everyone else on the roster is available for $1.

The points are calculated in a similar fashion to DFS scoring. Each point scored is worth one point. Each rebound is worth 1.2. Each assist is 1.5. Each steal and block is worth two points, and turnovers are -1.

There are three different leagues available with a 200-team limit. You can play for free, play for $20, or $50.

The idea is to have players go as long into the playoffs as possible while being the most productive. Nikola Jokic is clearly the best player for this format as he averages a ridiculous amount of points, boards, and assists, but if he only plays one round, the max games you can get is seven. If you think the Nuggets will win at least two rounds, he makes sense at $5.

There are multiple ways to build a team, but for instance, one could look like:
Jaylen Brown – $4, LeBron James – $4, Chet Holmgren – $3, Evan Mobley – $3, Naz Reid – $1

The key is to build a team capable of going far. Ideally, you don’t want your $5 and $4 players playing head-to-head in the first or second round.

I think this league is a great idea and could be very exciting once we get further into the league. Beware of only stacking the best teams, as we have seen many upsets over the last few seasons, and being risky and creative might be the best way to win the league.

If you want to join a league, just DM @andrelemos or email us at support@sportsethos.com.

• Once a league reaches a minimum of 15 teams, each GM will receive:
  an official league invitation, including a registration link.

• After paying the league buy-in, they will gain access to a special draft tracker where you can draft and submit your team.

Prize Structure:

• Every league type — including the free leagues — will award the league champion with a SportsEthos All-Sports 6-month subscription, starting at the end of the league.
  
  For cash leagues, the prize pool breaks down as follows:
• 1st Place: 50% of the pot ($150 to $5,000)
• 2nd Place: 25% of the pot ($75 to $2,500)
• 3rd Place: 15% of the pot ($45 to $1,500)
• 4th Place: 7.5% of the pot ($22.50 to $350)
• 5th Place: 5% of the pot ($15 to $250)
• 6th Place: 2.5% of the pot ($7.50 to $125)