Fantasy Basketball Draft Guide 2026: Glossary

​

  • By Timothy Woodson

    Last Updated on August 20, 2026 4:16 pm by Keston Paul | Published: August 20, 2026

    As we approach another wonderful season of fantasy basketball, it’s good to get a refresher on the basics that define the game. Fantasy basketball is mostly straightforward, but every now and then you’ll come across a term that’s new to you. This Glossary defines a bunch of key terms, phrases and jargon that can help you get a grip on things as leagues fire up and drafts get underway. Sometimes it can feel like fantasy requires a whole separate language, and we’re here to translate that for you.

    League Types

    Points Leagues: A fantasy basketball league format where fantasy managers must accumulate the most points in a week in order to win. The standard settings are 1.0 fantasy points (FPs) per point, 1.2 FPs per rebound, 1.5 FPs per assist, 3.0 FPs per steal, 3.0 FPs per block and -1.0 FPs per turnover. Points League scoring settings may vary on different platforms, as ESPN has their own scoring settings. They are also entirely customizable, with each stat category assigned a point value (e.g., one point for a rebound, two points for a steal, three points for a block, and so on). Percentages are typically disregarded in Points Leagues, though some leagues are set up where missed field goals and free throws count for negative points. ESPN’s default settings include punishments for missed shots. 

    Head-to-Head or H2H Leagues: A fantasy basketball format where fantasy managers go up against one another in weekly matchups. Players who win the most categories in that week win the matchup. There are Head-to-Head Leagues where a win or loss is credited for each individual category; if your league has nine categories and you win seven of them in your matchup, a 7-2 record will go onto the books. Other Head-to-Head Leagues may only credit one overall win for the week; you could win five of the nine categories or seven of the nine, and you’ll be given a 1-0 record. Head-to-Head Leagues can be constructed for either category scoring or points scoring.

    Rotisserie or Roto Leagues: A fantasy basketball league format where managers go up against the entire league at once, with total performance across all stat categories determining the winner at the end of the entire season. There is no head-to-head component, no weekly matchup and no fantasy playoffs. Managers gain points through their performance in each statistical category. In a 10-team league, the top performer in each category is awarded 10 points, the second-place finisher gets nine, the third-place team receives eight, and so on. The Roto points for each category is added up and the fantasy manager that has the highest number of Roto points across all categories wins the season.

    Games-Cap Leagues: A type of fantasy league that limits the number of total games that be played over a set period of time. The most common form of games cap leagues is rotisserie leagues, but head-to-head leagues can utilize a games cap too. In head-to-head leagues, the number of games played is most likely limited for each matchup, preventing fantasy managers from passing a certain threshold. The benefits of these leagues are that it helps mitigate schedule mismatches and factors in injury mishaps.

    Keeper Leagues: A type of fantasy league that allows you to keep some or most players on your team from a previous year, but not all. The number of players that can be kept may vary. These leagues can be Points, Head-to-Head or Roto leagues.  

    Dynasty Leagues: A type of league where fantasy managers draft a team and manage that same fantasy team over a long period of time. Fantasy managers’ yearly drafts will consist of drafting the new rookie class for the year. Aside from trades and drops, typically your entire roster is carried over from year to year.

    Best Ball: This is a draft-only league on platforms like Underdog, Yahoo, etc. It automatically fills your lineup with the performers based on fantasy points. Quick and easy. 

    Redraft Leagues:  Where the entire draft is complete on a year-to-year basis. Unlike Dynasty and Keeper Leagues, leagues conduct a completely new draft at the beginning of each season, allowing you to configure an entirely new team to start the year. This draft style can apply to Category, Roto and Points Leagues. 

    Sleeper “Lock-In” League: A league exclusively on Sleeper. Only one game per week from each player will count towards your final weekly score. After their game is completed, you have the ability to “lock-in” that game to be added to your points total. The caveat here is that a player’s game must be locked in before the start of their next contest, so choose wisely. 

    Yahoo “High Score” League: A new Points League format introduced by Yahoo ahead of the 2025-26 season. Standard rosters consist of six starting spots, four bench spots and two IL+ spots. Only the single highest score of a player in your starting lineup counts on a weekly basis, as long as you don’t move them out of the lineup. “High Score” is a points league with scoring settings that promote high-volume offensive engines even more than the typical points league, with scoring settings of one fantasy point (FP) per point, one FP per rebound, two FPs per assist, three FPs per steal and three FPs per block with no punishment for turnovers or inefficiency. It is meant to be less intensive and more accessible to those who have less time to dedicate to fantasy basketball.

    Daily Changes: Lineups are set and adjusted each day. This is the most common league type.

    Weekly Changes: Lineups are set and adjusted on a weekly basis. Typically, the lock-off time to set your roster for the week is when the first game of that week tips off.

    Drafts 

    This was just a snippet. Want full access to our Fantasy Basketball Glossary? You’ll need to have an Ethos 360, All-Sport or NBA FantasyPass membership. Click here to learn more and sign up!(opens in new tab) Premium Access Required

    📢 Want More? 📢

      Join our Discord:  Click Here to Join!

    📡 Download the SportsEthos App to get real-time alerts and updates:

    Get the SportsEthos App (iOS App Store) Get the SportsEthos App (Google Play)

      Follow us on Twitter/X: @aaronbruski(opens in new tab) @EthosFantasyNBA(opens in new tab)
      Follow us on Bluesky: @ethosfantasynba.bsky.social(opens in new tab)

    🏆 Join our premium community built on integrity, competition, and winning. Let’s crush this season together.

    Get the NBA FantasyPass!

     

    Join the SportsEthos team! Fill out an application by clicking here!(opens in new tab)

    August 20, 2026, 4:13 pm