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Bruski 150SportsEthos 2026 Fantasy Basketball Draft Guide
Fantasy Basketball Draft Guide 2026: Pace Report
Last Updated on September 4, 2026 7:25 pm by Keston Paul | Published: September 4, 2026
Let us get a little analytical folks. When you hear the word “pace,” you probably think all that entails is playing fast. However, the word itself might be a bit deceiving when it comes to the basketball term. Pace, in its technical definition, is all about possessions.
These are the definitions I used in last year’s edition:
- Pace is the number of possessions a team uses in a game (via NBAstuffer)
- Pace is the number of possessions per 48 minutes for a team or player (via NBA.com)
The number of possessions a team has in a game can be influenced by a number of factors. One of them is to find (quality) shots early in the shot clock, meaning possessions go by faster. There are two things that can help with that. One is forcing turnovers and the other securing defensive rebounds, which can allow your team to get out quickly in transition. On the offensive end of the floor, that entails taking care of the ball (i.e., reducing turnovers committed) and crashing the offensive glass to secure second-chance opportunities.
If two teams both have the same relative true shooting, but one team has 102 possessions to the opponent’s 94 possessions, the team that had more possessions wins.
For fantasy basketball, teams that have a higher pace have more possessions and more opportunities to deliver fantasy stats. Of course, the players on that team still need to have the ability and minutes to produce at a useful level, but we will get more into that soon.
I am going to examine the link between pace and fantasy stats, then review my 2025-26 pace predictions and finish off with my pace predictions for the upcoming 2026-27 season.
Pace and Fantasy Stats
Want to learn about the nuances of Pace for Fantasy Basketball? You’ll need to get access to the 2026-27 SportsEthos Fantasy Basketball Draft Guide to continue reading this report. 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
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Keston majored in Biology and minored in Literatures in English at the University of the West Indies (U.W.I.), St. Augustine. Hailing from Trinidad & Tobago, Kes grew up loving cricket, then football (soccer, not NFL) & never missed a Barça game in the 2010s. Later on, he grew obsessed with basketball/fantasy basketball & unfortunately claims to be a Sixers fan for some reason.