Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is undeniably awesome. So is Victor Wembanyama. Yet, in a traditional snake draft, getting both is essentially impossible given both are found firmly in the first round.
There is a draft format, however, that absolutely allows you to pair 'SGA' and 'Wemby'. Or Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid, Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo... you get the idea. Salary cap drafts afford you the ability to afford compelling collections of superstars.
The mission of this piece isn't solely to explain how salary cap drafting works, but more importantly, share several actionable strategies to help you thrive in this uniquely rewarding way to build fantasy basketball rosters.
How salary cap drafts work
In ESPN salary cap drafts, each manager begins with a $200 budget to build out their roster. Default settings host 13 roster spots, with the calculator on my laptop revealing this is a bit more than $15 per slot. You are welcome, of course, to spend well above $15 to acquire star-caliber players, leaving less for filler and depth.
Instead of having a fixed draft slot to acquire NBA talent as you would in a snake draft, mangers rotate turns nominating players for bidding. As you might guess, the highest bidder when the clock hits zero lands that player on their respective roster. As my long-time colleague John Cregan once coined, "your reign as manager begins with a wad of fake cash, a couple of hours to kill, and an empty roster to stock."
Now that we have an idea how they operate, let's delve into some winning tips for salary cap drafts. The road to imaginary glory begins here.
Preparation pays
Leverage live draft trends as you prepare for your salary cap draft. Just like how we identify average draft position as a tool of differentiation and value in snake drafts, average salary performs this function in this format.
Unlike how we enter snake drafts knowing that certain players will get drafted in a finite range of selections, the variance and volatility of player pricing inherent to a salary draft demands you identify which players you truly want to target with your imaginary coin.
Which is to say, set not only price ranges you are willing to pay (within a few dollars) for specific NBA talents, but order players into pricing tiers.
If you are the turn in a snake draft, your options are almost surely limited to a handful of top talents available in that range. In salary formats, you can acquire two typical first-rounders, or four players generally found in the second and third rounds of snake results.
Before such expenditure, just make sure to have identified which talents in each tier you intend to bid for. In category-driven leagues, it's wise to prepare lists of players who thrive in distinct statistical categories; knowing that Gary Trent Jr. is an elite, and underrated source of steals. Or that Myles Turner can drive bold block results without tanking free-throw efficiency. No matter the scoring key, it's beneficial to list your top targets at each position, as well.
Preparation is more crucial and comes with greater rewards in salary drafts, as average draft position doesn't do the work for you.
Be nimble
While snake drafts can throw some surprises at you; a reach here, a player sliding there, salary formats are atypical in that each draft room behaves as its own unique market. Did the room hesitate to pay enough for a top star who is coming off a down season? Maybe he goes $15 or so below expected value, but that doesn't necessarily equate to a trend, as there could be a bidding war for him in another salary draft.
Value is a variant concept in these drafts, so being adaptive and nimble is critical. This is why we can refer back to preparation; if you establish your targets at different tiers, statistics, and positions, then you'll be ready to act on players who appear undervalued in that specific salary market. Players closer to the end of a tier, or round using snake results as a comparison, are often where bargains emerge.
Strategize strategies
There are a bevy of established investing strategies to consider for salary drafts. I don't believe it's prudent to lock into any one of these prior to the first nomination, but it does help to have an understanding of how some early decisions might dictate your path. Let's consider a few of the more notable approaches.
The freedom of salary drafting bears the need for restraint in order to refine and define your strategy and player valuations. You determine which players best fit your philosophy, rather than a draft spot you often randomly net in snake rooms.
Stars and Sleepers
If you've identified strong interest in Luka and Giannis in your pre-draft prep and they both appear undervalued as the bidding approaches the final seconds, go for it. Just be mindful this pairing would still likely consume 60% of your total budget, leaving say $80 of your original $200 to canvass the remaining roster spots. Sometimes, as the early bidding begins, the superstars find you.
Pro basketball is a space where heliocentric stars often drive impressive outcomes even with role players riding shotgun, as both Luka and Giannis' actual NBA careers confirm, so you can make this strategy of extremes work. It will just demand savvy waiver management and securing some sleepers in the draft. Refer to our staff picks for values and breakouts, my list of top sleepers, and Steve Alexander's second-year players ready to make a leap as resources for such decisions.
Snake style
It's unlikely that anyone actually calls this strategy "snake style," but I just did. The premise here is simple; you can mimic a snake outcome pattern in that you want one true high-dollar star -- or in this comparison first-round talents -- which in current live draft trends ranges from roughly $70 for the Joker and Wemby to $45 for the likes of Devin Booker and De'Aaron Fox. Assume downshifts in spending for each successive tier of spending, with second-rounders which can range from the $40s into the high-$20 range.
Minding the middle
I generally don't adhere to the aforementioned snake-like framework, as the power of salary drafts is the ability to identify, for instance, that you love the values found in the third-to-fifth rounds, allowing you load up on say five of such players. Then again, it's up to you how to navigate your spending.
My most common approach; netting one high-dollar star and complementing them with a series of those mid-round gems we all admire. An example this year would include paying top-dollar for statistical anchors like Victor Wembanyama or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and then focusing on the likes of Jalen Williams, Desmond Bane, Immanuel Quickley and Evan Mobley at prices below what I project and expect their actual production will deliver.
Draft with discipline
Sticking to your pre-game planning in regards to player targets, tiers and statistical specialists is far more vital than adhering to any of the approaches such as stars or sleepers or snake-driven spending. It's also important to note that you avoid what we nerds deem as price enforcing; engaging in bidding almost purely to protect the price point of a specific or multiple players.
This is how you end up spending real percentages of your budget on players you truly didn't want just an hour before the draft. There is a very clear line between identifying a value and trying to police every bid. Your peers will absolutely get some great values during the process, but your team is paramount to those outcomes.
There really should be a breaking point for when you stop bidding, just as you should feel comfortable trusting your pre-draft price points with regards to paying enough for talent you want on your team.
After all, you will ride with many of your choices for months during the NBA marathon, so at least you can enjoy the team you wanted all along.