MIES (Switzerland) - BasketNews and the Basketball Champions League, powered by Ameresco SUNEL, have officially partnered to launch the BCL Fantasy League. The league is hosted exclusively on BasketNews.
The league enables fans and fantasy freaks to build super teams and manage their roster like Sam Presti during free agency. If you get it right, there are monthly prizes to be won, with the grand prize being a trip to the BCL Final Four with full accommodation.
TWO WAYS TO PLAY
To keep the competition fierce and dynamic, the game features two distinct game modes:
Classic (Budget) Mode:
Build a winning roster while sticking to a strict budget, navigating player market values, injuries, and hot streaks. Managers can also use strategic wildcards to gain an edge over the competition.
Draft Mode:
Set up private leagues with friends and take turns picking players. Since each BCL star can only be selected once per league, every draft pick matters.
HOW TO JOIN
Ready to test your skills and compete for a trip to the Final Four? Sign up now and build your squad at fantasy.basketnews.com!
We'll get you started with some roster-building tips in this article, but the first thing you need to understand is that you have a €10,000,000 budget to assemble a team consisting of 10 players from three different positions:
4 guards
4 forwards
2 centers
The scoring system is based on a simple formula: a player's efficiency points (EFF), plus or minus 10% depending on whether his team wins or loses.
You can read the full rules here but let's get into some basic ideas to build your roster.
Top Performers
Before we start looking ahead, let's see who really delivered last week.
There were some monster performances across the two game days, with Brandon Angel leading the way after a ridiculous 30 EFF against Surne Bilbao. Angel went a perfect 10-of-10 from the field, added four rebounds and two assists as ALBA BERLIN edged Bilbao 103-100.
Lester Medford Jr wasn't far behind, putting up 27 EFF in Hapoel Holon's 88-81 win at RASTA Vechta. He scored 23 points, dished out seven assists and went 9-of-13 from the field.
Then came Dorde Topolovic, who produced a monster 26 EFF for Igokea in their 77-72 win over Slavia Praha, thanks to 13 points, 10 rebounds and three assists.
Ty Nichols also made good on our recommendation from last week, recording 24 EFF in Peristeri's 80-72 win at UCAM Murcia. He finished with 23 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals.
And there was a pair of 23-EFF performances to round things out, with Xavier Castaneda putting up 23 points and eight assists for Nanterre despite the loss to Sabah, while Darrun Hilliard had 21 points and nine assists for Bilbao in their narrow defeat to ALBA.
So, who can join them at the top of the Fantasy leaderboard this week?
The Picks
With Khalif Battle still out injured as one of the top scorers for EFF in the BCL, Frank Bartley is the obvious pick here.
The AEK guard has posted 23 EFF in his one BCL appearance so far, putting him joint-sixth in the competition's efficiency rankings.
He also showed exactly what kind of ceiling he has with 27 points against Salon Vilpas, including 8-of-8 from the free throw line.
The catch? AEK face Falco-Vulcano Szombathely on Wednesday November 4, and that is far from an easy place to go and win.
However, Bartley is the MVP for a reason and given the performance he put up to steer AEK to victory against Salon Vilpas, we can't see a logical reason to bet against him getting work done this week.
If you want a player with both huge production and also the perfect hedge against Bartley's ability to single-handedly win games for AEK, Zoltan Perl is very difficult to look past.
The Falco guard is averaging 26.5 EFF after two games, with a minimum of 26 in either appearance.
As we just mentioned, Falco host AEK on Wednesday, with both teams sitting at 1-1, so this one could be a real battle - either way, Zoltan Perl is still Zoltan Perl and you know that you are getting something close to 20 points and 5 assists every time he steps on the floor.
The bigger risk is not picking him and watching everyone else who did, rack up the points.
Abdoulaye N'Doye is another player who deserves plenty of attention. He's averaging 23 EFF for SIG Strasbourg, with a high of 30 already this season.
Strasbourg host Cibona on Tuesday, and with both teams 1-1, there's a very real opportunity for N'Doye to get the extra 10 percent Fantasy boost while maintaining his excellent efficiency numbers.
Up next, Willy Hernangomez, who is averaging 24 EFF in his two BCL appearances for Unicaja. That's particularly tempting this week because Unicaja are 2-0 and host Pallacanestro Reggiana, who are 1-1.
With Spanish teams there is always to threat that players can see reduced minutes, especially in blowout games. With Reggiana posing a real threat in the Group, we are expecting Willy to play big minutes and be heavily involved.
Unicaja are also coming off a frustrating loss to Barcelona in the Liga Endesa, and with the strongest record in Group E to defend, Willy is one of the best combinations of production and win potential available.
If you are looking for a captain pick, Willy is also your man here. It's a no brainer, don't try to hard to brain it.
We're going back to the Joventut well to complete the front court. Emir Sulejmanovic is the textbook definition of a a safe pair of hands. He's averaging 21 EFF, and Joventut are the only unbeaten team in Group H.
They travel to FC Porto on Tuesday, with Porto sitting at 1-1, so Mr Consistent Sulejmanovic gives you a nice combination of reliable production and one of the better win probabilities on the board.
Finally, Enoch Cheeks looks like one of the week's most appealing high-efficiency picks. The Antwerp forward is averaging 22.5 EFF through two games, and the Giants are the only 2-0 team in Group C.
They travel to Salon Vilpas, who are still looking for their first win and will be without their early season sensation, Leland Walker, so Cheeks has both the numbers and the team situation we're looking for.
The Enablers
It's very easy to underestimate the points you score off your bench just because bench riders only pick up half their points.
But, whilst it does make sense to spend most of your budget on the starting five and sixth man, these cheaper assets can make a huge difference.
Our favorite enablers for the week are Porto's James Woodard at the guard spot, Antwerp's Vincent Kesteloot at forward, and Legia Warszawa's Gyorgy Goloman for the center position.
All of them cost you less than 1m and all of them put up great EFF scores last time out. Woodard's 24.2 FPTS from Porto's impressive win over Herzliya came from 17 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.
Rebounding guards are always a fantasy asset to look out for.
Antwerp have caught the league by surprise with their 2-0 start and Kesteloot putting up 10 points and 5 rebounds on efficient shooting has been a stabilizing presence in both wins so far.
At center, keep an eye on Goloman. He went scoreless in Legia's first game, but returned with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting against Cibona, earning an efficiency rating of 21.
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