Fantasy Draft Strategy: Analyzing the NBA2K17 Player Pool

Fantasy Draft Strategy: Analyzing the NBA2K17 Player Pool

If you?re Fantasy Drafting your MyLeague team, you?re gonna need some data to put together the best roster. Let?s take a look at the overall NBA2K17 player pool.

There are 447 players in NBA2k17 with a 70 overall rating or higher. The below chart organizes that batch by rating & position.

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  • The 90?s. Only 16 players earn 90+ ratings, and a whopping 44% of them are Point Guards ? Westbrook, Steph, CP3, Wall, Kyrie, Dame, and Isaiah. The modern NBA?s cut big man ratings (and usefulness) quite a bit ? teammates Anthony Davis (94) and DeMarcus Cousins (91) are the only PF/C?s in this category. All that said, if you?ve got a Top 5 pick, you?re probably picking a SF (LeBron, Durant, Kawhi) or Chef Harden.
  • The 80?s. While the top shelf lacked bigs, there?s a whole pile of eligible centers in the starter-worthy 80?89 range. And while the game?s best are SFs, there?s only 8 down here. That means only 13 SFs own an 80+ rating, a real issue now that most teams are trying to run small ball. Even traditionally positioned teams will struggle with front court starters ? only 12 PFs are 80+. Don?t sweat PG?s, though ? there?s plenty of those.
  • The 76+ers. The 70?s range is so full that we separated the group right down the middle. You?re gonna get most of your rotation from this batch, so selecting proper fit is essential. It?s pretty evenly distributed, so no sense in breaking it down further ? get what you need and get out.

Now you know the numbers. Here?s a few tips:

  • If the Best Available player is a SG or SF, grab ?em. There aren?t enough to go around, so find your starter as soon as possible. If you can snag one of the 90-plusers, even better ? they?re fairly unstoppable.
  • Wait on your Center. Unless you can get Boogie, The Brow, or a specific-big-you-know-and-love (lots of Gobert fans out there), hold off. 19 centers are 80+, meaning nearly 66% of the league will have a worthy starting-five-man. You can get quality in the later rounds.
  • Back-up Point Guards are about preference. Getting one of those 7 90+ PGs really does change things, but there are plenty of back-ups to go around. You?re better off drafting rotation wings, then figuring out your second-string ballhandler when the time?s right.
  • Have a few favorite 70?s ahead of time. You?ll have to play at least 5 70?s in your rotation ? spend time learning which ones you like. Something different will appeal to everyone (I personally love Kevin Martin, a 6’7″ 73 SG who can hit the three and dunk thanks to his length). In the later rounds of the draft, don?t be afraid to reach 2?5 overall ratings below the Best Available to get a player you know.

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