In the nascent days of fantasy basketball, our rosters reflected the rosters of NBA teams, who used the five classic positions (point guard, shooting guard, small forward, power forward and center). Those labels were pretty specific -- the point guard brought the ball up the court and directed the offense, the shooting guard was responsible for scoring from outside, a smaller forward was on the wing, the bigger forward worked into the paint and the center stayed in the paint.
Few players wandered out of those specific roles, so few players were granted more than one position in fantasy games. Sure, there was the occasional PF/C or SG/SF, but they were few and far between. In turn, that created an extra level of competitive challenge in fantasy games, because we had to factor in positional scarcity and give extra weight to players who churned out stats that were abnormal for their respective positions -- e.g., 3-point-shooting centers, dime-dishing small forwards.
While we can debate whether the NBA has become completely "position-less" in 2017, it's clear that the classic PG, SG, SF, PF and C labels are outdated and fairly meaningless. Most bigs shoot 3s, there are only a couple of pure point guards, and just about everyone can handle the rock. The result is that 39 of our top 150 points-league players are eligible at two (or more) positions, and that list will grow as we get into the season and we grant more eligibility once roles are solidified on NBA teams.
The side effect is that the competitive element created by positions has been watered down to the point that I pay almost no attention to position eligibility as I draft in standard formats (PG, SG, G, SF, PF, F, C, 3 Util). Granted, positions play a slightly more important role in roto games, where specific stats matter, but in points leagues, where only your all-around statistical production matters, it means next to nothing.
With that in mind, we decided to do our latest mock draft -- a 10-team points format -- with 10 utility spots (no positional requirements) for the starting lineup. We also tacked on a fourth bench spot (drafting a total of 14 rounds) to encourage investing in injured or young players.
Also of note is that we are playing this league out, so unlike other mocks, where we may try out different strategies, you can be assured that our picks are focused on winning this league.
