2023-24 NBA LEAGUE RULES

All questions, disputes and interpretations of these rules subject to commissioner’s rulings.
All commissioner rulings will be final.

The league week will be Monday thru Sunday. The season will consist of 17 weeks of regular season play beginning Monday October 30^th, 2023. There will be a combined week the week of the NBA All-Star Game from 2/12-2/25. There will be 2 rounds of playoffs to determine the league champion. The participants in the playoffs will be the 2 division winners along with 2 wild card teams for a total of 4 teams that will participate in post season play beginning Monday March 11^th, 2024.

A win over an opponent is worth 2 points. The weekly team point totals will be ranked 1-8, with the top 4 receiving a bonus 1 point. In the event of a tie for the 4^th and final spot in the top 4, both teams will receive the bonus point.

The Scoring
The 2023 scoring system is available on the main page of the league website. A double double or triple double is defined as a player scoring double digits in points, rebounds, assists, steals or blocks in two (double) or three categories (triple). Fantrax will track live scoring. Weekly results, standings and side pots will be updated on our league website. If an owner notices a discrepancy with scores of games, scores of players, game results, standings or side pots, please notify the Commish immediately. In the event of a discrepancy, the commissioner will review all available info and provide a ruling.

In the event of a tie game, both teams will receive 1 point for the tie. In the playoffs, the higher seed will get the win in the event of a tie game.

The Teams/Rosters
The teams will consist of 10 players, distributed as follows:
(3) Guards    (3) Forwards    (1) Center    (3) Optional (G, F or C)

Some players are eligible at both Guard/Forward and Forward/Center. We will use the default Fantrax position eligibility first, and add any additional eligibility per NBA.com as necssary. Player position eligibility will be listed on Fantrax.

The Draft
The draft is 10 rounds with teams picking in reverse order in even numbered rounds. Fantrax will determine draft order when creating the league. You are permitted to trade draft positions. There will be a 2 minute per pick time limit.

Players who meet the injury qualification may be drafted. After the draft, any player that meets the injury qualification up to when week 1 lineups are due, may be placed on the IR starting the day after the draft. Priority for these IR replacements is the highest drafted player to be replaced.

Line-ups
Lineup changes are due to the league by 5:00 PM Monday. The "default lineup" for teams each week will be the previous week's lineup.

Starting line ups will consist of :
(2) G    (2) F    (1) C    (1) Optional (G, F or C)
Subs must be declared each week as follows: (1) Sub G    (1) Sub F    (1) Sub Center/Optional (G/F/C)    (1) Sub (G/F/C)

The "normal sub" (SG, SF and Sub C/O will be used FIRST for missed games. The 4th sub will fill in for any starting player that missed a game(s) and does not have a sub available for any reason.

Players will use their 3 highest games of the week. If a player is only scheduled for 1 or 2 games, no sub is used. If a player scheduled for 3 or more games misses any games and does not have 3 games available, a sub will be used. The sub used will be on the day the starter didn't play, or the next available game if there is no game scheduled that day for the sub. Teams may have to go backwards to find the next available game for a sub to meet the 3 games. For example, a starter misses his 3rd scheduled game of the week on Saturday, and the sub is not scheduled to play on Saturday or Sunday. You would then go backwards to find his next available sub game which may have taken place already on Friday or possibly Thursday. If a starter is scheduled for 3 or more games in a week and misses all the games, the sub does get to use their best 3 games out of all their scheduled games for the week.

If a starter is scheduled for more than 3 games and only plays one or two games, the sub will be used for as many potential games as the starter had. The starting player's games will be used first, then the sub to meet the 3 game week. For example, a starter was scheduled for 4 games and only plays two games. The sub will be used for games 3 and 4. (same sub game usage rule applies) The starter's 2 games and the sub's highest game would be the 3 game week.

If a team starts a player that is out with a long term injury, the team will not get a sub for missed games. Long term injuries must be extended time (multi week/month) or out for the season type of injuries. If there is any chance a player may play that week, the team will not be penalized with no sub.

Fees
There will be an entry fee of $175 due on draft day. Owners may make arrangements with the Commish if necssary.

*Entry Fee Breakdown:    $1400 Entry Fees Collected

-$175 Commish Fee
-$60 Website Services
-$800 Playoff Team Breakdown (4 Teams)
-$80 Division Winners (2 Teams)
-$285 Side-Pot Winners

Prize Money
The total of all eligible fees collected will be returned to the league in the form of prize money. All four (4) of the playoff teams that qualify for the post season will share in the playoff prize money. All sidepots will conclude at the end of the regular season.


Weekly Points Pool
The top 3 teams scores each week will receive the following prize:     1^st $6         2^nd $4        3^rd $2
The bottom 3 teams will have to pay the following amounts:     6^th $2       7^th $4        8^th $6

Team entry fees will be adjusted by money won or loss in the weekly points pool the following season. Any winnings or losses from the prior year, would be the responsibility of the owner that incurred them. If a team chooses not to come back to the league the following year, they would receive any weekly winnings they may have won, as well must pay any losses they may have had. If a team does not pay off any losses, they would not be permitted to participate in ANY UAL Fantasy League until their debt is settled.

Post Season Play
Each Division Winner and 2 wild card teams qualify for the playoffs. In Round One the #1 seed will play the #4, and the #2 seed will play the #3 seed. In Round Two, the two winners from round one will play for the league championship. When determining final order of finish, a wildcard team can never be ranked higher then a divisional winner, regardless of the teams final record. "Home-court advantage" will apply in the playoffs ONLY, with the higher seeded team receiving the advantage in a tie game.

Playoff rosters will be frozen for free agent add/drop moves once playoff week 1 begins. IR moves will be permitted during the playoffs under the same regular season rules.

Tie Breakers
If at any time during the season a tie occurs with respect to records, the league will use the same formula through out:
1) total team points (wins + top 4 finishes)
2) winning percentage ((wins + 1/2 point for ties)/games played)
3) head to head
4) record within division (*only in the event of a tie between two teams in the same division)
5) most points scored
6) most points scored against
7) coin flip

*Note: In the event of a 3-way tie for a playoff position, tie breaker #3 head to head is only used if a team had a winning record against both of the other two teams. If no team had a winning record against all the other teams, tie breaker #3 is not used.

Transactions
All transaction request must be sent to the Commish. Transactions will be processed daily at 8pm mtn. Monday transactions will be processed at the 5pm mtn lineup deadline. When you acquire a free agent, the player must remain on your roster until they are used in a lineup. The only exception is when a player is activated off the IR, any player can be dropped.

Free Agents
Free agent add/drop moves are not permitted after the draft. The first transaction day to make add/drop moves will be Monday November 6, 2023 after week one is complete. If a team wishes to place a bid on more than one free agent during any given claim period, the owner must rank the players in an order of preference. Priority for all claims will be determined by the lowest team in the standings. The league will award players in a draft like manner, with the highest priority team getting their first choice of player, then the next highest priority team getting their choice, and so on. If a team makes multiple claims, the claims will be processed one "round" of claims at a time. Teams will each get one move processed before going to the second round of claims. Teams can not drop a player and wait to pick a player up at a later date, the entire move must be completed at one time. Players that meet the injury qualification (including NBA free agents) may be claimed as free agents, but they can not be placed on the IR until after they play in a game first, provided they still meet the injury qualification.

Waiver Wire
All players dropped will go on waivers. Players will remain on waivers for 2 days. (i.e. a player dropped Monday can be claimed Wednesday) If a team activates an IR player, the player dropped will be available the next day. (IR move players dropped on Sunday can be claimed at the 5pm mtn Monday lineup deadline)

Injury List
A player can be placed on the IR with any verifiable injury or Covid protocol issue. It must be a substantiated injury or Covid protocol issue, not just a player was given a day off for rest. Players being rested for "load management" are not eligible for the IR, unless it is multiple games they are expected to miss. Once a player on IR plays in a game, they must be activated or will be released at the next Monday 5pm lineup deadline. Consideration will be given for players that first play on Sunday night. If a player is cut by their NBA team, they are eligible for the IR. If the player resurfaces on another NBA team, teams will still retain the rights to that player.

Trades
Trades are permitted at anytime until the trading deadline. Owners must have a complete and balanced roster at the conclusion of a trade. In the event of a "2 for 1" trade, owners must release and/or acquire free agents to fill any roster voids. The trading deadline for our league will be 5pm on Monday of week #14 (January 29th, 2024).

Fines
Fines will be issued for for an incomplete lineup. An incomplete lineup occurs when a player who is out with a long term injury is started. Consideration will be given for a player who is expected to return from injury. A mulligan will be issued for the first offense and a $10 fine for all subsequent offenses. Fines will be deducted from any team winnings, or added to next year's entry fee. Fines collected will be used for league expenses or added to the prize fund if necessary.