During this downtime in the sports calendar, FanDuel has been innovating a lot of different ways to get some daily fantasy sports action.
One of those includes NBA Sim Sports, a format that looks pretty much identical to the usual FanDuel offering. The only twist is that the games won't be played live. Players will instead be assigned a random game from their 2019-20 season.
Matchups don't come into play, and late-scratches and other games missed by players won't come into effect. Scores roll out throughout the slate for a bit of a sweat.
It's free to enter (both the early and late slates), and here are some potential standout picks.
Finding Value
A rule of thumb in NBA DFS is finding certain value thresholds. For example, seeking players who can score 5.0 FanDuel points per $1,000 in salary. This is known as "five-times value" or "5x." The reason for that is if you max out your $60,000 budget and every player in your lineup scores exactly 5.0 points per $1,000, you'll total 300.0 FanDuel points. That's a good starting point.
Of course, for bigger totals, you'll want to shoot for 6x or higher, and for safety, 4x is a fine mark to uncover. What you will typically find is that the more expensive players hit 4x value often (because their roles are secure but their prices are high enough that they really need a huge game to pay off big price tags) and cheaper players hit 6x more frequently (because their bigger games are less about 50-point triple-doubles and more about a simple double-double at a cheaper price).
Value Leaders
These tables include the top-eight performers at each position based on how many times this season they had games that hit our three different value thresholds when compared to their current price for today's contests.
In parenthesis, you can see how often a player hit the given threshold. For example, Malcolm Brogdon returned 4x value in 83% of his games and 5x value in 63% of his games.
Early Slate
Point Guard
| PG
|
4x Value
|
5x Value
|
6x Value
|
| 1
|
De'Aaron Fox (0.85)
|
Chris Paul (0.6)
|
Reggie Jackson (0.43)
|
| 2
|
Chris Paul (0.78)
|
De'Aaron Fox (0.54)
|
D.J. Augustin (0.35)
|
| 3
|
Markelle Fultz (0.75)
|
Terry Rozier (0.52)
|
Rajon Rondo (0.33)
|
| 4
|
Ben Simmons (0.73)
|
D.J. Augustin (0.51)
|
Jeff Teague (0.32)
|
| 5
|
Trae Young (0.71)
|
Patrick Beverley (0.48)
|
Shake Milton (0.31)
|
| 6
|
Patrick Beverley (0.71)
|
Michael Carter-Williams (0.48)
|
Terry Rozier (0.3)
|
| 7
|
Jeff Teague (0.71)
|
Rajon Rondo (0.48)
|
Michael Carter-Williams (0.29)
|
| 8
|
Terry Rozier (0.7)
|
Trae Young (0.47)
|
Chris Paul (0.28)
|
Shooting Guard
| SG
|
4x Value
|
5x Value
|
6x Value
|
| 1
|
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (0.8)
|
Josh Richardson (0.63)
|
Josh Richardson (0.42)
|
| 2
|
Dennis Schroder (0.78)
|
Terrence Ross (0.57)
|
Terrence Ross (0.4)
|
| 3
|
Evan Fournier (0.75)
|
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (0.55)
|
Malik Monk (0.36)
|
| 4
|
Terrence Ross (0.75)
|
Buddy Hield (0.55)
|
Cody Martin (0.33)
|
| 5
|
Devonte' Graham (0.73)
|
Devonte' Graham (0.53)
|
Bogdan Bogdanovic (0.31)
|
| 6
|
Buddy Hield (0.73)
|
Dennis Schroder (0.51)
|
Danny Green (0.31)
|
| 7
|
Lou Williams (0.73)
|
Lou Williams (0.5)
|
Evan Fournier (0.3)
|
| 8
|
Kevin Huerter (0.71)
|
Kevin Huerter (0.5)
|
Dennis Schroder (0.29)
|
Small Forward
| SF
|
4x Value
|
5x Value
|
6x Value
|
| 1
|
LeBron James (0.84)
|
Harrison Barnes (0.58)
|
De'Andre Hunter (0.43)
|
| 2
|
Danilo Gallinari (0.79)
|
Glenn Robinson (0.58)
|
Glenn Robinson (0.4)
|
| 3
|
Tobias Harris (0.77)
|
De'Andre Hunter (0.57)
|
Harrison Barnes (0.37)
|
| 4
|
Harrison Barnes (0.75)
|
Danilo Gallinari (0.54)
|
Cam Reddish (0.34)
|
| 5
|
Paul George (0.69)
|
Miles Bridges (0.53)
|
Kent Bazemore (0.33)
|
| 6
|
Jonathan Isaac (0.69)
|
Paul George (0.5)
|
Jonathan Isaac (0.31)
|
| 7
|
Marcus Morris (0.69)
|
Tobias Harris (0.49)
|
Miles Bridges (0.29)
|
| 8
|
Miles Bridges (0.68)
|
Marcus Morris (0.49)
|
Markieff Morris (0.29)
|
Power Forward
| PF
|
4x Value
|
5x Value
|
6x Value
|
| 1
|
Kawhi Leonard (0.87)
|
Al Horford (0.55)
|
Nemanja Bjelica (0.38)
|
| 2
|
John Collins (0.78)
|
Nerlens Noel (0.53)
|
Nerlens Noel (0.36)
|
| 3
|
Al Horford (0.77)
|
Richaun Holmes (0.53)
|
Kyle Kuzma (0.35)
|
| 4
|
Aaron Gordon (0.76)
|
Aaron Gordon (0.52)
|
Richaun Holmes (0.33)
|
| 5
|
Anthony Davis (0.71)
|
P.J. Washington (0.51)
|
Al Horford (0.3)
|
| 6
|
P.J. Washington (0.71)
|
Kyle Kuzma (0.5)
|
Jabari Parker (0.3)
|
| 7
|
Jabari Parker (0.7)
|
Nemanja Bjelica (0.49)
|
Harry Giles (0.29)
|
| 8
|
Nerlens Noel (0.69)
|
Kawhi Leonard (0.46)
|
Al-Farouq Aminu (0.28)
|
Center
| C
|
4x Value
|
5x Value
|
6x Value
|
| 1
|
Nikola Vucevic (0.78)
|
Cody Zeller (0.52)
|
Bismack Biyombo (0.38)
|
| 2
|
Joel Embiid (0.76)
|
Clint Capela (0.51)
|
Ivica Zubac (0.36)
|
| 3
|
Ivica Zubac (0.75)
|
Montrezl Harrell (0.51)
|
Dwight Howard (0.35)
|
| 4
|
Cody Zeller (0.74)
|
Steven Adams (0.51)
|
Cody Zeller (0.33)
|
| 5
|
Clint Capela (0.72)
|
Alex Len (0.51)
|
Alex Len (0.33)
|
| 6
|
Montrezl Harrell (0.68)
|
JaVale McGee (0.51)
|
Steven Adams (0.31)
|
| 7
|
Steven Adams (0.68)
|
Ivica Zubac (0.5)
|
Dewayne Dedmon (0.3)
|
| 8
|
Dwight Howard (0.63)
|
Dwight Howard (0.47)
|
Montrezl Harrell (0.29)
|
Main Slate
Point Guard
| PG | 4x Value | 5x Value | 6x Value |
|---|
| 1 | Malcolm Brogdon (0.83) | Malcolm Brogdon (0.63) | Kris Dunn (0.41) |
| 2 | Jamal Murray (0.76) | Mike Conley (0.62) | Mike Conley (0.4) |
| 3 | Spencer Dinwiddie (0.73) | Kris Dunn (0.57) | Ish Smith (0.38) |
| 4 | Goran Dragic (0.72) | Spencer Dinwiddie (0.55) | Seth Curry (0.37) |
| 5 | Ish Smith (0.72) | Ish Smith (0.55) | Shabazz Napier (0.37) |
| 6 | Luka Doncic (0.71) | Eric Bledsoe (0.54) | Aaron Holiday (0.36) |
| 7 | Tomas Satoransky (0.71) | Elfrid Payton (0.53) | Jamal Murray (0.35) |
| 8 | Kris Dunn (0.71) | Luka Doncic (0.52) | Tomas Satoransky (0.34) |
Shooting Guard
| SG | 4x Value | 5x Value | 6x Value |
|---|
| 1 | Jimmy Butler (0.8) | Tyler Herro (0.62) | Gary Harris (0.39) |
| 2 | Donte DiVincenzo (0.8) | Donte DiVincenzo (0.61) | Tyler Herro (0.36) |
| 3 | Zach LaVine (0.77) | Devin Booker (0.59) | Jeremy Lamb (0.35) |
| 4 | Donovan Mitchell (0.77) | Donovan Mitchell (0.55) | RJ Barrett (0.35) |
| 5 | Khris Middleton (0.77) | Jeremy Lamb (0.54) | Jordan Clarkson (0.35) |
| 6 | Garrett Temple (0.75) | Duncan Robinson (0.54) | Duncan Robinson (0.34) |
| 7 | Jeremy Lamb (0.74) | RJ Barrett (0.53) | Caris LeVert (0.33) |
| 8 | Devin Booker (0.73) | Delon Wright (0.52) | Delon Wright (0.32) |
Small Forward
| SF | 4x Value | 5x Value | 6x Value |
|---|
| 1 | Giannis Antetokounmpo (0.83) | Gordon Hayward (0.56) | Joe Ingles (0.39) |
| 2 | Jaylen Brown (0.76) | Jaylen Brown (0.54) | Mikal Bridges (0.38) |
| 3 | Gordon Hayward (0.76) | Tim Hardaway (0.54) | Derrick Jones (0.37) |
| 4 | Will Barton (0.76) | Joe Harris (0.54) | Gordon Hayward (0.36) |
| 5 | Tim Hardaway (0.76) | Will Barton (0.53) | Dorian Finney-Smith (0.34) |
| 6 | T.J. Warren (0.75) | Joe Ingles (0.53) | Joe Harris (0.33) |
| 7 | Taurean Prince (0.75) | Jae Crowder (0.52) | Will Barton (0.33) |
| 8 | Kelly Oubre (0.73) | Troy Brown (0.52) | Jae Crowder (0.33) |
Power Forward
| PF | 4x Value | 5x Value | 6x Value |
|---|
| 1 | Bam Adebayo (0.8) | Daniel Theis (0.57) | Paul Millsap (0.43) |
| 2 | Jayson Tatum (0.77) | Davis Bertans (0.56) | Frank Kaminsky (0.38) |
| 3 | Domantas Sabonis (0.76) | Bam Adebayo (0.55) | Jerami Grant (0.36) |
| 4 | Davis Bertans (0.76) | Jarrett Allen (0.53) | Daniel Theis (0.34) |
| 5 | Daniel Theis (0.76) | Paul Millsap (0.52) | Dario Saric (0.34) |
| 6 | Julius Randle (0.75) | Rui Hachimura (0.52) | Michael Porter (0.33) |
| 7 | Maxi Kleber (0.74) | Julius Randle (0.5) | Jarrett Allen (0.31) |
| 8 | Thaddeus Young (0.72) | Royce O'Neale (0.49) | Royce O'Neale (0.31) |
Center
| C | 4x Value | 5x Value | 6x Value |
|---|
| 1 | Wendell Carter (0.77) | Willie Cauley-Stein (0.61) | Kelly Olynyk (0.39) |
| 2 | Rudy Gobert (0.75) | Mitchell Robinson (0.51) | Dwight Powell (0.38) |
| 3 | DeAndre Jordan (0.75) | DeAndre Jordan (0.5) | Enes Kanter (0.37) |
| 4 | Thomas Bryant (0.74) | Enes Kanter (0.49) | Ian Mahinmi (0.37) |
| 5 | Deandre Ayton (0.73) | Kelly Olynyk (0.49) | Aron Baynes (0.36) |
| 6 | Mitchell Robinson (0.72) | Rudy Gobert (0.48) | Thomas Bryant (0.32) |
| 7 | Bobby Portis (0.7) | Dwight Powell (0.48) | Willie Cauley-Stein (0.31) |
| 8 | Myles Turner (0.69) | Aron Baynes (0.48) | Myles Turner (0.31) |
