How It Works
Everything you need to know to dominate this thing. Read it. Or don't. But don't come crying when your roster implodes because you didn't understand the captain mechanic.
1. Building Your Roster
You pick 10 NBA players from the playoff teams. That's your squad for the season. Think of it like assembling a team across dimensions... except all dimensions are the NBA and you only get 10 slots.
When you create your roster, you're also setting your GP 1 lineup. No extra step needed. Your initial picks ARE your first game period lineup.
Your roster has 5 starters on the court and 5 bench players. All 10 contribute to scoring, but bench points count at 90%— a 10% reduction. Starters get full credit. Pick your five starters wisely.
2. Positions & Slots
Each of the 10 roster slots has position requirements:
| Slot | Position Required | Role |
|---|---|---|
| G1 | Guard | Starter |
| G2 | Guard | Starter |
| F1 | Forward | Starter |
| F2 | Forward | Starter |
| C1 | Center | Starter |
| B1 | Any position | Bench |
| B2 | Any position | Bench |
| B3 | Any position | Bench |
| B4 | Any position | Bench |
| B5 | Any position | Bench |
All 5 bench slots accept any position. This is where your big brain 4D chess comes in. Stack guards? Go heavy on forwards? Fill the bench with centers? Nobody can stop you. The cap will, though.
3. Point Cap (Budget)
Total roster cost cannot exceed 300 points.
Each player's cost equals their last 10 game average score on Sorare. A player averaging 40 points costs 40.0. A player averaging 15 costs 15.0. No multipliers. No hidden math. What you see is what you pay.
Example budget breakdown:
Star player (avg 43.6) + Star player (avg 38.5) + Star player (avg 38.0) = 120.1 spent on 3 players.
Remaining: 179.9 for 7 more players = ~25.7 average each.
You CAN build a team of all stars. You just can't build a team of ALL stars. That's the point.
Player costs update with each score sync. A player on a hot streak gets more expensive. A player who just dropped a 12-point stinker gets cheaper. The market moves. Plan accordingly.
3b. Starter vs Bench Scoring
Not all 10 roster spots are equal when the scoreboard runs.
| Role | Score Weight |
|---|---|
| Starter (G1, G2, F1, F2, C1) | 100% |
| Bench (B1–B5) | 90% |
Example:
A starter scores 30.0 → counts as 30.0.
A bench player scores 30.0 → counts as 27.0.
Your bench still matters (they're your depth during injuries, blowouts, and elimination shuffles), but a starter on a good run will always beat the same player on your bench. Put your top earners in the starting five.
4. Captain (2x Bonus)
You can designate one of your 5 starters as Captain. The captain's best game score for the GP gets doubled.
Example:
Your captain scores 35.0 in their best game this GP.
That counts as 70.0 toward your GP total.
Captain is set per game period. Different GP, different captain. Pick the player you think will have the biggest single game. Not the most consistent... the most explosive.
Only starters (G1, G2, F1, F2, C1) can be captain. Bench players can't. Click a starter on the court to crown them. Click again to remove.
5. Game Periods (GPs)
The entire playoff run is divided into Game Periods. Each GP covers a few days of playoff games.
Before each GP starts, you can set a different lineup. Same 300-point cap, same position rules, but you can swap players in and out. Maybe a player's matchup is bad this week. Bench him. Put in someone else.
GP Lineup Rules
- You can change your entire lineup between GPs
- Once a GP starts, your lineup is locked
- No changes, no take-backs, no exceptions
- If you don't set a lineup for a GP, your previous lineup carries over
- Captain resets each GP... you must pick a new one (or keep the same one)
Other players can't see your lineup for future GPs. Fair play. Once a GP starts and lineups lock, everyone's lineup is visible.
6. Scoring System
Scores come from Sorare's fantasy scoring system. Each NBA game generates a score for every player based on their real stats.
The key rule: only your best game per player per GP counts.
Example:
Player X has 3 games in GP 4:
Game 1: 28.5 · Game 2: 41.2 · Game 3: 33.8
Only the 41.2 counts toward your GP total.
Your GP total = sum of best scores from all 10 players (captain doubled).
Your overall total = sum of all GP totals across the entire playoffs.
This means: players with more games in a GP have more chances to pop off. A player with 4 games has 4 shots at a monster performance. A player with 1 game gets one shot. Choose wisely.
7. Stat Breakdown
Each game score is built from individual stat contributions. Click any game in a player's game log to see the full breakdown.
| Stat | Points Per Unit | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Points | +1.0 | Positive |
| Assists | +1.5 | Positive |
| Rebounds | +1.2 | Positive |
| Steals | +3.0 | Positive |
| Blocks | +3.0 | Positive |
| 3PT Made | +1.0 | Positive |
| Turnovers | -2.0 | Negative |
| Double Double | +1.0 | Bonus |
| Triple Double | +1.0 | Bonus |
| Minutes | 0 | Tracked only |
Note: These are Sorare's multipliers. The "Total" column in the game breakdown shows value × multiplier for each stat. Steals and blocks are the highest-value individual stats. Turnovers are the only negative.
8. Leaderboard
The leaderboard shows two views:
Overall Leaders — cumulative scores across ALL game periods. This is the main ranking. Who's winning the whole thing.
GP Leaderboard — rankings for each individual game period. See who dominated each week. Every roster appears in every GP, even with 0 points.
Click a team name in the GP leaderboard to see their lineup for that period (only visible after the GP starts, for fairness).
Your own row is highlighted in orange and sticky-scrolls so you can always see where you stand.
9. Eliminations & Swaps
When an NBA team gets eliminated from the playoffs, their players on your roster get the ELIMINATED badge. Their row glitches out (literally... it's an animation).
Eliminated players still count any scores they earned while active. But they won't score any more points since their team isn't playing.
You get free swaps for eliminated players. Replace them with active players from teams still in the playoffs. The swap must still respect the position slot and the 300-point cap.
Swap Limits
- Elimination swaps: unlimited, free, any time
- Active swaps (non-eliminated players): 2 per GP max
- Can't swap in a player from an eliminated team
- Incoming player takes the outgoing player's slot
Players on teams with 2+ series losses get the AT RISK badge. No action needed yet... just a heads up that the swap might be coming.
10. Strategy Tips
Captain = biggest upside
Don't pick your most consistent scorer. Pick the one most likely to have a 50+ point explosion. One monster game doubled is better than a reliable 30 doubled.
Game count matters
In a GP with 4 games, a player has 4 chances at their best. In a GP with 1 game, they get one shot. More games = more lottery tickets.
Budget your stars
Three 40-cost stars leaves 180 for 7 players (~25.7 avg). Two 40-cost stars leaves 220 for 8 players (~27.5 avg). Sometimes two stars + depth beats three stars + scrubs.
Watch the matchups
Player costs are backward-looking (last 10 avg). But upcoming matchups matter. A cheap player facing a weak defense might outscore an expensive player facing the #1 defense.
Don't sleep on bench FLEXes
All 5 bench spots are unconstrained by position. Stack them with whatever position has the best value that GP.
You've read the manual. Now go draft something that doesn't suck.
Build Your Roster →