2024-25 NBA LEAGUE RULES

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

Rule changes for the 2024-25 Season are in red

Rules Committee
There will be an in-season rules committee consistening of Jeff Snyder, Al Dotson and Steve Carbone. The in-season rules committee will review any in-season rule issues that may arise and any proposed trades. If any member of the rules committee is directly involved (team or game is impacted) they will be be replaced on the issue or proposed trade. A replacement owner will be appointed by the Commish. Members will carefully evaluate any rule issue or proposed trade and render a timely decision to the league.

The Season
The 2023-24 NBA season begins with the Covid19 pandemic mostly behind us. The league will act in an appropriate manner when it comes to Covid-related rulings. Some Covid related rule adjustments will remain in place, some rules have been adjusted to the current state of affairs. In worst case scenario, we will use previous Covid rules if necessary.

If the NBA season is cancelled prior to the completion of week 16 (the end of our regular season), our league will be cancelled. All entry fees will be refunded or credited towards a future season or league. No payouts will be issued for any side pots, division winners or playoff/scrub bowl prizes.
If the NBA season is cancelled during weeks 17-19 (our playoff weeks) payouts will be awarded as such : A) side pots and division winners paid based on regular season results. Weekly points pool would also be final based off regular season results. B) Playoff teams will receive payouts based upon finish of played playoff round(s) or seeding for unplayed playoff round(s). For example, first round is played but then season cancelled, payouts for first round teams eliminated paid as normal, remaining teams would be paid based upon their seed.

The league week will be Monday thru Sunday. The season will consist of 17 weeks of regular season play beginning Monday October 28^th, 2024. There will be two combined weeks from 12/9-12/22 (week 7 due to In-Season tournament) and 2/10-2/23 (week 14 due to the NBA All-Star Game). There will be 3 rounds of playoffs to determine the league champion. The participants in the playoffs will be the 2 division winners along with 4 wild card teams for a total of 6 teams that will participate in post season play beginning Monday March 10^th, 2025.

A win over an opponent is worth 2 points. 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 weekly team point totals will be ranked 1-10, with the top 5 receiving a bonus 1 point. In the event of a tie for the 5^th and final spot in the top 5, both teams will receive the bonus point.

The Scoring
The 2024/25 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.

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 necessary. Player position eligibility will be listed on Fantrax and multi-position players on our league website.

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, IR eligible players may be replaced starting Thursday 10/24 at 3am. 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 mtn Monday. The "default lineup" for teams each week will be the previous week's lineup. Week 1 default lineup is the order players were drafted.

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 missed all games, sub(s) will be used to get to the number of games the starter was scheduled 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 only. (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:    $1750 Entry Fees Collected

-$175 Commish Fee
-$60 Website Services
-$1125 Playoff Team Breakdown (4 Teams)
-$100 Division Winners (2 Teams)
-$290 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 six (6) 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 $9         2^nd $6        3^rd $3
The bottom 3 teams will have to pay the following amounts:     8^th $3       9^th $6        10^th $9

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 4 wild card teams qualify for the playoffs. The two division winners will receive a bye in the first round of the playoffs. In Round One the matchups are wildcard seeds 1 vs 4 and 2 vs 3. In Round Two, the top division winner will play the lowest remaining wildcard seed, and the two remaining teams will play each other. In Round Three, the two winners from round two 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-field 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 3am mtn. Transactions will also be processed at the 5pm mtn Monday 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 permitted during week 1. The first day for free agent add/drop moves is Friday 10/25 at 3am mtn. Priority on claims during week 1 is the earliest drafted player.

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 for 1 day (i.e. player is able to be claimed at the next available transaction deadline). Players dropped on Monday at 3am are available to be claimed at the Monday 5pm lineup/transaction 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 #12 (January 27th, 2025).

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.