The new NBL24 season is now upon us, with the first game of Round 1 scheduled for play on Thursday, September 28th. It’s a fun time of the season for fantasy coaches who can now take part in the revamped NBL Supercoach.
Seasoned fantasy coaches would be familiar with Supercoach who run yearly competitions for the AFL, NRL, and BBL. They’ve now partnered with the NBL to bring us a new and improved fantasy game for one of the most popular elite sports competitions in Australia.
Below, we take you through some of the best starting picks for your NBL24 Supercoach team, taking into considering their schedule and price for the first five rounds of the season. Good luck to all fantasy coaches this season!
NBL24 Supercoach: Best Premium & Bargain Picks
SCHEDULE
First things first. Every NBL round is different, with some teams playing more games than others. At times there will be teams that play 0, 1, 2 or even 3 games in a given round, so identifying which teams play the most games in upcoming weeks, and selecting players from those teams is absolutely crucial. With that said, here’s how many games each team plays in the first five rounds of the season.
Total games played from Rounds 1-5
Melbourne United: 9
Adelaide 36ers: 8
Brisbane Bullets: 8
SE Melbourne Phoenix: 8
Tasmania JackJumpers: 8
Illawarra Hawks: 7
Perth Wildcats: 7
Sydney Kings: 7
Cairns Taipans: 5
New Zealand Breakers: 5
Schedule summary: Simply put, you want to be targeting players from United where possible, as they have a really busy schedule to start the season. Players from the 36ers, Bullets, Phoenix, and JackJumpers are also a great option. On the other hand, avoid picking players from the Taipans and Breakers in your starting lineup at all costs. Below is an image of the full schedule via Basketballblokes.com.
(NBL Schedule picture above)
PREMIUM PICKS ($200K+)
Bryce Cotton (GRD $466.3K) – It would be rude not to include the best player in the competition. Cotton was the highest scoring player in fantasy last season and will be right up there again in NBL24.
Mitch Creek (FWD $418.9K) – Gets a nice schedule to start with double-headers in the opening two rounds. He was one of the highest scoring players last season and will be a great pick once again.
Gary Browne (GRD $325.5K) – Currently only in around 5% of teams despite being a great fantasy scorer and having a blessed schedule to start the season. Browne can be streaky at times but can also churn out really big scores.
Luke Travers (GRD/FWD $276.3K) – One of the most popular picks in Supercoach this season is Luke Travers. He burnt a lot of fantasy coaches with an underwhelming season in NBL23, but is expected to bounce back in a big way this campaign in his new colours at Melbourne United.
Aaron Baynes (CTR $240.3K) – Baynes’ return to the NBL was a disappointing one last season, but perhaps we expected too much of him coming off a serious injury. He’s looked good in the preseason, highlighted by a monster 20-20 game that had fantasy coaches tongues wagging.
Also consider: Milton Doyle (GRD $344.6K), Nathan Sobey (GRD $287.6K), Tyler Cook (CTR/FWD $277K), Isaac Humphries (CTR $251.2K)
(Bryce Cotton picture above)
BARGAIN PICKS (<$200K)
Ariel Hukporti (CTR $172.1K) – Hukporti missed the entire NBL23 season due to a torn Achilles tendon, but is back in action this campaign. Showed his class and elite potential in the NBL Blitz and represents great value at the Centre position.
Alexandre Sarr (FWD/CTR $115K) – A highly-touted Next Star, Alexandre Sarr is expected to make an immediate impact in the NBL. Had some crazy games in the preseason and at 7ft with high athleticism, Sarr has a game that is inducive to big fantasy scores.
Trentyn Flowers (GRD $115K) – Again, highly-touted but probably didn’t have the impact he would’ve liked in the preseason. Still, Flowers will get plenty of opportunity for a 36ers outfit that will struggle this season.
Isaac White (GRD $88.5K) – Comes over from the JackJumpers where he had limited opportunity but played well when given time on the court. Can shoot with the best of them and looks a good bench option at his price.
Lachlan Olbrich (CTR/FWD $69K) – 19-year-old big man that plays hard and should be a part of the rotation for the Hawks given his impressive performances in the Blitz. Is also at basement price which adds further attraction.
Also consider: Rocco Zikarsky (CTR $115K), Reuben Te Rangi (GRD/FWD $111.5K), Kyrin Gallowary (FWD $69K), Majok Majok (CTR/FWD $69K)
(Alexandre Sarr picture above)
