While many prefer more traditional formats when playing fantasy basketball, others are more willing to try new formats. With that in mind, Yahoo! Sports has introduced its new High Score fantasy basketball game. There are some differences between this league and the head-to-head and roto setups we’ve grown accustomed to over the years. Let’s look at how High Score is played, beginning with the rosters.
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– Each team has ten players, but only six will be active.
Lineups are set at the beginning of the week, with six active players and four on the bench. There are two guard slots for players with the point guard and/or shooting guard designation, three frontcourt slots (small forward, power forward and center) and one utility spot that can be occupied by any player regardless of position. The other four players will be on your bench, and you can slot them in at any point in the week.
However, there is a key factor that you’ll need to take into consideration when moving a bench player into the lineup for that week. The points accrued by the player you’ve decided to bench come off the board and can’t be recouped. Returning a benched player to the active lineup later in the week doesn’t do the trick; only the points earned in games from that point onward will be eligible. Each player’s high score from any game played during that week will count toward your team’s score, so targeting players capable of an explosive performance is the best way to approach your draft.
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– How does scoring work?
There are only five scoring categories for default High Score leagues, which are weighted.
Points: 1 point each
Rebounds: 1 point each
Assists: 2 points each
Steals: 3 points each
Blocks: 3 points each
For those who have played DFS, those point values will look somewhat similar, although rebounds and assists tend to count for 1.2 per rebound or assist. There are no decimals to deal with in High Score, only whole numbers. For those used to worrying about percentages or turnovers, those won’t matter in High Score. That boosts the values of players such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Trae Young and Zion Williamson, to name a few.
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The game also limits some of the risk of drafting injury-prone players in other fantasy formats. Will you still use a first-round pick on Joel Embiid or Ja Morant, to name two players with prior injury issues? Probably not, but managers will be better positioned to compensate for a player missing time in High Score.
While the High Score format will take some getting used to, it’s a relatively simple deal from a scoring standpoint. The substitution situation and what that can do to weekly scoring may take many managers the most time to get used to, possibly losing a matchup or two. With these rules in mind, I recently entered a draft, hoping to craft a team that could do some damage in the High Score format.
I picked from the second slot in a 10-round snake draft, kicking things off with San Antonio Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama. Below is how the draft played out.
Round 1
Position(s)
Player
Team
1
F,C
Nikola Jokić
Denver Nuggets
2
F,C
Victor Wembanyama
San Antonio Spurs
3
G
Luka DonÄić
Los Angeles Lakers
4
G
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Oklahoma City Thunder
5
F,C
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Milwaukee Bucks
6
G
Cade Cunningham
Detroit Pistons
7
G
Anthony Edwards
Minnesota Timberwolves
8
G
Devin Booker
Phoenix Suns
9
F,C
Anthony Davis
Dallas Mavericks
10
G
Trae Young
Atlanta Hawks
Round 2
Position(s)
Player
Team
1
G
James Harden
LA Clippers
2
G
Stephen Curry
Golden State Warriors
3
F,C
Kevin Durant
Houston Rockets
4
F,C
Karl-Anthony Towns
New York Knicks
5
G
Tyrese Maxey
Philadelphia 76ers
6
G
Donovan Mitchell
Cleveland Cavaliers
7
G,F,C
Amen Thompson
Houston Rockets
8
F,C
Jalen Johnson
Atlanta Hawks
9
F,C
Alperen Şengün
Houston Rockets
10
F,C
Evan Mobley
Cleveland Cavaliers
Round 3
Position(s)
Player
Team
1
G
LaMelo Ball
Charlotte Hornets
2
G
Jalen Brunson
New York Knicks
3
F,C
Domantas Sabonis
Sacramento Kings
4
G,F,C
Scottie Barnes
Toronto Raptors
5
G
Josh Giddey
Chicago Bulls
6
F,C
Chet Holmgren
Oklahoma City Thunder
7
F,C
Jaylen Brown
Boston Celtics
8
F,C
Jalen Williams
Oklahoma City Thunder
9
F,C
Pascal Siakam
Indiana Pacers
10
G
Jamal Murray
Denver Nuggets
Round 4
Position(s)
Player
Team
1
F,C
Jaren Jackson Jr.
Memphis Grizzlies
2
F,C
LeBron James
Los Angeles Lakers
3
F,C
Bam Adebayo
Miami Heat
4
G
Derrick White
Boston Celtics
5
F,C
Paolo Banchero
Orlando Magic
6
F,C
Franz Wagner
Orlando Magic
7
F,C
Trey Murphy
New Orleans Pelicans
8
G
Austin Reaves
Los Angeles Lakers
9
G,F,C
Dyson Daniels
Atlanta Hawks
10
G
Deâ€Aaron Fox
San Antonio Spurs
Round 5
Position(s)
Player
Team
1
F,C
Zion Williamson
New Orleans Pelicans
2
F,C
Joel Embiid
Philadelphia 76ers
3
F,C
Jimmy Butler
Golden State Warriors
4
F,C
Ivica Zubac
LA Clippers
5
G,F,C
Desmond Bane
Orlando Magic
6
F,C
Brandon Miller
Charlotte Hornets
7
F,C
Kawhi Leonard
LA Clippers
8
F,C
Deni Avdija
Portland Trail Blazers
9
F,C
Kristaps Porziņģis
Atlanta Hawks
10
F,C
Cooper Flagg
Dallas Mavericks
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Round 6
Position(s)
Player
Team
1
F,C
Myles Turner
Milwaukee Bucks
2
G
Ja Morant
Memphis Grizzlies
3
G,F,C
Brandon Ingram
Toronto Raptors
4
F,C
Miles Bridges
Charlotte Hornets
5
F,C
Walker Kessler
Utah Jazz
6
F,C
Nikola VuÄević
Chicago Bulls
7
G
Darius Garland
Cleveland Cavaliers
8
F,C
DeMar DeRozan
Sacramento Kings
9
F,C
OG Anunoby
New York Knicks
10
F,C
Lauri Markkanen
Utah Jazz
Round 7
Position(s)
Player
Team
1
F,C
Jalen Duren
Detroit Pistons
2
G,F,C
Cam Thomas
Brooklyn Nets
3
G
Zach LaVine
Sacramento Kings
4
F,C
Deandre Ayton
Los Angeles Lakers
5
G
Coby White
Chicago Bulls
6
F,C
Jarrett Allen
Cleveland Cavaliers
7
G
Immanuel Quickley
Toronto Raptors
8
G
Tyler Herro
Miami Heat
9
G
Jordan Poole
New Orleans Pelicans
10
G
Payton Pritchard
Boston Celtics
Round 8
Position(s)
Player
Team
1
G
Andrew Nembhard
Indiana Pacers
2
F,C
Julius Randle
Minnesota Timberwolves
3
F,C
Isaiah Hartenstein
Oklahoma City Thunder
4
F,C
Rudy Gobert
Minnesota Timberwolves
5
F,C
Jakob Poeltl
Toronto Raptors
6
F,C
Mark Williams
Phoenix Suns
7
F,C
Matas Buzelis
Chicago Bulls
8
G,F,C
Paul George
Philadelphia 76ers
9
G,F,C
Shaedon Sharpe
Portland Trail Blazers
10
F,C
Michael Porter Jr.
Brooklyn Nets
Round 9
Position(s)
Player
Team
1
G,F,C
Bennedict Mathurin
Indiana Pacers
2
F,C
Ausar Thompson
Detroit Pistons
3
F,C
Donovan Clingan
Portland Trail Blazers
4
F,C
Mikal Bridges
New York Knicks
5
G,F,C
Christian Braun
Denver Nuggets
6
G
Jalen Green
Phoenix Suns
7
G,F,C
Norman Powell
Miami Heat
8
G
Anfernee Simons
Boston Celtics
9
G,F,C
Bradley Beal
LA Clippers
10
G,F,C
Devin Vassell
San Antonio Spurs
Round 10
Position(s)
Player
Team
1
F,C
Cameron Johnson
Denver Nuggets
2
F,C
John Collins
LA Clippers
3
F,C
Draymond Green
Golden State Warriors
4
F,C
Alex Sarr
Washington Wizards
5
F,C
Kelâ€el Ware
Miami Heat
6
F,C
Dereck Lively II
Dallas Mavericks
7
G
Kevin Porter Jr.
Milwaukee Bucks
8
F,C
Onyeka Okongwu
Atlanta Hawks
9
F,C
RJ Barrett
Toronto Raptors
10
F,C
Naz Reid
Minnesota Timberwolves
Final team:
F,C Victor Wembanyama
F,C Alperen Şengün
G Jalen Brunson
G,F,C Dyson Daniels
F,C Joel Embiid
F,C OG Anunoby
G,F,C Cam Thomas
G,F,C Shaedon Sharpe
F,C Ausar Thompson
F,C RJ Barrett
Drafting a player of Wembanyama’s caliber who can offer elite value in all five scoring categories opens things up regarding crafting your High Score team. I leaned toward offense with Åžengün and Brunson, but Daniels was a must-have for me in the fourth round. Even with the second pick of the fifth round, I was unwilling to risk losing out on a defender of his caliber, especially after he racked up 229 steals and 55 blocked shots in 2024-25.
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The back half of my draft focused primarily on players capable of putting in an explosive offensive performance, especially Thomas and Sharpe. The former is entering a contract year on a rebuilding team, while the latter is under similar pressure in Portland. Thompson hasn’t been an explosive offensive option in Detroit, but I believe in what he brings to the table defensively. And with Jaden Ivey out to begin the regular season, there may be more room for Thompson to spread his wings as a slasher within the Pistons’ offense.
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