:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/43237986/20140314_ajl_ai4_474.0.jpg)
As a Utah Jazz fan it's important to have a rich fantasy life, as our four decades old franchise has no NBA Championships and doesn't even look like they'll be a threat for the playoffs this season. Keeping that fantasy alive is important, and this year SBNation and popular fantasy sports website FanDuel are partnering up to bring you a chance to play daily fantasy basketball for potential cash prizes. I'm not good at explaining things, but our friends at Sactown Royalty are . . . so here's basically what they had to say:
Disclosure: Even though this is a sponsored post with affiliate links, all of the opinions in this post are my own. And as an FYI, FanDuel gave me some cash to play its daily fantasy games.
FanDuel can be played either for free or for actual money, and the way it works is that you're given a set salary cap and tasked with creating a team of players for that night's action. You're competing with sometimes thousands of other players, and prizes are doled out on a sliding scale. For example in one contest with a $2 buy-in going on for tonight's opening action, the top prize is $6,000 for having the highest scoring team, but it scales all the way to $5 if you finished in the 1,501 - 6820 range. Here's a handy link to their NBA contest beginner guide.
The cool thing about FanDuel is that you can start over fresh each day, not having to worry about choosing a team once and riding them for the entire year. That also means you can play when you want, and not worry about tweaking your rotations every day to adjust for each game, injury, etc.
Sign up for FanDuel by going here. Here are the rules, and remember that you must be 18 years or older and live in the US or Canada to play. Please note that residents of AZ, IA, LA, MT and WA cannot play for money.
Personally, I'm not that good at fantasy, as my reality is already crazy enough. But I am going to participate in this FanDuel thing this year. After all, they make it easy enough for someone like me to feel a sense of accomplishment! In a season where our team once again looks like they are in trouble . . . it may be a healthy distraction for all. Also, I'm sure they're going to under-value Alec Burks all season long -- so be sure to pick him up.