Fantasy WNBA: How to play Fantasy Women's Basketball

It's almost that time again!

Fantasy Women's Basketball is back for its fourth year. After a power-packed season from wire-to-wire last year, we expect even bigger and better for 2025.

The inaugural season of Unrivaled 3-on-3 hoops is building to its championship and NCAA March Madness is nigh, so the WNBA campaign is right around the corner. That means it's time to get ready for the fantasy game.

Fantasy Women's Basketball is similar to others fantasy games you might've played before: this is a points, head-to-head format that crowns a champion in an end-of-season playoffs.

Here is the scoring system for the game:

Point = 1 Fantasy point (FP) (e.g. a 2-point shot = 2 FP)
Rebound = 1 FP
Assist = 1 FP
Made 3-pointer = 1 FP (e.g. a 3-point shot = 3 FP + 1 bonus FP = 4 total FP)
Steal = 2 FP
Block = 2 FP

Points, rebounds and assists are all potentially high-volume categories, so they earn one fantasy point each. Steals and blocks are harder to come by, so they are worth twice as much. Made 3-pointers give you a bonus fantasy point in addition to the three FP you get for the points themselves. This also allows you to build your fantasy rosters with player types who contribute in different ways.

For example, A'Ja Wilson led the league in both points and blocked shots per game last season. Her 26.9 PPG, 11.9 RPG, 2.3 APG, 2.6 BPG, 1.8 SPG and 0.5 3PG were worth 26.9 + 11.9 + 2.3 + 5.2 + 3.6 + 0.5 = 50.4 FP/G.

Meanwhile, Napheesa Collier joined Wilson in the top-10 in the league in all four categories. Her 20.4 PPG, 9.7 RPG, 3.4 APG, 1.4 BPG, 1.9 SPG and 0.9 3PG were worth 20.4 + 9.7 + 3.4 + 2.8 + 3.8 + 0.9 = 41.0 FP/G.

And Caitlin Clark led the league in assists and 3-pointers per game. Her 19.2 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 8.4 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.7 BPG and 3.1 3PG were worth 19.2 + 5.7 + 8.4 + 2.6 + 1.4 + 3.1 = 40.4 FP/G.

WNBA stars will likely be among the elite fantasy scorers regardless of their production style. There is room for lower-volume players to shine if they contribute significantly in the more difficult to garner categories. This includes "glue players" that control the paint, defensive anchors and long-range shooters.

Here's a rundown of everything you need to get ready for the Fantasy Women's Basketball season.

The basics: What you need to know

The WNBA regular season runs from May 14 to Sept. 11. Each team will play a record-high 44 games in 2025 (22 home, 22 road) and typically play two to three games per week, yielding plenty of exhilarating action during the summer months. Managers will get a break July 17-22 for the All-Star break, and then it's back to action for the second-half of the season.

The most important -- and for many, the most fun -- part of putting together a fantasy team is the draft. Snake drafts and Salary Cap drafts are the most popular of the four methods available, but choose the one that works best for you:

Snake: Players are chosen in a set order in the first round and then the draft order is reversed for each round thereafter. (Example: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 then 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1).

Salary cap: Team managers use a fictional budget to nominate and sign players until their roster is filled. Suggested values are listed in the draft room, with $1 being the minimum.

Autopick: The system automatically drafts players to each team in the league on a scheduled draft date so team managers don't have to be online during the draft.