The System | Yesterday’s Top Performer

THE SYSTEM

Fantasy Sports Performance Index (FSPI) is a system utilized by NBA.com to evaluate player performance in rotisserie style leagues. The FSPI considers several factors:

Balance: Your goal is to own well-rounded players. These players should not only be strong in as many categories as possible, but you do not want players with glaring weaknesses that are tough to counterbalance. It's ok if your point guard makes the league average in three pointers. You can fill that in with a three-point specialist. What is hard to correct, however, is a situation in which your point guard doesn't make any three-pointers. You have an uphill battle.

Comparison Points: The true value of your player has to be determined by comparing him to the rest of the league. To be considered "good" you need to be above the league average in a particular category. To be considered "great" you need to be far and above the best in a particular category. So all players are compared to the league average and league maximum in each category to determine their FSPI.

Totals: Once every regular season game has been played, all that will matter is a player's totals. Whether or not Baron Davis has the potential to be a top-three point guard won't matter to you at that point if he spent half of the season on the bench nursing an injury. Totals are the most accurate reflection of a player's value today. It doesn't tell you what he will do tomorrow, but this is what he has done up until this point.

Averages: You can't, however, ignore averages. Baron Davis may be an injury risk, but chances are that you would value an injured Davis over a healthy point guard who gets 20 minutes per game. If you look at only totals, the backup is more valuable. If you only look at averages, Davis is clearly more valuable. By using averages you are taking into account potential. This player may be hurt, but when he returns to the court we expect a certain level of performance.

FSPI uses all of these considerations to give you an accurate assessment of player value. Each player is given an FSPI value for each standard rotisserie category (FG%, FT%, 3-pointers, Points, Rebounds, Assists, Steals, and Blocks) for both totals and per game averages. They are then given a total score for each of those stat collections that averages out all of their per-game and totals FSPI. We then give you a "Combined FSPI" that averages the scores for both totals and averages. If a player leads the league in a particular category, he gets a 10.00. If he is at the bottom of the fantasy barrel, he scores a 0.00. Easy, right? You want as many 10.0’s – or numbers close to 10.00 – as possible. Once you dip under 5.0 in a category, you are looking at an area of weakness that will need to be compensated for elsewhere.

The first question that I am often asked is how we handle Field Goal and Free Throw Percentages. While comparing a player to the league average and maximum in the cumulative categories makes sense, it doesn't give you a clear picture of dominance in the percentages. For example, Player A shoots 50% from the field; Player B shoots 60% from the field. Who would you rather have on your roster to help in the FG% category? If you said Player B, you should take a deep breath and think it over. If you said, "That's not enough information to make a determination," you are one smart dude. If you have a player who shoots 60% from the field in only 10 attempts on the season, his effect on your roster will be minimal. On the other hand, a player who shoots 50% from the field (which is well above the league average) and takes 18 attempts per game will be a very valuable player in this category. So before we evaluate these categories, we have to take another step. We compare the player's percentage to the league average and then factor in attempts.

Now you have a nice background on the system. Following is an example:

Combined Score FSPI

PLAYER NAME, TEAM NAME FG% FT% PTS REB AST STL BLK 3PT TOT
1 7.78 7.14 6.12 9.82 1.59 8.28 6.31 3.88 6.36
2 2.97 9.94 10.00 4.29 4.48 8.10 1.42 6.68 5.99
3 5.81 6.12 8.89 5.86 6.36 6.80 3.06 4.86 5.97
4 8.33 7.76 6.23 10.00 3.87 5.66 4.72 0.37 5.87
5 9.13 7.17 7.03 7.87 2.54 4.30 8.80 0.05 5.86
6 3.54 9.13 8.20 2.74 5.44 8.08 1.20 7.06 5.67
7 7.13 7.73 7.72 4.54 6.25 8.06 2.62 0.56 5.58
8 7.15 8.73 5.58 3.41 10.00 3.47 0.46 5.48 5.54
9 5.80 10.00 7.48 7.12 2.60 3.00 3.82 4.32 5.52
10 5.86 7.22 7.88 5.52 4.54 6.16 1.52 4.34 5.38

View Full List

Also take a look at the Fantasy All-Star Squad, which was determined by using the FSPI.

YESTERDAY’S TOP PERFORMER

Yesterday’s Top Performer is determined by finding the FSPI for all players who played yesterday. Prior performance does not matter. All that matters is yesterday. Therefore, there is no bias. If LeBron James has a bad game, he won’t be Yesterday’s Top Performer. If Darko Milicic has the game of his life, he has a shot.

The stats displayed here are Points, Rebounds, Assists, Steals, Three-Pointers, and Blocks, but don’t be fooled. The percentages are considered as well. Also note that below Yesterday’s Top Performer is a list of the top producers in each category. All that matters here is the individual category. If you click on the “More” link next to any of these players, you can also view the top five in that category for yesterday’s games. You are able to do this for all six cumulative categories.