Underdog Best Ball: NBA Playoff Rankings and Strategy

This article is part of our DFS NBA series.

Underdog Fantasy is well known for its regular season Best Ball contests, but if you still have the Best Ball itch, you can indulge by playing Underdog's NBA Playoff Best Ball formats. In addition to many variations of cash game-type contests, Underdog offers a memorable trio of tournament contests between Gil's Arena Playoff ($10), The Dance ($10) and The Waltz ($250).  

It works the same as the regular season Best Ball drafts, but in this case, we have to draft players who score lots of fantasy points and play for a team likely to advance far in the playoffs. Since only two teams make the Finals, correctly stacking at least one of the eventual conference championship teams is a logistical necessity for placing high in any tournament. 

The roster format and scoring system for each tournament are the same:

Scoring

• Points: 1.0
• Assists: 1.5
• Rebounds: 1.2
• Steals: 3.0 
• Blocks: 3.0
• Turnover: -1.0

Roster

• Guard - 1
• Wing - 1
• Big - 1
• Flex - 2
• Bench - 5 

Taking advantage of the five-player bench will be key. 

Rankings

The Oklahoma City Thunder (+165) and the Boston Celtics (+190) are the heavy favorites to reach the NBA Finals, so getting as many players from these teams as possible is critical. 

Oklahoma City Thunder (2024-25 Regular-Season Toals):

• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (PTS: 2,484) (REB: 379) (AST: 486) (BLK: 77) (STL: 131) (TO: 183)
• Jalen Williams (PTS: 1,490) (REB: 369) (AST: 354) (BLK: 46) (STL: 111) (TO: 150)
• Isaiah Hartenstein (PTS: 637) (REB: 611) (AST: 219) (BLK: 62) (STL: 47) (TO: 96)
• Chet Holmgren (PTS: 479) (REB: 257) (AST: 63) (BLK: 71) (STL: 23) (TO: 56)
• Aaron Wiggins (PTS: 914) (REB: 295) (AST: 134) (BLK: 18) (STL: 60) (TO: 69)
• Luguentz Dort (PTS: 719) (REB: 293) (AST: 115) (BLK: 39) (STL: 79) (TO: 51)
• Cason Wallace (PTS: 568) (REB: 229) (AST: 173) (BLK: 35) (STL: 120) (TO: 56)
• Alex Caruso (PTS: 382) (REB: 159) (AST: 137) (BLK: 30) (STL: 87) (TO: 37)

Boston Celtics (2024-25 Regular-Season Toals):

• Jayson Tatum (PTS: 1,932) (REB: 623) (AST: 431) (BLK: 38) (STL: 76) (TO: 209)
• Derrick White (PTS: 1,248) (REB: 341) (AST: 361) (BLK: 80) (STL: 72) (TO: 131)
• Jaylen Brown (PTS: 1,398) (REB: 368) (AST: 286) (BLK: 19) (STL: 73) (TO: 162)
• Kristaps Porzingis (PTS: 818) (REB: 284) (AST: 87) (BLK: 63) (STL: 31) (TO: 53)
• Jrue Holiday (PTS: 686) (REB: 265) (AST: 239) (BLK: 27) (STL: 66) (TO: 77)
• Payton Pritchard (PTS: 1,144) (REB: 307) (AST: 279) (BLK: 14) (STL: 70) (TO: 83)
• Al Horford (PTS: 538) (REB: 369) (AST: 128) (BLK: 51) (STL: 36) (TO: 46)

For the rest of the playoff teams, I'm going to list their odds to win the NBA Finals and their top 5 fantasy point scorers (or more if I think they could be relevant for these contests) during the regular season.

Cleveland Cavaliers  -- Odds to win NBA Finals (+700)

1. Donovan Mitchell -- expected to be ready for postseason after missing four straight regular-season games due to an ankle sprain
2. Evan Mobley
3. Darius Garland
4. Jarrett Allen
5. De'Andre Hunter
6. Ty Jerome 
7. Max Strus (Played only 50 games)
8. Sam Merrill

Los Angeles Lakers (+700)

1. LeBron James
2. Austin Reaves
3. Luka Doncic
4. Rui Hachimura
5. Dalton Knecht
6. Dorian Finney-Smith
7. Jaxson Hayes (only 56 games)
8. Jarred Vanderbilt (36 games)

Golden State Warriors (+1600)

1. Stephen Curry
2. Jimmy Butler
3. Draymond Green
4. Brandin Podziemski
5. Buddy Hield
6. Moses Moody

Los Angeles Clippers (+2500)

1. James Harden
2. Ivica Zubac
3. Norman Powell
4. Derrick Jones
5. Kris Dunn
6. Kawhi Leonard (played only 37 games)

New York Knicks (+2800)

1. Karl-Anthony Towns
2. Josh Hart
3. Jalen Brunson
4. Mikal Bridges
5. OG Anunoby - missed two of final three regular-season games due to wrist sprain

Denver Nuggets (+4000)

1. Nikola Jokic
2. Jamal Murray
3. Michael Porter
4. Christian Braun
5. Russell Westbrook
6. Aaron Gordon (only 51 games)

Minnesota Timberwolves (+6500)

1. Anthony Edwards
2. Julius Randle
3. Rudy Gobert 
4. Naz Reid
5. Jaden McDaniels

Milwaukee Bucks (+7000)

1. Giannis Antetokounmpo
2. Damian Lillard -- out for Game 1, but nearing return to action
3. Brook Lopez
4. Kyle Kuzma
5. Kevin Porter
6. Bobby Portis

Indiana Pacers (+8000)

1. Tyrese Haliburton
2. Pascal Siakam
3. Myles Turner
4. Bennedict Mathurin
5. T.J. McConnell
6. Obi Toppin
7. Andrew Nembhard (65 games)

Houston Rockets (+8000)

1. Alperen Sengun
2. Jalen Green
3. Amen Thompson
4. Fred VanVleet
5. Dillon Brooks
6. Tari Eason (57 games)
7. Jabari Smith (57 games)

Detroit Pistons (+60000)

1. Cade Cunningham
2. Jalen Duren
3. Tobias Harris
4. Malik Beasley
5. Dennis Schroder
6. Ausar Thompson (59 games)

Orlando Magic (+100000)

1. Franz Wagner
2. Paolo Banchero
3. Wendell Carter
4. Cole Anthony
5. Jonathan Isaac

Play-In Teams TBD:
Miami Heat at Atlanta Hawks

Dallas Mavericks at Memphis Grizzlies

Strategy

1. Take as many players from Boston and OKC as possible
2. Identify a team or two you think will advance farther than the consensus and target players on those teams to separate your squad from the field
3. Avoid drafting too many high-level players from the same side of the bracket (i.e., don't draft Jokic and Harden or Cade and KAT)
4. Avoid drafting teams that play each other in the first round to maximize your potential for points (if you draft Cade and KAT in the first two rounds of the draft, you're guaranteed to lose at least one of your top picks after the opening round)
5. If you're looking for specific predictions to help you with your drafts, I did a full postseason breakdown HERE, which includes 12 BOLD Predictions that could help you take home an Underdog Postseason Best Ball Title.