Playing fantasy sports is something I love to do and I take great joy/pride in my game. It allows me to have a vested interest in most games and players to root for even though they’re not on my favorite teams. There is no sport I like to watch more than the NBA and no team I root for more than the Memphis Grizzlies (Well, except for The University of Memphis Tigers as they are my squad as well). Fantasy basketball was the first fantasy sport in which I ever participated and the only live, in-person, draft I have ever done was back in the early 2000’s when Yao Ming was a top fantasy player. The scoring system was head-to-head categories as we were all noobs to the fantasy sports world. That was the only season we played that style because we realized how bad it was and switched to a total points format. I don’t like head-to-head category leagues for a plethora of reasons: It’s way too easy to tie weeks, it doesn’t measure the best team and punting a category is the best the strategy, but my biggest pet peeve is that it doesn’t reward teams for excelling in categories.

The way fantasy teams get actual points in category leagues has always bothered me because there are plenty of matchups that finish tied, or worse, a team wins four categories, loses three and ties two, so now they technically won the week by a score of four to three? That makes zero sense. Think about this: if a league uses nine different scoring categories (FG%, FT%, 3PM, points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, and turnovers), then a team can lose four cats a week and still technically win five to four every week. In most leagues, a team finishing with a winning percentage of 56% will make the playoffs. That brings me to another point, which is you don’t even have to win the majority of categories each week to win the matchup because ties happen in one category or another. It is not even about winning matchups, as much as it is more about not losing certain categories.

It is such a cop-out that a fantasy team could lose the week even though it is the better team. How can that be? Let me explain. Team A (the better team) is a great all around squad, that produces numbers in every category. The owner makes moves every day and is an active owner who always puts forth a strong effort. Meanwhile Team B (the inactive owner who has a bad team) only has guards/small forwards and doesn’t start PF/Centers so each week they win in FT%, 3PM, assists, steals, and because they start fewer players, they also finish with fewer turnovers. As much as Team A tries to stream players, it is hard to beat a Team B that starts four point guards, a shooting guard and two solid small forwards. The guards shoot a high FT%, the point guards rack up steals and assists, and all seven of those players make three pointers every game. While that does seem ridiculous, most standard leagues allow 10 starting players with these roster regulations: PG, SG, G, SF, PF, F, C, C, Utl, Utl. So it is not difficult to establish a team like Team B.

Another example of this, is the fact that I can start ONLY Kevin Durant each week and win multiple categories. I would easily win FG% and FT% because Durant excels in both of those categories. I could win three pointers made if Durant has a big week, so long as my opponent doesn’t have many three point shooters and I would probably also win the turnover category because I am only starting one player. By just starting K.D., I am almost guaranteed to win three categories a week with a chance to win four if everything breaks right. It is hard to measure a great team when an inferior squad can win each week with the right strategy. This is another major flaw in head-to-head category leagues.

I’ve never been one to punt a category but doing so is the best strategy for having success in a head-to-head category-based league. That should never be the case in any fantasy format, but it stands out more in category leagues. Why? Because all a fantasy team has to do is win five to six categories a week, not every category. I talked about Team B above and how the team had only guards and small forwards because that is the strategy I tend to use in this format ( However, I refuse to play in category leagues anymore…hope you will too by the time you are done reading this article). By drafting only guards and small forwards (of course, they have to be the right type of player), I naturally punt blocks and rebounds but can still finish the week winning 50% of the categories or more, every single week due to the strengths of my guards in the other categories. In a lot of leagues, finishing with a .500 plus record will get me into the playoffs. I can’t play in a fantasy league, where a team that punts multiple categories usually wins. While some people claim that punting ONE category in rotisserie leagues is a good strategy, it is impossible to punt TWO categories in a rotisserie format and still win. However, in head-to-head category leagues, punting two categories can almost guarantee an owner a spot in the playoffs. Plain and simple, that should never be the case.

While all of the aforementioned things turn me off from this scoring format, the fact that there isn’t even a reward for crushing in a particular category, makes me hate the scoring format even more. I could outscore my opponent by 200 points, 200 rebounds, & 100 assists, and still lose the week. THAT SHOULD NEVER HAPPEN IN ANY FANTASY FORMAT! No owner should lose a week in which they completely dominated in multiple categories, especially the key categories. In rotisserie leagues, owners get rewarded by crushing opponents in specific categories and any owner would win the week if they dominated their opponent in those categories in a total points league. Also, there is no difference in outscoring your opponent by one point or 200 points.

Hopefully you have realized how H2H category scoring leagues are flawed and in so many ways. They cause more headaches than enjoyment, and that is the last thing anyone wants when playing fantasy sports. Head-to-head category leagues do not measure the best team. They are a measure of what one owner can do by manipulating the scoring system. So the next time you think about creating or joining a H2H category league, remember all of the faults that come with them and find yourself a more enjoyable and competitive format.