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ESPN Fantasy Basketball 101: The draft

AP Photo/Matt York

Get pumped! Draft day is the most exciting and most important day of the season because it's time to create your team. If you have prepared for your draft by reading up on players, coming up with a smart strategy and put in the time to participate in several mock drafts, you're ready.

To make everything go as smoothly as possible in your draft, here are some helpful tips:

  • Beforehand, print off your rankings/cheat sheets and go over them so you're sure it all looks the way you want it to.

  • Once the draft starts, cross off each player who is drafted, so you know who remains when it's your pick. This can be helpful as an extra line of defense, so that you don't forget any players during the draft frenzy.

  • Go ahead and put some players you want into your queue. This acts as a safety net in case your clock runs out or you get bumped offline, because the system will pick the top player in the queue. With that in mind, make sure you order your queue accordingly, with your favorite players listed on top.

  • When you are on the clock, stay focused, don't let others distract you and don't panic. Use the entire clock if you need to.

  • If possible, keep an eye on the rosters being drafted by other teams to see which positions they may be targeting in the upcoming rounds. In other words, if every other team already has a center, you may be able to wait an extra couple of rounds to take yours, while targeting better values or loading up at other, deeper positions.

  • Keep your focus all the way until you make your last pick. You don't want to make any mistakes just because the draft is winding down.

  • When the draft is completed, wish everyone good luck and get ready for an awesome season!

For more details on the draft room, check out our detailed overview of mock drafts.