2026-27 Fantasy Basketball Keeper Calculator

Reading the verdict table

Every keeper you add gets one row, sorted with the best surplus first, and the band at the top names the best value on the list. Costs gives the round and the overall pick he would use up, with a note when that round came from his draft position rather than from you. Worth is his value above replacement, Pick buys is what the pick is worth on the market curve, and Surplus is the difference. The verdict reads Keep or Let go when the surplus is clear of the price range, Close call when it is not, and a Lean when the projection behind him is thin. Under a category format his z-score in every category sits beside the verdict, in the same colours as the rankings board, so you can see whether a keeper's value comes from blocks and rebounds or from threes and assists. Below the table, a strip shows what each round buys on the same curve.

Replacement when most players have two positions

To say what a player is worth above replacement, the calculator first fills every starting seat in a league of your size and roster rule, one seat at a time: the dedicated positions first, then the guard and forward seats, then utility, each going to the best player still available who is eligible there. The best unseated player at each position sets that position's replacement level. A player with two or more positions is measured against the lowest of those levels, because the seat he would leave empty is the one his manager could refill most cheaply. A player who never makes the board at all, someone who would not start for any team at your league size, is worth zero above replacement and is flagged as not a starter at this size. Keeping him spends a pick on a bench seat.

How a pick gets its price

Every player who has both a market draft position and a value goes onto a curve. To price a given pick, the calculator averages the values of the players drafted within six picks of it, giving the nearest ones the most weight, and then smooths the curve so that a later pick never costs more than an earlier one. The curve runs to twenty rounds, enough for the deepest basketball keeper drafts. The draft positions come from real basketball drafts; they are the market's prices, never a ranking of ours.

Each price carries a range of half a round either side of the pick, six picks in a twelve-team league, because half a round is about the smallest step any keeper rule moves a cost. A firm Keep or Let go appears only when the keeper's worth falls clearly outside that range. When the two overlap, the verdict is a close call. And if fewer than two projection sources cover a player, the calculator will only lean one way, since one forecast is not enough to bet a pick on; the row says one source.

Which round he costs

Keeper rules vary from league to league more than almost any other setting. Many leagues charge the round a player was drafted in last season. Others move the cost a round earlier for every year he is kept, cap how many seasons he can stay, or assign a fixed late round to players who arrived as free agents. Whatever your rule produces, type that round and the calculator prices it. Leave the round blank and it uses the round his current draft position falls in, which answers a different question: whether the projection and the market agree about him. A keeper priced that way usually lands near zero surplus. A player with no draft position yet, such as a late second-round rookie or someone returning from a lost season, cannot be priced until you type a round, and the row tells you so. If two of your keepers share a round, the row flags that as well, since leagues settle that clash in different ways.

Points, 9-cat, 8-cat and roto

The format chips change the units, not the method. Under points the worth is projected fantasy points above replacement, from either the makes-and-misses table or the six-stat table. Under 9-cat it is a sum of z-scores across the nine categories, with field-goal and free-throw percentage weighted by attempts and turnovers turned so higher is always better; 8-cat drops turnovers; roto uses the nine but reflects a season scored on totals. Specialists move the most when you switch. A guard whose case rests on free-throw percentage and threes is worth less under the six-stat table, which pays for neither, than under 9-cat, where both are categories. A shot-blocking center is measured against how rare blocks are under 9-cat and at a fixed rate per block under points, so his verdict can change when you change the chip. Set the format and categories to match your league before you read anything.

Decide the punt before the keeper

Punting shapes keeper value more than any other setting on the page. If you plan to give up free-throw percentage, you should not pay for a keeper's free throws, and you should not be charged for a big man's misses either. The punt switch takes the category out of every value: the starting board is filled again on the adjusted numbers, the replacement levels move, and the pick curve is refitted, so both sides of the comparison change together. A big man with a weak free-throw line can be a close call on the full board and a clear keep once free throws are punted. The same switch on the rankings board moves the same players the same way, because both pages read one valuation. Settle the build first; a keeper who does not fit it is a pick spent on somebody else's plan.

Centers and the roster rule

The Roster rule chips matter most for centers. Under two center seats and two utility seats, fewer players are eligible at center than at any other position, the replacement-level center is weak, and a productive center is worth well above his raw line. That is why a starting center kept in the middle rounds so often tops the surplus column. Switch to one center seat and three utility seats and the same player loses much of that premium, because a forward or guard can now fill the extra spot. Match the rule to your league before trusting a center's verdict, since his number moves more than anyone's.

Games played, rest and injuries

Every value on the sheet rests on a season projection, which is a per-game line multiplied by the games we expect him to play, and in basketball that games figure is where keeper decisions most often go wrong. A star with a history of missed time is projected on what he produces when healthy and on fewer games than a durable player, so his value here sits below his talent. A veteran on a club that manages his workload loses a handful of games to rest, and that is in the figure too. What the sheet cannot know is this week's news: a keeper who has just been ruled out for months still carries his projection, with his status shown in the row where we have it. Read that note before the surplus. An injured-list seat can hold him without costing a starting spot, but a season on the sidelines still returns nothing for the pick you spent.

Beyond this season

The calculator prices one season, deliberately: it is the season the pick belongs to. Many basketball keeper leagues let you hold a player for several years, though, and age matters once you look past the coming season. Most analysts put the typical peak somewhere in the mid-to-late twenties, so a 22-year-old whose minutes and usage are still climbing can be worth keeping at a small loss now, while a 32-year-old at a full price is often a let-go even when this year's number looks fine. Use the surplus as the starting point and the age and role as the adjustment. Dynasty leagues, rookie-only drafts and auction keeper formats are beyond this version, as are the best-game formats, where a player's ceiling counts for more than his average night.

When the answer is let him go

The classic let-go is a player whose price was set in his breakout year and whose outlook has since come back down while the round has stayed put. In basketball that is often a scorer who was the first option on a weak club and has since been traded into a smaller role, or a young player whose shots dried up when a star returned from injury. When the surplus sits within a point or two of zero in points, or a small fraction of a z-score in categories, the curve cannot settle it; your roster, your build and your league's rules should. Once your keepers are set, the printable cheat sheet ranks everyone else for the seats you still have to fill, and the mock draft room lets you rehearse the draft that follows.