SuperCoach NBL: Guide to building a team

SuperCoach NBL is the official fantasy game of the NBL. The 101 series by The Basketball Blokes is here to help you get the most enjoyment out of the game. Be sure to check out our articles explaining player pricing, the scoring system and how to use the schedule in addition to this explainer.

So, you've signed up for SuperCoach NBL! Perhaps it's your first time? Or maybe you made a side last year but gave up after a Round or 2 due to your teams’ average start?

Well, you've come to the right place. We are going to steer you through making a team in five minutes, that will hopefully get you off on the right foot and have you hooked!

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Starting salary cap - $2,000,000
You start with a salary cap of $2 million, but with 10 spots to fill that all count towards your score, including your bench (see our 101 on SuperCoach NBL scoring here for more on this), every pick counts!

To get you started, we suggest you look to target three new imports to anchor your team in starting positions. These positions are not just important for SuperCoach points, but also for value increases to help with improvements to your team in future rounds. See our 101 on pricing article here for more on this.

You want imports that are going to come in and be elite from the start, keep an eye on the NBL Blitz to see who shines.

Some names we are watching for these positions are Kendric Davis (ADL) G, Matt Hurt (SEM) F/C, James Batemon (BRI) G, Pedro Bradshaw (CRN) G/F or even the two returning imports from NBL seasons gone by, Cam Oliver (SYD) F/C (last played NBL with Cairns in NBL21) and Jarell Martin (ADL) F/C (last played with Sydney championship in NBL22).

Cam Oliver.

Salary cap remaining - $1,169,000
Now we have spent some cash with only three players picked, it’s time to look for some cheaper players to start stocking up your NBL SuperCoach bench. College returnees are a good place to start here as they come in at $69k so are ideal for bench stacking.

However, the key thing here is that you want these players to be getting some minutes so that they provide SuperCoach point production; as well as going up in value.

One player that we are keen to see is Tyler Robertson (SYD) G/F. He was on Washington's NBA Summer League roster which is a good sign of his talent, but with that stacked Sydney roster can he get some solid minutes for us?

Another name is Elijah Pepper (PER) G. He averaged over 20 points per game over his last two seasons at UC Davis. However, he looks to be sitting behind Bryce Cotton on Perth’s depth chart, so minutes will be the big question again.
Selecting one of these college returnees leaves us with $1.1mil to work with from here.

Cap remaining - $1,100,000
Next, we need to start playing the schedule game, the schedule is an important side to the SuperCoach NBL game (See our 101 article on the SuperCoach NBL Schedule here).

Melbourne United has the perfect schedule over the opening three rounds and arguably the best schedule over the first eight rounds of NBL25.

A player we like from Melbourne United is Jack White (MEL) F who is priced at $232k. He returns to the NBL after an NBA Championship with Denver in 2022-23 and performed well in G-League games over the last couple of seasons.

Jack last played in NBL for Melbourne United in NBL22 and had 9.3 points and 6.9 rebounds in that season, but we are expecting him to go above and beyond those stats with Luke Travers not returning for Melbourne United for NBL25.

Jack can be a starting spot option on your SuperCoach NBL side with that favourable schedule and his predicted production.

Salary cap remaining: $868,000
We think at this time it is prudent to select a great Round 1 captain choice from the choice of premiums, even better if that captain choice can hang around for Round 2 or 3 depending on schedule.

The ever-popular Bryce Cotton (PER) G is priced at $448,500 based on his league leading SuperCoach NBL average of 36.8 for NBL24. Bryce will continue to be the man at the Wildcats and that should correlate with great SuperCoach production to start you off as your captain

Parker Jackson-Cartwright was the second highest SuperCoach NBL averaging player last season and was a great captain choice at times last season. However, be aware that whilst New Zealand play one game in Round 1 like every other team, and they have 2 bye rounds for the NBLxNBA shortly thereafter starting in Round 3. You must have a trade-out planned for Round 2 if you want to roll with PJC as your round 1 captain.

Other options for a Round 1 premium captain choice are Derrick Walton Jnr (SEM) G $356,900, Xavier Cooks (SYD) F$365,500 and Trey Kell III (ILL) G $363,000.

Parker Jackson-Cartwright.

Depending on who you have selected as your premium Round 1 captain choice, you should have $400-500k remaining to fill out the four spots left on your bench.

One option that is looking like a lock is the Perth Next Star Izan Almansa (PER) F. Almansa may secure the starting PF spot at Perth and he is priced at $115k in SuperCoach NBL, like all of the next stars. A starting gig would surely mean decent minutes; and minutes are the first step towards production in SuperCoach NBL!

Some other reasonably priced options here are extra opportunity players. These are players that have had lower minutes and therefore lower average SuperCoach NBL scores last season, but could see their minutes tick upwards in NBL25. Some suggestions include Marcus Lee (MEL) C, Casey Prather (BRI) G/F, Jordan Hunter (SEM) C, Rocco Zikarsky (BRI) C and Jackson Makoi (CRN) G.

Stop the clock! Was that under 5 minutes?

We think that this will give you a solid SuperCoach NBL lineup to get you going for NBL25. As it is still Super(Coach) early, we advise you to keep your eyes on all of the NBL pre-season games in the lead-up to the season's start.

The NBL Blitz competition, starting September 7, is particularly important. In the interim, we will have our Pre-Blitz Watchlist series of articles here on nbl.com.au to get you prepared for the NBL Blitz action.

Throughout the year, be sure to reach out to The Basketball Blokes for your SuperCoach support. We would love to assist you to reach your goal, be it winning your league, rebounding from a bad season or shooting your shot at the great prizes that SuperCoach NBL has on offer once again. Head to basketballblokes.com to sign up for a heap of great resources. Be sure to follow us on social media platforms and your favourite podcast provider.