Unlocking Victor Wembanyama’s Secret Weapon: The Ultimate Fantasy Basketball Strategy for 2025-26!

Fantasy basketball has always been a playground for tradition lovers and trailblazers alike. While many of us cling to the tried-and-true formats—head-to-head battles and roto leagues—there’s a fresh challenger in the arena. Yahoo! Sports just dropped the High Score fantasy basketball game, and let me tell you, it flips the script on what we thought we knew. This format isn’t just another spin; it changes the way you construct your roster and strategize your week. Curious about how to navigate these new waters? Stick with me as we unpack the ins and outs of High Score basketball, starting with the nitty-gritty of team composition and lineup decisions. LEARN MORE

While many prefer more traditional formats when playing fantasy basketball, others are more willing to try new formats. With that in mind, Yahoo! Sports has introduced its new High Score fantasy basketball game. There are some differences between this league and the head-to-head and roto setups we’ve grown accustomed to over the years. Let’s look at how High Score is played, beginning with the rosters.

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– Each team has ten players, but only six will be active.

Lineups are set at the beginning of the week, with six active players and four on the bench. There are two guard slots for players with the point guard and/or shooting guard designation, three frontcourt slots (small forward, power forward and center) and one utility spot that can be occupied by any player regardless of position. The other four players will be on your bench, and you can slot them in at any point in the week.

However, there is a key factor that you’ll need to take into consideration when moving a bench player into the lineup for that week. The points accrued by the player you’ve decided to bench come off the board and can’t be recouped. Returning a benched player to the active lineup later in the week doesn’t do the trick; only the points earned in games from that point onward will be eligible. Each player’s high score from any game played during that week will count toward your team’s score, so targeting players capable of an explosive performance is the best way to approach your draft.

– How does scoring work?

There are only five scoring categories for default High Score leagues, which are weighted.

Points: 1 point each

Rebounds: 1 point each

Assists: 2 points each

Steals: 3 points each

Blocks: 3 points each

For those who have played DFS, those point values will look somewhat similar, although rebounds and assists tend to count for 1.2 per rebound or assist. There are no decimals to deal with in High Score, only whole numbers. For those used to worrying about percentages or turnovers, those won’t matter in High Score. That boosts the values of players such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Trae Young and Zion Williamson, to name a few.

The game also limits some of the risk of drafting injury-prone players in other fantasy formats. Will you still use a first-round pick on Joel Embiid or Ja Morant, to name two players with prior injury issues? Probably not, but managers will be better positioned to compensate for a player missing time in High Score.

While the High Score format will take some getting used to, it’s a relatively simple deal from a scoring standpoint. The substitution situation and what that can do to weekly scoring may take many managers the most time to get used to, possibly losing a matchup or two. With these rules in mind, I recently entered a draft, hoping to craft a team that could do some damage in the High Score format.

I picked from the second slot in a 10-round snake draft, kicking things off with San Antonio Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama. Below is how the draft played out.

Round 1	Position(s)	Player	Team
1	F,C	Nikola Jokić	Denver Nuggets
2	F,C	Victor Wembanyama	San Antonio Spurs
3	G	Luka Dončić	Los Angeles Lakers
4	G	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	Oklahoma City Thunder
5	F,C	Giannis Antetokounmpo	Milwaukee Bucks
6	G	Cade Cunningham	Detroit Pistons
7	G	Anthony Edwards	Minnesota Timberwolves
8	G	Devin Booker	Phoenix Suns
9	F,C	Anthony Davis	Dallas Mavericks
10	G	Trae Young	Atlanta Hawks

Round 2	Position(s)	Player	Team
1	G	James Harden	LA Clippers
2	G	Stephen Curry	Golden State Warriors
3	F,C	Kevin Durant	Houston Rockets
4	F,C	Karl-Anthony Towns	New York Knicks
5	G	Tyrese Maxey	Philadelphia 76ers
6	G	Donovan Mitchell	Cleveland Cavaliers
7	G,F,C	Amen Thompson	Houston Rockets
8	F,C	Jalen Johnson	Atlanta Hawks
9	F,C	Alperen Şengün	Houston Rockets
10	F,C	Evan Mobley	Cleveland Cavaliers

Round 3	Position(s)	Player	Team
1	G	LaMelo Ball	Charlotte Hornets
2	G	Jalen Brunson	New York Knicks
3	F,C	Domantas Sabonis	Sacramento Kings
4	G,F,C	Scottie Barnes	Toronto Raptors
5	G	Josh Giddey	Chicago Bulls
6	F,C	Chet Holmgren	Oklahoma City Thunder
7	F,C	Jaylen Brown	Boston Celtics
8	F,C	Jalen Williams	Oklahoma City Thunder
9	F,C	Pascal Siakam	Indiana Pacers
10	G	Jamal Murray	Denver Nuggets

Round 4	Position(s)	Player	Team
1	F,C	Jaren Jackson Jr.	Memphis Grizzlies
2	F,C	LeBron James	Los Angeles Lakers
3	F,C	Bam Adebayo	Miami Heat
4	G	Derrick White	Boston Celtics
5	F,C	Paolo Banchero	Orlando Magic
6	F,C	Franz Wagner	Orlando Magic
7	F,C	Trey Murphy	New Orleans Pelicans
8	G	Austin Reaves	Los Angeles Lakers
9	G,F,C	Dyson Daniels	Atlanta Hawks
10	G	De’Aaron Fox	San Antonio Spurs

Round 5	Position(s)	Player	Team
1	F,C	Zion Williamson	New Orleans Pelicans
2	F,C	Joel Embiid	Philadelphia 76ers
3	F,C	Jimmy Butler	Golden State Warriors
4	F,C	Ivica Zubac	LA Clippers
5	G,F,C	Desmond Bane	Orlando Magic
6	F,C	Brandon Miller	Charlotte Hornets
7	F,C	Kawhi Leonard	LA Clippers
8	F,C	Deni Avdija	Portland Trail Blazers
9	F,C	Kristaps Porziņģis	Atlanta Hawks
10	F,C	Cooper Flagg	Dallas Mavericks

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Round 6	Position(s)	Player	Team
1	F,C	Myles Turner	Milwaukee Bucks
2	G	Ja Morant	Memphis Grizzlies
3	G,F,C	Brandon Ingram	Toronto Raptors
4	F,C	Miles Bridges	Charlotte Hornets
5	F,C	Walker Kessler	Utah Jazz
6	F,C	Nikola Vučević	Chicago Bulls
7	G	Darius Garland	Cleveland Cavaliers
8	F,C	DeMar DeRozan	Sacramento Kings
9	F,C	OG Anunoby	New York Knicks
10	F,C	Lauri Markkanen	Utah Jazz

Round 7	Position(s)	Player	Team
1	F,C	Jalen Duren	Detroit Pistons
2	G,F,C	Cam Thomas	Brooklyn Nets
3	G	Zach LaVine	Sacramento Kings
4	F,C	Deandre Ayton	Los Angeles Lakers
5	G	Coby White	Chicago Bulls
6	F,C	Jarrett Allen	Cleveland Cavaliers
7	G	Immanuel Quickley	Toronto Raptors
8	G	Tyler Herro	Miami Heat
9	G	Jordan Poole	New Orleans Pelicans
10	G	Payton Pritchard	Boston Celtics

Round 8	Position(s)	Player	Team
1	G	Andrew Nembhard	Indiana Pacers
2	F,C	Julius Randle	Minnesota Timberwolves
3	F,C	Isaiah Hartenstein	Oklahoma City Thunder
4	F,C	Rudy Gobert	Minnesota Timberwolves
5	F,C	Jakob Poeltl	Toronto Raptors
6	F,C	Mark Williams	Phoenix Suns
7	F,C	Matas Buzelis	Chicago Bulls
8	G,F,C	Paul George	Philadelphia 76ers
9	G,F,C	Shaedon Sharpe	Portland Trail Blazers
10	F,C	Michael Porter Jr.	Brooklyn Nets

Round 9	Position(s)	Player	Team
1	G,F,C	Bennedict Mathurin	Indiana Pacers
2	F,C	Ausar Thompson	Detroit Pistons
3	F,C	Donovan Clingan	Portland Trail Blazers
4	F,C	Mikal Bridges	New York Knicks
5	G,F,C	Christian Braun	Denver Nuggets
6	G	Jalen Green	Phoenix Suns
7	G,F,C	Norman Powell	Miami Heat
8	G	Anfernee Simons	Boston Celtics
9	G,F,C	Bradley Beal	LA Clippers
10	G,F,C	Devin Vassell	San Antonio Spurs

Round 10	Position(s)	Player	Team
1	F,C	Cameron Johnson	Denver Nuggets
2	F,C	John Collins	LA Clippers
3	F,C	Draymond Green	Golden State Warriors
4	F,C	Alex Sarr	Washington Wizards
5	F,C	Kel’el Ware	Miami Heat
6	F,C	Dereck Lively II	Dallas Mavericks
7	G	Kevin Porter Jr.	Milwaukee Bucks
8	F,C	Onyeka Okongwu	Atlanta Hawks
9	F,C	RJ Barrett	Toronto Raptors
10	F,C	Naz Reid	Minnesota Timberwolves

Final team:

F,C Victor Wembanyama
F,C Alperen Şengün
G Jalen Brunson
G,F,C Dyson Daniels
F,C Joel Embiid
F,C OG Anunoby
G,F,C Cam Thomas
G,F,C Shaedon Sharpe
F,C Ausar Thompson
F,C RJ Barrett

Drafting a player of Wembanyama’s caliber who can offer elite value in all five scoring categories opens things up regarding crafting your High Score team. I leaned toward offense with Şengün and Brunson, but Daniels was a must-have for me in the fourth round. Even with the second pick of the fifth round, I was unwilling to risk losing out on a defender of his caliber, especially after he racked up 229 steals and 55 blocked shots in 2024-25.

The back half of my draft focused primarily on players capable of putting in an explosive offensive performance, especially Thomas and Sharpe. The former is entering a contract year on a rebuilding team, while the latter is under similar pressure in Portland. Thompson hasn’t been an explosive offensive option in Detroit, but I believe in what he brings to the table defensively. And with Jaden Ivey out to begin the regular season, there may be more room for Thompson to spread his wings as a slasher within the Pistons’ offense.