Basketball is the reason why we were drawn to a league like this. Fantasy basketball has enabled a generation of teenagers (who are now adults) and adults (if you got to the game late) to dare to dream of what life might have been like if YOU were making the big decisions for one of these world class, professional sporting clubs. In this instance, one of the organisations/teams that comprise the NBA. 

While you dont have the weight and magnitude of multi billion dollar decisions on your shoulders, the process is still remarkably similar: make decisions about personnel, team strategy, scouting players, pursuing trades, evaluating finances, following the rules, paying taxes. The whole shebangabang.

The most fun you can have with your clothes on.

Peel below the stigma of its for adults who cant play sport any more, and you will find it in fact is a multimodal, multidisciplinary experience that tests someone in a variety of ways, requiring focus, growth and resilience, among other traits, to find success. Data analysis, asset projection, risk analysis, negotiations, psychology, financial math, percentages, strategy, persuasion, entertainment – and I havent even covered it all. An entire spectrum of skills and traits is required of each of you simply to play NSL at an entry level. Human are smart.

Playing even basic fantasy sports will tune many skills and fill knowledge reservoirs that would otherwise go dormant or dry out. NSL provides the gym apparatus for mental workouts and helps keep areas in your brain firing away and staying strong.

But, the real kicker… the community. 

Men lose connections as they age.

Statistically speaking, adult men are the least likely demographic of people (out of all people) to create or maintain friendships as they progress through adulthood.

Sad but true. The leading factors that are often attributed to the loss of connection with friends are that forging friendships is too difficult and random, as well as awkward. 

Before willingness to seek friendships even enters the equation, adults are burdened by work, family, time and personal pressures, which demands the majority of ones bandwidth (and many times, more energy, time is required than is even reasonable). A study claims that loneliness in men peaks at 35 years of age. Thats me next year. Thats many of us soon, was many of recently, or is not far away. All of us are going to be that age and all will be faced with times and expectations that will have us clinging to calm and searching perilously for more time and energy and resilience.

Time… I just wish I had more time. More time to do things that matter to me.

Life is full, life can be hard and life keeps on going, but, life is more fulfilling and less harsh with friends, hobbies. Finding joy in hobbies and connecting with others will lead to a healthier and more rewarding life. According to another study, people who actively maintain social connections have significantly less chance of suffering depression, physical health issues and live up to 22 percent longer than those who don’t often connect with others.

In other words… when lockdowns, work, life, your own personal growth is draining your hit points, the NSL, unbeknownst to you, is topping up the meter like the mushroom you chase in Mario Bros. 

All those trade talks, all the commenting on the NBA, all the debates and discussion, is adding value to not only your league position, but to your life! Fucking wild.

So, you have heard the benefits of connection, as well as the negative benefits of loneliness in adult men. But… we are yet to celebrate the hub of all this positivity – our beloved NSL.



The NSL isnt the first fantasy league, and it wont be the last. However, I would stand, under oath, and proclaim that this is as good as it gets. Here is why:

·      Highest calibre of person – we have a varied, eclectic mix of people in the NSL, thats for sure. All share the trait of being reasonable, respectful people. In most cases, some of the NSL gents go out of their way to be supportive, deliver praise and check in on one another. Its humanity at its best.

·      Celebration of interests and differences – creating a positive team culture is hard, but the NSL has it in spades. A vast majority of managers are quick to celebrate the team success of others. In addition, many other threads unrelated to NSL have popped up on discord and are frequented, allowing the opportunity for further shared interests and friendship.

·      Competition, friction – despite what you might thing, the monotony and entitlement of participation award culture is killing resilience and grit on the regular. Engaging in competition, particularly where pride is the true reward, is a value add for mental health and sense of purpose. We further appreciate peace when we experience a little harmless fantasy basketball conflict.

·      Incentives to build, maintain relationships – to a degree, the participation requirements are rules for you to remain engaged with the community. Sure, you can do the bare minimum and write a few articles, but you are still sharing your thoughts and yourself with the league. 

·      Sense of pride – we are all members of the league but none of us are the same, and its great. We care deeply about the successes of our respective franchises and fight dearly to keep them progressing forward, ideally further than the other 29.

·      Genuine community – the NSL is just a really positive, productive and immersive experience that pushes fantasy sports to the margins between real and make-believe. Magical.

I am lucky to belong to such a group and have a chapter in this great tale of fantasy sports. Congratulations to all of you for being great comrades and kind humans. Go well, humans.

NSL, dont ever go away <3