NBL Supercoach 2027: Strategies to success for new campaign

An exciting first for SC Playbook, with some content for NBL Supercoach ahead of the upcoming season.

For those who love the NBL, or simply love the Supercoach platform, season long fantasy is back this year after last year’s experiment with Beat the Coach. How good is it to have it back? We are ready to ride the highs and lows of the season long format once again.

There are some familiar SC concepts and gameplay elements, but for this first article we are going to explore some key ideas for those building their side, looking at things through the NBL Supercoach perspective.

This should be useful for new players getting into NBL Supercoach, as well as providing some important considerations for those who have played previously.

In no particular order, let’s get into it.

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Concept Number 1: The Schedule

Not many other SC formats, apart from NBA, BBL and occasionally EPL, have weeks where teams play twice, so those coming from an AFL or NRL background need to adjust and realise just how important the schedule is.

The schedule this year sees no zero game rounds, something that has happened previously, and instead features a mix of one and two game rounds for each team.

Maximising, or more correctly utilising, the schedule for your starting team as well as your trade targets each week will prove critical to your Supercoach success.

A player may be scoring well, but if they are on a run of single game weeks, they probably should not be coming into your side. Someone scoring at a slightly reduced rate but with double game weeks coming up could be the preferred option.

You need to be thinking beyond just who scores the most points and start considering who has the best upcoming schedule.

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Concept Number 2: The Bench

The bench is absolutely key to NBL Supercoach.

There are no non playing players like you might see in some other formats You won’t have a non-playing player like you might want in other SC formats, and there are no traditional reserves or emergencies when selecting your side each week. Instead, all of your bench players contribute 50 percent of their individual score towards your total score each round.

That means you need a rock solid bench that is playing and scoring points,  hopefully increasing in price and providing a potential on field option when the schedule allows. In an ideal world your bench selections will potentially allow you to stash a gun player on the bench for a week (on a single game) if you are reluctant to trade them out.

The bench is not simply somewhere to hide cheap players or look to penny pinch. It forms a significant part of your weekly score and needs to be treated accordingly.

Concept Number 3: Captaincy and the Loophole

The major takeaway with NBL Supercoach is that you do not really get two bites of the cherry at your captain score, and you will not be looking at loopholes in the same way as you might in other Supercoach formats.

Your orange armband, or captaincy choice, should generally go on who you think will score the best each round, usually a player with two games that round.

Without getting too technical, if you were to loop the lowest score from the bench (in the corresponding position), would then move onto the field. You would receive their full score rather than 50 percent and essentially, you would be playing with nine players that round instead of ten and miss out on one 50% score (the highest bench score in that corresponding position). I hope that is clear and concise!

In summary, it is highly, highly unlikely that you will loop in NBL Supercoach. Straight captaincy each round is the way to go.

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Concept Number 4: Cheapies

Nothing new here, as cheapies are crucial to Supercoach success.

Cheap players allow you to have guns in your side, while they can also increase in salary and give you greater spending power as the season progresses.

However, NBL cheapies need to be carefully selected.

Roles and opportunities on court can be tricky to predict in the NBL, and you do not want a cheapie who will never play meaningful minutes apart from junk time when a game is a blowout.

We want the cheapies who coaches trust, who are genuine rotation pieces and who have enough court time to fill up those box scores.

Cheapies at this stage for the upcoming season look potentially quite challenging, in my opinion.

Stay tuned for the SC Playbook Cheapies Special, where we delve into a number of prospects and assess whether they are worthwhile picks or potential traps.

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Concept Number 5: The Imports

Imports have a major say in a team’s success, whether that is in Supercoach world or on the NBL hardwood.

The right mix of imports can lift an NBL team into playoff contention, and they tend to be key Supercoach players each season.

With 10 players and a $2 million salary cap in NBL Supercoach, we have an average of $200,000 to spend per player.

New NBL imports, almost always (with Cole Anthony being the obvious exception), are priced at $277,000.

For some imports each year, this can be an absolute bargain, and we see them become heavily undervalued Supercoach weapons.

Think back to previous seasons and players such as Kendrick Davis or Parker Jackson Cartwright, who started at the basic import price and quickly became outstanding Supercoach options.

However there are times where this import price is way too expensive compared to SC production. Some imports are more role players. Some struggle with adjusting to the league, adapting to the interpretations and officiating, or simply find themselves in foul trouble too often.

Those players may not be worth paying the typical starting price for.

Careful consideration of imports is therefore essential in NBL Supercoach.

Who are you eyeing off early in the year?

Concept Number 6: The Flex, or More Precisely, the Lack of One

Unlike most other Supercoach formats, NBL Supercoach does not include a flex position.

That means a low score or an early injury will not simply be omitted from your round score.

I am not sure why the flex position has not been included, as personally I think it has been a great and fair addition to other Supercoach formats.

It is something NBL Supercoach players will need to account for when constructing their starting side, particularly when assessing players with injury concerns or uncertain roles.

Conclusion

Those are six key concepts to keep in mind when approaching NBL Supercoach this season.

Are there any other concepts or key parts of the game that I have missed?

Let me know in the SC Playbook Discord group, and happy building.

We are about a week out from Round 1 lockout, so it is time to get those sides sorted.