Your league draft might be conducted in a number of different ways depending on how your league is set up. Live online drafts take place over the internet in a chat-type room. Offline drafts might be held person at an agreed upon location, like a restaurant or room. No matter the type of draft you’re participating in, it’s best not to go into it cold turkey. Here are some tips and things to remember when drafting.
 

1. Have a plan – Usually there is a time limit between each pick and having a plan can help you avoid having to make a pick with seconds left on the clock each time. Some questions you should be considering are: 1) Should I simply go for the player I think is the best available regardless of position? 2) If not, when should I be looking to fill certain positions? 3) When should I be looking for players who fill specific statistics? And, with that in mind... 4) What STAT CATS should I be more worried about earlier in the draft and what STAT CATS can I hold off on filling until later in the draft? 5) If I don’t know what order I’m selecting in until right before the draft (which is the case for Yahoo Public Leagues), how might different scenarios change the way I draft?
    
2. Know your league settings/scoring system - Drafting the right players is very difficult if you don't know how the league is set up.
    
3. Use your queue – In Yahoo Public Leagues, there is a queue set up for you. If you’re really worried about losing track of what players are available during your draft, you might consider entering your live online draft early to start moving some players of interest to your queue list. This may seem like a lot of work, but if you only move the players you want during the mid-to-later rounds of the draft, you may save yourself in the end. This helps you by reducing the amount of players you have to sort through when you're running out of time to make your selection(s). If you don’t have access to a queue list in your draft, make sure to have list handy as you draft that breaks players up in such a way that you can easily sort through them quickly.
    
4. Pre-rank your players - Even if you plan on attending the draft so that your team won't be automatically selected for you, it’s crucial to carefully plan out the top players on your team. Your top three to four picks should be players you can count on to anchor your team. Also, if you’re involved in a live online draft, you never know what kind of malfunction might happen that disconnects you during your picking process. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
    
5. Have resources handy - This isn't a test...you can have as many resources in front of you as you want. Don't overdo it. You don't want to be shuffling through too many things while you pick. However, you should have some standard information in front of you, like an updated list of which players are injured, an updated depth chart of each team, perhaps a sample player rankings that you trust, etc... I'd invite you to refer to our Draft Kit.
    
6. Identify late-round specialists – After making your first three to five picks, it might be a good time to assess what STAT CATS you’re looking strong in and what STAT CATS you might need some help in. For instance, if Ray Allen and Peja Stojakovic are among your first four picks, you’re pretty strong in three pointers. That being said, you might be without a player who can provide significant block shots to carry your team in that category. Specialists don’t often fill a stat sheet, but they’re great at providing one or two statistics very well.
    
7. Don’t over-draft "breakout players" – A lot can be said for having a balanced team. If you draft too many rookies or unproven players even if they have tremendous upside, you run the risk that the bulk of them most likely won’t pan out.
    
8. Draft for ALL Stat Cats – If you’re playing in a 9 STAT CAT or 8 STAT CAT league, it’s easy to forget that stats like steals or blocks are just as important as points and rebounds. Don’t forget them!
    
9. Check out the Fantapedia Draft Kit - I know I already said this, but we think it's a pretty good kit, so check it out.
    
10. Have fun! – The league draft should be a good experience and a lot of fun. So, enjoy every minute of it.