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What is a “Snake” Draft?
A snake draft is a draft where each participant makes one pick per round in a pre-determined order. The order flips in each subsequent round, so the first pick of the first round becomes the last pick of the second round, and vice versa. The order alternates in this manner for each round until the conclusion of the draft.
What are the positional requirements?
There are three positional categories to fill in each draft, and two players must be selected from each. These positions are as follows:
G (Guard) - 2 players
F/C (Forward/Center) - 2 players
UTIL (Utility) - 2 players
The players also must be selected from a minimum of two NBA teams.
Who is available to draft?
The Player Pool will consist of all NBA players expected to be on the active roster for any team scheduled to play in the contest Game Set. Occasionally a player may be missing from the Player Pool due to trades or other unforeseen circumstances.
When do the drafts start?
Snake drafts will begin once the required number of entrants join the contest (snake draft contests must fill completely). There will be a one-minute period between the time the contest fills and the time the countdown begins for the first pick of the draft. The draft order is determined at random once the contest fills and you can withdraw from a snake draft at any time before the contest fills.
How long does a draft take?
Snake drafts use fast draft settings, which means up to 30 seconds to make each pick. Fast drafts typically take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours to complete.
What requirements are there for the draft?
In order to be eligible for prizes in snake draft contests, you must either edit the pre-draft rankings, add a player to your queue during the draft or make a manual draft pick during the draft. Failure to take at least one of the prior three actions will result in an invalid entry and you will not be eligible for prizes and your entry fee will be forfeited.
How do pre-draft rankings work?
You can create your own personalized ordering of a snake draft player pool by editing the pre-draft rankings, and your last saved version of the pre-draft rankings is automatically imported for you as soon as a draft starts. You can edit your pre-draft rankings at any time and it will apply to every upcoming draft in the game set. If you do not edit the pre-draft rankings before a draft starts, you will use the default DraftKings player rankings.
How does Auto-Draft work?
If you do not make a pick before your pick clock expires, a player will be drafted by one of the following methods.
-DraftKings will pick the highest player from the queue.
-or-
-DraftKings will pick the highest-rated player from your pre-draft rankings.
Should a player fail to make two consecutive manual selections, DraftKings will automatically turn auto-draft on and this can be turned off at any time in the draft settings. Players who have auto-draft on will not receive any push notifications for that specific contest during the draft.
What is the scoring system for NBA Snake Draft Contests?
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Contest Cancellations
If for any reason a draft does not finish before the contest goes live, the contest will be canceled and all users will be refunded.
In order to ensure all drafts finish before the contest goes live, we will cancel and refund all unfilled contests sometime before the contest start time.
Suspended, Postponed, and Rescheduled Games
In the event that a game is canceled or postponed and rescheduled to a time outside of the original Scoring Period, the game will be disabled from the Game Set and players listed to play in that game will not be eligible to accrue points.
If a game is rescheduled for a time OUTSIDE the original Scoring Period and this change is made less than 24 hours before a Game Set’s start, the game will be disabled from the Game Set and players listed to play in that game will NOT be eligible to accrue point. Players who you selected for your roster as of the time of the lock of the disabled game will remain in your roster and will accrue zero points. Players in disabled games will become locked at the originally scheduled start time of their game.
The Scoring Period for NBA is defined as the timeframe between the scheduled start of the first game within the Game Set and 11:59 p.m. ET on the day after the last scheduled game within the Game Set. In the event that a game is canceled or postponed and rescheduled to any time (both outside & within the original Scoring Period) and this change is made MORE than 24 hours before a Game Set’s start, it is at the sole discretion of DraftKings to include or remove the game from that given Game Set.
DraftKings may choose to adjust the Scoring Period for a Game Set at its sole discretion to accommodate schedule changes to any time before 12:00 a.m. ET on the day after the Game Set is scheduled.
If canceled or rescheduled games result in a Game Set including only one active game and this is known before the contest start time then all contests for that Game Set will be canceled and refunded.
If a Game Set includes only one active game but this was not known until after the contest start time then contests for this Game Set will not be canceled.
Games are “known” to be canceled or postponed once the game status is updated as such by DraftKings’ NBA stats-provider, STATS LLC.
Example: If a Game Set includes two games at 8 p.m. ET and 10:30 p.m. ET respectively, and the 10:30 p.m. ET game is officially postponed at 6 p.m. ET then all contests for that Game Set are canceled and refunded. If the 10:30 p.m. ET game was not officially postponed until after 8 p.m. ET then contests for that Game Set are not canceled and are played out using only the one active game.
If canceled or rescheduled games result in a Game Set including zero active games, all contests for that Game Set will be canceled and refunded.
In any case, DraftKings reserves the right to alter, settle, or cancel any contest at DraftKings’ sole discretion in the event the NBA makes any scheduling changes for any reason (including, but not limited to, shortening the season or making scheduling or gameplay changes due to COVID-19 or any other pandemic or event) prior to the completion of the contest.
Suspended or Shortened Games
DraftKings uses official NBA statistics and only includes statistics from games that the NBA deems to be official. If the NBA declares a game “suspended” then the statistics generated before the game is suspended will count in Game Sets containing said game. Any statistics generated on a later date when the game resumes will not be included.
Collusion
DraftKings has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to collusion. If DraftKings suspects there was collusion in a contest, the contest may be canceled. The users suspected of collusion will not be refunded and may be permanently banned from DraftKings.
Collusion is any action or decision that is made between two or more users in a draft with the intention of gaining an unfair advantage over other users, or otherwise, at DraftKings' sole discretion, may compromise the integrity of the contest.
What is an NBA “Snake Showdown” Draft?
A snake draft for a Showdown contest is the same as a regular snake draft, where each participant makes one pick per round in a pre-determined order. The order flips in each subsequent round, so the first pick of the first round becomes the last pick of the second round, and vice versa. The order alternates in this manner for each round until the conclusion of the draft. The difference in a snake Showdown draft — compared to a regular one — is that all of the draft picks are made from just one game (two teams).
When do the drafts start?
Snake drafts will begin once the required number of entrants join the contest (snake draft contests must fill completely). There will be a one-minute period between the time the contest fills and the time the countdown begins for the first pick of the draft. The draft order is determined at random once the contest fills and you can withdraw from a snake draft at any time before the contest fills.
What are the positional requirements?
Because the available players are only coming from two teams, the Showdown player pool is much smaller. In this format, each participant drafts just three (3) players, and those three players must come from a minimum of two teams. There are no specific positions — all players are marked “Util.”
Who is available to draft?
The Player Pool will consist of all NBA players expected to be on the active roster for any team scheduled to play in the contest Game Set. Occasionally a player may be missing from the Player Pool due to trades or other unforeseen circumstances.
How long does a draft take?
Snake drafts use fast draft settings, which means up to 30 seconds to make each pick. With just three picks per participant, the drafts will typically take just a few minutes.
How do pre-draft rankings work?
You can create your own personalized ordering of a snake draft player pool by editing the pre-draft rankings and your last saved version of the pre-draft rankings is automatically imported for you as soon as a draft starts. You can edit your pre-draft rankings at any time and it will apply to every upcoming draft in the game set. If you do not edit the pre-draft rankings before a draft starts, you will use the default DraftKings player rankings.
How does Auto-Draft work?
If you do not make a pick before your pick clock expires, a player will be drafted by one of the following methods.
-DraftKings will pick the highest player from the queue.
-or-
-DraftKings will pick the highest-rated player from your pre-draft rankings.
Should a player fail to make two consecutive manual selections, DraftKings will automatically turn auto-draft on, and this can be turned off at any time in the draft settings. Players who have auto-draft on will not receive any push notifications for that specific contest during the draft.
What is the scoring system for NBA Snake Draft Contests?
Contest Cancellations
If for any reason a draft does not finish before the contest goes live, the contest will be canceled and all users will be refunded.
In order to ensure all drafts finish before the contest goes live, we will cancel and refund all unfilled contests some time before the contest start time.
Cancelled, Postponed, and Rescheduled Games
In the event that a game is canceled or postponed and rescheduled to a time outside of the original Scoring Period, DraftKings will cancel and refund all contests. If the game is rescheduled within the Scoring Period and this change is made less than 24 hours before the Game Set’s lock, the game will be included in the Game Set and players listed to play in that game will be eligible to accrue points.
The Scoring Period for NBA is defined as the timeframe between the scheduled start of the first game within the Game Set and 11:59 p.m. ET on the day after the last scheduled game within the Game Set.
DraftKings may choose to adjust the Scoring Period for a Game Set at their sole discretion to accommodate schedule changes to any time before 12:00 a.m. ET on the day after the Game Set is scheduled.
Suspended or Shortened Games
DraftKings uses official NBA statistics and only includes statistics from games that the NBA deems to be official. If the NBA declares a game “suspended” then the statistics generated before the game is suspended will count in Game Sets containing said game. Any statistics generated on a later date when the game resumes will not be included.
Collusion
DraftKings has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to collusion. If DraftKings suspects there was collusion in a contest, the contest may be canceled. The users suspected of collusion will not be refunded and may be permanently banned from DraftKings.
Collusion is any action or decision that is made between two or more users in a draft with the intention of gaining an unfair advantage over other users, or otherwise, at DraftKings’ sole discretion, may compromise the integrity of the contest.