NBA Fantasy Basketball: Salary Cap Updates and Weekly Power Rankings

Adam Boustani and his team, Dima Maghreb, have secured the championship for the 2025-26 NBA Fantasy — Salary Cap Edition. Boustani, representing the United Kingdom, finished the season as the top manager among 63,940 total players.

According to a report by NBA.com published April 13, 2026, Boustani accumulated 32,611 total fantasy points (TFP) over the course of 25 weeks to claim the first-place position. He narrowly outpaced Jack Bones, whose team Peace and Love finished second with 32,274 TFP, and Ezra Tsegaye, whose team colesaidimdreamville placed third with 32,166 TFP.

Roster Management and Financials

Boustani’s path to the title involved a combination of aggressive transactions and precise financial management. Over the 25-week season, he executed 52 transactions. By the conclusion of the final GameDay, his roster held a total value of $105.9M, leaving $0.4M remaining in his bank.

The foundation of the winning roster was built around three elite performers: Nikola Jokić, Tyrese Maxey, and Kevin Durant. These three players ranked No. 1, No. 4, and No. 7 respectively in total fantasy points for the season.

Together, Jokić, Maxey, and Durant contributed 11,807 TFP. This core production came at a total salary cost of $54.4M and resulted in a combined average of 168.2 fantasy points per game (FPPG).

While the stars provided the bulk of the scoring, Boustani also utilized high-value bargain players to optimize his salary cap. Collin Gillespie was identified as the best bargain of the season on the championship roster, supported by other under-the-radar contributors including Maxime Raynaud and VJ Edgecombe.

2025-26 Season Scoring and Rule Changes

The 2025-26 season, marking the third iteration of the Salary Cap Edition, introduced several fundamental changes to the game’s mechanics to simplify the experience for general managers. One of the most significant updates was the removal of the decimal-point system in favor of whole numbers for all statistics.

The scoring system for the season was established as follows:

• 1 point: 1 fantasy point
• 1 rebound: 1 fantasy point
• 1 assist: 2 fantasy points
• 1 block: 3 fantasy points
• 1 steal: 3 fantasy points
• 1 turnover: 0 fantasy points

The decision to assign zero points to turnovers was intended to balance the point spread between back court and front court players. Under this system, defensive contributions through blocks and steals remained the most valuable individual statistics.

Drafting and Roster Construction

To assist managers in navigating the large pool of available NBA players, the league introduced a structure allowing rosters to be built around a single primary star. For the 2025-26 season, six of the most expensive players were highlighted as primary targets for these builds.

The designated star players for the season included:

• Front Court: Nikola Jokić, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Victor Wembanyama
• Back Court: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Dončić, and Trae Young

While these players were positioned as the most expensive targets, the game rules allowed general managers the flexibility to ignore these primary stars and build their rosters using alternative strategies.