FIBA has launched the first fantasy league built around national-team basketball, unveiling the product ahead of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Qualifiers.
Announced on November 18, the SMART Fantasy League allows fans to build line-ups using players competing across the World Cup Qualifiers, managing a salary cap, and selecting a captain and X-Factor to maximise points.
Participants can win Nike gift cards of up to $200 per World Cup window, with scoring based on the official FIBA Efficiency Rating and bonus metrics. The competition is split into four regional leagues: Africa, Americas, Asia/Oceania and Europe.
Fans can join public competitions or create private leagues with friends, while real-time leaderboards track performance across each game day. Line-ups can be entered up to tip-off, with substitutions allowed between games.
Fantasy sports as a commercial engine
While this may be a new concept for FIBA, leagues and broadcasters have used fantasy sports to strengthen engagement and create new commercial opportunities for a long time.
In football, the Premier League’s Fantasy Premier League (FPL) has become a leading example of what other sports strive to create, with over 11 million players last season alone.
The success of the FPL has even led to podcasts and content brands leveraging the app to turn listeners into active participants. Shows such as The Rest Is Football and The Overlap use private leagues, newsletters and online communities to connect audiences with presenters.
Analysts note that fantasy games provide fans with multiple touchpoints, enabling brands to collect behavioural data and foster loyalty across digital platforms.
In August, Malph Minns, Managing Director of Strive Sponsorship, explained to Insider Sport that fantasy games “add another angle for people to consume their passion” and that private and public leagues turn participation into a form of social currency.
Danielle Ward, Marketing Sales Director at Wardaker Logic, also told Insider Sport that fantasy competitions can unite fans who might otherwise have little interest in the sport, opening pathways for meaningful engagement and monetisation.
How FIBA sees the fantasy play
FIBA sees the fantasy launch as a way to understand fan behaviour in more detail, as a FIBA spokesperson told Insider Sport the SMART Fantasy League “is expected to significantly contribute to fan data acquisition, complementing initiatives such as Courtside 1891 and Game Predictor.”
The spokesperson also highlighted the potential for deeper engagement through the platform, stating it “serves as a natural entry point for casual fans, transforming passive viewers into active participants and brand ambassadors.” They went on to explain how fantasy gaming and other activations “could become regular touchpoints, paving the way for integrations with e-commerce, premium content and broadcast partnerships.”
