Kareem, Sue Bird-Taurasi, Kentucky 1978 Men Advance to Elite 8

After we calculated Kareem Abdul-Jabbar card as the best in the game for our mock draft, he delivered an epic 30 point performance despite going up against another great center in Clyde Lovellette of the 1952 champs from Kansas. This sets up a very interesting Elite 8 game between the first undefeated UCLA team from three years earlier (1964) though there are no overlapping players since freshman did not play varsity then. 

UCLA looked lie the preseason No. 3 team we expected based on the Value Add Basketball Game cards dominating the game to a 70-45 lead with 7 minutes to go, before Kansas finished strong to make the final sound respectable at UCLA 79, Kansas 64. The game was a bounce back after UCLA was stunned by DePaul 1981 and had another close call to drop all the way out of our all-time Top 25.

On the women's side, Dawn Staley and 1991 UVa had an impressive win against a seemingly very evenly matched Notre Dame 2001 by 70-56. 

Staley then had 15 points and 4 steals to put UVa in position for a major upset against 1-seed UConn 2002, with a 63-60 lead with just 5 possessions to play. However, Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi scored clutch baskets and Asjha Jones seals the deal with a huge steal that led to a fast break basket as UConn advanced to the Elite 8 but will have to wait for the winner of another pod with LSU 2003, Texas Tech 1993 and Louisiana Tech 1988 for their Elite 8 opponent. The final was 2002 UConn 69, UVa 65.

Finally, back on the men's side 1978 Kentucky beat 1963 Bowling Green 78-65. The dominance we discovered in this team was center Rick Robey and point guard Kyle Macy as the best inside-outside foul drawing duo in the game. They got to the line at will, putting Bowling Green in foul trouble and hitting 14 of 18 free throws to only 4 of 9 for Bowling Green. Their Elite 8 game will be against either the 2012 Kentucky addition featuring Anthony Davis, or the early 1944 Dartmouth team featuring Al McGuire's brother.

Below are the top performers for each of these teams, following by the Men's and Women's brackets with results to date.

Team/Player	Details - team results and star players
UCLA 1967	beat 1952 Kansas 79-64, E8 v. UCLA 1964
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	30 pts, 8 reb, 5 blks (nba)
Lucius Allen	15 pts, 5 Stls (nba)
Other NBA	Lynn Shackelford
Kansas 1952	lost to 1967 UCLA 64-79
Bill Lienhard	12 pts, 9 reb
Clyde Lovellette	12 pts, but 5 Fls vs Kareem (nba)
Bowling Green 1963	lost 65-78 to KY 1978
Howie Komives	16 pts, 3 3-pts (nba)
Nate Thurmond	11 pts, 3 bl, 6 reb (nba)
Kentucky 1978	beat BG 78-65, E8 vs KY 2012 or Dartmouth 1944
Rick Robey	17 pts, 13 reb, 10-13 FTs (nba)
Kyle Macy	20 pts, 4 stls, 4-5 Fts (nba)
Jack Givens	18pts (nba)
Other NBA	Chuck Aleksinas
Uconn Women 2002	Beat Uva 1991 69-65, E8 vs LSU 03, TexT 93 or LaTech 88
Asjha Jones	18 pts (wnba)
Diana Taurasi	15pt (wnba)
Sue Bird	13 pts, 3 steals (wnba)
	4 other wnba players
Uva 1991 Women	beat ND, lose Uconn 2002 65-69
Dawn Staley	15 pts, 4 Steals vs Uconn (wnba)
Heather Burge	12 pts, 7 reb vs. ND (wnba)
Tonya Cardoza	15 pts vs. ND
Tammi Reiss	16 pts, 4 Steals vs. Uconn (wnba)
Other WNBA player	Heidi Burge
Notre Dame 2001 Women	Lost 56-70 to UVA
Ruth Riley	10 Pts, 11 Reb, 4 blocks (wnba)
Niele Ivey	10 Pts, 3 steals (wnba)

Dr. J, AD, 6 PGs and 6 Cs in All-Time Mock Lottery Draft of Greatest Players Ever

While I play great all-time teams against each other in the Value Add Basketball Game, many of the 80,000 players who have gotten the free game tell me they play it like fantasy sports, drafting the best individual players to create their own teams. In April 2024, I put together a mock draft of the best 40 women's cards, and after Christmas 2024, I calculated the top 60 men's cards for the fantasy mock draft below.

Scroll further down for our list of the greatest men's players of all time in our game, which spans back to the early 1940s Dartmouth and Wyoming squads, through the new dynasty from UConn, and the latest addition in JMU. After listing my mock draft, I included a copy of the cleaned-up rules for the game and a list of all great teams. Note: these are the best cards in the game. While Michael Jordan is the greatest NBA player who played college basketball, most agree that Kareem was the greatest college player ever. While Jordan's card is actually the best defensive card in our game, it is from his freshman season when he was averaging 13.6 points per game—not his sophomore season, when he was an All-American, or his junior year, when he beat out Ralph Sampson for National Player of the Year. Even in this freshman season, he ranks as the 35th best card of thousands in the game.

With all the great basketball sim games on the market, I believe the two things that the Value Add Basketball Game does better than any other game are:

1. Calibrating for the level of competition and the era in which a team played, to put all on equal footing.
2. Accounting for the true impact of point guards, as they improve all four teammates, giving them value well beyond their individual stats.

The Centers: Abdul-Jabbar Edges Walton, Chamberlain and Russell

Centers dominated most of college basketball history, so it is no surprise that 6 of the best 14 cards in the game are centers. When we calculated each cards value it was a photo finish as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's offensive rating was 1.16 and defense was 0.92, while Bill Walton was just one point lower on offense for 1.15/0.92.

This calculation means that if a team had five average Value Add Basketball Game cards and thus gave up scored and gave up 1.00 point per trip, and then we inserted Kareem Abdul-Jabbar card for one of the five average players, the team would start scoring 1.16 points per trip down the court and allowing only 0.92 points allowed per trip. Assuming 70 possessions a game, that means the team averaging a 70-70 tie, would start winning their games by an average score of 81-64 with Abdul-Jabbar added to the team.

That's three points better than the best ever recorded when Sports Illustrated and ESPN covered my initial Value Add ratings (before the game) and I calculated that Anthony Davis freshman season and Jon Scheyer's senior season they were both worth about 14 points per game to Kentucky and Duke.

The two UCLA greats edge out the original two greatest players in Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell, and the final of six lottery picks who are centers are the one player to beat Abdul-Jabbar (Elvin Hayes of Houston) and the one surprise card to calculate as one of the 14 best in history - Georgetown's shot blocking extraordinaire Alonzo Mourning.

The Big O – Oscar Robertson Leads 6 Lottery Pick PGs

From the first time Sports Illustrated and ESPN covered my development of the Value Add Basketball Rankings (years before the game was invented), I found myself making the case to NBA teams in draft prep and arguing at MIT convenings featuring Nate Silver and others that basketball ratings cannot be accurate unless you add a subjective factor for the best point guards.

A player running the point commits far more turnovers than he would if playing another position because he needs to bring the ball 94 feet up the court against pressure—not just catch the ball and shoot. I believe the Value Add Basketball Game accounts for the true value of the point guard through a "pressure credit" to any player named one of the greatest point guards of all time, based on these three analyses: Hoops Hype, Jay Bilas or Bleacher Reports.

The way the Value Add Basketball Game accounts for this is by adjusting during the final 9 possessions (5 minutes) of a game. If one of these all-time great point guards is in the game, he reduces the chance of a turnover or steal almost in half, no matter who on his team has the ball. In the normal steal range of 11-16 or 31, these PGs take care of the ball and get it to teammates in easy positions, so the even numbers of 12, 14, and 16 are not considered steals. Instead, we roll the 20-sided die. The same applies to turnovers on 42, 44, or 46.

Therefore, Oscar Robertson's offensive and defensive ratings of 1.11 and 0.98 result in a +18 rather than a +13, because the extra 5 points reflect his ability to play elite point guard when the team needs him most, with the pressure on.

If that same team of average players—initially averaging a 70-70 tie—that improved to an average 81-64 win by adding Kareem, instead added Oscar Robertson, we'd expect their average to drop to a 79-66 win. So, a 13-point improvement that makes him our No. 3 overall pick, still four points worse than Kareem or Bill Walton but better than everyone else.

The other five point guard lottery picks in our all-time mock draft are:

• Walt Frazier (Southern Illinois, 1967)
• Gary "The Glove" Payton (Oregon State, 1990)
• Jerry West (West Virginia, 1959)
• Walt Hazzard (UCLA’s first undefeated team in the dynasty run)
• Magic Johnson (Michigan State, 1979)

I think of West, the Big O, and others playing positions other than point guard, but it doesn't matter if they always played point guard. In fact, Magic once made a point of going up for the jump ball at the outset of a Lakers game when Kareem was injured, just to play all five positions in a game. The point is that if Bilas or one of the other two sets of experts believes a player could play point guard that well, then that player can be used in clutch time in our game, and his card is that much better.

All three experts agree that Magic was the greatest PG of all time. The other five PG lottery picks have slightly better cards in our game because they put up more offensive numbers than Magic did during Michigan State’s title season.

Memories of the 2 non-PG or C Lottery Picks - Dr. J and AD

While you probably want to nail down a dominant Center or Point Guard with your first pick in the draft, the other two lottery picks we suggest depending on who is available are Dr. J and AD - that's UMass 1971 Julius Erving or Kentucky 2012 Anthony Davis.

Both are listed as forwards by basketball reference, which we use to determine all positions except for flagging the point guards as mentioned above.

Dr. J of course was the first human highlight reel, and one of the greatest gifts of my life was my Aunt Joanne deciding to take me to my first basketball game as a 6-year-old to see him play for the Virginia Squires in my hometown of Richmond, Virginia.

I could tell at that young age my New York Jets, who had won the Superbowl the year before, and my new team the Virginia Squires, would dominate the sports world for years to come. The Squires could not afford to keep Dr. J and the three years after he left went 28-56 and 15-69 before improving their final year to 15-68 before going out of business. The Jets established much better consistency by going 3-11 all three of those season but unfortunately stayed in business so I could watch them get beaten up by Aunt Joanne's Buffalo Bills as late as I type this today on December 29, 2024. But back to the mock draft ...

Ironically I saw Anthony Davis only college loss when I spare of the moment bought tickets to the last Kentucky at Indiana game on the way to a 3-day silent retreat in Indiana. It resulted in the only time I stormed a court, as noted in the photo, running past former Marquette coach Tom Crean as ESPN was so excited about the buzzer beater they accidentally awarded the 3-pointer to Kentucky on the screen.

Despite this shot costing Davis college perfection, this is a guy who was so good as a POINT GUARD that as a freshman in high school that one NBA team official told me they thought he would be a future NBA point guard if he had stopped growing at 6-foot-2. The interesting thing I noticed in calculating my mock draft is that Davis ("AD") is the only card I calculate as a all-time lottery pick since 2000.

This is not because the game is biased against newer teams - in fact our current all-time top 25 includes 12 recent teams from Duke 2001 to UConn 2023, and only 13 top 25 teams between the 1962 Cincinnati team right after the Big O graduated through Paul Pierce's 1997 Kansas' team.

I believe this is due to two factors. First, more teams early on had that one absolutely dominant player, whereas in recent decades the great teams have more balanced domination to need to share the ball more.

The even bigger factor is the greatest players leaving after one year for the draft or not playing college at all. I've always believed Davis would have been the greatest college player on college basketball history if he had stayed to his senior or even junior year. Players improve SO MUCH even between their freshman and sophomore seasons, and my calculations a decade ago was that Davis improved Kentucky more than 14 points a game as a freshman, so it would have been a close call between the 2014 or 2015 Anthony Davis card and Kareem's card for greatest college player ever if NIL had existed then and he had stayed and won a couple of more titles to rival the current UConn team for the second greatest dynasty of all time behind Kareem's UCLA.

Lott	Player, all-time NBA, college PG	School	Year	Pos	Ht	Off	Def
1	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar #3	UCLA	1967	C	7'2	1.16	0.92
2	Bill Walton #44	UCLA	1972	C	6'11	1.15	0.92
3	Oscar Robertson #9-all-time PG#3-HH	Cincinnati	1960	PG	6'5	1.11	0.98
4	Wilt Chamberlain #5	Kansas	1957	C	7'1	1.1	0.92
5	Walt Frazier #41,all-time PG #14-HH	Southern Illinois	1967	PG	6'4	1.05	0.94
6	Gary Payton #42, all-time PG#8-BR	Oregon St.	1990	PG	6'4	1.05	0.94
7	Jerry West #4-HH	West Virginia	1959	PG	6'3	1.12	1.01
8	Bill Russell #6	San Francisco	1956	C	6'9	1.07	0.91
9	Julius Erving #14	Massachusetts	1971	F	6'6	1.08	0.92
10	Walt Hazzard, all-time PG#20-BR	UCLA	1964	PG	6'2	1.08	0.98
11	Alonzo Mourning #78	Georgetown	1989	C	6'10	1.08	0.93
12	Anthony Davis #71	Kentucky	2012	F	6'10	1.07	0.92
13	Magic Johnson #4, all-time PG#1-HH,JB,BR	Michigan St.	1979	PG	6'8	1.02	0.93
14	Elvin Hayes #58	Houston	1968	C	6'9	1.1	0.96
Rd 1	Player, all-time NBA, college PG	School	Year	Pos	Ht	Off	Def
15	Bob McAdoo #45	North Carolina	1972	F	6'9	1.07	0.93
16	Tim Duncan #8	Wake Forest	1996	C	6'11	1.07	0.93
17	Jerry Lucas #46	Ohio St.	1960	C	6'8	1.14	1
18	Bob Cousy #34, all-time PG#2-BR	Holy Cross	1950	PG	6'1	1.04	0.96
19	Lenny Wilkens #65,all-time #19 PG-HH	Providence	1960	PG	6'1	1.04	0.96
20	John Stockton #24,all-time PG#7-HH	Gonzaga	1981	PG	6'1	1.03	0.95
21	Allen Iverson #31, all-time PG#9-JB	Georgetown	1995	PG	6'0	1.02	0.94
22	Steve Nash #37,all-time PG#8-HH	Santa Clara	1996	PG	6'3	1.04	0.96
23	Pete Maravich #54, all-time #16 PG-HH	LSU	1970	PG	6'5	1.12	1.05
24	Tiny Archibald #67,all-time #15 PG-HH	UTEP	1970	SG	6'1	1.03	0.96
25	Greg Anthony, all-time PG#38-BR	UNLV	1991	PG	6'0	1.06	0.99
26	Bob Pettit #35	LSU	1953	F	6'9	1.07	0.95
27	Billy Cunningham #72	North Carolina	1965	F	6'6	1.05	0.93
28	Dave Cowens #61	Florida St.	1968	C	6'9	1.07	0.95
29	Wes Unseld #48	Louisville	1968	C	6'7	1.07	0.95
30	Robert Parish #63	Centenary (LA)	1976	C	7'0	1.05	0.93
Rd 2	Player, all-time NBA, college PG	School	Year	Pos	Ht	Off	Def
31	Larry Bird #7	Indiana St.	1979	F	6'9	1.09	0.97
32	James Worthy #56	North Carolina	1982	F	6'9	1.03	0.91
33	Hakeem Olajuwon #13	Houston	1983	C	7'0	1.06	0.94
34	Shaquille O'Neal #11	LSU	1992	C	7'1	1.08	0.96
35	Jason Kidd #43, all-time PG#4-JB	California	1993	PG	6'4	1.01	0.95
36	Jameer Nelson, all-time PG#10-BR	St Joes	2004	PG	6'0	1.05	0.99
37	Dolph Schayes #70	NYU	1948	C	6'7	1.06	0.95
38	Michael Jordan #1	North Carolina	1982	SG	6'6	1.01	0.9
39	Karl Malone #23	Louisiana Tech	1985	F	6'9	1.05	0.94
40	Chris Webber #76	Michigan	1993	F	6'9	1.06	0.95
41	Jacque Vaughn, all-time PG#32-BR	Kansas	1997	PG	6'1	1.02	0.97
42	Mike Bibby, all-time PG#22-BR	Arizona	1997	PG	6'1	1.05	1
43	Jay Williams, all-time PG#12-BR	Duke	2001	PG	6'2	1.03	0.98
44	Hal Greer #64	Marshall	1956	SG	6'2	1.05	0.95
45	Isiah Thomas #27, all-time PG#2-JB	Indiana	1981	PG	6'1	1.01	0.97
46	Johnny Dawkins, all-time PG#16-BR	Duke	1986	PG	6'2	1.03	0.99
47	Kenny Anderson, all-time PG#13-BR	Georgia Tech	1990	PG	6'2	1.04	1
48	Andre Miller, all-time PG#25-BR	Utah	1998	PG	6'2	1	0.96
49	Mateen Cleaves, all-time PG#19-BR	Michigan State	2000	PG	6'2	0.99	0.95
50	Elgin Baylor #20	Seattle	1958	F	6'6	1.1	1.01
51	Dave DeBusschere #73	Detroit Mercy	1960	F	6'6	1.07	0.98
52	Patrick Ewing #40	Georgetown	1984	C	7'0	1.03	0.94
53	Ray Allen #47	Connecticut	1996	SG	6'5	1.05	0.96
54	Paul Pierce #62	Kansas	1997	F	6'6	1.06	0.97
55	Calvin Murphy, all-time PG#3-BR	Niagara	1970	PG	5'9	1.03	1
56	Ed Cota, all-time PG#26-BR	North Carolina	1998	PG	6'2	1.02	0.99
57	Raymond Felton, all-time PG#39-BR	North Carolina	2005	PG	6'1	1.03	1
58	Russell Westbrook #68,all-time PG #12-HH	UCLA	2008	PG	6'3	1.01	0.98
59	Stephen Curry #16, all-time PG#2-HH	Davidson	2008	PG	6'3	1.02	0.99
60	Dave Bing #74	Syracuse	1966	SG	6'3	1.09	1.01
Other	Player, all-time NBA, college PG	School	Year	Pos	Ht	Off	Def
	James Harden #50	Arizona St.	2009	SG	6'5	1.04	1
	Charles Barkley #22	Auburn	1984	C	6'6	1.04	0.97
	Nate Thurmond #49	Bowling Green	1963	F	6'11	1.01	0.98
	George Mikan #28	DePaul	1945	C	6'10	1.02	0.98
	Bobby Hurley, all-time PG#6-JB	Duke	1992	PG	6'0	1.02	1
	Dominique Wilkins #36	Georgia	1982	F	6'7	1.01	0.93
	Clyde Drexler #53	Houston	1983	F	6'7	1.04	0.97
	Kyle Macy, all-time PG#37-BR	Kentucky	1978	PG	6'3	1.02	1
	Dwyane Wade #30	Marquette	2003	SG	6'4	1.05	1
	Rick Barry #38	Miami	1965	F	6'7	1.07	1.02
	Kevin McHale #39	Minnesota	1977	F	6'10	1.03	0.97
	David Robinson #25	Navy	1986	C	7'1	1	0.96
	Kawhi Leonard #33	San Diego St.	2011	F	6'7	1.03	0.97
	Alex English #79	South Carolina	1973	F	6'7	1.02	0.99
	Sherman Douglas, all-time PG#11-BR	Syracuse	1987	PG	6'0	1.02	1.01
	TJ Ford, all-time PG#21-BR	Texas	2003	PG	5'11	1.01	0.99
	Kevin Durant #12	Texas	2007	F	6'9	1.06	0.99
	Reggie Miller #51	UCLA	1987	SG	6'7	1.04	0.96
	Paul Arizin #66	Villanova	1950	F	6'4	1.07	1
	Chris Paul #29, all-time PG#6-HH	Wake Forest	2005	PG	6'0	1.01	1.02

addd

Value Add Basketball Game (VABG) Instructions

The Value Add Basketball Game (VABG) is the fastest and most accurate way to simulate matchups between all-time great college basketball teams from 1942 to the present. Games take less than an hour to play, and once you're familiar with the rules, they can take as little as 30 minutes. You can play solo or with two players.

---

Preparation Steps

Print the Scoresheet:Print the

basic player statistics.

 

Choose Your All-time Teams or Draft Best Players:You can either hold a draft to pick from the greatest

women's player of all time (see top 40 cards here) o 

You can either draft form the greatest players in the game

       (see mock draft at bottom of blog)  or pick 2 teams from below.

Pick the two teams from the list below that you want to

play against each other. Visit the link for each team you

want below to print both teams’ player cards. The + or -

rating by each team indicates how many points better

or worse the team is than the average great team in the

game, so a team with a +3 would be a 7-point favorite

against a team with a -4. Through hundreds of games,

the favorites chances of winning are very close to what

you would expect. 1-6 point favorites have won 61%

of the time, 7-12 point favorites 81%, 13-17 point

favorites have won 88%, and so far all 15 favored by

at least 18 points have won.

Dice or Fast Action Cards:

You’ll need either dice or Fast Action Cards. You can

purchase four dice (two traditional 6-sided dice of

different colors, one 20-sided die, and one 8-sided

die) or print the Fast Action Cards from the provided

Dropbox link or website.

A | B | C | D | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y |

A

Alabama 1977 - Reggie King - 2 Rating

Alabama 2023 - Brandon Miller +3

Arizona 1997 - Mike Bibby+3

Arizona 2015 - Stanley Johnson +3

Arizona St. 1980 - Byron Scott -4

Arizona St. 2009 - James Hardin -5

Arizona WOMEN 2021 - Aari McDonald -8

Arkansas 1978 - Sidney Moncrief -1

Arkansas 1994 - Corliss Williamson +6

Arkansas 2021 - JD Notae -3

Auburn 1984 - Charles Barkley -7

Auburn 2019 - Chuma Okeke -1

Auburn WOMEN 1989 - Carolyn Jones +6

Auburn WOMEN 2009 - KeKe Carrier & DeWanna Bonner -14

B

Baylor 2021 - Jared Butler +3

Baylor WOMEN 2012 - Kalani Brown +8

Baylor WOMEN 2019 - Brittney Griner +10

Boston College 2006 - Jared Dudley -6

Bowling Green 1963 - Nate Thurmond #49 best player ever -2

Bradley 1954 - Elmer Behnke -7

Brigham Young 1981 - Danny Ainge -3

Buffalo 2019 - Jeenathan Williams -4

Butler 2010 - Gordon Hayward -5

C

California 1959 - Jack Grout +1

California 1993 - Jason Kidd -5

Centenary 1976 - Robert Parish -10

Central Florida 2019 - Joey Graham -7

Charlotte 1977 - Cedric "Cornbread" Maxwell -2

Cincinnati 1960 - Oscar Robertson +10

Cincinnati 1962 - Paul Hogue +17

Cincinnati 2002 - Jason Maxiell +5

Clemson 1987 - Horace Grant -2

Colorado 2021 - McKinley Wright -6

Colorado St. 2024 - Isaiah Stevens -4

Colorado St. WOMEN 1999 - Becky Hammon -4

Connecticut 1996 - Ray Allen +7

Connecticut 1999 - Richard Hamilton +5

Connecticut 2004 - Ben Gordon +3

Connecticut 2011 - Kemba Walker +1

Connecticut 2023 - Adama Sanogo +11

Connecticut WOMEN 1995 - Rebecca Lobo - +10

Connecticut WOMEN 2002 - Sue Bird & Diana Taurasi +14

Connecticut WOMEN 2010 - Breanna Stewart +10

Connecticut WOMEN 2016 - Maya Moore +14

Creighton 2014 - Doug McDermott -1

Creighton 2020 - Ty-Shon Alexander -4

Creighton 2023 - Ryan Kalkbrenner -2

D

Dartmouth 1944 - Dick McGuire -2

Davidson 2008 - Stephen Curry -6

Dayton 1967 - Don May -2

Dayton 2020 - Obi Toppin -2

Delaware WOMEN 2013 - Elena Delle Donne -12

DePaul 1980 - Mark Aguirre -2

Detroit Mercy 1960 - Dave DeBusschere #73 best player ever -3

Drake 1969 - Willie McCarter -1

Duke 1986 - Johnny Dawkins +3

Duke 1992 - Christian Laettner +11

Duke 2001 - Shane Battier +13

Duke 2010 - Jon Scheyer +5

Duke 2015 - Justise Winslow +4

Duke 2022 - Wendell Moore -2

Duke WOMEN 2006 - Alison Bales -2

Duquesne 2024 - Jimmy Clark -14

F

Florida 2006 - Joakim Noah +10

Florida Atlantic 2023 - Johnell Davis -6

Florida St. 1968 - Dave Cowans -10

Florida St. 1993 - Charlie Ward -1

G

George Mason 2006 - Jai Lewis -7

Georgetown 1984 - Patrick Ewing +5

Georgetown 1989 Alonzo Mourning +3

Georgetown 1995 - Allen Iverson +3

Georgetown 2007 - Roy Hibbert +0

Georgia 1982 - Dominique Wilkins -9

Georgia Tech 1990 - Dennis Scott -1

Georgia Tech 2004 - Jarrett Jack -1

Georgia WOMEN 2013 - Jasmine James -1

Gonzaga 1984 - John Stockton -15

Gonzaga 2017 - Nigel Williams-Goss +6

Gonzaga 2023 - Drew Timme -1

Grand Canyon 2024 - Tyon Grant-Foster -11

H

Holy Cross 1950 - Bob Cousy +0

Houston 1968 - Elvin Hayes +9

Houston 1983 - Hakeem Olajuwon +6

Houston 2021 - Quentin Grimes +1

I

Illinois 1989 - Nick Anderson +5

Illinois 2005 - Deron Williams +5

Indiana 1976 - Scott May +11

Indiana 1981 - Isaiah Thomas +4

Indiana 2002 - Jared Jeffries +0

Indiana St. 1979 - Larry Bird +4

Indiana WOMEN 2024 - MacKenzie Holmes -5

Iowa 2001 - Reggie Evans -7

Iowa 2021 - Luka Garza -4

Iowa St. 2014 - DeAndre Kane -1

Iowa WOMEN 2024 - Caitlin Clark +3

J

Jacksonville 1970 - Artis Gilmore +3

James Madison University 2024 -11

K

Kansas 1952 - Clyde Lovellette +1

Kansas 1957 - Wilt Chamberlain +6

Kansas 1988 - Danny Manning -4

Kansas 1997 - Paul Pierce +8

Kansas 2008 - Mario Chalmers +3

Kansas 2022 - Ochai Agbaji +1

Kansas St. 2008 - Michael Beasley +3

Kansas St. 2023 - Markquis Nowell +1

Kentucky 1948 - Alex Groza +5

Kentucky 1970 - Dan Issel -2

Kentucky 1978 - Jack Givens +10

Kentucky 1996 - Antoine Walker +13

Kentucky 2012 - Anthony Davis +16

Kentucky WOMEN 2013 - A'dia Mathies - -3

L

La Salle 1954 - Tom Gola -1

Liberty 2023 - Darius McGhee -14

Long Beach State WOMEN 1987 - Cindy Brown +0

Louisiana Tech 1985 - Karl Malone -8

Louisiana Tech WOMEN 1982 - Pam Kelly +10

Louisiana Tech WOMEN 1988 – Teresa Weatherspoon +6

Louisville 1968 - Wes Unseld -5

Louisville 1980 - Darrell Griffith -1

Louisville 2013 - Russ Smith +5

Louisville WOMEN 2009 - Angel McCoughtry -5

Louisville WOMEN 2014 - Shoni Schimmel -5

Loyola Marymount 1990 - Bo Kimble -1

Loyola-Chicago 1963 - Jerry Harkness +5

Loyola-Chicago 2018 - Cameron Krutwig -9

LSU 1953 -Bob Pettit -6

LSU 1970 - Pete Maravich -14

LSU 1992 - Shaquille O'Neal +0

LSU 2006 - Glen Davis -2

LSU WOMEN 2005 - Sylvia Fowles -6

LSU WOMEN 2023 - Angel Reese +1

M

Marquette 1955 - Terry Rand -6

Marquette 1971 - Jim Chones -4

Marquette 1977 - Butch Lee +0

Marquette 1994 - Jim McIlvaine -2

Marquette 2003 - Dwyane Wade +0

Marquette 2011 - Jimmy Butler -5

Marquette 2023 - Tyler Kolek -2

Marquette WOMEN 2019 - Chloe Marotta, Natisha Hiedeman +4

Marshall 1956 - Hal Greer -11

Maryland 1984 - Len Bias -4

Maryland 2002 - Juan Dixon  +4

Maryland WOMEN 2006 - Crystal Langhorne +1

Massachusetts 1971 - Julius Erving (Dr.J) -17

Massachusetts 1996 - Marcus Camby +3

Memphis 2008 - Derrick Rose +4

Miami 1965 - Rick Barry -6

Miami 2013 - Shane Larkin -3

Miami 2023 - Norchad Omier -6

Michigan 1965 - Cazzie Russell +4

Michigan 1989 - Glen Rice +8

Michigan 1993 - Chris Webber & Fab 5 +8

Michigan 2013 - Trey Burke +2

Michigan St. 1979 - Magic Johnson +6

Michigan St. 2000 - Mateen Cleaves +5

Michigan St. 2009 - Draymond Green -1

Michigan State WOMEN 2005 - Liz Shimek +0

Minnesota 1977 - Kevin McHale +3

Minnesota WOMEN 2004 - Lindsay Whalen -8

Mississippi 2001 - Justin Reed -3

Mississippi St. 2005 - Lawrence Roberts - -10

Mississippi State WOMEN 2018 - Victoria Vivians +4

Missouri 1982 - Steve Stipanovich -1

Murray St. 2019 - Ja Morant -12

N

Navy 1986 - David Robinson -5

NC State 2024 - DJ Burns -6

NC State 1974 - David Thompson +9

NC State WOMEN 2024 - Aziaha James -1

Nebraska 2014 - Terran Petteway -10

Nevada 2004 - Kirk Snyder -5

New Mexico 1974 - Bernard Hardin -2

New Mexico St. 1970 - Jimmy Collins +0

New York University 1948 -Dolph Schayes -18

Niagara 1970 - Calvin Murphy -14

North Carolina 1957 - Lennie Rosenbluth +0

North Carolina 1965 - Billy Cunningham -14

North Carolina 1972 - Bob McAdoo +5

North Carolina 1982 - Michael Jordan +9

North Carolina 1998 - Vince Carter+9

North Carolina 2005 - Sean May +9

North Carolina 2017 - Justin Jackson +5

North Carolina 2022 - Armando Bacot -6

North Carolina WOMEN 2007 - Erlana Larkins -1

Northwestern 2017 - Vic Law -5

Notre Dame 1970 - Austin Carr -3

Notre Dame 1981 - Orlando Woolridge -4

Notre Dame WOMEN 2001 - Ruth Riley +2

Notre Dame WOMEN 2012 - Kylar Diggins +8

Notre Dame WOMEN 2018 - Arike Ogunbowale +4

O

Oakland 2024 - Trey Townsend -19

Ohio St. 1960 - Jerry Lucas +11

Ohio St. 2007 - Greg Oden +2

Ohio State WOMEN 1993 - Katie Smith +1

Ohio State WOMEN 2016 - Kelsey Mitchell -8

Oklahoma 1985 - Wayman Tisdale -1

Oklahoma 2016 - Buddy Hield +0

Oklahoma St. 1946 - Bob Kurland -5

Oklahoma St. 2004 - John Lucas +1

Oklahoma WOMEN 2002 - Stacey Dales -4

Oklahoma WOMEN 2010 - Abi Olajuwon -5

Old Dominion WOMEN 1980 - Nancy Lieberman +4

Old Dominion WOMEN 1985 - Adrienne Goodson +6

Old Dominion WOMEN 1997 - Ticha Penicheiro +5

Oregon 2017 - Dillon Brooks +1

Oregon St. 1982 - AC Green +3

Oregon St. 1990 - Gary Payton -5

Oregon WOMEN 2019 - Sabrina Ionescu +4

P

Penn St. 2018 - Tony Carr -5

Penn State WOMEN 2012 - Maggie Lucas -9

Pittsburgh 2009 - DeJuan Blair +2

Princeton 1965 - Bill Bradley -5

Princeton 2023 - Tosan Evbuomwan -15

Providence 1960 - Lenny Wilkens -8

Providence 1987 - Billy Donovan +0

Purdue 1969 - Rick Mount -1

Purdue 2018 - Carsen Edwards +2

Purdue 2024 - Zach Edey +6

Purdue WOMEN 2003 - Shereka Wright -7

R

Richmond 2011 - Justin Harper -10

Rutgers 1976 - Phil Sellers -1

Rutgers WOMEN 1988 - Sue Wicks -5

Rutgers WOMEN 2005 - Cappie Pondexter -1

Rutgers WOMEN 2007 - Kia Vaughn - +0

S

San Diego St. 2011 - Kawhi Leonard -2

San Diego St. 2023 - Jaedon LeDee -8

San Francisco 1956 - Bill Russell +6

Santa Clara 1996 -Steve Nash -10

Seattle 1958 - Elgin Baylor -1

Seton Hall 1989 - John Morton +1

Seton Hall 2020 - Myles Powell -5

SMU 2017 - Semi Ojeleye -1

South Carolina 1973 - Mike Dunleavy -3

South Carolina 2017 - Sindarius Thornwell -2

South Carolina WOMEN 2017 - A'ja Wilson +5

South Carolina WOMEN 2024 - Kamilla Cardoso +10

Southern Illinois 1967 - Walt Frazier -15

St. Bonaventure 1970 - Bob Lanier+2

St. Joe's 2004 - Jameer Nelson +1

St. John's 1985 - Chris Mullin -1

St. Mary's 2023 - Logan Johnson -3

St. Peter's 2022 - Doug Edert -18

Stanford 2008 - Brook Lopez -4

Stanford WOMEN 2012 - Nnemkadi Ogwumike -2

Stanford WOMEN 2021 - Kiana Williams +8

Stephen F Austin 2016 - Thomas Walkup -11

Syracuse 1966 - Dave Bing #74 best player ever & Jim Boeheim -7

Syracuse 1987 - Rony Seikaly +0

Syracuse 2003 - Carmelo Anthony +0

T

TCU 2023 - JaKobe Coles -5

Temple 1958 - Guy Rodgers +1

Tennessee 1977 - Bernard King -2

Tennessee 2023 - Santiago Vescovi +1

Tennessee WOMEN 1989 - Bridgette Gordon +12

Tennessee WOMEN 1998 - Tamika Catchings, Chamique Holdsclaw +14

Tennessee WOMEN 2007 - Candace Parker +12

Texas 2003 - T.J. Ford -1

Texas 2007 - Kevin Durant -6

Texas 2023 - Marcus Carr +0

Texas A&M 2007 - Acie Law -1

Texas A&M WOMEN 2011 - Danielle Adams +7

Texas Tech 2019 - Jarrett Culver +1

Texas Tech WOMEN 1993 - Sheryl Swoopes -4

Texas WOMEN 1986 - Clarissa Davis +14

Texas WOMEN 1989 - Clarissa Davis (not usually used) -2

Texas WOMEN 2018 - Ariel Atkins -5

Tulsa 2000 - Eric Coley +1

U

UCLA 1964 - Walt Hazzard +15

UCLA 1967 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar +14

UCLA 1972 - Bill Walton +18

UCLA 1975 - Dave Meyers +11

UCLA 1987 - Reggie Miller -6

UCLA 2006 - Jordan Farmar -2

UCLA 2008 - Russell Westbrook +4

UCLA 2021 - Jaime Jaquez -4

UCLA WOMEN 2018 - Monique Billings -3

UNLV 1987 - Armen Gilliam +4

UNLV 1991 - Larry Johnson +11

USC 2021 - Evan Mobley +1

USC WOMEN 1983 - Cheryl Miller +6

USC WOMEN 1994 - Lisa Leslie, Tina Thompson -3

Utah 1998 - Andre Miller -3

Utah St. 2024 -Great Osobor -9

UTEP 1970 - Tiny Archibald -12

UTEP (Texas Western) 1966 - Bobby Joe Hill -1

V

Vanderbilt 1993 - Bill McCaffrey +0

Vanderbilt WOMEN 2002 - Chantelle Anderson -2

VCU 1985 - Calvin Duncan -4

VCU 2011 - Bradford Burgess -11

Villanova 1950 - Paul Arizin #66 best player ever -3

Villanova 1985 - Ed Pinckney -7

Villanova 2018 - Mikal Bridges +6

Virginia 1981 - Ralph Sampson +2

Virginia 2019 - Kyle Guy +5

Virginia Tech 1986 - Dell Curry -7

Virginia Tech WOMEN 2023 - Elizabeth Kitley -5

Virginia WOMEN 1991 - Dawn Staley +2

Virginia WOMEN 2018 - Dominique Toussaint -14

W

Wake Forest 1996 - Tim Duncan -1

Wake Forest 2005 - Chris Paul +1

Washington 2006 - Brandon Roy -2

Washington St. 2008 - Taylor Rochestie -8

Washington WOMEN 2017 - Kelsey Plum -3

Weber St. 2010 - Damian Lillard -17

West Virginia 1959 - Jerry West -1

West Virginia 2010 - Kevin Jones -1

Western Kentucky 1966 - Clem Haskins -1

Wichita St. 2013 - Fred VanVleet -5

Wisconsin 2015 - Frank Kaminsky +4

Wyoming 1943 - Ken Sailors -5

X

Xavier 2023 - Jack Nunge -4

Y

Yale 2024 - Danny Wolf -14

10 Steps to Play a Value Add Basketball Game

After completing the preparation steps (A to C), you're ready to play. The following steps guide you through the process, based on the starting lineups from the all-time championship game between Bill Walton's 1972 UCLA team and Michael Jordan's 1982 UNC team.

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Fill Out the Scoresheet

Fill Out the Scoresheet:

Write the names of all 10 players for each team in the order they appear on the game cards. For example, for UNC (listed on the left side of the scoresheet), list the players in the following order:

PG-1 Jimmy Black, SG-2 Matt Doherty, SF-3 Michael Jordan, PF-4 James Worthy, C-5 Sam Perkins.

Determine Team Dunk Range (51-66):

Write each team’s "dunk range" at the top of the scoresheet. For example, UNC’s dunk range is 51-55, while UCLA’s is 51-65. However, UCLA has a -7 Dunk Range Adjustment, which makes UNC's range an actual STOP range of 51-52 on the chart below because it is in the RED range on the chart, so on the top of the scoresheet by UNC put "51-52 STOP." Meanwhile, UNC has the best defensive range in history at -12, so that lowers UCLA's excellent 51-65 dunk range to 51-53 on the chart for the game, so record "51-53 dunk" by UCLA on the scoresheet. Also some places this is listed as a "LAY-UP" range, which is the same thing.

If you do not use the dunk range for each team the results will not be accurate, because it adjusts for level of competition the team faced, eras in which they played, and the level of defensive guarding the ball by each team. Also note that normally the whole team has the same dunk range, but occasionally a great player like Dr. J on a mediocre team has a better dunk range and defensive adjust dunk range than the rest of their team, in which case both the great player and the player they are guarding would have a different dunk range than the rest of their team.

At this stage just get the correct range on the scoresheet - we will cover what happens later.

Start Game by Rolling the 4 Dice (or picking fast action card)

Game Start:

Start the game with both teams tied at 20-20. Each of the 10 players begins with 2 points, and several other stats are recorded depending on the player's position. These all appear on the scoresheet. This assumes that 22 possessions have already been played, with each player scoring once. There are 44 possessions remaining, plus potential extra possessions in last nine possessions of the game if a player is fouled or has a steal and fast break..

For women’s games, treat the start as a 14-14 first quarter, with the dice rolls beginning at 6-6 for the second quarter.

1st Read the 8-sided Die to See Who Gets the Ball

To keep track of which players are in the game and who will receive the ball, use coins and dimes to mark each player's card. In the example image, we've placed Michael Jordan's UNC team on top and Bill Walton's UCLA team on the bottom to fit both teams in the photo. Note that the UCLA reserves are not shown in the photo.

Assigning Coins to Players

• Penny: If a player can only "Get Ball On" one number (1-5), place a penny on their card.
• Dime: If a player can "Get Ball On" two numbers, place a dime on their card.
• Two Dimes: In rare cases where a player has three "Get Ball On" numbers (like Bill Walton in this example), place two dimes on their card. However, no team can have more than three dimes on the court at any time, so you may need to prioritize which players get the dimes.

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First Possession Example

In this scenario, Michael Jordan's Stamina is 43 out of 44, so he starts the game on the bench since we FINISH the game with starters so give the reserves their numbers first. For the first possession (44 on the scoresheet), a dime is placed on Jim Braddock as the backup point guard. To determine who gets the ball, use the following order:

1. Penny Placement: On a roll of 1, the ball goes to the player with the coin furthest to the left. In this case:
   • 1 goes to Jimmy Black (Point Guard),
   • 2 goes to Jim Braddock,
   • 3 goes to Matt Doherty.
   • 4 goes to James Worthy.
   • 5 goes to Sam Perkins.

After this first possession, the dime moves from Braddock to Michael Jordan, who will then be eligible to get the ball on the next possession.

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Subsequent Possessions

• After the first possession, for each roll of 1-5, the ball is assigned based on the order left to right:

  • 1 goes to Jimmy Black.
  • 2 goes to Matt Doherty.
  • 3 goes to Michael Jordan.
  • 4 goes to James Worthy.
  • 5 goes to Sam Perkins.

• For a 6-8 roll, only the players with dimes are eligible to receive the ball. In this case:

  • 6 goes to Michael Jordan (skipping the first two players since players with pennies can never get the ball on a 6,7 or 8 on the 8-sided die).
  • 7 goes to James Worthy.
  • 8 goes to Sam Perkins.

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Special Case: Point Guard Passing

For Jimmy Black, there’s a unique rule for unselfish players. If a 1 is rolled to give Black the ball and the 20-sided die results in an even number, you will re-roll the 8-sided die to determine if Black will shoot or pass. This rule reflects Black’s unselfish style of play — he may pass the ball to a teammate instead of attempting the shot himself. Only a few players have that sentence on their card to indicate they might turn down a shot.

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UCLA Line-Up Example

The bottom row of the photo shows UCLA's lineup, which won't typically be in the game until the final 37 possessions. Here’s how the ball is assigned for UCLA’s players:

• For a 1-5 roll, the ball goes from left to right:

  • 1 goes to Greg Lee (Point Guard).
  • 2 goes to Henry Bibby.
  • 3 goes to Larry Farmer.
  • 4 goes to Jamaal Wilkes.
  • 5 goes to Bill Walton.

• For a 6-8 roll, UCLA’s players are assigned as follows:

  • 6 goes to Henry Bibby.
  • 7 goes to Bill Walton (because he has two dimes on his card).
  • 8 goes to Bill Walton.

Again, it doesn’t matter whether the player has a 6, 7, or 8 on their card — the important thing is that they have an extra number, and that extra number determines if they get a dime and thus the ball on a 6, 7 or 8.

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Strategy Tips

1. Player Positioning:

   • It's best to position players with higher steal ranges (e.g., Steal 11-16) further left, as they can capitalize on fast breaks and steal opportunities.
   • Place players with higher rebound ranges (e.g., Off. Reb 1-6, Def. Reb 1-6) further right, since the rebound chart gives more chances for Center players (who are usually further right) to grab rebounds.

   This arrangement ensures that your best defenders and rebounders are in positions where they can take advantage of their skills. The cards are put in their suggested order, but you can always note you want to flip any of the cards to another position further left or right.

2. Defensive Matchups:

   • Normally, players guard opponents in the corresponding order (left to right). However, if you have a player with both a high steal range (11-16) and block range (21-26), you can assign them to guard a particular opposing star.
   • For example, Michael Jordan is the best defender of the 3,000+ player cards in the game, with his -12 defense rating, steals (11-16, 31), and blocked shots (21-26). You can assign him to guard the opposing team's key player to limit their scoring opportunities. Luckily for UNC, Sam Perkins is the 2nd best defender in the game, so in this match-up he can face Bill Walton.

3. Fewer Dimes on the Court:

   • If there are fewer than three players with dimes on the court (i.e., fewer shot makers), and the 8-sided comes up with an 8 or another number without a corresponding dime, then the team rolls the dice again in danger of a shot clock violation. On the second roll but this time:
     • 1-5 results go to the corresponding player, BUT
     • 6-8 results result in a shot clock violation and turnover even if there is a 6 or 7 on the court..

2nd Read the 2 Traditional Dice to Get a Result of 11-66

After determining who has the ball, refer to the corresponding defender to see what happens on the 11-66 roll. You must used two different colored traditional dice and declare before the first roll which is the "10s" dice and which is the "1s."

For example, if a "3" roll on the 8-sided die means Jordan has the ball and is being guarded by Larry Farmer, you check the dice roll against Farmer's defense card. This is how things play out on the 1-5 roll, however if the player gets the ball on a 6, 7 or 8 roll then it is considered a "team defense" scenario so it is the whole UCLA team, not just Farmer, scrambling to cover Jordan.

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Table for Defensive Results if 1-5 on 8-sided die:

Roll	Result
11-16	Possible STEAL by the defender (check defender’s card)
21-23	Possible BLOCKED SHOT by the defender (check defender’s card)
31	STEAL no matter who has the ball if ANY defender has Steal range 11-16 (31)
32	BLOCK no matter who has the ball if ANY defender has Block range 21-26 (32)
33-36	Foul by the defender (check defender’s card)

Table for Defensive Results if 6-8 on 8-sided die:

Roll	Result
11-13	Possible STEAL by ANY defender, but it takes a 11-13 to steal on an "11," a 11-16 to steal on a 12, and a 11-16(31) to steal on a 13.
21-23	Possible BLOCKED SHOT by ANY defender (but likewise it takes a 21-23 to block a shot on a 21, a 21-26 to block a shot on a 22, or a 21-26(32) to block a shot on a 23.
33-36	Foul by the defender (check defender’s card, the foul can only be on the defender even if the 8-sided die was 6-8)

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Strategy Tip: Fast Break Option

The Fast Break option can be used whenever one of the two guards steals the ball or when one of the two forwards steals the ball on an odd-numbered roll (11, 13, 15, or 31). The fast break cannot be used if the center steals the ball. It’s crucial to position your highest steal players in guard spots to maximize this option.

When using the Fast Break option, the following adjustments are made:

1. 6, 7, or 8 Roll: The player who steals the ball keeps it, rather than passing it to the player who would normally receive it.
2. Adjustment to the 20-Sided Die: Subtract 1 from the 20-sided die roll, giving the player a 5% better chance of making a 3-pointer instead of a 2-pointer, or other shot adjustments.
3. Last 9 Possessions (Last 5 minutes): Running a fast break in the final 9 possessions creates an additional possession. Write the updated score in the upper left corner of the box and play an extra die roll on the scoresheet. A team leading by a small margin might want to avoid the fast break to control the clock, while a team behind might use it to increase their chances of catching up.

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For an 41-66 roll, check the Player With Ball card for the following results:

• 41-46: Possible Turnover. Note below the optional advanced rule that if one of the all-time elite point guards of all time is on the court the last 9 possessions of a game, then the team ignores a turnover or steal on a roll of 12, 14, 16, 42, 44 or 46.
• 51-66: As determined on the chart above and written on the scoreboard, this number range can help the offense or defense.
• STOP RANGE. The chart above determined UNC had a "51-52 STOP" range in this matchup, so if a 51-52 is rolled when UNC has the ball then they do NOT score. For scorekeeping purposes, roll one 6-sided die and look at the defenders rebounding range, and if the roll falls within the range it is a missed shot and the defender gets credit for the rebound, but if it is not in the range then score as a turnover.
• DUNK RANGE. Because the dunk chart above determined UCLA would have a 51-53 DUNK range against UNC in this match-up, any roll of 51-53 is a dunk unless UCLA chooses option 2 or 3 below in the GREEN range.

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Green Range (Dunk Range)

If the offensive player is in the green range (51-66), it results in a dunk unless one of the following options is chosen:

• Option A: A 2-point bucket is awarded for the player with the ball.
• Option B: If a foul (x2) occurs on the 20-sided die, and the 51-56 roll is within the dunk range, the offense can choose to draw a foul instead of taking the dunk. This strategy could be used if the foul is committed by a key player on the opposing team to increase the chances of them fouling out or to create an additional possession when trailing in the last 9 possessions of the game or overtime.
• Option C: If a good 3-point shooter has the option to dunk, they can choose to take an open 3-point shot instead. In this case:
  • The player does not get the 2 points from the dunk, but their 3-point made range is tripled, with a limit of 1-15. Any shot outside the range would be a missed 3-point shot if this option is used.
  • In the UNC vs. UCLA match-up teams should just take the dunk since no one has more than two 3-pointers made, so even one of the players with a 1-2 range would make a 3-pointer only on a 1-6 and miss on a 7-20.

Strategy Tip: If the player has a 3-point range of 1-5 or higher, always choose the 3-point shot over the dunk. In the course of 20 dunk options, that player would average scoring 45 points using this option and only 40 points simply taking the automatic dunk.

Strategy Tip - WHEN TO CHOOSE THE OPEN 3 OVER THE DUNK. We also recommend using this option with a player with a 1-4 range IF it occurs on a shaded possession with a chance for an offensive rebound, provided the team's offensive rebounding is as good or better than the opponents defensive rebounding. In that scenario we would expect 36 points in 20 attempts and at least another 4 or 5 points off offensive rebounds to likely do a little better than just taking the 40 points on 20 dunks. We recommend simply taking the two points if the range is 1-3, unless the team is behind near the end of the game and needs to gamble to catch up.

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3rd Read if there was no Steal, Blocked Shot or Turnover Above, Read 20-sided for Shot

If no result occurs on the 11-66 die, use the 20-sided die to determine the outcome of the shot. For example, if Jordan is shooting:

• 1-2: 3-pointer made.
• 3-9: 2-pointer made.
• 10-12: Foul on Farmer, Jordan gets 2 free throws.
• 13-15: Misses 3-pointer.
• 16-20: Misses 2-pointer.

If Jordan is fouled on the defenders 33-36 range while making a shot, the basket counts, and he gets 1 free throw. If he is fouled while missing a 3-pointer, he gets 3 free throws.

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Roll 20-sided Die 2 More Times for Free Throws

To determine if a player makes or misses a free throw, roll the 20-sided die twice:

• For Jordan, if the roll is between 1 and 14, the player makes the free throw.
• If the roll is between 15 and 20, the player misses.

Rebounds on Missed Shots:

When a shot or free throw is missed, follow these steps to determine who gets the rebound:

If Possessions NOT SHADED:

• On possessions with no shading (listed as 43, 41, 39, etc.), the rebound automatically goes to the defensive player , as indicated on the scoresheet. No die rolls are required.

"Shaded" Possessions:

• On shaded possessions (listed as 44, 42, 40, etc.), follow these steps:
  1. Roll the 20-sided die to determine which player has a chance to get the rebound. Refer to the rebound chart in the lower right corner of the scoresheet to match the die result with the corresponding player.
  2. Roll one 6-sided die to check if the selected player is within his Offensive or Defensive Rebound range.
     • If the 6-sided die result is within the player’s rebound range, he gets the rebound.
     • If the 6-sided die result is outside the player's rebound range, the opposing player in the same possession will get the rebound instead.

Strategy Options (Optional)

Strategy Tip - FAST BREAK:

As noted above, you can use the "fast break" option in the game. A fast break

can be initiated anytime one of the two guards steals the ball, or anytime

one of the two forwards steals it on an odd-numbered roll (11, 13, 15, or 31),

but never when the center steals the ball. (We may want to make an exception

for Wes Unseld, who was known for throwing the ball 85 feet to a breaking guard.)

This is a reason you may want players with the highest steal ranges in the

uard positions, if possible.

Strategy Tip - OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS:

If the offense grabs the rebound, they can continue with the regular offense.

However, if they do, they only get one roll, and if the 8-sided die results

in a 6, 7, or 8, it results in a shot clock violation, instead of the usual roll

to determine the next action.

The only advantage to running the normal offense after an offensive rebound

is if the team is behind and needs to attempt a 3-pointer. However, if the

team decides to have the player who grabbed the rebound attempt a shot,

then, similar to a steal, if the 8-sided die rolls a 6, 7, or 8, the player will

take the shot. Regardless of who gets the ball, the offense will lower the

20-sided die roll by one for that shot attempt. The key difference between

attempting to score off an offensive rebound and a steal is that the player

who grabs the offensive rebound cannot make a 3-pointer. While the

20-sided die is lowered by one, it’s important to note that you’re

essentially trading a 3-point attempt for a 2-point shot.

Strategy Tip - AVOIDING FOULS:

If a player gets their 3rd or 4th foul, you may want to take steps to

prevent them from fouling out. There are two main strategies:

a. Change Who They Are Guarding:

If the player they are guarding gets the ball often (e.g., on rolls

of 5 or 8) and tends to draw fouls (e.g., 9-12 on the defensive card results

in a foul), you have the option to change the defender’s assignment.

You can move the player to guard someone who only gets the ball on a

single 8-sided die roll (e.g., a roll of "4") and who draws fouls only

on specific 20-sided die rolls (e.g., a range of 10-10).

b. Play Soft:

A defender can choose to "play soft." In this case, the player allows

a layup on all rolls of 33-36 on his defensive card, thus avoiding fouls.

The downside is that the defender cannot attempt a steal (11-16)

or block a shot (21-26). However, if the defender would have

blocked the shot or stolen the ball, the offensive player will not

get a foul called on them during the 20-sided die roll. For example,

if a roll results in a foul for 2 free throws (a 10 on the 20-sided die),

it is changed to a made basket.

Keep in mind, while playing soft significantly reduces the chance

of picking up a foul, it’s still possible for a player to get their 5th

foul if the 11-66 roll doesn’t prevent it.

Strategy Tip - STAMINA and RESTING PLAYERS:

For a simpler game, you can play the bottom row of reserves

for the first 7 possessions (44-38 on the scoresheet), then switch

to the starting players for the final 37 possessions. However,

to make the game more realistic, you can use the suggested

possession rotation at the bottom of most player cards, or

implement your own system to ensure no player exceeds

their Stamina number.

Playing a Player Who Is Out of Stamina:

If you need to keep a player in the game despite them being out

of stamina (e.g., because you need a 3-point shooter late

in the game or a key player fouled out), you must adjust

all rolls by one for the player who is out of stamina, or for

the player they are guarding.

For example:

If a player would block a shot on a roll of 21-26, but is out of

stamina, they can only block on 21-25.

If the player they are guarding normally makes a 3-pointer

on a roll of 1-3, they now make it on a 1-4.

If they grab a rebound on a roll of 1-4, they can only grab it on a 1-2.

If the player has played twice as many possessions as their stamina,

then all rolls must be adjusted by two.

In overtime, all players are considered out of stamina, so there is

no longer a penalty for anyone.

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2 Strategies Usually Used by Teams Trailing in the Last 5 Minutes of the Game:

In the final 9 possessions of the game, write the running score in

smaller text in the upper-left corner of the box. This is because a

fast break or a foul by either team will add an extra possession in

the same box, which will need to be accounted for. If no extra

possessions occur, the game will have 44 possessions, but if

extra possessions happen in every one of the last 9, the game

could have up to 53 possessions.

A team trying to rally can try one of the following two strategies:

Go for a Turnover or Foul:

The defense can call or use the 20-sided die to NOT be rolled

to indicate they are trying for a turnover or foul. This strategy

automatically creates an extra possession, even if no foul occurs.

If the other three dice result in a turnover or steal, the defense is

successful and gets the ball. On any other result, the 8-sided die

determines who the defense fouled, and they will shoot two free

throws, but no basket is made.

This strategy can only be used in the last five minutes because

it would not create an extra possession before that.

Go for 3-Pointers:

A team running out of time to catch up can announce they are

trying for a 3-point shot. They may also want to bring in

additional 3-point shooters.

When this strategy is used, the following changes are made

to each offensive player's 20-sided die results:

Only the 2-point shot made range is affected. All other

result ranges stay the same.

For each 2-point shot made at the top of the range, it is

converted to a 3-point shot made, and the corresponding

defensive rebound is applied.

Here’s an example:

Player 1:

2-pt made range: 1-8

Change to 3-pt made: No change (still 1-8)

Player 2:

2-pt made range: 3-8

Change to 3-pt made: 1-4

Change to 3-pt missed, def rebound: 7-8

Player 3:

2-pt made range: 4-10

Change to 3-pt made: 1-6

Change to 3-pt missed, def rebound: 8-10

If Player 3 already has a good 3-point shooting range, this

can be very effective.

Update the Score After Each Possession:

After each Possession the most important thing to do is

update the scoresheet to reflect the score for both teams.

I just put a dash if there is no score that possession, but

if UCLA scored on their first possession after we start

the game at 20-20 then just put a "22" in their spot on

possession 44. If you tally players stats at the end of the

game you sometimes find the players totals add up to a

point or two different than your running score. We

strongly advise making the running score the official

score and take your best guess at which player point

total to adjust.

Overtime or Extra Possessions Last 5 Minutes

If the game is tied at the end of the scoresheet, then

play a 5-minute overtime writing in possessions to

the right of the rebound chart to mirrors the last 9

possessions of regulation including having an extra

possession on a fast break or foul and determining

which sheets to use the rebound chart. If tied after that

overtime, then use another sheet to continue to play

overtimes until there is a winner.

If one of the teams has a note with their player cards

to play extra possessions then start the game to the

left of the 44-34 possessions, but if Loyola Marymount

is playing then you will need to use two scoresheets to

have enough room, since their games entail an extra

26 possessions. If two teams both have lines requiring

extra possessions then you must add the two totals, so

if Loyola played the Syracuse team, then you would

need to have 36 extra possessions, almost an entire extra sheet.

When this happens, use the top line of players - the

starters - for the first half of the extra possessions,

so in Loyola vs. Syracuse that would mean the stop line

played possessions 36-19 on the first sheet, then

the bottom line played possessions 18-1, then you

went to the suggestion possession on the second full

sheet of 44. We do NOT count any of these extra

possessions or any overtime possessions against a

players possessions, so the player can only get tired

and have adjusted die rolls if he is in more than more

possessions during the main sheet than his Stamina.

Top PG on Court Last 5 Minutes Limits

TOs to just 11, 13, 15, 31, 41, 43 or 47

In the closing 9 possessions, if a Point Guard from Bleacher Reports'

ranking of the top point guards in history is on the court, then

ignore any turnover or steal on an even numbered 11-66 roll.

That means the following point guards will not allow a

turnover on a 12, 14, 16, 42, 44 or 46 - so if one comes up then ignore it

and use the result on the 20-sided die.

A turnover can still be committee on an 11, 13, 15, 31, 41, 43 or 45.

The highest ratings as an all-time PG are noted with the source of Hoops Hype (HH), Jay Bilas (JB) or Bleacher Reports (BR).

Team	Year	No TO, Stl on 12,14,16,42,44,46 if in game last 9 possessions
Arizona	1997	Mike Bibby, all-time PG#22-BR
California	1993	Jason Kidd #43, all-time PG#4-JB
Cincinnati	1960	Oscar Robertson #9-all-time PG#3-HH
Davidson	2008	Stephen Curry #16, all-time PG#2-HH
Duke	2001	Jay Williams, all-time PG#12-BR
Duke	1986	Johnny Dawkins, all-time PG#16-BR
Duke	1992	Bobby Hurley, all-time PG#6-JB
Georgetown	1995	Allen Iverson #31, all-time PG#9-JB
Georgia Tech	1990	Kenny Anderson, all-time PG#13-BR
Gonzaga	1981	John Stockton #24,all-time PG#7-HH
Holy Cross	1950	Bob Cousy #34, all-time PG#2-BR
Indiana	1981	Isiah Thomas #27, all-time PG#2-JB
Kansas	1997	Jacque Vaughn, all-time PG#32-BR
Kentucky	1978	Kyle Macy, all-time PG#37-BR
LSU	1970	Pete Maravich #54, all-time #16 PG-HH
Michigan St.	1979	Magic Johnson #4, all-time PG#1-HH,JB,BR
Michigan State	2000	Mateen Cleaves, all-time PG#19-BR
Niagara	1970	Calvin Murphy, all-time PG#3-BR
North Carolina	1998	Ed Cota, all-time PG#26-BR
North Carolina	2005	Raymond Felton, all-time PG#39-BR
Oregon St.	1990	Gary Payton #42, all-time PG#8-BR
Providence	1960	Lenny Wilkens #65,all-time #19 PG-HH
Santa Clara	1996	Steve Nash #37,all-time PG#8-HH
Southern Illinois	1967	Walt Frazier #41,all-time PG #14-HH
St Joes	2004	Jameer Nelson, all-time PG#10-BR
Syracuse	1987	Sherman Douglas, all-time PG#11-BR
Texas	2003	TJ Ford, all-time PG#21-BR
UCLA	1964	Walt Hazzard, all-time PG#20-BR
UCLA	2008	Russell Westbrook #68,all-time PG #12-HH
UNLV	1991	Greg Anthony, all-time PG#38-BR
Utah	1998	Andre Miller, all-time PG#25-BR
UTEP	1970	Tiny Archibald #67,all-time #15 PG-HH
Wake Forest	2005	Chris Paul #29, all-time PG#6-HH
West Virginia	1959	Jerry West #4-HH

History of Playing the Game

Sims Magazine ran a great piece on how the Value Add Basketball Game was created. 

History of Playing the Game

The Value Add Basketball Game (VABG) was developed using

advanced statistical methods to replicate real-world basketball

performance across eras. The game includes teams dating back

to Dartmouth's 1942-44 squad and Wyoming’s 1943 squad, with

occasional additions at the conclusion of new seasons to claim

new champs or in other cases new schools not yet represented

(fyi, James Madison University).

Top Team Rankings:

In our all-time title game of the first 96 teams we created,

UCLA’s 1972 team defeated Michael Jordan’s 1982 UNC team.

On the women’s side, Tennessee's 2023 team triumphed over

he Louisiana Tech squad from Jordan's 1982 championship season.

• UCLA is generally considered the best of the 200 men’s teams.
• The 2016 UConn team is ranked as the best women’s team,
•  despite being upset in the all-time Final Four.

The game typically takes 35-45 minutes to play once you're

familiar with the flow. However, your first few games may

take a bit longer as you get used to the rules.