How Draft 82-0 works

Draft 82-0 is a roster-building game, not a historical ranking system or a prediction engine for real NBA games. This page explains the rules behind the Classic simulation so that a result is something you can inspect, challenge, and reproduce instead of a black-box verdict on a player.

What the player pool represents

Each player card uses a position, team, era, and per-game statistical profile: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks. Those inputs create a playable cross-era draft pool. They are not a claim that players from different decades faced identical rules, competition, minutes, pace, teammates, or roles.

The game asks a narrower question: given the cards available in a spin, does this five-player construction cover the statistical jobs that a strong simulated lineup needs? That is why a less famous player who fills an open role can be more useful in a particular run than a bigger name who duplicates a skill you already have.

How Team OVR is calculated

Classic Mode combines the five selected cards into Team OVR. The calculation gives the largest weight to scoring, then rebounding and assists, with smaller weights for steals and blocks. This makes OVR a concise roster score rather than an all-purpose basketball statistic. Steals and blocks are adjusted from the players who record them so that a missing event stat does not automatically erase the value of the whole five-man group.

In practical terms, a lineup can raise its OVR by improving its weakest meaningful category, not only by adding another high scorer. The radar beside a result separates offense, defense, playmaking, rebounding, and chemistry precisely so you can see the trade-off that a single overall number hides.

What chemistry measures

Chemistry in Classic Mode is a fit signal based on positional versatility and coverage across the lineup. It rewards a five that can plausibly share responsibilities and flags a build with limited positional range. It does not measure real-life relationships, leadership, locker-room behavior, injuries, coaching, or a player's historical legacy.

How a projected record is produced

The season result is a deterministic projection from Team OVR: wins = round(82 × min(OVR / 110, 1)1.15). A stronger rating maps to a higher expected win total over an 82-game regular season. It is designed to make different drafts comparable under the same rules. It is not a game-by-game replay of a real schedule, nor evidence that an all-time lineup would literally finish with that record.

Title odds begin with a piecewise-linear curve over projected wins, anchored at specific record bands, then receive a small chemistry adjustment. The visual above holds chemistry at 80 to show the underlying function rather than implying that every roster has the same fit.

A high result says that the roster fits this game's model well. It does not settle debates about who was better in real basketball. Use repeated runs to test a roster idea, note the weak axis each time, and change one role at a time if you want to learn from the outcome.

How to use a result responsibly

• Compare lineups under the same mode and rule set before drawing conclusions.
• Use the five radar axes to explain a change; do not rely only on a grade or one lucky run.
• For a small experiment, write down your draft rule first and keep both successful and unsuccessful runs.
• Treat cross-era results as a game prompt for discussion, not as official NBA history or a betting signal.

Mode-specific rules

The methodology above describes Classic Mode. Salary Cap adds a fixed budget; Hidden withholds card stats during drafting; Team Mode restricts the franchise; and the football, hockey, Era Ball, Poach, and LeBron modes have their own roster and simulation rules. Their results should not be compared directly with a Classic score. Start with the Classic guide for the core loop, or browse the strategy library for mode-specific examples.

Corrections and feedback

A data issue, unclear rule, or misleading description is worth fixing. Please send the player, page, and a short explanation through the contact page. The aim is a clear, evolving fan project whose rules are visible to the people playing it.