Frequently asked questions

The things people actually ask, answered straight. If yours is not here, the contact page reaches the person who built the game.

Is it free, and do I need an account?

It is free and there is no account. Nothing to install, nothing to sign up for, nothing to buy. The site is set up to carry advertising to cover hosting, and that is the whole business model. Because there are no accounts there is almost no personal data either — the privacy policy sets out exactly what is and is not collected.

Why is my favourite player rated lower than I expect?

Because nobody typed the number in. Every rating is computed from public per-game statistics: scored against the rest of that player's own season so a 1962 line and a 2026 line can share a scale, then weighted by role with an impact anchor. On the all-time scale an accolades pillar is added as well, because pure box-score metrics produce an all-time list basketball fans reject on sight.

That makes a low rating a claim about a method rather than an opinion, which is the whole point — you can argue with it precisely. How the ratings work is the long version, and the contact page lists what to include if you want a number looked at.

Can I play against a friend?

Three ways, none of which need an account:

• Start a room and send the six-character code to whoever you intend to beat.
• Join with a code somebody sent you.
• Pick a game off the board of open rooms still short of players.

You can also play two people on one device, passing it back and forth as lots close, or play the computer at one of four difficulties. It never gets extra money — only better judgement.

How long does a game take?

About five minutes. Ten lots, ten seconds on the clock for each, and any bid resets that clock — so a contested lot runs longer than a quiet one. When both rosters are full the simulated game runs immediately and gives you a card worth screenshotting.

A league runs five lots per seat, so eight seats is forty lots and about four times as long, and ends in a round robin or an 82-game season with a real franchise.

What happens if I lose my connection?

The room holds your seat. After 45 seconds away the computer plays it for you, and the moment you are back it is yours again, with whatever it bought in the meantime. Refreshing the page puts you straight back in your seat, so a phone that reloads a tab in the background does not throw you out of the game.

Can I choose the name other players see?

Yes. Type one before you take a seat, in the lobby or on the terms screen, and it is what everybody at the table sees; leave it blank and the room numbers you. Use a nickname rather than your full name. Names must follow the terms of use, and a finished room deletes them with everything else after 30 minutes.

Why do I choose the position after winning a player, not before?

Deciding where a man plays while a clock is running asks two questions at once — what is he worth, and where does he go — when only the first one is urgent. So the hammer settles the price, and the roster question waits for a moment with no clock on it.

It also makes flexible players genuinely valuable: somebody who covers two positions lets you leave a hole open longer, which is worth real money late in a sale. That effect is explained in how players are priced.

Is the simulated result a prediction about a real game?

No, and it is worth being blunt about this. It is a possession-level model built from rating and team fit, and it exists to settle an argument between two rosters somebody just bought. It says nothing about what would happen on a real court. It is not betting advice and there is nothing to stake.

Does it work on a phone?

Yes. Below a certain width the board reflows so the lot leads and the two squads pair underneath it, and the bid controls leave the page flow to sit on the bottom edge where a thumb already is. A control you have to scroll to find is useless when ten seconds are running, so nothing is hidden to make a small screen fit — the layout gets denser instead.

Why are there no player photographs in the game?

Because a photograph of a real player is partly his to control. A Creative Commons licence clears the photographer's copyright, not the player's right to his own image, and using real athletes' likenesses as pieces in a sports game is exactly the use courts have refused to excuse. Names and statistics are a different matter, which is why the game keeps every one of them and prints a player's initials where a photograph might go.

The all-time list, an editorial ranking, does show 37 Creative Commons portraits from Wikimedia Commons, each credited with its author, a link to the original and its licence. No NBA or Basketball Reference imagery is used anywhere on this site.

Is Hoops Auction affiliated with the NBA?

No. It is an independent game made by one person, with no affiliation to, endorsement from or relationship with the NBA, any team, the players' association or any player. League and team names are trademarks of their owners, used only to say which league and which teams are meant. The terms of use say so formally.

Is it gambling?

No. The hundred million every seat starts with is imaginary: it cannot be bought, won, sold or cashed out, there are no prizes, and there is nothing to stake. The result of a game is a simulation, not a prediction and not betting advice.