One team a week. Score its margin.
Pick one NBA team from the commissioner's weekly slate. A win earns its margin; a loss scores the margin it lost by as negative points. PikSheet handles the rules, pick submission, lock timing, field reveal, standings, and commissioner controls from one place.
Updated
How it works
The format stays familiar to your league; PikSheet keeps the week mechanics clear and consistent.
- 1Each Monday-to-Sunday regular-season week, pick one NBA team from the games the commissioner chose for that week's slate. The commissioner also chooses the pool's first and last week.
- 2Your team's final margin is your score: win by 12 earns +12; lose by 7 earns −7. By default, a loss scores its losing margin; the commissioner can score losses as zero instead.
- 3Teams cannot be reused by default, but the commissioner can allow reuse. NBA Margin is straight up only and has no elimination.
- 4A missed pick scores the week's worst margin by default, or zero. The commissioner can add a penalty in points. When team assignment is on and team reuse is off, the missed pick still scores its penalty and also uses up your best remaining winning team, so you cannot pick it later.
- 5Each pick locks when its game starts and stays hidden from other members until then. Members can join until the first week ends. A missed pick in any week, including the first, follows the pool's missed-pick rule; late joiners can choose any unstarted game in the first week's slate. The pool runs through the regular season; the highest total wins, and tied entries share the place. There is no tiebreaker.
Member flow
Pick one NBA team from the commissioner-chosen games in each Monday-to-Sunday week. Each pick locks at that game's start; standings add each week's margin through the regular season.
Field reveal
After lock, the pool can see who picked what without chasing text threads or screenshots.
Scoring
Game results update the leaderboard according to this format's rules and history.
Two weeks of margins
A quick scoring example for this format.
- 1.Pick Boston from the commissioner's Week 1 slate. A 115–101 win is +14 points.
- 2.Pick Philadelphia in Week 2. A 115–102 win is +13 more points.
- 3.After two weeks, your total is +27. A loss by 7 would be −7 by default, or 0 if the commissioner chooses zero for losses.
How to win an NBA Margin pool
Strategy that separates the pool winners from the pack.
- 1Choose a team from the commissioner's weekly slate, and check its matchup before tip-off locks the pick.
- 2A win adds the exact margin; under the default loss rule, losing by 7 subtracts 7. The commissioner can choose zero for losses instead.
- 3Read the missed-pick rule before the week begins. The default is the week's worst margin, and the commissioner can add a penalty. When team assignment is on and team reuse is off, the missed pick still scores its penalty and also uses up your best remaining winning team, so you cannot pick it later.
What the commissioner controls
The commissioner chooses the game slate and week range when creating the pool. Pool name, fee and member caps stay editable until the first game starts; scoring and missed-pick options can change until then, and team reuse locks once anyone saves a pick.
- One pick per Monday-to-Sunday week; regular season only
- Commissioner-chosen regular-season game slate
- No team reuse (default) or allow reuse
- Loss scores losing margin (default) or zero
- Missed pick scores week's worst margin (default) or zero
- Optional extra penalty points for a missed pick; when team reuse is off, optional team assignment still scores the missed-pick penalty and uses up your best remaining winning team so you cannot pick it later
- Straight up only; no elimination or tiebreaker
NBA Margin pool FAQ
How are NBA Margin points scored?+
The picked team's margin is your score: a 12-point win is +12, and a 7-point loss is −7 by default. The commissioner can set a loss to score zero. Totals add across weeks; the highest total wins, with no tiebreaker.
What happens if I miss a pick?+
By default, a missed pick scores the week's worst margin. The commissioner can choose zero or add extra penalty points. When team assignment is on and team reuse is off, the missed pick still scores its penalty and also uses up your best remaining winning team, so you cannot pick it later.
Can I pick the same NBA team again?+
No, not by default. The commissioner can allow team reuse in another week.
Which NBA games can I pick from?+
The commissioner chooses the games in each week's slate when creating the pool. Members pick one team from those games.
Does NBA Margin eliminate entries or use a tiebreaker?+
No. It is a running-points pool, not an elimination pool. There are no tiebreakers; tied entries share the place.
What games does NBA Margin cover?+
The commissioner chooses the week range and regular-season NBA games when creating the pool. It runs through the end of the regular season.
Start a pool on PikSheet
PikSheet runs pools for every major sport — football (NFL and college), basketball (NBA), baseball (MLB), hockey (NHL) and golf (PGA TOUR and the majors) — with auto-scoring on the web, iOS and Android.
- Go to piksheet.com/create and sign in or create an account.
- Pick a sport and a pool format, then set your rules.
- Share your pool's invite link. Members join on the web or in the iOS and Android apps.
Pricing: a competitive pool costs $1.00 per billable entry (a pick sheet that reaches its first locked week) for its first 25 entries each season. Full pricing: piksheet.com/pricing.