REFILE – CORRECTING TYPO IN FIRST NAME OF WADE Detroit Pistons guard Tracy McGrady (R) drives against Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade during the first half of their NBA basketball game in Auburn Hills, Michigan February 11, 2011. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT BASKETBALL)

      

UPDATE: Sorry! The 2011 Basketball Elite Fantasy League has been locked in! Watch for the updates and thanks to all who are participating!

It’s time to get serious.

This year, we are celebrating the return of the NBA by sponsoring the Basketball Elite NBA Fantasy League. Several Basketball Elite scouts are writers have already jumped in and are working on their pre-draft workouts. I heard one scout may have flown Tracy McGrady into town to work him out, but that could be just a rumor. Just kidding! No one is drafting McGrady.

So, what separates a ho-hum, run-of-the-mill league from the awesomeness that is the Basketball Elite league?

Fabulous Prizes!

Such as…

– Mad respect! (you know it’s about time)

Or, crushing self-doubt if you lose.

But wait! Sure, it’s enough to just get the respect of the rest of the league. But what about the world? The Basketball Elite Fantasy League will get periodic coverage on BasketballElite.com, including who’s leading the league, who’s making the playoffs and who’s team eventually takes it all.

– 2011-12 Basketball Elite NBA Fantasy League trophy

     This is a real trophy, not some cyber digital creation. You can hang out with this trophy. Take photos of it for pasting on the Facebook.

Basketball Elite trophy
Photo: WCWFC/Flikr
Note: Not the actual trophy

Please note that while winning the trophy is cool, if you do win, some other players may try to tell you that stats are more important than trophies. You should ignore those people and tell them Robert Horry should be in the Hall of Fame. Then send them pictures of your trophy and ask if you can see theirs. Victory is sweet!

– A one-year subscription to either Dime or SLAM magazine (your choice)

Dime magazine cover SLAM magazine cover

Sure, if you win it all this year, you might be saying, “why would I need to read these? I know it all already. Did you even look at my trophy?” However, maybe you are more of the Tim Duncan-type champion, who wins graciously.

– Getting Into ‘The Clubhouse’

You love basketball. We love basketball. We also know lots of people who like basketball. You know what the most awesome thing in the world is for a basketball fan? Talking basketball! The Basketball Elite NBA Fantasy League is being run through Yahoo! Sports, and we will have an active community of friendly competition, between hard core basketball fans.

The Catch!

So right about now, you’re probably saying, “okay, yeah, this is great and I’d love to bring my sick GM skills to this party, but how much is it gonna cost me?”

That’s the best part – the Basketball Elite NBA Fantasy League is free to play. There is a catch though – we are only accepting a limited number of teams. So you have to join in early and be ready for the online draft.

This is on a first-come, first-served basis, so here’s how it works. Go to the form below and sign up. Do it now!

To get started, enter your name and email in the form below. You’ll get a confirmation email.

UPDATE: Sorry! The 2011 Basketball Elite Fantasy League has been locked in! Watch for the updates and thanks to all who are participating!