Wanna play?

Los Angeles — Imagine for a moment, Kevin Garnett blocks Tracy McGrady’s dunk; Jason Kidd gets the outlet pass and feeds a streaking LeBron James who’s filling the right lane and glides in for the tomahawk jam. Unless it’s the All-Star game, one can only imagine.

Basketball gurus, and all sports freaks in general, always ponder what the ultimate team would be. And to take it a step further, they wish they were in control of that dream team. For most basketball fans here in LA, it would be like trying to emulate the great architect of the Lakers teams from the late 70’s to 2001. And for the past couple of years, Jerry West wannabes have been living out this fantasy.

Fantasy Basketball is an online game that gives fans the opportunity to run their own team of professional bball players. One drafts his own team of the best players from across the NBA and receive points based on each player’s performance in the actual games. Therefore, you know Tim Duncan and Tracy McGrady are great for your fantasy team because they do so much for their own teams.

Among the other responsibilities of a fan in the fantasy league are setting weekly lineups, proposing, accepting, and rejecting trade deals and signing free agents — the normal duties of a regular coach, team manager and team owner. It brings out the creativity and competitiveness of the typical sports aficionado and offers a forum to display one’s knowledge and savvy of the NBA.

There’s an existing Fantasy Basketball league that fans may sign up to. It’s a public domain that lets one compete against total strangers. Or a group of friends may choose to form and run their own league through Basketball Commissioner. Acting as the league commissioner, one can customize the scoring system, the rules and the schedule based on the group’s preferences.

A popular site, according to one fan who was immediately hooked on Fantasy Basketball, is Yahoo Sports Fantasy NBA (fantasysports.yahoo.com). "My buddies and I joined and have put together our own league where we battle it out head to head on a weekly basis. In addition my friends and I have put together some side wagering to increase the excitement and intensity," said Roy Funtanilla, born here in LA to Filipino parents. And like most Filipinos, he’s crazy over hoops.

"For fans who love everything about basketball stats, this is heaven. I’m constantly at ESPN.com checking the box scores to see how my players fared," added this avid Laker fan.

Vince Carter blew up for 39 points on opening night and that was good for Funtanilla because he got Carter on his team. "He’s got the hot hand so he needs to stay in my starting lineup," he said like a true coach.

However, Ray Allen is on the injured list and going to have surgery on his ankle. If he is in your lineup, better drop him or make a trade to land a player who’s going to produce. These are just some of the decisions that are made daily in order to stay ahead of your competition. But it’s not too difficult.

Player news are posted on the site as it happens along with strategic analysis to help so-called "team owners" make wise lineup decisions. Moreover, a list of all current NBA injuries and playing status is right on your league’s site. As a bonus, there are full editorial schedule, Fantasy articles and analysis from experts throughout every week.

It can be very time consuming and most all addictive. Just like real NBA general managers, time must be spent researching and analyzing stats and player tendencies, and strategizing transactions such as putting together blockbuster trades with other teams. But there are rewards at stake. Not only can one get a shot at coaching a dream team; one also gets a chance to win prizes. In the past, tickets to the NBA All-Star game have been given out, along with NBA merchandise.

It’s been two weeks since the 2004 NBA season opened, are you just going to sit and watch? Get into the action!