About Pikola
Last updated: 4 October 2026
What Pikola is
Pikola is a Chrome extension for Yahoo fantasy basketball drafts. It opens in Chrome's side panel beside the draft room, follows the draft as it runs, and tells you what to bid or who to pick, for the roster you have and the money you have left.
The name is Pikola, with a P, as in pickle.
What it does
- Auction drafts: a bid limit for the player on the block, and when to stop.
- Snake drafts: who to pick now, who will make it back to you, and the backups.
It models every roster in the room and re-prices after every pick or sale. It never bids or picks for you.
Price
Free in Yahoo mock drafts, with the whole panel. Real league drafts take a $10 season pass: one payment, no subscription, for every real Yahoo draft you run in the 2026-27 season. The pass ends on 12 April 2027.
Try it first: start a free mock draft.
What it covers
Yahoo Fantasy Basketball only, in Chrome on a desktop or laptop, in head-to-head category leagues of any size or budget. Auction drafts, snake drafts and Yahoo mock drafts.
Not yet: rotisserie, points or keeper leagues, or drafts on ESPN or Sleeper.
How it's tested
In simulated Yahoo auctions, against a drafter who buys off a rankings list, Pikola's team won the title 2.7 to 3 times as often in the three rooms built to draft like people. That is the whole of the "three times the championships" claim: auctions only, computer drafters, 40 auctions and 1,280 simulated seasons per room. The method, the error bars and what the test does not show are on How Pikola is tested.
Who built it
One person: a professional data scientist, trained in pure mathematics and microeconomics. They write the engine, run the tests and answer the email.
Projections and research
Pikola's projections come from a licensed provider and are updated through the season. Pikola's own studies, Draft Science, are free to quote with a link: How Pikola is tested and Should you punt from pick one?
Privacy
Your draft stays in your browser. Pikola keeps only your email address; the privacy policy says how.