Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- A new viral NBA browser game called Six Rings challenges players to build the highest-scoring lineup using a unique box score plus/minus stat called LAKER.
- The game rewards strategic resets, team selection, and careful use of limited lifelines to maximize bonus points for defense and positions.
- Players looking for the highest scores must balance proven all-time greats with creative outlier selections to climb the leaderboard.
In the viral NBA naming-guys browser game ecosystem, you, yes you, can be the apex predator. And I’m here to tell you how to do it.
SixRings is a game created by databallr that relies on one specific stat: LAKER, a form of box score plus/minus stat created by Neil Paine that aims to measure how much better a player’s team was when they were on the court versus when they were not. The game presents you with a random team and a semi-random assortment of players from that team who had a positive LAKER score sometime between 1977 and 2026.
Your goal is to build a lineup of five players with the highest possible total LAKER score, with some bonuses for having every position, better defensive scores and a “durable” roster. If that sounds complicated, don’t worry, we are going to break this down to an absolute science.
If you just want to get a good score, aim to create a full lineup of guys above a plus-6.0 LAKER, and I’d encourage you to go experiment and play around with different combinations to see how well you can do off your own natural ball knowledge before reading the following: a ruthless atomization of the game down to every last particle of LAKER existent in NBA history. These five rules are for those who want to go for the highest possible score, which might ruin the fun after a few hundred (thousand) attempts — you have been warned.
Rule No. 1: Reset until you get (about) a plus-8.5 player on the first roll
Fun fact: you can click “new game” rather quickly in the SixRings interface … so if you’re really trying to destroy this game, there’s no point in starting a run until you get a naturally occurring all-time great before trying to manage the rest of your game. I’m not going to lie: the vast majority of your time will be spent resetting and then scanning for the guys you want. I’m not going to list every possible player you could pick, but here are some common ones to remember and the years you should be looking out for:
- Chris Paul (Pelicans/Clippers, 2008-2017)
- LeBron James (Cavaliers/Heat, 2009-2014)
- Michael Jordan (Bulls, 1988-1991)
- Kawhi Leonard (Spurs/Clippers, 2015-2017 and 2020-2026)
- David Robinson (Spurs, 1994-1998)
- Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks, 2020-2026)
- Nikola Jokic (Nuggets, 2022-2026)
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder, 2024-2026)
- Stephen Curry (Warriors, 2015-2016)
There are plenty of other great players, but I generally look out for these teams as my first pick to maximize my chances of getting something good. There are a few truly ridiculous seasons out there if you want to really sweat this, in which case target only the 10.0+ seasons, which are:
- 2009 Chris Paul
- 1988, 1989 and 1991 Michael Jordan (that’s why he’s the GOAT)
- 1992 David Robinson
- 2009 LeBron James
- 2016 Stephen Curry
Conduct this rigid resetting strategy at your own risk. Don’t come crying to me after you roll the Charlotte Hornets for the 19th consecutive time.
Rule No. 2: Know which teams are useless and which are gold
When you’re going for a high score, you basically can’t afford any player under +7.0 on the lineup. That makes some teams a waste of your time to try to parse through, as for every random great Victor Oladipo season you find you will be confronted with 15 underwhelming Danny Grangers and Paul Georges. Here are the teams I wouldn’t even bother with, either resetting the run or clicking “swap team” … unless you have the exact list of every season in front of you on a spreadsheet and know that this specific Dirk Nowitzki season is a plus-7.8, in which case, why are you reading this?:
(Usually) Useless Teams:
- Detroit Pistons
- Toronto Raptors
- New York Knicks
- Atlanta Hawks
- Charlotte Hornets
- Brooklyn Nets
- Indiana Pacers
- Washington Wizards
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Portland Trail Blazers
- Phoenix Suns
- Dallas Mavericks
- Memphis Grizzlies
- Sacramento Kings
Every other team has at least one or more specific players you want to target, and some really just have one: for the Jazz, you’re looking for late-90s John Stockton, for the Rockets you want late-80s, early-90s Hakeem Olajuwon. You’ll figure out all the players and years as you play more, but plenty of years are traps or are just plain underwhelming. You’ll be rather unimpressed by Kyrie Irving, James Harden and Kevin Durant seasons on the Brooklyn Nets, and you will also find that Tim Duncan and Kobe Bryant are almost never better than David Robinson or Shaquille O’Neal. Hey, nobody is saying anyone was better than anyone else in real life. It’s just a game.
Rule No. 3: Use your lifelines like a logic puzzle
Once you have a good run going (first one-to-two picks are locked in), you have to start treating SixRings like a logic puzzle rather than a game of chance. Say, for example, you started out with a natural 2016 Stephen Curry and then rolled straight into the Cavaliers on your next roll. You obviously want LeBron James, but its all about maximizing your chance for the right LeBron James. 2004 or 2005 aren’t going to do much for you, so if you see that, consider clicking “Position” and sorting by small forward for another crack at 2009 or 2010.
If instead you get the Spurs and don’t see a good David Robinson or Kawhi Leonard year, try clicking “Redeal” to get another bite at the apple for both guys. You can’t control any of this, but it’s about maximizing your chance to succeed.
“Swap teams” is an easy one; if you hit any of the “useless” teams, just click it. It’s going to be pretty heart-of-the-cards at the end of the day, you have to hit five usable teams at the right positions in a row with only one random mulligan. This will be the most frustrating part of your game.
“Reveal” is going to be less and less useful as you get to know the players more, but if you have a godlike run on the fifth choice and aren’t sure which of these Wizards will hurt you the least, hit that button to hopefully salvage something.
Finally, “double dip” allow you to take two players from the same board, and will rarely be a good idea. But when it is, it’s glorious. Here are the most common uses:
- Chris Paul and Anthony Davis/Kawhi Leonard
- Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen
- David Robinson and Kawhi Leonard
- Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant
Rule No. 4: Defense (and positions) wins championships
Again, if you’re trying to get a super-duper high score, you need to exploit your bonuses. Those are: defense, durability and positional requirements. I honestly don’t know what to do about durability/how to actually control that, but you have to make sure you fill out your positions. Thankfully the game is pretty lenient with positional requirements.
Defense, though, is something you will need to focus on. And it makes sense based on everything we’ve already learned: Chris Paul, Kawhi Leonard, Michael Jordan and David Robinson are all among the best defensive players in the history of the NBA. There is a reason all of the top scores include some combination of those guys.
Rule No. 5: See how creative you can get!
Don’t you love when the final rule flies in the face of all previously established rules? Seriously, though, even though every single high score contains at least two-to-three of the cheat codes mentioned throughout this piece, there is lots of room for improvement! The 14th best score on the site has Victor Wembanyama, and the 15th has Manu Ginobli. Can someone fit 1999 Eddie Jones on the Charlotte Hornets (+6.0) into a top score? You can. I believe in you!
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