Auction values are used in fantasy basketball leagues that employ a player auction, rather than a more traditional draft. Prior to the season, a budget is set, and team owners must bid on players to fill their roster. The price paid for a player is their "auction value".
Just like in a draft, however, some players will inevitably be overvalued or undervalued. During the season, RotoWire.com has a tool to calculate a player's Earned Auction Value, which uses an algorithm to determine how much "money" a player is actually worth, based on the league's format and settings.