With summer quickly approaching, and the sporting world at a standstill, the NBA has thought of a brilliant idea to keep fans engaged with the league: the 2K Tournament. There have always been dreams of the best players in the NBA getting together to see who is the best at 2K. There wasn’t a more perfect time for this to happen!
NBA players started competing against one another in an “NBA 2K” Tournament, that began April 3rd, 2020 and ended on April 11th. The NBA 2K Players Tournament featured big-name athletes from today – Kevin Durant, Trae Young, Donovan Mitchell, and plenty more. There were 16 total NBA players playing in the March Madness style tournament. There were eight Round 1 match ups. Then they got into the Semifinals and the Championship Round. The winner of the tournament received a $100,000 donation from 2K, the NBA, and the NBPA in support of ongoing coronavirus relief efforts.
Before the tournament began, each player was allowed to choose eight of today’s NBA teams, and the players were seeded by their official 2K rating, which they would only be able to use once during the tournament. For example, if both players in a given match select the same teams, the “away team” would be rewarded the first choice of the team. With the first two rounds being single elimination, the semifinals and finals were best-of-three series.
The opening round of games began April 3rd, 2020 with No. 1 overall seed Kevin Durant losing to 16-seeded Derrick Jones Jr. No. 2 Trae Young defeated No.15 seed Harrison Barnes. Third-seeded Hassan Whiteside lost to No. 14 seed Patrick Beverley. On Sunday Night, the first round wrapped up, with Rui Hachimura scoring an upset over Donovan Mitchell, and Andre Drummond literally destroying DeMarcus Cousins by 51 points. Round 1 continued April 5th, with Montrezl Harrell, the 8th seed, beating Domantas Sabonis, the 9th seed, 71-53. 5th seed Devin Booker beat 12th seed Michael Porter Jr. 85-75.
The quarterfinals of the tournament wrapped up April 9th, 2020 with Devin Booker (5) defeating Rui Hachimura(13), Montrezl Harrell(8) defeating Derrick Jones Jr.(16), DeAndre Ayton(10) defeating Trae Young(2), and Patrick Beverley(14) defeating Andre Drummond(6).
In the semifinal rounds, Devin Booker and DeAndre Ayton won their match ups to face off in the finals. In the end, Booker would come out with the 2K Crown.
This 2K tournament has received huge praise from players around the league and fans. With the NBA season cancelled until further notice, sports fans need something to keep them excited. GU student Caleb Payne gave his thoughts about the 2K tournament. “I really didn’t keep up with basketball that much this season, but with nothing else to do, it’s interesting seeing famous athletes talk trash in a video game.” The NBA has done a great job giving fans something entertaining to watch while games are postponed. The NBA also planned a H-O-R-S-E Tournament. The tournament featured past NBA and WNBA superstars and current NBA and WNBA superstars.
