“Who wants the smoke next?”

It was somewhat of an unexpected proclamation, coming from the normally even-keeled and reserved rookie Mavs Gaming center.

It came a few weeks back, when on the heels of his team’s latest regular-season victory in Week 4 to complete a doubleheader sweep, Peter Malin, aka PeteBeBallin, had all the justification to be just a tad boastful in his postgame interview.

He had just wrapped up a second straight Intel Player of the Game performance in helping Mavs Gaming remain undefeated. The interview highlighted his growth over the season’s first month, with an increased amount of outward confidence displayed by the No. 5 overall pick in this year’s NBA 2K League Draft.

The recently-turned 19 year old is thriving amid his newly found freedom living outside the friendly confines of the Long Island suburbs for the first time in his short life. It’s provided him the opportunity to forge new relationships with teammates who share a similar passion, in turn allowing both he and Mavs Gaming to beyond exceeding expectations through the first half of the season.

“Coming to Dallas, moving across the country, being on my own, that was a really cool experience for me, he said. “Finding people who have the same goal as me, which is forming a team and winning this season, is something that’s really impacted me heavily. It’s been a big thing that’s allowed me to succeed.”

A lifelong basketball player who played through high school, Pete decided to continue his education at University at Albany in upstate New York to study Business Marketing. It was around the same time that his commitment to NBA 2K had heightened, playing competitively and participating in online events.

His first semester of college was ending right around the time of this year’s NBA 2K League Combine, where Pete performed at a high level at both center and small forward to qualify for both positions. Two weeks into his second semester, Pete was informed of his inclusion as one of the Top 150 players for season two.

It was then, despite already starting new classes, Pete made the decision with his parents’ support to take the semester off to pursue the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“It was declared (by outsiders) I was going to be a top-10 consensus pick when the 150 was announced,” he said of his decision to pursue the league. “I knew Dallas was one of my preferred destinations, so once I found out I got picked by them I was really excited about the opportunity.”

Mavs Gaming faced a full rebuild during draft night in March. With just one holdover from last season in Dimez, the No. 1 overall pick in 2018, the team had a blank canvas for which to construct their roster around their star point guard.

Armed with a pair of first-round picks, the team paired Pete with Mo, a secondary ball handler and scoring threat with the 14th pick. They selected the defensive-minded Sherm in the second round before adding a pair of veterans in Rux and GRANT MONSTER to finalize their haul.

“The rebuild was a big part of my decisions in wanting to come here,” Pete said. “Knowing we had two first-round picks and an early pick in the second round, we could really take over the draft and take three of the best guys available. That was really appealing to me.”

As the new-look Mavs Gaming team came together, the most important relationship to be forged would be between Dimez and Pete, the two players occupying the most vital positions on the floor — point guard and center.

“The one and five have to have really good chemistry and be a tandem duo,” Pete said. “Knowing that we are the two positions that really orchestrate the game together, I knew that we had to have a good relationship.”

Pete was aware of the issues the plagued last season’s Mavs Gaming squad, which included a strained relationship between Dimez and big man Dayfri, who was traded this offseason to Wizards District Gaming in a move that cleared room for Pete’s arrival in the frontcourt.

Pete believes his agreeable personality is a better fit alongside Dimez, and a reason the two have meshed so well.

“I’m more of one to agree with people, try to be positive and form relationships,” said Pete of his personality. “I think me being open to the things he has to say and him reciprocating, and me being a positive and calm, collected person really helps him be able to deliver for the team. So I think that’s why we get along so well, and the rest of the guys around us really help our relationship.”

It’s that relationship that has been a large factor in Mavs Gaming’s historic 9-0 start in the regular season heading into their Week 7 doubleheader. While it’s been their center who’s been the team’s most consistent performer in that time span.

Pete, who cites his patient approach as a core attribute, is averaging a double-double with 14.0 PPG and 10.4 RPG, both among the best for first-year big men. He ranks second overall in the league in shooting 74.7% from the field and has been a strong defensive presence with 2.8 SPG and 1.1 BPG, with his play putting him in the league MVP discussion.

“I didn’t expect to be having this much success so early in the season,” he said. “I do hold myself to a high standard knowing I was picked high, knowing that (Mavs Gaming) took the risk on me and knowing I have to perform to the highest level. So even when I have a good game, like these last two when I was Player of the Week, I think that is something I should do normally and I should pride myself on holding myself accountable to that level.”

His play over the first month earned him a nomination among four finalists for April’s top player award, which was won by Mama Im Dat Man of Blazer5 Gaming.

Individual accolades aside, team success is at the forefront of Pete’s mind ahead. Mavs Gaming carry with them a little extra motivation, as chatter around the league had surrounded their record, which some believed was a result of a soft early schedule.

“It’s definitely a big motivation for us,” Pete said. “The thing that really makes us confused is any team can beat any team in the league on a given night. So to say that there’s teams that are really bad and shouldn’t be noted is something we don’t really understand. I’m really proud of (our start).”

As he asked during his postgame interview a few weeks back, which team wants the smoke next? Pete and Mavs Gaming are ready for any and all challengers.