NBA 2K League Playoffs Preview
August 17, 2018
2018 NBA 2K LEAGUE PLAYOFFS PRIMER
DATES TO REMEMBER
August 17: NBA 2K League Playoffs Quarterfinals (Schedule)
August 18: NBA 2K League Playoffs Semifinals (Schedule)
August 25: NBA 2K League Finals (Schedule)
FORMAT
The quarterfinals will be played on August 17 and will have a single-elimination format. The semifinals will be played be on August 18 and have a best-of-three format. The NBA 2K League Finals will be a best-of-three format. All competition takes place from the NBA 2K League Studio Powered by Intel in New York City and is streamed on Twitch.
The playoff prize pool will be $600,000, with the NBA 2K League champion receiving $300,000 from the All other playoff teams will receive $25,000.
SCHEDULE – All games will be streamed on Twitch
Friday, August 17 Home Away
6 p.m. ET (2) 76ers GC (7) Wizards District Gaming
7 p.m. ET (3) Pistons GT (6) Heat Check Gaming
8 p.m. ET (4) Raptors Uprising GC (5) Cavs Legion GC
9 p.m. ET (1) Blazer5 Gaming (8) Knicks Gaming
Saturday, August 18
11 a.m. ET (SGC/WDG vs. PGT/HCG) NBA 2K League Semifinals, Game 1
12 p.m. ET (SGC/WDG vs. PGT/HCG) NBA 2K League Semifinals, Game 2
1 p.m. ET (SGC/WDG vs. PGT/HCG) NBA 2K League Semifinals, Game 3 (if necessary)
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4 p.m. ET (BZG/KNX vs. RUG/CLG) NBA 2K League Semifinals, Game 1
5 p.m. ET (BZG/KNX vs. RUG/CLG) NBA 2K League Semifinals, Game 2
6 p.m. ET (BZG/KNX vs. RUG/CLG) NBA 2K League Semifinals, Game 3 (if necessary)
Saturday, August 25
4 p.m. ET NBA 2K League Finals, Game 1
5 p.m. ET NBA 2K League Finals, Game 2
6 p.m. ET NBA 2K League Finals, Game 3 (if necessary)
REGULAR-SEASON AWARD WINNERS
Most Valuable Player: Dayne “OneWildWalnut” Downey, Blazer5 Gaming
Coach of the Year: Duane Burton, Pistons GT
Defensive Player of the Year: Dayne “OneWildWalnut” Downey, Blazer5 Gaming
Sportsmanship Award: Tilton “xTFr3sHxX” Curry, 76ers GC
Community Engagement Award: Raptors Uprising GC
Play of the Year: Austin “Boo Painter” Painter, Wizards District Gaming
| #1 Blazer5 Gaming (12-2) | VS. | #8 Knicks Gaming (5-9) |
SHADES OF BIG RED: When Blazer5 Gaming’s Dayne “OneWildWalnut” Downey won the MVP, he became Portland’s first MVP since Bill Walton in 1978. Downey has two other things in common with Walton – playing the center position and being from Southern California. Downey will look to do something else Walton also did for Portland – deliver a championship.
DUAL THREAT: From Kareem and Magic to Shaq and Kobe, the NBA has seen many point guard-center combinations take over the league. The NBA 2K League is no different. Blazer5 Gaming’s Dayne “OneWildDowney” Downey and Nidal “Mama Im Dat Man” Nasser dominated the MVP discussion and propelled their team to the league’s best record.
THE MIRACLE ON THE 34TH STREET: Knicks Gaming completed the biggest upset in NBA 2K League history when they won THE TICKET tournament. Knicks Gaming entered the tournament as the third-lowest seed and received an automatic playoff berth by winning it. Without winning the tournament, the team would have had an uphill battle to make the playoffs.
HOMETOWN HEROES: Adam “iamadamthe1st” Kudeimati from Wayne, N.J. and Marc “xKPMR” Rodriguez from the Bronx, NY will try to bring a championship for their hometown NBA franchise. Kudeimati, named THE TICKET tournament MVP, is looking continue his streak of stellar tournament play in the NBA 2K League Playoffs.
| #2 76ers GC (10-4) | VS. | #7 Wizards District Gaming (8-6) |
PAINTING A MASTERPIECE: MVP finalist Austin “Boo Painter” Painter has also emerged as a top performer in the league. With averages of 32.3 points and 8.0 rebounds, the second-round pick has been one of the biggest reasons for the success of Wizards District Gaming. He also has a degree in criminal justice and sociology from Old Dominion University.
COACHING FROM EXPERIENCE: 76ers Head Coach Jeff Terrell, a former college point guard at Roane State and Murray State, joined 76ers GC after coaching basketball for the past three years at the youth, high school and AAU levels. The Nashville, Tennessee native started playing NBA 2K after a car accident left him unable to exercise for eight months in 2015. Missing the sport of basketball, Terrell transitioned his game to esports as a point guard under the gamer tag “TheWhiteKite23” and the rest is history.
TRUST THE RADIANCE: First-round pick Ethan “Radiant” White has been a ray of sunshine for Philadelphia this season. From Battle Creek, Michigan, White had a very successful season averaging 20 points per game to go along with 13.4 assists per game. White recorded one of his finest games of the season in a Week 12 showdown against Pistons GT with 21 points and 17 assists.
| #3 Pistons GT (9-5) | VS. | #6 Heat Check Gaming (8-6) |
MIAMI’S OWN: With the seventh pick in the NBA 2K League Draft, Heat Check Gaming looked in their own backyard for their franchise player – Juan “Hotshot” Gonzalez. The Miami native had an incredible season with averages of 29.5 points, 7.7 rebounds and 5.4 assists, which led to him being named an MVP finalist. During Miami’s five game winning streak that propelled them to the playoffs, Gonzalez averaged 39 points, 8.4 assists and 8.6 rebounds.
BREAKING DOWN THE DOOR: The fifth overall pick in the draft Ramo “Lets Get It Ramo” Radoncic has emerged as an elite player in the NBA 2K League. The MVP finalist nearly averaged a double-double for the season with 19.9 points and 9.7 rebounds. A doorman in Manhattan before joining the league, Radoncic is looking to bring the Pistons through the proverbial door in the playoffs.
POWERING THE PISTONS: Fred “Im So Far Ahead” Mendoza has been a solid engineer in constructing Piston GT’s offense. The fifth-round pick is currently averaging 13.5 points per game and 7.9 assists per game. The native of Arlington, Virginia is a graduate of Old Dominion University with a degree in Information Technology.
| #4 Raptors Uprising GC (8-6) | VS. | #5 Cavs Legion GC (8-6) |
RAPTORS ARE ROARING: After starting the regular season with a 1-5 record, Raptors Uprising GC went 7-1 in their last eight regular season games to finish with an overall record of 8-6 and earn the fourth overall seed in the playoffs. In a do or die game on Saturday against Heat Check Gaming, Toronto received big performances from Kenneth “Kenny” Hailey (34 points, nine assists) and Seanquai “KingQuai614” Harris (21 points, eight rebounds) to punch their ticket to the NBA 2K League Playoffs.
EVERYBODY EATS: With four players averaging double figures in points per game, Cavs Legion GC features one of the most balanced offenses in the league. Prolific scorer Brandon “Hood” Caicedo averages 29.8 points, Gerald “Sick x 973” Knapp averages 15.7 points, Christopher “Savage” Tracey averages 14.9, and Marcus “Godddof2k” Glenn averages 13.7 points.
ROUND TWO: In Week 10, Raptors Uprising GC defeated Cavs Legion 77-55 behind a triple-double from Kenneth “Kenny” Hailey (29 points, 12 assists, 10 rebounds) and a double-double from Seanquai “KingQuai614” Harris (19 points, 11 rebounds). Cleveland will look make some adjustments and have a different outcome in the playoffs.
NBA 2K LEAGUE – AT A GLANCE
NBA 2K League Overview
- The NBA 2K League, a joint venture between the NBA and Take-Two Interactive, is a professional esports league featuring the best NBA 2K players in the world.
- This is the first official esports league operated by a U.S. professional sports league.
- Brendan Donohue, managing director of the NBA 2K League, oversees all league operations.
- The NBA 2K League Playoffs begin on Friday, August 17 and culminate with the NBA 2K League Finals on Saturday, August 25.
- Eight teams advanced to the playoffs: the seven teams with the best regular-season records (Blazer5 Gaming, 76ers GC, Pistons GT, Raptors Uprising GC, Cavs Legion GC, Heat Check Gaming and Wizards District Gaming) and the winner of THE TICKET tournament (Knicks Gaming).
- The NBA 2K League Semifinals and Finals will be best-of-three tournaments.
- 17 NBA teams participated in the inaugural season, which tipped off on May 1, 2018.
- Teams compete in 5 v 5 gameplay using unique characters (not existing NBA players).
- Next season, the NBA 2K League will grow from 17 to 21 teams with additions of affiliates of Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves.
- The season ran for 17 weeks, beginning in May and ending in August: 12 weeks of weekly matchups, three weeks of in-season tournaments (May 1-5; June 8-9; July 12-14) and two weeks of playoffs.
- Teams played at least one game per week during the weekly matchups (14 total); games consist of four, six-minute quarters.
- Teams lived in their home markets during the season and competed in league play each week at the NBA 2K League Studio Powered by Intel in New York City.
- All NBA 2K League games and tournaments will be streamed on Twitch (tv/nba2kleague).
Popularity
- NBA 2K League content has generated more than 132 million video views on social media channels (Instagram, Instagram Stories, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube).
- The NBA 2K League and its teams feature more than 1.6 million combined followers on social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram).
- As of August 9, 2018, NBA 2K League teams have formed more than 90 partnerships.
102 Players
- The inaugural NBA 2K League Draft took place on April 4, 2018, at The Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
- Each team drafted six players from the eligible draft pool.
- The 102 players who make up the first-ever class of NBA 2K League professionals were selected following two stages of qualifying and from 72,000 hopefuls.
- The first stage of qualifying took place from Jan. 1-31. The second stage, known as the NBA 2K League Combine, was held from Feb. 2-21.
- Following the combine, the NBA 2K League identified the top 250 players and held one-on-one interviews with each player. After the interviews, all player information was evaluated by a selection committee and used to determine the 102 players eligible to be drafted.
About NBA 2K
- NBA 2K is currently the highest-rated and best-selling sports title of the current console generation among U.S. sports leagues.
- NBA 2K18 sold approximately ten million copies worldwide and is the best-selling edition in franchise history.
- In 2017, NBA 2K18 was the top-selling sports video game in the U.S. and second best-selling overall (behind FIFA); 1.6 million daily active users; 5 million monthly.
About Esports
- The global audience for esports is expected to reach 557 million by 2021, including 250 million esports enthusiasts and 307 million occasional viewers (Source: Newzoo, 2018)
- A number of NBA teams, owners and former players are already looking to the future of the esports industry, investing in esports franchises/holding companies.