oFAB Rises to No. 2 in Latest Race to the MVP Rankings
July 17, 2018
We’ve hit the homestretch of the NBA 2K League season.
Only a few more weeks remain before the start of the playoffs in August. And just six more weeks for MVP candidates to separate themselves from the pack in hopes of taking home the hardware.
Here’s how the top-10 players stack up in the Race to the MVP rankings entering the final leg of regular-season games.
—
Note: NBA2KLeague.com’s Power Rankings are the opinion of this writer and do not reflect the views of the NBA 2K League or its clubs.
1. OneWildWalnut, Blazer5 Gaming
Stats: 19.5 points, 12.7 rebounds, 2.4 blocks, 2.4 steals
Last week: 1
Walnut holds down the top spot despite playing in just one game at THE TICKET after top-seeded Blazer5 suffered a staggering upset at the hands of No. 17 seed Kings Guard Gaming in the first round. He finished with a team-high 24 points on 12-of-15 shooting while grabbing 18 rebounds. The defensive stalwart blocked a pair of shots but didn’t force any turnovers despite ranking second in the league in steals.
2. oFAB, Celtics Crossover Gaming
Stats: 18.7 points, 17.5 assists, 2.3 steals
Last week: 6
Tournaments have tended to bring out the best in point guards this season. oFAB guided his team to a second straight-tournament finals appearance, but Celtics Crossover fell three points short against Knicks Gaming. oFAB averaged 19.5 points, 16.7 assists and 2.0 steals during the four games. He’s been among the best two-way point guards this season, leading the league in assists by a wide margin while ranking third overall in steals.
3. Radiant, 76ers GC
Stats: 19.8 points, 12.4 assists, 2.1 steals
Last week: 2
Radiant’s slight drop comes after his squad’s disappointing showing at the tournament. The champions of THE TIPOFF were bounced this go-around as the fourth overall seed in the first round by Bucks Gaming. Radiant, who was the MVP of the season-opening tournament, finished with 13 points while making just 1-of-4 3-pointers as 76ers GC barely broke the 50-point mark. He was active defensively with 3 steals, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the early exit.
4. Mama Im Dat Man, Blazer5 Gaming
Stats: 20.4 points, 12.1 assists, 1.7 steals
Last week: 3
Much like Blazer5, Mama had a game he’d rather soon forget in the loss to Kings Guard. He shot just 5-of-15 from the floor en route to 13 points, giving him just 27 total points over his past two outings. Despite the cold shooting, he did manage a game-high 11 assists but also committed 5 turnovers. The MVP of THE TURN has been hot for so many weeks, it’s a surprise when he doesn’t light up the scoreboard.
5. Boo Painter, Wizards District Gaming
Stats: 27.9 points, 8.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 2.0 blocks, 1.3 steals
Last week: 4
Boo has dominated for much of the season at power forward and now is doing the same at small forward. Over two tournament games, he averaged 37.0 points, 8.5 assists and 5.5 rebounds. The league’s second-leading scorer been great running the point-forward spot since assuming the role a few weeks ago. If opponents don’t find a way to negate his attack, he’s going to continue to feast at the rim.
6. Dimez, Mavs Gaming
Stats: 22.4 points, 12.0 assists, 2.6 steals
Last week: 5
Dimez the small forward? You read the correctly. Mavs Gaming experimented with moving the No. 1 overall pick away from point guard for the tournament. He still remained the primary ballhandler while running the offense and saw a huge uptick in his scoring, finishing with 77 points over two games. It came at the expense of his assists totals, as he averaged just 5.5 in those games, well below his season average.
7. Hood, Cavs Legion GC
Stats: 32.6 points, 5.1 assists, 5.7 rebounds, 1.4 steals
Last week: 9
The league’s top scorer put on a show over three games at THE TICKET. He opened with 48 points and finished with 32. But in between he set the league’s single-game record with 52 points in a head-to-head matchup with Dimez, who ironically held the previous mark of 50. Hood did it shooting an efficient 24 of 30, not to mention the countless highlight-reel dunks that came during the scoring outburst.
8. Hotshot, Heat Check Gaming
Stats: 24.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.9 steals, 1.7 blocks
Last week: 7
Hotshot contributed across the board in his team’s first-round game, but Heat Check suffered an early loss to Wizards District for the second-straight tournament. He scored a team-high 27 points to go with 5 assists, 3 steals and a block. He ran into a tough individual matchup in Boo Painter, who went for 39 points in the game. Hotshot remains third in the league in scoring.
9. Dat Boy Shotz, Blazer5 Gaming
Stats: 20.4 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.7 steals, 1.3 blocks
Last week: 8
Blazer5’s rough game against Kings Guard had no bigger effect than on Shotz. He struggled in one of his worst statistical games in recent memory, finishing with just 6 points on 3-of-7 shooting along with 2 rebounds and 1 assist. It was a surprising line for a player that’s been so consistent to this point. But it’s likely more of an anomaly for one of the league’s best power forwards.
10. Lets Get It Ramo, Pistons GT
Stats: 19.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.8 steals, 1.4 blocks.
Last week: 10
Another tournament, another run to the semifinals for Pistons GT, who have reached the final four twice this season. The key cog is Ramo, who again led the way for the league’s third-place team. He averaged 20.3 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists over the three tournament games, including scoring 27 in a hard-fought opener against Jazz Gaming.