It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster ride so far for Heat Check Gaming in the NBA 2K League. They made it all the way to the NBA 2K league Finals in Season 1, but missed the Playoffs in Season 2. The good news? They enter Season 3 with a double-headed monster of FamousEnough at coach and Hotshot manning Center. Few teams have a better duo to build around and that was put on display during a very impressive Draft for Miami. There are plenty of questions when you bring in five new players, but the talent this team has is undeniable. If this team figures out a consistent lineup, they have as much upside as any team in the league.

Coach: FamousEnough

Famous, Famous, Famous. Ever the contrarian, FamousEnough goes to the beat of his own drum. He likes to innovate on the fly and take chances on players other coaches run away from. In Season 1, this brought him all the way to the Finals. In Season 2, it may have contributed to why they missed the postseason. Heading into Season 3, he wiped the slate clean, keeping only Hotshot from last year’s team. He retained both MOAM and Majes7ic, but shipped them off to CLTX Gaming and Blazer5 Gaming, respectively, and went into the Draft looking for the perfect team to build around Hotshot. On paper, it looks like he succeeded. However, he’ll be the first to tell you that games aren’t won on paper or on Twitter, they are won on the court.

Season 2 Team MVP: Hotshot

Some guys are just going to dominate, regardless of what their teammates do and Hotshot proved last season that he’s not only in that tier of players, he might be at the very top. As one of only two players in the league last season to average at least 15 points and 11 rebounds per game, Hotshot was unguardable. He dominated Center most of the season and then shifted to a Post Scorer with the league meta and dominated there as well. His peak came when he dropped 34 points with that Post Scoring build on Blazer5 Gaming at THE TICKET in Orlando to give them a huge upset win. You don’t get voted the No. 7 overall player in the #Glitchy25 if you aren’t a savage.

Best Stat From Season 2: Only Player To score 20+ points At 3 Different Positions

We tossed a ton of Hotshot stats at you already, but here’s another. He was the only player to drop 20+ points at three different positions in Season 2. We know his accolades at PF and C, but he actually scored 20 points at Point Guard against Hawks Talon GC. What can’t this guy do?!

Offseason Moves:

Trades Made:

1. Blazer5 Gaming
   1. Acquired: 2020 1st Round pick
   2. Traded Away: Ma7estic
2. Celtics Crossover Gaming
   1. Acquired: 2020 2nd Round pick
   2. Traded Away: MOAM
3. Hornets Venom GT
   1. Acquired: 2020 1st Round + 2020 3rd Round
   2. Traded Away: 2020 1st Round + 2020 2nd Round

Draft Picks:

8. Glennratty7688
13. Shiftay
41. Delusion_HD
48. King Peroxide
49. Deedz

Talk about an active offseason! Famous wheeled and dealed himself to a one-man roster heading into the Draft. He traded both MOAM and Majes7ic away for picks before trading those picks to move up and grab Shiftay at No. 13 overall. It did force him to move back a bit in the 3rd Round, but they clearly had a plan going in. That plan seems to have worked out perfectly, allowing Famous to draft five well-regarded players including two who played in the league last season.

Starting at the top, Glennratty was a quality pick at No. 8, and while it may be fair to wonder how high his ceiling is, he may have the highest floor of any PG in the class. He should should serve as a competent and consistent PG. Shiftay rocketed up Draft boards after a stellar Combine and many thought he was the best wing available this year. Delusion was a fascinating pick, another guy who flew up Draft boards after dominating 2K20 pro-am and sustaining it through the Qualifier and Combine. King Peroxide and Deedz are great veteran pickups for this team as well, both capable of bringing good vibes to Miami, and being able to play multiple positions doesn’t hurt either. Chemistry won’t be an issue for this team, they have six high-character guys.

Lineup:

PG: Glennratty
SG: Delusion_HD
SF: Shiftay
PF: King Peroxide
C: Hotshot
6th Man: Deedz

From 1-6, there are few better lineups on paper than what Heat Check Gaming is bringing into Season 3. Their lineup is a tad rigid, but they really shouldn’t need to move too many pieces around. King Peroxide is a fantastic player to pair next to Hotshot. Back to his natural position at PF, he’s one of the best corner-3 shooters in 2K and can play some great defense at that spot to boot. His outside game and 2K IQ paired with Hotshot’s inside mastery is a match-made in 2K heaven and their communication on defense will only make things easier for their young lock. Speaking of said lock, Shiftay might be the 2nd best player on this whole team. Not only is he a suffocating defender, but he was also one of the best wing shooters coming out. He shot 58% from 3 and put up an ABSURD 28.1 Player Efficiency Rating (PER), putting him in the very top tier of Combine players.

All that and we haven’t even mentioned the guard combo yet. It’s a simple concept, Glenn is a floor general who loves to get everyone involved and Delusion is a monster on the sticks and considered one of the best dribblers in the world. Their two-man game is going to keep defenses on their toes all season and it’s going to be extremely difficult to stop both of them at the same time. Deedz can step in and play anywhere you need him to, don’t be surprised if we see him get a few starts at Center at some point this season. Did we mention Hotshot is also on this team? This is a starting 5 that everyone should have their eyes on.

Season 3 Breakout Candidate: Delusion

There are a couple of good options on this team, but Delusion is the guy. His stick skills have some calling him a “poor man’s BP”, but there is nothing poor about his game. He has everything you’d want in a PG — dribbling, passing, scoring, you name it and he has it. Glenn will be the primary ball-handler, but that plays right into Delusion’s skillset. He’s going to get a team’s second or sometimes third-best defender and should be able to score with relative ease. Glenn and Shiftay are excellent prospects in their own right, so don’t be surprised if Heat Check has a couple of guys break out this season.

Season Outlook: Take the League By Storm

If the last few categories haven’t made it clear, this team has an extremely high ceiling. Their upside is clear. If the season goes their way, they could easily be one of the best teams in the league. The Glennratty-Delusion combo could set a new meta for the league as dual ball handlers and Hotshot is going to feast down low with how much perimeter shooting this team has. We’ve brought up a ton about their offense, but their defense is what is going to put them over the top. Shiftay is going to be the keystone for this team defensively, they’ll go as far as he takes them. If he turns into the elite lock-down people think he can, he could carry them all the way to the Finals and possibly give Hotshot and Famous the sweet revenge they’ve been seeking since Season 1.