Kings Guard Gaming had a defining season last year, making the playoffs for the first time after being one of the worst teams in the league during Season 1. On the back of their star rookie PG BP and their reformed defense led by Yusuf_Scarbz, Kings Guard Gaming clinched the #5 seed before falling to the eventual champion T-Wolves Gaming in the 1st round. But this year’s team is not last year’s team. BP has been traded to Hawks Talon GC and replaced by Dat Boy Shotz, #3 overall pick Crush, #17 overall pick Bash, and a whole bunch of uncertainty. This team doesn’t lack talent or motivation, but will a lack of consistency be their downfall? It’ll be up to coach DJ Layton to keep them on track.

Coach: DJ Layton

One of the more unheralded coaches from Season 2, Coach Layton was a huge reason behind the King’s revamp last season. He was able to keep a team of very different personalities on the right track and put together some incredibly impressive defensive game plans. This year, he has another rookie PG to worry about along with a roster full of motivated guys with a ton of talent, but many who want the ball. Coach Layton will be under some pressure to figure out how to get Dat Boy Shotz and BallLikeSeem enough touches, but this team should have no problems scoring the ball.

Season 2 Team MVP: Yusuf_Scarbz

BP would probably be the guy, but he’s not on the team anymore and Yusuf_Scarbz put up one of the best defensive seasons in 2KL history. He was a member of the All-Defensive NBA 2K League team and was arguably the best pick and roll defender in the entire league. He led all Power Forwards in blocks and was 2nd among all big men in that category as well. In a season with plenty of talented PFs on defense, Yusuf stood out in a big way. Also, he was 34/51 from 3-point range for a stunning 66.7% shooting percentage, tops for either PF or C.

Best Stat From Season 2: 52.3% 3-point shooting

The 2nd best 3-point shooting team in the league, it wasn’t just BP who could make it rain from the perimeter, it was the whole team. BallLikeSeem put up 3s at nearly a 50% clip and Yusuf_Scarbz, as mentioned above, shot 66.7% from three for the season. Now, obviously things are going to change with BP on his way out and three new players entering the starting five, but if Yusuf can keep that percentage up and Seem can improve on his with more opportunities this season, the Kings are going to have a fun offense to watch.

Offseason Moves:

Trades Made:

Hawks Talon GC

1. Acquired: Dat Boy Shotz + 2020 1st & 2nd round picks
2. Traded Away: BP + 2nd & 4th round picks

Draft Picks:

3. Crush
17. Bash
26. Nasthetic

Across sports, it’s nearly impossible to receive fair value for a star and be able to sustain success instantly after they leave, basketball especially. Usually, the picks don’t work out or one of the players included in the trade doesn’t fit, really anything can go wrong. But every so often, a team nails it and gets not only a fair return, but gets the pieces back to be as good as they were before. Enter Kings Guard Gaming. Turning BP into Dat Boy Shotz, Bash, and Nasthetic is a terrific outcome and one that may define the Kings season. Let’s focus on the rookies and get to where Shotz fits in the lineup in a second. Crush was the best wing in the draft. You can parse all the stats you want, but between interviews, pro-am play, and the combine, it would’ve been shocking to see any wing taken ahead of him. He should instantly turn into one of the best 2-way players in the league and a key cog on a team that didn’t have that kind of guy last season. Bash is a fine pick at PG, especially at #17 overall. He’s a west-coast player and has been in the scene for a couple of years now. He can score and play some decent defense as well. His passing skills are what stuck out when re-watching his games. He loves to move the ball and get guys on the perimeter involved, his combination with Crush and BallLikeSeem will be a fascinating one to watch this season. Nasthetic is a lesser-known guy, but might already be one of the better 6th men in the league. He can play either guard spot and could spell Bash at PG if he hits a rookie wall or just doesn’t work out.

Projected Lineup:

PG: Bash
SG: Seemo (BallLikeSeem)
SF: Crush
PF: Yusuf_Scarbz
C: Dat Boy Shotz
6th Man: Nasthetic

Stacked. In a matter of weeks, Kings Guard Gaming went from a team with a ton of question marks to very few. A great mix of veterans and rookies, Kings Guard Gaming enters the season with an extremely strong starting five. This team, on paper, can do it all. They should shoot well from the inside or perimeter, defend the paint, lock down point guards, efficiently play pick and roll offense, and much more. Let’s go piece by piece. Dat Boy Shotz has been dominant at Center during 2K20 and will be manning the spot for the first time in his league career. Defensively, he may struggle at first, but his abilities as a post scorer and as a distributor should add so many cool facets to this Kings offense. Even if he does struggle defensively, Yusuf is going to make up for a lot of his problems and should be the head of the snake of their pick and roll defense again this season. Going further up the wing, Crush is going to be put on an island this season to defend point guards of all skill levels. His ability to pickpocket and start fast breaks with turnovers is a small part of his ever-improving game, but will be put on display week after week for his team. He can also shoot extremely well from the corner, so when teams drop to cover Bash, Crush will be right there to make them pay. The backcourt is going to be the key for this entire team. Seemo gets another chance of making things work with a rookie point guard and Bash is not the kind of player that needs the level of usage that BP required last season. Their relationship will be key for this team. If the two of them can develop some good chemistry, it could vault Kings Guard Gaming from dark horse to legitimate contender. Nashetic is a quality 6th man for a team that may need some electric scoring off the bench.

Season 3 Breakout Candidate: Seemo

Seemo is one of the most talented sharps in the entire league but has never had a chance to truly show off his skills. He was with Mavs Gaming Season 1 and even though he didn’t reach that top tier of sharps, he shot 64.2% from the floor. He only had eight shot attempts a game, so the season was a bit of a wash. Season 2 was similar. Only nine shot attempts per game and with a tough league build shooting-wise, he dropped to 48% shooting from the floor. For perspective, a sharp like Bsmoove gets over 13 shot attempts per game, so the gap is pretty large. This season, it’s set up for him to succeed. A PG who loves to pass, a fellow wing player who’s a good enough shooter to attract attention, a great shooting PF and one of the best post scorers in the league manning Center, the stars are aligned for Seemo, opportunity wise. If things go according to plan, we could see “The Leap” coming from Seemo.

Season Outlook: From Dark Horse to Stallion

Kings Guard Gaming gets the official stamp as the “dark horse contender” for Season 3. This team is deep with talent, experience, basketball IQ, good coaching, and versatility. Their front court should be awesome, Yusuf and Dat Boy Shotz is an excellent combination down low and they should play off each other very well. Crush is going to be Crush and if that backcourt can score, this team should be one of the best two-way groups in the league. They don’t have any massive personalities and all of them are very mature and smart players that should vibe well off the court. If this team hits their stride, there simply aren’t many teams that can match their talent level. If Seemo takes the leap, Kings Guard Gaming may be your Season 3 champions. On the flip side, sometimes you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone. Elite point guards are tough to come by in the league, no better example than the price tag that was on BP. For all the talent that you bring back, you no longer have BP. His insane dribbling skills, 3-point shooting and playmaking is not something you can pick up off the street, and it may just be too big of a loss to overcome. Overall, a couple of things going their way could be the difference between making the Finals and missing the playoffs entirely. In an extremely competitive and balanced league, it’ll be the little things that make the biggest difference. Everything is set up for this team to be one of the best we have in Season 2, but games are won on the court, not on paper.