Desperate for a method to reach fans throughout the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the NBA is attempting something brand-new: A players-only video game tournament in between star players transmitted on ESPN.
The competition, which starts Friday, is a nothing-to-lose endevor for the league with the real-life NBA season on hold. Sixteen competitors, consisting of Kevin Durant and Trae Young, will square off on “NBA 2K20” in a 4-round bracket.
MORE: TELEVISION information, schedule for the Players Tournament
The NBA maybe saw the current introduction of eNASCAR throughout the pandemic as motivation to jump headfirst into a TELEVISION event of its own. Over the past 3 weeks, NASCAR has had its drivers fighting on the simulator “iRacing” in a series broadcast on Fox and FS1. Early viewership returns paint it as a smashing success.
NBA players are likewise accustomed to hanging around on the sticks, typically streaming video games by themselves time.
There’s reward for this competition, too. Here’s the benefit breakdown for declaring the first- ever Players Tournament:
“NBA 2K” Players Tournament prize money
The NBA gamer that wins the tournament will declare $100,000 to contribute to a coronavirus-related charity of his option.
While players will not pocket earnings of their own for winning, they do declare boasting rights and possibly hardware to show athome If there is a trophy, nevertheless, it much better be sterilized numerous times prior to being shipped.
Which charities will get contributions?
This will depend on the winner of the competition, as each gamer has his own organization chose.
It will be an especially significance prize for players thinking about how close COVID-19 has actually cut in the NBA neighborhood. 2 “NBA 2K” competitors, in reality, checked favorable for the coronavirus prior to making full healings (Donovan Mitchell and Kevin Durant).
NBA 2K Players Tournament entry list
Below is the list of individuals and their seeds in the tournament, which are identified by in-game gamer ranking and real-life NBA period.
Seed | Gamer | Score |
1. | Kevin Durant | 96 |
2. | Trae Young | 90 |
3. | Hassan Whiteside | 87 |
4. | Donovan Mitchell | 87 |
5. | Devin Booker | 86 |
6. | Andre Drummond | 85 |
7. | Zach LaVine | 85 |
8. | Montrezl Harrell | 85 |
9. | Domantas Sabonis | 85 |
10 | Deandre Ayton | 85 |
11 | DeMarcus Cousins | 81 |
12 | Michael Porter Jr. | 81 |
13 | Rui Hachimura | 79 |
14 | Patrick Beverley | 78 |
15 | Harrison Barnes | 78 |
16 | Derrick Jones Jr. | 78 |
What virtual teams will the players be utilizing?
Prior To the tournament begins, each gamer chooses their own 8-team swimming pool from which they’re enabled to utilize. Teams can’t be re-used by a gamer; for example, Kevin Durant might just play as the Nets as soon as prior to proceeding to his other 7 options.