GAME ON: From left, gamers Dan Davis, Everald German, and Andrew Valle at the NBA 2K League draft.
Photo by Trey Pentecost
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COURIER L 20 IFE, MARCH 15–21, 2019 M BR B G
APY2
BY COLIN MIXSON
Video killed the basketball
star!
The country’s best buttonmashing
virtual ballers travelled
to the Barclays Center in
Prospect Heights on March 5,
hoping to fi nd a spot with the
National Basketball Association’s
professional e-sports
league. The draft session for
the video-game version of the
sport, where the hopes and
dreams of gamers from across
the country were made — and
broken — was the end-point
of a months-long process that
whittled down 7,000 players
to 75 top-level performers,
according to one who didn’t
make the cut.
“I’m extremely bummed
out,” said New Jersey resident
Justin Howell.
The NBA 2K League, which
plays out on digital courts via
this year’s edition of the wildly
popular sports game NBA 2K,
kicked off its fi rst season last
year. In the league game, each
gamer controls one basketball
player, playing on fi ve-person
teams that correspond with 21
of the 30 franchises that comprise
the nation’s National
Basketball League — including
the Brooklyn Nets, which
joined the roster for the virtual
league’s second season.
Players who applied for the
pro-gaming league were required
to play in 100 virtual
games, and to win at least half
of them to enter a grueling fi -
nal competition, during which
players were judged based on a
variety of statistics, including
their win percentage and general
stats familiar to any basketball
fans, such as points, rebounds,
and assists.
Qualifying players were
whittled down to 150 candidates,
who stood dazzled inside
the big-city arena on as
they waited anxiously for
their favorite teams to call
their name.
“It was amazing,” said
Howell. “The whole experience
was really cool.”
Maryland resident Dan Davis,
19, who played for the Memphis
Grizzlies NBA 2K club
last year, was overjoyed to be
picked once again by the Grizzlies
and signed to another sixmonth
contract, saying that the
whole experience has been like
something out of a dream.
“It’s defi nitely a surreal
feeling,” he said.
Davis will join 74 other
draft picks and a handful
of veterans from last year’s
league in moving from his
home to league-sponsored
digs located near the teams
they represent. The new teammates
will endure a training
routine not unlike their proballer
counterparts, including
practices and fi lm sessions,
where they will review plays
from past games to understand
what works and what
doesn’t, according to a rep for
the league.
The 18-week 2019 season
will begin April 2. The games
will be streamed online for
fans, and the season will conclude
with a fi nals game on
Aug. 3, during which players
will strive to win more than
$1 million spread out amongst
four tournament prizes, according
to Davis.
Game time!
Virtual basketball league
drafts players at Barclays
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