How NBA quenched hoop thirst with an eNBA Tournament
In an attempt to quench the thirst of NBA fans, the NBA and 2K organized an eNBA players-only tournament dubbed the NBA 2K Tournament on ESPN. Sixteen NBA players participated including Kevin Durant who has recently recovered from illness.
What is the NBA 2K Tournament?
The NBA 2K tournament is a players-only competitive eNBA tournament created from an NBA 2K esport that was co-founded by the National Basketball Association and Take-Two Interactive in 2017. The 2K League was the first esports league to be operated by a professional sports association in the US. Take-Two Interactive is the parent company of 2K Sports, which is responsible for publishing the NBA 2K video game.
What happened to the normal NBA 2K League 2020 season?
As we well know, the regular professional real-life NBA games have been suspended indefinitely. There has also been an existing gamers’ NBA 2K league since 2017 but that was also called off. NBA and NBA 2K organized a charity players-only tournament to keep NBA fans entertained with e-nba matches. The games were played by real professional NBA players.
Which NBA players participated in the tournament?
Sixteen current and former NBA players participated in the players-only eNBA tournament. The players were Derrick Jones Jr., Kevin Durant, Hassan Whiteside, Deandre Ayton, Patrick Beverley, Michael Porter Jr., Zach LaVine, Donovan Mitchell, Rui Hachimura, Andre Drummond, Trae Young, Montrezl Harrell, Harrison Barnes, Domantas Sabonis, Devin Booker, Michael Porter Jr., and Demarcus Cousins. David Booker won the tournament after defeating Deandre in the finals.
How the players-only tournament was played
The sixteen NBA players were seeded according to their respective player ratings in NBA 2K20 and according to how long they have been in the NBA league. Each player then chose eight teams and used each of the eight teams only once during the entire tournament. The players used Xbox One to play single-elimination matches for two rounds. The semi-finals and finals were played in a best-of-3 format.
Prize money and broadcasting
The eNBA tournament was organized for charity. The winner, Devin Booker, received one hundred thousand dollars to donate to his charity of choice. The prize money was funded by NBA 2K, NBA, and the National Basketball Players Association. Basketball fans enjoyed the tournament on ESPN, NBA’s and NBASK’s Twitch, Facebook and Twitter pages.
Final thoughts
eSports has provided an avenue for fans and sports persons alike to continue enjoying their favorite sports. The NBA 2K Tournament was a great idea to help NBA fans watch some of their favorite players battle it out in an eNBA tournament. It was a thoughtful initiative that helped bring a potential new audience of fans to both eSports and basketball.
NBA 2K should not stop at the conclusion of this tournament. It would be great if they could create a platform where the regular NBA 2K 2020 season can resume and work like how the NBA players-only tournament was played. Esports is providing sports enthusiasts with a new platform to enjoy their favorite sports, which is great. Other sports associations should follow the NBA and 2K path.
