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NBA 2K Players Tournament: Four storylines to follow

Finally, the NBA is back.

Well, sort of.

Sixteen NBA players will compete in an NBA 2K tournament broadcasted on ESPN starting on Friday night, providing the closest thing to basketball we’ve had since the league suspended operations last month amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The winner gets a $100,000 prize to be donated to the charity of their choice to help support coronavirus relief efforts.

[Create a bracket today for the NBA 2K Players tournament on BetMGM. The best bracket will win the $20K grand prize. Sign up now. 21+. Terms apply.]

Here are four storylines to watch.

MIAMI, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 27:  Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors is defended by Derrick Jones Jr. #5 of the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena on February 27, 2019 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Will we see a major upset in the tournament? Derrick Jones Jr. (left) is seeded at the bottom, taking on No. 1 seed Kevin Durant. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

1. How will Kevin Durant fare as the No. 1 seed?

Sure, Kevin Durant’s player in the game has a 96 overall rating. There’s no doubting that he’s good — and a lot of fun to play with.

But does that mean Durant is that great on the sticks?

Not necessarily.

Remember, this is a video game. Just because Durant’s first matchup is against No. 16 Derrick Jones Jr. doesn’t actually mean he has a huge advantage. He could easily find himself in an early hole and knocked out of the tournament before it even gets going.

Durant, though, has plenty of experience playing 2K — and even once traded himself away in the myGM mode simply for the good of the team.

“I done traded me when I got too old ’cause I was making too much money and I wanted to go young,” Durant said in September, via Nets Wire. “So I had to trade me to, like — it wasn’t a team I wanted to go to, personally. But it was what’s best for my organization, just like all these GM’s do in real life.”

If Durant comes into the tournament with that same mindset, he’s likely to perform just fine.

2. DeMarcus Cousins’ unique position

With the NBA on hiatus due to the coronavirus, all of the players in the league have had plenty of time on their hands — especially the ones who had to self-isolate.

It’s more than likely that most, if not all, turned right to 2K, giving them plenty of practice ahead of the tournament.

DeMarcus Cousins, however, may hold a unique advantage.

Cousins was waived by the Los Angeles Lakers in February, and remains unsigned. In fact, he’s the only player in the tournament who doesn’t have a current team to play for.

Without team meetings, practices, travel and more on his plate, Cousins is the only player in the tournament who has had significantly more time to prepare and train for it.

If he used his newfound free time correctly, the six-time All-Star should be in peak 2K form and in position to make a deep run.

[Create a bracket today for the NBA 2K Players tournament on BetMGM. The best bracket will win the $20K grand prize. Sign up now. 21+. Terms apply.]

3. The youth advantage

Generally speaking, younger generations are both better at video games and much more into them as a whole than older generations are.

Though the age gap in the NBA isn’t that big — everyone in the league is within 20 years of each other, more or less — that age gap could come in to play in the tournament.

Kevin Durant and Patrick Beverley are the two oldest players in the tournament at 31, while both Trae Young and Michael Porter Jr. are the youngest at 21. Durant and Beverley, being born in 1988, remember a time in their lives when video games like 2K weren’t around yet, and had to pick it up when they were older. Young and Porter on the other hand, born in 1998, likely don’t even remember a time in their lives when 2K wasn’t around.

Sure, everyone here has plenty of experience playing 2K. The younger players in the tournament, however, started playing the game at a younger age. Down the stretch, that could make all the difference.

4. Complete chaos

Remember, this is a video game.

Actually, let’s get more specific.

This is an NBA video game being played by NBA players. If anybody knows how to succeed at this game, it’s them. No question about it.

Maybe there are some advantages to be had. Maybe the seeding is fairly accurate and will translate well. Or maybe, there will be pure, entertaining chaos with players advancing at random — which would surely help us all get through the sports-less coronavirus pandemic.

If there’s any storyline to root for, it’s this one.

Full matchups and schedule

Players were seeded based on their overall rating in the game. Each player will choose eight different NBA teams to use throughout the tournament on Xbox One. Teams cannot be used twice. If both players want to use the same team, the away team is awarded the first choice.

The first two rounds are single elimination, while both the semifinals and finals will play the best out of 3.

Seed-Player (rating)

1. Kevin Durant (96) vs. 16. Derrick Jones Jr. (78)

2. Trae Young (90) vs. 15. Harrison Barnes (78)

3. Hassan Whiteside (87) vs. 14. Patrick Beverly (78)

4. Donovan Mitchell (87) vs. 13. Rui Hachimura (79)

5. Devin Booker (86) vs. 12. Michael Porter Jr. (81)

6. Andre Drummond (85) vs. 11. DeMarcus Cousins (81)

7. Zach LaVine (85) vs. 10. Deandre Ayton (85)

8. Montrezl Harrell (85) vs. 9 Domantas Sabonis (85)

ROUND 1:

  • Friday, April 3 | 7 p.m. ET

  • Sunday, April 5 | 12 p.m. ET

ROUND 2:

  • Tuesday, April 7 | 7 p.m. ET

SEMIFINALS, FINALS:

  • Saturday, April 11 | Time TBD

[Create a bracket today for the NBA 2K Players tournament on BetMGM. The best bracket will win the $20K grand prize. Sign up now. 21+. Terms apply.]

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