While the Phoenix Suns haven’t made the playoffs over the last decade, two of their players had impressive showings in the inaugural NBA 2K Players Tournament. Unfortunately, there could only be one winner at the end.
It was Devin Booker winning the best-of-three finals series against teammate Deandre Ayton, completing the two-game sweep in a timely fashion. Booker won Game 1, using the Houston Rockets to beat the Los Angeles Lakers by the score of 72-62. In Game 2, he used the Denver Nuggets to beat the Milwaukee Bucks by the score of 74-62.
“Undefeated tournament,” said Booker after winning the tournament. “Thanks to 2K for putting this on. Lots of good competition out here.”
In a follow-up interview with Ronnie 2K, Booker still had plenty of respect for his teammate Ayton. “I knew what Deandre was capable of,” said Booker. “We have played in the past. He’s definitely a gamer.”
With the win, Booker was given $100,000 to donate to a charity (of his choice) helping in the fight against the coronavirus.
Road To The Finals
Earlier in the night, the semifinal matchups took place. Booker beat Montrezl Harrell of the LA Clippers in two games.
In Game 1, Booker used Harrell’s Clippers team against him and won by the score of 68-54. In Game 2, Booker used the Raptors to beat Harrell’s Bucks in a more tightly-contested matchup in the series clincher.
The other semifinal matchup was more entertaining, thanks to the losing participant – Patrick Beverley of the LA Clippers. Beverley, who is one of the NBA’s most notorious trash talkers, brought that same type of passion to the video-game world. Unfortunately, his candor was not enough to make it past Ayton in the round before the finals.
Ayton wound up winning both games of the semifinal round, by using the Brooklyn Nets to beat the Boston Celtics in Game 1 and his own Suns team to beat the Nuggets in Game 2. The most entertaining moment of the tournament came in Game 2 when Ayton used his own character in the game to knock down a three-pointer. Beverley was in complete disbelief.
At a time that we’re all looking for something to turn to for gambling and just sports entertainment in general, the NBA 2K Players Tournament provided us all with a temporary fix. Early on in the tournament, there were leaks that led to some parties knowing the results of games before they were aired on TV. Aside from that aspect, this tournament was a huge success with those of us that tuned in.
In the future, perhaps more of these can be done, and even on a larger scale, if that’s possible.
More Video Fun
At the end of the month, Major League Baseball will begin a 29-game regular-season schedule of MLB’s The Show video game. Apparently, a lot of these games will be played in a short period of time, considering the regular season will begin on April 28. The postseason begins on April 30 and the World Series on May 2.
Each of the 30 MLB teams will have one representative playing on their behalf. Contestants include Blake Snell of the Tampa Bay Rays, Rhys Hoskins of the Philadelphia Phillies and Tommy Kahnle of the New York Yankees. The league champion will get a $25,000 donation to the Boys & Girls Club affiliate in their team’s community.
It’s truly a new world that we have been living in for the last month. However, video games have been among the catalyst options bonding us all together. Even when life finally gets back on track for good, this source of entertainment will still keep doing its job in bonding the people.
