Note: Rux previously played for Pistons GT and Mavs Gaming in the NBA 2K League
Content time. Draft grades don’t mean much but it’s a great first content piece to kick off the third year of the NBA 2K League.
I’ll be grading each team’s draft based on how they did filling team needs in the spots they had in the draft. Raw skill will of course be a factor, but a lot of this will be based on chemistry and team fit.
The amount of picks will also play a role in grading: if you only had a few picks and hit on the draft, to me that shouldn’t be graded as high as having four or five picks and hitting on your selections e.g. if you have two picks and hit on them, the highest I’d personally go is B+, whereas if you have four or more picks and hit on them I’d start venturing into A- and beyond. To me it is just more impressive to have a good draft with more picks, as with less picks the majority of your work is already on your team.
Let’s get to it!
76ers GC
Drafted: USERPICK, 3rd round; TuckerLocksUp, 4th round
Grade: B-
Safe to say 76ers GC are bringing back the winning formula.
They needed to fill a hole that was left after not bringing back a two-year veteran with the team, Newdini, and have a great fit in Userpick. User will get you stops and if he can shoot anything like last year, he is as consistent as anyone at the lock position as a shooter. He was one of the few locks last year that didn’t have a rim-protecting sharpshooter behind him in the pick and roll defense and now he will have arguably the best defensive 4 with him there, Breadwinner. User will fit in seamlessly to their well-built structure.
Next they took Tucker who will fit in well personality-wise. 76ers GC has a track record over the last two years of not really needing to use their sixth player so it’s hard to say what they should pick to fit any team needs, so why not pick a good locker room guy that’ll get along with everyone and already has years of experience in the league? When you are always in contention, you can have that luxury to pick pretty much whoever you want.
76ers GC of course bring back Radiant, Steez and Scretty giving them a unique title as the only team to have the same point guard-center duo and same backcourt all three seasons. I’m a firm believer in chemistry mixed with talent going a long way. That’s why my way-too-early pick for MVP this year is Radiant. I don’t see how 76ers GC aren’t again one of the most prominent teams contending in every tournament and playoffs.
Blazer5 Gaming
Drafted: Hood, 2nd round; OOC Slim, 4th round
Grade: B-
When you have not one but two MVPs on your team, it doesn’t really matter how you draft. You’ll be in contention no matter what. This team needed a power forward/shooting guard/scorer and they addressed those needs perfectly.
When you think of B5 you think of the goofiness, the vibes, and all of that. So they went out and got a long-time buddy that fits that system not only off the court but on the court in Hood. He’s already shown he can score with the best of them even with a down year last year, but all B5 has been missing is having that consistency of having guys in the corner that’ll fill the bar, that can make a play when needed and take some pressure off Mama offensively. They got that in both Hood and Slim.
Over the next month leading to the Tipoff they have options for lineups they can lab with, something I don’t think they had much of in the past. Hood can easily play shooting guard or power forward, Slim can easily play lock or power forward, Majestic can easily play shooting guard or power forward, and Lavish showed this offseason he can easily not only play lock but make plays as a power forward. B5 having this ability to change around lineups to get the right one, having playmakers outside of the obvious and just bringing in more guys that fit their locker room, means they can have another run at the regular season title and more.
With only two picks and it being for mostly role positions, it’s hard to go higher on the grade even though they hit on both picks getting guys that should fit in really well.
Bucks Gaming
Drafted: Regg, 1st round; Squidris, 2nd round; TDJ, 3rd round; ChaChing, 4th round
Grade: B+
Bucks Gaming’s most glaring weakness last season was a lack of a point guard to the point where they essentially played 4-on-5 every game. It was that bad.
Their fortunes changed for the better this season when someone who was regarded as possibly the first overall pick slipped to them at 12th overall in Regg. The duo of Regg and ARooks should be as good as any backcourt in the league and is just what Bucks Gaming needed.
Squidris can play lock, power forward or center, which gives the team options. I expect to see him first at lock and then have TDJ, whom the Bucks drafted in the third round, play power forward. This gives Bucks Gaming the full competitive five they were missing last season as they set their sights on making the organization’s first-ever playoff appearance.
For a sixth player, they took ChaChing in the fourth round. He gives them some options at lock and power forward but will also do a great job helping the coaching staff on top of being a great teammate. Bucks Gaming will make big strides this season, making some tournament runs and finding themselves in the playoffs at the end.
Cavs Legion GC
Drafted: JoshJay, 4th round
Grades: C
Cavs Legion selected JoshJay, who has experience playing with everyone on the roster and seems to fit the team mold of being a team guy, willing learner and having good vibes.
He mainly plays shooting guard but has shown he can play as a ball-handler as well. JoshJay fits everything the team was looking for off the court, but I would have taken a point guard here if I were the Cavs. Doza is the X-factor for this team: as he goes, so will the rest of Cavs Legion. This team is built very similar to Kings Guard Gaming with how they have all the pieces and will just be dependent on how the point guard plays for how far they can go.
The Cavs have oLarry and Godddof2k once again in their pick and roll defense, AllHailTrey playing power forward, and Strainer at shooting guard. The defense is there: the Cavs are one of the best in the league at translating their scrimmage defense to the stage. They just have to find ways to put the ball in the hoop, and a large factor for that will be Doza. If he can play at least at his season one level, I foresee playoffs. If we get the season two version of Doza, however, Cavs Legion will have to depend on their great team defense to get them deeper in tournaments and into the playoffs this year.
Celtics Crossover Gaming
Drafted: Tooxcool, 4th round
Grade: D
This grade has nothing to do with Tooxcool as a player and everything to do with the trade that happened.
CLTX Gaming traded up two spots in the fourth round and sent next season’s third-round pick to Blazer5 Gaming. What’s the big problem? Under the current player protection rules, the Celtics will only be able to protect two players instead of three heading into next year’s expansion draft, putting them at big risk to lose one of their best players after this season.
The good news for CLTX Gaming though is after this season there will be a new NBA collective bargaining agreement, which means the rule can change. But when your star player Fab stresses wanting to keep this team together, it is not a good thing to have this on his mind for the better part of the year.
Anyways, CLTX Gaming has always had tournament success. Last year they were able to turn that success into regular-season success and make the playoffs for the first time but were bounced out in the semifinals. Fab along with three other starters, Mel East, Bulley and NOxAUTOGRAPHS, return from that season two team and once again look to be one of the most competitive teams in the league. Tooxcool is a great center as a sixth player, someone that has been friends with all of CLTX Gaming for a long time and should fit in quite well, but at what cost? We will find out after the season.
Gen.G Tigers of Shanghai
Drafted: ShiftyKaii, 1st round; Deadeye, 1st round; X I Kno Killeyy, 2nd round; Gen, 2nd round; Luck_Yi_Wesley 4th round
Grade: C
Gen.G selected ShiftyKaii with its first selection, arguably the best player in this draft and someone who will be good in the league. Next, GenG picked Deadeye to round out its point guard-center tandem. Deadeye has been in the competitive scene for many years but hasn’t made much noise in more recent years. It will be interesting to see if he is able to find the form he once was at.
In the second round Gen.G drafted point guard X I Kno Killey and sharpshooter Gen. X I Kno Killey had an amazing offseason, winning titles left and right and leaving little doubt that he would be picked this year. With X I Kno Killey and ShiftyKaii on the team, we’ll see where they settle in and which one will end up playing point guard and which will play shooting guard. Gen mostly plays sharp, so I’m not sure where he’ll fit in, I’m assuming they will try him at the 4 since there is an opening there.
With its last pick, Gen.G went with Luck_Yi_Wesley, who has participated in both years of the league’s Asia-Pacific (APAC) tournament. He was the first player to be picked from China and is predominantly a center. It’s noteworthy that Luck_Yi_Wesley specified, after his first time at the APAC tournament, that he needed to improve his English to give himself a better shot at the league, and he did so impressively in a year’s time. Another thing to note is that it has previously taken a very long time for overseas players to get into the market in the past, such as with Jaacko and Pistons GT last season. We’ll see if that’s the case here again and, if so, what kind of impact it will have on the team.
Gen.G will only be successful if both ShiftyKaii and X I Kno Killeyy play at an elite level.
Grizz Gaming
Drafted: Jrod, 3rd round; Lav, 3rd round
Grade: C-
Grizz Gaming went with sharps Jrod and Lav in the third round, the former returning to Memphis and the latter coming from NetsGC. It’s hard to see how this improves the team from last year.
They clearly liked what they saw at the end of the season but that isn’t enough. They need to start advancing in tournaments and making the playoffs. In two seasons we’ve yet to see Grizz Gaming in even the second round of a tournament. That’s not good, in fact it’s actually really bad.
They have some great pieces on their roster, and trading for Goofy is big as he has experience winning and has had a great 2K20 leading into season three. Vandi is a good point guard that really got things going as the season went on. Grizz Gaming will need that from the start. DDouble has shown to be a consistent lock in the league and with Goofy in town now, we’ll have to see where AA ends up, either at power forward or shooting guard as he can pretty much play anything.
We’ll find out soon enough if adding Goofy was enough to get Grizz Gaming over their putrid tourney woes and help lead them to their first playoff appearance.
Hawks Talon GC
Drafted: Lee, 1st round; Kel, 2nd round; FollowTHEGOD, 3rd round; Arkele, 4th round
Grade: D+
This team, more than any other squad, needs its point guard to shine. With Hawks Talon’s first pick they went with Lee who, after making the move from center to power forward, will now seemingly be transitioning back to center. This was a surprise pick to many, considering other centers that were on the board, but Lee will get the chance to prove critics wrong; I don’t even see any other big man on this roster. Hawks Talon scouts clearly saw something they really liked in Lee’s play at the 4 that made them think he can go back to center.
Next, the team drafted Kel who is usually a shooting guard but showed in the league last year (playing first for Magic Gaming before a mid-season trade to Grizz Gaming) that he can also play power forward. In the third round Hawks Talon got their lock, nabbing FollowTHEGOD. He competed on PS4 for the last few years and will look to make his mark in his first season.
With their last pick the team went with Arkele, who like Kel, is from Atlanta, so there is some homegrown talent on this roster. It will be interesting to see if Arkele can find himself a starting spot at shooting guard or elsewhere in the lineup.
I don’t see this team having much success unless some moves are made or everyone plays at their maximum potential. BP will have a lot on his shoulders this season, but that’s just the way he likes it.
Heat Check Gaming
Drafted: Glennratty7688, 1st round; Shiftay, 1st round; Delusion_HD, 2nd round; King Peroxide, 3rd round; Deedz, 3rd round
Grade: A-
After a very unforgiving season two for Heat Check Gaming, they brought back only Hotshot and set their eyes on what they hoped would be a big draft.
They did a great job in going this route and it will pay off for them big time. With their first pick they locked up their point guard-center duo in getting Glennratty7688, who has competed at an extremely high level for years in Pro-Am. He should give Heat Check the point guard they have been searching for over the better part of two seasons. He can do a little bit of everything, but most importantly he will certainly be able to put the ball in the hoop.
Next, Heat Check traded up and made one of the best picks in the draft, selecting Shiftay at 13th overall. A lot of people talk about Crush being the best lock in the draft, but Shiftay is just as good. Shiftay wreaks havoc defensively and isn’t afraid to make a play offensively when he has the ball, a great thing to have in the corners.
In the second round, Heat Check went with Delusion_HD. I admittedly don’t know the most about Delusion_HD, as he came onto the competitive scene within the last year. As I searched through tape on him and looked through social media, however, two things stood out to me: Delusion_HD can put the ball in the hoop at a high level and also loves shoes, two things I know Famous likes.
With Heat Check’s last two picks they went with King Peroxide and Deedz back-to-back, giving them options at power forward and a further veteran presence for the team.
I’d love to see this Heat Check team really focus on offense, putting Glennratty7688, Delusion_HD and King Peroxide on the best scoring builds available and letting Shiftay and Hotshot worry about most of the defense. Defense is a team thing, but having Shiftay and Hotshot in pick and roll defense together makes everything else so much easier for the rest of the team, and also gives them a lot of chances to have strong transition offense.
I’m excited to see what Heat Check ends up devising, and fully expect this to be a bounce-back year for the organization.
Hornets Venom GT
Drafted: Expose, 1st round; Snubby, 1st round; Zae, 1st round; Trap, 2nd round; Gliz, 4th Round
Grade: B
Hornets Venom GT went into the entry draft with three picks in the opening round, their first selection being Expose, a player who took the game by storm post-draft, to solidify their point guard-center duo with Type also on the roster.
Next, the team completed its backcourt, picking up Snubby. This was the best pick of their draft. Expect Snubby to be one of the best shooting guards in the league right away. Side note, this is the nicest backcourt in the league, as in they are good people. It’s a good thing too because whether they like it or not this team is quite literally stuck together as they have zero trades left.
The team finished off their first-round picks getting ZaeBucks who won the Mavs Gaming tournament. Expect him and their fourth-round pick, Gliz, to have a good competition for the power forward spot.
Their lock this year will Trap who has teamed with Expose for years and is a formidable lock. He is another one of those guys that everyone says is a great teammate. Of the two expansion teams, this one has the best chance to make some noise, we’ll see what they have for us in their first season in the league.
Jazz Gaming
Drafted: Splashy, 1st round; GetonMyLevel41, 2nd round; Lord Beezus, 4th round
Grade: B+
With Compete making an apparent move to lock, ball-handling duties will be handed over to Splashy, this year’s first-round pick. Splashy has been competing on PS4 for the last few years and can dribble with the best of them.
After getting their point guard, Jazz Gaming turned to finish up their backcourt and snagged GetOnMyLevel. He burst onto the competitive Pro-Am scene during post-draft in 2018 with his twin brother Expose, and now both will undertake their rookie campaigns this season. This is a solid, young backcourt, and like so many teams the guard play will decide how well they do this year.
To finish off their draft, Jazz Gaming went with Lord Beezus who is predominantly a center but can also play power forward. Their star player, season two first-overall pick Ria, is also a center, so I don’t see where Lord Beezus will fit unless there is another post-scorer-type build where Ria can slide down to the 4 and Beezus can play center. I was surprised by the lack of acknowledgment of how well Ria played his rookie season and expect him to be mentioned with the best of the best centers this season. It will be interesting to see where everyone fits: for now, I see Compete at lock and Lotty at power forward or vice versa.
Jazz Gaming will have the next month to try and figure it out as Lotty and the rest of the team hope Splashy can go “super saiyan” and get their team to the next level, making playoffs and going on deep tournament runs.
Kings Guard Gaming
Drafted: Crush, 1st round; Bash, 1st round; Nasthetic, 2nd round
Grade: B
If you are wondering why a lock was picked so high in a draft loaded with point guards, you obviously didn’t watch much Pro-Am this offseason because at one point or another, Crush boxed just about all of them. He took Pro-Am by storm this year, winning just about everything there is to win.
Kings Guard didn’t just pick Crush because of how obviously good he is, they had to be pretty confident a point guard they liked would drop to them later that round, and that ended up being Bash. Bash is the X-factor for this team. He is a West Coast player and for those that don’t know, the delay on 2K for West Coast players can be unplayable more times than not. Standing out being a comp point guard from that region takes a lot of skill and patience. We’ll see how much better he can be without that delay.
After taking Bash, Kings Guard rounded out their draft picking Nasthetic, a point guard that showed promise on retail this year competing on PS4.
To me, this team has all of the pieces, but if you watched the first two seasons of the league, tournament and playoff success lives and dies by the point guard. If one of Bash or Nasthetic can step up and even just be around a top-12 point guard in the league, this team can and will beat anyone. Giving them a “B” and not a higher grade was hard, if Bash or Nasthetic perform it’s instantly an “A”. This grade is one I bounced back and forth on a lot because I can’t stress how important point guards are to a team’s success.
Knicks Gaming
Drafted: Duck, 1st round; CantGuardRob, 1st round; BigRiM, 2nd round; NIKO, 2nd round
Grade: A
There wasn’t a better draft this year than right here. Knicks Gaming was one of the worst teams in season two, and even though you can’t win games just through the draft, you can definitely set yourself up to lose. With this draft, the Knicks definitely put themselves in a position to succeed.
They started by picking Duck with the second overall pick. Duck had about as good of an offseason as you possibly could, sweeping multiple WR seasons and winning many other tournaments. One of his teammates from the off-season, NIKO (formerly known as Truth), is also joining Duck in New York as he was picked in the second round.
Along with the former Greatness players, Knicks Gaming drafted CantGuardRob, who was considered arguably the best big man in the draft, and BigRim, who can play both lock and power forward at a high level. I can easily see them having those four starting alongside Malik this season, but I don’t want to write off Hazza so quickly. I expect them to lab some things during the preseason and we’ll see what sticks come Tipoff Tournament time.
This will be a much more competitive Knicks Gaming team than last season.
Lakers Gaming
Drafted: SAV, 1st round; Tactuk, 2nd round; Dweq, 3rd round
Grade: B+
I really like the way Lakers Gaming drafted this year. They now have a top-of-the-line point guard in SAV, who is another West Coast player expected to be better without the West Coast online delay. He’s been able to score with the best of them on retail and it will be fun to see if that translates to the league.
In the second round, Lakers Gaming found a lockdown in Tactuk, who has a great story of going from coach to player. He has been a really good lock the last few years and will play well in the league.
With their third-round pick, the Lakers picked Dweq, mostly a point guard on retail, who figures to step in and compete with Kev for the starting shooting guard spot. I expect this to be the best season record-wise for Mooty and Vert—there’s no reason to have another poor season if they can step up and play well.
If Lakers Gaming is able to have a good regular season this year, SAV will be a strong candidate to win rookie of the year.
Magic Gaming
Drafted: Profusion, 2nd round; djbama, 4th round
Grade: B
Going into the draft, Magic Gaming really only needed to fill a hole at shooting guard and they were able to do that by selecting Profusion. Profusion was easily a top-three shooting guard not only in the draft but from the first two seasons in the league. He can shoot as well as anyone, has some of the best off-ball movement and plays defense. This was another perfect pick.
Having as solid a five as anyone in the league, Magic Gaming could have easily taken anyone in the fourth round. They could potentially have taken a player who isn’t as skilled but is a cool dude. They decided not to go that route—I give them a ton of props for that—instead picking DJBama, who has been competing at a high level in Pro-Am for a long time. He has mostly played point guard, which means he can easily play shooting guard if needed but can also give Reizey a break from scrims, stepping in almost seamlessly.
This team will get over their near-playoff woes and not only make playoffs but be serious contenders.
Mavs Gaming
Drafted: Sleetys, 2nd round; Spartan, 4th round
Grade: C+
Mavs Gaming obviously felt like they have a lot of the right pieces but just needed a little more to solidify themselves at the top, so they went out and got Sleetys, who has been competing with Dimez for a long time.
Sleetys was a monster in 2K18 but after being disappointed about not making season one took more of a step back until this year where he played a lot with Dimez and others. If he can get back to that 2K18 form this could go very well for MavsGG as he will already have off-court chemistry with Dimez, something that is really big for this team’s success.
With their fourth-round pick MavsGG went with Spartan, and you could tell how much being picked meant to him. One of my favorite parts of the draft is seeing the guys’ reactions when they get picked, especially the later round guys. The genuine joy is great to see. Spartan competed in a lot of tournaments this year on PS4 and really picked up speed advancing far in tournaments the closer the draft came.
Last year the Mavs went with the same lineup most of the year and never really changed things up. It will be interesting to see if they go with that plan again or if they decide to lab more lineups, especially during the month prior to the Tipoff. They have multiple guys that can play a ball-handler position with Sherm, Mo and Dimez. Sherm showed this year in Pro-Am that he can be a ball-handler. Will the Mavs utilize this or will we see him at lock again?
The team made playoffs for the first time last season and while that will be the goal again, their biggest goal is to have tournament success and try to get the organization its first finals appearance in tournament play.
NetsGC
Drafted: Choc DF, 1st round; Randomz, 2nd round; Potts, 3rd round
Grade: C
A big question heading into the draft was whether or not the team felt that Wavy was their point guard. We got the answer when they drafted Choc in the first round. I expect to see Choc at the 1, but NetsGC also has the option of sticking with Wavy there and putting Choc on a slasher at power forward. Choc has had a long journey to get to this point, but it’s hard to argue that anyone has had a better 2K20 than him. He was the first Legend, like he said he would be, he gained over 100,000 subscribers on YouTube and he made the 2K League.
Next, NetsGC got their lock in Randomz, about whom I’ve heard great things. There aren’t many, if any, weak point guards in the league anymore, so I see having a good lock being more important than in past seasons. We’ll see if Randomz can be the top lock this team needs.
NetsGC closed out their draft by picking Potts in the third round. Potts is someone about whom everyone seems to have an opinion. Whether you love him or hate him, you can’t deny the work he put in this year in logging as many hours on the game as anyone. If Choc takes over the point guard role like I expect to see Potts become the starting 4, with Rando and Shuttles both staying put at their respective positions. Once they find a lineup they like, I don’t see them changing it up much as last year they played position roulette week in and week out and were never able to find their groove.
The vibes are there for this team but we’ll see if they are able to translate it into wins.
Pacers Gaming
Drafted: BOHIO-, 1st round; Jomar-12PR, 2nd round; Bobby Buckets, 4th round
Grade: C-
Does Pacers Gaming finally have the point guard it has searched for over the first two seasons?
Cody Parrent certainly feels like he does after selecting BOHIO- with the fourth overall pick in the draft. BOHIO- has been playing point guard on PS4 at a high level for the past few years. His team did well coming into the draft, which helped boost his stock.
Next, Pacers Gaming went with Jomar-12PR, who recently won $250,000 in the NBA 2K MyTeam tournament. Jomar has mostly played sharp in the league, spending the last two years with Blazer5 Gaming, but on retail he has played a lot of center, which it looks like he could be playing this season for the first time in the league. We’ll see how he compares to the rest of the centers this year.
With their last pick, the team went with Bobby Buckets, who started to make some noise playing power forward this year. He plays good defense out of the corner and he’d better be giving people buckets if he wants to live up to his name. It seems they will have Nate play lock and Wolf at power forward but that figures to be interchangeable. Each player drafted has very high character, a clear draft focus for Pacers Gaming.
This team should have good defense but scoring may be an issue once again. A lot of things will have to go right for them to have the same success they had last season.
Pistons GT
Drafted: Charger, 1st round; LYKaPRO, 3rd round
Grade: B+
With Ramo returning and the team trading for Demon JT, it made sense for Pistons GT to take Charger at 14. Charger is a great power forward and if you ask anyone that has played with him the past five-plus years he is one of the best teammates in the community. This gives PistonsGT one of the best big man tandems in the league.
Where PistonsGT went with their next pick is what really helped them: grabbing LYKaPRO in the third round. LYKaPRO had a great offseason, competing and winning many tournaments. He hasn’t had the most league success but I think a big factor for that is you never get to see him play point guard the whole time.
I think it would be smart for Pistons GT to give LYKaPRO the keys right away, have JT at shooting guard who is one of the best at guarding off-ball sharps, and figure out whether Joseph the Truth, DevGoss or a trade target is the best fit at lock. They will have about a month to figure that out, but they couldn’t have done a better job this draft and should go from worst team in the league to right in the mix, as it appears Ramo finally has what he’s wanted the last two seasons: the keys to a team.
Raptors Uprising GC
Drafted: Timelycook, 1st round; Wuan, 2nd round; Reece, 2nd round; Legit 973, 3rd round
Grade: B
Raptors Uprising started by picking up Timelycook, which is what everyone expected. He won $250,000 with Kenny three years ago and he fills their need at lock. Timely is coming off a year suspended away from the league and the question is will we see the Timely of old, who was regarded as the best lockdown in the game in 2K17.
In the second round, the team picked up its power forward in Wuan and shooting guard in Reece. If you like chemistry, this team has it, as Wuan will join Pro-Am teammate Sick in the frontcourt while Reece will be joining Kenny in the backcourt.
The Raptors’ last pick, Legit 973, is Sick’s younger brother. He can play ball-handler, lock or in the corner, pretty much an ideal sixth player.
This team is another one of those teams that has the mold of a good one and can easily find themselves in the playoffs. Kenny was a top 5-10 player season one of the league but the big question is can he make the leap to becoming one of the best point guards in the league? With a full year of retail under his belt playing point guard, we’ll see how he steps up.
T-Wolves Gaming
Drafted: Big Saint, 1st round; Detoxys 4th round
Grade: B
Expansion team to coach drama to player drama to champions. The T-Wolves Gaming team of season two had it all.
The returning champions return four of their starters from their championship team needing to only fill a hole left at lock after Turnup was taken in expansion. They went with BigSaint to fill that void with their late first-round pick. With BigSaint being the fourth lock taken off the board, you can argue there was maybe a lock or two better in the draft pool but without a doubt, this is the absolute best fit for their team. You can expect him to be loud when makes a big play or his team goes on a big run. You’ll hear him. Bear and the rest of the team will love every second and feed off BigSaint’s energy.
Unlike season one champions Knicks Gaming, this T-Wolves team doesn’t have many, if any holes. They have their star point guard who has proved year after year he is as good as they come, they have a sharp/secondary ball-handler in JMoney that has won the most of anyone the last two years of 2K. They have Feast, a quiet beast who usually lets his game do the talking and an under-the-radar guy in JoJo who climbed the ladder within the team finding himself a role as one of the best pick and pop centers in the league.
When you have the three in Bear, JMoney and Feast, you don’t see them ever needing to leave the court. With this, T-Wolves Gaming went out and got the best pick and pop center on 2K20 retail in Detoxys, which was the perfect pick. He fell to them with the last pick of the draft and they got themselves not only a proven, $250,000 winner, but this pick will push both JoJo and Detoxys to play at a high level as there is only room for one of them to play at center.
They couldn’t have done much better in the draft but when you have a pretty set roster already and only have two picks to fill out role players, it’s hard to give out an “A”. T-Wolves gaming will have lofty expectations for themselves going into season three.
Warriors Gaming Squad
Drafted: Slaughter, 1st round; Matty, 4th round
Grade: B+
Warriors Gaming Squad had a big hole to fill as two-season vet and starting center Type went first overall in the expansion draft.
How did they go about replacing Type? Oh, just by drafting arguably the best center in the draft at pick 20. Pretty sweet deal for them.
With their starting five appearing to be pretty set again they could have gone anywhere with their sixth player pick. They ended up landing on Matty who may have had an up-and-down first season at point guard but if you ever talked to him or asked any of his teammates about him, he is one of the hardest-working and genuinely good guys in this league.
It’ll be interesting to see how they use Matty. Will he find a role as a starter, will he be someone that may not play much but can be a great help with film and stepping in during scrims to play, or can he even be used as a possible trade piece later on to a team that may still be searching for a point guard? We’ll find out soon enough.
Don’t expect anything to slow down this Warriors Gaming team this season, as the only thing that was able to stop them the last 3-4 months of the season was the eventual champions and pretty much taking a month break of the game after securing playoffs, something I don’t see them doing again.
Wizards District Gaming
Drafted: JBM, 1st round; Just Awkward, 2nd round; Newdini, 2nd round; BRICH, 3rd round
Grade: B+
I don’t think anyone was surprised by the selection of JBM in the slightest. He was the obvious choice and part of what made him stand out is that he was keeping up and even outperforming many of the other point guards before the draft without using the best build in the game.
What stands out when JBM plays is his decision-making and how he is able to get the rest of his team involved. He has the ability to call plays for his team and make them work every time. Whether it be a slip, shooting guard off-ball movement, corner backdoor, you name it, he sees the game at an elite level.
Next, Wizards Gaming got their lock, drafting Just Awkward who has been rising through the ranks over the last few years. It will be fun to see how he competes on stage. Then, the team had a few unexpected picks in Newdini and BRICH, not because they don’t deserve to be in the league but because it is hard to work out who goes where after JBM and Dayfri.
Reese showed he can score with the best of them in season two, finishing top-five in scoring, Newdini has experience playing lock and sharp in the league and now this off-season performed well as a ball-handler and BRich is someone that can play ball-handler and off-ball.
Their problem is a good one since they have six very competitive players, but the key to their season is figuring out their lineup sooner rather than later. Too many times you see teams switching stuff up every week and never really being able to catch a groove.
If they are able to find something they like and results in wins early, I can see them going on a run. You know Dayfri is itching for deep tourney runs and his first playoff appearance, and the X-factor for that is getting their lineup right.