If ever a sport was made for these strange times, e-sports and NBA 2K League is it.
When the Timberwolves' 2K affiliate T-Wolves Gaming won the league title last summer, it did so in front of a foghorn-blowing, cowbell-banging live audience at a New York City-area television studio.
Their 2020 season, scheduled to start last week, has been delayed by the coronavirus pandemic like every other North American pro sports league while those playing were suspended. But games go on, with isolated competitors separated by hundreds of miles, not by 6 mere social-distancing feet.
T-Wolves Gaming split into two three-player teams and competed for $25,000 in a "NBA 2K Three for All Showdown" 3-on-3 online competition. Televised on the league's Twitch and YouTube channels, the games included WNBA players, top female and G League players as well as social-media influencers.
It ends Friday, the same day the NBA and the NBA Players Association tip off a 16-man tournament featuring NBA players.
Participants include top-seeded Kevin Durant, second-seeded Trae Young, fourth-seeded Donovan Mitchell, fifth-seeded Devin Booker, and seventh-seeded Zach LaVine and 11th-seeded DeMarcus Cousins.
They'll compete for the next 12 days in video game competitions televised on ESPN and ESPN2, as well as via ESPN and NBA apps and their social-media channels. The NBA stars will play for $100,000 that will be donated to coronavirus relief efforts. Durant and Derrick Jones Jr., the 16th seed, play first, at 6:30 p.m. Friday on ESPN.
"The majority of what we do as gamers is at home, unless it's at the professional level," T-Wolves Gaming point guard Michael "BearDaBeast23" Key said. "Everybody is in their house right now. They can tune in to the streams. And we're right at home. This couldn't be better for us."
