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The NBA2K tournament featuring actual NBA players—a de facto replacement for the suspended NBA season—begins today. Portland Trail Blazers center Hassan Whiteside is one of the competitors, but according to Rodger Sherman of The Ringer, he’s among the longest shots on the board to win.
Sherman detailed the odds for, and history of, the competitors in an article today.
Oddsmakers initially gave Whiteside the longest odds in the tournament despite the fact that Whiteside has been known as a 2K player for the same amount of time that he’s been known as a quality NBA player. After journeying through stints in the then-D-League, China, and Lebanon, Whiteside emerged as a budding NBA star with a 14-point, 13-rebound, 12-block triple-double in January 2015—and joked in his postgame interview that he’d been motivated to perform on the court so 2K’s team would finally boost his in-game player rating.
Like Ayton, Whiteside has popped up to play 2K against randos online, though his 49-36 record in that linked video is a lot less impressive than Ayton’s nearly 1,100 wins.
Sherman also runs down Trae Young, Kevin Durant, and several other contenders.
If you want to watch the tournament, ESPN is your hookup.
How to watch:
The NBA 2K20 Player Tournament will begin on Friday, April 3 with a half-hour preshow at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN. The tournament will continue on ESPN until 8:30 p.m. and then will transition to ESPN2 until 11:30 p.m.
The tournament will continue on Sunday, April 5, from 12-4 p.m. ET on ESPN2. The quarterfinals will be on Tuesday, April 7, from 7-11 p.m. ET, also on ESPN2. And the semifinals and finals will be on Saturday, April 11, on ESPN, with the time yet to be determined.
All games will be available as VODs on ESPN3 following live competition.