NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 04: A general view of the NBA 2K League Draft at Madison Square Garden on April 4, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
The third week of the NBA 2k League regular season boasted 14 more games as teams continue to work toward seeding for the midseason tournament, “The Turn” in Las Vegas, but big news somewhat overshadowed the commencement of the week’s games.
On Wednesday, April 24, it was announced that the NBA 2k League and Stance, the official sock provider of the NBA, had reached a similar agreement. Stance would begin providing unique branded socks for all 21 NBA 2k League franchises. The teams’ players will wear them during competitions and their avatars on the virtual court will as well.
❤ + 🏀 (+ 🎮)
Excited to announce our partnership with @NBA2KLeague.
Look for the socks on your favorite players and their in-game avatars.
Hawks Talon GC also snagged its first sponsorship, partnering with The Raynor Group to become the franchise’s official chair provider.
Hawks Talon GCThe chairs that Hawks Talon GC will play in provided through its sponsorship by the Raynor Group. Photo courtesy of Hawks Talon GC.
With each successive league and team-level sponsorship, the likelihood of the young league continuing to grow increases. That partially relies on the league’s ability to consistently deliver exciting content as well and the games of Week 3 didn’t disappoint.
After the Stance announcement, the week’s games got going on Wednesday, April 24 with the first of five contests. Two teams who had yet to record a win on the season faced off to start the night.
Magic Gaming shot 50 percent (20/40) from the field and held defending league champion Knicks Gaming to just nine points in the fourth quarter to overcome Knicks Gaming point guard iamadamthe1st’s 20 points and secure the 48-47 victory.
While Knicks Gaming continued to search for its first win of the young season, one more team took the stage seeking its first victory of the season as well.
Raptors Uprising GC and T-Wolves Gaming clashed next, with Raptors Uprising GC coming out strong in its quest for its first win of the season. They rode the momentum of a 20-point first quarter to outlast a 38-point second half comeback effort by T-Wolves Gaming and claim a 64-59 win. Raptors Uprising GC forward All Hail Trey led all scorers with 25 points.
.@AllHailTrey dropped 25 PTS (10/16 FG) in the @RaptorsGC 64-59 win! Watch his best plays 👀👇
The next game featured one of the teams on the flip side of the league standings looking to maintain its perfect record.
Mavs Gaming faced off with Lakers Gaming in the next game, with Mavs Gaming coming in at a perfect 3-0 on the season. Lakers Gaming looked determined to hand Mavs Gaming its first loss of the season, scoring 32 points in the first half and getting three players into double figures, including point guard KontruL.
.@KontruL crossing up the nearly the entire @MavsGG en route to a deep triple 🔥👀
@LakersGaming 39- @MavsGG 30
Twitch: t.co/jyRINAVZW8
YouTube: t.co/7EEinOa4YX
Mavs Gaming would tighten up its defense in the second half and increase its own offensive efficiency to come back and move to 4-0 on the season with a 53-50 win. The next game featured a team looking to stay perfect on the night.
Magic Gaming tried to replicate its success from earlier in the evening against T-Wolves Gaming in the next game. It would prove successful in that attempt that thanks to forward DT’s 22 points in the contest and shooting an even better percentage (52.4 percent, 22/42) than it did in the first win of the night.
.@DTeeLace finished with a game-high 22 PTS in the @MagicGaming‘s 58-47 win! Watch the best from his performance 👀🔥
T-Wolves Gaming was unsuccessful in splitting its two games for the night but Lakers Gaming would try to succeed where it had failed in its second contest of the night.
Heat Check Gaming had other ideas, however. Using an 18-point burst in the third quarter and limiting Lakers Gaming to just six points in the fourth quarter, Heat Check Gaming claimed the 44-39 win. Heat Check Gaming Lotty’s 17 points not only led his team but couldn’t have come at better times.
The @IntelGaming Player of the Game in the last game of the night was @___Lotty for @HeatCheckGaming! His team-high 17 PTS helped secure the 44-39 win! #IntelPerformanceAwards
That would be all for Wednesday night, but Thursday, April 25 brought with it four more games that started off with Heat Check Gaming looking to carry its momentum on and take down a daunting opponent.
Mavs Gaming would have to dispatch Heat Check Gaming to stay undefeated on the season in Thursday’s first contest. They would do so by getting four of their players into double figures, led by point guard Dimez at 17, and limiting Heat Check Gaming to six points in the first quarter en route to the 57-52 victory.
Look out! @DatBoyDimez is FEELING IT early for @MavsGG 👀🔥
Twitch: t.co/jyRINAVZW8
YouTube: t.co/1bvExvY37p
While Thursday’s first game was a tight contest, the second game of the night would prove to be one of the most lopsided games on the season so far.
76ers GC and Celtics Crossover Gaming made their debuts for the week and it might have been better if Celtics Crossover Gaming had stayed in Boston. It looked like they would hang in there after one quarter, with 76ers GC holding a slight 20-19 advantage, but 76ers GC outscored them 51-29 the rest of the way to nab the 71-48 win. 76ers GC point guard Radiant recorded 20 points and 16 assists in the victory.
Watch the BEST from @iTz_Radiant after he put up 20 PTS and helped the @76ersGC secure the 71-48 win! 👏👏
Celtics Crossover Gaming would again come up empty in its attempt to record its first win of the season but in the next contest, Knicks Gaming would show that it has had enough of being winless.
Propelled by center G O O F Y 7 5 7’s 19 points and 15 rebounds, Knicks Gaming defeated Pistons GT 62-48 and secured its first win of the season. As a team Knicks Gaming shot an impressive 8 of 17 from 3-point range.
.@Goofy757__ turned up tonight for 19 PTS, 15 REB & 8 AST in the @KnicksGaming win! Watch his BEST plays 👀
The final game on Thursday night kept with the theme of comfortable wins for the victor, as Raptors Uprising GC and NetsGC squared off.
Raptors Uprising GC limited NetsGC to only 14 points in the first half and got a double-double from center KingQuai614 (10 points, 20 rebounds) on its way to a 54-42 victory.
The @IntelGaming Player of the Game in our last game was @KingQuai614 who scored 10 PTS, 20 REB (league season-high) and 4 AST! He spoke with @AlexGiaimo after the game 👏 #IntelPerformanceAwards
As the page turned from Thursday to Friday, April 26, eight more teams gathered to play five games and conclude the regular season’s third week. That slate of contests began with Blazer5 Gaming and Cavs Gaming.
Blazer5 Gaming center OneWildWalnut went absolutely wild against Cavs Gaming, tallying 22 points and 21 rebounds to lead his team to a 59-51 win.
.@OneWildWalnut2K is EATING on the glass!
He has 18 PTS and 15 REB as @blazer5gaming cuts the Cavs Legion lead in 3Q. Watch 4Q LIVE on @Twitch and @YouTube.
Celtics Crossover Gaming was hungry to prove itself after getting defeated by 23 points on Thursday night. Friday night’s game against Kings Guard Gaming was a better showing.
Kings Guard Gaming center worthingcolt’s double-double (12 points, 14 rebounds) would prove just enough to keep Celtics Crossover Gaming winless on the season, 62-60, including this game-winner.
THE LOB, THE JAM, THE WIN
@BallLikeSeem throws it up to @worthingcolt_ for the game-winning alley-oop! 💪😱
Celtics Crossover Gaming will have to wait for its next contest to try to secure its first win but Cavs Gaming didn’t have to wait any longer to try to get a win on Friday night, facing Pistons GT.
Cavs Gaming would score 41 points in the second and third quarters, led by center Sick x 973’s 23, to secure the 70-60 victory. Sick x 973 had an efficient night, going 9/13 from the field including 2/4 from behind the arc.
.@Sick_x_973 led the way for @CavsLegionGC in their win over Pistons GT. Check out the best highlights from his 23-point performance. 🔥👇
As hot as Sick x 973 was, Blazer5 Gaming was even hotter, coming into their game against NetsGC on a three-game winning streak.
Blazer5 Gaming point guard Mama Im Dat Man kept that momentum going with a near double-double (24 points, nine assists), taking his team to the 70-63 victory.
.@MamaImDatMan_ (14 PTS) and @KinG_PeroXide (13 PTS) lead the way for @blazer5gaming, as they lead 38-33 at the half.
Watch LIVE:
Twitch: t.co/IWibnYP9k4
YouTube: t.co/vZvs0YCPh0
The final game of the third week of the regular season featured 76ers GC and Kings Guard Gaming. Kings Guard Gaming center worthingcolt picked up right where he left off from the previous game, scoring another double-double (18 points, 16 rebounds) in the 64-60 win.
.@worthingcolt_ could not be slowed down! He put up a double-double of 18 PTS and 16 REB. 💪
Check out his best highlights from @KingsGuardGG‘s second win tonight. ⬇️
After three weeks of the regular season, the league is led in scoring by Bucks Gaming point guard Arooks (27.3 points per game), rebounds by Knicks Gaming center G O O F Y 7 5 7 (16.7 boards per contest) and assists by Celtics Crossover Gaming point guard oFAB (13 assists per game). Here are the standings entering Week 4:
1. Mavs Gaming 5-0
2. Pacers Gaming 3-0
3. Blazer5 Gaming 4-1
4. Bucks Gaming 3-1
5. Hawks Talon GC 2-1
6. Kings Guard Gaming 4-2
7. 76ers GC 2-1
8. Warriors Gaming Squad 2-1
9. Heat Check Gaming 3-2
10. Cavs Legion GC 3-3
11. Raptors Uprising GC 2-2
12. Nets GC 2-2
13. Magic Gaming 2-2
14. Knicks Gaming 1-2
15. Jazz Gaming 1-2
16. T-Wolves Gaming 1-3
17. Pistons GT 1-4
18. Lakers Gaming 1-4
19. Grizz Gaming 0-3
20. Wizards District Gaming 0-3
21. Celtics Crossover Gaming 0-3
Week 4 of the regular season begins on Wednesday, May 1, and promises to deliver 14 more games. All games can be streamed live for free on the NBA 2k League Twitch and YouTube channels. The match-ups will be as follows, with all times Eastern:
Wednesday, May 1
Hawks Talon GC at Mavs Gaming, 6 p.m.
T-Wolves Gaming at Celtics Crossover Gaming, 7 p.m.
Nets GC at Hawks Talon GC, 8 p.m.
T-Wolves Gaming at Mavs Gaming, 9 p.m.
Pacers Gaming at Magic Gaming, 10 p.m.
Thursday, May 2
Grizz Gaming at Bucks Gaming, 6 p.m.
Celtics Crossover Gaming at NetsGC, 7 p.m.
Blazer5 Gaming at Knicks Gaming, 8 p.m.
Warriors Gaming Squad at Wizards District Gaming, 9 p.m.
Friday, May 3
76ers GC at Blazer5 Gaming, 6 p.m.
Warriors Gaming Squad at Jazz Gaming, 7 p.m.
Bucks Gaming at Raptors Uprising GC, 8 p.m.
76ers GC at Knicks Gaming, 9 p.m.
Jazz Gaming at Grizz Gaming, 10 p.m.