Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton, teammates on the Phoenix Suns, met each other in the championship of the 16-team “players only” NBA 2K tournament hosted on Xbox One. Booker defeated Ayton by winning Games 1 and 2 in the best-of-three championship series.
“I said in the beginning that it was going to be Deandre and I in the championship,” joked Booker. “And that’s the way it ended up.”
While the NBA season has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the NBA and its players have found ways to keep their fans entertained and engaged during quarantine.
Last week, the NBA and eSports worlds joined forces for a special 16-team tournament on the virtual hardwood of NBA 2K. Over the weekend, the NBA and WNBA hosted a HORSE tournament.
As the champion, Booker won $100,000 to be donated to a charity of his choice. He recently started a COVID-19 charity in conjunction with the Phoenix Suns. Booker decided he will donate $50,000 to Direct Relief and $50,000 to the Arizona Food Bank Network.
No Surprises, Booker Champ
Booker held the #5 seed, which was based on his NBA 2K in-game rating. Booker should have held the top seed as the eSports “ringer” among his NBA brethren.
“I played a lot growing up,” Booker said. “It’s all about timing and eye coordination.”
Booker has been crushing Call of Duty: Warzone since its release. Gaming has been the only thing Booker has been doing since the NBA shut down the season on March 10. In fact, he was in the middle of streaming a game of Call of Duty: Warzone when he found out about the season’s postponement.
Of course, Booker found himself already in full-season form when the NBA announced the special NBA 2K tournament.
Booker knocked out Michael Porter Jr. (Denver Nuggets) in the opening round, Rui Hachimura (Washington Wizards) in the Elite 8, and Montrezl Harrell (Los Angeles Clippers) in the Final Four.
During the NBA 2K Finals, Booker won the first two games to sweep the best-of-three series against his teammate.
In Game 1, Booker manned the controls behind the Houston Rockets against Ayton’s LA Lakers to win 72-62.
In Game 2, Booker led the Denver Nuggets to a 74-62 victory over Ayton and the Milwaukee Bucks. Even the virtual Greek Freak couldn’t help Ayton.
Final Four with Ayton, Beverly and Harrell
The Final Four of the NBA 2K Tournament included Booker, Harrell, Beverly, and Ayton.
Beverly made for great TV due to his trash talking and funny commentary during the tournament. He backed up his smack with a trip to the semifinals.
“This man cold at defense in real life and in the video game,” said Andre Drummond.
Perhaps Harrell has been living in Los Angeles too long. The Clippers’ rebounding machine had no shortage of New Age amorphisms during his stream of consciousness running commentary.
Ayton won his first three games to secure a spot in the finals. picking off Zach LaVine (Chicago Bulls) in the opening round, Trae Young (Atlanta Hawks) in the Elite 8, and Beverley (LA Clippers) in the Final Four.
In the semifinals, Ayton selected his own team, playing with the Phoenix Suns to defeat Beverly. Beverly manned the Denver Nuggets and lost 74-67. Ayton dazzled everyone watching the stream with a steal and thunderous dunk.
.@DeandreAyton is dominating using himself 💪
“You gon’ have to put some respect on my name.†#NBA2KTourney pic.twitter.com/9Q6BVCGknv
— ESPN (@espn) April 12, 2020
