The NBA 2K players-only tournament continues with eight NBA players remaining and the quarterfinals scheduled for Thursday. Trae Young, Deandre Ayton, Patrick Beverly, Andre Drummond, Montrezl Harrell, Rui Hachimura, Devin Booker, and Derrick Jones, Jr. all won their first-round matches and advanced to the second round. Beverly (+225) and Booker (+275) are the odds-on favorites to win the NBA 2K tournament, according to a recent update by BetOnline.
The NBA teamed up with NBA 2K to host a COVID-19 charity tournament featuring 16 NBA players. Players were seeded based on their NBA 2K in-game ratings. Kevin Durant held the highest rating among the 16 participants and was awarded the #1 seed.
Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns) came into the tournament as the favorite to win the NBA 2K tournament at +350 odds, according to BetOnline. Booker is an avid gamer with an affinity for Call of Duty, and he won his first-round matchup. He is still among the favorites with adjusted odds at +275. Patrick Beverly is the new betting favorite at +225 odds to win the NBA 2K charity tournament.
NBA 2K Players Tournament Odds
Patrick Beverly +225
Devin Booker +275
Derrick Jones +450
Trae Young +500
Deandre Ayton +700
Montrezl Harrell +1400
Rui Hachimura +1400
Andre Drummond +1400
The opening round completed action over the weekend. The better seed only went 4-4. The #1, #3, and #4 seeds were all toppled.
KD Upset in Round 1
Durant (Brooklyn Nets) was the third-highest favorite on the futures board, according to BetOnline. KD came in at 7/1 odds or +700 on the money line. Rookie Derrick Jones (Miami Heat) had the lowest NBA 2K ranking out of all the contestants. Oddsmakers listed Jones at 10/1 odds. Jones secured the upset with a 78-62 victory over Durant to advance to the quarterfinals.
Trae Young (Atlanta Hawks) is a scoring machine in real life. In his opening round matchup against Harrison Barnes (Sacramento Kings), Young put up 101 points, which tied for most points in the first round with Andre Drummond (Cleveland Cavs). Young easily defeated Barnes in a 101-59 blowout to advance.
Drummond whooped Boogie Cousins 101-49 to knock Cousins out and advance to the second round.
Rookie Rui Hachimura (Washington Wizards), with the #13 seed, pulled off a stunning 74-71 upset over #4 Donovan Mitchell (Utah Jazz).
Deandre Ayton (Phoenix Suns), the second-highest favorite on the board at +500, won a low-scoring 57-41 affair against Zach Lavine (Chicago Bulls).
With the #14 seed, Patrick Beverly (LA Clippers) up-ended #3 Hasan Whiteside (Portland Trail Blazers) in a 30-point blowout.
In the #8 vs. #9 “coin-flip” battle, Domantas Sabonis (Indiana Pacers) lost by 22 points against Montrezl Harrell (LA Clippers).
Round 2 Matchups
Booker is still one of the top favorites to win the NBA 2K title at +275 odds. In the second round, Booker takes on Hachimura, the lone NBA player from Japan. The Booker/Hachimura heads-up bout is a must-see match.
Young, with the #2 seed, is the highest seed remaining. The popular second-year All-Star was only +1000 odds at the start of the tournament, but now he’s +500 with eight players remaining. Young takes on the Ayton, who started out as the second-highest favorite at +500 odds, but has since slipped to +700.
Jones, fresh off his upset over top-seeded Durant, squares off against Harrell. Harrell is one of the long shots on the board at +1400, whereas Jones is the third-highest favorite, now at +450 odds to win the NBA 2K tournament.
NBA 2K Tournament Quarterfinals
#2 Trae Young vs. #10 Deandre Ayton
#14 Patrick Beverley vs. #6 Andre Drummond
#16 Derrick Jones Jr. vs. #8 Montrezl Harrell
#13 Rui Hachimura vs. #5 Devin Booker
Action in the NBA 2K tournament resumes on Thursday. You can watch on ESPN2 starting at 7 pm ET. Fans can also follow along on multiple social media platforms; the NBA will stream games on Twitter, Facebook, and on its Twitch feed.
The semifinals and finals will occur on Saturday, April 11. ESPN will air the final four and championship, but the time is TBD.
