“Real” action in the National Basketball Association has been on a standstill since March 12 following the suspension of the games due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
So has the other sporting events around the globe been postponed or canceled.
The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), the female counterpart of the NBA, recently announced the postponement of its games, in May. The two leagues are helping out those people affected by the coronavirus outbreak.
In addition to individual players and teams, the NBA and WNBA have pledged $50 million to coronavirus-related relief efforts.
No sports events at the moment? Yes it’s true but there’s a way at this time to provide sports entertainment, sort of that is, through the “virtual” route.
Recently, Great Britain’s “simulated” Grand National Horse Race went viral. The declared winner is one that many probably would not even care. But what the heck, at least it satisfied the yearning of horseracing enthusiasts.
Then, with over 90 million Americans and 42 of the 50 U.S. states on stay-at-home orders, there’s the NBA coming up with the safest way to bring basketball fans some form of action.
In partnership with the NBA players union and 2K, the NBA players-only 2K20 tournament unwrapped last Saturday April 4 (Manila time).
Lasting for 10 days, it features the league’s sharpest video gamers – 16 players with designated rankings – in a one-loss-and-you’re-out competition that is being aired live on ESPN and ESPN2 television networks.
The players competed against their peers in the comfort of their own homes.
Already the top seed, Kevin Durant (Brooklyn Nets), has bitten the dust, losing badly to No. 16-seeded Derrick Jones Jr. (Miami Heat), 78-62, in first-round play. Durant, who turns 32 on September 29, is the oldest participant. Sitting at their homes in New York and Miami, respectively, the pair faced off in a 24-minute virtual game that saw Jones choosing the Milwaukee Bucks as his team and Durant picking the Los Angeles Clippers.
In other Saturday games, Atlanta’s Trae Young (employing the Bucks) whipped Sacramento’s Harrison Barnes (No. 15 seed), 101-59, Phoenix’s DeAndre Ayton (using Houston), crushed Chicago’s Zach LaVine (No. 7 seed, Heat), 57-41, and the LA Clippers’ Patrick Beverley (Milwaukee) routing Portland’s Hassan Whiteside (No. 3 seed, LA Lakers), 84-54.
Of the four virtual games, Milwaukee was the pick of three players and all emerged victorious, averaging 87.7 points per game while limiting their opponents to a measly 58.3-point clip.
On Monday April 6 (Manila time), Phoenix’s Devin Booker downed Denver’s Michael Porter Jr. (No. 12 seed), 85-75, Washington’s Japanese-born Rui Hachimura beat Utah’s Donovan Mitchell (No. 4 seed), 74-71, Cleveland’s Andre Drummond blasted free agent DeMarcus Cousins (No. 11 seed), 101-49, and the LA Clippers’ Montrezl Harrell gored Indiana’s Domantas Sabonis, 73-51.
Harrell and Sabonis were the first in the tournament to utilize their real-life NBA teams during the game.
After eight games in the NBA 2K20 tournament, , the LA Lakers and the Milwaukee Bucks were the favorite picks of the players as each team was selected four times.
The quarterfinal pairings on Wednesday (MT) will feature No. 16 seed Jones Jr. vs. No. 8 seed Harrell, No. 5 seed Booker vs. No. 13 Hachimura, No. 2 seed Young vs. No. 10 seed Ayton and No. 6 seed Drummond vs. No. 14 seed Beverley. The finals will be held on Sunday April 12 (MT).
As if that was not enough “distraction” for NBA fans during the period of home quarantine, the NBA, NBA players union and ESPN are working on a televised H-O-R-S-E tournament featuring several high-profile players in “isolation” competing shot for shot in the traditional playground game.
The details, including the schedule and specific player involvement, are still being finalized. Under current NBA isolation protocols, players are not allowed to compete against each other in the same gym.
Meanwhile, “The Last Dance,” a 10-part documentary event featuring the untold story of Michael Jordan and the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls championship season, will be aired by ESPN on April 19 (April 20 Manila time).
No thanks to the coronavirus pandemic that has suspended the NBA season since March 12 and caused shelter-in-place measures across America, the documentary has moved from the original launch date of June 2.
The documentary will be shown locally on Neflix.