NBA Players join the current trend of playing tournaments online!
2K, the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) announced, on April 1, 2020, the “NBA 2K Players Tournament,” an NBA 2K20 gameplay tournament between 16 current NBA players.
Beginning Saturday, April 4th on ESPN and ESPN2, players – including top seeds Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets and Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks – will compete in a single-elimination, player-only tournament on Xbox One. The winner will be crowned the ultimate NBA 2K20 champion and select a charity beneficiary to receive a $100,000 donation from 2K, the NBA and the NBPA in support of ongoing coronavirus relief efforts.
Based on players’ seeding – which is determined first by NBA 2K rating, second by tenure – players will go head-to-head online in NBA 2K20. Prior to the tournament beginning, every player will choose eight of today’s NBA teams, each of which can only be used once. If a mirror match is set, the away team is awarded first choice of team. Rounds one and two will be single elimination, with the semifinals and finals running best of three.
Player Seeding*:
| # | Player Name | Team | Seed |
| 1 | Kevin Durant | Brooklyn Nets | 96 |
| 2 | Trae Young | Atlanta Hawks | 90 |
| 3 | Hassan Whiteside | Portland Trail Blazers | 87 |
| 4 | Donovan Mitchell | Utah Jazz | 87 |
| 5 | Devin Booker | Phoenix Suns | 86 |
| 6 | Andre Drummond | Cleveland Cavaliers | 85 |
| 7 | Zach LaVine | Chicago Bulls | 85 |
| 8 | Montrezl Harrell | LA Clippers | 85 |
| 9 | Domantas Sabonis | Indiana Pacers | 85 |
| 10 | Deandre Ayton | Phoenix Suns | 85 |
| 11 | DeMarcus Cousins | Golden State Warriors | 81 |
| 12 | Michael Porter Jr. | Denver Nuggets | 81 |
| 13 | Rui Hachimura | Washington Wizards | 79 |
| 14 | Patrick Beverley | LA Clippers | 78 |
| 15 | Harrison Barnes | Sacramento Kings | 78 |
| 16 | Derrick Jones Jr. | Miami Heat | 78 |
*Participating players subject to change.
Tournament coverage begins April 4 at 7:00 a.m. Singapore time on ESPN, with a matchup between Jones Jr. (16) and Durant (1) tipping off at 7:30 a.m. Singapore time. Jones Jr. and Durant will each play as one of their pre-selected teams, with Jones Jr. choosing from the Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, Dallas Mavericks, LA Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers, and Durant choosing from the Brooklyn Nets, Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, LA Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder and Utah Jazz.
Additional matchups will air through April 12. Every tournament game will debut on either ESPN or ESPN2, while also streaming on the ESPN App and running on NBA.com, the NBA App, and 2K and NBA social channels including Twitter (@NBA2K, @NBA), Twitch (@NBA2K,@NBA), YouTube (@NBA2K, @NBA) and Facebook (@NBA2K, @NBA). Fans can follow NBA 2K, NBA and NBPA for tune-in information, game commentary and game highlights, and they can join the conversation with #NBA2KTourney.
Tune-In Schedule:
Round 1
Saturday, April 4: ESPN
- 7:00 a.m. – 7:30 a.m. Singapore time: NBA 2K Players Tournament Preview Show
- 7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. Singapore time: Derrick Jones Jr. (16) vs. Kevin Durant (1)
Saturday, April 4: ESPN2, 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Singapore time
Monday, April 6: ESPN2, 12:00 a.m. – 4:00 a.m. Singapore time
Quarterfinals
Wednesday, April 8: ESPN2, 7:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Singapore time
Semifinals & Finals
Sunday, April 12: ESPN, Timing to be announced.
For more information on NBA 2K20 Players Tournament, please visit https://nba.2k.com/2k20/, become a fan on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram, or subscribe on YouTube.
