76ers: A Virtual NBA Tournament Will Make Its Way to ESPN Very Soon

*Update: Nets' Kevin Durant, Cavs' Andre Drummond, and Jazz's Donovan Mitchell are expected to compete in the tournament, per Chris Haynes

A few weeks ago, the NBA suspended its operations due to the COVID-19 outbreak not only in the United States of America but in the league as well. Once one player tested positive for the coronavirus, more cases continued to roll in throughout the weeks. Now, the NBA is shut down for the time being.

There are no games, no practices, nothing. Just players remaining at home in isolation like the rest of the country should be. At this point, sports fans are desperate for anything. While watching reruns and documentaries can help pass time -- it gets old.

Basketball fans need something fresh at this point as the real NBA is on lockdown, and the virtual NBA 2K20 league also went on a hiatus as well. So in an attempt to entertain fans and players during this time, the NBA came up with an idea to hold an NBA 2K20 tournament at the end of the week, which will feature a handful of notable NBA players.

Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes reported on Monday night that the tournament would feature 16 players. So far, only two challengers have been revealed. They happen to be Utah Jazz star, Donovan Mitchell, and NBA Free Agent, DeMarcus Cousins.

While there are minimal details on the tournament right now, Haynes has revealed that the competition will contain 16 players and is expected to last ten days. The action will be broadcasted on ESPN for all to see. As the details are finalized, basketball fans are just excited to at least have something to look forward to in the forthcoming days.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_