76ers Excluded From ESPN's 2K20 Tournament
With sports on hold for the next couple of months or so, major networks are looking for ways to keep their viewers entertained. Unfortunately, during a time like this, there aren't a ton of ways to keep everybody focused since reruns of classic games and documentaries can only be entertaining for so long.
Therefore, major networks are coming up with ways to create some fresh content. And in this case, NBA players are getting involved. The actual NBA season might be on hold for some time, but a select few players are willing to compete in NBA 2K20.
As initially reported by Yahoo Sports NBA Insider Chris Haynes, the NBA planned to gather 16 prospects for a players-only tournament. The event would start this upcoming Friday and is slated to last ten days. The best part about it? The games will be broadcasted on ESPN for basketball fans from all over to watch.
When the details first emerged, only a couple of names were linked to being involved. Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell and NBA Free Agent DeMarcus Cousins were the first two, who were rumored to be involved. Then on Tuesday afternoon, The Boardroom released the full 16-seed bracket. Earlier, we kicked around the idea of which Philadelphia 76ers players should be in it. Unfortunately, none of them will be included to compete.
Taking a Look at the Bracket. . .
No. 1 Kevin Durant (96 OVR) vs. No. 16 Derrick Jones Jr. (78 OVR)
No. 2 Trae Young (90 OVR) vs. No. 15 Harrison Barnes (78 OVR)
No. 3 Hassan Whiteside (87 OVR) vs. No. 14 Pat Beverley (78 OVR)
No. 4 Donovan Mitchell (87 OVR) vs. No. 13 Rui Hachimura (79 OVR)
No. 5. Devin Booker (86 OVR) vs. No. 12 Michael Porter Jr. (81 OVR)
No. 6 Andre Drummond (85 OVR) vs. No. 11 DeMarcus Cousins (81 OVR)
No. 7 Zach LaVine (85 OVR) vs. No. 10 DeAndre Ayton (85 OVR)
No. 8 Montrezl Harrell (85 OVR) vs. No. 9 Domantas Sabonis (85 OVR)
No Worries, Sixers Fans. . .
Some would've expected a player like Joel Embiid or Ben Simmons to be involved, considering they are both big-time gamers. However, they both seem to be heavily interested in non-basketball games such as Call of Duty, PUBG, and FIFA.
Plus, Embiid doesn't really seem into the idea of streaming his gameplay online. As he's made it clear on Twitter, the Sixers' big man is a fan of career modes when playing. When it comes to Simmons, though, you can catch him streaming on Twitch quite often nowadays. Since all of the NBA is on a long break, Simmons and other NBA players have been linking up for Call of Duty tournaments for SLAM.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_
