The NBA 2K League Is Returning Soon And Grizz Gaming Is Ready For You To Jump In

The NBA 2K League is set to resume play on May 5 and with E-Sports constantly gaining popularity many will be waiting for it's return. With the NBA taking a hiatus due to COVID-19, the league could possibly receive even more unexpected eyes. I was able to talk to two of the players today and their GM/Coach Lang Whitaker about the upcoming season and they also provided a crash course for all their new soon to come fans - including myself.

NBA 2K League players basically are drafted to their respective teams and then move to the city of their teams just like any other professional athlete. Their six-man teams consist of players from all walks of life, from all over the country that live here for roughly six months while playing for Grizz Gaming.

Daniel Davis aka DDouble, is in his third year with the team and is a 20-year-old college student from Maryland. He talked about his goals for the team this year and compared the experience of playing in the NBA 2K League to that of a college athlete, being that one day he was in high school and the next moment he is playing for a team and traveling to a new city.

"I really like how we build our team this year," said DDouble. "We are really getting along on and off the court so hopefully we can take it to that next level and be that team that everyone fears around the league. That's my dream."

"Even before the league I was commuting to campus back in Maryland so this was the first time I had moved out," said DDouble. "I've been doing it for three years so it's not as bad, but it's definitely like that college feel still. Me moving to a completely different state and we are competing with this team so it's definitely like playing for a college basketball team in a way."

Zach Vandivier aka Vandi, also 20 years old, was one of the league's best rookie's last season. He would describe his draft experience last season.

"They flew a lot of the top draft picks out to New York," said Vandi. "It was a really unique experience. I had to pick out what suit I was going to wear. From playing MyCareer you do the whole 'what suit am I going to wear to the draft?' thing but I never thought that I would ever be in a draft in my life - especially from playing 2k. I went from being a kid in high school to being drafted, getting interviewed, and moving to a new city."

From talking to the guys I learned some interesting tidbits about the league. For one the players are not playing the retail version of NBA 2K. They are playing a build of the game that is specifically made for competitive gaming. They also only play on a PC instead of a traditional gaming console. Players all have the same ratings but they have a choice of player skillsets that they choose according to their team's needs and strategy. Players actual skill on the joysticks have more weight than if someone was able to beef up a player on their games at home.

Grizz Gaming GM/Coach Lang Whitaker is in charge of the management and strategy for the team during the games and he is optimistic that E-Sports will organically grow to be more mainstream with NBA fans and E-Sports fans bleeding over into each other.

"Right now I think it's mostly an age thing," said Whitaker. "Guys that are our players' age, they don't watch a lot of cable television. They watch everything on Twitch and YouTube but guys in our age group, we watch cable, ESPN, CNN but these guys are cord-cutters. They jump on Twitch as soon as we land when we are traveling. There's a generational thing where as that age group gets older, the sport will just get bigger and bigger."

Whitaker also pointed out that an advantage that the NBA 2K League has over other E-Sports leagues is the fact that it is based on a real-life sport so even the newest of viewers can catch on soon because it's just like watching the real thing. With games being soon to return, Whitaker along with his team are ready to take Grizz Gaming to new heights.

"For a casual fan to turn on an NBA 2K League game there isn't much of a learning curve there," said Whitaker. "It's pretty easy and I think that's going to be helpful in the long run."

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- Anthony Sain - Memphis Grizzlies Beat Writer and Lead Editor For Sports Illustrated's All Grizzlies.com

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