Knicks SI 2K20 fantasy tournament: Team Kris tops Team Jackie behind Earl Monroe's 31

""I think we played good team basketball"

Author:
David Vertsberger
Mar 27, 2020 1:52 PM EDT

Welcome to the Knicks SI 2K20 Fantasy Tournament, in which eight of our writers drafted every Knick available to us in NBA 2K20 in order to simulate a winner-take-all single-elimination bracket of the greatest players to ever dawn the blue-and-orange. We will be posting results, interviews with the general managers and accompanying highlights with every game. Please note that if any jersey numbers that seem off or any players that weren't drafted end up getting minutes, it was due to a limitation in the game. Enjoy!

The Knicks SI 2K20 Fantasy Tournament has already begun re-shaping the legacies of Knicks past and present. What better platform is there than a single-elimination battle royale between the franchise's many greats. Today's matchup was no different, with astonishing performances both good and bad, but in the end, it was Team Kris taking the 20-point victory.

"I think we played good team basketball, having four guys score 20 or more," Pursiainen said of his squad. "If we can stick to this brand of basketball, I can see us making it further."

Earl Monroe did it all from the point position for Team Kris, finishing with 31 points and 10 assists. Bernard King tallied 29 points on just 16 field goal attempts. And in a surprising turn, Julius Randle had maybe his greatest game as a Knick with 26-10-6 on 12-18 shooting from the field. But perhaps the biggest shock came from the man guarding him all night.

"I'm disappointed in Steve Novak," Jackie Powell said. "He took 14 three balls and could only make two of them?"

Novak's night wasn't the only one that threw GM Powell for a spin. Rookie RJ Barrett scored a career-high 46 points against a stacked defensive squad, shooting 15-26 from the field, 6-11 from three and 10-16 from the free throw line.

"I didn't think RJ was capable of those numbers," Powell said.

Unfortunately for Team Jackie, RJ received little help, while Team Kris saw contributions from all five players in his lineup, and he'll move on to round two.

View each of the team's box scores below. Next up, team Macri takes on Team Howard.