New to Warriors Gaming Squad? Here’s an overview of the franchise’s history, from the inaugural NBA 2K League Draft in 2018…
2018
…where WGS lost the first-ever draft lottery and picked 17th of 17 in the position-restricted, snake-style draft. After advancing past round-robin play in the very first Tipoff tournament, WGS struggled in the regular season, finishing 4-10 in a season keyed by five one-score losses. The team finished the season strong, however, with final-week wins over Pacers Gaming and playoff-bound Pistons GT, giving early hope for…
2019
… where it’s an entirely different story. After keeping Xavier “Type” Vescovi and Alexander “Bsmoove” Reese from the 2018 roster, WGS traded top scorer Jordan “Vert” Gates to expansion team Lakers Gaming in exchange for the 10th overall pick. Armed with the 2nd and 10th overall picks, WGS drafted amateur teammates Sam “Gradient” Salyers and point guard Charlie “CB13” Bostwick, as well as Chiquita “Chiquita” Evans, the first woman drafted into the NBA 2K League. Led by head coach Tommy Abdenour, the squad became the first in league history to win two tournaments—the Turn in Las Vegas and the Ticket in Orlando—in one season. The first playoff appearance in franchise history was a rollercoaster: WGS swept top-seeded Blazer5 Gaming in a demonstrative first round, but bowed out to eventual champions T-Wolves Gaming in the semifinals. Still, there’s a lot to build on for…
2020
… when the team brought back four players from the 2019 team: CB13, Gradient, Bsmoove, and 2019 starter Jin “Jin” Choe. WGS also stole center Malik “Slaughter” Leisinger 20th overall and added Matthew “Matty” Grant (a former D-I basketball player) with its final pick of the draft. Helmed by new head coach Mike Newton, WGS cruised through the 2020 regular season with six- and seven-game win streaks, finishing with a franchise-best 13-3 regular season record. The squad slipped past Rookie of the Year winner Regg and Bucks Gaming in the first round of the playoffs in a nail-biting series, before stunning Jazz Gaming in the Western Conference Finals. In the finals, however, a game-one win turns to defeat as Wizards District Gaming—fresh off an upset of undefeated Raptors Uprising GC and in the first of three consecutive Finals appearances—claims the title in a 3-1 series.
2021
Saw a shakeup in the team, as Bsmoove headed to the Gen.G Tigers for the 3rd overall pick and Slaughter was traded to T-Wolves Gaming for two first-round picks. WGS added three rookies—Veron “YooVc” Coates, Antoine “ANTOINE” Featherstone, and Austin “KayAus” Caterino—to CB13 and Gradient in the starting lineup. An inconsistent 17-11 season saw WGS head back to the playoffs as a 4th seed in the West, but everything coalesced around the playoffs. After topping Pistons GT in the first round, WGS once again stunned the top-seeded title favorites, this time taking down T-Wolves Gaming and old friend Slaughter in a classic three-game series. A third-straight three-game series in the conference finals finally went against WGS, however, as Jazz Gaming got its revenge for 2020 in heartbreaking fashion. The Jazz went on to a sweep at the hands of Wizards District Gaming, and WGS ran back the entire starting lineup for…
2022
… where it’s more of the same. A big midseason trade saw WGS swap ANTOINE for 2019 MVP Nidal “Mama Im Dat Man” Nasser, a Bay Area native and the leading scorer in NBA 2K League history. With Mama and CB13 in the backcourt, WGS went 15-5 and netted the 2nd seed in the West, running the ongoing playoff streak to a league-best four consecutive seasons. For the third time in those four seasons, however, WGS fell to the eventual champion in 5v5, as a surging Bucks Gaming came back to defeat the squad in three games in the quarterfinals. In the league’s first-ever season of 3v3, WGS started slow but improved as the season progressed, being eliminated only on the final day of the season after making a run to the Steal tournament finals. It was back to the drawing board for…
2023
… with WGS looking to improve their 3v3 season standing and finally get over the 5v5 hump. A busy draft day ended with Gradient, tied with CB13 for the franchise lead in games played, off to Atlanta’s Hawks Talon GC, and with 2020 MVP Kenneth “Kenny Got Work” Hailey acquired along with two additional 2024 first round picks. But even after the franchise’s first-ever 3v3 playoff berth, the moves didn’t stop, with YooVc heading to Cleveland for former champ Seese before the start of 5v5. From there, it was (almost) all roses. WGS went 12-0 in group play (essentially, the regular season) and, despite a few earlier-than-expected losses in tournament play, rebounded for a dominant 7-1 playoff run that saw the team capture its first-ever title. The team’s 21-5 record paced the league, and the individual accolades followed: Seese was named the 2023 DPOY, Kenny Got Work became a Western Conference All-Star, and Mama Im Dat Man took home Finals MVP. The Golden State Warriors became the first organization to win titles across the NBA, NBA G League, and NBA 2K League.