Week 1 Preview: Gen.G Tigers

Warriors Gaming Squad’s first week of action is making history already.

After winning its first remote matchup in team history, Warriors Gaming Squad is privy to an important piece of league history. The matchup will be Gen.G’s first-ever official NBA 2K League action after joining the league this offseason, making history as the first NBA 2K League team from outside of North America (though the team will compete from Gen.G’s Los Angeles hub). The two rosters also have some of their own history on the line: several players on each team have played with an opponent in NBA 2K’s Pro-Am mode, either during the offseason or in the lead-up to the draft: point guards CB13 and ShiftyKaii, Bsmoove and Deadeye, Slaughter and Killey.

Like fellow expansion team Hornets Venom GT, Gen.G has taken full advantage of the long offseason and will attempt to inaugurate its league journey with a win. The league’s newest team quickly found leadership and experience on the court, selecting 2019 champion Turnupdefense in the expansion draft. Gen.G also used the expansion draft to add another pair of first- and second-round picks through a draft-and-trade of ZDS back to 76ers GC. First-ever Gen.G head coach Jordan “Len” Ross had previously qualified for the 2019 NBA 2K League entry draft pool and subsequently covered the league in 2019 as a Senior Analyst for DIMER.

Presented with the fifth overall pick in the 2020 entry draft, Gen.G boldly selected high-scoring combo guard ShiftyKaii. The team soon found his pick-and-roll partner in Deadeye, whom the Tigers selected one pick after Warriors Gaming Squad drafted Slaughter in the first round. Gen.G rounded out its starting five by drafting Killey and the nominatively determined Gen two slots apart in the second round; Gen will start as the team’s sharpshooter while Killey, drafted as a point guard, will likely open the series as the team’s lockdown defender. Further history was made when Gen.G drafted Hu Yi Wesley, the first Chinese player in the league, who qualified for the draft though the 2019 NBA 2K League Asia-Pacific Invitational tournament in Seoul.

Warriors Gaming Squad, of course, enters the matchup 1-0 on the year after a tightly fought sweep of highly touted Kings Guard Gaming. Point guard CB13 set a career high with 30 points in the first game of the season and will look to continue his hot start against the Tigers. Power forward Jin will be tasked with containing Turnupdefense, his fellow third-year veteran, while Gradient’s efforts against ShiftyKaii in the pick-and-roll may prove most vital of all.

There is, after all, some history on the line.

 

Warriors Gaming Squad vs. Gen.G Tigers tips off at 6 p.m. PST on the NBA 2K League’s Twitch and YouTube channels. New this season, games will also be live on ESPN.com and the ESPN app; ESPN2, as well as Sportsnet in Canada, will also televise games on Tuesdays through May 26.