Week 1 Preview: Kings Guard Gaming
May 5, 2020
The story of Kings Guard Gaming against Warriors Gaming Squad, the marquee matchup of week one of the 2020 NBA 2K League season, begins with bad weather.
In August 2018, both WGS and KGG had been eliminated from playoff contention in the first-ever NBA 2K League campaign. Bad weather in week 11 of that season had grounded a number of non-East Coast teams, including both Warriors Gaming and Kings Guard, to miss their flights for week 11, forcing the league to schedule additional games for the season’s final week in mid-August. Warriors Gaming entered the final week just 2-10, but defeated Pacers Gaming and Pistons GT to finish 4-10. Kings Guard lost two games before defeating Pacers Gaming in the very last game of the league’s inaugural regular season, bringing its record to 4-10, tied with WGS in the league’s cellar. Rewarded with top picks in the 2019 draft, the two teams burst from the basement into the playoffs in 2019 and both enter the 2020 season with high hopes and stronger rosters than ever.
Warriors Gaming Squad has long since left its stormy days behind. The team became the first NBA 2K League squad to win two banners in one season (THE TURN and THE TICKET) and swept top-seeded Blazer5 Gaming in the 2019 NBA 2K League Playoffs. WGS is out to complete more than the trifecta in 2020, however, with an all-veteran roster and an experienced G League coach in Mike Newton running the show. The smooth-shooting Bsmoove is back for his third season in the Bay, while floor general CB13, All-Defensive Team lockdown Gradient, and forward Jin return with tournament-credentialed DNA for their second seasons with WGS. The 20th overall pick in the 2020 draft netted highly sought center Slaughter, who averaged nearly a double-double for Jazz Gaming in 2018, and veteran point guard Matty, who started for Pacers Gaming in last year’s playoffs.
Less than two years removed from a frustrating finish, Kings Guard enters the season among the title favorites. Head coach DJ Layton returns from a 2019 season in which he conducted the Kings to a 10-6 record and a playoff berth. Two three-year veterans in sharpshooter BallLikeSeem and all-defensive caliber forward Yusuf_Scarbz are back in the fold. A trade of 2019 third overall pick BP netted veteran star big man Dat Boy Shotz and a second-straight third overall pick, frenetic and fantastic lockdown Crush. First-round pick Bash—who qualified for the draft through the WGS Invitational—runs the point, with 26th overall pick Nasthetic as the team’s sixth player. Already winners of the preseason Coast to Coast Cup tournament, Kings Guard Gaming seeks only to cement its ascent from cellar-dwellers to royalty.
That’s an ascent Warriors Gaming Squad isn’t quite ready to allow. Key to the matchup will be WGS’ need to limit turnovers, stopping Kings Guard from capitalizing on fastbreaks and upping the tempo to its desired level. CB13, who started at point guard in every WGS game in 2019, will lead the way with first-round pick Slaughter charged with protecting the paint from Kings Guard’s downhill attack. Three All-NBA 2K League team members (Bsmoove, Gradient, Yusuf_Scarbz) will see the court in a matchup that, despite taking place so early in the season, could very well have playoff implications down the line.
The winner of the best-of-three matchup, set to tip off at 6 p.m. PST, will net one regular-season win. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the two teams will be playing remotely, and games will stream live on the NBA 2K League Twitch and YouTube channels. New this season, games will also be live on ESPN2 as well as ESPN.com and the ESPN app.
Founded in 2017, Warriors Gaming Squad is the NBA 2K League affiliate of the Golden State Warriors, one of 23 teams who compete in the league. During the 2019 season, the team made history as the first in league history to win multiple torments in the same season. The parent organization also owns and operates the Golden Guardians who compete in Apex Legends, League of Legends, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Teamfight Tactics and World of Warcraft. For more information on Warriors Gaming Squad, visit @WarriorsGaming on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and NBA2KLeague.com.
The NBA 2K League, a professional esports league co-founded by the NBA and Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTWO), launched in 2018 and features the best NBA 2K players in the world. Each of the league’s 23 teams features six players who compete as unique characters in 5-on-5 play against the other teams in a mix of regular-season games, tournaments and playoffs. NBA 2K League partners include Anheuser-Busch, AT&T, Champion Athleticwear, Facebook, HyperX, New Era, Panera Bread, Raynor Gaming, SCUF Gaming, and Stance. For more information about the NBA 2K League, visit NBA2KLeague.com.