Wizards District Gaming outlasted Warriors Gaming Squad, 3-1, in the NBA 2K League’s best-of-five finals series to claim the league’s Season 3 championship.
The newly minted champs started off slowly in the series, dropping the first game to the Warriors by a score of 53-65. The Warriors put early pressure on Wizards star point guard John “JBM” Mascone, limiting the Wizards to just six points in the first quarter, and taking control of the game since then.
With a switch in defensive strategies in Game 2, Wizards DG turned the tides against their opponent, effectively locking down the Warriors’ Charlie “CB13” Bostick. After a tightly contested first half, the Wizards evened the series with a 60-50 final score.
Wizards DG kept up their defensive strategy for the rest of the series, preventing Warriors Gaming from capitalizing on CB13’s individual prowess, as well as his pick-and-roll attacks with Malik “Slaughter” Leisinger. Wizards DG eked out a 64-59 in Game 3, and dominated the second half of Game 4 for a final score of 70-55.
- NBA star Ben Simmons has signed with FaZe Clan
- Raptors Uprising just completed the first perfect season in NBA 2K League history
To reach the NBA 2K League finals, Wizards DG went through some formidable competition. Ranked fourth overall after a 13-3 regular season finish, they had to face Toronto’s Raptors Uprising in the semifinal round.
Prior to the playoffs, Raptors Uprising made NBA 2K League history by going 16-0 in the regular season — the first time any team has gone unbeaten throughout the League’s regular season schedule.
Wizards DG certainly benefited from picking first in this year’s NBA 2K League Draft. The top pick turned out to be JBM, who clearly was the catalyst for their title-clinching performance in the finals.
JBM capped off the series win with a dominant 46-point (on 21-of-28 shooting), 4-assist performance in Game 4.
Ryan “DayFri” Conger was everywhere on the court with 6 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists, and 4 blocks — an effort that helped him lock up Finals MVP honors, finishing with series stats of 14.3 points, 11.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 3.3 blocks per game.
As the 2020 NBA 2K League champs, Wizards DG won US$240,000 from this season’s US$1.4 million prize pool.
Watch more highlights from the 2020 NBA 2K League Finals below:
With the end of the 2020 season, the NBA 2K League has also announced the winners of the Season 3 Player Awards:
- Most Valuable Player — Kenneth “Kenny Got Work” Hailey, Raptors Uprising
- Rookie of the Year — Reginald “Regg” Nash, Jr., Bucks Gaming
- Coach of the Year — Jelani Mitchell, Utah Jazz Gaming
- Defensive Player of the Year — Eric “TimelyCook” Donald, Raptors Uprising
Check out the winners’ stats and other All-NBA 2K League Team awards here.
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