Warriors Gaming Squad makes history, wins franchise's first NBA2K League championship
THE GOLDEN EMPIRE HAS NOW GONE VIRTUAL!
Hey HQ, Happy Monday, I’ve got some good news! The Golden State Warriors are champions again; this time in the world of gaming!
As someone who has been covering WGS since their inception over five years ago, I’ve been fascinated by just how seriously the NBA and NBA 2K have teamed up to bring a professional basketball gaming league into reality.
League hopefuls put in hours daily to prepare themselves to take take part in combine tryouts with dreams of being drafted. If they do get drafted, they have to travel to live with their new team, away from their family and friends. And then on a daily basis they practice and strategize to sharpen their skills and chemistry for when they battle against their league rivals.
Warriors Gaming Squad had made the 2K League Finals before, losing to Wizards District Gaming. However this time was a much different experience as they went on a hellacious run, going 12-0 in group play, 7-1 in the playoffs.
In fact, they won their first six games before dropping their penultimate one, much like the 2017 Warriors going 16-1 in the playoffs.
Another parallel to that 2017 Warriors team is that this squad is a modern day, video game super team. They’ve been led by Charlie “CB13” Bostwick, one of the premier players in the league for several years who could never quite lead the team to a championship despite that previous Finals appearance.
But the WGS front office got him the help he needed:
Nidal “Mama I’m Dat Man” Nasser was league MVP in 2019 with Blazers Gaming.
Kenneth “Kenny Got Work” Hailey was league MVP in 2020 with Raptors Uprising GC.
Jeremy “Seese” Seese was league Most Improved Player and a champion in 2022 with Bucks Gaming.
During the 2K League broadcast they were being referred to as the Death Star, the Avengers, and arguably the greatest collection of talent in NBA 2K history. Are we surprised the Warriors’ front office gave them the pieces they needed, considering they are led by Kirk Lacob, the executive Vice President of basketball operations for the Dubs?
Here’s an interview with Kirk from years ago when the Warriors Gaming Squad was first coming into existence:
Now that Kirk has overseen the Warriors take their first trophy in the 2K League, effectively conquering eSports, the only question is: will Warriors Gaming Squad win it all again? I’ve got a pretty good feeling they will!
And a big shout out for those here at DNHQ who tuned in and supported these young men chasing their dreams wearing the colors for the Bay’s Team!
For more information on Warriors Gaming Squad, check out their social media @WarriorsGaming and visit their website at WarriorsGamingSquad.com. For more info on the 2K League, head over to NBA2KLeague.com.
Yep. Artistic license. Works great.
> The Warriors are holding free-agent workouts with veterans Dion Waiters, Tony Snell, Kent Bazemore, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Harry Giles and Trey Burke at facility over next two weeks, sources tell me and @anthonyVslater. GS has multiple round of workouts to identify signings.
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