Day 1 of the 16-player NBA 2K Players Tournament on ESPN concluded Friday night after four first-round matchups. For each matchup, the players had a chance to choose which team they wanted to control. The winners cannot use the teams they played with Friday night in future rounds.
What follows is some of the fun banter overheard during Friday’s action and spotted on social media:
Read more: NBA 2K Players Tournament predictions | When watching NBA stars play video games is the only game in town
Derrick Jones Jr. (Milwaukee Bucks) 78, Kevin Durant (LA Clippers) 62
ESPN’s Bomani Jones tweeted: “so i’m checking out a little of this 2k tournament, and what i’ve learned so far is kevin durant has no respect for what ersan ilyasova brings to the table.”
Durant on Ilyasova: “Hold up, they got Ilyasova out here? Cross back … get there … (after Ilyasova makes the steal). Come on man, this is a fluke!”
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Evan Turner said he thought Durant was too old to be competing in the tournament. (He and Durant are both 31.)
@KDTrey5 you know damn well you can’t play these 90s babies in video games. Every kid born after 95 is a top chef
– Evan Turner (@thekidet) April 4, 2020
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Deandre Ayton (Houston Rockets) 57, Zach LaVine (Miami Heat) 41
LaVine: “Can I pick the All-Star team? You’re gonna go with the Rockets!”
Ayton: “I’ve been playing 2K since 2K9 … with KG [Kevin Garnett] on the cover. That’s my guy.”
While competing against each other Friday, Ayton and LaVine talked about the most recent time they faced each other on the court.
Ayton: “You caught me last game, bro. They called timeout after that, I was like yo, I think Zach just dunked on me.”
LaVine: “Aye man, you a big dude, you’re supposed to get dunked on every once in a while.”
Ayton: “It was quick … and you jumped off the wrong leg, so I’m waiting for you to take another step … yeah … that was kinda crazy.”
Caught myself watching this @NBA2K on @espn like it’s a real game.
– Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) April 4, 2020
Trae Young (Milwaukee Bucks) 101, Harrison Barnes (Toronto Raptors) 59
Barnes on Dirk Nowitzki: “He was the best, man, he was hilarious. By far the funniest teammate. He worked super hard, and he’s a killer on the floor, but he always made sure that he has fun and that everyone around him has fun.”
It’s crazy… I’ve been treating today like a game day�� https://t.co/ftDAHn0lZi
– Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) April 4, 2020
Harrison Barnes wild buns ������ you cant get 40 pieced on national TV bro
– Josh Hart (@joshhart) April 4, 2020
Patrick Beverley (Milwaukee Bucks) 84, Hassan Whiteside (Los Angeles Lakers) 54
Beverley: “Get freaky with it, da da dadada da da. … I’ma beat him by 30! I’ma beat him by 30!”
Whiteside: “Man, Giannis [Antetokounmpo] is a cheat code, I ain’t gonna lie.”
Beverley: “It ain’t Giannis that’s playing, I’m controlling him. So I’m just a cheat code. You can just call me The Cheat Code, I’ll take that.”
Beverley: “That’s how we get busy. Up 10, just had to lock in a little bit, yes sir, he has no business in my game … no business in my game. Greek, they forgot about you, Greek. Yeah Greek, YEEEAAHHHHHHH! I SMELL IT! I knew it, I was too locked in. I was too locked in.”
Beverley after LeBron James‘ effort to the hoop gets stopped: “Uh uh. This ain’t video game James, he got some years on him now, he can’t just be jumpin’ all over the rim now!”
I’m really watching Whiteside play 2K on ESPN . What has the world come to ��
– CJ McCollum (@CJMcCollum) April 4, 2020
The next four first-round matchups will air Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. ET on ESPN2. The quarterfinals will be on Tuesday from 7 to 11 p.m. ET on ESPN2. And the semifinals and finals will be April 11 on ESPN.