Magic Gaming’s Sensational 3v3 Season Comes to an End in Grand Finals Loss to Lakers Gaming

The Lead: Magic Gaming put together one of the most impressive 3v3 campaigns in NBA 2K League history. They made the grand finals of both regular season tournaments, claimed the SWITCH OPEN title, and reached the championship round of the playoffs. However, Orlando was unable to put a bow on its stellar run, falling to Lakers Gaming in the 3v3 grand finals.

“I’m really proud of the season in general and the guys for fighting,” said Magic Gaming general manager and head coach Jonah Edwards. “It takes a whole team to make this happen. We did a great job of sticking together through the kind of times that can knock a team down. Incredibly proud (and) incredibly humbled by it all. Not the end result we wanted. We wanted to be a champion. We wanted to bring it back home to Orlando. Ultimately, there’s a lot of peace to be taken in how we performed. It’s not easy to stay consistent in the 2K League for three months. We found a way to do it.”

As a result of their second place finish in the 3v3 playoffs, Magic Gaming took home a collective prize of $100,000.

Game 1: It’s rare to see Magic Gaming struggle in a series opener, but in Game 1 Orlando took a moment to find its rhythm. Lakers Gaming opened the contest on an 8-0 run as they cruised past Magic Gaming 22-15.

Game 2: Orlando appeared to have the perfect game plan to respond against L.A. It opened the contest on a 7-0 run and consistently created open looks. However, shot making became an issue down the stretch as Magic Gaming dropped a 21-17 decision to Lakers Gaming.

Lakers Gaming power forward Arshia “Krazy” Karimi led his squad with eight points, five rebounds, and three assists.

Magic Gaming point guard Joshua “unguardable” Hunter had team highs in points (eight) and assists (four).

Game 3: Any hopes of a miraculous comeback were quickly erased as Lakers Gaming jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. L.A. emerged with a 22-13 triumph over Orlando to claim the game, the series, and the 3v3 championship.

Small forward Veron “YooVc” Coates led L.A. with nine points as Lakers Gaming swept Magic Gaming without ever getting a double-digit performance from MVP candidate Dhwan “ShiftyKaii” White. 

“Shot making was the reason we weren’t able to take down the Lakers,” said Edwards. “We were playing well, but could not hit the shots that we normally hit. There were a lot of external and environmental factors in play there – it is what it is. Disappointed with the result, but proud of the effort from the team. Nothing I would change as far as the game plan even in hindsight.”

HOW THEY GOT THERE: Orlando had its share of success on Saturday, which propelled it to the grand finals. First, Magic Gaming made quick work of Bucks Gaming in the lower bracket semifinals. Then, Orlando got its revenge on Gen.G, who beat them earlier in the postseason, in order to advance to the grand finals. Here’s a closer look at those series:

Lower Bracket Semifinals – Magic Gaming Defeats Bucks Gaming 3-1:

Game 1: Magic Gaming 22, Bucks Gaming 15

Game 2: Magic Gaming 22, Bucks Gaming 15

Game 3: Bucks Gaming 22, Magic Gaming 9

Game 4: Magic Gaming 22, Bucks Gaming 16

Series Synopsis: “I thought we did a great job of problem solving in real time. After Game 1, where it just wasn’t working as we had hoped, we adjusted and did a great job of forcing some turnovers and putting (guard) Mason “JohhnyRed” Bracken in tougher spots as the series moved on. That was exactly what we hoped to do. I thought we did a good job after that.” – Edwards

Lower Bracket Finals – Magic Gaming Sweeps Gen. G 3-0:

Game 1: Magic Gaming 22, Gen. G 20

Game 2: Magic Gaming 23, Gen.G 17

Game 3: Magic Gaming 23, Gen. G 20

Series Synopsis: “It felt great to beat Gen. G. We knew we were the better team in our series with them on Friday night. What we thought would happen was exactly what did happen. We beat Milwaukee after focusing on that. And then, we would face Gen. G and punch them right in the mouth. We had a horrible start in Game 1, but we rallied like hell. Super proud of the team for that.” – Edwards

UP NEXT: Magic Gaming will start the 5v5 portion of the NBA 2K League season on May 8 against Cavs Legion GC at 7 p.m. ET in THE TIPOFF.

HOW TO WATCH: Fans can watch games live on the NBA 2K League’s Twitch and YouTube channels.