Magic Gaming TIPS OFF Season in NBA 2K League’s Opening Tournament

ORLANDO – Magic Gaming starts their season five NBA 2K League journey on Wednesday with their opening matchup in THE TIPOFF powered by AT&T.

Here’s everything you need to know about Magic Gaming entering their 2022 campaign.

ROSTER:

PG: Justin “Kapp” Kaplan – Kapp enters his rookie season with high expectations. Selected by Orlando with the 10th overall pick in the 2022 NBA 2K League Draft, the former three-sport high school athlete brings all the intangibles to the table, and then some. Along with a high basketball IQ, he’s a willing passer and playmaker for his teammates. While still relatively new to the game – he’s played competitively for less than two years – he’s shown tremendous growth during training camp and scrimmages and is determined to lead Magic Gaming to their most successful season to date.

SG: Justin “Snubby” Stemerman – Referred to as a silent killer by his head coach and teammates alike, Snubby is a dynamic guard who brings experience at both backcourt positions. The Connecticut native is looking to build on a sophomore campaign – his first with Magic Gaming – where he averaged 15.9 points per game while shooting 51.4 percent from the field and 43.7 percent from 3-point range.

SF: Matt “Matty” Grant – Selected with the 19th overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, Matty has blown the organization away during training camp with both his leadership and on-court abilities. Entering his fourth season in the league – he’s previously played for Pacers Gaming and Warriors Gaming Squad – Matty is capable of playing up and down the lineup but will be counted on as Orlando’s lockdown defender. On the offensive end, he’s another secondary playmaker, who’s capable of creating a shot for himself or others.

PF: Robert “May” May – There are few defenders in the NBA 2K League who can be considered in the same class as May. Known as Octo-May for his ability to disrupt passing lanes and cause issues for opposing offenses, the 2K League veteran averaged 1.2 blocks and 0.9 steals per contest last season. May led the entire league in field goal percentage, shooting a scorching 82.1 percent from the floor, while posting 13.6 points per game in 2021. He also finished second among all players in rebounding, pulling down 12.5 boards per contest. His pick-and-roll defense with Matty will be one of the staples of the club this upcoming season.

C: Blaine “Reign” Wilson – If you’re looking for a high-end NBA comparison for Orlando’s rookie center, think Nikola Jokic. While Reign has a long way to go in order to be considered among the NBA 2K League’s best, he’s already flashed in scrimmages as a high-end passer and playmaker from the five-spot. He’ll immediately make an impact during his inaugural campaign on the offensive end as well as the glass.

OPENING WEEK OPPONENTS:

Raptors Uprising GC – Wednesday, April 6 at 10 p.m. ET: Toronto already has one season five game under its belt notching a 62-52 victory over Grizz Gaming on Tuesday. Raptors Uprising can cause problems for teams on the defensive end with a group led by small forward Xavier “Big Saint” St. John and power forward Xavier “Type” Vescovi. Offensively, center Artreyo “Dimez” Boyd is their biggest threat. He posted game highs in points (22) and rebounds (9) in Toronto’s opener.

Knicks Gaming – Thursday, April 7 at 8 p.m. ET: Like Toronto, New York also has a game under their belt. Unlike Raptors Uprising, however, Knicks Gaming dropped their opener, suffering a 69-64 loss at the hands of Hornets Venom GT. New York’s biggest challenges come in the backcourt, which is led by point guard Christopher “Duck” Charles and shooting guard Malik “OriginalMalik” Hobson, who erupted for a contest-best 31 points in Knicks Gaming’s first game of the tournament.

QUOTE TO NOTE: “We are so excited. It’s hard to believe that it’s finally time to play. We’ve been working really, really hard over the last month to get prepared as we can be. We mentioned a number of times that we think we have a solid group. But we know that we have a couple of rookies at key positions and in a lot of ways have a lot of work to do to grow. So, we’re really excited that we’re finally here and get the chance to showcase what we’ve put in over the last few months.” – Magic Head Coach and General Manager Jonah Edwards

RULES OF THE TIPOFF: THE TIPOFF powered by AT&T is a three-week tournament (Tuesday, April 5 – Saturday, April 23) with all 24 NBA 2K League teams participating. It begins with two weeks of remote group play (Tuesday, April 5 – Friday, April 8; Tuesday, April 12 – Friday, April 15) to determine the four teams from each six‑team group that will advance to the round‑of‑16 in-person bracket play at the NBA 2K League Studio in Indianapolis (April 20 – 23).

The 24 teams are divided into two conferences – East and West. Each conference was then divided into two groups via the Group Draft, for a total of four groups with six teams per group.

Each team will play five games in group play, competing against each team in its group once.

The four teams in each group with the best records will advance to the round of 16.

Group A (Western Conference): T-Wolves Gaming, Jazz Gaming, Pistons GT, Blazer5 Gaming, Lakers Gaming, Cavs Legion GC

Group B (Western Conference): Pacers Gaming, Warriors Gaming Squad, Kings Guard Gaming, Mavs Gaming, Bucks Gaming, DUX Infinitos

Group C (Eastern Conference): Wizards District Gaming, Gen.G Tigers of Shanghai, 76ers GC, Celtics Crossover Gaming, Hawks Talon GC, Heat Check Gaming

Group D (Eastern Conference): Hornets Venom GT, NetsGC, Raptors Uprising GC, Knicks Gaming, Grizz Gaming, Magic Gaming

Fans can watch games live on the NBA 2K League’s Twitch and YouTube channels. Games will also be available on Dash Radio, eGG Network in Southeast Asia, Loco in India, and Sport1 in Europe.

The teams will compete for a total prize pool of $250,000. The prize pool will be awarded as follows: First place – $100,000, second place – $50,000, third and fourth place – $25,000 each, and fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth place – $12,500 each.

THE TIPOFF powered by AT&T is the first of three in-season, 5v5 tournaments (THE TIPOFF, THE TURN and THE TICKET) that are part of THE BANNER CHAIN powered by AT&T.