The current NBA season may be suspended with no clear return date in sight, but that doesn’t mean a champion can’t be crowned in the virtual world. With COVID-19 putting a stop to the 2019-20 NBA season on March 12, 2K Sports has taken over the mantle by simulating the rest of the games in NBA 2K20.
The regular season just wrapped up in-game (around the same time it would have if the season wasn’t suspended), so now the Playoffs have begun with 2K simulating the first round of games. Results for the second round will be released on May 1, before the third round results are revealed on May 8, and finally the NBA Finals on May 15.
Below are the final standings at the conclusion of NBA 2K20’s simulated season, showing the 16 teams who qualified for the Playoffs.
Eastern Conference
- Milwaukee Bucks: 69-13
- Boston Celtics: 55-27
- Toronto Raptors: 54-28
- Philadelphia 76ers: 53-29
- Miami Heat: 51-31
- Indiana Pacers: 42-40
- Orlando Magic: 39-43
- Brooklyn Nets: 37-45
Western Conference
- Los Angeles Lakers: 67-15
- Los Angeles Clippers: 57-25
- Denver Nuggets: 51-31
- Oklahoma City Thunder: 50-32
- Houston Rockets: 49-33
- Dallas Mavericks: 48-34
- Utah Jazz: 44-38
- Memphis Grizzlies: 42-40
And here are the results from the first round of the simulated NBA Playoffs:
https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/c3yNK5kaonY
Los Angeles Lakers (4) v. Memphis Grizzlies (0)
- Top players: LeBron James (24.8 PPG, 8.2 APG, 4.5 RPG), Anthony Davis (21.3 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 2.5 APG), Ja Morant (16.3 PPG, 4.5 APG)
Houston Rockets (4) v. Oklahoma City Thunder (3)
- Top players: James Harden (28.6 PPG, 6.6 APG, 5.1 RPG), Russell Westbrook (19.7 PPG, 8.9 RPG, 5.6 APG), Danilo Gallinari (22.1 PPG, 6.1 RPG), Chris Paul (20.6 PPG, 8.1 APG, 5.6 RPG), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (20.3 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 5.0), Dennis Schröder (19.3 PPG, 4.4 APG)
Dallas Mavericks (4) v. Denver Nuggets (3)
- Top players: Luka Dončić (30.7 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 7.6 APG), Kristaps Porziņģis (18.7, 10.4 RPG), Jamal Murray (16.7 PPG, 5.3 APG), Nikola Jokić (14.9 PPG, 12.6 RPG, 6.7 APG)
Los Angeles Clippers (4) v. Utah Jazz (1)
- Top players: Kawhi Leonard (25 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 5.0 APG), Paul George (20.6 PPG, 9.4 RPG, 2.6 APG), Lou Williams (17.0 PPG), Donovan Mitchell (17.2 PPG)
Milwaukee Bucks (4) v. Brooklyn Nets (2)
- Top players: Giannis Antetokounmpo (25.3 PPG, 13.3 RPG, 4.2 APG), Khris Middleton (17.8 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 4.5 APG), Spencer Dinwiddie (21.2 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 6.7 APG)
Philadelphia 76ers (4) v. Miami Heat (3)
- Top players: Joel Embiid (22 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 2.3 APG), Ben Simmons (15.4 PPG, 7 RPG, 5.3 APG), Tobias Harris (21.4 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 2.7 APG), Goran Dragić (21 PPG), Jimmy Butler (20.6 PPG, 9.4 RPG, 4.6 APG)
Toronto Raptors (4) v. Indiana Pacers (0)
- Top players: Pascal Siakam (20 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 3 APG), Fred VanVleet (17 PPG, 4.7 APG), Kyle Lowry (16.8 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 6.8 APG), Victor Oladipo (20.2 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 4.0 APG), T.J. Warren (16.8 PPG)
Boston Celtics (4) v. Orlando Magic (0)
- Top players: Jayson Tatum (24.8 PPG, 5.3 RPG), Kemba Walker (23 PPG, 5.3 APG), Evan Fournier (17.3 PPG, 3 APG), Nikola Vucevic (15.5 PPG, 12.7 RPG, 2 APG)
The Lakers, Rockets, Mavericks, Clippers, Bucks, 76ers, Raptors and Celtics all advance to the second round, so the simulation hasn’t thrown up any major surprises yet. Each of the 4-3 series victories makes sense as you would expect those to be tight matchups where either team could advance.
The second round will now see the Lakers taking on the Rockets, Mavericks vs. Clippers, Bucks vs. 76ers, and Raptors vs. Celtics, with the results being revealed on May 1.
This isn’t the only tournament 2K Sports is using to fill the NBA void, of course. The players-only NBA 2K Tournament took place earlier this month for charity, with the winning player getting $100,000 to give to a COVID-19 related charity of their choice.
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