NBA 2K Players Tournament to give hungry fans taste of basketball

NBA fans starved for action amid shutdown forced by coronavirus pandemic will get a taste of competition in an NBA 2K Players Tournament starting on Friday. Kevin Durant may have been sidelined all season as he recovers from a torn Achilles tendon, but Brooklyn Nets star is top seed in 16-man field of current NBA players taking on virtual challenge. NBA, NBA Players Association and game maker 2K anunced tournament, which will be aired in United States on ESPN over 10 days.

" winner will be crowned ultimate NBA 2K20 champion and select a charity beneficiary to receive a $100,000 donation from 2K, NBA and NBPA in support of ongoing coronavirus relief efforts," league said.

Rising Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young is second seed in a field that also features Portland's Hassan Whiteside, Utah's Dovan Mitchell and Washington Wizards rookie Rui Hachimura of Japan. seedings are determined by a player's NBA 2K rating -- Durant is a 96 -- and by tenure in league. After single-elimination first and second rounds semi-finals and final will be best-of-three series.

As shelter-in-place orders and quarantines in face of COVID-19 pandemic have brought actual sports to a standstill, popular NASCAR stock car series showed that eSports can help fill void for sports broadcasters and fans. Over past two weeks NASCAR drivers have competed in iRacing events that were aired on Fox Sports, drawing hundreds of thousands of viewers. NBA put its season on indefinite hold on March 11 after Utah Jazz big man Rudy Gobert tested positive for vel coronavirus. Teammate Mitchell is also among NBA players who have tested positive, as is Durant.