Things really heated up this season.
Digital Dominance
Jazz Gaming Season Starts Off Strong
Donovan Mitchell shows off the
popular City Edition jersey.
Ricky Rubio gets ready to score.
A partnership with Nike resulted in four new uniform designs. In
particular, the “City Edition” with its cascading color bands from bright
gold to deep burgundy caught the fans’ favor with its representation of
Southern Utah. A complementary basketball court featuring the Delicate
Arch was also introduced. Both will be back next season.
The momentum from the 2017–18 season has not been lost as the
Jazz seek to further improve through the NBA Draft, free agency, and
Summer League. Back in January, during the difficult stretch of schedule,
Gobert, with his usual confidence, tweeted out #WeWillBeFine. And
indeed, he was right. ◆
Esports has an estimated two billion casual gamers worldwide, while
the NBA 2K game is the highest-rated sports title among U.S. sports
leagues. Last year, the NBA announced it would launch the inaugural
NBA 2K League, the first official esports league operated by a professional
sports league. In May 2017, the Utah Jazz revealed it would be one of 17
participating teams, playing under the moniker of Jazz Gaming.
Gamers from around the world began to play NBA 2K18 in January
with the hopes of qualifying for the draft. After an extensive tryout
process, 72,000 competitors were whittled down to 250 before a selection
committee identified 102 players, via stats and interviews, as entries in the
league’s first draft class.
Jazz Gaming, which was awarded the No. 3 overall selection through
the draft lottery, selected Delano “Tifeworld” Allsup Jr.; Shaka “Yeah
I Compete” Browne; DeMar “Deedz” Butler; Malik “MrSlaughter01”
Leisinger; Jaishon “Smoove” Scott; and Michael “Stambreezy” Stam on
draft night. The team is administered by Josh Barney, director of esports
and technology, and team manager Angie Klingsieck.
The six-man squad, composed of players from around the United
States, resides in Salt Lake City during the 17-week season and features
a college basketball player, former Uber driver, a cancer survivor, and a
military veteran.
Each week, the team travels to New York City where they compete as
unique characters in 5-on-5 play against other 2K League teams. They also
compete for $1 million prize money across three tournaments and playoffs.
Games are streamed live on Twitch, the world’s leading social video
service and community for gamers. ◆
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