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In lieu of playing real-life basketball, Chelsea Gray will have to settle for video games.
The Sparks star will be participating in the NBA 2K League Three For All Showdown. Her team, “Raining Threes”, also includes Haywood Highsmith and Michael Bryson, who both play for the Delaware Blue Coats in the G League. They are in the XBox bracket and their first matchup will be Wednesday, April 1 at 8 p.m. PT against the Philadelphia 76ers NBA2K team.
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The NBA 2K League was postponed, along with other professional sports leagues, due to the coronavirus. This 3-on-3 tournament was created to fill the void, and it allows fans and other athletes to play against NBA 2K League players. All of the matchups will be played in the NBA 2K20 My Park game mode and will be streamed on Twitch.
Gray is one of five WNBA players who are taking part in the event, along with former Spark Alexis Jones now with the Atlanta Dream, Allisha Gray of the Dallas Wings, Sugar Rodgers of the Las Vegas Aces, and Aerial Powers of the defending champion Washington Mystics. Powers’ video-game prowess is well-documented.
Lakers Gaming, the team’s 2K League affiliate, is also participating but in the PlayStation bracket, so they will not go up against Raining Threes.
This is a separate event from the NBA Players Only 2K tournament, which will begin Friday, April 3. No current Lakers are in that challenge, although DeMarcus Cousins is slated to participate. Cousins recently announced that he will be working with NRG eSports while he recovers from his torn ACL.