Feature Dynasties
- Braves May 1st Update. by bkrich83 (4)
- May 1st Standings and League Leaders by bkrich83 (6)
- 2012/13 Eastern Conference Semi Finals Recap - East Finals Preview by cgalligan (7)
- Draft Results by wolvesjr34 (4)
- General Manager's Assessment Allstar Break by wolvesjr34 (2)
- 2012/13 Western Conference Semi Finals Recap - West Finals Preview by cgalligan (7)
- Monday, April 4, 2011 by rbowlden (1)
- Sunday, April 3, 2011 by rbowlden (0)
- RTTS 2014 Regular Season Update 1 by crbuke (1)
- Chicago Cubs (fantasy draft) by Pete_Dogg_18 (5)
See all the latest Dynasty Comments in one location.
Thursday, May 2, 2019
| New York Yankees at Los Angeles Dodgers | ||||||||||||
| May 2, 2018 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| New York (1-0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | ||
| Los Angeles (0-1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| W: L. Severino L: C. Kershaw | ||||||||||||
| Scoring Summary | ||||
| SCORING DETAILS | NYY | LAD | ||
| NYY | 5 | Stanton 2 Run single | 2 | 0 |
| NYY | 5 | Torres 2 Run Double | 4 | 0 |
| NYY | 7 | Hicks RBI Single | 5 | 0 |
| NYY | 8 | Sanchez RBI Groundout | 6 | 0 |
| NYY | 8 | Bird Sac Fly | 7 | 0 |
| LAD | 8 | Machado RBI Double | 7 | 1 |
| New York Yankees | ||||||||
| HITTERS | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | HR | AVG |
| Turner | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Machado | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Muncy | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Bellinger | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Grandal | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Taylor | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Puig | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Hernandez | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Kershaw | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Kemp | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Pederson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | ||||||||
| HITTERS | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | HR | AVG |
| Hicks | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Judge | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| Stanton | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Torres | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Gregorious | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | |
| Andujar | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Sanchez | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Bird | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Severino | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Gardner | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| New York Yankees | ||||||||
| PITCHERS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
| Kershaw | 6 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 0 | |
| Maeda | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | |
| Baez | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | ||||||||
| PITCHERS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
| Serverino | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | |
| Sabathia | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | |
Sunday, April 28, 2019
08:04 AM - April 28, 2019. Written by StormsWarning
Going to start unedited video blogs so whoever would like to see the action, could be able to. so enjoy ill be posting as often as i can.this game is a full fictional set up using timsfictionalroster, and a variety of creators for stadiums and uniforms.
also this is year one of my league with 6 draft classes, im using Cleveland as my main team, however i watch a lot of CPU Vs CPU games as well. this format will follow for all my games. if theres a Cleveland team i'll always be them as a base.
edit i'll also go through all stats and all league news giving a full insight on every player and every situation being covered in the league, this format will also follow for every sport i play.
Monday, April 22, 2019
TEAMS IN THE HUNT FOR HARPER:
- Looking to trade Sisco 28-86-A. He has won several consecutive Gold Gloves but is not a great hitter. He could still get us some pitching.
SFG - only team to offer prospects
MIL - need
CHW - need
RETIRED:
BAL - SP Nariano Rivas 24-65-C This is a surprise. We were hoping to have him in the rotation next season. He retired because of "ability". Weird.
Mike Leake - Yu Darvish - Danny Duffy - HOF Robinson Cano 2,784 H 352 H .297 avg
Thursday, April 18, 2019
06:53 PM - April 18, 2019. Written by J11Knight
| Rice Owls at Army Black Knights | ||||||
| Sep 28, 2013 | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | OT | SCORE |
| Rice Owls (1-3) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | N/A | 10 |
| Army Black Knights (3-0) | 10 | 7 | 7 | 7 | N/A | 31 |
| Team Stats Comparison | ||
| RICE | ARMY | |
| Total Offense | 264 | 369 |
| Rushing Yards | 114 | 187 |
| Passing Yards | 150 | 182 |
| First Downs | 15 | 18 |
| Punt Return Yards | 61 | 121 |
| Kick Return Yards | 0 | 82 |
| Total Yards | 325 | 572 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 0 |
| 3rd Down Conversion | 4-17(23%) | 5-13(38%) |
| 4th Down Conversion | 2-4(50%) | 0-0 |
| 2-Point Conversion | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals | 3A/1T | 5A/3T/1F |
| Penalties | 2-10 | 0-0 |
| Possession Time | 17:29 | 18:31 |
| Scoring Summary | |||
| FIRST QUARTER SCORING | RICE | ARMY | |
| 4:10 | (ARMY) L. Salyers, 23 Yd FG | 0 | 3 |
| 2:37 | (ARMY) C. Harrison, 12 Yd pass from K. Hopkins Jr. | 0 | 10 |
| SECOND QUARTER SCORING | RICE | ARMY | |
| 7:18 | (RICE) H. Tobola, 47 Yd FG | 3 | 10 |
| 0:06 | (ARMY) A. Davidson, 1 Yd run | 3 | 17 |
| THIRD QUARTER SCORING | RICE | ARMY | |
| 7:09 | (ARMY) A. Davidson, 35 Yd run | 3 | 24 |
| FOURTH QUARTER SCORING | RICE | ARMY | |
| 7:17 | (RICE) E. Esukpa, 1 Yd run | 10 | 24 |
| 6:03 | (ARMY) D. Woolfolk, 1 Yd run | 10 | 31 |
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Wednesday, April 17, 2019
07:01 PM - April 17, 2019. Written by J11Knight
| Army Black Knights at Idaho Vandals | ||||||
| Sep 21, 2013 | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | OT | SCORE |
| Army Black Knights (2-0) | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | N/A | 28 |
| Idaho Vandals (0-3) | 7 | 10 | 0 | 7 | N/A | 24 |
| Team Stats Comparison | ||
| ARMY | IDHO | |
| Total Offense | 427 | 299 |
| Rushing Yards | 325 | 111 |
| Passing Yards | 102 | 188 |
| First Downs | 20 | 16 |
| Punt Return Yards | 35 | 29 |
| Kick Return Yards | 99 | 0 |
| Total Yards | 561 | 328 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 1 |
| 3rd Down Conversion | 8-12(66%) | 5-11(45%) |
| 4th Down Conversion | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| 2-Point Conversion | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals | 5A/4T | 4A/3T/1F |
| Penalties | 2-9 | 1-5 |
| Possession Time | 20:47 | 15:13 |
| Scoring Summary | |||
| FIRST QUARTER SCORING | ARMY | IDHO | |
| 6:55 | (IDHO) J. Boston, 4 Yd pass from M. Petrino | 0 | 7 |
| 4:05 | (ARMY) J. Asberry, 5 Yd run | 7 | 7 |
| SECOND QUARTER SCORING | ARMY | IDHO | |
| 8:13 | (IDHO) N. Croninger, 27 Yd FG | 7 | 10 |
| 4:29 | (IDHO) H. Ashby, 1 Yd pass from M.Petrino | 7 | 17 |
| 1:14 | (ARMY) Q. Parker, 6 Yd pass from K. Hopkins Jr. | 14 | 17 |
| THIRD QUARTER SCORING | ARMY | IDHO | |
| 1:18 | (ARMY) C. Hayes, 19 Yd pass from L. Langdon | 21 | 17 |
| FOURTH QUARTER SCORING | ARMY | IDHO | |
| 7:51 | (IDHO) J. Wysocki, 8 Yd pass from M. Petrino | 21 | 24 |
| 2:19 | (ARMY) J. Asberry, 16 Yd run | 28 | 24 |
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06:27 PM - April 17, 2019. Written by J11Knight
| Western Michigan Broncos at Army Black Knights | ||||||
| Sep 14, 2013 | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | OT | SCORE |
| Western Michigan Broncos (0-2) | 3 | 0 | 7 | 13 | N/A | 23 |
| Army Black Knights (1-0) | 0 | 10 | 10 | 7 | N/A | 27 |
| Team Stats Comparison | ||
| WMU | ARMY | |
| Total Offense | 324 | 404 |
| Rushing Yards | 84 | 200 |
| Passing Yards | 240 | 204 |
| First Downs | 10 | 22 |
| Punt Return Yards | 13 | 12 |
| Kick Return Yards | 26 | 124 |
| Total Yards | 363 | 540 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 3 |
| 3rd Down Conversion | 4-12(33%) | 5-12(41%) |
| 4th Down Conversion | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| 2-Point Conversion | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals | 4A/2T/2F | 4A/1T/2F |
| Penalties | 0-0 | 3-25 |
| Possession Time | 15:08 | 27:12 |
| Scoring Summary | |||
| FIRST QUARTER SCORING | WMU | ARMY | |
| 5:33 | (WMU) J.Grant, 52 Yd FG | 3 | 0 |
| SECOND QUARTER SCORING | WMU | ARMY | |
| 3:24 | (ARMY) L.Salyers, 30 Yd FG | 3 | 3 |
| 1:11 | (ARMY) K.Cline, 20 Yd pass from K.Hopkins Jr. | 3 | 10 |
| THIRD QUARTER SCORING | WMU | ARMY | |
| 8:15 | (WMU) J.Bogan, 6 Yd run | 10 | 10 |
| 5:48 | (ARMY) L.Salyers, 26 Yd FG | 10 | 13 |
| 1:45 | (ARMY) K.Walker, 21 Yd run | 10 | 20 |
| FOURTH QUARTER SCORING | WMU | ARMY | |
| 8:34 | (WMU) J.Bogan, 4 Yd run | 17 | 20 |
| 6:44 | (WMU) J.Grant, 35 Yd FG | 20 | 20 |
| 3:26 | (WMU) J.Grant, 37 Yd FG | 23 | 20 |
| 0:53 | (ARMY) A.Davidson, 2 Yd run | 23 | 27 |
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League Leaders: 2B Gonzalez 39 doubles / CF Brannen 8 triples / Wood 15 wins, Saucedo 15 wins, Estrada 12 wins / CP Catnik 51 saves / Wood 2.37 era, Saucedo 2.54 era / Estrada 177 K
Wood 213 IP, Estrada 188 IP /
1B Montanez .337 8 hr / C Wynns .289 / 1B Gonzalez .286 / CF Brugman .273
2B Gonzalez .272 / C Collins .265 11 hr / SS Grenier .230 14 HR 60 rbi / 1B Rios 16 hr
RP Pop 8 ip 0.00 8 k / RP Feltman 49 ip 43 k 1.84 / CP Catnik 51 sv 54 k 2.24
SP Wood 15-8 2.37 142 k / SP Rogers 2.41 / SP Saucedo 15-6 2.54 103 k
RP Hersh 5-1 2.68 / SP Akin 41 IP 42 K 3.02 / SP Estrada 12-6, 3.40 177 k
AA - 75-65 1st
LF Spahn .305 / 3B Encarnancion .304 / LF Vargas .302 10hr 48 rbi / SS Webster .277 15 hr
1B Cedeno .269 / 2B Kovalenko .264 10 hr / C Nottingham .245 16 hr 53 rbi
RF Rodriguez .235 20 hr 57 rbi
RP Escobar 1.53 / SP Mercado 10-8, 2.76 / RP Gomez 2.92, 64ip 94K / RP Elez 7-3, 3.01
SP Cervantes 13-6, 3.17 / RP Alvarez 3.47 46k 46ip / SP Francisco 9-7, 3.88
SP Hanifee 3.88
03:53 AM - April 17, 2019. Written by TheGoldViper
What a 12 months WWE has had. As much as discussion and discourse surrounding professional wrestling can get muddied with jaded cynicism, April 2018 to April 2019 brought us a lot of good. The slow, steady climb of 205 Live and the creation of NXT UK; the First All-Women’s PPV, and the First Women’s WrestleMania Main Event. Career-defining stretches for superstars like Ronda Rousey, Daniel Bryan, Becky Lynch, Seth Rollins, Ricochet and Mustafa Ali. Twists and turns through intricately-woven stories: Dean Ambrose turning his back on The Shield, “The New” Daniel Bryan embracing his duty as the Planet’s Champion, Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa, The Aleister Black Whodunit, and the aforementioned rise of The Man.
Even with all that good however, there were some WWE decisions that left its’ fan base scratching their collective heads. From questionable business dealings with The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to more tangible story points like Brock Lesnar’s seemingly never-ending stranglehold on the Universal Title and the lack of direction for stars like Rusev and Asuka.
Therein lies the desire to re-book and re-create the last year of WWE action (and further), and I don’t necessarily think it’s a malicious desire. So much chatter between active wrestling fans is playing armchair booker, and it’s a sort of harmless-fun endeavor to undertake. It’s an endeavor I’ve been wishing to undertake since WWE 2K17’s release cycle, though it fell through multiple times. But it’s ready to begin now, and it’s WWE 2K19 Universe Mode!
An explanation of how the mode will run: firstly, the format isn’t really Universe Mode. At least not in the traditional sense. There’s not much in the way of “gameplay” to be seen (though there has been slider and attribute editing done behind the scenes to make playing the matches off-screen more engaging for me, and in turn, giving me more inspiration for match structure). Rather, the stories are told in-text, with screenshots from WWE 2K19 and an attached Excel spreadsheet that covers The 2018 WWE Draft, the rosters of each brand and where every superstar has ended up, divisions and contendership rankings towards titles on all the brands, a list of current champions, 2K19 ratings for all the superstars (starting at where I felt each superstar’s momentum was at on 4/9/18, and influenced by weekly power rankings), trades/signings between brands, injuries, and the WWE’s Current PPV/Event Schedule.
For the time being, the Universe will stay within the sphere of WWE’s talent roster. Acquisitions that WWE made from April 2018 to April 2019 like Matt Riddle, KUSHIDA, Mae Young Classic competitors and members of NXT UK’s roster will be slowly implemented; there’ll be an attempt to incorporate them at or around the same time they signed in real life, but in cases where the logistics don’t pan out (like the case of me not currently looking to make an equivalent NXT UK brand), it might not be 1:1. Eventually, some of these “indie signings” may be my own Original Characters plopped into NXT or 205Live just for personal fulfillment, but those will be handled on a case-by-case basis and will have a chance of trickling in only when the direction for the real-world roster is in place.
Injuries are accurate to 4/9/18, and the expected time-table for injury returns are as well. This caveat mainly effects a case like Jason Jordan’s, in which news coming out around WrestleMania 34 had him slated for a RAW After ‘Mania or early summer 2018 return, but as of writing one year later, it seems unlikely that he’ll ever see in-ring competition again due to the unfortunate circumstances of his injury. An example like Jordan’s would have him return in-game despite not doing so in real life.
And of course, the elephant in the room: comparisons to real-life ongoing storylines and emulation of those stories in Universe Mode. As previously mentioned, WWE was responsible for good and bad this year, and some of the good to come out of the creative banks has been really good. Some stories after WrestleMania stretching into the summer months felt like a logical progression for the characters in question, such as Axel & Dallas being separated from Miz via a draft/shakeup, and as a result, become fish-out-of-water plucky underdogs; that is a real-world WWE storyline worth emulating in Universe Mode.
Some of “the bad”, even, may be just minutia that only requires small tweaks (I think “Bludgeon Brothers” is kinda campy), and there is power to change the bad or ignore it/retcon it based on personal preference. Overall, current day WWE storylines, in a small way, are an inspiration for the creative direction of this Universe Mode, as are many other wrestling-based sources of inspiration that I’ve compiled in my time watching the medium.
So, with all the ground rules and explanation out of the way, it’s time to get started! The aforementioned Excel Spreadsheet is attached, and accurate to 4/9/18, just before the RAW After ‘Mania and right after the 2018 WWE Draft (surprises to come on the night’s RAW are intentionally omitted). The RAW After WrestleMania 34 is coming soon! Thank you all for your interest in this project, and catch you all for RAW to get this kicked off right.
~Tim K. (TheGoldViper)
Saturday, April 13, 2019
I am starting my franchise now that OSFM Rosters have finally hit the vault. I play every pitch of all 162 games on HOF for both batting/pitching. I will be using Armor's HOF Sliders as well for this franchise.
I almost always do my season with the Royals but as we all know... that would be bad for my mental health. So I've been debating a few teams, Phillies, Braves, Reds, and Rays. I'm an American League fan and a fan of the DH, however I wanted to try something a bit different this year.
So my selected team for the 2019 franchise team is.....
The Cincinnati Reds
Wednesday, April 10, 2019
Setup
I mostly sim the games, but will play a few games here and there, especially in the playoffs. The rest is simulated, but I manage A LOT of what is going in the league on a macro level. How players progress and regress, how many games teams win, how playoff series turn out etc. is mostly left for the CPU. On occasion though, if something is really important to me, I will take over.
I play on CelticLG's current day roster, and I've done a bunch of attributes, tendencies etc. edits myself as well. I use Barncores Progression sliders that I've edited a bit too. And I have some KILLER draft classes ready! I use some community rosters for the 2019, 2020 and 2021 with real prospects. Then I use John Baddeds fictional draft classes 1 through 6 afterwards. I've made massive changes to pretty much all of these classes (especially tendencies), and in some of John Baddens classes, I've put in some future monsters (CAP's) that I'll detail below. All of them has a starting OVR of 80-88 and all of them have a potential OVR of 96 (except for Isaac Calvin, OVR=87 Potential=93). Same goes for Zion Williamson btw:
First, in the 2023 draft, John Calvin. A 6'6 white, but deadly, off-ball scorer who can shoot from anywhere. He knows where to be on the defensive side, but his lack of athleticism obviously limits him on that end of the floor. He won't be much of a ball handler, but he will run around screens and get a ton of buckets from any range. He is close to a finished product already, and teams might shy away from picking him at the very top. However, give him someone who can feed him the ball and some good defenders, and he can definitely lead you to success.
Then we have a 5'11 killer by the name of Xavier Qualls, a mix of AI, Kyrie and Steph. Tenacious hustle player with a relentless drive, AMAZING handles, great finisher for his size and a lethal shooter, all though not quite the shooter Steph is. He will enter in the 2024 draft.
In 2025 we have the 6'9 nigerian freak Thabo Okobo, as well as the 6'11 scorer Romeo Carter entering. Thabo is an athletic slasher at the forward position with great potential as a point forward, while Romeo is a lanky cornrow-rocking and scruffy bearded ISO-scorer who looks like he walked in straight from the Rucker in the 80's. He also plays the forward position, and he can literally score over anyone and from anywhere. Pretty clear I've moulded these two after Lebron and KD...
Then in 2026 we have another monster moving over from africa. The 6'4 325 pound freak of nature Mamadou M'Benga. Pretty much just Shaquille O'Neil... Better from the line though!
And lastly, in 2027, I've created the Point God. Raymond Brooks. 6'5, athletic as hell, strong, great defender, great distributor and has a sweet, all though not great, jumper to fall back on if all else fails.
2018/2019
MVP: Giannis Antetokounmpo
Rookie of the year: Luka Doncic
Champions: Golden State Warriors
Finals MVP: Demarcus Cousins
Defensive player of the year: Anthony Davis
Scoring leader: James Harden
While Anthony Davis (30, 17 and 6) and James Harden (who btw had 7 50 point games) both averaged above 30 PPG, Giannis ultimately won the MVP by averaging 27, 14 and 8, playing great defence and notching the 1st seed in the east.
Anthony Davis had one of the best defensive seasons of all time with 17 rebounds, 3,5 blocks and 2,5 steals.
The Golden State Warriors won the west, where Stephen Curry managed to hit 15 threes (singe game NBA record) in a game twice!
Boston had a hugely disappointing season, only managing the 6th seed in the east and ultimately falling in the first round of the playoffs to the 76’ers. Kyrie ain't going to be happy...
Oklahoma disappointed as well. They barely made the playoffs before being swept by the Houston Rockets in the first round.
The Knicks somehow made it to the playoffs with the 8th seed where they got swept by the Raptors in the first round.
Lebron James’ first season in LA have to be considered a mild success. They made it to the 4th seed in the west with Lebron averaging 27, 9 and 9 and making the second All-NBA defensive team, which is the first time since 2014 that he has made any of the All-NBA defensive teams. They beat Portland in five games in the first round of the playoffs before running in to Golden State where they didn’t really stand a chance.
The NBA Finals was a matchup between Golden State, who overcame Houston and The Beard in the Western Conference Finals, and the Raptors, who found a way to stop Giannis and the Bucks in the East. Both conference finals went seven games. Curry, Durant and the rest of the crew was able to comfortably win that series in six games and lift the trophy with Demarcus Cousins winning the MVP of the series.
2019 off season
Zion Williamson went number 1 in the draft, which means he joins newly appointed Bulls coach Jerry Stackhouse in Chicago.
Ja Morant went number 2 in the draft to the Suns, who also brought David Blatt back to the NBA, which probably gave the struggling franchise one last hope of building a winning team and keeping disgruntled superstar Devin Booker in town long enough to grow in to a contender. Ja Morant, Devin Booker, DeAndre Ayton, Josh Jackson, Miles Bridges, TJ Warren is a very exciting young lineup with great promise!
The Los Angeles Lakers made some moves! Hired David Fizdale to replace Luke Walton. Drafted a good young lockdown defender at shooting guard in Matisse Thybulle. Picked up Kemba Walker in free agency. Traded away Lonzo, Ingram, and a bunch of picks and stuffing to make the money work in return for Paul George (securing Oklahomas future, but in return, sacrificing the last years of Westbrooks prime…). Kemba, Hart, PG13, Lebron, McGee and Kuzma. GREAT six man rotation.
The New York Knicks made some rumblings as well! I originally intended for KD and Kyrie to team up in The Big Apple, but since KD opted in to his contract with Golden State, Kyrie and Jimmy Butler ended up as a duo in New York. After those two I did a three way trade with the Nets and the Bulls, where, of note, the Nets acquired Otto Porter, the Bulls acquired Kevin Knox and Dennis Smith Jr, while the Knicks acquired Chris Levert and Lauri Markannen. My reasoning behind the semi-blockbuster trade was that the Knicks wanted to win now, the Bulls wanted young pieces to surround Zion with, and send off Markannen as his PF position was now held by Zion, and the Nets wanted a lower usage wing, all though still quality guy, instead of Levert to unleash the scoring potential of Russell.
And finally, the trade that was bound to happen! Anthony Davis, along with Jrue Holiday (!!!) and Solomon Hill, getting traded to the Boston Celtics in return for Gordon Hayward, Al Horford, Jaylen Brown, Nassir Little and Keldon Johnson along with the two 2020 first round picks. I think this makes sense for both teams. The Clippers 2020 pick could prove to be very valuable. Jaylen Brown, Nassir Little and Keldon Johnson are all future studs and could be valuable role players on a future contender. Hayward and Horford is obviously just for the money to work.
In terms of contenders for the 2019/2020 season I have:
Warriors (Steph, Klay, KD, Draymond, Bell and Iguodala)
Lakers (Kemba, J-Hart, PG13, Lebron, McGee, Kuzma)
Celtics (J-Holiday, Smart, Tatum, Morris, Davis, Rozier)
Knicks (Kyrie, Butler, LeVert, Markkannen, M-Robinson, Harrell)
76'ers (D-Rose, J-Simmons, Simmons, Harris, Embiid, J-Parker)
Bucks (Brogdon, DiVincenzo, Middleton, Giannis, B-Fernando, Mirotic)
Raports (Lowry, D-Green, Kawhi, Siakam, Gasol, Ibaka)
Rockets (CP3, Harden, Tucker, Faried, Capela, Gordon)
And then there's a few exciting young teams to look out for in the future!
Bulls (Dunn, Lavine, Knox, Zion, Carter Jr, Smith Jr)
Hawks (Trae, Bazemore, Barrett, Collins, B-Lopez, D-Jordan)
Kings (Fox, Hield, R-Gay, Bagley, Cauley-Stein, Bogdanovic)
Magic (Fultz, Reddish, Isaac, Gordon, Vucevic, Bamba)
Mavs (Bledsoe, Hardaway Jr, Doncic, Porzingis, Powell, Rondo)
Nets (D'Angelo, Alexander-Walker, O-Porter, Washington, Allen, Hollis-Jefferson)
Nuggets (Murray, Harris, Porter Jr, Millsap, Jokic, Plumlee)
Suns (Morant, Booker, J-Jackson, Warren, Ayton, M-Bridges).
2019/2020
MVP: Anthony Davis
Rookie of the year: Zion Williamson
Champions: Los Angeles Lakers
Finals MVP: Lebron James
Defensive player of the year: Kawhi Leonard
Scoring leader: James Harden
The MVP, Anthony Davis (26, 14, 6) and the Boston Celtics finished with the second best record in the league just behind the Warriors.
The two biggest markets, who big made big splashes during the off-season, the Kyrie led Knicks and the Lebron led Lakers, finished with the third and second seed in their conferences.
The 76’ers with Embiid (23, 13, 4) and Simmons (21, 9, 11) secured the 3rd seed in the east while Harden (33, 6, 10) got the 3rd seed in the east. IMO Harden actually got robbed for MVP. That Houston team is full of older players who can’t produce on a high level anymore, and CP3 is not the CP3 we used to know anymore. He literally carried that team, put up what I consider to be better numbers than AD (meeh, it’s close, AD did have 2 steals and 2,5 blocks…) while not having the luxury of a STACKED team like AD does. However, I wound up not overriding the decision as Harden has won an MVP before in his career, and I feel as though guys like Embiid, Simmons, Towns, Booker, Doncic, Giannis and Zion might make it hard for Davis to ever reach that mark again. Thought about overriding it though…
Zion (22, 10, 7) and the Chicago Bulls made the playoffs with the 7th seed.
In terms of scoring leaders, the amount of stacked teams the league has now, where buckets have to be divided between 2-4 superstars, meant that guys like Lebron, PG13, Kemba, Steph, KD, Kyrie, Embiid etc. all averaged under 25 PPG. Instead, Harden (33 PPG), Lillard (30 PPG), Mitchell (29 PPG), Towns (28 PPG), Derozan (26 PPG) and of course AD (26 PPG), all though playing on a stacked team, led the league in terms of interesting. Pretty fresh group of guys here, I like it. Also worthy of mentioning for their scoring is D-Book (25 PPG), D-Fox (25 PPG), Doncic (24 PPG), B-Ingram in Oklahoma (Most Improved Player of the Year with 23 PPG!!!), C-Sexton (23 PPG), J-Randle (22 PPG) and D-Russell (23 PPG).
Draymond had 31 triple doubles while Lebron and Simmons both had 25.
The Knicks had a close first round matchup against Zion and the Bulls that went seven games. I played that seventh controlling the Knicks as I felt Zion beating a superteam in a playoffs series was a little too soon for him. I ended up winning a close game seven with Kyrie taking over (as he practically had for the whole series), but man Zion was something special! You just can’t defend him in the fast break, cutting to the basket or being posted up on smaller guards…
The Conference Finals had Boston, who had swept their way through both Cleveland and Toronto, facing the Knicks in the east, and Lebron, along with PG13, Kemba Walker and an actual competitive roster, looking to finally dethrone KD, Curry and the Golden State Warriors in the west. The Celtics took care of business in swift manner, defeating the Knicks in five games. The Warriors vs the new look Lakers ended up being an instant classic. Lakers won the first game in Oakland and after a defeat in the second of the first two games in Oakland they went to Los Angeles where Lebron had an all-time performance scoring 63 points to win the game and tie The GOAT for most points scored in a playoffs game (yeah, I kind of did that on purpose, when I had 43 points going in to the 4th quarter). After a clutch performance from Steph in game 4, and a dominant KD performance in a blowout win in game 5, Lebron and the Lakers were down 3-2. They barely won game 6 in LA, but managed to force a game seven in Oakland. And again, Lebron had one of those games, that will always be remembered. 34 points on 14-22 from the field, 15 rebounds, 11 assists, 2 steals, 4 blocks, one of them being a clutch block on a three point attempt from Steph, as well as an even more clutch fadeaway bucket with half a minute left to put the Lakers up four. Lebron ended up bagging two free throws in the dying seconds securing a 116-111 game seven win and another NBA Finals appearance. This time with a Lakers jersey and going up against Anthony Davis and the Boston Celtics. The greatest rivalry of all time is back!
The Lakers ended up beating the Celtics in six games, with Lebron winning his fourth Finals MVP off of averaging 24, 10 and 8 on 60% shooting from the field.
2020 Off-season
The Hawks picked Anthony Edwards with the first pick in the draft, giving them an abundance of scoring options in Trae Young, Anthony Edwards and RJ Barrett.
The Wizards selected James Wiseman with the second pick, looking to give the duo of John Wall and Bradley Beal one last chance to succeed by adding a talented big man, but also keeping the options of tearing the team apart and rebuild around James Wiseman if the team continues to underperform.
Bryan Antoine went to the Nets with the third pick and Cole Anthony fell all the way to the fourth pick and in the arms of the Charlotte Hornest where a big task is awaiting the young point guard as the Hornets didn’t manage to pick any free agents of note up after losing Kemba to the Lakers in free agence the year prior. Lamelo Ball got picked up by the Knicks with the 26th pick btw. Just a little fun fact, he probably won’t receive many minutes…
Anthony Davis, after a somewhat dominating season with the Celtics both individually and team-wise, opted out of the last year of his contract, exactly like Kyrie did a year prior, whom they had also acquired via trade, and is now a free agent.
Ultimately, there were no huge off-season moves though. AD resigned with Boston in free agency and all teams managed to keep their star players during the moratorium days.
The most interesting team in the off-season was the Bucks, who really secured the future around Giannis by acquiring players (and most importantly, shooters) like Aaron Holiday, Emmanuel Mudiay, Luka Samanic, Grayson Allen, Davis Bertans and Jontay Porter via free agency and smart trades. I don’t consider them an immediate contender, but Brogdon and Holiday is a great point guard rotation the next 5 years at least, Di Vincenzo (who has really improved) and Allen likewise at the two-guard rotation, Samanic will be a great stretch four and Bertans a good backup when Mirotic starts to recline, and the center position could be secured for 10 years with the long and athletic rotation of Bruno Fernando (rim protector and rebounder) and Jontay Porter (the modern big who can shoot, defend, pass and rebound). Until then, a guy like Middleton, who is 29 by now, will help keeping the Bucks a legit contender in the east while the young guys grow and gain experience in what is hopefully some deep playoff runs.
2020/2021
MVP: Kyrie Irving
Rookie of the year: Cole Anthony
Champions: Los Angeles Lakers
Finals MVP:Lebron James
Defensive player of the year: Giannis Antetokounmpo
Scoring leader: Donovan Mitchell
Kyrie Irving averaged 29 points in his second season with the Knicks, which wasn’t enough to win the scoring title as Donovan Mitchell averaged 30, but since the Knicks finished with the best record in the league, he was named the league MVP. The Los Angeles Lakers finished with the best record in the west.
Boston, Philly and Golden State wasn’t far behind, and even teams like the Kings, the Suns, the Bulls and the Bucks wasn’t too far from the top seeds. I really feel like the parity of the league is at an all time high. We have the legitimate superteams like Golden State, the Lakers, the Knicks and Boston, but also the tier just below with Giannis and the Bucks, Embiid, Simmons and the 76’ers, where the superstars of these team are just so dominant, that you can’t rule them out. Then you have all the young up and coming teams, already competing and functioning at a high level, ready to take over when the old guard of Lebron, KD, Steph, Harden, AD, Kyrie, Kawhi and PG13 starts to really decline.
Towns averaged 28 and 13, Fox had 27 and 9, Doncic had 26, 8 and 8, Zion had 24, 11 and 7 and Ben Simmons averaged a triple double with 22, 10 and 11, 38 triple doubles over the course of the season, and could just as easily have been named league MVP.
The two rookies, Cole Anthony and Jaden McDaniels both had solid rookie seasons averaging 22 PPG. Cole Anthony ended up with the ROTY award due to his 8 APG trumping the scoring tie-breaker.
Dallas, Brooklyn and Washington all had hugely disappointing seasons, considering all team has multiple legitimate superstars on their team, but still finished with more than 50 losses. Same goes for Minnesota, but when your second best player after Towns is a 21 year old Darius Garland, you can’t really hope for much more. Towns definitely did his part!
There’s quite a few superstars, who finds themselves in very difficult situations, where they’re in their prime if not about to enter it, but the future of their teams are looking a bit bleak due to ageing teammates or simply just lack of quality players surrounding them. Kawhi, Harden, D’Angelo, Drummond, Towns and Jackson Jr. In Harden and Kawhi’s case, they’re teams are still good, but they have one season tops before the Rockets and the Raptors simply won’t be relevant anymore, and because of the contracts, it’s going to be impossible to create a good team around them via trades, free agency or the draft… The other four guys can perhaps wait it out a few years, so that their teams get a few good young draft picks to either contribute or use as trade value, and rid themselves of the bad contracts to free up cap space and sign players that fit the timeline. But it’s honestly going to be really hard to surround them with enough talent to compete against teams like the 76’ers, the Bucks, the Suns, the Mavs, the Nuggets, the Kings, the Hawks and the Bulls two, three or four years down the line…
The Conference Finals consisted of the Lakers vs the Warriors in the west and the Knicks vs the Celtics in the east. Exactly like last year. The Lakers once again beat the Warriors, this time pretty handedly in 5 games, while Kyrie and the Knicks managed to overcome AD, Tatum and the Celtics in a game seven thriller where the MVP of the league, Kyrie Irving, hit a game winning and-1 bucket to reach the finals and challenge the reigning champions and his former teammate in Lebron.
Lebron, PG13 and Kemba ended up lifting the trophy once again after a five game series where it never really looked like the Knicks had any real chance. Lebron won the back to back Finals MVP off of averaging 21, 8 and 9 at the age of 36 years. He now has five championships, five Finals MVP’s, eleven finals appearances, 4 regular season MVP’s, he’s tied with Jordan for most points in a playoff game, which he accomplished against the greatest team ever assembled in the Golden State Warriors, and is closing in on Kareem on the all time scoring list with just above 37,000 career points against Kareems 38,000 career points. The GOAT debate has officially been reopened. What do you think, would Lebron be the GOAT, if his career turned out like this?
2021 off-season
The 76’ers acquired Mikal Bridges and TJ Warren in a trade involving Tobias Harris, Alex Len and draft picks, which means they’re pretty stacked at all positions except for the point guard rotation consisting of Trey Burke and TJ McConnell.
Jayson Tatum resigned with the Celtics on the last day of free agency (I actually wanted him to leave, so that he could be the star of a franchise, but no teams had the cap space to sign him… If possible, and if it can make sense, I’ll look to trade him. It would make sense that a 23/24 year old Tatum handed in a trade request after being in the shadows of first Kyrie and now AD since entering the league.)
The Nets filled a needed hole at power forward with the first pick in the draft by selecting Evan Mobley who joins a nice group of players, all though struggling in terms of wins and losses, in D-Lo, Bryan Antoine, Hollis-Jefferson and Jarrett Allen.
Jalen Green went second in the draft to the Detroit Pistons, who besides Drummond and a rapidly declining Blake doesn’t really have much to offer. However, I wouldn’t mind seeing an ISO-scorer like Jalen go crazy on a bad team and put up big numbers early in his career.
The Wizards had the third pick in the draft where they went with Jalen Johnson. Bradley Beal left in free agency, but they’re still burdened with John Wall and his huge contract. He has started to decline, and Coby White has taken the starting spot from him. Coby, James Wiseman, Rodions Kurucs and now Jalen Johnson is a nice group of young guys, but not quite enough. Unfortunately, due to Walls contract, there isn’t really enough wiggle room to sign any noteworthy free agents.
The Hornets got Isaiah Todd with the fourth pick in the draft, which means they have managed to surround Cole Anthony with a solid group of young guys in Jarrett Culver, Miles Bridges, Isaiah Todd and Bam Adebayo, who they picked up in free agency.
The Pelicans picked up Donovan Mitchell, who became the blockbuster signing of this years FA. He joins a very young New Orleans team with Jaden McDaniels, Nassir Little and RJ Hampton. The rebuilding phase post AD has really been quite smooth and if they manage to replace Valanciunas at the center position, they look like future contenders.
Josh Hart and Noah Vonleh signed with the Grizzlies, where they along with Jaren Jackson Jr and Kahlil Whitney just need a solid point guard in order to start competing.
After losing Donovan Mitchell, the Utah Jazz picked up Markelle Fultz (who learned to shoot a bit) and Lonnie Walker. They’re a long shot from really being competitive though.
The Mavs picked up Kyle Kuzma. IMO they’re a point guard away from being title contenders with Doncic, Doumbouya, Kuzma, Porzingis and then an ageing Bledsoe.
To summarise, I’m pretty confident this off-season will be a milestone. The Lakers lost valuable pieces in Josh Hart and Kyle Kuzma, and both Lebron and Kemba is starting to recline. PG13 should be doing so soon too. The Warriors have really started to decline, and while Kyrie is still a stud, and will keep the Knicks contending, Jimmy Butler is not the same anymore, and they lost a valuable asset in Noah Vonleh. Meanwhile, a team like the 76’ers have really strengthened their squad, and along with the Celtics, and perhaps the Knicks and the Bucks, should be counted amongst the favourites. Then you have teams like the Nuggets, the Bulls, the Kings, the Mavs and the Suns, who hasn’t really added much in terms of players, but are coming in to their own and have really well rounded young teams, anchored by legitimate all stars if not periphary MVP candidates, and should be built to compete for many years!
2021/2022
MVP: Joel Embiid
Rookie of the year: Jalen Green
Champions: Philadelphia 76’ers
Finals MVP: Joel Embiid
Defensive player of the year: Joel Embiid
Scoring leader: Kyrie Irving
The 76’ers had an absolutely dominant regular season! A 68-14 record. Ben Simmons averaged another triple double for the season with 22, 11 and 11, and could just as well have been named MVP of the league, if Joel Embiid didn’t have one of the most dominant seasons in the modern era that is. He averaged 28 PPG, 16 RPG, 5 APG, almost 1,5 SPG and almost 3,5 BPG, winning both the MVP and the DPOY award. He even managed to become the record holder for most points scored in a regular season game by any 76’er not named Wilt Chamberlain, when he dropped 61 points on Anthony Davis and the Boston Celtics. Ben Simmons had a 22 assists game, which is a 76’ers record for most assists in a game… Absolutely insane season from both!
The Houston Rockets and a 33 year old James Harden, who has absolutely no help besides Clint Capela and Jason Hayes (backup center, so he never plays with both on the court at the same time) and the way over the hill versions of Eric Gordon and Chris Paul, managed to secure the fourth seed in the west off of Harden averaging 33 PPG. INSANE!
Kyrie averaged 34 PPG and had the best scoring season in 17 years since Kobe Bryants 35 PPG back in 2005/2006!!!!!
In general, this was a season marked by pretty mind boggling averages. The number two pick in the draft, Jalen Green of the Detroit Pistons, averaged 24 PPG, which is the highest by any rookie since MJ. Pretty funny, he is a two-guard of that MJ/Kobe/ISO-scorer mould. I don’t think he’ll ever be that good though. He literally plays on a team with no good scorers, since Blake is pretty much done, and thus gets a lot of opportunities… Shooting below 45% as well. But still impressive from a rookie!
Golden State actually got the 1st seed in the Western Conference despite Curry and KD being 34 and 33 years old. They averaged 27 and 26 PPG respectively btw! The Lakers are done as a contender pretty much. They went from back to back champions to the seventh seed in the west… The Knicks are still great, finished second in the east, just four wins better than the Celtics.
Cole Anthony led the Hornets to playoffs in the east for the first time. In the west, the Jazz, now led by Markelle Fultz, managed to clinch the playoffs while Mitchell and the Pelicans had only 34 wins…
A couple of noteworthy performances: Devin Booker averaged 30 PPG, Lonzo had 12 APG, Ja Morant finished with 23 PPG and 11 APG, Donic 28 PPG and Giannis averaged 27, 13 and 8.
Zion and the Bulls kind of regressed a bit. Hard to pinpoint why, they have a solid team, but I did kind of expect them to make a big leap this year. They finished with the sixth seed in the east off of Zion’s 22 PPG, 10 RPG, 7APG, 2 SPG and 2BPG. Still a good spot to finish and still great numbers from Zion. But it’s a step back from last year when they finished fifth as well and where Zion averaged 24 PPG. Not much, and he’s still only 21 which is insane, but still a little bit of a disappointment…
After being swept in the first round of the playoffs, Lebron and the Lakers were no longer taking part in the Western Conference Finals where it was the Denver Nuggets and Nikola Jokic’s turn to challenge the Golden State Warriors. In the east, the Knicks and the 76’ers both managed to only lose one game en route to the Eastern Conference Finals, which meant that the two latest MVP’s of the league, Kyrie and Embiid, had to duke it out for a shot at the title.
Both Conference Finals were, to my disappointment, a bit boring and lopsided. The Warriors took care of business in 5 games and so did the 76’ers. I didn’t really expect the Knicks to do much, as they’re pretty much just Kyrie and a bunch of solid role-players going up against two of the most dominant players in the league, along with Giannis, in Embiid and Simmons. I did expect more from the Nuggets though. As mentioned a couple of times, the Warriors are getting old and they have NO bench at all, and with an amazing do-it-all anchor in Jokic, surrounded by scorers like Porter Jr, Murray, Harris and Barton plus a handful of solid role players as well, I would’ve liked to see them advance. But hey, I’m not against the storyline of Steph, KD, Klay and Dray getting one last shot at redemption in the fall of their careers after being stopped by the Lakers a couple of seasons in a row.
I ended up controlling the 76’ers in game two and four in the Finals. I play on Schnaidt’s sliders (I’m pretty sure it’s those), so it’s not like I’m playing on rookie difficulty, but in game two, Joel had 45 points, 20 rebounds, 7 assist, only two turnovers and shooting 18-28. Simmons had 23 points, 11 rebounds, 18 assist, 3 steals, shooting 9-11. These two are so much fun to play with. It truly feels like showtime Lakers with Magic and Kareem, if Kareem put on 25 pounds that is. Fast breaks, pick and rolls, post ups, ISO’s, drive and kick… So many options despite both of them have limited shooting (mostly the case for Simmons obviously).
Needless to say, the 76’ers ended up as champions. A clean sweep. Joel won Finals MVP off of averaging 34, 16 and 5 on 63% shooting. These two monsters could end up dominating the league for years to come. Giannis is just as good I reckon, and he has a really good team that is well put together, but he simply lacks that other superstar, and I don’t really see a way for the Bucks to get him that. Zion is on his way too of course, but he won’t be able to compete at this level yet. Going in to this MyLeague vacation project, I definitely had a “vision” of how I wanted the league to turn out, and how I would like to to manage the different teams in terms of putting them together. I obviously wanted the 76’ers to be good, but in real life, I don’t see Embiid and Simmons ever reaching the top. Two superstars that don’t shoot is just difficult to build a team around. So my idea was to eventually move Simmons and get a superstar guard to compliment Embiid and have Simmons be the Magic Johnson he has the potential to be somewhere else. But in 2K at least, these two are super fun and super dominant, so I’ve changed my mind for sure! This season just convinced me of that. The 76’ers’ future is definitely looking very bright.
2022 off-season
With the first pick in the draft, the Portland Trailblazer selected the versatile power forward scorer Kahlil Poythress. With Lillard being 32, and CJ already far from his former self, the Trailblazers need to start rebuilding. They got a solid point guard in the 2020 draft with Killian Hayes, who will definitely develop in to a future starter, and by selecting a future superstar in Poythress, their rebuild is off to a good start.
The Nets (still struggling to win games and I don’t know why) had the second pick in the draft via the Clippers and opted for point forward Jaden Sanders, who will be challenging Hollis-Jefferson for the small forward slot in no time, and this is the best fit, while also being projected as a top three pick. Win-win for Brooklyn!
All though already starting Coby White and having John Wall as a solid back up, the Wizards selected point guard Jalen Woodson with the third pick in the draft. Coby White will be a high scoring perennial sixth man of the year contender off the bench when Woodson grows in to his own, and John Wall is as good as done. The Wizards are starting to look promising, but still too soon wether they will become any real force in the east down the road.
With the fourth pick in the draft, the Miami Heat had to go for biggest upside. They’re in a pretty bad spot with their current roster, as it consists of 26-32 year old players in the low 80 OVR’s. Meaning relatively high salaries, long contracts, not really bad enough to hope for high draft picks (this one was had via trade), but not good enough to contend in any way shape of form either. The guys next in line in terms of mock drafts were all 21+ years old, so I opted to draft 19 year old Malcolm Wilcox, who was only projected as the tenth pick, but had a really solid athletic base to build around at the power forward position (topped the nation in rebounding), and whom I thought could prove to be the best of the remaining guys ten years down the line (which is really the timeline I’m working with the Heat…).
The Brooklyn Nets picked fifth with their second pick in this years draft, and went with the best fit once again. Jayshaun Parks. Seems like someone who can contribute immediately as a threat from deep and as a back up for Bryan Antoine.
Free agency was a pretty boring thing this year. I managed to keep the cores of the 76’ers, the Bucks and the Mavericks intact, but other than that, the biggest signing was Paul George leaving the Lakers and joining James Harden in Houston, where CP3 had finally retired. A really good match! Harden is still putting up numbers, but both are slowly declining and won’t be able to beat any of the best teams in a seven game series.
Aaaaaaaaaaand, Lebron should hang them up now. The Lakers are terrible. He’s still good putting up 20, 9 and 6, but the Lakers’ second best player is a 32 year old Kemba, who is 6’1 tall and has lost his quickness. They won’t make the playoffs this year. Lebron is 37 and has surpassed Kareem on the all time scoring list. Nothing left to accomplish.
Next season, I obviously expect the 76'ers to continue dominating. Embiid and Simmons are both monsters, and have really a great team around them with shooters and defenders!
I really hope to see the Bucks as the 2nd seed in the east. Giannis are just as good as both Simmons and Embiid, he's a former MVP, and as it is the case with the 76'ers, he is surrounded by shooters and defenders. Actually, his supporting cast is better than Embiid and Simmons', but not quite good enough to make up for the fact that he doesn't have a superstar sidekick. However, an Easter Conference Finals matchup between the 76'ers and the Bucks would be FIRE, and if it were to happen, I would definitely take control of the Bucks and see if I could get it done. If they make it past the 76'ers, I would view them as favourites against anyone coming out of the west (Warriors, Nuggets, Suns or Mavs most likely).
I also expect Zion to really make a big leap! This will be his fourth season, and I hope to see him build on the 24 PPG he actually averaged in his second season and score at least 25 PPG. I also expect to see the Bulls at least advance from the first round of the playoffs. Perhaps there is too many ballhandlers/scorers on the roster, for them to really mesh. Kris Dunn, Romeo Langford, Kevin Knox, Zion and Zach Lavine are probably too many. I'm contemplating to see if there's any way to get rid of Langford, Knox and Lavine in exchange of 3&D players, and then keep the core of Zion, Wendell Carter Jr, Kris Dunn, OG Anunoby, Bobby Portis, Kris Wilkes, Ashton Hagans and Ante Zizic. That should definitely be a solid contender two-three years down the line!
Anthony Davis and Jayson Tatum has been a disappointment in Boston... They started out being really good, with AD spearheading the team and Tatum, Jrue Holiday, Marcus Smart and the Morris twins (yeah, I signed Markieff!!!) being a great fit. But then, Tatums numbers started to rise as he matured, while AD's consequentially fell a bit. Right now, they're both averaging 23-24 PPG. Which is fine, but I feel like Tatum, who is no where near the dominant force that AD is, should be kept as a second option, and not equal to AD. That teams shouldn't really have been losing to the Knicks IMO. And now, Jrue Holiday, the Morris twins and maybe even Marcus Smart is a little past their primes, and I feel like the team in it's current form has maybe missed their chance of winning a championship... I contemplated trading Tatum earlier, to give him his own team and the chance of really showcasing his talents removed from the shadow of Anthony Davis. I should perhaps consider that once more, and in the same breath, surround AD with a handful of role-players, so that he can have a few more seasons on a contending team, as he is approaching his thirties and the of his peak...
Jaren Jackson Jr and the Memphis Grizzlies is still a point guard away from establishing themselves as periphary contenders in the west IMO. Same can be said for the New Orleans Pelicans, who just need a solid rim protector...
Finally, the Mavs are still another playmaker away from really contending... Currently Landry Shamet is starting at the point guard. Same goes for the Suns, but with the small forward position where Furkan Korkmaz is starting. If I find solid replacements for those two, then the west is right up there with the east once again in terms of legitimate "dynasties" after the Lakers and the Warriors (who is still probably the best in the west) got old.
Ending on a prediction that I'm pretty confident with: the 76'ers will repeat, Ben Simmons or Giannis Antetokounmpo will win MVP and Kahlil Poythress will win ROTY.
2022/2023
MVP: Ben Simmons
Rookie of the year: Kahlil Poythress
Champions: Milwaukee Bucks
Finals MVP: Giannis Antetokounmpo
Defensive player of the year: Jaren Jackson jr
Scoring leader: James Harden
I managed to make meaningful trades for the Grizzlies, the Pelicans, the Mavs and the Suns. The Clippers, who signed Demarcus Cousins back when the first season started never really managed to do anything with him on the roster, which means they’re now in a pretty bad state, and Shai Gilgeous Alexander is the only valuable piece. I traded him to the Grizzlies for Mike Conley and a BUNCH of picks. Same can be said for the Timberwolves, where Darius Garland haven’t really evolved in to the superstar point guard, that the Wolves hoped he’d develop in to alongside KAT. So, I decided to pair the now 28 year old Karl Anthony Towns (plus Dario Saric) with Jaden McDaniels, Donovan Mitchell, RJ Hampton and Nassir Little in New Orleans in exchange of Keldon Johnson, Kevin Porter Jr, Jonas Valanciunas and Elfrid Payton along with a few picks. Which means the Pelicans have four all-star caliber players in KAT, McDaniels, Mitchell and Hampton! Aaaand, the Mavs needed a playmaker while the Suns needed a small forward. It just so happens, that the Suns have an athletic pass-first point guard in Theo Maledon playing backup to Ja Morant. The Mavs have Goga Bitadze playing back up to Kristaps. And the Clippers, who need a good young center to take over from an again Demarcus Cousins, and spearhead their rebuild, have Rui Hachimura playing backup to Dzanan Musa. So, I did a three way trade where the Clippers received Goga Bitadze from the Mavs as well as draft picks from both the Suns and the Mavs, the Mavs received Theo Maledon from the Suns, and the Suns received Rui Hachimura from the Clippers. I really consider this a win-win for all three teams in a big way! It makes both the Suns and the Mavs contenders on paper IMO, while the Clippers can kickstart a rebuild around a bunch of picks and a very young talented big man, who won’t get in their way of a losing record.
The Eastern Conference ended as predicted. Philly got 1st seed, the Bucks got the 2nd seed and the Knicks finished with the fourth seed. Zion and the Bulls only managed the sixth seed with Zion averaging 24, 11 and 8 plus 2 steals and 2 blocks.
The old-boys in Oakland finished with the 1st seed in the west, which is pretty amazing! However, it has to be said that by really good scouting, they’ve managed to build a solid rotation around the four top guys in Jordan Bell, Johnny Zuzang, Daniel Hamilton, Jalen Leque, Paul Eboua and Nazreon Reid. Following Golden State, we had the Suns with the 2nd seed, Houston with the 3rd seed, the Kings with the 4th seed and the Jazz with the 5th seed. The Mavs was once again amongst the biggest disappointments by missing the playoffs with a stacked team. They did struggle with a lot of injuries though. Kristaps, as seems to be the case every year, dealt with injuries, and Luka got hit with a broken leg and missed most of the second half of the season.
The season didn’t have the same standout performances in terms of individual dominance as the years prior. Ben Simmons averaged a triple double for the season once again with 23, 10 and 10, which finally earned him the MVP. Jaren Jackson Jr took home defensive player of the year by averaging 11 rebounds, 1,5 steals and 3 blocks. A 33 year old James Harden won the scoring title off of averaging 29 PPG. Kyrie was a close second with 28,5 PPG. Cole Anthony, Colin Sexton (Most Improved), Luka Doncic (until he got injured) and Giannis Antetokounmpo all averaged 26 PPG. Lonzo Ball, who finally took the starting spot from Westbrook in Oklahoma, averaged 18 PPG and 12,5 assists! Ja Morant in Phoenix averaged 23 PPG to go along with 11 assists and 7 rebounds. Kahlil Poythress was named ROTY averaging 19, 9 and 3 plus 2 blocks. Lastly, the All-NBA First and Second Team this year was pretty telling of the current state of the NBA: Ja Morant, Kyrie, Simmons, Giannis and AD, and Harden, Cole Anthony, Jaden McDaniels, Zion and Embiid. Harden, Kyrie and AD will probably be surpassed by guys like Booker, Doncic and Towns in the not too distant future being considering their respective ages of 33, 31 and 30.
The first round of the playoffs was pretty interesting. The new superteam in New Orleans managed to beat the Golden State Warriors in a sweep! Phoenix swept the Nuggets, Philly swept Indiana, Kyrie and the Knicks won in seven games over Cole Anthony and the Hornets and Zion and the Chicago Bulls beat AD and the Boston Celtics in six games.
Phoenix and New Orleans managed to comfortably get past the Kings and the Rockets in the west, while the Bucks handled Chicago in six games. Knicks vs the 76’ers a classic though! The defending champions, a team led by the two latest MVP winners, lost a close seven game series to Kyrie-led (latest MVP not playing the 76’ers) Knicks. So, the Pelicans, led by KAT, McDaniels and Mitchell, will face off against Ja Morant, Devin Booker, DeAndre Ayton and the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference Finals, while Giannis and the young Bucks will look to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time against Kyrie and the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals!
And that’s exactly what happened. The Bucks took care of business in six games and advanced to the finals where the New Orleans Pelicans super team were awaiting them. Kyrie isn’t done yet, but Jimmy Butler is 33 years old, and while the Knicks still have a great team built around Kyrie, I don’t think it matches up with the Bucks and the 76’ers in the east any more. I know they just eliminated the 76’ers, but still. I think this was Kyrie’s last hope of winning a championship with the Knicks. Which is too bad, as I genuinely feel like he finally found his “home” here. His Cleveland career was a maxed bag. No team success what so ever during the first half of his time there, then Lebron came, snd while they did go to three finals and lifted a trophy together that Kyrie had a huge stake in, it was clearly Lebron’s team. So Kyrie goes to the Celtics, where his new superstar teammate Gordon Hayward gets injured in the very first game of the season. In the second season, they’re a huge disappointment finishing sixth and getting eliminated in the first round. But then he goes to the Knicks teaming up with Jimmy Butler who is glad to be the second ball handler and hustle guy on defence. They have a lot of success together and get good building blocks around them. They reach a few finals, Kyrie wins an MVP and multiple scoring titles. But he never, by the looks of it now, never quite gets there, in terms of lifting a championship on a team he is leading. He’s still had an awesome career though (not to say it’s over now by any means), and he is definitely up there with guys like Ewing as far as being considered the GOAT Knick.
As for the finals, I’m not sure that I’m considering the Bucks the favourites. The Pelicans are rocking a starting lineup of RJ Hampton (87 OVR), Donovan Mitchell (92 OVR), Jaden McDaniels (92 OVR), Dario Saric (80 OVR) and Karl Anthony Towns (94 OVR) with bench players like Nassir Little, Kevin Porter jr and Ignas Brazdeikis. THAT IS ONE STACKED TEAM! However, the Bucks have one of the most dominant players in the league in Giannis Antetokounmpo. And while he doesn’t have any legitimate superstars surrounding him, the team has kept Budenholzer’s vision and it’s DNA intact since this MyLeague started. Brogdon (85 OVR, Di Vincenzo (80 OVR), Giannis (97 OVR), Luka Samanic (83 OVR, very well rounded and smart stretch four, who can also handle the ball and have some big scoring nights) and Bruno Fernando (80 OVR, tall, strong defender and rebounder who can hit the wide open jumper) is the starting lineup. But then you have a bench unit like no other. Middleton is a fantastic sixth man! Aaron Holiday is one of the very best back up point guards in the league. Mirotic brings shooting off the bench. To replace Bruno Fernando at center, there is Jontay Porter, who is a decent defender, but who really brings value due to his shooting and passing, something that benefits Giannis a ton. Grayson Allen brings hustle and shooting. Luke Kennard brings even more shooting. You couldn’t imagine a better supporting cast for Giannis. Shooters at literally every position that can elevate his drive-and-kick game, but also free up the driving lanes. Decent ball handlers that, along with the open driving and cutting lanes created by Samanic, Porter and Mirotic - even Bruno to an extent -, allows him to be a terror off the ball. Good rebounder and defenders that can give him even more opportunities for fast break plays. It’s perfect! So while the Pelicans are a really strong team, with great players and scorers at every position, the Bucks are just more of a unit. They’ve been together for longer and they’ play perfectly in to the strengths of probably the best player in the universe. But yeah, just an awesome finals matchup, and I can’t wait to be in control of Giannis against this newly established juggernaut!
I played the first game of the series controlling the Bucks. I got outplayed during the first half of the first quarter, simply due to their abundance of scoring options. Mitchell were hitting crazy contested pull up jumpers and finishes at the rim, McDaniels was a terror in transition and from three, and KAT was really hard to keep away from the rim. Eventually, I found my groove and caught up to them though. It was a really close game during the rest of the first quarter, as well as the second and third. Constant lead changes. We were behind by one point on the last possession in the third quarter, when Middleton hit a three right in Jaden McDaniels’ face. Then, to star the fourth quarter off, we had three back to back threes from DiVincenzo, Samanic and Brogdon without conceding a bucket. And then Giannis just took over. It was a pretty tough series, and none of the games were blowouts, but eventually, the Bucks won the series in six games, and Giannis finally won his first championship. Hopefully, the first of many, but there’s a lot of legitimate contenders in the NBA at the moment. The 76’ers, the Pelicans, the Suns and perhaps even the Knicks, the Celtics and the Bulls could all beat the Bucks in a series. My favourites would still be the 76’ers and the Bucks though.
2023 off-season
The 2023 off-season was the one in which Lebron James finally retired at the age of 38 years old and after being pro for 19 seasons. Even in his last season, he was still able to contribute over 20 PPG on an absolutely horrible Lakers team. He leaves behind a very solid GOAT-case: 4xMVP, 5xChampions, 19xAll-Star, 18xAll-NBA Teams, 7xAll-Defense Teams, 1xROTY, 1xAll-Rookie, all-time leader in scoring, tied for most points scored in a playoff game. He played in a total of 1,532 games averaging 26,5 PPG, 7,9 RPG, 7,5 APG, 1,6 SPG and 1,0 BPG. The Cleveland Cavaliers, the Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Lakers all decided to retire his jerseys.
All though Kawhi is still playing great basketball, the Toronto Raptors has really fallen off due to ageing players. So, to secure their future, they selected Corey Appling, a point guard with a huge upside, with the number one pick in the draft.
The Portland Trailblazer drafted first in last years draft, where they drafted power forward rookie of the year Kahlil Poythress. With point guard Killian Hayes slowly getting ready to take over from Dame, they opted to go with the lockdown wing defender Latrell Quarus with the second pick in the 2023 draft.
The Nets are a recurring theme in every draft. They have a good young squad that should definitely be making the playoffs, and they’re led by a superstar scorer in D’Angelo Russell. Still, they’re always picking in the lottery. Which is the case Ince again… This year, they went with Randall Hackett, another lockdown wing defender, to try and tie that defence together.
The Heat picked fourth. With an ageing and not really that competitive roster, they need to get that future superstar, who can lead a team. The guy most likely to that was probably Corey Appling, but Keshaun Fields isn’t too far off, and that’s who the Heat went with at number four. He has the potential to be a big time scorer from the small forward position, but despite the 6’9 228 lbs body, he is a really bad defender at this stage in his development.
The Clippers picked John Calvin (the first of my CAP’s) with the fifth pick in the 2023 draft. Probably the most hated college player since fellow Blue Devil Christian Laettner, Calvin, a deadly shooter, led Duke to three straight championship games winning two of them, and breaking the record for most threes scored by any player in the tournament. He isn’t the best athlete, defender, ball handler or finisher, but he is a very high IQ, hard working shooter, who brings a lot of heart and hustle, and a willingness to run around screens constantly to get open looks, so that he can showcase one of the smoothest but deadliest jumpers the NCAA has ever seen.
In free agency, for the first year in quite some time, a lot of teams had room for max players. The Lakers signed RJ Barrett, Darius Garland and Romeo Langford from Atlanta, Minnesota and Chicago respectively. The Pistons picked up Nassir Little, who apparently got tired of playing in the shadows of McDaniels and Mitchell in New Orleans, to give Jalen Green a tenacious defender on the opposite wing, essentially making them the very poor mans Jordan and Pippen of the modern NBA. The Spurs signed Cam Reddish as they were in dire need of a scorer and had an opening at the two-guard slot. The Timberwolves signed Charles Bassey. The Nets signed Tre Jones which gives them a backup for D-Lo. I really hope they start to win some games this year. They have an AMAZING rotation of young and promising players, and they will surely become contenders down the line. Their two worst players have a B- potential. Then they have four players with a B potential. Then they have five B+ potential players. One with an A- (point forward Jaden Sanders). One with an A (two-way power forward Evan Mobley). And lastly two A+ potential players. Aggressive shooting guard scorer Jayshaun Parks and of course D’Angelo Russell. Everyone of these except for D-Lo and Hollis-Jefferson, who is 27 and 28 years old, are 25 years old or younger. So, great future. But they need to start winning. They have too many guys not to.
The Bulls made some trades before starting the season. Zach Lavine and Kevin Knox was traded to the Clippers for wing defender Jonathan Isaac, Dzanan Musa and just drafted sharpshooter John Calvin (yeah, he’s my CAP, so I know how valuable a piece he actually is, but he is also a role player type of guy, and both Zach Lavine and Kevin Knox is proven scorers - Zach’s an established star in the league - so in the context of where this MyLeague is currently, and the limited production Isaac and Musa has given so fa din their career, it makes sense for the Clippers IMO). This means that Zion is surrounded by a pretty good young crew. No stars, but players like Ashton Hagans, Kris Dunn, John Calvin, Jonathan Isaac, Deanna Musa, OG Anunoby, Bobby Portis, Wendell Carter Jr and Montreal Harrell. Not quite a contender, but starting to get there if Zion continues to develop!
The top ten power rankings as per NBA.com and Marc Spears (am I rigth about these two being the “right sources” in 2K?) says: 1: 76’ers, 2: Bucks, 3: Bulls, 4: Celtics, 5: Suns, 6: Knicks, 7: Mavs, 8: Pelicans, 9: Kings, 10: Warriors.
2023/2024
MVP: Giannis Antetokounmpo
Rookie of the year: Corey Appling
Champions: Milwaukee Bucks
Finals MVP: Giannis Antetokunmpo
Defensive player of the year: Joel Embiid
Scoring leader: Kyrie Irving
D’Angelo Russell was tired of losing with the Brooklyn Nets, and since his contract was about to expire, I decided to trade him to the Denver Nuggets, where Jokic has been dominating for year, but where they also lack that big time scoring threat, that Murray never quite developed in to. Jamal Murray, Ivica Zubac, Mac McClung, Justin Denmom and two first rounders in exchange of D’angelo Russell, PJ Washington and Isaiah Hartestein. This gives the Nets a few good building blocks in Zubac and Denmon, but also gives them Jamal Murray, who is definitely a scoring point guard like D-Lo, but a lower usage version of him, which means the young studs in Brooklyn will see more possessions got their way. The trade also dits the timeline of both teams in terms of player age. For the Nuggets, it means they now have a lethal duo in D’angelo Russell, who is a good facilitator and one of the best scorers in the league, and Nikola Jokic, one of the most versatile and skilled big men in the league, who averages close to 20, 10 and 10 year by year. The nuggets will play an interesting style of basketball with newly appointed head coach Jeff van Gundy at the realms. High and low post ups for Nikola, where ehe can either score himself, kick it out to shooters or find a cutting wing player. D-Lo and Nikola will obviously be running a lot of pick and rolls/fades from which they will both get a lot of buckets. Surrounding them, we have Gary Harris, Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, Michael Porter Jr, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Will Barton, PJ Washington,Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Trey Lyles and a very young Trace Hamilton. Definitely should be right up there with the Mavs and the Suns in the west!
The Knicks somehow got the first seed in the east off of Kyrie averaging 29 PPG and winning the scoring title (they have A LOT of expiring contracts though, and keeping the roster together won’t make considering Kyrie is now starting his decline), the Bucks finished second where Giannis won his 2nd MVP (could just as easily have gone to Ja Morant or even Kyrie du to having the best record in the league) off of averaging 27, 12 and 8, the 76’ers finished 3rd where Joel and Ben continues to dominate with 22-24 PPG each, Joel winning the Defensive Player of the Year, but their bench kind of taking a hit this year due to ageing players a few rotational pieces leaving in free agency. The Suns won the east off of two amazing seasons by Devin Booker (29 PPG) and Ja Morant (27, 7 and 11).
We saw a lot of new faces among the leagues leading scorers this year. Obviously, D-Book and Ja took a big leap in Phoenix. RJ Barrett (Most Improved) and Cam Reddish, the new faces of LA and San Antonio, averaged 28 and 27 respectively. Zion averaged 26, 11 and 8. In Denver, D’Angelo Russell averaged 26 PPG to go with 8 APG and Nikola Jokic averaged 20 PPG, 12 RPG and 9 APG. They only managed the 8th seed though which is really disappointing… The Mavericks once again missed the playoffs with Luka averaging 27 PPG. I Don’t really know what to do with that franchise. Kristaps is 28 year old, but if they don’t make the playoffs next year, I will probably find a better place for Luka to flourish…
Corey Appling won the ROTY by putting up BIG numbers. 22 PPG, 4 RPG, 7 APG and 2 SPG. John Calvin came in second in the votings by scoring 18 PPG on GREAT efficiency! 50% from the field, 45% from three and 90% from the line. A 50-40-90 season in his rookie year… He will be the perfect sidekick for Zion, whenever the the Bucks and the 76’ers are ready to pass the mantle down to the next great young team in the east.
In the playoffs, Houston, who had managed to surround the ageing Harden and PG13 with solid young guys like Ayo Dosunmu, Kezie Okpala and Bryan Penn-Johnson, provided the biggest upset when they defeated the Pelicans in seven games. In the second round, the Grizzlies, with Jackson Jr, Shai Gilgeous, Kahlil Whitney, Josh Hart and Zaire Wade, swept the Warriors. The Suns got past the Rockets. Philly swept the Knicks and the Bucks barely overcame Zion and the Bulls in seven games. I was really pleased with the series. Zion seemed to have his big breakthrough with two plus 45 point game wins, while Giannis proved that it’s still a little too soon for him to beat the best teams. The Suns swept the Grizzlies in the west, while the Bucks beat the 76’ers in six games.
The 2024 NBA Finals had the best player in the league going up against one of the most talented backcourts of all time in Ja Morant and Devin Booker - counting in DeAndre Ayton, you have a solid big three, while Rui Hachimura and Amar Sylla are very good fourth and fifth options at the forward positions. Hachimura has the body and versatile dense to be considered a “Giannis-stopper”. He won’t stop him of course, but it’s going to be interesting to see, how much he can manage to annoy him. Again, I like this finals matchup. The Bucks have the best player and the deepest team. The Suns however, have an insanely dynamic backcourt, really good defenders at the forward positions, and a dominant big man, who can defend, shoot a little and aid the P&R-game of the star-guards. They don’t have the deepest bench though. Very interesting matchup.
The Bucks won the first two games in Milwaukee. I then took control of the third game in Phoenix which I only managed to barely win. Ja and D-Book had a big game, with Book scoring 43 and Ja Morant scoring 31 and dishing 14 assists. I played the next game with Phoenix as well, trying to make the series a tie before heading back to Milawaukee, but I got shut down and pretty much blown out. So I summed the fourth quarter of that game. The Bucks eventually won the series in five games. Giannis got Finals MVP. He had 12 RPG and 9 APG, but he got limited to 22 PPG on 43% shooting from the field! Rui Hachimura must’ve done a pretty decent job guarding him after all… But yeah, Giannis and the Bucks are back to back champions, which means that Giannis is now a 2xMVP, 2xChampions and 2x Finals MVP at 29 years old.
2024 off-season
The Timberwolves, who in the latest few seasons had lost their only two real building blocks in KAT and Garland went with future superstar small forward Kenyon Markota. A dominant two-way player, who will be a great defender and slasher at the NBA level. The Clippers picked second and went with two-way point guard Darnell Rackley. With the third pick, the Nets selected Xavier Qualls out of Syracuse (my second CAP in the MyLeague). A 5’11 point guard with an endless motor, a big heart, great handles, great shooting and athleticism to top it off. However, time will tell if all of that can make up for his smaller build. In his rookie season, he will probably be the sixth man, as Jamal Murray currently holds the point guard position. Down the line though, the Nets are set! Jamal Murray, Jayshaun Parks, Evan Mobley, Jaden Sanders, Bryan Antoine, Randall Hackett, Jarrett Allen and now Xavier Qualls. Wow! Guys like Alexander-Walker, Sirvydis, Tre Jones and maybe even Jamal Murray in a season or two needs to get a new team. They are too good or have too big of a potential to be second or third options at their positions.
In free agency, there was a lot of free agents, but most of them resigned with their original teams. Porzingis however, went to a Miami team that besides a young Keshaun Fields was completely devoid of talent, but with a lot of cap space. Another noteworthy mention was Mikal Bridges signing with the Nuggets at the end of free agency. Great pickup!
I fixed the cluster**** of talent that is the Brooklyn Nets by basically sending Jamal Murray, Alexander-Walker and Jarrett Allen (all about 3-4 years ahead of the teams timeline) and got athletic big man James Wiseman in return. The trade was a bit lopsided in the Wizards’ favour, but these three guys were only holding the younger Nets players’ development back, and would eventually become excessive on the roster, while Wiseman really helps the Nets both now and in the future. Just a great fit. So this trade makes perfect sense for both teams, as the Wizards can now finally play a really competitive team, something they haven’t really been able to do during this MyLeague because of the situation John Wall and his horrible contract had put them in. And Brooklyn now have a perfect rotation of young players, who five years down the line should be competing for championships.
In next years draft, the class of 2025, we have the two forwards Thabo Okobo and Romeo Carter coming. Both once in a generation talents. So, to kind of simulate the league preparing for the class of 2025 sweepstakes, where a top 2 pick could literally save your franchise, I am going to pick two teams, that are currently in a really bad situation going forward, but have a brand that matches where I want to see these two future Hall of Fame locks go. That means a lot of micro management, so from now on, I will let go of the control and manage all teams, and only control a couple of select few teams. I will still be in control of all teams, but for most teams, I will set all tasks on auto and only intervene in the most important of decisions. So, from now on, I will be controlling Zion and the Chicago Bulls, Xavier Qualls and the young Brooklyn Nets - plus the Los Angeles Lakers and the New York Knicks, who I will tank the **** out of (sorry Kyrie, but you’re getting old), in order to hopefully have them both land in the top two. Both teams have a lot of expiring contracts, Kyrie and the Knicks are getting old - the most important pieces around Kyrie already left in FA - RJ Barrett put up big numbers in LA, but the team is ****. So it makes sense for these two huge markets to tank in order to get a top top pick in a draft class where we have two of the best prospects since Lebron and perhaps Zion. And yeah, I will cheat a bit. If they qualify by being projected in the top five, I will trade whoever have the number one or two pick to the Knicks or the Lakers for whatever pick they ended up with in the lottery. Basically rigging the lottery which probably isn’t too far from reality lol. So the Lakers and the Knicks get either Okobo or Carter, and then, when the Suns, Bulls and Pelicans dynasties (who I assume will pick the mantle up from the Bucks and the 76’ers in the near future) eventually start to decline five or six years down the line, I want Romeo Carter and Thabo Okobo to play in LA and New York (which team gets who I haven’t decided, I haven’t even decided who of them should go number one…), and compete for championships every year!
2024/2025
MVP: Nikola Jokic
Rookie of the year: Xavier Qualls
Champions: Denver Nuggets
Finals MVP: Nikola Jokic
Defensive player of the year: Anthony Davis
Scoring leader: D’Angelo Russell
Milwaukee Bucks finished first in the east, while Zion and the Bulls finally managed to establish themselves as a powerhouse in the east with the 2nd seed. The Suns and the Nuggets finished one and two in the west respectively.
The Nuggets had an amazing regular season with Jokic becoming the MVP of the league off of a triple double season averaging 21, 13 and 10. D’Angelo Russell won the scoring title off of 28 PPG. Ja Morant once again had a good case for MVP with 26 PPG and 11 assists. Same can be said for Giannis and Zion who both averaged 26 PPG and 11 RPG (Zion had 8 APG while Giannis had 7).
RJ Barrett, Jalen Green and Cole Anthony all averaged 26-27 PPG.
Xavier Qualls (22, 3 and 8) of the Brooklyn Nets edged out Minnesotas Kenyon Markota (19, 6 and 5) for Rookie of the year. The nets actually had a really good season with the 8th seed in the east considering how young they are.
AD got the Defensive Player of the Year. He’s had a few down years (well, relative to what my expectations where at least) where the Celtics haven’t really been the power house they looked to be early on. He’s been one of the contender for this award every single season though, averaging 12+RPG, around 3BPG and around 1,5 SPG.
Steph Curry won Sixth Man of the year btw. 17 PPG off the bench.
The west had a couple of first round surprises. The 8th seed Mavs won a seven games series against the favourites to come out of the west in the Phoenix Suns, and the Nuggets beat the Pelicans, which wasn’t really a surprise, but the stacked Pelicans losing in the first round twice in a row is definitely disappointing.
The Conference Finals both ended in six games, when the Nuggets beat the Mavs and the Bucks once again robbing Zion and the Bulls of their first finals trip.
I really didn’t have a horse in the race in this finals. On one hand, the Bucks on the edge of three-peating, cementing them as one of the all-time great dynasties and allowing Giannis to be considered among the best the game has seen, if he wasn’t already (he probably was). The team has largely been put together through the draft… I have a lot of affection towards that team. On the other hand, Denver is a really fun team. They’d be a new face if they were to fun, which is always welcome. D-Lo and Jokic is a very exciting lineup. They play fun basketball. They have on of the better closers in the game. They have a lot of shooting. They have quite a few defender to throw on Giannis in Hollis-Jefferson, Jonathan Isaac, Porter Jr, Mikal Bridges and Jalen McDaniels.
In the end, I ended up simulating the first six games. Bucks won, Denver won, Bucks won, Denver won, Denver won again, and then the Bucks tied it at 3-3. I went back and forth on who to control in game 7 (and, let’s be real, who I’m then giving a 75% of winning). In the end, I decided on Denver. Giannis and the Bucks has already one twice, Denver has pushed them to a seven game series, and they actually have a really good team! Bucks is probably the better team, but Brogdon is injured, Middleton is old… Yeah, I just thought it would be a fresh of great air if the Russell, Jokic and the Nuggets took it this year. So I played game seven with Denver. The Bucks are REALLY hard to defend though. Giannis is just a monster. I got the W in the end, but it was a close game where Russell both Russell and Jokic had to contribute with plus 30 points. Bridges also went off going 6-9 from three, scoring 26 points. Jokic was the Finals MVP averaging 26, 11 and 8. The Bucks still have a great team though. I’m not too sure how many expiring contracts they have etc. but I know that the core will remain intact. So there could easily be more championships heading their way. I don’t count on the Nuggets going this far again though. The Suns are still the best team in the west IMO, the Bucks are definitely a better team, the 76’ers too. If I were to power rank the teams based on their rosters this season, I’d go: 1: Bucks, 2: 76’ers, 3: Suns, 4:Bulls, 5: A tie between the Nuggets, the Mavs, the Bulls and the Pelicans. The Pelicans are definitely the most talented team, but they’re roster is just very weirdly constructed, with way too many high usage players, who aren’t necessarily willing to give the ball up, and they haven’t really been able to put together a decent bench since they lost some free agents in 2023 where they went all the way to the finals.
2025 off-season
The New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Lakers had used the 2024/2025 season to tank and enlist themselves in the class of 2025 sweepstakes. The Lakers had the worst record in the west, while Kyrie’s 24 PPG kept the Knicks from finishing that low. They only had the third worst record in the east. But, voila, the Lakers ended up with the first pick in the draft while the Knicks got the second pick.
Quickly, I’ll just do a profile on the two prospects, that is coming through, who will definitely go one and two in the draft. Thabo Okobo is a 6’8 240 pounds small forward out of Kentucky and of Nigerian descent. He averaged 28, 10 and 5 during his freshman season along with two steals and two blocks. An athletic freak, who really thrives in the open court where his athleticism, finishing abilities and passing really flourish. Eventually, he has the potential of becoming a walking triple double who all of the offense will run through, and someone who can anchor a defence as well. Shooting abilities is the only mark not crossed by this prospect. While ha can hit the occasional midrange shot, he struggles from three at this point in his development and it’s definitely an area he will need to work on extensively. Romeo Carter is a 6’11 243 pounds small forward out of Syracuse. The long and lanky New York native is a born scorer averaging 34, 8 and 3 during his freshman season. He can shoot from anywhere and finish inside. Being a shooting guard in the body of a center, he takes advantage of the mismatches constantly thrown at him by either posting up on smaller defenders, or crossing up any big man trying to guard him on the perimeter. While his athleticism isn’t on the level of Thabo, he is quick for his size and will definitely put some guys on a poster during his NBA career. His length also allows him to become a good rim protector down the line. However, defence is definitely his area of weakness if he has one.
Thabo Okobo ended up going number one to the Lakers and Romeo Carter wound up in the hands of the Knicks with the second pick. Surely the start of two future dynasties and a brewing rivalry between two guys, who were rivals in college, and their new NBA franchises. To coach the new-look Lakers and Knics, I opted for the hard nosed defensive minded Quinn Snyder in New York, who will hopefully build a solid defensive team around the god-gifted scorer Romeo Carter. In LA, I brought back Luke Walton, who has a good amount of experience by now, and while his attempt at building a fast-paced transition offense around led to his firing in 2019, a young and hungry Okobo - who possesses a lot of the same qualities as Lebron - will probably be more willing to play at that pace, if the Lakers manages to surround him with shooters and athletic defenders.
Neither the Lakers or the Knicks signed any big-name free agents. Kyrie still had one year left, and I’ll let the teams be bad for a year or two, and get decent draft picks, before I start signing big names.
The Knicks and the Lakers respective rotations going in to the 25/26 season: Knicks: Kyrie (one year left), Kyree Walker, Carter, Aidan Igiehon, Oscar Tshiebwe, and from the bench Devon Dotson, Mattisse Thybulle, Maxwell Kapono, Chimezie Metu, Armando Bacot. Lakers: Lillard (signed a one year deal in FA), BJ Boston, Okobo, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Khalifa Diop, and from the bench Boogie Ellis, Julian Thorpe, Julian Strawther, Alvin Harper, Qumar Ballo.
This is a big milestone in this MyLeague, and I'm going back to school tomorrow (we've been having a week off due to exams, so this has been a little project for me over the off-days), so I wont't be playing a lot the coming weeks. I'll definitely write another update when I get back to this save, but I might just put it in some kind of dynasty section, where I'll collect all the posts I've done so far. But I've had so much fun with it! I think it went down really realistic with a lot of exciting narratives taking place. I can't wait to get back and see how the things will turn out for players like Giannis Antetokounmp, Zion Williamson, Xavier Qualls, Thabo Okobo, Romeo Carter and, entering in the next two drafts (2026 and 2027 respectively), Mamadou M'Benga (7'4 power house center) and Raymond Brooks (6'5 freakishly athletic point "god").
2025 regular season (first half of 20205/2026 season)
Obviously, I had to play the first Lakers and Knicks’ first home games of the season lol. Okobo had a 24 point triple double for the Lakers against Lonzo, Ingram and newly acquired FA RJ Barrett, and the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Knicks played Coby White, Alexander-Walker, Jalen Woodson, Isaiah Stewart and the Washington Wizards, where Romeo Carter put up 42 points!!! He is a little too good of a scorer as a rookie to be honest... Both guys are sooooo much fun to play with though! Okobo really feels like playing with rookie Lebron, while Carter legit feels like using a mixture of Kobe and KD. He has the physical frame and shooting of KD,, and the mindset and scoring moves of Kobe. And he just looks cool lol. Tall, lanky and chiselled body. Dark skin, cornrows, scruffy beard like KD (little thicker), forearm band like Kobe used to have, and, sometimes, a headband. He has swagger!
Then I simmed to the trade deadline, both the Knicks and the Lakers had really bad records, which meant their draft picks had a lot of value. So, I ended up doing what is probably my most unrealistic set of trades during this MyLeague: all of the Lakers’ future draft picks for John Calvin (my three-point shooting CAP from the Bulls), and all of the Knicks’ future draft picks for Xavier Qualls (my 5’11 ball handler CAP from the Nets), bringing all four of my own CAP’s in the same two teams in the two biggest markets!!! It gives Okobo and the Lakers a DEADLY off-ball shooter to kick it to. Th perfect sidekick for Okobo. And it gives the Knicks another scorer with some swagger. They can now alternate between ISO’s for Carter and Qualls. Not necessarily the perfect fit, but both are great fits for the New York fan base (swag, killer-instinct and heart). The trade makes no sense for the Bulls, who are in a win now mode, but it makes sense for my MyLeague. Calvin took too many points away from Zion, and I’ll make sure they get some value in return for the draft picks they received. I still plan to build a powerhouse around Zion soon. In terms of how it makes sense for the Nets, it doesn’t… It makes a little sense to get something in return for Qualls, as they had too many guys who could develop in to first options and upper echelon players, but they could have gotten a bunch of solid rotational players instead of draft picks that they really don’t need. I’ll make sure to trade those for rotational pieces as well. But yeah, unrealistic trades, that wouldn’t have been done in real life, but I can definitely find a way to make it worthwhile for both the Bulls and the Nets, and building dynasties around Okobo and Calvin in La, and Carter and Qualls in New York, would just be so much freaking fun that I couldn’t help pulling the trigger…
Btw. in terms of the rookies stats for Okobo and Carter, and the sophomore stats for Qualls and Calvin, at the trade deadline: Okobo averaged 22, 9 and 8 to go along with 1,5 steals and 1,5 blocks. Carter averaged an insane 28 PPG (!!!) 8 rebounds and 3 assists to go along with 1 block and 1 steal. Xavier Qualls, who had shared the ball with a lot of other young studs in Brooklyn until now, averaged 19 PPG and 7 APG. Actually a significant dip since his rookie season. Calvin on the other hand, now in his third season, averaged 25 PPG with the Chicago Bulls until he got traded to the Lakers. His field goal percentage and free throw percentage had remained above fifty and 40 percent, while his three point percentage had gone down to 46%. Still an insanely efficient 25 PPG. He is going to THRIVE alongside Okobo and the up-pace and stretched out Lakers offense!
Tuesday, April 9, 2019
| USWA Standings - Updated: Jun 8, 2019 | |||
| TEAMS | W | L | GB |
| Indianapolis Inferno | 8 | 1 | – |
| Philadelphia Pioneers | 6 | 3 | 2 |
| Denver Dash | 5 | 2 | 2 |
| New York Nighthawks | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| Houston Huskies | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Chicago Cougars | 2 | 5 | 5 |
| Los Angeles Lancers | 1 | 6 | 6 |
| Dallas Diablos | 1 | 6 | 6 |
Cougars (2-5) – 5
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Dash (5-2) – 2
Huskies (3-4) – 6
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Lancers (1-6) – 3
Nighthawks (4-3) – 6
Huskies (3-3) – 1
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Lancers (1-5) – 3
Pioneers (6-3) – 6
Huskies (3-2) – 4
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Lancers (1-4) – 0
Pioneers (5-3) – 3
Huskies (2-2) – 4
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Lancers (1-3) – 1
Pioneers (4-3) – 4
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