You probably think the Orlando Magic’s most important acquisition of the summer was drafting 6-foot-10, 250-pound power forward Paolo Banchero No. 1 overall out of Duke.
Think again.
The Magic’s biggest addition is another rookie who stands just 5-foot-10 and weighs 150 pounds but is quickly gaining the reputation as the most lethal weapon in the NBA.
His name is Joshua Hunter, and he simply goes by the name of “Unguardable.”
“In my opinion, Unguardable might be the best scorer in the entire league at this point,” says Magic coach Jonah Edwards.
Bianchi, you idiot, the Magic’s head coach is Jamahl Mosley and there’s no Joshua Hunter even listed on their roster!”
Au contraire, mon frère.
You’re talking about the Orlando Magic’s basketball team.
I’m talking about the Orlando Magic’s gaming team, which just advanced into the playoffs for the first time in team history. And they did it after facilitating a massive four-team trade that brought “Unguardable” to the City Beautiful.
Magic fans can only hope Banchero has the immediate impact and proves to be as unguardable as, well, Unguardable. Just like Magic Basketball, Magic Gaming was at the bottom of the league standings — before an immensely talented rookie came to town and changed the outlook of the entire franchise.
“Unguardable was the fifth overall pick and was drafted by Portland,” says Edwards, who also serves as team’s general manager. “We had a ton of interest in him going into the draft, but he just went too high. We immediately reached out two weeks after the draft to see if we could get him. Portland was having a rough year, we had some draft capital and we were able to make a move.”
If it sounds like Edwards believes he is a serious general manager talking about a real basketball team; it’s because he is. He draws a full-time salary from the Magic to construct and coach an esports team of video game prodigies to take part in the NBA 2K League. All 30 NBA teams sanction, house and pay their five-man esports team to play a full season of the league’s popular NBA 2K video game.
“There are five players on the floor and everybody on the team controls one player,” Edwards explains. “One guy is the point guard, another guy is the shooting guard, another guy is the small forward. Each player has a position and special skill set. It looks and feels like real basketball. We run plays. We scout other teams. We gameplan. It’s like a real basketball team, except it’s virtual.”
I know, I know, if you’re an old, fuddy-duddy traditional sports fan like me who hasn’t played a video game since Pac-Man then you don’t get it. You probably think the Magic gaming team is comprised of a bunch lazy, recluse teenagers who lock themselves in their bedroom, shun their homework and spend all their time living life in virtual reality.
“I’m aware of the criticism and stereotypes,” Edwards says. “[National sports radio host] Colin Cowherd calls us ‘basement-dwelling booger eaters.’ But the perception that we are eating Cheetos and drinking Mountain Dew all day is just plain false. Our guys live a healthy lifestyle and are making real money doing something they love to do. Isn’t that the goal in life? These aren’t guys who are losers living in their mom’s basement. These are guys who are successful, hard-working, team-oriented and massively talented in their field.”
One of the Magic gamers — Matthew “Matty” Grant — was a stud college basketball player before he blew out his knee and decided that his hoop dreams would have to be realized virtually. The Magic gamers are in their 20s, highly motivated and spend about 60 hours a week perfecting their craft during the offseason. If Dwight Howard had had this much dedication when he played for the Magic, he might have been able to make more than half of his free throws.
The Magic gamers get paid $40,000 for the five months they are under contract and are eligible to compete for an additional $2.5 million in prize money supplied by the NBA. Conceivably, players competing in the NBA’s 2K League could make close to six figures, not including the endorsement deals that the league’s top players often ink.
Of course, the NBA isn’t funding a bunch of video gamers out of the kindness of its heart. More than any of the other four major sports leagues in this country, the NBA attracts a younger, hipper demographic. Thus, the focus on the exploding gaming audience.
Accenture, the global technology giant, issued a report last year estimating that the gaming industry market is now worth more than $300 billion — “bigger than the combined markets for music and movies.” There are an estimated 2.7 billion gamers worldwide and the figure is growing exponentially with each iPhone sold. More than 2 million gamers play NBA 2K every day with nearly 15 million people purchasing the game every year.
“One of the biggest reasons the NBA invested in esports was to reach a younger demographic,” Edwards says. “The NBA is trying to capture these young gamers and turn them into lifelong basketball fans. Let’s face it, esports is kind of the future. The world is becoming more and more digital and the NBA was at the forefront and invested right away. The NBA treats us as one of its four leagues — the NBA, the WNBA, the G-League and NBA 2K.”
With the playoffs starting on Thursday night, the organization’s rookie sensation believes in his new team and his new town.
“I love being with the Magic and I think we can bring a championship home to Orlando,” Unguardable says.
Are you listening, Paolo?
