Raptors Uprising fall to defending champs Wizards DG to open up 2021 NBA 2K League season

TORONTO, Canada—Raptors Uprising GC, NBA 2K League affiliate of the Toronto Raptors, couldn’t de-throne the reigning NBA 2K League champions as the team from the North fell to Wizards District Gaming in a pair of games Friday night to kick off the 2021 NBA 2K League season.

In a rematch of last year’s NBA 2K League playoff semifinals, Raptors Uprising (0-2) were their own worst enemy on this night, as the No. 1 defence in the league last season struggled to contain Wizards DG (3-1) for the majority of the evening.

In Game 1, a strong effort from Type, who posted 20 points and 16 rebounds on 9-of-13 shooting from the field, was not enough, as Raptors Uprising (0-2) had no answer for a Wizards DG offence that was clicking on all cylinders.

Dish, Dunk, AND 1 for @Type!

2nd half coming up » https://t.co/WGqRIobdZa pic.twitter.com/5gSbGHFo5w

— Raptors Uprising GC (@RaptorsGC) May 29, 2021

NBA 2K League veteran Newdini and 2020 first-overall pick JBM combined for 56 points, with Newdini knocking down all six of his three-point attempts as Washington’s 10-point lead at the half was too much for Raptors Uprising to overcome, despite Toronto cutting the lead to as close as four at one point.

“They played well,” said TsJosh postgame. “We knew they were going to be defensive-heavy, we knew it would be a JBM-Dayfri type of show, and that’s what happened. We all knew they were good before this game, they’re the defending champions, and they basically brought their whole team back … it wasn’t anything we didn’t expect, but obviously we expected to do better though.”

The loss was Toronto’s first regular season loss since July 10, 2019 after becoming the first team in league history to go undefeated a year ago, snapping a 17-game regular season unbeaten run dating back to Season 2.

Rematch for Game of the Week next.@Type – 20 PTS | 16 REB | 3 AST@KennyGotWork – 23 PTS | 11 AST pic.twitter.com/az1HKgFRIa

— Raptors Uprising GC (@RaptorsGC) May 29, 2021

Raptors Uprising 70 Wizards District Gaming 89 — Box Score

In Game 2, turnovers were the kryptonite for Raptors Uprising. Four early cough-ups helped propel Wizards DG to a quick 10-0 start, extending their lead to as much as 14 points in the first half. Once again, however, Toronto was not going down without a fight, clawing back to bring the game to within five points midway through the third quarter.

Unfortunately for Raptors Uprising, it was simply not their night, as JBM again caught fire down the stretch, scoring 34 points, adding 13 assists and four steals to help Wizards DG earn their third-straight win on the young season.

“There’s a lot that went wrong for me, we lost double-digits both games,” said TsJosh. “It started off with communication; I think we had a lot of miscommunications out there that led to buckets or turnovers that shouldn’t happen. That second game for sure was turnovers; we got them going early. They were in their groove, they were confident, people got badges, so it’s hard.

“But like I said, they’re mistakes that we know we can fix easily, so we’ll be back to the drawing board.”

One of the few bright spots in Game 2 was the play of TsJosh, checking in at the power forward spot for Raptors Uprising in place of All Hail Trey. The third-year pro scored 16 points, including three three-pointers as his steady play would keep things interesting, especially in the first half.

“My teammates found me, I just hit shots. I still feel like I didn’t play my best, honestly,” said TsJosh. “I just found that my teammates hit me when I was open and I just knocked down the shots, it was pretty simple. And I got a few boards and went back up or a cut, it wasn’t too much that was out of the ordinary.”

Not the start we wanted, not giving up either. Be back better next Friday.

GGs @WizardsDG pic.twitter.com/UZLi8s1fSU

— Raptors Uprising GC (@RaptorsGC) May 29, 2021

Raptors Uprising 62 Wizards District Gaming 78 — Box Score

These two teams will meet once again on June 17.

With 26 games remaining, the season is still young and there’s plenty of time for this Raptors Uprising team to right the ship.

They’ll have their first crack at it on Friday when Raptors Uprising takes on Hawks Talon GC in a rematch from THE TIPOFF Tournament, before squaring off with Hornets Venom GT—Type’s old team—on Saturday.

“0-2 wasn’t expected, but there was bright sides, also some downfalls that we know we’ve got to fix,” said TsJosh. “We’ll be back it tomorrow and next week, and we’ll just take it day by day.”