Atlanta Hawks
HAWKS TALON GAMING TRADE JOHN ‘WITNESS’ MUSHABEN FOR 2023 DRAFT PICK
Hawks Talon Gaming, the official NBA 2K League affiliate of the Atlanta Hawks, announced today that the team has acquired the 37th pick in the upcoming NBA 2K League Draft from Wizards District Gaming in exchange for John “WITNESS” Mushaben.
“We feel that this move opens up some flexibility leading up to the draft in terms of how we can build around our core,” said Hawks Talon Gaming Director of Esports Wesley Acuff. “With CEEZ and HOTSHOT secured and three picks on the horizon – including the first overall pick – we are excited for the 2023 season to get here.”
WITNESS was selected by Hawks Talon Gaming with the 18th overall pick in the 2022 NBA 2K League Draft.
In October, Hawks Talon GC won the NBA 2K League Draft Lottery and will have the first overall pick in the 2023 NBA 2K League Draft. Entering the lottery, Hawks Talon held 2.1 percent odds of winning the first pick, the second-to-worst odds of any team in the lottery. As a result of today’s trade, Hawks Talon Gaming will now have three selections in the upcoming 2023 NBA 2K League Draft: the first overall pick, the 31st overall pick, as well as Wizard District’s pick (37th overall) acquired in the trade today. The NBA 2K League Draft is set to take place on Thursday, January 26 at 8 p.m. ET.
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Hawks Talon Gaming, the official NBA 2K League affiliate of the Atlanta Hawks, completed their five-man squad during the 2024 NBA 2K League Draft by selecting ‘BaitPickk’ and ‘Duck’ in the draft.
With the 11th overall pick, Hawks Talon GC selected power forward Tyler ‘BaitPickk’ Montague, a prospect from Dayton, Ohio, new to the NBA 2K League in 2024. ‘BaitPickk’ entered the draft pool after earning his eligibility through the Brooklyn Nets GC Earn Your Spot team draft eligible tournament.
Prior to the draft in September, Hawks Talon GC acquired the 11th pick from 76ers Gaming Club that sent Caesar “CEEZ” Martinez and a 2025 third-round pick to NBL Oz Gaming.
“I’m happy with the direction that the team is going in,” said Director of Esports Wesley Acuff. “We have five players who want to be in Atlanta and want to play together. You can’t ask for more than that in this league.”
With the 35th overall pick which was originally acquired in a trade with Warriors Gaming Squad during the 2023 draft, Hawks Talon selected four-year veteran Christopher ‘Duck’ Charles, a guard from New York.
A former second overall pick in the 2020 2K League Draft, ‘Duck’ won the 2K League Most Improved Player during the 2021 season.
“We’re happy with this draft. Those are the two guys we wanted since a couple of months ago,” said Hawks Talon Head Coach Ismael ‘MAELO’ Diaz-Tolentino. “We did our homework, and it worked out extremely well for us.”
‘BaitPickk’ and ‘Duck’ join ‘Glo’, ‘UnderRatedGoat’, and ‘MDS’ to round out the five-man roster.
To stay up to date on Hawks Talon Gaming Club, visit HawksTalonGC .gg and follow the team’s social channels on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
On Sunday evening, Hawks Talon GC, the official NBA 2K League affiliate of the Atlanta Hawks, hosted Atlanta rapper Kid Saiyan on stream as part of the second installment this season of the team’s award-winning Talon Takeover content series. The stream served as a pregame show before the Hawks Talon’s in-person 5v5 matchup with 76ers GC as part of group play in THE TURN in the NBA 2K League. Hawks Talon hosted fans, friends, and family to witness the competition in person. 76ers GC ultimately came away with the win, 66-61.
“Competition is a part of my DNA and is what drives my fuel for gaming,” said Kid Saiyan. “It was awesome to play 2K with Hawks Talon GC today.”
Kid Saiyan, an Atlanta rapper and son of Atlanta legend T.I., is a recording artist, avid gamer, and Pokémon card collector. He recently appeared at “Hot 107.9 Birthday Bash” at the award-winning State Farm Arena, joining his father as a surprise guest. His most recent project, Wild Rock$tar$, featured Lil Keed and Matt Ox, among others, and he is currently working on new music to be released this year.
He joined the stream to talk about his love for gaming and play NBA 2k with members of Hawks Talon, as well as talk about his music, Atlanta, and more.
“We are grateful to everybody that came out to support us in-person and for all the work done behind the scenes to make another in-person game happen,” said Hawks Talon Director of Esports Wesley Acuff. “We pride ourselves on reaching our fans in new ways each season and having them at our facility is always impactful for us.”
On the virtual court, Hawks Talon and 76ers GC engaged in a back-and-forth affair. MarkDavid Smith (MDS) led both teams with 31 points (13-20 FG), but it was ultimately not enough as the 76ers GC outscored Hawks Talon 28-24 in the second half to secure the win.
In 2020, Hawks Talon announced the creation of the one-of-a-kind content series called Talon Takeover which features celebrities, entertainers and influencers playing various popular video games. The Talon Takeover content series earned the NBA 2K League’s Team Business Award for Best Livestream Program in March 2021. The first installment of the 2023 season featured Memphis crunk rapper Duke Deuce on May 23.
Hawks Talon GC, the official NBA 2K League affiliate of the Atlanta Hawks, will face off with Cavs Legion on stage in Washington, D.C. after defeating Heat Check Gaming (3-2) and Team Handlez (3-1) in the first stages of bracket play of the SLAM OPEN. Hawks Talon is 2-0 in the double elimination tournament, and advanced to the stage as one of the top 12 teams remaining in the competition. Their matchup with Cavs Legion will come on Wednesday, March 29 at 6:45 p.m. ET. The game can be followed on the NBA 2K League’s Twitch or YouTube channel.
“Being back on stage as one of the best teams in the tournament is huge for us. The guys have worked hard to get to this point and their reward is the chance to compete for a banner in front of the NBA 2K fans,” said Hawks Talon Head Coach Ismael Diaz-Tolentino. “I believe that our team performs best on stage and I’m excited to see this group play this Wednesday.”
The three players who have represented Hawks Talon in 3v3 format so far are: Caesar “CEEZ” Martinez, Sam “GRADIENT” Salyers, and Juan “HOTSHOTx305” Gonzalez. The team competed remotely from The Lab presented by Diggi Games by Georgia Lottery, located in the award-winning State Farm Arena.
In a new format this year, 3v3 tournaments will include double elimination bracket play and no conferences. At the end of two weeks of group play in each tournament, all 25 NBA 2K League teams will advance to a 32-team remote bracket play for the first week, with the 12 top-performing NBA 2K League and Community teams remaining advancing to in-person bracket play in Washington, D.C. for the following week. The top eight teams in winners bracket and the top four teams in losers bracket will form the 12 teams who are invited to DC for on stage competition.
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