Updated Odds to Win NBA 2K Players Only Tournament Now Favor Pat Beverley; Clippers Guard Opened at +2000

• Pat Beverley is now the favorite at +150 to win the Players Only 2K Tournament after the first round of games after opening with the worst odds at +2000 last week
• Kevin Durant, DeMarcus Cousins, and Donovan Mitchell were all eliminated in the opening round
• See the updated odds for the rest of the tournament below

A very interesting and unexpected start to the first-ever Players-Only NBA 2K Tournament has occurred as three of the top four seeds (#1 Kevin Durant, #3 Hassan Whiteside, #4 Donovan Mitchell) were all eliminated in the first round.

The biggest surprise has been Patrick Beverley. After being listed at +2000 in the opening odds, Beverley took down Whiteside 84-54 in a first round beatdown.

The oddsmakers originally underestimated Beverley’s skills on the sticks. However, it seems like he played well enough in the first round to change their minds as the Clippers guard is the new favorite heading into the second-round.

Updated Odds to Win NBA 2K Players Only Tournament

Odds taken April 6th

Beverley’s Energy is Unmatched

Everybody knows how big Beverley plays when he’s on the court, but people probably did not think it would translate to virtual basketball. In Beverley’s first-round win, he did not let Whiteside hear the end of it.

Beverley played as the Bucks, while Whiteside played with the Lakers. Regardless of which teams were matched up, Beverley did not want to give Whiteside even a sniff of victory.

Patrick Beverley is going OFF in the 2K tourney. 😂 pic.twitter.com/Uxn22tdDJ4

— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) April 4, 2020

Beverley took a big lead in the second quarter on Whiteside and did not look back, cruising to victory. As the #14 seed, Beverley’s route to the finals will not be easy. Andre Drummond will be Pat Bev’s next opponent, as he whipped DeMarcus Cousins 101-49 in the opening round.

Drummond used the Lakers to beat Cousins, a team Beverley manhandled in the first-round. Beverley seemed to have a better strategy and game plan in the first round, which should translate to another victory.

Value & Who to Target?

Trae Young at +650 is an intriguing play. Young goes up against Ayton in the second-round, who beat Zach LaVine in the first-round by a score of 57-41. Now, Ayton did not play great defense, I just think LaVine is not very good.

Looking at Young’s first-round matchup, he blew Harrison Barnes out of the water 101-59. If Ayton scores just under 60 points again, there is a slim chance that he will be able to compete with Young’s high-flying offensive attack in 2K.

Young should be able to take care of Ayton in the second-round and has a good chance of winning the entire tournament as an avid 2K player.

A good strategy for this tournament would be to target the young players. Other than Patrick Beverley, every other player remaining in this tournament is under 27 years old.

Another second-round matchup to look deeper at would be Derrick Jones Jr. against Montrezl Harrell. Jones Jr. was sneaky good against Durant in the first-round, beating him 78-62 with the Bucks. He played the game with no trash talk and cruised past the #1 seed as the #16 seed.

Harrell took down Sabonis in the first-round, but the Pacers forward did not put up much of a fight. Harrell won 71-53 with his Clippers, and like his teammate Beverley,  was talking and screaming the entire game.

However, I don’t believe Harrell is ready for the silent attack of Derrick Jones Jr., who barely even responded to questions Durant was asking him.

Jones is a great pick in this matchup with Harrell, as he is also one of the top contenders to win this tournament at this point with +450 odds.

In terms of a value pick to win it all, I would stick with Trae Young. He plays the game quite a bit and has great value as he sits in the middle of the pack after the conclusion of the first round.

Best Bet: Trae Young (+650)