TEAM DRAFTS ETHAN ‘RADIANT’ WHITE WITH 14TH OVERALL PICK IN FIRST ROUND; ALSO ADDS ANTONIO ‘NEWDINI’ NEWMAN, MIHAD ‘IFEAST’ FERATOVIC, ALEXANDER ‘STEEZ’ BERNSTEIN, TILTON ‘xTFr3sHxX’ CURRY AND RASHANN ‘ZDS’ PETTY PHILADELPHIA — APRIL 4, 2018 — Today, 76ers Gaming Club (GC), the NBA 2K League team of the Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment portfolio, selected six players in the inaugural NBA 2K League Draft at The Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden. With the 14th overall pick in the first round, 76ers GC selected Ethan “Radiant” White. Radiant, a 19-year-old from Battle Creek, Michigan, played 41 games in the online NBA 2K League Combine, averaging 21.9 points, 10.9 assists and 3.7 steals per game. Radiant was considered one of the top pick-and-roll point guards in the draft. “Radiant is one extraordinary point guard. We were looking for an offensive weapon to build around and we were fortunate that Radiant was available at pick No. 14,” 76ers GC General Manager Michael Lai said. “He is one of the most skilled players in the 102-player pool and had very high marks in our models. Beyond the metrics, his tape showed an offensive style that will translate well to what a team needs to succeed in the NBA 2K League.” In addition to Radiant, 76ers GC drafted the following talented players to comprise the first-ever 76ers GC team roster:
- Shooting guard Antonio “Newdini” Newman with the 21st overall pick in the second round.
- Power forward Mihad “IFEAST” Feratovic with the 48th overall pick in the third round.
- Small forward Alexander “Steez” Bernstein with the 55th overall pick in the fourth round.
- Center Tilton “xTFr3sHxX” Curry with the 82nd overall pick in the fifth round.
- Point guard Rashann “ZDS” Petty with the 89th overall pick in the sixth round.
76ers GC will train at the state-of-the-art Philadelphia 76ers Training Complex in Camden, N.J. for the NBA 2K League, which commences in May 2018. “We’re extremely excited about the value we got across all six rounds,” 76ers GC Assistant General Manager Ian Hillman said. “Our strategy was to leverage our analytical and NBA experience in our approach to roster construction. We believe that we drafted players who fit the culture we are trying to build and have complementary skill sets.” A product of Illinois Central College, Newdini averaged 23.7 points, 5.8 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game in 103 games in the NBA 2K League Combine. Newdini shot 58.0 percent from the field and 54.0 percent from three-point range. The 22-year-old from Washington, Illinois uses a pure sharpshooter as his archetype. IFEAST, the 19-year-old power forward for 76ers GC, averaged 22.4 points, 15.5 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 3.2 steals in 41 games in the NBA 2K League Combine. IFEAST hails from Brooklyn, New York and is studying Business Management and Accounting at Brooklyn College. Steez joins 76ers GC after working as a financial advisor in Beverly Hills, California. The former Division II football player averaged 28.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.9 steals in 106 games in the NBA 2K League Combine. The 24-year-old from Orange County, California graduated from Northern State University in South Dakota with a degree in sociology. xTFr3shxX played the most games by a center in the NBA 2K League Combine. In 172 games, he averaged 29.3 points, 18.3 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game. The 27-year-old comes to 76ers GC from Winder, Georgia. 76ers GC rounded out the team by selecting ZDS, a point guard from Indianapolis, Indiana. ZDS played 97 games in the NBA 2K League Combine, averaging 20.2 points, 14.8 assists and 4.0 steals. The players in today’s draft were selected from a pool of 102 draftees that were chosen by the league after an extensive tryout process that began in January 2018. Each team had to use its first five selections to fill each of the five positions on the basketball court. The final selection could be used to select a player from any position (point guard, shooting guard, small forward, power forward or center). ABOUT 76ERS GAMING CLUB:76ers Gaming Club (GC) is one of 17 esports teams competing in the NBA 2K League founded by the NBA and Take-Two Interactive Software. Based in the greater Philadelphia region, 76ers GC draws inspiration from the history of the nation’s revolutionary city, fused with the modern esports fan and player. The team joins Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment’s dynamic portfolio of leading sports and entertainment properties around the world. For more information, go to https://NBA.2K.com/2KLeague/. ABOUT HARRIS BLITZER SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT:Founded by Josh Harris and David Blitzer, Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (HBSE) includes in its portfolio the Philadelphia 76ers, the New Jersey Devils, leading venue Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., the GRAMMY Museum Experience Prudential Center, the Delaware Blue Coats, the Binghamton Devils, the Sixers Innovation Lab Crafted by Kimball, renowned esports franchise Team Dignitas and new NBA 2K League Team, 76ers Gaming Club (GC). Led by some of the best and brightest minds across a diverse spectrum of industries, HBSE positions itself as one of the most pioneering, innovative sports and entertainment businesses in the world. HBSE also strives to positively impact the local communities in which it operates through the powerful platform of sports. For more information, visit www.hbse.com.
ABOUT THE NBA 2K LEAGUE:
The NBA 2K League is a professional esports league co-founded by the NBA and Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTWO). Launching in 2018, the league will feature the best NBA 2K players in the world. Each of the league’s 17 teams will draft players to compete as unique characters in 5-on-5 play against the other teams in a mix of regular-season games, tournaments and playoffs. The league hosted tryouts in early 2018, followed by a draft in April and the season tip-off in May. For more information about the NBA 2K League, visit www.NBA2KLeague.com.