With season 1 for the new and improved VBA well underway, I thought now would be the perfect time to talk about something that makes the VBA so great and a big reason why we all play (aside from winning the chip of course) and that is the recognition that comes with winning awards and being considered the best or 1 of the best in the league at your position!! With that being said I am going to take a look across the league and talk about who I think is in play to win the following awards MVP, DPOY, COTY, PG, SG, SF, PF and C of the year (based on win/loss, stats, and my own personal opinion of their performance this season). I will be rolling out the these articles in a series so I can go more in depth with my analysis and give these guys the credit they deserve. Today we are going to talk about the defensive guys that embrace the gritty side of 2k and help their team win games with timely steals, blocks or by shutting down the other teams star. So without further ado, here are my leading candidates for DPOY!!

DPOY

Kurrupted, a longtime vet of the VBA and comp team up scene, has started to come into his own over the last couple years. He is no longer just another good player known for teaming with former VBA Legends EvLegrand and Aceboogie. His recent domination in 2kgodz over the past 2 years has seen him become one of the best comp team up players in the community. This would all lead you to believe that he is tearing the league up on a star like Harden or Embiid but that is not the case at all.. Kurrupted instead took on the role of Matisse Thybulle and has had an immense impact on the game for his line, averaging an astonishing 7.8 steals per game to go along with blanketing the opposing teams star ball handler, often times taking them completely out of the game. This has led Kurrupted to an impressive 6-2 record, with wins over the rival Suns and Warriors under his belt, to go along with a 2-0 record over MVP candidate ZhaJesus (Bucks). With his unselfish style of play and stifling defense, Kurrupted and his line looked poised to make a deep run at the championship.

ZhaJesus, a bit of an unknown to some in the VBA community, was taken with the Bucks 1st rd pick to be their premier Giannis and he has not disappointed in that role. Averaging a whopping 29 PPG 21 RPG 9APG and most importantly as it applies to DPOY, 4.2 STL and 4.2 BLK! While his record doesn’t stand out as much as the other candidates on this list, he does hold impressive wins over MVP candidate King Mizzark (Warriors) and Bodega (Nets). While Giannis is extremely braindead on this 2k, you cannot ignore the impact ZhaJesus is having with him on games. Getting almost 5 blocks and 5 steals a game are indeed video game numbers, and I certainly look forward to seeing how ZhaJesus closes out the season and heads into these VBA playoffs!

King Jon, ah where do we start with this grizzly old vet. Some might say he is the heart and soul of this Suns defense, others might call him a washed bum that is just mashing his Y button. The truth, as it often is, lies somewhere in the middle. All jokes aside though, Jon has been a defensive stalwart throughout his legendary career in these teamup leagues and that is no exception this 2k. He has had a profound impact on his line as a rim protector and leader and has them poised to make a deep playoff run if they can continue to dominate their opposition. The record speaks for itself (regardless what you think of who they have played) 8-1 is still impressive none the less, and the numbers are nothing to scoff at either, 2.4 STL and 3.4 BLK are certainly DPOY worthy. In my opinion however, it is the things that don’t show up in the stat sheet that has Jon on the cusp of DPOY, things like steeping on the screen consistently, stealing entry passes to the paint, timing pump fake spam under the rim or even sweet spotting to play 2 for glitchy pass lane steals. Jon is willing to do whatever it takes to get his team the W and is exactly what you are looking for in a championship big man!

Honorable Mention (In no order)

Gabe iLy (Heat)

• Record: 5-3
• Stats: 5.3 STL

YoGuardBron (Warriors)

• Record: 5-4
• Stats: 5.1 STL

Userpick (Suns)

• Record: 9-0
• Stats: 4.8 STL

Clutch King (Grizzlies)

• Record: 7-2
• Stats: 2.2 STL 3.2 BLK

Fab (Heat)

• Record: 5-4
• Stats: 4.1 STL 2BLK

Ebok (Grizzlies/Warriors)

• Record: 7-2
• Stats: 2.7 STL 2.7 BLK

Coming Soon

COTY

PG, SG, SF, PF and C of the Year

With season 1 for the new and improved VBA well underway, I thought now would be the perfect time to talk about something that makes the VBA so great and a big reason why we all play (aside from winning the chip of course) and that is the recognition that comes with winning awards and being considered the best or 1 of the best in the league at your position!! With that being said I am going to take a look across the league and talk about who I think is in play to win the following awards MVP, DPOY, COTY, PG, SG, SF, PF and C of the year (based on win/loss, stats, and my own personal opinion of their performance this season). I will be rolling out the these articles in a series so I can go more in depth with my analysis and give these guys the credit they deserve. We are going to start off with a bang and go right into MVP!!

MVP

Citrs is the close frontrunner to take home MVP at the moment. He was picked up as a free agent by Drock and has dominated ever since, boasting an impressive 5-1 record with multiple wins vs other MVP candidates such as Cleveland Cash and Zhajesus. He doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon as he is currently averaging an eye popping 38.5 PPG and 8 APG and from the looks of it, might be the favorite to win the championship as well considering how good his line is playing right now. I look forward to seeing how Citrs closes this season out and if he can take his game to another level come playoff time.

Userpick, the former 2kL Pro has come back to his VBA roots to pair up with the old gang of John, Haden and King to form quite the formidable line this season. Pick has been the orchestrator of the only undefeated line in the VBA currently with a record of 9-0 (his line did lose 1 game without him) and boasts decent wins over players like Kuhrow, Bodega, Shaun and Woohdy. While the strength of schedule and stats might not be the most eye popping, once you consider that this man is 9-0 and putting up 22 and 18 with LANDRY SHAMET (LOL!) it starts to really make his season so far very impressive and certainly up there with Citrs for MVP.

Cleveland Cash is another longtime vet from the previous leagues that always had a knack for scoring, and that seems to still be the case now if not more so. Cash has been 1 of the most exciting players to watch this season (partly cuz Ja is a god) due to his extremely aggressive style of play and unwillingness to let anyone stop him from scoring and trying to win the game. He might have the most impressive strength of schedule all things considered. Despite losing 2 of his match ups, he boasts very legit wins over fellow MVP candidates Fab, Citrs and Mizz. Look for Cash to continue putting up numbers in bunches as he closes out the season and begins his run for a championship.

Fab, another longtime Vet and Former 2KL Star, signed back up with the VBA this season to have some fun and add another ring to his collection. While it has not been the smoothest of seasons thus far from getting stuck with the Heat for uhhhh reasons (Farah plz), to having a plethora of roster inactivity resulting in the Heat becoming a home for every ECU in the league. There has been one consistent through all of the bullshit and that is how effective Fab has been on the court. He has played a very strong schedule vs some of the top teams in the league (warriors 2x, Nets 2x and Grizz) and while he hasn’t always come out on top, it hasn’t been without trying, as he is the only player in the league currently averaging a triple double and he is doing it with Bam lol.

King Mizzark, Mr 2k Godz himself has come home to where it all started and has brought with him a ton of attention and expectations. As an owner he has done an impressive job acquiring talent and has put together a very impressive roster (dam near a 2k godz roster) of former pros (Bron) and comp team up vets (Pookie, Gee, Ebok and Cha1rz)… While Mizz has done a great job as owner, we are talking MVP right now, and to no ones surprise, Mizz is right up there to take home MVP. He has very impressive stats (yes it is Curry but 35 and 16 is still nice AF) and has played a mostly comp schedule with a mixed bag of results. Has impressive wins over Switzo twice (one was also vs Kurrupted who is 1 of the best players in the league imo), Split with Zhajesus and won his only game vs the extremely aids Nets and their star player Bodega. Mizz has all the tools to win MVP and potentially the championship, just a matter of hitting his shots and not turning the ball over. Look for Mizz and the Dubs to find their footing and be a force in the playoffs!

Closing Remarks

That’s it for my MVP Race.. Shout out to all the incredible performances so far this season and MVP should come down to the wire as any of these 5 players I mentioned could pull ahead with 1 amazing week! Let me know what you guys think and who y’all feel is the MVP so far!

Coming Soon

DPOY

COTY

PG
SG
SF
PF
C