VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Allen Iverson, Alonzo Mourning, Joe Smith and Goofy?
Yes, Dayvon Curry, who goes by the gamer tag G O O F Y 7 5 7, is the latest product of The 757 to become a star on the NBA stage. His game? A video game. NBA 2K.
"I've been gaming since I was five years-old," Curry told News 3 Sports Director Adam Winkler via FaceTime.
The 23 year-old who attended Green Run and Landstown High Schools in Virginia Beach, is a superstar in the NBA 2K League - the first official esports outfit operated by a U.S. professional sports league.
Last season, Curry, who now plays for Grizz Gaming - Memphis' NBA 2K team, led the league in rebounding. The season before, he won the inaugural championship. And, according to The Oregonian, G O O F Y 7 5 7 made more money, nearly $100,000 in five months, than any other player in 2018.
"People think that just because it's a video game, you don't have to put in work," Curry explained. "But just like anything in life, if you want to be the best at it - you have to grind."
A major difference between the NBA 2K game folks play casually at home and the NBA 2K league is in league-play, the five-on-five action is actually controlled by five different individuals - representing the five players on the floor for each team. Thursday, when Grizz Gaming faces Lakers Gaming, G O O F Y 7 5 7 could be matched-up against Mootyy - a center from Yorktown.
"In the 75, everyone supports each other," Mitchell Franklin, AKA "Mootyy" told Winkler via FaceTime. "That's part of the reason I'm here today, I've had such a great support group: friends, family."
"Mootyy and I have been battling the past two years," Curry said. "We both rep the 757 'til the death of us, so it's nothing but respect."
And Curry, another guy who's made it big from The 757 - wants to make it back.
"I found the perfect career, but when I'm done, I want to open up a gaming center," G O O F Y 7 5 7 revealed. "Like how they have rec centers for children that don't have much, I want to do that for gaming."
To hopefully keep that basketball pipeline flowing from The 757.
