Meet 'Newdini': How a Washington native became a back-to-back NBA 2K League champion
Back-to-back "NBA titles" don’t have Antonio Newman basking in his success.
The Washington native is hungry for a three-peat – a would-be first in the history of the NBA 2K League, a professional esports league. Newman is one of five members of the two-time reigning NBA 2KL champions Wizards District Gaming, one of 22 NBA teams that have 2KL squads.
‘Newdini,’ as he’s known by his teammates as well as fans of the NBA 2KL, wears No. 14 and is a power forward for the team affiliated with the Washington Wizards. He spends March to September in Washington D.C. before coming home to Chillicothe to be with his wife, Elyssa.
At 5-foot-7, Newman didn’t see a future in playing hoops in high school against players six to eight inches taller than him, so he turned to the video game NBA 2K.
“I honestly just kind of took my knowledge of basketball and put it into 2K,” Newman, 27, said. “The thing is 2K, even though it’s a video game, you still use a lot of the same tactics you use in the NBA. You learn (players’) tendencies. You make the extra pass.”
Now, the 2013 Washington High grad is vying for a spot on the 2022 NBA 2KL All-Star team. Voters can submit one ballot with a vote for Newman every 24 hours at 2KLeague.NBA.com/2022AllStar/ until Aug. 15.
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From casual to serious player
A decade ago, Newman started playing NBA 2K12 and 2K13 daily. He had always loved video games, even telling his mom at one point that he "wanted to play video games as a living" when he got older.
Fast forward to NBA 2K17, where they held a Pro-Am 5 v 5 tournament – where each player controls one person –worth $250,000 to the winning team. Newman says instead of jumping to another team with better players, he stayed loyal to his younger brother and friends – but failed to qualify.
When the NBA 2KL announced its formation on Feb. 9, 2017, Newman began to take playing NBA 2K more and more seriously.
“That’s really when I kind of locked in,” said Newman, who at the time was a pharmacy technician at Walgreens in Washington. “I’ve loved basketball ever since I was a kid.”
What happened while on dinner break at Walgreens
The release of NBA 2K18 in Sept. 2017 coincided with the NBA 2KL combine set for that December with over 72,000 people trying out. Teaming up with four random players throughout the event, Newman posted one of the best win percentages, claiming 96 victories in 106 games.
He had made it through the combine – along with Skype interviews with NBA 2KL operatives – and was just waiting to hear if he had made the final cut.
On break at Walgreens after picking up McDonald’s for dinner, Newman received a call from an unknown New York number. He was one of the final 102 players eligible for the NBA 2KL draft set for April 4, 2018.
“I kind of lost my appetite,” Newman said on what he remembered from the phone call.
For draft night, he was flown out to New York City. In a Madison Square Garden auditorium, he was the fourth pick of the second round – the 21st overall selection - by the 76ers GC. He would play shooting guard and live in Philadelphia for the next six months.
During that season, Newman helped give the 76ers the inaugural NBA 2KL Tip Off tournament title following a move to small forward.
“I think at that point was when I realized to be successful in this league, you have to be unselfish,” he said. “You have to put your ego to the side.”
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'I just wanted to prove people wrong'
After being retained by the 76ers GC for the 2019 season, Newman and the 76ers captured another Tip Off Tournament championship. The Sixers then lost in the 2019 NBA 2KL Finals to the Timberwolves in the decisive Game 5.
Prior to the 2020 season, a pair of expansion teams joined the league forcing Newman back to the draft pool after the 76ers gave up two draft picks to retain one his teammates. He started to drive for Uber in the offseason with looming uncertainty of his future with the NBA 2KL.
Newman says he anticipated being drafted by the Magic to play shooting guard only to be picked by the Wizards with the 15th pick in the second round. He would be playing power forward, a first for Newman.
“I was kind of stunned," he said.
COVID-19 hit and pushed the season back a month. Newman was unable to return to Illinois and basically kept to a bubble for the entire season – over six-and-a-half months. That, however, didn’t cause any letdown for him.
In the playoffs, the Wizards beat the Kings in the opening round, then planned for hours by watching film to sweep the previously undefeated Raptors in the semifinals.
“We were so happy,” Newman said. “We were so excited. I think we popped champagne once we beat them.”
A victory over the Warriors in the finals gave the Wizards its first NBA 2KL crown.
“That championship to me was the hardest one to get,” Newman said, citing not seeing family or friends during the whole season. “I’ve always remembered coming into the league that people told me, ‘I wasn’t supposed to be in the league. I didn’t belong. I wasn’t good enough.’ People used to talk behind my back.
“I just wanted to prove people wrong.”
Another title and beyond
In 2021, the Wizards produced another championship season, sweeping through the playoffs with series wins over the Knicks, Nets and Jazz. Newman calls the ’21 team the "best team I’ve been a part of" as the Wizards went 22-6 in the regular season with the NBA 2KL signing a multiyear deal with PlayStation 5 prior to the season.
This season, the Wizards have the No. 2 seed secured for the 5 v 5 playoffs, which run from Aug. 24-27 in Indianapolis, as well as the top seed in 3 v 3, which is a week earlier.
“To be able to be the second seed in (5 v 5) again and get a chance to go for that three-peat,” Newman said, “and then to be able to be the first seed in 3 v 3 and have a chance to win the first title in 3 v 3, it’s just crazy the experience that I’ve had over these last five years.”
Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: How this Washington, Illinois native became an NBA 2K League champion
