The NBA 2K community has been buzzing ever since the announcement that a professional esports league for the basketball simulation was in the works. With the NBA itself on board, the venture has seen an incredible amount of time, money and resources poured into it.
As time has gone on, information has slowly trickled out regarding different details about the league, but this information has been scattered throughout different sources across the internet, leading to both speculation and false information being spread among the community.
With the combine and draft not far off, we have collected and sourced every detail and piece of information we could find in an effort to create an easy resource to find out everything you need to know about the upcoming NBA 2K League.
Everything that you see below either comes directly from the NBA and those working on the NBA 2K League or has information obtained through interviews with those working on it, mostly listed in random order, but broken down into a few categories.
Additional information about the sources such as dates and time stamps is provided when available. Much of the information below can be confirmed through multiple other sources not listed as well.
If there is anything we have missed, send us a DM at @DIMER2K along with a source to verify so that we may include it in this piece–we’ll even credit you for the help.
THE BASICS
- The official name of the competition is “NBA 2K League”. (Via NBA.com, Oct. 11, 2017)
- Games will be 5-on-5, and will be played with virtual characters created by the NBA 2K League athletes. (Via Brendan Donahue, Managing Director of the NBA 2K League, in an interview with GamesweltTV, 2:03 mark)
- Seventeen NBA teams will participate in the league’s first season. (Via the NBA, May 4, 2017)
- All seventeen teams have signed on for three years. (Via ESPN.com, May 4, 2017)
- More NBA teams have expressed interest in joining for year two of the league. (Via Brendan Donahue in an interview with GamesweltTV, 1:32 mark)
- Later on, there may be international teams joining the league. (Via Brendan Donahue in an interview with GamesweltTV, 5:12 mark)
THE LEAGUE
- 102 players will participate in the league’s first season, meaning six players per team. (Via the NBA 2K League, Jan. 25, 2018)
- NBA 2K League athletes will be flown in to a central location to play official games. (Via Brendan Donahue in an interview with GamesweltTV, 2:26 mark)
- The League may hold official games in studios that allow a live audience. (Via Brendan Donahue on The Ballgamer, Dec. 15, 2017)
- The NBA 2K League will run for 17 weeks, with 15 regular season weeks and two playoff weeks, beginning in May. (Via The Week, Oct. 4, 2017)
- The version of the game the NBA 2K athletes play will not be the retail version. 2K is developing a special mode that will be used for the NBA 2K League exclusively. (Via The Esports Observer, Oct. 25, 2017)
- There will be no trades for at least the first year. (Via Manny Anekal’s Periscope stream at the TEAMS ’17 conference, Nov. 1, 44:54 mark)
- The NBA 2K League will “keep an eye on the 86th through 200th player,” and players will be kept on the bench at the league level in case of injuries to starters. (Via Manny Anekal’s Periscope stream at the TEAMS ’17 conference, Nov. 1, 45:16 mark)
- NBA 2K League players will have “opportunity to earn additional compensation during in-season tournaments and playoffs, in addition to regular salary and benefits.” (Via Brendan Donahue on The Ballgamer, Dec. 15, 2017)
ATHLETE ACCOMMODATIONS, SALARIES AND BENEFITS
- For the first year, first-round draft picks will be paid a base salary of $35,000, while all other draft picks will be paid a base salary of $32,000. (Via NBA 2K League, Feb. 9, 2018)
- Players will be signed to a six-month contract, starting March 2018. (Via NBA 2K League, Feb. 9, 2018)
- A prize pool of $1 million will be up for grabs between end-of-season performances and performances in three tournaments that will be held throughout the year. (Via NBA 2K League, Feb. 9, 2018)
- Players will be provided medical insurance and a retirement plan. (Via NBA 2K League, Feb. 9, 2018)
- The league will pay for travel, food and transportation costs while players travel to games during the season. (Via NBA 2K League, Feb. 9, 2018)
- NBA 2K League athletes will live in the market of the team they are drafted to. (Via Brendan Donahue in an interview with GamesweltTV, 3:50 mark)
- The team will provide housing and travel accommodations for the NBA 2K League athletes. (Via Grant Paranjape, Director of esports for Monumental Sports and Entertainment, and Zach Leonsis, Senior VP and General Manager of Monumental Sports Network, in a Reddit AUA, Oct. 16, 2017)
- NBA 2K League athletes will also have access to the NBA’s marketing team and the facilities of the organization they are drafted to. (Via Esports Pro, Sept. 4, 2017)
THE NBA 2K LEAGUE QUALIFIER
- Beginning January 1st at midnight and ending January 31st, players must win 50 games in NBA 2K18’s Pro-Am mode and fill out an online application in order to be eligible for the February combine. (Via Brendan Donahue in a Reddit AMA, Dec. 5, 2017)
- Only those playing on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 are eligible. (Via Brendan Donahue in a Reddit AMA, Dec. 5, 2017)
- Players can participate in walk-on mode or as part of a team (or a combination of the two) to achieve the 50-win benchmark. (Via Brendan Donahue in a Reddit AMA, Dec. 5, 2017)
- There will be no cap on the number of players who advance from the qualifiers to the combine. (Via Brendan Donahue on The Ballgamer, Dec. 15, 2017)
- The qualifier is both about talent and commitment to show you are serious for tryouts in February. (Via Brendan Donahue on The Ballgamer, Dec. 15, 2017)
THE COMBINE AND DRAFT
- The combine will be held Feb. 2-21. (Via the NBA 2K League, Jan. 25, 2018)
- Combine games will be four 6-minute quarters. AI will replace players who drop out of games. (Via the NBA 2K League, Jan. 25, 2018)
- Players must play a minimum of 40 games at one position (point guard, shooting guard, small forward, power forward or center). (Via the NBA 2K League, Jan. 25, 2018)
- Players must choose an archetype to play at their position, with the choice of five archetypes per position provided by the league. (Via the NBA 2K League, Jan. 25, 2018)
- The league will track statistics during the combine, and players will be able to check their statistics as well as VODs of their performances. (Via the NBA 2K League, Jan. 25, 2018)
- All players will be 90 overall during the combine with preset badges. (Via Forbes, Jan. 25, 2018)
- The league held a lottery and draft for teams to select their players.
- The combine will be open to players from all over the world. (Via The Esports Observer, Oct. 25, 2017)
- Players must be 18 years or older to enter the combine and draft. (Via Grant Paranjape and Zach Leonsis in a Reddit AUA, Oct. 16, 2017)
- Players must be 18 years or older on or before Jan. 31, 2018 in order to be eligible for the draft. (Via the NBA 2K League, Jan. 5, 2018)
- 2K is developing a special tryout mode in an effort to level the playing field for the combine. (Via Grant Paranjape and Zach Leonsis in a Reddit AUA, Oct. 16, 2017)
- The game will prompt players to join the combine from the main menu. Players will be ranked on a worldwide leaderboard as they play in the combine. (Via Manny Anekal’s Periscope stream at the TEAMS ’17 conference, Nov. 1, 6:21 mark)
- NBA 2K League athletes will be subject to background checks and media testing. (Via Manny Anekal’s Periscope stream at the TEAMS ’17 conference, Nov. 1, 6:55 mark)
- The League will be “capturing deep analytics on all players to ensure the best will qualify for the draft pool.” (Via Brendan Donahue in a Reddit AMA, Dec. 5, 2017)
MISCELLANEOUS
- Teams will consider whether to include a coach on their staff, or even an analyst. (Via Grant Paranjape and Zach Leonsis in a Reddit AUA, Oct. 16, 2017)
