After much talk and anticipation regarding the February NBA 2K League combine, the league finally announced details about how the combine will work via Twitter this afternoon.
Here’s a breakdown of the announcement:
- The combine will take place Feb. 2-21 on Xbox One and PlayStation 4
- Players must play a minimum of 40 games at one position (point guard, shooting guard, small forward, power forward or center)
- “12 pre-set playing windows during February”
- League will evaluate box score stats and in-depth NBA 2K stats such as shot release time
To go along with the news that players can only play one position during the combine, players must also choose one of five archetypes at each position to use. The archetypes are as follows:
Point Guard
Shot-Creating Slasher
Shot-Creating Sharpshooter
Slashing Playmaker
Sharpshooting Playmaker
Playmaking Shot Creator
Shooting Guard
Playmaking Slasher
Sharpshooting Defender
Slashing Shot Creator
Sharpshooting Shot Creator
Pure Sharpshooter
Small Forward
Shot-Creating Slasher
Sharpshooting Shot Creator
Pure Sharpshooter
Slashing Defender
Sharpshooting Slasher
Power Forward
Slashing Rim Protector
Rebounding Athletic Finisher
Slashing Post Scorer
Two-Way Rebounder
Sharpshooting Rim Protector
Center
Post-Scoring Athletic Finisher
Slashing Rebounder
Pure Rim Protector
Slashing Stretch Five
Rebounding Post Scorer
Meanwhile, the 12 preset windows to play are as follows:
2/2 – 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. ET
2/3 – 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET
2/4 – 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET
2/7 – 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. ET
2/9 – 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. ET
2/10 – 4 p.m. to 10 a.m. ET
2/11 – 2 p.m. to 8 a.m. ET
2/14 – 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. ET
2/16 – 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. ET
2/17 – 4 p.m. to 10 a.m. ET
2/18 – 2 p.m. to 8 a.m. ET
2/21 – 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. ET
Other details, according to the league’s site:
- Games will consist of four, 6-minute quarters, with standard Pro-Am rules
- If a player fouls out, they will be replaced by a AI participant
- There will be one position played per team (i.e. even roster composition using Point Guard, Shooting Guard, Small Forward, Power Forward and Center)
- Players will have five archetypes to choose from for each position, but must compete in only one position throughout the combine
- There will not be a leaderboard, however participants will be able to view statistics and VOD highlights (video-on-demand) of their games throughout the combine
- During the combine, the NBA 2K League will measure high-level statistics such as points, rebounds and assists, as well as more in-depth statistics such as shot release time, pass to assist and block efficiency
- Following the combine, all player information will be evaluated and used to determine the top 102 players available for the draft
- The league will continue its analysis of game play and qualitative data in the weeks following the combine. Players in consideration for the draft pool will be contacted to complete additional steps
Also included is the fact that players will play walk-on style, meaning they will be randomly matched up with other combine-qualified players, and that all players will be 90 overalls with preset badges.
Outside of the combine, the league also announced that teams will carry a sixth man on the roster, opening up 17 more spots in the league for a 102-player draft pool.
You can find all the details released on the league’s site.
The NBA 2K League draft will take place in March, while league play will begin in May.
