Important: read this before you skip to below!
I know you just want to see what league staff and players have to say about getting into the league, but you should read what I have to say first.
You need to keep one important thing in mind as you read their thoughts: the variety of answers from everyone interviewed should make it clear to you that there is no one path into the league. Different teams are looking for different qualities in a player. Having a lot of Twitter followers isn’t a necessity—PalmOilPlease didn’t even have a Twitter account when he made the season one draft pool. You don’t need to be on a top Pro-Am team—there are too many players to list individually that weren’t on top Pro-Am teams, played TeamUp and/or were generally unknown when they made the league in season one. These two things would help, but they’re not a necessity.
There is no secret formula. Play the best you possibly can in the combine, show you’re a good teammate and prove you could fit into a team’s culture should you be lucky enough to move on in the selection process and get interviewed. You have to be good at the game, but it’s not just about points per game, rebounds per game and assists per game, either.
Also, it’s not entirely in your hands. Making the league is very, very hard, and even people who are really, really good at NBA 2K won’t make the league. That’s the harsh reality. Making the league wouldn’t be worth it if it wasn’t one of the hardest things to do in gaming.
But you can help yourself a little bit if you carefully heed the following advice. I talked to NBA 2K League managers, coaches, draft analysts and players and asked them what they’re looking for in prospects and what are some things prospects can do to benefit their own chances.
But don’t just take this advice and become a robot with no personality in hopes you can fool a team into drafting you. Take it into consideration and ponder how you can incorporate it in a way that makes you a better player and teammate while remaining true to yourself.
Without any further blathering, here’s what they had to say. I’ve broken it down into three different categories: league personnel currently working in the league, players and draft analysts.
Personnel
What’s the single most important thing someone can do to get drafted?
Ricco Phinisee (CLTX Gaming Head Coach): To make sure they meet all the requirements that the league asks and if they’re blessed enough to make it to the interview stage make sure THEY’RE EARLY to it. Control what you can control.
Grant Paranjape (Director of Esports, Monumental Sports Entertainment): The key to being drafted is being the best possible NBA 2K player, while also being a consummate professional on and off the court. Every interaction a player has throughout the tryout process is a small data point, which when combined, paint a picture of what type of player they are and how they can possibly fit into a team environment. Showcasing through every action that you have the raw skill, passion, determination and selflessness required to play in the NBA 2K league is paramount to being drafted.
Jeff Terrell (76ers Gaming Club Head Coach): It all comes down to the combine. There isn’t a hidden way to get in. You have to qualify for the combine and then you have to produce. By produce that doesn’t mean just score the basketball either. You have to play both ends of the floor, be a good teammate, make the right plays, and the most important thing is to communicate with your teammates. If you are aspiring to be in this league I would suggest buying a mic and communicating to the random people you get paired up with.
Derric “FamousEnough” Franklin (Heat Check Gaming General Manager/Head Coach): The single most important thing people can do to get drafted is play the game. There’s no secret sauce to it. You also need to be honest with yourself about your game. Everybody has flaws but figure yours out and work on it constantly.
Outside of raw talent, what do you look for in a prospect? This can be both on the court and off of it.
Phinisee: Two simple things. Work ethic and a player who will listen. Nothing drives me crazier than a player who’s lazy or thinks they know everything and can’t handle constructive criticism.
Paranjape: I look for someone who truly loves NBA 2K. A person who plays 40 hours, walks away and still talks about a play that happened the very first game of the day. To play in the NBA 2K League requires dedication to mastering a single craft and a true passion for the game.
Terrell: The combine will provide us with all sorts of data. We will be able to know everything we need to know on the court. For me personally, I am a firm believer in teams only reaching their goals by being together. So being a great teammate, player, and person is very important for us. When you have guys that aren’t able to grasp the concept of “team” then you are in a bad situation.
Franklin: Personality. You have to be a fit for HCG (Heat Check Gaming). Not just playing the game but also personality wise. We’re a family and I won’t allow anybody to come in and disrupt that, no matter how good you think you are.
For relatively unknown players, what are some things they can do to get your attention? What do you want to know the most about the more unknown players?
Phinisee: For me, I like to pay attention to the ones who are consistent and are willing to play the best of the best in the community. To answer your other question I think just knowing their goals for the league.
Paranjape: Being a positive force in the community, not just through tweeting, but by legitimately helping other players, helping others perfect their game, and of course, being a great NBA 2K player. For unknown players, I want to know that they’ve truly evaluated the NBA 2K League, the opportunity that it represents, but also the sacrifices that being a player in the league requires; for them to know that deep down this is absolutely the path they want to walk down.
What are some things you see people do on social media that would make you reconsider whether you would draft them?
Phinisee: Good question, I would say when I see players that always brag about their personal stats and not about how good their team is as a whole.
Paranjape: Anything remotely racist, homophobic, sexist, are instant disqualifiers. Additionally, watching individuals who subtweet teammates after losses, belittling others who are just getting started, are all major disqualifiers in my opinion.
Terrell: Social media is something everyone should monitor. It’s so easy to fall into a bad situation, so you really have to be mature and take the higher road. My best advice for social media is simple, if you have to think about if you should post something or not, you probably shouldn’t post it. At the end of the day you are not only representing yourself but you could be representing an NBA organization.
Franklin: The bashing of old teammates. I’m very reasonable when it comes to Twitter posts because I want everybody to actually be themselves, I don’t want robots; but in the same sense, bashing people that (at one point) had your back is not a good look. You can say your disdain about them but bashing their game after the fact is not good.
What are your biggest red flags? These are things that would make you never draft someone no matter how good they are.
Phinisee: If a player is not a good teammate and doesn’t handle him or herself as a professional.
Paranjape: Any of the disqualifiers mentioned previously, in addition to any known violence/substance abuse situations.
Terrell: We have never been in that situation yet. But anyone that wouldn’t be a good representation of our organization would be a flag for us.
Franklin: Constant complaining over the game. In the league, a patch will definitely happen every season, you will have to figure out how to get the best out of your game. Don’t just sit and constantly complain about the game, go play it and find out what you need to do differently.
Players
You were a relatively unknown player going into the combine. What do you think it was that got you into the draft pool?
NachoTraynor (Season one 4th round pick, Magic Gaming shooting guard/small forward, unretained for season two): So my background in NBA 2K goes back to NBA 2K11 where I played in the TeamUp side of the community. When they removed the Crew system in 2K everyone good flocked to TeamUp either through Gamebattles or TeamUp leagues. That is where I flourished. I never broke through the shell of being a top-tier TeamUp player until 2K16, but the vast majority of the 2K League players who played TeamUp recognize my skill. I just never enjoyed the Pro-Am game mode because of the unrealistic aspects of it, and luckily for me the combine and the league was catered to us. As far as making the pool, you just have to play your game at a very elite level. I knew my strengths and I knew my weaknesses, you have to make sure the league and teams only know your strengths. I honestly felt at the 250 player stage cutting it down to 102 that I bombed the interview, I mixed up the multiple choice answer for what a 2-3 zone was because I thought about it too hard and felt I was going to get left off, but the league is looking for personalities. I don’t bring that hardcore, raw, serious emotion some players do but I bring something no other player does, a carefree attitude that everyone can relate to. If people can see me having fun and enjoying the moment they will also, that’s important to me.
KingCamRoyalty (Season one 6th round pick, Magic Gaming power forward, protected for season two): I feel that being knowledgeable about basketball and great at the game of 2K assisted in getting me in with relatively no involvement previously with the community. But I strongly believe that my ability to answer the questions on the application may have also played a key role. I could’ve just given one-sentence answers but I went all out and put a lot of effort into it. I answered most of the questions with paragraphs and explained how much it would mean for me to get the opportunity.
During the interview process, what kinds of questions were teams asking you? What did they really seem interested in knowing about you?
NachoTraynor: Teams primarily asked me what my priorities were and what I valued the most. They also wanted to get to know the players better by asking questions about their life and the stories they bring. For them, the top 250 were all capable of being in the league talent wise but the next stage was just getting the most marketable players to build the league. If you are a great player but can’t talk in front of a camera or are super silent the league can’t market you, so why not get someone else who might be very very slightly worse but can bring in a better viewership? So moving onto teams individually they asked me what I feel my skillset was, where I feel I should get drafted round wise, and they just want to gauge your personality. Some teams sent personality quizzes to see what makes you angry, sad, happy, or other emotions. The big focus was on if you could handle being a part of the team and seeing how much you value your talents and what you value as a player.
KingCamRoyalty: During the interview process many teams wanted to know about my past experience and whether I played competitively previously. They also were curious to know if I had played with any of the other players in the draft. I assume that was to see if I had any connections where chemistry may already be established. But more than just playing 2K, teams wanted to know what my life outside of 2K was like. Whether I went to school, played any sports previously and what kind of personality I had.
What do you think lesser known players can do to get noticed?
NachoTraynor: This is a tough one honestly because this season it will be even harder to make it I believe. Teams have some players that were retained and they will have their input on the roster built around them. There won’t be a lot of teams out there who will only follow the manager’s ideas and interviews. If you aren’t active in the Pro-Am community, you have to be active somewhere else. If you are a top park player, Play Now player, whatever it is, you have to start building connections. During the combine spam the managers and tag them constantly if you are putting up good stats and stream. YOU HAVE TO STREAM, even if they only watch four to five minutes of your games your name will at least be a little recognizable in the list of 250. It’s like those commercials that you are sick of hearing, like the Geico commercials. When you see Geico or hear that name you think of car insurance. You need to make your name stand out.
KingCamRoyalty: I really didn’t play much Pro-Am or against big-name guys before the league. But I suggest playing against better competition if possible compared to others who may be more unknown. I’d also say use social media to promote your gameplay and skill. But with using social media you also don’t want to make yourself look bad, so be respectful and professional about it. Teams want guys who are marketable as well as good teammates.
Outside of your skill as a player, why do you think the Magic protected you for season two?
KingCamRoyalty: Outside of my skills, I feel that people see me and they can relate. I believe I’m pretty marketable as a player. Also, being unselfish and showing that all I care about is winning and maintaining a positive attitude regardless of what may have been going on showed that I care not only for myself but others and their success as well. I established good relationships with everyone involving the organization. Some teams I’ve heard about grudges and people not being team guys and that could be a reason some people are now in a different position.
Draft Analysts
2K Analytics is full of numbers and stats guys obviously but those can’t be everything. Outside of raw talent, what did you look for in a player during the expansion draft? This can be both on the court and off of it.
2K Analytics (analytics and scouting company focused on statistical analysis of the NBA 2K League and the 2K Pro-Am community. It is founded and operated by Max Minsker, Conner Anderson and Eli Wade. Answers are a collective of responses from all three members aggregated into one response): We looked at a lot of different things during the expansion draft. Obviously, we did a lot of statistical analysis, but I’d say we relied just as heavily on film as we did on numbers. We discussed personality and scheme fit as well, but it mostly came down to what a player did on the court.
It can be difficult to read between the lines on a player’s personality before you meet them. Obviously, you hear things, but it’s just harder to know what a person is like than it is to analyze their performance.
However, that said, it’s absolutely something we considered. The three of us are talking about different players and debating these things on a daily basis, so we had a lot to go off of from the beginning. We all made our big board with 12 players and based on all the work we had done we knew who we liked coming in, so the process was about honing in on those players and taking a deeper look to differentiate between them.
What are some things you see people do on social media that would make you reconsider whether you would draft them?
2K Analytics: We are all extremely active on social media. We follow a lot of players, prospects, and team people, but to be honest, we haven’t been that swayed by people’s Twitter presence.
With that said, if you can use your social media presence to amplify your footprint and draw attention to your talent in a positive way, we think that’s necessary for all players that want to get drafted to do. There is definitely an economy of attention when it comes to 2K because there are so many players that want (and deserve) to be scouted but there just aren’t enough hours in the day. In the rare case that someone is self-sabotaging on Twitter, it would definitely affect their stock but it would take a lot.
There were a lot of expressive players that were great in the league last year, so we are personally not going to knock someone for their Twitter unless it’s really bad.
Overall we like seeing players who would represent the league well. The league is not just playing 2K, you are building a brand. In order to build a brand, you need to be marketable.
Wael Ankouni (draft analyst for Wizards District Gaming in the season one entry draft): A lot of potential prospects ruin their chances of ever being drafted with some of the tweets they put out there. My advice to players is to think of the repercussions before you post anything on social! You never know who’s watching. I see things every day on social media that would make me reconsider drafting someone!
What are your biggest red flags? These are things that would make you never draft someone no matter how good they are.
2K Analytics: Red flags are on a case by case basis. Essentially, you know it when you see it. However, there are two things that come to mind.
The first is if a player has a really bad temper. If we are watching a stream and a player can’t control their anger (particularly when it’s directed at their teammates) that’s a real problem because it completely destroys team chemistry and creates a toxic environment. If someone is notoriously angry that can be tough.
One thing to remember is that a lot of players are young and they have a chance to outgrow it, but it’s definitely something I look for. It’s one thing to communicate how upset you are with your teammates, it’s another to yell at them. The second is if someone is completely unprofessional. We definitely don’t expect players to be completely buttoned up on stream, but we think you want to keep it respectable.
Wael Ankouni: My biggest red flags are players who have a history of off-court issues with previous teams/teammates and players who represent themselves poorly on social media. Maintaining a positive image on social media can open up so many doors and opportunities for players in this league; I can’t stress it enough!
What do you think prospects can do outside of the game to get noticed?
2K Analytics: In the end, it really comes down to how much time and resources you commit to building your persona, but there are several things we think prospects can do to get noticed. The first and most obvious thing is being on a good Pro-Am team and being a competitive player. If you don’t have that, it’s going to be tough to get noticed.
Second is streaming. Even if no one is watching you should be streaming your games. Just because no one is watching now doesn’t mean someone can’t go back into your archives later. And regardless, how could you expect someone to find you if you’re not streaming?
Third, increase the quality of your stream. Getting a good gaming setup and having a professional quality stream will make it more likely that people will continue watching once they click on it. That can be expensive, but it’s true.
Fourth, grow your social media presence. Being active on Twitter and growing your audience is key to getting noticed. It takes time to build an audience, but you have to start somewhere.
Fifth, put your good comp performances on YouTube with your audio included. This is a big step that we don’t see a lot of people taking. Most people who watch Twitch use YouTube a lot as well and if you’re consistently uploading games it’ll be easier for people to find your best content. When we are scouting the previous night’s games it’s unlikely that we are going to dig through a four-hour stream to find a decent comp game at the 2.5-hour mark unless it’s really a top matchup. If you play a great game against a great team, cut up the video and put it on Youtube. People are 10x more likely to watch an old game if it’s on YouTube as opposed to Twitch, even if it’s because it comes up as a suggested video when you’re not even trying to scout.
Good exposure will end up being a big factor in who makes season two.
Wael Ankouni: The best advice I could give to anybody pushing to make the league is to stream, stream and STREAM! Even if you aren’t playing Pro-Am, teams want to get a sense of what kind of person you are. I know tons of draft analysts/ head coaches/GMs who watch hours and hours of streams on a nightly basis.