The NBA 2K League released details on the venue, date and time for its upcoming entry draft earlier today.
The event will take place Saturday, Feb. 22 at 6 p.m. ET at Terminal 5 in Manhattan, New York. The previous entry drafts were held at the Hulu Theater in Madison Square Garden in 2018, the league’s inaugural entry draft, and Barclays Center in Brooklyn, home of 2019 expansion team NetsGC, last year.
For the first time, fans can secure tickets to the entry draft through the league’s website along with players in the draft pool and their friends and family. Fans at home can watch the draft live from the league’s Twitch and YouTube channels.
The league also announced a new deal with Panera Bread, who will serve as the presenting partner of the draft. It is the league’s first partnership with a restaurant brand and Panera Bread’s first esports partner, according to the league.
As part of the sponsorship, a new “Rookies Who Deliver Presented by Panera Bread” series will debut for season three, telling the stories of the 2020 rookie class and highlighting standout rookie performances each week on the league’s livestream and social media channels.
“As we approach our third season and the NBA 2K League continues to grow, we are excited to partner with a world-class brand like Panera Bread,” said NBA 2K League Managing Director Brendan Donohue in a press release issued today. “We are going to have an incredibly talented rookie class and look forward to working with Panera to share their amazing stories as they make their mark on the league, beginning on draft day 2020.”
Wizards District Gaming holds the honor of selecting first in the draft after winning the draft lottery in October. The complete entry draft order can be found here.
DIMER has kept an unofficial tracker of the entry draft pool, which currently stands at 235 players comprising combined qualifiers, team tournament selections, international tournament selections and season two unretained players. There are 68 picks in this year’s draft.
