The start of the NBA 2K League season, currently on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, may be drawing nearer.
An NBA.com article on Monumental Sports & Entertainment’s virtual broadcasts quoted Zach Leonsis, MSE’s Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and the GM of Monumental Sports Network, on the start of the NBA 2K League season:
“The NBA 2K League is about to begin remote play for their regular season closer to the end of this month,” Leonsis said. “I think they’re going to be producing a lot of games…that will hopefully be a really great live game experience.”
Leonsis, who has long been a leading sports advocate for the NBA 2K League, has oversight of MSE’s entry, Wizards District Gaming. “Remote play for their regular season” is apparently coming “closer to the end of this month,” suggesting a late April start date for the season.
The regular season was originally scheduled to start on April 1 and was to be preceded by the Tipoff Tournament, slated to begin on March 24. The league had also secured a new venue in Manhattan for the regular season, although it’s unclear, due to the pandemic, when the new facility will debut. In the lull, the league hosted a Park tournament, the Three for All Showdown, which saw a peak of over 15,000 viewers.
It’s unclear when exactly the league expects to start games, although remote play may pose challenges of its own due to East-West server issues (present in NBA 2K’s retail build) and the possibility of teams being unable to access their training facilities. Other esports league, such as the Overwatch League, have already moved to an online-only format.
The NBA’s season remains suspended, with no clear date of return.
