The NBA 2K League announced today the pool of 229 players who will be eligible for the 2020 NBA 2K League Draft delivered by Panera Bread, which will be held Saturday, February 22 at 6 p.m. ET at Terminal 5 in New York City and livestreamed on the NBA 2K League’s Twitch and YouTube channels. Fans can view the full schedule of events here.
This year’s draft pool includes 24 international players from 10 countries and territories – Australia, Austria, Canada, China, France, Germany, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Spain and the U.K. – and three women. A complete list of draft-eligible players is available here. Fans can visit the NBA 2K League YouTube channel and NBA2KLeague.com to meet some of the members of this year’s class.
“In addition to the NBA 2K League Combine, we’ve now added team-hosted tournaments and two international invitationals, all of which give the best NBA 2K players in the world more opportunities to showcase their talent and make the NBA 2K League,” said NBA 2K League Managing Director Brendan Donohue. “Congratulations to these elite players who have worked incredibly hard to hear their name called on draft day.”
All 23 NBA 2K League teams, including expansion teams Hornets Venom GT and the Gen.G Tigers of Shanghai, will complete their six-person roster at the four-round draft. Fans can register to attend the 2020 NBA 2K League Draft delivered by Panera Bread by visiting NBA2KLeague.com. Several surprise guests will announce select picks and provide guest commentary.
Wizards District Gaming will have the first overall pick in the 2020 NBA 2K League Draft delivered by Panera Bread, as determined by the NBA 2K League Draft Lottery that took place in October. Knicks Gaming will have the second overall pick, and Kings Guard Gaming will have the third overall pick. For the complete 2020 NBA 2K League Draft order, click here.
The 229 draft-eligible players consist of 147 new players who were selected by the league through the NBA 2K League Combine, 22 players from the 11 team-hosted Pro-Am tournaments, five players from the league’s first European Invitational, five players from the league’s second Asia-Pacific (APAC) Invitational, and 50 unretained players from the 2019 season.
With the addition of the two expansion teams, 138 players will compete in the 2020 NBA 2K League season. Once again there will be more draft-eligible players than spots available in the league. During the offseason, 70 players who competed in the 2019 season were retained, leaving 68 roster spots available.
The NBA 2K League, a professional esports league co-founded by the NBA and Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., launched in 2018 and features the best NBA 2K players in the world. Each of the league’s 23 teams features six players who compete as unique characters in 5-on-5 play against the other teams in a mix of regular-season games, tournaments and playoffs. NBA 2K League partners include Anheuser-Busch, AT&T, Champion Athleticwear, Facebook, HyperX, New Era, Panera Bread, Raynor Gaming, SCUF Gaming and Stance. For more information about the NBA 2K League, visit NBA2KLeague.com.
