NBA 2K League history

Jan 8

Blazer5 Gaming hired Andrew Maxie as head coach, its first. He had played college basketball at Eastfield College and Lindenwood-Belleville and overseas in Australia, Italy, Ireland, Macedonia, Mexico and Canada.

Jan 9

T-Wolves Gaming hired Nick Gartrelle as assistant coach and Nick Restifo as assistant general manager to work with head coach and GM Justin Butler, who had taken over from Shawn Vilvens during the 2019 season.

Jan 19

Gen.G revealed its team name, the Gen.G Tigers of Shanghai, and its logo at the league's second APAC Invitational in Seoul.

Jan 31

The Gen.G Tigers of Shanghai named Jordan "Len" Ross their first head coach. He had been an analyst for DIMER since March 2019, and he went 71-57 over four seasons, reaching the playoffs in 2022 and 2023.

Feb 11

Panera Bread became the league's first restaurant partner ahead of the February 22 draft at Terminal 5 in New York.

Feb 21

The league revealed the 229 players eligible for the 2020 draft, 24 of them international and three women, competing for 68 spots in a four-round draft. Wizards District Gaming held the first overall pick.

Feb 22

The 2020 draft was held at Terminal 5, New York. JBM (Wizards District Gaming) went first, and 23 teams made 68 picks from a pool of 229.

Feb 27

The league announced a $1.4 million prize pool for 2020, up from $1 million in the first season and $1.2 million in the second. The schedule added six team-hosted round-robin weeks with a $20,000 pool each, the playoffs grew to 10 spots, and THE TICKET moved to the end of the season to decide the last one.

Feb 27

The league announced it was moving its New York games from Brooklyn Studios in Long Island City to a 13,600-square-foot studio at 508 West 37th Street in Manhattan, with room for 200 people. It planned to sell tickets for the first time.

Mar 12

The league postponed its third season because of COVID-19, a day after the NBA suspended its own. The season was to start on March 24 with THE TIPOFF in New York.

Mar 12

The league postponed the start of its 2020 season, which was set to tip off March 24, and teams played preseason events remotely.

Mar 16

Cavs Legion GC teamed up with KultureCity on its Legion Lair.

Mar 20

The league announced the first NBA 2KL Three for All Showdown, an online 3v3 tournament in NBA 2K20 MyPark starting March 27, with fan-organized teams, top female players and influencers playing for a share of a $25,000 prize pool.

Mar 22

The league announced the Three For All Showdown, an online 3v3 Park tournament pairing fan teams, top female 2K players and influencers with league players. The fan stage ran March 27 to 29 and the main stage March 31 to April 3.

Mar 24

The 2020 season was set to open with The Tipoff at the league's new Manhattan studio. The start was pushed back because of the coronavirus pandemic, and the season was later played remotely.

Mar 27

The league started the first Three for All Showdown, an online 3v3 tournament in NBA 2K20 MyPark with fan teams, top female players and influencers, for a $25,000 prize pool, while the season was postponed.

Apr 7

xlie228 of Huh Nation was named MVP of the Three For All Showdown. Huh Nation won the PS4 bracket by beating 76ers GC, and Blazer5 Gaming, with Mama Im Dat Man and OneWildWalnut, won the Xbox bracket. DNELL of Team Retribution was MVP of the fan bracket.

Apr 10

The 16-team Spring 16 tournament, hosted by Hornets Venom GT, tipped off with first-round games.

Apr 14

T-Wolves Gaming swept 76ers Gaming Club 2-0 to reach the Spring 16 finals against Wizards District Gaming.

Apr 27

The league set the start of its third season for May 5, played remotely from each team's home market. Games ran Tuesday through Friday at 7 p.m. ET, four matchups a night. The season had been due to start March 24.

May

Twins faced each other for the first time in league history in 2020: Fredrick "GetOnMyLevel" Whelan of Jazz Gaming and his brother Alexander "Expose" Whelan.

May 4

Warriors Gaming Squad partnered with Wingstop.

May 5

Warriors Gaming Squad swept Kings Guard Gaming (70-67, 61-60) on opening night of the 2020 season.

May 11

T-Wolves Gaming swept Bucks Gaming 2-0 (75-56, 71-61) for its first win of the 2020 season, with BearDaBeast scoring a franchise-high 37 points in game one.

May 18

Mama Im Dat Man was named Player of the Week for week two, after averaging 32.2 points and 7.2 assists in two series wins.

May 19

ESPN2 added NBA 2K League games for Friday, May 22 and Tuesday, May 26, the first Friday games on ESPN2 that season.

May 24

Mama Im Dat Man became a brand endorser for Point3 Hoops, the league's second individual endorsement deal after Dimez was named a HyperX Heroes ambassador in February.

May 26

Mama Im Dat Man of Blazer5 Gaming scored 77 points against Bucks Gaming, the most points in a regulation game in league history at the time. He finished 2020 with 1,458 points, the most in the league, at 33.1 a game. Watch every point

May 26

Kenny Got Work was named Player of the Week for week three, his second of the season.

June 3

Mama Im Dat Man was named Player of the Week for week four, six days after his 77-point game. It was his second of the season, and Kenny Got Work had won weeks one and three. Watch every point

June 8

Choc of NetsGC was named Player of the Week for week five, the first rookie to win it in 2020 and the third point guard in a row.

June 9

Kenny Got Work was named Player of the Month for May, the first from Raptors Uprising GC. He was averaging 33.5 points and 6.5 assists as the Raptors started 7-0 after going 7-9 in 2019.

June 10

The league set THE TIPOFF for June 16 to 19, played remotely by all 23 teams, after pushing back its usual start because of the pandemic.

June 12

The league added GameStop, Jostens, SAP and Tissot as partners, bringing its 2020 total to a record 13. THE TIPOFF was set to air live June 16 to 19 on ESPN2, Twitch and YouTube.

June 15

Splashy of Jazz Gaming was named Player of the Week for week six after scoring 44 in a win over the unbeaten Warriors Gaming Squad, averaging 33.3 points on the week.

June 16

The 2020 Tipoff tournament began with group play for all teams.

June 19

Raptors Uprising GC won THE TIPOFF and $70,000 from a $160,000 pool, ahead of Kings Guard Gaming ($50,000). Third and fourth: Gen.G Tigers of Shanghai and Jazz Gaming. Watch the Tipoff final

July 3

Raptors Uprising GC became the first team to clinch a 2020 playoff spot, at 12-0 after beating the Gen.G Tigers of Shanghai, the quickest clinch in league history.

July 6

Choc of NetsGC, the No. 9 overall pick, was named Player of the Month for June after averaging 29 points and 9 assists, the first NetsGC player to win it.

July 7

Kenny Got Work won Player of the Week for the third time in eight weeks, averaging 33 points and 9 assists on 68 percent shooting in week eight.

July 13

oFAB was named Player of the Week for week nine, averaging 43 points and 12 assists as Celtics Crossover Gaming won for the first time that season.

July 15

Magic Gaming swept Heat Check Gaming in the Battle of Florida, and Reizey had two of the best games of his career, scoring over 40 in one and over 50 in the other.

July 17

CLTX Gaming announced a financial webinar with Radius Bank.

July 20

Regg of Bucks Gaming, the No. 12 pick, was named Player of the Week for week ten, averaging 31 points and 8 assists with a game-winning three.

July 22

Raptors Uprising GC was the first team to win the first two tournaments of a season (The Tipoff and The Turn). The league also paid $2,500 to the winners of 23 designated matches in Weeks 8 and 9, a $60,000 bonus.

July 25

Raptors Uprising GC won THE TURN and $117,000 from a $260,000 pool, ahead of Wizards District Gaming ($52,000). Third and fourth: Jazz Gaming and Kings Guard Gaming.

July 26

Raptors Uprising GC beat Kings Guard Gaming 2-1 in the final four of THE TURN (72-60, 58-73, 63-56) for its second straight tournament title, and Kenny Got Work was tournament MVP again. Yusuf Scarbz moved to center for Kings Guard after game one and averaged 23 points and 20 rebounds over the last two games.

Aug

Raptors Uprising GC went 16-0 in the regular season, the first undefeated regular season in league history, and won both tournaments they entered (The Tipoff and The Turn) before losing in the playoffs. Blazer5 Gaming's 14-2 in 2019 was the previous best. Watch the Tipoff final

Aug

Wizards District Gaming swept the previously undefeated Raptors Uprising GC (16-0 in the regular season) 2-0 in the conference finals, the series many called the league's best.

Aug

JBM hit a clutch three-pointer to win Game 2 of Wizards District Gaming's semifinal sweep of Kings Guard Gaming, and Wizards then came back from 1-0 down to beat Warriors Gaming Squad 3-1 in the Finals. Watch the Finals

Aug 10

FT of Celtics Crossover Gaming was named Player of the Week for week 12, averaging 36.3 points with a 50-point game in his first week after joining the team as a free agent.

Aug 19

The 2020 playoffs had 10 teams, seeded Raptors Uprising GC, Jazz Gaming, Warriors Gaming Squad, Wizards District Gaming, Kings Guard Gaming, Bucks Gaming, Mavs Gaming, Hornets Venom GT, NetsGC and Blazer5 Gaming. Rounds were best-of-three and the Finals best-of-five, with the higher seed hosting Games 1 and 3.

Aug 22

The league announced its Coach of the Year (Jelani Mitchell), Sportsmanship (FEAST) and Fan Engagement (Kenny Got Work) winners during the 2020 playoffs.

Aug 24

Warriors Gaming Squad reached the Finals for the first time in franchise history, to face Wizards District Gaming starting August 28.

Aug 28

Kenny Got Work finished 16-0 for Raptors Uprising GC and led the league at 35.3 points a game on the way to MVP.

Aug 28

Kenny Got Work was named 2020 MVP after a 16-0 season at 35.3 points a game, and Regg of Bucks Gaming was named Rookie of the Year.

Aug 29

Dayfri, MVP finalist and first-team center, averaged 14.3 points, 11.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 3.3 blocks in the Finals as Wizards District Gaming beat Warriors Gaming Squad 3-1. The league's own storyline preview later rounded his scoring to 14.8. Watch the Finals

Aug 29

Yusuf_Scarbz of Kings Guard Gaming was named to the 2020 All-NBA 2K League Second Team and became the first player with back-to-back All-Defensive Team selections.

Aug 29

The 2020 All-NBA, All-Defensive and All-Rookie teams were announced before the Finals, which Wizards District Gaming won 3-1 over Warriors Gaming Squad. Dayfri was Finals MVP. First Team: CB13, Kenny Got Work, Dayfri, Ria, Sick One. Second Team: Mama Im Dat Man, Regg, Crush, Timelycook, Yusuf Scarbz. All-Defensive: Kenny Got Work, Timelycook, Crush, Ria, Yusuf Scarbz. All-Rookie: Regg, Splashy, Crush, Lee, Zae. Watch the Finals

Sept 9

Sept 15

Sept 18

Sept 21

The 2021 retention window opened (Sept. 21 to 28). Teams had to retain at least two players from their 2020 roster and could keep a third for a 2021 fourth-round pick. In the end 76 players from 2020 were retained, which left 62 roster spots for the 2021 draft.

Sept 21

Magic Gaming retained Reizey, DT and May for the 2021 season.

Sept 24

76ers GC retained Radiant and Steez, both original draft picks from 2018, and BreadwinnerLA, a 2019 pick. Teams could retain three players from Sept. 21 to 28.

Oct 26

The league announced that its fourth draft lottery, on Oct. 28, would use a computerized random number generator for the first time, with 1,001 possible combinations for the 13 lottery teams.

Oct 28

For the second straight year the league won at the Esports Business Summit's Tempest Awards, taking Best Sports/Sim Event/League and Best Esports-Themed Program or Documentary.

Oct 28

Lakers Gaming won the 2021 draft lottery. Pacers Gaming and Gen.G Tigers of Shanghai picked next.

Nov 5

Thirty top 2K players accepted invitations to the first USA Basketball E-National Team trials, held virtually Nov. 7 and 8. The seven-player mixed-gender team was to play in the FIBA Esports Open II on Dec. 19 and 20 against Canada, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras and Puerto Rico.

Nov 6

Crush and Mama Im Dat Man of Kings Guard Gaming were among 30 players who accepted invitations to the first USA Basketball E-National Team trials, held November 7-8 before FIBA Esports Open II.

Nov 9

USA Basketball finalized its first E-National Team: JBM, Kenny Got Work, Malik, Crush, Ramo, Ria and A Little Lady 87, a Women in Gaming participant.

Nov 11

The league opened the first of two trade windows for 2021 (Nov. 12 to 30). Every trade had to be one asset for one asset, multi-team deals were allowed, and a team could trade seven assets across the two windows. Teams could also retain a third player for a 2021 fourth-round pick or a fourth for a second-round pick.

Nov 12

76ers Gaming Club and Saint Joseph's University announced an interactive esports partnership.

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Dec 19

The USA Basketball E-National Team began play at FIBA Esports Open II, a two-day North and Central American conference against teams from Canada, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras and Puerto Rico.