NEW YORK– The NBA 2K League announced today that the 2023 NBA 2K League Draft will be livestreamed from New York City on Thursday, Jan. 26 at 8 p.m. ET, and will air on the NBA 2K League’s Twitch and YouTube channels. The invite-only Draft party will feature VIP guests, including select draft prospects, returning NBA 2K League players, social media influencers and celebrities.
“A pinnacle moment every offseason and a marquee event for 2K and basketball fans alike, we are thrilled to bring the NBA 2K League Draft back live to New York City for the first time since 2020,” said NBA 2K League President Brendan Donohue. “We started with over 100,000 tryouts across 3v3 and 5v5 competitions, players all aspiring to be drafted by one of our 25 teams. On Draft night, we will introduce you to this draft class and their amazing stories, welcome our newest franchise from Australia – NBL Oz Gaming – and we will watch our reigning 3v3 champions Pistons GT and 5v5 champions Bucks Gaming take first steps in their title defenses.”
Debuting this past offseason, the NBA 2K League Become a Pro Series saw incredible interest with a record-setting 101,000 tryouts from 126 countries. The draft pool will also consist of unretained players, players who earned draft eligibility as part of the NBA 2K League Draft Prospect Series, select competitors from the NBA 2K League’s APAC, Australian and European Invitationals, and high-performing players in the 2K community as determined by league and team officials. See below for more information on some of the notable 2023 NBA 2K League draft prospects. The complete draft pool will be announced at a later date.
• Amber “IiCraftI” Anderson – A sharp-shooting power forward out of Chicago, IiCraftI is a first-time draft pool prospect and Illinois Wesleyan University student majoring in Political Science.
• Artreyo “Dimez” Boyd – 2022 NBA 2K League Champion and Finals MVP with Bucks Gaming, Dimez enters this year’s draft as an unretained player after five seasons with Mavs Gaming, Raptors Uprising GC and Bucks Gaming. Dimez was the number 1 overall pick in the inaugural NBA 2K League Draft and is considered one of the most accomplished players in 2K history.
• Meason “xMilo” Camille – xMilo was the first-ever player from Australia to be drafted into the NBA 2K League when he was selected in 2021 by Pistons GT. The power forward/center is back in the draft pool after his standout performances in the Australian Invitational and NBA 2K League Combine.
• Hamdi “NotEliteShooter” Deria – NotEliteShooter is known as a 3v3 specialist and helped guide “Handlez” to the semifinals of the Coinbase NBA2KL SLAM OPEN last season. The point guard and Canada-native was selected as one of two amateur players to participate in 2022 NBA 2K League All-Star Presented by Google Pixel.
• Ryan “Spam” Harris – Spam is arguably the most decorated amateur of the 2023 draft pool. The “pass first” point guard is a freshman at Old Dominion University majoring in Business Analytics and in contention for a top-3 pick.
• Donovan “SELDUM T5” Mass – An airman at Joint Base San Antonio, SELDUM T5 is the winner of the first-ever NBA 2K League Amateur of the Year and had two stints in 2022 as a temporary player with Cavs Legion GC and Blazer5 Gaming before leading amateur team “Rim Runners” to the semifinals of the NBA2KL 3v3 Championships last August.
• Tariq “Greens” Reed – A point guard from Brooklyn, NY and heralded as one of the best 3v3 players in the world and a potential top-3 selection, Greens is a pure scorer known for his dribbling and playmaking skills.
All 25 NBA 2K League teams, including the league’s expansion team representing Australia, NBL Oz Gaming, will have completed their five-person rosters for both 3v3 and 5v5 competitions at the end of the three-round draft. Hawks Talon GC will have the first overall pick, Nets GC will have the second overall selection, and Lakers Gaming will have the third overall pick. During the offseason, 78 players who competed in the 2022 season were retained by their teams and one player was selected as the first-ever NBL Oz Gaming player in the NBA 2K League Australian Invitational, leaving 47 roster spots to be filled during the draft. For the complete draft order, click here.
The broadcast will feature NBA 2K League President Brendan Donohue announcing select picks, interviews with VIP guests in attendance at the Draft party, live look-ins with draft prospects, NBA 2K League operations headquarters and select “war rooms” where teams will be strategizing and drafting from their respective markets, and clips from NBA 2K League original content series “Draft Hopefuls”.
The NBA 2K League will announce additional information related to the 2023 season in the coming months, including season structure, schedule and location, prize pool, and open qualifiers.
For more information, fans can follow the NBA 2K League on Twitter (NBA2KLeague), Instagram (nba2kleague), Facebook (NBA 2K League), TikTok (nba2kleague), Twitch (NBA2KLeague) and YouTube (NBA 2K League) and visit NBA2KLeague.com.
About the NBA 2K League
The NBA 2K League, a professional esports league co-founded by the NBA and Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTWO), launched in 2018 and features 25 teams and the best NBA 2K players in the world. NBA 2K League partners include Anheuser-Busch, AT&T, Champion Athleticwear, Coinbase, Dash Radio, Google, Loco, Mondelēz International, SAP, Snickers, Sony Interactive Entertainment, SPS, Wilson and YouTube. For more information about the NBA 2K League, visit NBA2KLeague.com.
