The 2018 NBA 2K League season was the inaugural season of the NBA 2K League, an esports league based on the basketball video game series NBA 2K. The season opened with the Tip-Off Tournament, which ran from May 1–5, 2018, where 76ers GC defeated Blazer5 Gaming. The season culminated on August 25, 2018, when Knicks Gaming defeated Heat Check Gaming in a best-of-three finals to become the first playoff champions in league history. Other tournaments included The Turn (where Blazer5 Gaming defeated Celtics Crossover Gaming) and The Ticket (where Knicks Gaming defeated Celtics Crossover Gaming).
Qualifying For the inaugural season, the qualifying stage was open to anyone who was 18+ years old and owned NBA 2K18 on either PlayStation 4 or Xbox One. To qualify, players had to win 50 games in NBA 2K18s Pro-Am mode and submit an application following this requirement between January 1–31, 2018. Following that, the players who qualified participated in a combine that ran from February 2–21, 2018. The top 102 players out of the 72,000 who qualified were then drafted on April 4.
Teams On December 11, 2017, the official logo for the NBA 2K League was revealed, with the logos for each of the 17 teams being revealed over the course of the following days.
TeamNBA Team Owner76ers GCPhiladelphia 76ersBlazer5 GamingPortland Trail BlazersBucks GamingMilwaukee BucksCavs Legion GCCleveland CavaliersCeltics Crossover GamingBoston CelticsGrizz GamingMemphis GrizzliesHeat Check GamingMiami HeatJazz GamingUtah JazzKings Guard GamingSacramento KingsKnicks GamingNew York KnicksMagic GamingOrlando MagicMavs GamingDallas MavericksPacers GamingIndiana PacersPistons GTDetroit PistonsRaptors Uprising GCToronto RaptorsWarriors Gaming SquadGolden State WarriorsWizards District GamingWashington Wizards
Inaugural draft On April 4, 2018, the inaugural draft took place and was broadcast on NBA TV (first round only) and Twitch. The draft used a snake draft format with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announcing the first pick, NBA 2K League managing director Brendan Donohue announcing the rest of the picks. The draft took place in the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden. For the first five rounds, each team was required to choose one player at each position, and in the sixth round team were allowed to choose any remaining player, regardless of their position.
Draft lottery A non-weighted lottery took place on March 13, 2018, to determine the order of the draft.
Standings +KeyWon League ChampionshipWon Tournament yRegular season best record xQualified for the postseason gWon Tournament Group
Regular season "Seeding Hierarchy" (all based on regular season games) Win–loss record Head-to-head matchup Average point differential Total points scored Coin flipNote: Knicks Gaming automatically clinched a playoff berth by winning The Ticket tournament. Place Team W L PCT GB GP1Blazer5 Gamingx 12 2 – 14276ers GCx 10 4 2 143Pistons GTx 9 5 3 144Raptors Uprising GCx 8 6 4 145Cavs Legion GCx 8 6 4 146Heat Check Gamingx 8 6 4 147Wizards District Gamingx 8 6 4 148Magic Gaming 8 6 4 149Celtics Crossover Gaming 7 7 5 1410Grizz Gaming 6 8 6 1411Bucks Gaming 6 8 6 1412Mavs Gaming 6 8 6 1413Pacers Gaming 5 9 7 1414 Knicks Gamingx 5 9 7 1415Jazz Gaming 5 9 7 1416Warriors Gaming Squad 4 10 8 1417Kings Guard Gaming 4 10 8 14
Tournaments Tip Off Tournament Prize Pool: 1st: $35,000 2nd: $25,000 3rd and 4th: $10,000 Group Winners: $5,000Total: $100,000MVP: Radiant (76ers GC) TeamRecordGroupPlace76ers GC5–1Group C1stBlazer5 Gamingg5–1Group C2ndCavs Legion GCg3–2Group AT-3rdPistons GT3–2Group AT-3rdMavs Gamingg3–2Group DT-5thPacers Gaming3–2Group DT-5thJazz Gaming2–2Group BT-5thWarriors Gaming Squadg2–2Group BT-5thCeltics Crossover Gaming3–1Group D-Bucks Gaming1–2Group A-Kings Guard Gaming1–2Group A-Knicks Gaming1–2Group B-Raptors Uprising GC1–2Group C-Wizards District Gaming1–2Group B-Heat Check Gaming1–3Group D-Magic Gaming0–3Group C-Grizz Gaming0–4Group D-
The Turn Prize Pool: 1st: $75,600 2nd: $24,800 3rd and 4th: $12,800 5th–8th: $6,000Total: $150,000MVP: Mama Im Dat Man (Blazer5 Gaming) SeedTeamRecordPlace1Blazer5 Gaming 4–0 1st11Celtics Crossover Gaming 3–1 2nd276ers GC 2–1 T-3rd12Knicks Gaming 2–1 T-3rd3Mavs Gaming 1–1 T-5th7Wizards District Gaming 1–1 T-5th9Magic Gaming 1–1 T-5th13Warriors Gaming Squad 1–1 T-5th4Pistons GT 0–1 -5Cavs Legion GC 0–1 -6Jazz Gaming 0–1 -8Kings Guard Gaming 0–1 -10Heat Check Gaming 0–1 -14Bucks Gaming 0–1 -15Grizz Gaming 0–1 -16Raptors Uprising GC 1–1 -17Pacers Gaming 0–1 -
The Ticket Prize Pool: 1st: $75,600 2nd: $24,800 3rd and 4th: $12,800 5th–8th: $6,000Total: $150,000MVP: iamadamthe1st (Knicks Gaming) SeedTeamRecordPlace15Knicks Gaming4–01st8Celtics Crossover Gaming3–12nd5Pistons GT2–1T-3rd6Cavs Legion GC2–1T-3rd10Wizards District Gaming1–1T-5th13Bucks Gaming1–1T-5th14Mavs Gaming1–1T-5th17Kings Guard Gaming2–1T-5th1Blazer5 Gaming0–1-2Raptors Uprising GC0–1-3Pacers Gaming0–1-476ers GC0–1-7Heat Check Gaming0–1-9Grizz Gaming0–1-11Magic Gaming0–1-12Jazz Gaming0–1-16Warriors Gaming Squad0–1-
PostseasonFinals MVP:' NateKahl (Knicks Gaming)
Awards + 2018 NBA 2K League Awards Award Recipient Most Valuable Player OneWildWalnut (Dayne Downey) (Blazer5 Gaming) Coach of the Year Duane Burton (Pistons GT) Defensive Player of the Year OneWildWalnut (Dayne Downey) (Blazer5 Gaming) Community Engagement Award Raptors Uprising GC Sportsmanship Award xTFr3sHxX (Tilton Curry) (76ers GC) Play of the YearBoo Painter (Austin Painter) (Wizards District Gaming)
References
External links Official website