In 2018, the NBA and Take-Two Interactive held the inaugural season of the NBA 2K League. Knicks Gaming won the 2K League championship in August and will look to repeat as champs in Season 2, which begins in April. There will be 16 regular-season games in 2019 with $1.2 million in prize money available over the course of the season.
But before the season gets underway, the league will hold a draft. The draft consists of four rounds, down from six a season ago. The reason for the decrease is that every team will have holdovers and protected players from Season 1. The league also has four expansion teams: T-Wolves Gaming, Lakers Gaming, Hawks Talon GC and Nets Gaming Crew.
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The Jazz won the lottery in September and will hold the first overall pick. Available to select in the draft-eligible pool include players who qualified during the Combine, unretained players from Season 1 and added players from the APAC Invitational in Hong Kong.
An expansion draft was held Sept. 26 when the four expansion teams selected two players from the non-protected player pool. After the expansion draft, the original 17 teams were able to retain up to two players who were not selected in the expansion draft.
From the league's official site:
If one of the original 17 teams has a player selected in the expansion draft, that team will forfeit a third-round draft pick to retain one additional player. If that same team chooses to retain an additional player, that team will forfeit a second-round draft pick.
If one of the original 17 teams does not have any player selected in the expansion draft, that team will forfeit a second-round draft pick to retain one player. If that same team chooses to retain an additional player, that team will forfeit a first-round draft pick.
What time is NBA 2K League Draft?
The 2K League Draft will be held March 5 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. It's scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. ET.
NBA 2K League Draft live stream
The draft will be live-streamed exclusively on the league's official Twitch channel, which you can also watch below:
Watch live video from NBA2KLeague on www.twitch.tv
NBA 2K League Draft player pool for 2019 draft
The player pool was announced March 4 and it includes 198 players to fill the 74 spots available in the 2K League Draft. There are 22 international players as well as includes two women (there were no females in the 102-player draft class last season).
There are 144 new players added who earned draft eligibility through the tryout process.
The full player pool can be viewed here.
NBA 2K League 2019 Draft order
*Denotes team forfeited its draft selection to retain the player
UPDATE: The league announced Tuesday that the Kings will receive a third-round compensatory pick after Eric “Timelycook” Donald was suspended for the season after violating the league’s code of conduct. The league says Donald was suspended after the “sharing of inappropriate and offensive videos over social media."
ROUND 1
| 1. Jazz Gaming |
| 2. Warriors Gaming Squad |
| 3. Kings Guard Gaming |
| 4. Pistons GT (from Pacers Gaming) |
| 5. Mavs Gaming |
| 6. Bucks Gaming |
| 7. Grizz Gaming |
| 8. Celtics Crossover Gaming |
| 9. Magic Gaming |
| 10. Warriors Gaming Squad (from Lakers Gaming) |
| 11. T-Wolves Gaming |
| 12. NetsGC |
| 13. Hawks Talon GC |
| 14. Mavs Gaming (from Wizards District Gaming) |
| 15. Raptors Uprising GC |
| 16. Pistons GT |
| 17. Bucks Gaming (from Blazer5 Gaming) |
| 18. Cavs Legion GC |
| 19. 76ers GC |
| 20. Heat Check Gaming |
| 21. Knicks Gaming |
ROUND 2
| 22. Kings Guard Gaming |
| 23. NO PICK (Warriors Gaming Squad retained Vert)* |
| 24. Jazz Gaming |
| 25. Pacers Gaming |
| 26. Mavs Gaming |
| 27. Bucks Gaming |
| 28. Grizz Gaming |
| 29. Celtics Crossover Gaming |
| 30. Magic Gaming |
| 31. Hawks Talon GC |
| 32. NetsGC |
| 33. T-Wolves Gaming |
| 34. Lakers Gaming |
| 35. Wizards District Gaming |
| 36. Raptors Uprising GC |
| 37. NO PICK (Pistons GT retained JosephtheTruth)* |
| 38. Blazer5 Gaming |
| 39. NO PICK (Cavs Legion GC retained Goddof2k)* |
| 40. NO PICK (76ers GC retained Newdini33)* |
| 41. NO PICK (Heat Check Gaming retained 24k Dropoff)* |
| 42. NO PICK (Knicks Gaming retained YEYNotGaming)* |
ROUND 3
| 43. Kings Guard Gaming |
| 44. Warriors Gaming Squad |
| 45. Jazz Gaming |
| 46. Pacers Gaming |
| 47. Mavs Gaming |
| 48. NO PICK (Bucks Gaming retained kinG PeroXide)* |
| 49. Grizz Gaming |
| 50. NO PICK (Celtics Crossover Gaming retained ProFusion)* |
| 51. Magic Gaming |
| 52. Lakers Gaming |
| 53. T-Wolves Gaming |
| 54. NetsGC |
| 55. Hawks Talon GC |
| 56. Wizards District Gaming |
| 57. Raptors Uprising GC |
| 58. Pistons GT |
| 59. NO PICK (Blazer5 Gaming retained Lavish_Phenom)* |
| 60. Cavs Legion GC |
| 61. NO PICK (76ers GC retained ZDS)* |
| 62. Heat Check Gaming |
| 63. NO PICK (Knicks Gaming retained Idrisdagoat)* |
| 64. Wizards District Gaming (compensatory pick) |
ROUND 4
| 65. Kings Guard Gaming |
| 66. Warriors Gaming Squad |
| 67. Jazz Gaming |
| 68. Pacers Gaming |
| 69. Mavs Gaming |
| 70. Bucks Gaming |
| 71. Grizz Gaming |
| 72. Celtics Crossover Gaming |
| 73. Magic Gaming |
| 74. Hawks Talon GC |
| 75. NetsGC |
| 76. T-Wolves Gaming |
| 77. Lakers Gaming |
| 78. Wizards District Gaming |
| 79. Raptors Uprising GC |
| 80. Pistons GT |
| 81. Blazer5 Gaming |
| 82. Cavs Legion GC |
| 83. 76ers GC |
| 84. Heat Check Gaming |
| 85. Knicks Gaming |
Season 2 begins April 2. The regular season will continue for 12 weeks before the playoffs begin July 24. The Finals will take place Aug. 3, ending the second season.