Knicks Gaming win first NBA 2K League championship

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Knicks Gaming won the championship of the first NBA 2K League on Saturday by defeating Heat Check Gaming in Game 2 of the finals. NateKahl, with his 12 points and perfect defense, was awarded the FMVP.

Knicks will receive 300,000 US dollars as the champions while Heat will get 100,000 dollars.

Launched and operated by NBA and Take-Two Interactive, NBA 2K League was first announced on February 9, 2017, and started its inaugural season on May 1.

Seventeen of the NBA's 30 teams sent their gaming teams to attend: 76ers GC, Blazers5 Gaming, Bucks Gaming, Cavs Legion GC, Celtics Crossover Gaming, Grizz Gaming, Heat Check Gaming, Jazz Gaming, Kings Guard Gaming, Knicks Gaming, Magic Gaming, Mavs Gaming, Pacers Gaming, Pistons GT, Raptors Uprising GC, Warriors Gaming Squad and Wizards District Gaming.

An overhead view of the studio for NBA 2K League. /VCG Photo

Another four teams – Hawks GC, Nets Gaming, Lakers GC and T-Wolves GC – will join 2K League in 2019.

2K League has a very strict selection of players. One must be at least 18 years old, own NBA 2K18 ON either Playstation 4 or Xbox One, win at least 50 games in NBA 2K18's Pro-Am mode and submit an application between January 1 to 31. Then from February 2 to 21, 72,000 qualified players will compete in a combine. This year, the best 102 were drafted on April 4.

Like the real NBA, 2K League also has a draft in which each team can select six players. In the first five rounds they cannot select for the same position (point guard, shooting guard, small forward, power forward and center) but players can change their positions during the season.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver at 2K League Draft. /VCG Photo

A professional player of the 2K League signs a six-month contract that will pay the first-round pick 35,000 US dollars and the rest 32,000 dollars. hat's better than the salaries of many NBDL players, according to Tencent Sports.

Games of the 2K League are played in the form of 5 vs 5. Each player will control one character which is neither avatar of real NBA players nor characters created in advance. Everyone must make his own character and confirm his type so that competitions can happen in a relatively fair way.

The league and its teams have over 1.6 million followers on social media platforms. Video views of its games on social media networks were more than 132 million, according to Tencent Sports.

(Top picture: Member of Knick Gaming. /VCG Photo)