2022 NBA 2K League Season

NBA 2K League

2023 Nominee ✨
  • Best Engagement Through Esports & Gaming

ABOUT THIS ENTRY

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.


How does this represent “Excellence in Engagement”?

Continuing to build its global reach, the NBA 2K League expanded its outreach to fans this season through the NBA2KL Championship airing on Stadium and the B/R Gaming YouTube Channel. In addition, the league introduced a new magazine-style show covering the league—“The Post Up”—which was shown during the championship on NBA TV and also presented NBA2KL 3v3 and 5v5 Finals for the first time.

For the 2022 season, NBA 2K League partners included Anheuser-Busch, AT&T, Champion Athleticwear, Coinbase, Dash Radio, Google, Loco, Mondelēz International, SAP, Snickers, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sport1, SPS, Wilson, and YouTube.

nba2k-league

Objective

After four incredible seasons, the NBA 2K League set out to launch its fifth anniversary season in a grand fashion by continuing its mission to connect and engage with a global audience. Key to this focus was the addition of DUX Infinitos, a team that was based in Mexico City. DUX Infinitos is the first NBA 2K League team in Latin America and second outside of U.S. and Canada.

DUX Infinitos joining the league was the centerpiece of a strategic relationship between the NBA 2K League and DUX Gaming. The goal of the partnership is to build on the NBA’s growing presence in Mexico and Latin America as the league continues to engage fans, players, and coaches across the region.

The NBA 2K League made significant changes and debuted brand-new features during its 2022 season, including: a tournament-centric season structure; new 3v3 tournaments entitled by Coinbase; the largest-ever prize pool at $2.5 million; and amateur teams vs. NBA 2K League teams (in the Coinbase 3v3 tournaments). These introductions were designed to create compelling content and engage NBA 2K fans and players around the world.

Strategy & Execution

In 2022, the NBA 2K League simultaneously was able to safely return to in-person gameplay and made new innovations to its 2022 competition structure. Indianapolis, a city with a rich basketball history, was selected as the host city for the season.

The League’s marquee 5v5 tournaments—THE BANNER CHAIN Powered by AT&T (THE TIPOFF, THE TURN AND THE TICKET) and the NBA2KL 5v5 Championships —continued as the key components of the League’s standard 5v5 competition. New for the 2022 season, the league partnered with Coinbase to host three new 3v3 tournaments (the Coinbase BLACKTOP SERIES), and a culminating NBA2KL 3v3 Championships.

In the Coinbase BLACKTOP SERIES, the league engaged with the global NBA 2K community as amateur teams had the opportunity to compete against NBA 2K League teams for a share of the 3v3 tournament prize pool. Teams competed for a total $2.5 million cash prize pool, the largest ever in history and a 65% increase from 2021.

In Latin America, the NBA 2K League and DUX Infinitos tapped into the highly engaged gaming community in Mexico through localized content and grassroots events in partnership with DUX Gaming’s roster of talent and social media influencers, including DjMaRiiO, Kolderiu, Gravesen, and Chigre.

Organizations

  • NBA
  • 2K

Featured Gamers/Streamers

  • Michael "BearDaBeast" Key (T-Wolves Gaming)
  • Ryan "Dayfri" Conger (Wizards District Gaming)
  • Artreyo "Dimez" Boyd (Bucks Gaming)
  • Ramo 'Ramo' Radoncic (Pistons GT)

Credits

Brendan Donohue
President, NBA 2K League
NBA 2K League

Matt Arden
Executive Producer, NBA 2K League
NBA 2K League

Mike Budney
Coordinating Producer
NBA 2K League

James Maravetz
Creative Director
NBA 2K League

Cristaly Peralta
Production Coordinator
NBA 2K League

Lindsay Ullman
Head of Business Development
NBA 2K League

Alyssa Marks
Partnerships
NBA 2K League

Jamel Torrence
Social Media Strategy
NBA 2K League

Andrew Hohl
Social Media Publishing
NBA 2K League

Kemar Tate
Social Media Publishing
NBA 2K League

Colleen Wagoner
Communications
NBA 2K League

Celebrate in NYC

Join us for the 5th Hashtag Sports Awards™ on the evening of June 14, 2023 as we celebrate finalists and reveal the winners of this year's awards live during the show.

 

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