# 2018 NBA 2K League season

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 2K18's 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.
| Team | NBA Team Owner |
| 76ers GC | Philadelphia 76ers |
| Blazer5 Gaming | Portland Trail Blazers |
| Bucks Gaming | Milwaukee Bucks |
| Cavs Legion GC | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| Celtics Crossover Gaming | Boston Celtics |
| Grizz Gaming | Memphis Grizzlies |
| Heat Check Gaming | Miami Heat |
| Jazz Gaming | Utah Jazz |
| Kings Guard Gaming | Sacramento Kings |
| Knicks Gaming | New York Knicks |
| Magic Gaming | Orlando Magic |
| Mavs Gaming | Dallas Mavericks |
| Pacers Gaming | Indiana Pacers |
| Pistons GT | Detroit Pistons |
| Raptors Uprising GC | Toronto Raptors |
| Warriors Gaming Squad | Golden State Warriors |
| Wizards District Gaming | Washington 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

Key :
| | Won League Championship |
| | Won Tournament |
| $^y$ | Regular season best record |
| $^x$ | Qualified for the postseason |
| $^g$ | Won 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 flip
* Note: Knicks Gaming automatically clinched a playoff berth by winning The Ticket tournament.
| Place | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
| 1 | Blazer5 Gaming$^x$ | 12 | 2 | .857 | – | 14 |
| 2 | 76ers GC$^x$ | 10 | 4 | .714 | 2 | 14 |
| 3 | Pistons GT$^x$ | 9 | 5 | .643 | 3 | 14 |
| 4 | Raptors Uprising GC$^x$ | 8 | 6 | .571 | 4 | 14 |
| 5 | Cavs Legion GC$^x$ | 8 | 6 | .571 | 4 | 14 |
| 6 | Heat Check Gaming$^x$ | 8 | 6 | .571 | 4 | 14 |
| 7 | Wizards District Gaming$^x$ | 8 | 6 | .571 | 4 | 14 |
| 8 | Magic Gaming | 8 | 6 | .571 | 4 | 14 |
| 9 | Celtics Crossover Gaming | 7 | 7 | .500 | 5 | 14 |
| 10 | Grizz Gaming | 6 | 8 | .429 | 6 | 14 |
| 11 | Bucks Gaming | 6 | 8 | .429 | 6 | 14 |
| 12 | Mavs Gaming | 6 | 8 | .429 | 6 | 14 |
| 13 | Pacers Gaming | 5 | 9 | .357 | 7 | 14 |
| 14 | Knicks Gaming$^x$ | 5 | 9 | .357 | 7 | 14 |
| 15 | Jazz Gaming | 5 | 9 | .357 | 7 | 14 |
| 16 | Warriors Gaming Squad | 4 | 10 | .286 | 8 | 14 |
| 17 | Kings Guard Gaming | 4 | 10 | .286 | 8 | 14 |

### Tournaments
#### Tip Off Tournament

* Prize Pool:
** 1st: $35,000
** 2nd: $25,000
** 3rd and 4th: $10,000
** Group Winners: $5,000
** Total: $100,000
* MVP: Radiant (76ers GC)
| Team | Record | Group | Place |
| 76ers GC | 5–1 | Group C | 1st |
| Blazer5 Gaming$^g$ | 5–1 | Group C | 2nd |
| Cavs Legion GC$^g$ | 3–2 | Group A | T-3rd |
| Pistons GT | 3–2 | Group A | T-3rd |
| Mavs Gaming$^g$ | 3–2 | Group D | T-5th |
| Pacers Gaming | 3–2 | Group D | T-5th |
| Jazz Gaming | 2–2 | Group B | T-5th |
| Warriors Gaming Squad$^g$ | 2–2 | Group B | T-5th |
| Celtics Crossover Gaming | 3–1 | Group D | - |
| Bucks Gaming | 1–2 | Group A | - |
| Kings Guard Gaming | 1–2 | Group A | - |
| Knicks Gaming | 1–2 | Group B | - |
| Raptors Uprising GC | 1–2 | Group C | - |
| Wizards District Gaming | 1–2 | Group B | - |
| Heat Check Gaming | 1–3 | Group D | - |
| Magic Gaming | 0–3 | Group C | - |
| Grizz Gaming | 0–4 | Group D | - |

#### The Turn

* Prize Pool:
** 1st: $75,600
** 2nd: $24,800
** 3rd and 4th: $12,800
** 5th–8th: $6,000
** Total: $150,000
* MVP: Mama Im Dat Man (Blazer5 Gaming)
| Seed | Team | Record | Place |
| 1 | Blazer5 Gaming | 4–0 | 1st |
| 11 | Celtics Crossover Gaming | 3–1 | 2nd |
| 2 | 76ers GC | 2–1 | T-3rd |
| 12 | Knicks Gaming | 2–1 | T-3rd |
| 3 | Mavs Gaming | 1–1 | T-5th |
| 7 | Wizards District Gaming | 1–1 | T-5th |
| 9 | Magic Gaming | 1–1 | T-5th |
| 13 | Warriors Gaming Squad | 1–1 | T-5th |
| 4 | Pistons GT | 0–1 | - |
| 5 | Cavs Legion GC | 0–1 | - |
| 6 | Jazz Gaming | 0–1 | - |
| 8 | Kings Guard Gaming | 0–1 | - |
| 10 | Heat Check Gaming | 0–1 | - |
| 14 | Bucks Gaming | 0–1 | - |
| 15 | Grizz Gaming | 0–1 | - |
| 16 | Raptors Uprising GC | 1–1 | - |
| 17 | Pacers Gaming | 0–1 | - |

#### The Ticket

* Prize Pool:
** 1st: $75,600
** 2nd: $24,800
** 3rd and 4th: $12,800
** 5th–8th: $6,000
** Total: $150,000
* MVP: iamadamthe1st (Knicks Gaming)
| Seed | Team | Record | Place |
| 15 | Knicks Gaming | 4–0 | 1st |
| 8 | Celtics Crossover Gaming | 3–1 | 2nd |
| 5 | Pistons GT | 2–1 | T-3rd |
| 6 | Cavs Legion GC | 2–1 | T-3rd |
| 10 | Wizards District Gaming | 1–1 | T-5th |
| 13 | Bucks Gaming | 1–1 | T-5th |
| 14 | Mavs Gaming | 1–1 | T-5th |
| 17 | Kings Guard Gaming | 2–1 | T-5th |
| 1 | Blazer5 Gaming | 0–1 | - |
| 2 | Raptors Uprising GC | 0–1 | - |
| 3 | Pacers Gaming | 0–1 | - |
| 4 | 76ers GC | 0–1 | - |
| 7 | Heat Check Gaming | 0–1 | - |
| 9 | Grizz Gaming | 0–1 | - |
| 11 | Magic Gaming | 0–1 | - |
| 12 | Jazz Gaming | 0–1 | - |
| 16 | Warriors Gaming Squad | 0–1 | - |

## Postseason

Finals MVP: NateKahl (Knicks Gaming)
| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| 1 | Blazer5 Gaming | 0 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Knicks Gaming | 1 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Knicks Gaming | 1 | 8 | Knicks Gaming | 2 | | | |
| | | | 5 | Cavs Legion GC | 1 | | | |
| 4 | Raptors Uprising GC | 0 | 5 | Cavs Legion GC | 1 | | | |
| 5 | Cavs Legion GC | 1 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Cavs Legion GC | 1 | | | | 8 | Knicks Gaming | 2 |
| | | | | | | 6 | Heat Check Gaming | 0 |
| 3 | Pistons GT | 0 | | | | | | | 6 | Heat Check Gaming | 0 |
| 6 | Heat Check Gaming | 1 | | | | | | |
| 6 | Heat Check Gaming | 1 | 6 | Heat Check Gaming | 2 | | | |
| | | | 2 | 76ers GC | 0 | | | |
| 2 | 76ers GC | 1 | 2 | 76ers GC | 0 | | | |
| 7 | Wizards District Gaming | 0 | | | | | | |

## 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 Year | Boo Painter (Austin Painter) (Wizards District Gaming) |