Golden State Drafts First Woman into the NBA 2K League

Chiquita Evans has made history.

Tuesday night Evans became the first woman ever drafted into the NBA 2K League. She was drafted in the fourth round (#56 overall) by the Warriors Gaming Squad, which is operated by the NBA’s Golden State Warriors.

Evans is a former college and semipro basketball player. According to ESPN, Evans will now be one of the 126 players making between $33,000 and $37,000 per season (along with benefits and team housing).

So just what is the NBA 2K League?

It appears to be a dream job actually. Gamers for the NBA 2K League compete online via NBA 2K19. Each 2K team is made up of six players (five starters and a sixth man), with each person controlling only one player. In essence this is five-on-five 2K. Competitors don’t play as NBA players.

NBA 2KL is a joint venture between the NBA and Take-Two Interactive. The organization, founded in 2017 is a professional e-sports league featuring the best NBA 2K players in the world. The NBA 2K League Qualifier is open to anyone around the world with a copy of NBA 2K19 (PlayStation 4 or Xbox One), an internet connection and anyone 18 or older by the time Qualifier starts.

The NBA 2K League and the 21 NBA teams that participate have more than 1.8 million combined followers on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Evans has been a competitive gamer for some time, spending most of her time with a coed team. Since being drafted yesterday, she has received a great deal of backlash about being a woman in an otherwise male-dominated league.

She appears poised to take on the challenge and she definitely deserves the opportunity.