Hawks Talon Gaming, the official NBA 2K League affiliate of the Atlanta Hawks, rounded out their five-man roster on Saturday during the Season Five NBA 2K League Draft by acquiring WITNESS and Georgia native PUTBACK. Hawks Talon Gaming acquired the 18^th and 40^th overall picks from Hornets Venom GT in a draft day trade that sent Talon’s 25^th and 30^th picks to Hornets Venom.

“From the outset, we wanted to be aggressive in order to build a contender for Season Five, and making the trade accomplished exactly that,” said Hawks Talon Gaming Director of Esports Wesley Acuff. “Adding WITNESS and PUTBACK to our core completes our roster perfectly.”

Hawks Talon used the 18^th overall pick to select John ‘WITNESS’ Mushaben, a shooting guard/small forward from Broadview, Mont. WITNESS played 16 games during the Season Five NBA 2K League Draft Combine, recording 17.8 points, 2.5 assists and 2.2 steals per game.

With the 40^th overall pick in the second round, Hawks Talon Gaming selected Bryson ‘PUTBACK’ Fleming, a power forward from Winterville, Ga. In 16 NBA 2K League Draft Combine games, he scored 6.4 points, pulled down 3.3 rebounds and recorded 2.5 steals per game.

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“Adding WITNESS to pair with CEEZ in our backcourt is going to be incredibly fun to coach every night,” said Hawks Talon Head Coach Ismael ‘MAELO’ Diaz-Tolentino. “And PUTBACK is a perfect, do-it-all player that will help us in every aspect and complement our other players seamlessly.”

In December, the NBA 2K League announced significant changes during the upcoming fifth season in 2022. The new season will revolve around three tournaments (THE TIPOFF, THE TURN AND THE TICKET) as well as the NBA 2K League Playoffs and Finals. In addition, the league introduced a new 3v3 format that will culminate in a 3v3 championship. And lastly, amateur teams will be included for the first time in NBA 2K League competition, with the opportunity to participate in the 3v3 tournament format.