The NBA 2K League announced that the 2022 NBA 2K League Draft will be held virtually on Saturday, Feb. 26 at 6 p.m. ET and livestreamed on the NBA 2K League’s Twitch and YouTube channels ahead of the league’s fifth anniversary season.

In celebration of its fifth season, the NBA 2K League is launching #NBA2KL5, a season-long campaign highlighting the top moments, performances and players throughout the league’s history.

“Since the league’s inaugural season in 2018, we have grown domestically and internationally to 24 teams and witnessed incredible moments – both on and off the virtual court – with the hundreds of NBA 2K League players who have made the league what it is today,” said NBA 2K League President Brendan Donohue. “The NBA 2K League’s fifth anniversary season is not only a tribute to those teams, players and countless individuals who have been a part of the league’s history, but also a celebration of the next five years and beyond. We are thrilled to tip off this next chapter in our history with the 2022 Draft.”

All 24 NBA 2K League teams, including the league’s expansion team representing Mexico, DUX Gaming, will complete their five-person rosters during the three-round draft. The players on these five‑person rosters will compete in both the league’s traditional 5v5 competition and the recently-announced 3v3 tournaments entitled by Coinbase. Mavs Gaming will have the first overall pick, Cavs Legion GC will have the second overall selection, and Bucks Gaming will have the third overall pick. During the offseason, 69 players who competed in the 2021 season were retained by their teams, leaving 51 roster spots available.

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The 2022 draft pool will consist of unretained players from last season, players who earned draft eligibility as part of the “NBA 2K League Draft Prospect Series,” select participants in the NBA 2K League’s Women in Gaming initiative, select competitors in the NBA 2K League’s APAC and European Invitationals, and high-performing players in the 2K community as determined by league and team officials. The complete draft pool will be announced at a later date.

The broadcast will feature NBA 2K League President Brendan Donohue announcing select picks, technological advances showing hosts and broadcasters in a new LED immersive studio, a variety of viewing options through Twitch’s Command Center, clips from NBA 2K League original content series “Draft Hopefuls”, and broadcast segments of the top 5 Draft moments, Draft day outfits and Draft steals as part of #NBA2KL5. The broadcast will also feature live look-ins with Draft prospects, select team “war rooms” and NBA 2K League operations headquarters.

The NBA 2K League will announce additional information related to the 2022 season in the coming months, including details of qualifying events for the 3v3 tournaments entitled by Coinbase, where for the first time ever, amateur teams from around the world will have the opportunity to participate alongside NBA 2K League teams for a share of the 3v3 tournament prize pool.