More than a month after it was meant to tip off, the NBA 2K League announced today it will begin its third season on May 5. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, teams will be playing each other remotely instead of facing off in person, at least to start the season.
After the season tips off, fans can expect to see four matches a night every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Each match will be a best-of-three games between two teams. Each team will participate in at least eight matches throughout this starting phase of the regular season, lasting six weeks. The schedule for this format of play is expected to be announced soon.
As of now, the NBA 2K League calls these first six weeks of play the “start-of-season schedule,” meaning there may be changes to the format as we continue to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. The original schedule for season three listed 14 weeks of regular season matchups, as well as in-season tournaments.
All three tournaments planned for this season are still expected to occur. The league promises information about the tournaments, planned rivalry matches, and round-robin events as it becomes available.
Changes to the NBA 2K League season
There were a lot of changes planned for this season of the NBA 2K League, including a brand new studio for teams to play in and the introduction of matches played in a team’s local market. It’s unfortunate we may not see these changes pan out this season, as social distancing continues. Ultimately the safety of the league’s players, staff, and fans is the most important thing, however. Playing remotely is definitely the way to go for at least the start of the season.
In the weeks since the season was supposed to start and now, the NBA 2K League kept excitement bouncing with a tournament featuring fans, celebrities, and NBA 2K League players themselves.
