INDIANAPOLIS — The NBA 2K League announced Wednesday that Indianapolis has been selected as the host city for the NBA 2K League’s fifth anniversary season.
In-person NBA 2K League competitions will take place at the new NBA 2K League Studio at The Pavilion at Pan Am. There will also be a combination of remote games.
The competition tips off on Wednesday, March 23 with the amateur qualifying event for the Coinbase NBA2KL 3v3 SLAM OPEN. It will culminate with the NBA2KL 3v3 and 5v5 Finals as part of the NBA2KL Championships on Saturday, Aug. 20 and Saturday, Aug. 27, respectively.
“After playing nearly all of the 2020 and 2021 seasons remotely, we are thrilled to get back to our live studio experience in the heart of downtown Indianapolis - a city overflowing with passionate basketball fans and known for putting on some of the biggest events in American sports,” said Brendan Donohue, NBA 2K League president. “The NBA 2K League is proud to call Indianapolis our home for the 2022 season.”
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.
- The SLAM OPEN and SWITCH OPEN will include the 24 NBA 2K League teams, North American amateur teams that earned a spot through the tournaments’ qualifying events and Community Teams selected by the league and consisting of top players from the 2K community and social media influencers.
- The STEAL OPEN will include the 14 NBA 2K League teams that haven’t already qualified for the NBA2KL 3v3 Playoffs, and one amateur international team from each of the European and Asia-Pacific regions that earned a spot through separate international qualifying events. NBA 2K League teams, amateur teams and Community Teams will qualify for the NBA2KL 3v3 Playoffs based on their performance in the prior competitions throughout the season.
- THE BANNER CHAIN Powered by AT&T and the NBA2KL 5v5 Playoffs and Finals will continue to feature only NBA 2K League teams. All 24 teams will compete in THE TIPOFF and THE TURN. The five top performing teams from each conference at the end of the regular season will automatically qualify for the NBA2KL 5v5 Playoffs. The 14 remaining teams will compete in THE TICKET, with the winning teams from the two conferences earning the 11th and 12th spots in the playoffs.
Following the end of the SLAM OPEN, THE TIPOFF, the SWITCH OPEN and THE TURN, each NBA 2K League team will play five additional 3v3 and 5v5 matches. Those will be used to finalize which teams automatically qualify for the NBA2KL Championships and determine seeding in the STEAL OPEN and THE TICKET.
Registration details for the qualifying events for the three Coinbase NBA2KL 3v3 BLACKTOP SERIES tournaments, further details about Community Teams, and the 2022 season prize pools will be released in the coming months.
Complete 2022 NBA 2K League competition schedule:
• March 23 – 26 SLAM OPEN Amateur North America Qualifying Event (Remote)
• March 30 – April 2 SLAM OPEN Amateur North America Qualifying Event (Remote)
• April 5 – 8 THE TIPOFF Group Play (Remote)
• April 12 – 15 THE TIPOFF Group Play (Remote)
• April 20 – 23 THE TIPOFF Bracket Play (NBA 2K League Studio, Indianapolis)
• April 26 – 29 SLAM OPEN Group Play (Remote)
• April 27 – 30 STEAL OPEN Amateur Europe Qualifying Event (Remote)
• May 3 – 6 SLAM OPEN Group Play (Remote)
• May 4 – 7 STEAL OPEN Amateur APAC Qualifying Event (Remote)
• May 11 – 14 SLAM OPEN Bracket Play (NBA 2K League Studio, Indianapolis)
• May 18 – 21 SWITCH OPEN Amateur North America Qualifying Event (Remote)
• May 25 – 28 SWITCH OPEN Amateur North America Qualifying Event (Remote)
• May 24 – 27 THE TURN Group Play (Remote)
• May 31 – June 3 THE TURN Group Play (Remote)
• June 8 – 11 THE TURN Bracket Play (NBA 2K League Studio, Indianapolis)
• June 14 – 17 SWITCH OPEN Group Play (Remote)
• June 21 – 24 SWITCH OPEN Group Play (Remote)
• June 29 – July 2 SWITCH OPEN Bracket Play (NBA 2K League Studio, Indianapolis)
• July 5 – 8 5v5 Seed Weeks (Remote)
• July 12 – 15 5v5 Seed Weeks (Remote)
• July 19 – 22 3v3 Seed Weeks (Remote)
• July 26 – July 29 3v3 Seed Weeks (Remote)
• August 1 – 7 League-Wide Bye Week
• August 10 – 11 STEAL OPEN (NBA 2K League Studio, Indianapolis)
• August 12 – 13 THE TICKET (NBA 2K League Studio, Indianapolis)
• August 17 – 20 NBA2KL 3v3 Playoffs and Finals (NBA 2K League Studio, Indianapolis)
• August 24 – 27 NBA2KL 5v5 Playoffs and Finals (NBA 2K League Studio, Indianapolis)