Mentioned in this article
League/Tournament Brands:
- The NBA 2K League will add a Shanghai franchise, which will be operated by Gen.G Esports.
- In addition to operating the team, Gen.G and the NBA 2K League will collaborate on initiatives to grow the league and talent pool in Asia.
- This is the first NBA 2K League team outside of North America, as well as the first not tied to an NBA franchise.
Gen.G Esports has announced that it will establish a Shanghai-based team in the NBA 2K League, marking the first league franchise outside of North America.
It will also be the first NBA 2K League team that isn’t associated with an NBA organization. The team will train at Gen.G’s Los Angeles headquarters during the 2020 season, and currently, all regular-season games are played at the NBA 2K League Studio in New York City.
Additionally, Gen.G and the NBA 2K League have entered into a long-term partnership that will see the organization help grow the league in Asia, as well as focus on Asian talent scouting and development. The team will also develop content for the region.
“This is a historic moment in the NBA 2K League’s journey to becoming a truly global league with fans, franchises and players from all over the world,” said NBA 2K League Managing Director Brendan Donohue, in a release. “Gen.G is the ideal organization to launch our first team from outside of North America, and we look forward to working with Gen.G to reach new fans in Shanghai and identify elite talent across Asia.”
2K Games has made gradual moves into Asian markets throughout 2019. The NBA 2K League held an international qualifying event in Hong Kong earlier this year, and partnered with Tencent Holdings to stream playoffs and finals games via its Chinese video platforms. Last week, 2K Games announced the $145K USD NBA 2K20 Global Championship, a 1v1 standalone competition separate from the NBA 2K League that includes Asia Pacific as a region.
Gen.G will take part in the NBA 2K League Expansion Draft Lottery on Oct. 4, where both its Shanghai team and the Charlotte Hornets’ new Hornets Venom GT squad will select unprotected players from the 21 teams that played in the league in 2019.
