NBA 2K League extends remote play, announces tourney

Online-only action will continue through July 17, with the regular-season schedule paused next week, when all 23 teams will compete in The Tipoff tournament.The league was scheduled to open its season March 24 with The Tipoff, which also would have been the first event at the new NBA 2K League studio in New York, about a mile from Madison Square Garden. The first six weeks of the scheduled were changed to online-only action, with teams competing from their home markets.

The NBA 2K League announced plans Tuesday for an in-season tournament while simultaneously extending the length of its remote competition model. Online-only action will continue through July 17, with the regular-season schedule paused next week, when all 23 teams will compete in The Tipoff tournament.

The league was scheduled to open its season March 24 with The Tipoff, which also would have been the first event at the new NBA 2K League studio in New York, about a mile from Madison Square Garden. However, plans changed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The start of the season was postponed, ultimately until May 5. The first six weeks of the scheduled were changed to online-only action, with teams competing from their home markets. Week 6 tipped off Tuesday night.

The newly rescheduled Tipoff event will run from June 16-19. Matches are scheduled to begin from 6 p.m. ET to 10 p.m. ET the first two nights, then 7 p.m. ET to 10 p.m. ET the last two nights. Action will be shown live on ESPN2, ESPN's digital properties and the NBA 2K League's YouTube and Twitch channels. The schedules for Week 7-11 will be announced at a later date.

Entering play Tuesday, the top five teams in the NBA 2K League standings were Raptors Uprising GC (7-0), Warriors Gaming Squad (6-0), defending champion T-Wolves Gaming (5-1), Wizards District Gaming (5-1) and Jazz Gaming (3-1). --Field Level Media