The NBA 2K League announced today that, in partnership with Monumental Sports & Entertainment, the 2023 season will be hosted at the soon-to-debut District E Powered by Ticketmaster in Washington, D.C. Additionally, the league unveiled its complete competition schedule, which runs between Wednesday, March 8 and Saturday, August 5. The NBA 2K League will award $2.5 million in cash prizes across THE BANNER CHAIN SERIES Powered by AT&T and Coinbase NBA 2KL 3v3 BLACKTOP SERIES tournaments, and the NBA 2K League 3v3 and 5v5 Playoffs.

Located in downtown Washington, D.C., District E Powered by Ticketmaster is adjacent to Capital One Arena, the home to the NBA’s Washington Wizards and the NHL’s Washington Capitals.  District E is a nearly 14,000-square-foot live-event theater that, in addition to the 2023 2K League season, will offer a daily series of immersive experiences in esports, music, programming, an extraordinary culinary experience and community events – along with pre- and post-game activities for fans attending Capitals and Wizards games.

For the first time, the NBA 2K League season will be separated into 3v3 and 5v5 halves.  The 3v3 portion of the season begins with the Coinbase NBA2KL 3v3 SLAM OPEN on March 8 and finishes with the NBA2KL 3v3 Finals on Saturday, May 13. The 5v5 competition tips off on Wednesday, May 23 with THE TIPOFF Powered by AT&T and will culminate with the NBA2KL 5v5 Finals on Saturday, Aug. 5.

“Pioneers of esports since the beginning, including through their success with two-time NBA 2K League champion Wizards District Gaming, we are thrilled to partner with the Leonsis family and Monumental Sports & Entertainment to help launch their new state-‑of-‑the-‑art facility, District E Powered by Ticketmaster,” said NBA 2K League President Brendan Donohue. “We can’t wait to make Washington, D.C. our home in 2023 and bring the excitement of the NBA 2K League to fans at District E.”

“As early investors in the NBA 2K League, we are honored to host the most elite esports athletes in the world at our new esports and entertainment facility in our nation’s capital,” said Zach Leonsis, President, Media & New Enterprises at Monumental Sports & Entertainment.  “The League has designed an exciting season and we look forward to welcoming their fans and the rest of the vast gaming community from across the Mid-Atlantic to District E for a first-of-its-kind experience.  And for those new to esports, we believe we are going to turn them into die-hard fans once they see the amazing live-action in person and all the other amenities which District E will have to offer.”

“Washington, D.C. is a growing hub for the esports community with sponsorships, events, tournaments—and now the dynamic addition of the NBA 2K League.  We welcome the local, national and international athletes and fans to our city,” said Events DC President and CEO Angie M. Gates. “Working with the NBA 2K League and Monumental Sports & Entertainment allows us to accomplish our goals of bringing cutting edge experiences that engage, excite and entertain to sports enthusiasts.”

For the second straight season, community 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 in the Coinbase NBA2KL 3v3 BLACKTOP SERIES. Also new for this season, the SLAM OPEN and SWITCH OPEN tournaments will use a double-elimination format.  NBA 2K League teams and community teams will qualify for the NBA 2K League 3v3 Playoffs based on their performance in the prior competitions throughout the season, with the STEAL OPEN remaining the last chance tournament for teams still trying to qualify for the 3v3 Playoffs.

THE BANNER CHAIN SERIES Powered by AT&T and the NBA 2K League 5v5 Playoffs will continue to feature only NBA 2K League teams.  All 25 teams will compete in THE TIPOFF and THE TURN.  The five top performing teams from each conference at the end of those tournaments will automatically qualify for the NBA 2K League 5v5 Playoffs.  The 15 remaining teams will compete in THE TICKET, with the winning teams from the two conferences earning the 11^th and 12^th spots in the Playoffs.

The NBA 2K League today announced that the second annual NBA 2K League All-Star presented by Google Pixel will be held in Los Angeles at The Novo on Friday, Sept. 30 at 8 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on Stadium and the NBA 2K League’s Twitch and YouTube channels.  For the first time, the 2022 NBA 2K League All-Star event will include both 5v5 and 3v3 gameplay formats and will award a total of $30,000 to participants.  Information on how fans can register for free tickets to attend will be shared at a later date.

“As we returned to in-person play this season, we have been reminded that the excitement and one-of-a-kind atmosphere of live NBA 2K League events is unparalleled,” said NBA 2K League President Brendan Donohue. “It is really fitting that our league’s top talent will compete on one stage in Los Angeles, the entertainment capital of the world.”

The rosters for the 5v5 portion of the event will be determined by votes among fans, current NBA 2K League players, head coaches and general managers, and a media panel.  5v5 players will be broken into two teams of six, representing the Eastern and Western conferences.  For the 3v3 portion of the event, for each game, All-Star head coaches will be able to select any of their conference’s 5v5 All-Stars to be included in their lineup.  Additionally, a fan-selected amateur player from one of the two amateur teams (Handlez, Rim Runners) that qualified for the NBA2KL Championships through the Coinbase NBA2KL 3v3 BLACKTOP SERIES will be available to each All-Star head coach as a lineup option.

The NBA 2K League All-Star presented by Google Pixel rosters will be announced during the week of Sept. 5 on the league’s social channels.  Each head coach in the 2022 NBA2KL 5v5 Finals will lead the team from their conference and select the All-Star starters.

A $20,000 prize pool will be awarded during the 5v5 All-Star competition, a best-of-three series played on NBA 2K23’s 5v5 Pro-Am mode.  The 3v3 competition will be a best-of-five series featuring a $10,000 prize pool, with players competing on NBA 2K23’s 3v3 Pro-Am mode.

In celebration of the league’s fifth anniversary season, the NBA 2K League will also announce and present five major awards honoring top performers from 2022, including Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Amateur Player of the Year, and Coach of the Year.

For the latest news and updates on the NBA 2K League, fans can sign up to receive emails at NBA2KLeague.com and follow the NBA 2K League on Twitter (NBA2KLeague), Instagram (nba2kleague), Facebook (NBA 2K League), TikTok (nba2kleague), Twitch (NBA2KLeague) and YouTube (NBA 2K League).