After the NBA 2K League made the selections of the Top 250 draft eligible players official over the weekend, it didn’t take long for controversy to come front and center.
After a number of players felt they were “snubbed” from the Top 250, allegations arose claiming that the prospect pool had been predetermined. These claims, started by prominent player White Chocolate, stated that none of the combine games mattered, and that minds had been made up.
With the 2K League looking to become a serious player in the world of esports, accusations of selection fixing would be an immediate black eye for the league. It didn’t take long for the league to come out to deny the allegations.
First up was a message issued by Cleveland Cavaliers gaming manager Anthony Muraco via Forbes.
“No team, or team personnel like myself, have any influence whatsoever on who is selected by the NBA 2K League,”Muraco said. “In an attempt to show my personal support and encouragement to Stylez, I mistakenly created the perception with him that I had involvement in the player selection process. This is not true, and I deeply regret that my communications suggested otherwise.”
To double down on the denial, an official 2K League spokesperson released the following:
“Teams have absolutely no input on which players made the Top 250. The comprehensive process was led strictly by officials from 2K, the NBA 2K League, and included Genji Esports, a third-party analytics firm.
“The players were selected based on a range of factors, including performance from the combine and an online application detailing their knowledge of the game of basketball – for example, running a zone defense and executing a pick-and-roll – as well as their understanding of the NBA 2K video game and reasons for why they want to play in the league.”
While it’s certainly not going to be enough to some players who felt they were intentionally snubbed from the Top 250, the defense from the league appears strong. It will be interesting to see if more evidence comes out in the near future against the league, but for now it’s nothing but hearsay.
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