Chiquita Evans is the first woman player in the NBA 2K League after being drafted by Warriors Gaming yesterday. Warriors Gaming Squad drafted Evans in the fourth round and will be playing NBA 2K in the league’s second season.
Evans was selected by Warriors Gaming in the fourth round of the esports league’s second season draft. She was one of two women who qualified for the draft and is one of the league’s 126 players. Brianna Novin, the other woman in the draft, was not selected but could still be signed as a free agent during the season. The NBA 2K League is entering its second season, following last year’s inaugural season.
Evans, 30, told the Washington Post that being drafted felt “surreal.” Evans began playing NBA 2K in 2008 following a basketball injury stopped her from competing on the court. She began playing NBA 2K competitively with 2K16 and tried entering the league last year. In a profile video published by the esports league, Evans said that people would stop cooperating with her when they learned she was a woman.
Speaking to Kotaku, Evans said, “I just can’t let it change who I am or change what I was going to do. Because someone feels like I don’t deserve to be here or I shouldn’t be doing something that I love to do.”
The NBA 2K League has been trying to diversify the draft pool, and a few women did get into the draft. Two women out of 150 new draft picks still isn’t near an equal ratio, but seeing those women get in could bring more to the league.
The Warriors Gaming Squad is sponsored under the Golden State Warriors and is one of 21 teams in the league. Last year’s season ran from mid-May to August where Knicks Gaming won the inaugural championship. The second season has yet to receive a full schedule, but it will be played in NBA 2K19, the latest in the series.
[Image Credit: NBA 2K League YouTube channel]
