Oklahoman drafted for NBA 2K League,
The inaugural season of the NBA 2K League will have some Oklahoma flavor.
Twenty-year-old Isaac Gilton (Username: xGREATxGILLY13) was selected by Wizards District Gaming with the 12th pick (80th overall) of 2K League’s first draft on Wednesday. The NBA 2K League is the first professional eSports league for the wildly-popular 2K basketball series, a league co-founded by the NBA and Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.
The league will feature 102 of the best NBA 2K players in the world. Each of the 17 teams in the league drafted six players each on Wednesday.
Of 72,000 players, Gilton was the only Oklahoman who made it through various stages of qualifying and identification to be a part of the 2K League’s first draft class.
“It means the world,” Gilton told The Oklahoman on Wednesday. “Being able to represent your state is something only a few can say.”
Gilton is designated as a center in the 2K League. His online position fits his in real life.
The 6-foot-10 Gilton graduated from Jenks High School in 2016 where he played center for the Trojans. After a senior season in which he averaged 16 points and seven rebounds, earning Tulsa World AllMetro honorable mention honors, he was set to attend Redlands Community College in El Reno on a basketball scholarship. But Gilton suffered a torn ACL in his left knee in the summer of 2016.
Less than two years later, Gilton is leaving for a summer immersed in 2K.
Gilton couldn’t drop everything and run to New York City for the live event Wednesday, so he watched the draft from home with his parents. He’s currently attending Tulsa Community College as a marketing major, and is busy finishing up school work before he leaves next week. Professors at TCC let him test out of his classes early so his credits wouldn’t go to waste.
Gilton’s time certainly won’t be wasted when he kicks off league play in May.
Making a living
Gilton is in elite company.
Launched this year, the league had a qualifier in January which drew 72,000 players who needed to win 50 games in NBA 2K’s Pro-Am mode to advance to the League Combine in February. Gilton was one of 250 players identified after the combine, then went through a live, one-on-one interview from which he was chosen by a selection committee for the draft pool.
According to USA Today, each player drafted has signed a six-month contract worth $35,000 for first-round selections and $32,000 for all others. There’s also a $1 million prize pool spread out across three in-season tournaments and postseason. Winning equals more money.
Gilton and his fellow players are also eligible for endorsement deals, players will receive health insurance and a retirement plan, and the league will pay for relocation and housing. Each player lives together with teammates in the city of their respective franchise, so Gilton will move to Washington D.C.
The NBA 2K League season runs from May to August. The league is currently in media rights discussions in order to stream games online. NBA commissioner Adam Silver is serious about the venture, saying he considers the NBA 2K League a part of the NBA, WNBA and G League family.
“We’re building this league as something that’s going to be around forever,” Silver said Friday.
Becoming a pro
In the Pro-Am mode, competitors have to choose a position and preset style of play for their character, then they control that one player in a five-on-five game in which they play live with other users.
Gilton qualified for the league using a 7-1, 290-pound “Slashing Rebounder.”
“It was the most dominant (preset) in my opinion,” Gilton said of why he picked that particular style. “The ability to control the glass, plus score at an efficient rate was too hard to pass up.”
So was this opportunity for a player this talented. Gilton’s parents didn’t believe what he was doing was real, but there they were on Wednesday watching the draft.
Gilton has been playing 2K on Xbox since he was 13 years old. Back in 2011, his parents couldn’t have imagined where it would lead their son.
“I had to explain it to them numerous times,” he said. “But knowing how big the esports community is now, they can’t believe that I’m a part of it.”