The NBA 2K League had a noteworthy first season filled with blowouts, upsets and one memorable final series.
Now that it’s officially over, teams are preparing for the 2019 season and the expansion draft, which is sent to be held this fall.
All of the original 17 teams will be able to keep two players who were on the first year roster. These 34 protected players will be ineligible for the upcoming expansion draft.
As part of this new rule, the four expansion teams (ATL, BKN, LAL and Min) will select two players each from the non-protected player pool. Only one player from each of the original 17 teams can be selected in the expansion draft. All of the rest of the players will be automatically added to the draft-eligible pool for the 2019 NBA 2K League Draft.
Teams have already started to announce which to players they want to secure prior to the expansion draft. Take a look below to see who is safe, as we continue to update this list:
1) Blazer5 Gaming protected Dayne “OneWildWalnut” Downey and Nidal “Mama Im Dat Man” Nasser
Blazer5 Gaming on Twitter
We’re thrilled to announce that @MamaImDatMan_ and @OneWildWalnut2K will be back with Blazer5 Gaming for season two of the @NBA2KLeague.
2) Mavs Gaming protected Artreyo “Dimez” Boyd and Ryan “Dayfri” Conger
Mavs Gaming on Twitter
We are very excited to share the first major news of our off season! We are pleased to announce we have retained @DatBoyDimez and @Dayfri_ going into Season 2 of the @NBA2KLeague. Welcome back, fellas! #MavsGaming #WelcomeTheFuture
3) Pacers Gaming protected Bryant “Wolf 74” Colon and Nick “Swizurk” Grech
Pacers Gaming on Twitter
We are excited to officially announce that @WoLF__74 and @Swizurk will be returning to our lineup for Season 2!
4) Raptors Uprising GC protected Kenneth “Kenny” Hailey and Trevion “All Hail Trey” Hendrix
Raptors Uprising GC on Twitter
Welcome to Season 2 @KennyGotWork @AllHailTrey #NBA2KLeague “Two totally different players with the same ability to perform at their best under pressure, I can’t wait to see them both in season 2” – @ShaneTalbot
5) Grizz Gaming protected Mehyar “AuthenticAfrican” Ahmed-Hassan and Antonio “UniversalPhenom” Saldivar
Grizz Gaming on Twitter
We’d like to announce that we have protected @AuthenticAfr and @UniversalPhe2K for the upcoming 2019 @NBA2KLeague season. #PressStart
6) Warriors Gaming protected Alexander “BSmoove” Reese and Xavier “Type” Vescovi.
Warriors Gaming on Twitter
Warriors Gaming Squad is proud to announce @ommtype and @B_SM00VE_JAY as the two players we protecting for next season of the #NBA2KLeague
7) Jazz Gaming protected Shaka “Yeah I Compete” Browne and Demar “Deedz” Butler
Jazz Gaming on Twitter
We’re excited to announce that @GFGCompete and @OGDeedz will be returning home for Season 2 of the #NBA2KLeague! #GamingElevated
8) Bucks Gaming protected Aaron “Game6Drake” Rookwood and Jovan “Bigmeek” Tenner
Bucks Gaming on Twitter
We are very excited to announce that we have retained @Game6Drake & @BigMeekHTX for Season Two of the @NBA2KLeague!!
The list will continue to update with more announcements
