Wizards District Gaming Selects JBM with No. 1 Pick at 2020 NBA 2K League Draft
February 25, 2020
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Wizards District Gaming selected JBM (Jack Mascone) with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NBA 2K League Draft Saturday night at Terminal 5 in New York City.
A point guard from Irvington, New York, JBM was an avid tennis player before picking up the controller. On the verge of playing tennis at the collegiate level, he suffered an injury and turned his attention to NBA 2K. A well-rounded athlete, he also played basketball, lacrosse and baseball.
“We’re incredibly excited to add JBM to the Wizards District Gaming organization,” Andrew McNeil, Director of Esports at Monumental Sports & Entertainment, said. “We believe his skills on the sticks and ability to make the players around him better, along with his maturity and professionalism away from the game, make him a valuable addition to our team and easily worthy of being the #1 overall pick in this year’s NBA 2K League Draft.”
Wizards District Gaming also drafted small forward Just Awkward (Justin Howell) in the second round (No. 30 overall), small forward Newdini (Antonio Newman) at No. 37 and utility BRICH (Brandon Richardson) at No. 51 in the third round. WDG retained ReeseDaGod23 and Dayfri from last season to complete their six-person roster.
With the addition of two expansion teams – Venom GT and Gen.G Tigers of Shanghai – 138 players will compete in the 2020 NBA 2K League season. During the offseason, 70 players who competed in the 2019 season were retained, leaving 68 roster spots available.
The draft-eligible player pool consisted of new players who were selected by the league following an extensive tryout process, players from the league’s first European Invitational, second Asia-Pacific (APAC) Invitational and 11 team-hosted Pro-Am tournaments, and unretained players from the 2019 season.
Wizards District Gaming had a seven percent chance of landing the top pick at the NBA 2K League Draft Lottery that took place in October.
ABOUT WIZARDS DISTRICT GAMING:
Wizards District Gaming is part of the NBA 2K League, a professional esports league co-founded by the NBA and Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTWO). Launched in 2018, the league features the best NBA 2K players in the world. Wizards DG draft and/or retain six gamers as part of a team that competes as unique characters in 5-on-5 play against 22 other teams in a mix of regular-season games, tournaments and playoffs. For more information about Wizards District Gaming, visit http://www.wizardsdg.com/.
ABOUT THE NBA 2K LEAGUE:
The NBA 2K League, a professional esports league co-founded by the NBA and Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTWO), launched in 2018 and features the best NBA 2K players in the world. Each of the league’s 23 teams features six players who compete as unique characters in 5-on-5 play against the other teams in a mix of regular-season games, tournaments and playoffs. NBA 2K League partners include Anheuser-Busch, AT&T, Champion Athleticwear, Facebook, HyperX, New Era, Panera Bread, Raynor Gaming, SCUF Gaming, and Stance. For more information about the NBA 2K League, visit NBA2KLeague.com.