USA Basketball to hold trials with top NBA 2K players for National Gaming Team

Thirty of the best NBA 2K players from across 2K competitions have accepted invitations to the first set of trials for USA Basketball’s E-National team. 

These tryouts will be held virtually on Nov. 7 and 8, which will decide who is going to represent the United States at the FIBA Esports Open in the North and Central American Conference on Dec.19 and 20. 

The tryout roster includes players from the 2K League and other competitive scenes, and the goal of the team is to find the best and most diverse set of players to play for USA Basketball. All of the players must be a U.S. citizen, at least 16 years old, and have a minimum MyCareer character rating of 95 on 2K21 to qualify. 

“USA Basketball is excited to take this first step in becoming a part of the gaming community and the FIBA Esports Open,” USA Basketball CEO Jim Tooley said. “The gaming world has seen rapid growth, evidenced by the large number of gamers and fans involved, and the timing and opportunities makes sense for USA Basketball to add an e-national team to compete in future international FIBA competitions. Just as USA Basketball does with its five-on-five and 3×3 national teams, we look forward to selecting high-character and gold medal competitive national teams for this and future FIBA esport competitions.”

Here are the 30 players (23 men and seven women) from across the country that accepted an invitation to the trials. 

Team selections will be made and finalized by the USA Basketball E-National Team Selection Panelists, including 2K League community ambassador Graham Borden, Wizards District Gaming team manager Patrick Crossan, Utah Jazz Gaming coach Jelani Mitchell, Washington Mystics forward Aerial Powers, and USA Basketball youth and sport development assistant Andrea Travelstead.

This will be the second FIBA Esports Open, with the first ending in June and featuring 114 players from 17 national federations. This second event features 38 national teams in seven regional conferences, with each team consisting of five main players and two reserve members. 

All games will be played remotely on 2K21 using the Pro-AM game mode and will be live-streamed on FIBA’s YouTube, Twitch and Facebook channels.

The seven-player, mixed-gender USA squad will tip-off virtually against gaming teams from Canada, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, and Puerto Rico for the right to be crowned conference champions on Dec. 19 and 20.