Brendan Donohue: NBA esports will have a 12-month calendar

Speaking to Esports Pro Brendan Donohue, the managing director of NBA’s 2K Sports League, has outlined plans for the league, which is planned to run on a twelve month calendar.

The NBA are moving as fast as they can, but logistical challenges have made it difficult to roll things out earlier than February. “For year one, to build the right kind of tryout, February was the earliest we could do it,” says Donohue. “Player identification was important because we want to make sure we get the elite players, so we kick off February.”

For year two, Donohue suggests the kick off could be earlier. “If you add, say, four more teams than the schedule has to be changed too, right?” he says, with a smile. “But with a February try out, kick off in may and then running through till August… this works for us. It runs right up until the end of the season and then we have the new NBA 2K game, too.”

“I think it builds nicely,” Donohue says. “ Then the new game comes out, you have several months of grassroots tournaments. Then each of the players are getting used to the new version of the game. And then in January you’re starting the next season. So it’ll be a kind of twelve month cycle with grassroots tournaments in the off season.”