MARCH 14, 2021 (DALLAS, TX)- Mavs Gaming selected two players to fill out their roster at the 2021 NBA 2K League Draft that took place last night virtually for the first time: Andrew “MrStylez” Valle from New York and Ziah “ZiggyZiah” Minor from Washington, D.C. Minor qualified for this year’s draft by being one of the top performers in the Women in Gaming initiative, was one of the ten female gamers in the draft, and is the first female NBA 2K League athlete to join Mavs Gaming.
“Last night was amazing. A night full of inspiration. Mavs Gaming drafted our first female gamer, Ziah, who will be a trailblazer for women in gaming and equal opportunity. She is at the top of her class with her dribbling and shooting skills. Stylez is one of the best Locks in the game and it was a steal for him to fall to us. He is eager and ready to get to work,” said Mavs Gaming Head Coach LT Fairley. “Season 4 is full of great talent, so picking up these two pieces will help us get to our goal. I’m looking forward to a successful season for the 2K League. Mavs Gaming is looking to come out on top! We are back for more in Season 4!”
The two players were selected using subsequent picks with draft position determined by a snake order arrangement — No. 27 and 52. The 265 draft-eligible players consisted of 175 players who earned eligibility through the NBA 2K League Draft Prospect Series, 22 players from international qualifying events over the last two offseasons, five players from the NBA 2K League’s Women in Gaming initiative, five players who were identified by the NBA 2K League and its teams as high-performing players in the 2K community, and 58 unretained players from the 2020 season. The offseason evaluation process also featured events for teams to evaluate only draft-eligible players competing against each other, including the Texas Ticket Tournament, NBA 2K League Draft Prospect Series Showcase and the NBA 2K League Combine. A complete list of the draft-eligible players is available here*.
After the third season of the NBA 2K League, Mavs Gaming retained Artreyo “Dimez” Boyd, and acquired Gerald “Sick One“ Knapp and Zaeya “Zae” Ishak from a trade with the Hornets Venom GT, and Wesley “Gen” Mcnair in a trade with Gen G. Tigers.
MAVS GAMING 2021 Roster:
Draft Round/Selection Position Name Gamer Tag
RETAINED from 2020 PG Artreyo Boyd Dimez
Traded from Hornets C Gerald Knapp Sick One
Traded from Hornets PF Zaeya Ishak Zae
Traded from Gen G. SG Wesley McNair Gen
Round 2/ 27th Pick SF Andrew Valle Mr Stylez
Round 3/ 52nd Pick SG Ziah Minor Ziggy Ziah
ABOUT MAVS GAMING: Mavs Gaming is the Dallas Mavericks affiliate team in the NBA 2K League. The NBA 2K League is a professional competitive gaming league co-founded by the NBA and Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Bringing together the world’s best basketball gamers, this marks the first official Esports league operated by a U.S. professional sports league. For more information visit https://mavsgaming.nba.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 21 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, in-season tournaments and playoffs. Knicks Gaming won the first-ever NBA 2K League Finals on Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018. For more information about the NBA 2K League, visit NBA2KLeague.com.
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