The Portland Trail Blazers Organization Unveils New NBA 2K League Team

When the NBA 2K League launches in 2018, Blazer5 Gaming will be among the 17 teams participating in the inaugural season.  The new Blazer5 Gaming squad will begin play in May 2018 with a roster of five players who will live in-market during the season. Blazer5 gaming will be announcing staffing, including an Operations Manager and Team Manager, in a future release.

During the inaugural season, all games will be played in one or two central studios. The official gaming platform, media carriage partners and other marketing partners will be announced at a later date. Fans and prospective gamers can connect with Blazer5 Gaming content, information, announcements and other special promotions at blazer5gaming.com; and by following the team Twitter handle @blazer5gaming.  

“This new team is an exciting step forward for the Trail Blazers organization into the fast-growing world of esports,” said Chris McGowan, President & CEO of the Trail Blazers. “We’re constantly expanding our engagements with fans, and our online and social media platforms are already some of the most robust in professional sports.  Professional esports is next-level extension of our commitment to cultivating deeper connections with our fans.”

The new Blazer5 Gaming logo draws its inspiration from the Trail Blazers iconic pinwheel design. The logo makes use of the franchise’s red, black, and white color palette, melding the classic five-on-five swirl into two energetic interlocking blocks. The result captures the inherent action of the original logo, while representing both the individual and team aspects of the competitive esports world.

“The reveal of our team names and logos is an exciting milestone as move toward the NBA 2K League’s inaugural season in 2018, and we can’t wait for the NBA 2K community and our teams’ fans to see them,” said NBA 2K League Managing Director Brendan Donohue.

The NBA 2K League, a joint venture between the NBA and Take-Two Interactive, is a professional esports league featuring the best 2K players in the world. A qualifying stage for the league will take place in January 2018 to determine players for tryouts in February, followed by a draft in March and tip-off in May. Each team participating in the inaugural season will draft five players who will play the game using unique characters.

The NBA 2K League Qualifier will take place from Jan. 1-31, 2018, and is the first step for prospective players to make the league. The Qualifier is open to anyone in the world who has a copy of NBA 2K18 (Xbox One or PS4) and is 18 or older. All players who win 50 games in NBA 2K18’s Pro-Am mode and complete an online application by January 31 can be invited to the next round of tryouts in February.