Jazz Gaming Tips Off 2022 Season on April 6

NBA 2K Season Format Shifts to Tournament-Centric Schedule 

SALT LAKE CITY (April 4, 2022) – Jazz Gaming, the official NBA 2K League affiliate of the Utah Jazz, will begin its 2022 campaign at 5 p.m. on Wed., April 6 against Blazer5 Gaming as part of The Tipoff Powered by AT&T, the first NBA 2K League tournament of the league’s new tournament-centric schedule.

Jazz Gaming will continue remote group play in The Tipoff Powered by AT&T with its scheduled games listed below:

Tipoff Powered by AT&T Jazz Gaming
Date	Time (MT)	Opponent
April 7	5:30 P.M.	T-Wolves Gaming
April 12	6 P.M.	Pistons GT
April 13	6 P.M.	Lakers Gaming
April 15	6 P.M.	Cavs Legion GC

Bracket play for The Tipoff powered by AT&T begins in-person at the NBA 2K Studio in Indianapolis from April 20-23.

All Jazz Gaming games will be simulcast live on the NBA 2K League’s Twitch and Youtube channels.

Jazz Gaming enters the 2022 season coming off the heels of the franchise’s first appearance in the 2021 NBA 2K League Championship and second consecutive playoff appearance. In the past two seasons, Jazz Gaming has a combined regular season record of 32-12, for the second highest winning percentage (.727) in the NBA 2K League during that stretch (Wizards District Gaming, .795).

Jazz Gaming will be returning three players from last year’s NBA 2K Finals team: Spencer “Ria” Wyman, Kimanni “Splashy” Ingram and Shaka “Compete” Browne.

“Ria” was selected 1^st overall by Jazz Gaming in 2019 and was named to the 2021 All-NBA 2K League First Team. “Ria” averaged 14.7 points, 12.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game while shooting 73.9 percent from the field during the 2021 NBA 2K League Regular Season.

“Splashy” enters his third season with Jazz Gaming after the team selected him 10^th overall in the 2020 NBA 2K League Draft. “Splashy” was named to the 2021 All-NBA 2K League Second Team with regular season averages of 31.5 points, 9.9 assists while shooting 57.9 percent from the floor and 51.5 percent from beyond the three-point line.

In addition to being named to the 2021 All-NBA 2K League Second Team, “Splashy” continued to add to his list of accolades this offseason as the Jazz Gaming point guard was named the winner of the NBA 2K22 MyTEAM Unlimited $250,000 Tournament in March. “Splashy” placed second in the tournament in 2021.

 

“Compete,” Jazz Gaming’s first-ever draft selection, was picked third overall in the 2018 NBA 2K Draft. “Compete” finished the 2021 NBA 2K regular season owning averages of 7.8 points, with a 61.5 field goal percentage and shooting 55.3 percent from three.

Jazz Gaming utilized the NBA 2K League Draft to fill their final two roster spots for the 2022 season, selecting Kwan “followTHEGOD” Niblack from Bronx, N.Y., with the 28^th overall pick. The team then selected Wesley “Gen” McNair out of Tamarac, Fla., with the 44^th pick.

Prior to joining Jazz Gaming, “followTHEGOD” appeared in 28 games last season for Grizz Gaming, with 2021 season averages of 7.3 points and 1.5 steals a game while shooting 58.8 percent from the floor.

“Gen” comes to Jazz Gaming following his 2021 campaign with Mavs Gaming where he appeared in 22 games and averaged 20.9 points and 3.6 assists a game.

Prior to the start of the 2022 season, NBA 2K League made the decision to switch the league format to a tournament-centric schedule, eliminating the traditional regular season format. The league’s existing marquee 5v5 tournaments – The Banner Chain Powered by AT&T (The Tipoff, The Turn and The Ticket) and the NBA 2k League Playoffs and Finals – will continue as the key components of the league’s standard 5v5 competition. Teams will qualify for the NBA 2K League Playoffs based on their performance in the prior competitions throughout the season.

The competition began March 23 with the amateur qualifying event for the Coinbase NBA2KL 3v3 BLACKTOP SERIES and will culminate with the NBA2KL 3v3 and 5v5 Finals as part of the NBA2KL Championships on Aug. 20 and Aug 27, respectively.

Jazz Gaming will be one of several NBA 2K League teams that will live and train out of Indianapolis during the 2022 season, which is where in-person league games will be held this year. The studio’s innovative design will feature two circular competition stages to allow for simultaneous in-person games that give the broadcast the opportunity to switch between games in real-time to capture the most exciting action.

Below please find the 2022 NBA 2K League competition schedule:

• April 5-8: THE TIPOFF Group Play (Remote)

• April 12-15: THE TIPOFF Group Play (Remote)

• April 20-23: THE TIPOFF Bracket Play (NBA 2K League Studio, Indianapolis)

• April 26-29: SLAM OPEN Group Play (Remote)

• April 27-30: STEAL OPEN Amateur Europe Qualifying Event (Remote)

• May 3-6: SLAM OPEN Group Play (Remote)

• May 4-7: STEAL OPEN Amateur APAC Qualifying Event (Remote)

• May 11-14: SLAM OPEN Bracket Play (NBA 2K League Studio, Indianapolis)

• May 18-21: SWITCH OPEN Amateur North America Qualifying Event (Remote)

• May 25-28: SWITCH OPEN Amateur North America Qualifying Event (Remote)

• May 24-27: THE TURN Group Play (Remote)

• May 31-June 3: THE TURN Group Play (Remote)

• June 8-11: THE TURN Bracket Play (NBA 2K League Studio, Indianapolis)

• June 14-17: SWITCH OPEN Group Play (Remote)

• June 21-24: SWITCH OPEN Group Play (Remote)

• June 29-July 2: SWITCH OPEN Bracket Play (NBA 2K League Studio, Indianapolis)

• July 5-8: 5v5 Seed Weeks (Remote)

• July 12-15: 5v5 Seed Weeks (Remote)

• July 19-22: 3v3 Seed Weeks (Remote)

• July 26-July 29: 3v3 Seed Weeks (Remote)

• Aug. 1-7: League-Wide Bye Week

• Aug. 10-11: STEAL OPEN (NBA 2K League Studio, Indianapolis)

• Aug. 12-13: THE TICKET (NBA 2K League Studio, Indianapolis)

• Aug. 17-20: NBA2KL 3v3 Playoffs and Finals (NBA 2K League Studio, Indianapolis)

• Aug. 24-27: NBA2KL 5v5 Playoffs and Finals (NBA 2K League Studio, Indianapolis)

For more information, visit jazzgaming.gg and follow @UtahJazzGaming on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

— @UtahJazzGaming or jazzgaming.gg —