The NBA announced today that 17 of its 30 teams will participate in the NBA 2K eLeague's inaugural season, which is set to tip off in 2018.
The eLeague — a joint venture between the NBA and NBA 2K's Take-Two Interactive — is a competitive gaming league designed to pair NBA teams with the best basketball gamers in the world. It's the first official eSports league operated by a U.S. professional sports league.
The participating NBA franchises will each assemble and operate their own eLeague team made up of five professional gamers paid salaries to play the latest version of the popular NBA 2K video game.