Hawks Talon GC selected shooting guard MarkDavid “Glizzy” Smith with the first overall pick in the 2023 NBA 2K League draft Thursday night in New York.
Hawks Talon won the No. 1 pick in the 2K League’s draft lottery last October.
“I’m ready to change the franchise,” Glizzy said on the event’s livestream.
“We feel like we got the best player for us — an elite scorer that will immediately complement (Hawks Talon player Caesar “CEEZ” Hernandez) and create an elite backcourt for the future,” Hawks Talon director of esports Wesley Acuff said in a statement. “After months of buildup leading up to the pick, it felt incredible to finally secure our guy and we can’t wait to get to work.”
Glizzy, an 18-year-old native of Chicago, was one of a record 101,000 players of the “NBA 2K” video game franchise to try out for the league’s amateur draft this year, according to the league.
NetsGC selected point guard Tariq “Greens” Reed, a Brooklyn native, with the second overall pick.
Lakers Gaming took point guard Ryan “Spam” Harris with the third pick. Spam is a freshman business analytics major at Old Dominion in Virginia and is considered the most decorated amateur of the class.
“They need some firepower,” Spam said of the Lakers. “They need some extra firepower. I’m here to bring it.”
Point guard Claude “Claude” Knight went fourth overall to Blazers Gaming. Rounding out the top five, Pacers Gaming used its first of three first-round picks to take Dylan “Greenlight” Sanderson, yet another point guard and a Murfreesboro, Tenn., native who said he only wanted to be taken by the Pacers or Grizz Gaming in order to remain close to home.
The 2K League draft was set to have 47 selections spread over three rounds Thursday night. The league’s newest entry, an Australia-based team called NBL OZ Gaming, has one pick early in the second round (No. 24 overall) and one spot left to fill on its expansion roster.
–Field Level Media
