Chiquita Evans becomes first woman to play in NBA 2K League

Chiquita “chiquitae126” Evans has become the first woman ever to be drafted into the NBA 2K League.

Evans was drafted by the Warriors Gaming Squad with the second pick of the fourth and final round of the draft. Warriors Gaming Squad operates under the umbrella of the Golden Star Warriors NBA team and the same ownership group behind the Golden Guardians LCS franchise.

It hasn’t been an easy road for Evans. In a profile video released by the NBA 2K League, she detailed her experience at the league’s inaugural combine. It was there that a teammate refused to pass the ball to her after hearing her speak over voice chat and confirming she was female.

Evans withdrew from that first combine after the experience. She also experienced harassment during qualifiers for the second season, and detailed to ESPN publication The Undefeated that there were multiple times when men she was played with would later find her Twitch stream and insult her in her chat room.

The 2K League has had its issues with harassment, but has acted quickly in the past, even when it comes to dealing with the league’s best and brightest players. The league dismissed top scorer Austin “Boo Painter” Painter during the inaugural season of competition for an undisclosed violation of the league’s code of conduct.

Several players were removed from the latest draft process by managing director Brendan Donohue for toxic behavior, and the league has spoken to taking steps to help rookies adjust to their new lives as pro gamers in the league, as well as placing a new emphasis on diversity.

Chiquita Evans is a former college basketball player, a small forward at the historically black college Kentucky State University. She plays small forward in NBA 2K as well. The Warriors Gaming Squad placed 16th out of 32 teams in the first season of the 2K league.

Evans was one of only two women in the 2K League draft, and is now the only woman out of the 126 total pro players in the NBA2K League.