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NBA and Take-Two launch new esports and entertainment company

Jonno Nicholson
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June 17, 2025
San Antonio Spurs NBA player with a basketball hoop and timer in background
Image credit: NBA 2K

The National Basketball League (NBA) and Take-Two Interactive have launched a new entertainment company focused on esports and entertainment.

NBA Take-Two Media aims to connect basketball fans and gamers through esports, ‘social-first content’ and live events.

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According to a release, the launch of NBA Take-Two Media was created to ‘celebrate basketball’s unique role in culture,’ creating stories involving gaming, travel, food and other sectors in collaboration with fans, content creators and athletes.

The launch of the company appears to be a revamp of the NBA 2K League, which was unveiled in July 2024. The initial statement revealed plans to reimagine the league into a global entertainment business featuring a revamped NBA 2K esports ecosystem.

NBA and Take-Two’s new project was announced alongside a multi-year global extension between the sports league, National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) and 2K.

“We are immensely pleased to continue our longstanding, highly successful partnership with the NBA and the NBPA and look forward to building upon the record-setting achievements that we have accomplished together,” said Strauss Zelnick, Chairman and CEO of Take-Two Interactive.

“We are excited to unveil NBA Take-Two Media and look forward to seeing how it will create an entirely new and multi-faceted NBA experience for our communities.”

2025 has already seen an increased focus on the NBA’s esports efforts. In April, 2K joined forces with The Play Company to launch a new tournament service for players looking to compete in weekly and celebrity-hosted tournaments in the United States.

Can NBA 2K Esports Grow?

Since the launch of the league, the NBA’s esports efforts have struggled to capture the attention of fans of virtual and real-life basketball.

According to streaming data platform Sullygnome, the NBA2KLeague Twitch channel recorded peak viewing figures of 26,049 in the past year.

With a revamped esports ecosystem on the horizon, the launch of NBA Take-Two Media has the opportunity to take its esports efforts to new heights.

Jonno Nicholson

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Jonno is a writer for Esports Insider and has been part of the team since 2019. Over the past ten years, he's written for several outlets including Gfinity, GGRecon, and Radio Times. As an avid sim racer, he aims to provide insight on one of the fastest growing sectors in esports.
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