Chiquita Evans is the very first woman to be chosen for the NBA 2K esports league and has set the stage for more women to join.
The upcoming NBA 2K star was originally set to be a star in basketball for women. She found success in esports instead.
Although we tend to consider esports to be League of Legends and Counter-Strike, there’s actually quite a amount of esports leagues which are actually analogs of traditional sports. Both NFL as well as the NBA have their own esports leagues based on their respective sports, however the NBA’s league is much closer to the real-world league.
In February of 2017The NBA 2K League was created by 2K Games and the National Basketball Association. Just about to reach the final phase of its second season, the league boasts 21 teams, each connected to a real-life NBA team. Similar to real basketballthe teams have five players who play one of 5 positions on a digital court.
Like many gaming teams, are mostly male. The league was created in 2017and all players selected was a male. One woman was selected to the Golden State Warriors Gaming Squad in 2018. Chiquita Evans, also referred to as “chiquitae126″was that woman.
Chiquita started her basketball career in real life, something that the majority of other players in the league don’t have. Chiquita was a high school basketball player in Louisville, Kentucky, and was on track to turn pro at Kentucky State University. After suffering an injury to her kneeand a career in basketball ended prior to the time it began.
To not give up, she decided to refocus her efforts in a different direction. She now gets up early to practice on a virtual court. Her determination and commitment ultimately earned her a following on Twitch, as well as an invitation to the second-ever NBA 2K League Draft.
Evans plays in the sixth position in the Warriors Gaming Squad. It is an alternative position for the main team in case of sickness. Since gaming is a lot less strenuous than real-life basketballwhich means Evans is rarely able to participate in an actual game. But the contributions she makes when she does be a part of a game are immense and her supporters constantly cheering for her. Her backup role is not an expense financially, since she’s paid in the same way as the players who play the main role.
Chiquita has other avenues to show her talent. Evans was the first athlete to debut at a New York showcase game with 33 points.
It required a lot of the courage to get to where she is today. There is still plenty of sexism in gaming that Evans must overcome for her to get to the place she is now, and still far more before the NBA 2K League is even near to attaining gender equality. However, Evans is a good start.