Not much fazes Chiquita Evans anymore. As one of few women competing at the highest levels of esports, she’s seen and heard it all before: The messages from haters, teammates scoffing at her abilities, players refusing to pass her the ball. <\/p>
But when her named was called in the NBA 2K<\/em> League draft, Chiquita actually looked taken aback. The crowd exploded in uproarious applause for the first woman to be drafted to the league. Having the support from the audience made the moment that much bigger for Chiquita.<\/p>
“It was surreal,” Chiquita told Dot Esports. “The funny thing is I heard all these people and I look back and the majority of them I didn’t even know. Having a lot of people cheering for [me] made me realize I had more support than I thought I did.”<\/p>
Her smile beamed as she made her way to the stage, but after donning her new Warriors GC hat, she remained composed as she shook 2K<\/em> League managing director Brendan Donohue’s hand and made history. But then in her on-stage interview, the emotion of the moment came bubbling to the surface.<\/p>
“It was definitely an amazing feeling,” Chiquita said. “I was excited to get my name called, I got a little choked up. I told myself that I wasn’t going to cry, I had practiced not crying, and I did anyway.”<\/p>
The emotions that she felt that day were a product of her path into NBA 2K<\/em> and the challenges she overcame in getting drafted to the league. In doing so, she not only broke barriers, but she became an inspiration for millions of women gamers. <\/p>
