Silver said the NBA will give the 2K league a long runway, just as it has the G League and the WNBANBAE/GETTY IMAGES
The NBA sought to imbue its new video game league with the full brand awareness and reputation of the real-life sport at the inaugural NBA 2K League Draft. Commissioner Adam Silver was a prominent presence yesterday in the Hulu Theater at MSG, posing for a photo with all 102 players available to be drafted shortly before picking started. He also announced first overall choice -- Artreyo “Dimez” Boyd is headed to Mavs Gaming -- before turning the stage over to 2K League Managing Dir Brendan Donohue. Silver said he considers the 2K league an extension of the brand in the same way as the WNBA and the G League. “Now this is the fourth league in our family, and that’s exactly how we’re treating it,” he said. He also weighed in conclusively on the much-debated question of whether gamers should be considered “athletes.” Silver: “I see them as athletes because I think it requires a unique combination of physical and mental skills to excel." Adding to the authentic feel of the draft: Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban called Boyd moments before the pick was announced, and ESPN reporter Adrian Wojnarowski broke the news a few minutes before it was official.
LONG-TERM PLAY: The 17 participating NBA franchises in the 2K League assembled their teams amid big questions over the viability of the game as an esport. Publisher Take Two Interactive has sold more than 68 million copies to casual gamers worldwide, but viewership for competitive 2K on Twitch and other streaming sites is just a fraction of the fanbase developed by major esports like League of Legends and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. About 15,000 people were watching on Twitch when the draft started. Silver said the NBA is prepared to give the 2K league a long runway, just as it has the G League and the WNBA. “We view this in the same way as those other leagues as something that we're going to develop over a very long time, and we're building this as a league that's going to be around forever,” Silver said. Donohue noted viewership will be the primary metric evaluated in the short term. The NBA is in close talks with Twitch for a distribution deal, Silver said, confirming that Twitch has the inside track for the 2K rights, though sources have said Facebook was considered.
CREATING THE STARS: The league has the team and league brand behind it, but not the stars who actually play the sport. The draft marked the first effort to make the world’s best virtual basketball players stars in their own right. “What we're hoping to do here with an entirely new set of athletes, these 102 gamers who are going to be drafted today … is use the same model we have with the NBA and WNBA and increasingly in the G League, develop them as unique personalities with their own following,” Silver said. Albano Thomallari, the second overall pick by Celtics Crossover Gaming, was asked if he is ready for the demands of stardom. “Yeah, I'm ready. It'll just take some getting used to, but I'm ready and ready for the spotlight,” he said.
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