In the past couple of years, e-sports has gained a massive following all across the world. Every year, various tournaments and leagues are held for various video games in which millions of dollars in prizes are up for grabs. Some people even hold these types of contests in as high of regard as traditional sporting events, as they garner sponsorships and media coverage.
There are long-established leagues for games such as "Starcraft," "Counter Strike," and "FIFA." Now, the National Basketball Association is teaming up with video game publisher Take-Two Interactive in forming a league for the basketball game that the latter develops. This partnership is one of the biggest of its kind in the entirety of e-sports and is undisputedly the largest in the United States, according to the BBC.
The league, which will begin in 2018, will be known as the NBA 2K ELeague and will borrow from the FIFA e-sports league in England in a sense that teams in the organization will be able to sign on players that will represent them in gaming competitions. Each team will be made up of five players. These players will then take each other on in a season that will span approximately five months and will mirror the real NBA season at that time.
"We believe we have a unique opportunity to develop something truly special for our fans and the young and growing e-sports community," said NBA commissioner Adam Silver in an official statement, as cited by CNET. The NBA is actually pretty serious about their plans, as it has been reported that the players for this league will actually be scouted and sent to training camps in order to improve their skills.
This is not the first time that an NBA affiliate has dabbled in the lucrative world of e-sports. The Philadelphia 76ers were actually the first to do so after acquiring and merging two teams under Team Dignitas in October 2016. The owners of other teams followed suit, as those of the Golden State Warriors, Washington Wizards, Memphis Grizzlies, and Milwaukee Bucks have all recently acquired stakes in highly talented e-sports teams.
Watch how basketball video games have evolved over the years in the video below: