‘Esports has lessons for the entire industry’: NBA 2K League’s Brendan Donohue talks expansion

If the only way is up for esports, then the NBA 2K League seems to be doing all it can to cement itself near the top of competitive gaming.

Last year was a busy one for the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) professional esports operation. Fresh sponsorship deals, expansion into China and the new competitions announced throughout 2019 showed that the league was eager to take the NBA 2K esports brand to the next level ahead of its third season.

The steady stream of news was topped off in December with its first-ever qualifying event in Europe, inviting players from across the continent to compete for a spot in the 2020 NBA 2K League Draft.

“We view the NBA 2K League as a global league and this is part of our broader plan. We’ve been planting seeds globally for several years now,” explains Brendan Donohue speaking to SportsPro at the Gfinity Arena in London, where the European Invitational took place last month.

“We’ve had three European players in our league since season one and we’ve been trying to cater to fans. Last season, for example, we had a primetime Europe game of the night on Twitch and YouTube which was a rebroadcast of our best game of the night before.”

The league’s first European event was held at London’s Gfinity Arena

Catering content for the European market is part of the broader plan for the league. It had already brought its draft tryout event to Hong Kong before season two, paving the way for further inroads into different territories.

“We love the format and thought it was a great opportunity to bring it to Europe,” Donohue continues. “The league is extremely popular here and we were really excited to find 20 players from seven different countries across Europe which will help us bring more European players into the league.”

At the centre of the NBA 2K League’s expansion efforts are the franchises. The US continues to be regarded by most as the competition’s golden goose, but Europe and also the Asia-Pacific region are in its sights. The first telling move was gaming organisation Gen.G launching its own team from Shanghai in September, the 22-strong league’s first entrant from outside of North America. 

“We believe we’ll have all 30 NBA teams in the league at some point,” says Donohue. “What we’re most focused on when we think about franchises is who are the types of partners that can actually add value to the league and help us scale the league.

“Gen.G are the tip of the spear in terms of player development and player identification, so part of what they’re offering this season is they’re helping us to identify Chinese and other Asian talent to play in the league.”

While the push into China is not a surprise, the NBA 2K League’s enduring appeal will be tested when it goes up against traditional esports titles with gargantuan fanbases. This year’s League of Legends World Championship will be staged at the 56,000-seater Shanghai Stadium, while four teams – Chengdu Hunters, Guangzhou Charge, Hangzhou Spark and Shanghai Dragons – compete in Riot Games’ global Overwatch League.

Rival competition is not the only possible headache for the 2K League in China. The impact of the NBA’s ongoing fallout with the Far East powerhouse over a Hong Kong pro-freedom tweet posted by Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey back in October has yet to be felt in the league’s esports arm, but the association has the potential to be damaging. Morey’s social media slip-up saw Chinese state broadcaster CCTV pull games and Chinese partners suspended dealings with the league and the Rockets. Commissioner Adam Silver later revealed the NBA had suffered “substantial losses” as a consequence.

While the NBA struggles to rebuild relations with its largest international market, the 2K League appears to have dodged the worst of it so far, with the Gen.G deal still standing. Donohue also seems enthused by the competition in the country and beyond. If anything, it reinforces esports as a viable proposition for potential consumers.

“We’re always looking to learn from other leagues certainly but I would say the esports landscape right now is growing so fast that it’s not a zero sum game. It’s not like we’re trying to get fans from Overwatch to come watch the NBA 2K League as if they’re making a choice.

“There are so many people that are coming into esports as fans so there is plenty of success for all of us to have. In some respects, with the likes of Overwatch, League of Legends and NBA 2K doing well, I actually think there’s a rising tides raise all boats effect more so than us competing with each other.”

We can offer a level of engagement that younger fans demand as part of their content consumption

If the NBA 2K League is riding the crest of a wave, the going will have got even better with more sponsors coming on board. Household brands have felt far more at ease lately with virtual in-game signage being the real deal. Perhaps best exemplified in sports simulations was Pizza Hut’s agreement with EA Sports for naming rights deal for the Madden NFL 20 Championship Series’ virtual stadium.

“More leagues are having success and showing returns for their existing sponsors,” notes Donohue (pictured above). “Instead of just selling the peripherals or PCs as partners, you’re now getting for us, for example, Champion, Anheuser-Busch and Snickers on board. The non-endemic brands are much more comfortable with esports than they might have been say three years ago.”

As highlighted by the Pizza Hut-Madden deal, a crucial part of esports rights holder’s appeal to partners is the possibility for an expanded sponsorship inventory. It is something NBA 2K is eager to utilise.

“In terms of creating new inventory, this event in itself is an example of that,” says Donohue as he inspects the Gfinity Arena.

“There are brands interested in being part of our draft or our tryouts. Last year, we created non-game content by taking draft hopefuls and doing five to ten minute profiles on each of them, and it was very successful. This season, we’re selling that to a partner.

“For us, it’s not that difficult to create inventory.”

That relationship is a two-way thing. Major non-endemic sponsors may get brand recognition but they also bring the likes of the NBA 2K League credibility.

However, question marks remain over exactly where esports fits in the industry, and even if it should at all. Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks and its 2K League Mavs Gaming team, pulled no punches when he described owning an esports team in the US as “awful business”, citing poor viewership and the lack of stability in the meta for games. The 61-year-old did point to Asia, specifically China, as a good market for esports investment but he is not the only influential sports business leader harbouring an air of scepticism around competitive gaming, unfounded or not.

The NBA 2K League wants to expand its player pool and have new franchises in place across the globe

If certain corners do see esports as an upstart determined to dismantle the status quo, that is not something Donohue is quick to deny.

“There are things esports can teach the entire sports industry,” he declares, pointing to fan engagement. “You watch our broadcasts and the Twitch chat is so active and fans are engaging with each other. It’s 100 per cent part of the experience.

“Last season, to take that to the next level, we created an extension on top of our broadcast for fans to weigh in on who they thought the highest points scorer was going to be. It created a leaderboard for fans to engage deeper with the game.

“We have a colour commentator and a play by play announcer, similar to traditional sports, but we also added a third talent member just to bridge the gap between the Twitch chat and the broadcast, and bring those two together. It creates a level of engagement that is totally new and cool for fans.

“It also means we can offer a level of engagement that younger fans demand as part of their content consumption. They’re used to it, whether they’re on TikTok or other social platforms.”

Should the NBA 2K League make good on its aim to grow the number of franchises actively competing in the coming years, where does it go from there? Will the esports landscape have shifted again? With the esports industry topping US$1 billion in revenue for the first time last year according to market research firm Newzoo, that number is predicted to leap as high as US$3.2 billion by 2022.  

Donohue jokes that he is “not Nostradamus” when it comes to predicting esports’ commercial viability but says he expects the industry to become more ingrained into popular culture, perhaps closer to those watercooler moments people have when discussing the weekend’s sports results.

“The financial numbers around esports seem to be growing every month, but I think you’re going to see esports become more mainstream,” he says.

“When we started the league in 2018, we’d have to define what the competition was and what we were doing. I think three to five years from now people will know exactly what it is. It’s going to become normal.”

There are probably fewer effective ways of legitimising any sport and maximising its reach than by featuring it in the Olympic Games. Initially seen as a pipedream, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) may not have recently ripped up the rulebook for esports inclusion, but it is amending it.

In December, the Olympics body agreed to ‘incorporate and cooperate’ with gaming titles that simulate ‘real-life’ sports, while its TOP partner Intel is helping it to understand the true potential of competitive gaming at the Games.

“No one knows better than the NBA the impact the Olympics can have on your sport,” points out Donohue. “You’re now seeing this great fusion of international players in that competition, which goes back to the exposure the 1992 Dream Team gave the sport. There’s definitely potential there.”

Delivering the next breakout Olympic star akin to Usain Bolt may be out of the NBA 2K League’s reach, for now at least. But with the continued weight of the NBA behind it as the esports juggernaut gathers momentum, it will get increasingly harder to ignore. 

If the only way is up for esports, then the NBA 2K League seems to be doing all it can to cement itself near the top of competitive gaming.

Last year was a busy one for the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) professional esports operation. Fresh sponsorship deals, expansion into China and the new competitions announced throughout 2019 showed that the league was eager to take the NBA 2K esports brand to the next level ahead of its third season.

The steady stream of news was topped off in December with its first-ever qualifying event in Europe, inviting players from across the continent to compete for a spot in the 2020 NBA 2K League Draft.

“We view the NBA 2K League as a global league and this is part of our broader plan. We’ve been planting seeds globally for several years now,” explains Brendan Donohue, speaking to SportsPro at the Gfinity Arena in London, where the European Invitational took place last month.

“We’ve had three European players in our league since season one and we’ve been trying to cater to fans. Last season, for example, we had a primetime Europe game of the night on Twitch and YouTube which was a rebroadcast of our best game of the night before.”

Catering content for the European market is part of the broader plan for the league. It had already brought its draft tryout event to Hong Kong before season two, paving the way for further inroads into different territories.

“We love the format and thought it was a great opportunity to bring it to Europe,” Donohue continues. “The league is extremely popular here and we were really excited to find 20 players from seven different countries across Europe which will help us bring more European players into the league.”

At the centre of the NBA 2K League’s expansion efforts are the franchises. The US continues to be regarded by most as the competition’s golden goose, but Europe and also the Asia-Pacific region are in its sights. The first telling move was gaming organisation Gen.G launching its own team from Shanghai in September, the 22-strong league’s first entrant from outside of North America. 

“We believe we’ll have all 30 NBA teams in the league at some point,” says Donohue. “What we’re most focused on when we think about franchises is who are the types of partners that can actually add value to the league and help us scale the league.

“Gen.G are the tip of the spear in terms of player development and player identification, so part of what they’re offering this season is they’re helping us to identify Chinese and other Asian talent to play in the league.”

While the push into China is not a surprise, the NBA 2K League’s enduring appeal will be tested when it goes up against traditional esport titles with gargantuan fanbases. This year’s League of Legends World Championship will be staged at the 56,000-seater Shanghai Stadium, while four teams – Chengdu Hunters, Guangzhou Charge, Hangzhou Spark and Shanghai Dragons – compete in Riot Games’ global Overwatch League.

Rival competition is not the only possible headache for the 2K League in China. The impact of the NBA’s ongoing fallout with the Far East powerhouse over a Hong Kong pro-freedom tweet posted by Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey back in October has yet to be felt in the league’s esports arm, but the association has the potential to be damaging. Morey’s social media slip-up saw Chinese state broadcaster CCTV pull games and Chinese partners suspended dealings with the league and the Rockets. Commissioner Adam Silver later revealed the NBA had suffered “substantial losses” as a consequence.

While the NBA struggles to rebuild relations with its largest international market, the 2K League appears to have dodged the worst of it so far, with the Gen.G deal still standing. Donohue also seems enthused by the competition in the country and beyond. If anything, it reinforces esports as a viable proposition for potential consumers.

“We’re always looking to learn from other leagues certainly but I would say the esports landscape right now is growing so fast that it’s not a zero sum game. It’s not like we’re trying to get fans from Overwatch to come watch the NBA 2K League as if they’re making a choice.

“There are so many people that are coming into esports as fans so there is plenty of success for all of us to have. In some respects, with the likes of Overwatch, League of Legends and NBA 2K doing well, I actually think there’s a rising tides raise all boats effect more so than us competing with each other.”

If the NBA 2K League is riding the crest of a wave, the going will have got even better with more sponsors coming on board. Household brands have felt far more at ease lately with virtual in-game signage being the real deal. Perhaps best exemplified in sports simulations was Pizza Hut’s agreement with EA Sports for naming rights deal for the Madden NFL 20 Championship Series’ virtual stadium.

“More leagues are having success and showing returns for their existing sponsors,” notes Donohue. “Instead of just selling the peripherals or PCs as partners, you’re now getting for us, for example, Champion, Anheuser-Busch and Snickers on board. The non-endemic brands are much more comfortable with esports than they might have been say three years ago.”

As highlighted by the Pizza Hut-Madden deal, a crucial part of esports rights holder’s appeal to partners is the possibility for an expanded sponsorship inventory. It is something NBA 2K is eager to utilise.

“In terms of creating new inventory, this event in itself is an example of that,” says Donohue as he inspects the Gfinity Arena.

“There are brands interested in being part of our draft or our tryouts. Last year, we created non-game content by taking draft hopefuls and doing five to ten minute profiles on each of them, and it was very successful. This season, we’re selling that to a partner.

“For us, it’s not that difficult to create inventory.”

That relationship is a two-way thing. Major non-endemic sponsors may get brand recognition but they also bring the likes of the NBA 2K League credibility.

However, question marks remain over exactly where esports fits in the industry, and even if it should at all. Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks and its 2K League Mavs Gaming team, pulled no punches when he described owning an esports team in the US as “awful business”, citing poor viewership and the lack of stability in the meta for games. The 61-year-old did point to Asia, specifically China, as a good market for esports investment but he is not the only influential sports business leader harbouring an air of scepticism around competitive gaming, unfounded or not.

If certain corners do see esports as an upstart determined to dismantle the status quo, that is not something Donohue is quick to deny.

“There are things esports can teach the entire sports industry,” he declares, pointing to fan engagement. “You watch our broadcasts and the Twitch chat is so active and fans are engaging with each other. It’s 100 per cent part of the experience.

“Last season, to take that to the next level, we created an extension on top of our broadcast for fans to weigh in on who they thought the highest points scorer was going to be. It created a leaderboard for fans to engage deeper with the game.

“We have a colour commentator and a play by play announcer, similar to traditional sports, but we also added a third talent member just to bridge the gap between the Twitch chat and the broadcast, and bring those two together. It creates a level of engagement that is totally new and cool for fans.

“It also means we can offer a level of engagement that younger fans demand as part of their content consumption. They’re used to it, whether they’re on TikTok or other social platforms.”

Should the NBA 2K League make good on its aim to grow the number of franchises actively competing in the coming years, where does it go from there? Will the esports landscape have shifted again? With the esports industry topping US$1 billion in revenue for the first time last year according to market research firm Newzoo, that number is predicted to leap as high as US$3.2 billion by 2022.  

Donohue jokes that he is “not Nostradamus” when it comes to predicting esports’ commercial viability but says he expects the industry to become more ingrained into popular culture, perhaps closer to those water cooler moments people have when discussing the weekend’s sports results.

“The financial numbers around esports seem to be growing every month, but I think you’re going to see esports become more mainstream,” he says.

“When we started the league in 2018, we’d have to define what the competition was and what we were doing. I think three to five years from now people will know exactly what it is. It’s going to become normal.”

There are probably fewer effective ways of legitimising any sport and maximising its reach than by featuring it in the Olympic Games. Initially seen as a pipedream, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) may not have recently ripped up the rulebook for esports inclusion, but it is amending it.

In December, the Olympics body agreed to ‘incorporate and cooperate’ with gaming titles that simulate ‘real-life’ sports, while its TOP partner Intel is helping it to understand the true potential of competitive gaming at the Games.

“No one knows better than the NBA the impact the Olympics can have on your sport,” points out Donohue. “You’re now seeing this great fusion of international players in that competition, which goes back to the exposure the 1992 Dream Team gave the sport. There’s definitely potential there.”

Delivering the next breakout Olympic star akin to Usain Bolt may be out of the NBA 2K League’s reach, for now at least. But with the continued weight of the NBA behind it as the esports juggernaut gathers momentum, it will get increasingly harder to ignore. 

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