Shaquille O'Neal Named GM of the Sacramento Kings' NBA 2K League eSports Team
eSports is here to stay
LegendaryNBA center Shaquille O'Neal will be General Manager...of an eSports league.
The Sacramento Kings, a team that Shaq has an ownership stake in, has announced that the hall-of-famer will be the GM of Kings Guard Gaming, the eSports team representing the Kings in the NBA 2K eSports League.
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In a press release, Shaq said:
I'm looking forward to my role with Kings Guard...Just like I dominated the hardwood, music industry, showbiz, nicknames and broadcasting, I plan to help build the most dominant 2K franchise in history."
Kings Guard Gaming is one of 17 teams in the league. The NBA 2K eSports League draft is on Wednesday afternoon, and Kings Guard Gaming is picking in the fourth spot. Will Shaq have a role in who gets picked? We're not sure.
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The Kings are committed to Sports. The Kings Guard Gaming will select a six-man team. That team will move to a training facility in Sacramento, near Golden 1 Center.
At the beginning, there were 72,000 hardcore 2K players who tried out to play in the league. That was quickly narrowed down to 250, then to the final 102 players that will be eligible to get drafted on Wednesday.
\u201cHere are the names of the 102 gamers who will be drafted tomorrow by 17 NBA teams to be on their NBA2K league teams. First rounders get a six-month salary of $35,000. Everyone else gets $32,000. Comes with housing, meals, travel expenses + medical benefits.\u201d— Darren Rovell (@Darren Rovell) 1522787522
The Dallas Mavericks' team, Mavs Gaming, has the number one pick. NBA commissioner Adam Silver will announce the first pick.
The inaugural season of the NBA 2K eSports League will run from May to August.
