The NBA is esports’ greatest ally

Traditionalists will tell you gaming doesn’t qualify as a sport. They’ll tell you it will never catch on like football or baseball has on an international level. Then someone you look up to gets behind the esports movement—then another and another. Soon, the movement goes from a trifle you belittled to something you no longer can dismiss.

These people of influence aren’t who you’d think. They aren’t just your tech billionaires and nerdy entrepreneurs (although some would qualify as such). They are professional basketball players and executives. And they aren’t just putting their word behind it; they’re backing it with their own wallets.