The National Basketball Players Association has announced a partnership with gaming startup ReadyUp that’s intended to increase fan engagement for NBA players who moonlight as video game streamers. The deal was orchestrated by Think450, which acts as the licensing arm of the NBPA.
ReadyUp’s website will launch an esports smart calendar that syncs with planned livestreaming gaming events hosted by NBA players. Fans can either join in on the gaming tournaments to compete alongside the players, or watch the streams via a direct link to the events from ReadyUp’s calendar.
“Eighty-five percent of NBA players play video games,” said Michele Roberts, Executive Director of the NBPA, in a press release. “The NBPA and THINK450 partnership with ReadyUp gives our players an exciting new way to connect with their fans, based on their shared passion for video games and esports while creating new content and distribution channels for our business partners.”
Users can customize their personal calendars based on their preferred gaming titles, favorite players, or specific esports teams. The calendar allows for users to share gaming events across social media. A recommendation system inside ReadyUp can also be used to pair players and fans together based on an individual’s gaming skill and playing style. In 2019, ReadyUp also plans to launch a marketplace that will give players the opportunity to create content, offer video game training, and provide additional fan experiences.
“Our smart calendar is not only a complementary product to the partnership,”said Roderick Alemania, CEO of ReadyUp, in the press release, “it’s an opportunity to solve a major market need—the issue of fragmentation—by giving the gaming and esports community an easy way to find events across the entire industry, stay engaged with everything they want to watch, and never miss their favorite players and teams.”
SportTechie Takeaway
Former NBA player Jared Jeffries, who currently serves as president of esports organization Echo Fox, detailed the crossover between NBA players and esports to SportTechie in January. “Guys (in the NBA) have always been into gaming because it was a bond we all had,” Jeffries said. “We would play on the plane. It was something you did on the road, just get together in the same room and play.”
While 21 current NBA teams participate in the NBA 2K League, ReadyUp’s deal with the NBPA is a signal that players might want to be directly involved in monetizing their own esports followings. ReadyUp’s platform will also allow for NBA players to showcase their skills in non-basketball video games that figure to be a huge draw for NBA players turned video game streamers. In June, Kenneth Faried came second at the Fortnite Pro Am.