The Miami Heat has made the NBA playoffs in 20 of the last 23 years by building a winning culture. The team's chief marketing officer Michael McCullough said the Heat plans to bring that same championship mentality to eSports.
The NBA is making a bet on eSports, a multiplayer video-game tournament in which players are sponsored by actual teams, in the hope the league can recruit new fans.
Earlier this month, the NBA 2K league held its first-ever draft at Madison Square Garden. Seventeen NBA teams, including the Miami Heat, selected the top video-game ballers to compete in a basketball video-game championship.
McCullough said the Heat acquired a stake in the eSports organization Misfits to "bridge the gap between the 2K fan and the traditional Heat fan."
The NBA 2K league tips off May 1, in the middle of the actual NBA playoffs.
The Heat is tied 1-1 in an Eastern Conference first-round series with the Philadelphia 76ers. McCullough said the key to winning championships is believing in the idea that 15 players win championships, not 1 or 2.
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/when-esports-and-real-sports-collide).
Tips for throwing a next-level U.S. Open party.
Tennis fans head to the U.S. Open for the competition, but these days they gladly stay for the food.
NASCAR driver Ryan Preece, whose car rolled about a dozen times during a terrifying crash at Daytona International Speedway, was on his way home about 12 hours later after being discharged from a hospital Sunday.
Biles will next compete at the world championships in Belgium this fall, where she will look to add to her record total of 25 medals at the meet.
The president of the Spanish Soccer Federation is refusing to resign after he kissed a player after the team's World Cup win.
Pro wrestler Bray Wyatt passed away at the age of 36.
After decades in the ring, a Connecticut man is celebrating after obtaining his first boxing title, thanks to his wife who had a personal battle of her own and guided him.
The president of the Spanish soccer federation refused to resign Friday despite an uproar for kissing a player on the lips without her consent after the Women’s World Cup final.
The 41-year-old says she has given birth to a baby girl almost exactly a year after her last match as a tennis star.
Wander Franco was placed on administrative leave indefinitely by Major League Baseball on Tuesday while authorities in the Dominican Republic investigate the All-Star shortstop for an alleged relationship with a minor.
