The NBA announced senior executive Brendan Donohue as the Managing Director for the new NBA 2K esports league, which will debut in 2018. He will oversee the league’s overall strategy and operations.
Donohue has been at the NBA office for eight years, most recently as the Senior Vice President of Team Marketing and Business Operations (TMBO). Prior to that, he spent roughly 13 years with four NBA franchises and now, he’ll direct 100 percent of his time toward the new esports league.
When asked about his lack of his esports experience for the leadership position, Donohue said, “I have a lot of interest in the space, but I’m smart enough to know what I don’t know.”
“I’m certainly going to surround myself with people who do have that type of (esports) experience as we build this out. What I would say, my background is much more in the sales and marketing, from both the team and the league side.”
Donohue cited his relationships at the team and league level that he has established over the past 20 years as a key differentiator.
Added NBA Commissioner Adam Silver in a statement: “We’re thrilled that we already have in place a seasoned sports executive to lead this new league. The fact that Brendan knows the NBA inside and out is a huge bonus and will enable us to ramp up this venture in record time.”
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Despite the new league being the first of its kind operated by a U.S. professional sports league (in partnership with 2K), Donohue remarked that he doesn’t feel any pressure because the eyes of the sports and gaming worlds are on him, the NBA and 2K. Rather, he said he would “replace the word pressure with opportunity,” saying that the esports league is a “significant opportunity.”
“The esports space aligns extremely well with our business,” Donohue added. “We look at our audience as one that is very tech-savvy, digital savvy, it’s global and aligns extremely well with esports.
“It’s not like we’re starting from ground zero. 2K has a very popular game. It’s the most successful sports title in North America. Most importantly, it’s the highest rated in terms of actual play. We think it’s a winning combination.”
Donohue said his supporting esports cast at the league office isn’t built out yet, but added that “it shouldn’t be very difficult to fill out the staff” given the possible internal employees at the NBA, the wide interest in esports and the awareness for the league itself. Details on the size of the teams are still being determined along with if a search will be conducted internally or if the league will tap a firm to assist in the hiring process.
According to Donohue, teams for the first season of the league — which originally was called the NBA 2K eLeague but has since been modified for now to NBA 2K esports league as the NBA and member teams revisit branding/names — will be announced in a few weeks.
He said “more than half of the teams” in the NBA are expected to participate in the league’s inaugural season next year. That number was originally eight to 12 teams, according to a report from the Associated Press around the time of the announcement in February.
In the past few months, a number of organizations such as the Sacramento Kings, Dallas Mavericks and Toronto Raptors have publicly expressed interest in being part of the new league in its infancy. On Monday, ESPN also reported that the Washington Wizards would be one of the franchises to participate in the new league.