Another traditional sports team is testing the waters of the virtual world. First it was Besiktas in League of Legends, then Wolfsburg in FIFA. Now Spanish basketball club Saski Baskonia is establishing five different esports teams under its banner.
Saski Baskonia and Atlantis Esports have joined together to form Baskonia-Atlantis with teams competing in League of Legends, Dota 2, Hearthstone, FIFA and—fittingly—NBA2K15. In all, 15 athletes will be part of the new rosters.
Baskonia compete in the Liga ACB, Spain’s top basketball league, and have attracted crowds of up to 15,000 at home games. The team, competing against legendary Spanish sporting institutions like Real Madrid and Barcelona, won the league in 2001, 2007 and 2009 and haven’t finished outside of the top six since 1995.
In its statement announcing the move, Baskonia-Atlantis stressed that esports was attracting “audiences that top the NBA,” and that the team has already secured additional sponsorships since joining together.
