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).
The NBA is continuing its push into the sports betting market. The league announced on Cheddar Friday that it inked a deal with UK-based bet365, bringing its total partnerships with sports betting operators to five.
Newsweek's and friend of the show, Steven Asarch joined us to discuss his early thoughts on the upcoming action role-playing video game, The Outer Worlds.
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A partnership with food distributor KZ Provisioning, the Mayo Clinic, and celebrity chefs have helped the team figure out what exactly each individual player needs to hit max performance on the court.
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Newly-named Papa John's CEO Rob Lynch says the company won't be moving forward with meatless alternatives. His appointment in August to the top job at the pizza chain was cheered by investors, who cite his experience turning around sandwich chain Arby's.
