NRG Investor Shaquille O’Neal Explains Why He Decided To Get Into Esports
As a dynamite on the court, Shaquille O'Neal has made explosions outside of Basketball, often using his name and marketing prowess to help invest in multiple different industries, including esports.
The colossal superstar ventured into esports back in 2016, when he became a Co-owner of NRG, and appearing in promotional campaigns for the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive ELeague events
However, it was League of Legends that first enticed Shaq to invest in esports, after his children took O'Neal to the Season 3 World Championships in Los Angeles.
Now, Shaq has played a pivotal part in advancing the esports ecosystem, playing a large role in partnership deals for NRG, specifically their most recent business venture which saw them collaborate with The General Insurance to rename their Rocket League roster to The General NRG.
Speaking to the Washington Post, Shaq revealed it was his kids' input and excitement about the LoL World Championships that caused him to invest in esports.
Shaquille O'Neal Reveals League of Legends Season 3 Made Him Invest In Esports
Reflecting on his first venture into esports, Shaq revealed that "I was in California, I was spending time with the kids, and they said, “Dad, there’s an event at the Staples Center. We want you to take us.
"So you know, I know people at the Staples Center. I call over there. I said, “Hey, you guys got an event going down." They said, "Yeah there’s this new thing called esports, blah blah blah, come, because I’ve never heard of it.
"So then, when I get there, it feels like a basketball game. It’s 30,000 little kids screaming. And then watching these two kids play on screen, I asked myself, like, what is this? And [my kids] said 'this is the future, Dad. Esports"."
The 30,000 fans were gathered in the Staples Centre to watch SK Telecom T1 win the Season 3 LoL World Championships and a $1,000,000 prize. The championship was the first of three won by "the unkillable demon", Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok.
He continued: "I looked into it. And then when I got the opportunity to invest in an esports team, I thought it was the right thing to do. Because you know, especially when it comes to technology, kids dictate what’s going to be and what’s not going to be.
"When I saw it was 30,000 kids involved with this esports thing, I just knew I had to get involved."
Shaq's involvement in NRG has also seen other superstars and athletes get involved in esports too, such as Drake, who is a co-owner of 100 Thieves.
