Según ESPN, los Phildelphia 76ers de la NBA han llegado a un acuerdo para comprar los equipos Apex Gaming y Team Dignitas. Aunque Shaquille O'Neal o Rick Fox ya habían invertido en equipos, esta es la primera gran organización americana que se aventura en los esports tras varias adquisiciones de equipos europeos como Valencia, Baskonia, Schalke 04, Beşiktaş y Manchester City.
Lo más importante del acuerdo es la plaza de la LCS de Apex, pero los 76ers se llevan también equipos punteros en CS:GO, Overwatch, Heroes of the Storm y Smite.
The Philadelphia 76ers will become the first North American professional sports team to own an esports team.
The team will announce Monday that it has acquired long-time franchise Dignitas and upstart Apex, which offers a guaranteed spot in the highly coveted League of Legends Championship Series, and operate under the Dignitas name.
Terms were not disclosed, but more established esports team brands have been offered in the marketplace at valuations between $5 million and $15 million. WME-IMG represented Dignitas in the transaction. The acquisitions come about a year after a presentation on the growth of esports was made at the NBA Board of Governors meeting.