Former NBA star Rick Fox is the proud owner of a new eSports team after reportedly paying $1m to purchase the League of Legends side Team Gravity.
Rick Fox has treated himself to an early Christmas present after spending a million bucks on an eSports franchise.
The former Boston Celtics and LA Lakers star dished out seven figures to acquire the League of Legends (LOL) team Gravity Gaming. The team, formerly called Curse Academy, will be rebranded as team Echo Fox.
Echo Fox will compete in the North American League of Legends Championship Series (LCS). The event, formerly known as the Riot Championship Series after the games creators Riot Games, features two leagues of 20-teams, one from North America and one from Europe. The top three teams from each league compete in the League of Legends World Championships.
In 2014, more than 27 million people watched the finals over the Internet, with 11,000 packed into Madison Square Garden to watch the event live. Only 19.9m watched the 2015 NBA Finals.
Speaking about the growth of eSports Fox said in a statement: “We are on the verge of something massive.”
When it comes to video games, Fox has a history. He co-owns Twin Galaxies, the ‘video game world record’ site, and he donated his three NBA championship rings to the non-profit #Right2Game. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban recently invested in the betting start up Unikrn, and Sacramento Kings owners Andy Miller and Mark Mastrov recently bought LCS team NRG.
Fox retired from the NBA in 2004. Since then he has carved out a pretty successful movie and TV career starring in the Spike Lee film He Got Game, playing prison inmate Jackson Vahue in the HBO show Oz and providing the voices of cartoon characters including the Nickelodeon show Fairly OddParents. In 2010, he finished sixth in Dancing With Stars, working alongside Cheryl Burke.
