Few organizations have done more to bridge the gap between traditional sports and Esports, though, than NRG Esports. The company was co-founded by Sacramento Kings minority owners Andy Miller and Mark Mastrov, and has since attracted investments from the likes of Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal, former Major League Baseball stars Alex Rodriguez, Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins, and current Milwaukee Bucks point guard Eric Bledsoe.

Andy and Mark first dipped their toes into Esports in 2015, after watching their kids playing video games together.

“We're, like, ‘We should get into this,’” Andy says.

From there, Andy and Mark—a serial entrepreneur and the founder of 24 Hour Fitness, respectively—bought a team in League of Legends and “made every mistake you could make and realized how unbelievably competitive it was,” Andy says.

Through those ups and downs, Andy got a glimpse of what Esports could be on a bigger scale. He saw how fans filled seats at live events and exchanged gamer tags while waiting in line for concessions.

“They're playing together and this whole community really evolves,” he says.

Now, NRG Esports is one of the biggest players in the market. The Los Angeles-based organization boasts rosters in the Overwatch League, Apex Legends, Fortnite, Hearthstone, Rocket League, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and, of course, COD with the Huntsmen. The support from traditional pro athletes has certainly helped that expansion, but as Andy sees it, their ability to identify with today’s Esports athletes is what brought the likes of Shaq and A-Rod into the fold in the first place.

“They were 17, 18, 19, and they were a phenom,” Andy explains, “and they know what it is to be on the big stage and have all this pressure, and they see this isn't much different.”

Like their counterparts in traditional sports, Esports athletes like those under NRG’s umbrella train every day, honing their crafts while assessing their performance through video reviews. And as with more traditional athletes, Esports stars—like Scump and FormaL of the Huntsmen—work so diligently not only to improve their own abilities and build on their own successes, but also to fend off the rising tide of gamers who aspire to turn pro.

“There's lots of kids who are gonna take their place, right?” Andy says. “And you don't have to be 6'8”, 300 pounds to be able to play the game. So if you want to be the best, it's a real commitment.”

Ben wound up with all the physical attributes to be an NBA All-Star, but might’ve been just as dominant in COD had he taken that route. As a 13-year-old in Melbourne, Australia, he tried out for OpTic Gaming’s squad, but ultimately didn’t make the cut. Six years later, after the Sixers made him the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NBA draft, Ben sent a message to Hector, then the CEO of OpTic Gaming, to remind him of that denial.

“Alright, well, I kind of did you a favor,” Hector recalls responding to Ben. “You owe me 10 percent of what you just got [in the NBA].”