While Mobile Legends and basketball may seem like worlds apart, MOONTON saw similarities between both that prompted MPL ID to collaborate with the NBA.
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) esports continued to expand its influence beyond the esports space with the recent landmark collaboration between the MLBB Professional League (MPL) Indonesia and the National Basketball Association (NBA), the world's premier professional basketball league.
The collaboration saw the NBA take over MPL ID on Week 5 of its 15th season, with NBA-themed decorations spread around the venue and things basketball fans would typically see in an NBA game like theme songs and buzzers also being integrated into the broadast. A basketball hoop was even placed in the venue to allow fans to shoot some shots in between MPL ID games.
Martinus Manurung, Marketing and Business Development Lead for Indonesia Esports at MOONTON Games, as well as former NBA player Jordan Adams broke down how the MPL ID's collaboration with the NBA came to be in a recent press conference.
According to Manurung, the driving force behind the collaboration was the continued efforts of MPL ID–and MLBB esports in general–to pioneer different partnerships and collaborations. A collaboration with the NBA almost seemed like a given for the league when considering the similarities between MLBB and basketball.
"We've been talking to the NBA actually [for] almost two years now. The DNA of MPL ID and esports of MOONTON in general is always to be pioneering in term of partnership and collaboration. And we've always taken into account that traditional sports is like our big brother, big sister markets.
We've always used them as references, especially the NBA and basketball, because it's technically five-versus-five also you have specific roles and the objective is very clear. And then, of course, the franchise model from the NBA has always been something that we've learned a lot [from]. And even a simple thing as the championship ring, which we've used [since] Season 10 and up until now, this is something that we collaborate with our partners also."
MOONTON hoped that the collaboration would better impact both industries, with the developer seeing MPL ID and the NBA not as competitors but as a collaborator.
“It just makes sense to be able to talk to them and see what are the objectives of the NBA, what are our objectives, and try to get into bed together in that sense so that we can have a better impact for both our industries. We're not thinking of each other as competition, but we're looking for synergy and being able to escalate and elevate our IPs to many more people to come in the future.”
Manurung, however, reiterated that MPL ID won't just exclusively partner with the NBA, adding that the league is very open to working with other popular sports leagues.
“[The MPL ID x NBA collaboration] does not also mean that we're exclusively working with NBA. We're actually quite open to work with other leagues, especially like the English Premier League or also F1 or MotoGP. All these tough points that are very, very sexy in the world of sports and entertainment, which is something that we look up to.”
Former NBA player Jordan Adams on esports pros and fans
Jordan Adams, who played with the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies from 2014 to 2016 and now plays for the Indonesia Basketball League (IBL) team Dewa United, also shared his thoughts on esports professionals and fans. While basketball and MLBB are worlds apart, Adams said he could relate to esports pros in that they are both passionate and dedicated to their respective games.
"From what I know about esports, I know it's very big here in Indonesia. As far as my club, Dewa, we have a very good esports team and we have a lot of athletes. I see those guys all the time and they come to our games as well. So it's a tight community and they're like us.
They're like us as far as they take it very serious. That's their lifestyle, I know it means a lot to them, so it's something that I enjoy [seeing]. They're very passionate about it and they're competitive as well. I can relate to those guys with the competitiveness as they wake up early, they put their time into it."
While Adams acknowledged that he wasn't fully aware of everything about esports because of his busy schedule, he understood that Dewa United has some of the best esports athletes. And seeing the passion that esports pros play with made the former NBA player want to check out their matches and support his team in MPL ID.
“I want to get more into it. I'm not that fully aware of everything because of my own busy schedule, but I'm definitely aware and I definitely know that Dewa has an esports club and our athletes are some of the best. So if I have time, I would definitely want to check out one of their matches and go support those guys.”
