NBA players are no strangers to video games, with their constant travel schedule and required rest brewing the perfect storm lock in on your favourite game.
For New Orleans Pelicans guard Josh Hart and Miami Heat big man Meyers Leonard, their love of gaming and in particular Forntnite, goes beyond just hanging out with friends, with the pair investing in eSports squad FaZe Clan, who compete in various video game tournaments, attracting hoards of fans through their game streaming.
"Fortnite's definitely huge in the NBA," Hart said in an interview with CloseUp360. "You have guys like Karl-Anthony Towns plays it, Terrence Ross, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Larry Nance Jr., Reggie Jackson, Andre Drummond, I can go down the line, there's so many people that play it.
"It's a good way to kind of still be competitive, but in a different world and just have fun.
"People associate me with 'oh he's just a basketball player', I'm a regular guy and I like playing video games in my spare time. It's a way for me to really get out of my reality and just kind of be a kid and have fun."
Watch the full interview here, via: CloseUp360.
The pair turned out for the 2019 Fortnite Pro-Am in Los Angeles last month, which saw Epic Games award over $3 million to charity. The donations were made out to charities chosen by the contestants, with both Hart (3rd) and Leonard (8th) recording top 10 finishes.
"I would say for Josh and I, it's very authentic to be in the eSports community because we enjoy gaming, we enjoy interacting with fans whilst streaming," Leonard said.
"I've always been a big fan of Faze, I've always watched them throughout the years and then of course when Fortnite blew up; eSports and streaming, they took it to a whole new level."
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