The Sacramento Kings named Shaquille O'Neal as general manager of the team's NBA 2K endeavor, Kings Guard Gaming, on Monday.
The team said O'Neal, who is a minority partner in the team, will serve as an advisor to selecting the team's six players in Wednesday's inaugural NBA 2K draft in New York.
Shaq isn't the only celebrity helping to run a team. Actor Jerry Ferrara, most famous for playing Turtle on Entourage, is heading up the New York Knicks team, Knicks Gaming.
Get ready NBA 2K League... I'm the new GM of @KingsGuardGG and we're about to reign supreme! 👑 🎮 #Shaqramento pic.twitter.com/TZ1ipE5Xdn
— SHAQ (@SHAQ) April 2, 2018
The league has pared the list of gamers down to 102, the exact amount of players that will be drafted by the 17 teams in the league that chose to participate.
Kings Guard Gaming will pick 4th in the snake style draft that will take place at the Hulu Theatre at Madison Square Garden. Players selected in the first round of the draft will sign a six-month contracts for $35,000. All other players will make $32,000, not including paid housing, food and travel expenses and medical insurance.
The league will distribute a $1 million prize pool throughout the course of the season with the bulk of the money going to the league champions. The season spans from May to August.
O'Neal is a partner in NRG esports, an esports team venture with Kings co-owner and former Apple executive Andy Miller.
