“Traditional sports are like our big brother”: MPL ID teams up with the NBA

Esports and traditional sports have formed a unique relationship over the years, with teams from both sectors looking to benefit from each other. 

However, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang’s MPL Indonesia has taken this relationship to a new level, securing a major collaboration with the NBA, a globally recognised sports franchise. 

Speaking at a press conference earlier today, Martinus Manurung, MOONTON Games’ Marketing & Business Development Lead for Indonesia Esports, noted that the partnership has been in the works for almost two years. Moreover, MPL ID has somewhat looked up to the NBA when it comes to developing its league. 

“We’ve always taken into account that traditional sports are like our big brother, big sister,” said Manurung. “We’ve always used them as references, especially the NBA and basketball, because it’s technically five versus five.

“Then, of course, the franchise model from the NBA has always been something that we’ve learned a lot [from]. 

“Even a simple thing as the championship ring, which we use in [MPL] Season 10 and up till now.”

The large-scale collaboration, which officially began during Week 5, includes co-branded activations, exclusive NBA merchandise giveaways and various programme elements for MPL Indonesia Season 15.

In particular, Manurung highlighted how the deal allows MPL ID to utilise the iconic NBA branding, including its logo. He said: “In live broadcast, we’ve actually integrated quite a lot of things, from the theme songs to the buzzer that you would hear in the NBA, and adapting that to esports.”

Mobile Legends: Bang Bang in Indonesia is an esports giant that regularly records peak viewing figures of over two million across its domestic league. Given that this audience is primarily younger, tapping into esports has become a great way for sports franchises to attract newer fans. 

“MPL has penetrated so many people in Indonesia,” highlighted Manurung. “I think the scale of our influence is one of the things that many of the brands and also partners, maybe like the NBA, are looking into. Also, our credibility. We’ve been a professional league since […] 2018 and we’ve consistently grown.”

Jordan Adams, an ex-NBA player and current star for Dewa United Banten in the Indonesian Basketball League (IBL), also noted the popularity of esports in the country during the press conference.

“What I know about esports, I know it’s very big here in Indonesia,” Adams stated. “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. They’re like us as far as they take it very seriously.”

Adams also went on to highlight how the crossover between esports and sports is only growing. With regards to sporting franchises entering into esports, whether that be clubs joining the scene competitively or securing partnerships, Adams admits: “I think it’s good for all sports and good for those [esports] athletes as well. I think it will take over.”

Despite the NBA having its own esports ecosystem alongside game developer 2K, its collaboration with MPL Indonesia is arguably the franchise’s biggest esports collaboration to date. 

Given Mobile Legends’ ability to tap into the Southeast Asian market — through its leagues in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and more — it makes sense why sports leagues are looking to establish a presence within the game’s ecosystem. So, is there a possibility of more franchises following suit? 

According to Manurung, MPL ID is certainly open to the idea: “We’re actually quite open to working with other leagues, especially the English Premier League. Also, F1 or Motogp.”

It’s been a major year for Mobile Legends: Bang Bang esports from a commercial standpoint. Firstly, MPL Malaysia was integrated into its Naruto collaboration, and now MPL Indonesia has secured a deal with the NBA. 

Seemingly, it’s only a matter of time before the mobile MOBA announces yet another landmark collaboration.