‘Locked In’ Goes Behind the Curtain With NBA 2K League Players

Walking through New York City’s Guggenheim Museum, Brian Traynor discusses his love of art and opens up about his life’s hardships, giving NBA 2K League fans a glimpse into the lives of esport athletes rarely seen — until now.

Traynor, or “NachoTraynor” for T-Wolves Gaming, is one of two subjects in the fourth episode of the league’s new behind-the-scenes series, “Locked In Powered by AT&T.”

A fine arts graduate, NachoTraynor rarely had access to museums growing up and now uses his NBA 2K League trips to New York City to visit as many as he can. This also helps clear his head before games. His story is complemented by Cameron “KingCamRoyalty” Ford, a player for Magic Gaming and rapper who uses studio time in a similar fashion.

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“This is one of my favorite episodes because it takes it so far off the court,” says Matt Arden, NBA 2K League head of content and media. “This is the first piece of content we created that honestly has very little 2K League footage and truly is about these two incredibly unique individuals.

“We’ve found that we’re scratching an itch. We feel like highlighting this side of the league is so important to grow league awareness and grow the personalities.”

“Locked In,” is bringing to esports the same sort of access HBO’s Hard Knocks and “24/7” have brought to traditional sports.

Arden joined the NBA 2K League five months ago to help get these types of broadcasts off the ground and help tell stories around the league’s personalities. He believes this type of content is key to attracting more basketball and casual sports fans beyond hardcore gamers. The new series is built on the foundation of “Draft Hopefuls,” a content series that went behind-the-scenes with NBA 2K League prospects behind the Season 2 draft this past March. Arden says that series performed well and affirmed the craving of creative storytelling. This set in motion “Locked In.”

As the NBA 2K League’s second season progresses, having that storytelling beyond the Xs and Os was important. For Roger Caneda, an esports consultant and former Mavs Gaming general manager, he feels hiring Arden and the introduction of behind-the-scenes content will be important for the NBA 2K League’s success and longevity.

“Season one happened so fast, the league wasn’t able to grasp how starting something like the 2K League needed content to be successful,” Caneda says. “Esports is an industry where people are curious, and providing this behind-the-scenes insight is big, not just for 2K but the industry as a whole.

“Diving into content will be huge for everyone.”

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Now a fan on the outside, Caneda feels “Locked In” makes him more compelled to watch the games. He might not be alone, according to the NBA 2K League, it has gained 20,000 followers on its YouTube and Twitch channels this year. Total minutes watched has experienced year-over-year growth of 36%. All of NBA 2K League’s live and on-demand content has also generated 25 million views across social channels since the start of Season 2.

With “Locked In,” Arden is doing what he was brought in for, but he is also quick to point out the series is helped immensely by the league’s partnership with AT&T.

“They can’t go unnoticed,” Arden says. “They’re truly looking to build connections and share stories and elevate our game. The conversations we’ve had aren’t about their logo, but they’re invested in the next story we want to tell.”

A simple logo placement would likely be plenty for many partners, but Shiz Suzuki, AT&T AVP of Experiential Marketing and Sponsorship says it is in the company’s best interest to help make the content the best it can be.

“Anything we can do to help bring fans closer to the sport they love is what our NBA partnership is all about and why we’re thrilled to help the NBA 2K League make these stories and this original content series happen,” Suzuki says. “Those who follow the action know how multifaceted these players are, and this series brings that to life with a riveting approach to storytelling that even those unfamiliar with the league can look forward to watching.”

Finding the next players to feature is not difficult for Arden and his team. The production team often comes across stories in broadcasts and then tries to execute an episode with a 10 to 12-day production schedule.

“We have some incredible, multi-dimensional personalities from diverse backgrounds in our league, so it actually hasn’t been that difficult to identify good stories, frankly it’s been difficult to cross some off the lists,” Arden says. “These stories and personalities have emerged naturally on their own and we’ve been trying to be very organic in taking those stories when we see them bubble to the surface and taking them and running with them.”

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Right now, “Locked In” is still ironing out the logistics of filming and how to go to market and Season 1 is not even complete — the league hopes to release 10 episodes. Still, Arden’s happy with the product so far and would love to see a second year of “Locked In.” More so than anything, he’s happy with how the storylines are coming full circle to be included in tournament broadcasts.

“The more stories we uncover, the more we talk about individuals, learn about them, the more other players notice, the more fans notice,” he says. “We’re providing a real nice 360 communication around all our communication and broadcast touch points. It’s achieving the goals we wanted  to achieve, no matter the amount of episodes we produce.”

Deeper behind-the-scenes content has helped further engage fans with traditional sports. While the verdict is still out on the new NBA 2K League content, there is plenty for the esports industry to learn from here.