Brooklyn Nets’ Jeremy Lin appears on ELEAGUE Road To The International

There’s growing crossover between the world of traditional sports and esports, and one of the figures most involved in that has been Brooklyn Nets’ point guard Jeremy Lin. Lin’s passion for esports in general and Dota 2 in particular is shown off in Friday’s finale of Turner’s’ feature series ELEAGUE|Road To The International Dota 2 Championships, with him attending the championships in Seattle and talking about why he’s there and how exciting it is. Here’s a preview clip:

“I think the energy is off the charts. The lines are already down the streets, and it’s a lot of fun. You can hear them yelling already at 8:30 in the morning. …When I attended my first TI three years ago, I was absolutely blown away with just how hyped and energized the crowd was, the cheering and everything around it. It literally feels like an athletic event when you’re watching the game.”

Lin makes some further comments later on (1:35) on how he gravitated to Dota, which is more team-focused than many video games.

“I don’t like individual sports and I don’t like individual games. I like it when you have to work with your teammates, and Dota puts you in that position where all five people have to be clicking together, otherwise you’re not going to win. For me, it creates this bond, this teamwork, and it gives me a chance to be with my family, my friends on the same team, working towards the same goal. I think that’s the most exciting part about Dota.”

Including Lin in this feature series makes sense for Turner, given that he’s a high-profile fan of esports and that they broadcast both esports and the NBA. And it’s interesting to hear him talk about how he got into esports and why he likes this particular game and event. With both this feature series in particular and their ELEAGUE coverage in general, Turner is trying to attract new fans to esports as well as those who are already passionate about it. A crossover with a traditional sports figure like Lin might help there. It also probably doesn’t hurt that he tweeted about this to his 2.43 million followers Thursday:

Tune in to @TBSNetwork tomorrow night 10p ET/PT to follow me to #TI7 in the finale of #ELEAGUE #RoadToTI Dota 2 Championships! https://t.co/2niKGLcXJm

— Jeremy Lin (@JLin7) August 25, 2017

The final episode of ELEAGUE | Road To The International Dota 2 Championships, featuring both Lin and coverage of the tournament’s Main Event, airs Friday night at 10 p.m. Eastern on TBS, repeating at 10 p.m. Pacific.