Former NBA player Jared Jeffries has been appointed President of Echo Fox, the esports organisation. Jeffries will be responsible for Echo Fox operations, including player recruitment and team development.
The appointment has been confirmed by Vision Venture Partners (“VVP”), a private equity firm headed up by Amit Raizada, Rick Fox and Stratton Sclavos. Rick Fox, also of NBA past acquired the League of Legends Championship Series (“LCS”) spot of Gravity Gaming for $1 million before expanding into Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and making big moves in FGC. Echo Fox took position one and two over the weekend at EVO in Tekken 7, where Choi “Saint” Jin Woo finished runner-up to Echo Fox teammate and rival Kim “JDCR” Hyun Jin.
Choi “Saint” Jin Woo, finished in second place and rival Bae “Knee” Jae Min came in third.
Jeffries recently held the role as “Director of Play Personnel” for the Denver Nuggets NBA team, and thus bring his eye for talent to the esports scene. He will join from August 1st and report to Jace Hall, a member of the VVP operating team committee as well as Chris Nordling and Stratton Sclavos.
In addition to his roster selection and team management role, Jeffries will be actively involved in hiring and managing coaching staff, management and overseeing training, health and wellness programs. He will also help build the brand, oversee streaming platforms, social media and sponsor/advertiser relationships.
Jeffries’ NBA accolades include “Big Ten Player of the Year” in 2002 and being number 11 in the NBA draft. He competed for 11-years in the NBA as a center or forward for teams including the Washington Wizards, New York Knicks, Houston Rockets and Portland Trailblazers. He took his role at the Nuggets in the summer of 2013.
“Jared Jeffries is a proven winner and fierce competitor on and off the court,” said Rick Fox, 3-time NBA champion and VVP partner. “We cannot be more excited to have someone with his pedigree as a professional player and front office executive help lead Echo Fox as it continues its ascension to the number one esports organization in the world.”
“I couldn’t be more excited to join the Echo Fox family as it’s clear they’re leading the way in the next great spectator sport,” said Jeffries, President of Echo Fox.
“We’re eager to watch Jeffries infuse Echo Fox with his winning ways as he works side by side with Rick and Jace,” said Sclavos. “With this epic hire, we’ve truly strengthened our executive bench with a leadership team dedicated to ensuring Echo Fox leads from the front.”
Esports Insider says: A big name appointment for Echo Fox who have had more FGC success this weekend. It will be interesting to see how Jeffries adapts to life in esports — a very different ballgame to the NBA.
