NBA Drops Ocean’s 11-Style Ad to Hype New In-Season Tourney

A casino in Las Vegas is ripe for a takedown, and Michael Imperioli has just the crew for the job, though these would-be thieves may have a tough time blending into the crowd.

To hype its inaugural In-Season Tournament, the NBA drops a stylized homage to Ocean’s Eleven with basketball superstars in key roles in a swagger-filled crime-lite caper.

Acting as “the mastermind,” former Sopranos wise guy Imperioli leads viewers through the fast-paced short film where the decorated athletes stalk their prize—the NBA Cup. 

With “The Heist,” the NBA co-opted a “high-energy, high-stakes format” aiming to “evoke that feeling of eager anticipation” for its new venture, Tammy Henault, the NBA’s CMO, told Adweek.

In scenes that mimic the hit Steven Soderbergh franchise—and countless movies and TV series since—the nearly 2-minute ad highlights the particular skills of the Atlanta Hawks’ Trae Young (“ice water in his veins”), Chicago Bulls’ DeMar DeRozan (“light on his feet”), New York Knicks’ Julius Randle (“a guy with laser focus”).

Additional muscle and experience comes from “the heavy” (Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers), “the lookout” (Darius Garland, Cleveland Cavaliers), “the vet” (Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors) and “the inside man” (Kawhi Leonard, L.A. Clippers). 

Does this squad end up with the trophy? Spoiler: They’ll have to work a little harder for it.

‘Uncharted territory’

The new In-Season Tournament, featuring all 30 NBA teams, takes its cues from popular international soccer contests.

The campaign around it has two main goals: educating core and casual fans about the new competition, and spotlighting the league’s early-season schedule that leads into the In-Season Tournament’s November and December semi-finals and championship rounds in Vegas.

The NBA sees its marketing for the regular season and the new contest as having “distinct but complementary messages,” said Henault, who pointed out the challenge of being in “uncharted territory.”

“With no precedent in place in the NBA for a tournament like this, we had to start from square one with how we wanted the campaign to look and what we wanted fans to feel,” Henault said. “We also wanted to showcase a different storytelling approach than some of the creative we’ve gone with in the past, making sure fans know how the new tournament works, when and where to tune in and what it all means.”

The spot comes from creative agency Translation, director Karim Huu Do and cinematographer Chayse Irvin.

High-wattage talent

CBS Sports called the In-Season Tournament “a years-in-the-making idea, one that the league has thrown a lot of resources at to try and drum up interest and add more excitement to the regular season.”

The media outlet also recently reported that Marcus Smart of the Memphis Grizzlies said publicly that “nobody cares” from a player perspective about the in-season matchups. 

In part to dispel that attitude, “The Heist” recruited a range of veteran and young players as a show of support for the new venture.

“For fans to buy in, we need the players to be bought in,” Henault said, noting that the cast is filled with “fan-favorite stars that represent the high level of competition” expected in the tourney.

Per StubHub, there’s been a 60% year-over-year increase in NBA sales, which the ticketing app attributes to the new competition and the second year of NBA Rivals Week.

The In-Season contest tips off Nov. 3, culminating in single-elimination semifinals Dec. 7 and championship Dec. 9 at T-Mobile Arena in Vegas. Broadcast partners ESPN and TNT will air 14 games, beginning with a doubleheader (New York Knicks versus the Milwaukee Bucks, and Denver Nuggets versus the Dallas Mavericks).

In its hero and cut-down forms, “The Heist” will air in more than 15 languages across 215 countries and territories. Additional promos will come via out of home, digital, social, audio and print ads. There will be two more incarnations of the campaign, including one spot that will feature basketball legend Magic Johnson.