Stephen Curry has the magic touch for three pointers, as any Golden State Warriors fan knows, but he can also tiptoe through a room full of lasers, a la Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible. And, separate but related, he has serious amphibian energy.
The hidden skills of that particular basketball legend aren’t the only off-court talents on display in “The Heist II,” a short film that announces the upcoming 2024 Emirates NBA Cup.
“The Heist II,” a stylized homage to the crime caper genre, is a collaboration between the NBA and longtime agency partner Translation. As the name implies, the video is a sequel to last year’s “The Heist,” which snagged nearly 500 million views globally.
With that track record—and aiming to boost year 2 of the contest formerly called the In-Season Tournament—creatives picked up the Ocean’s Eleven vibe of the original spot and added new flourishes.
“We wanted to keep the narrative and the storytelling vehicle consistent,” Tammy Henault, the NBA’s CMO, told ADWEEK. “We’re continuing to build awareness and to educate people about this tournament, and we’re trying to speak to a broad base—casual fans, women, multicultural audiences, Gen Z.”
New season, new story
Actor-producer Rosario Dawson joins the cast in her first ad for the NBA, with former Sopranos wise guy Michael Imperioli and Los Angeles Lakers veteran Anthony Davis reprising their roles from “The Heist.”
Shot at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, newcomers for the sequel include Jrue Holiday of the Boston Celtics, Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jamal Murray of the Denver Nuggets, and Tyrese Haliburton from the Indiana Pacers.
