It’s a new era for the NBA, and its marketing is reflecting that.
We’re still a little less than a month away from the start of the National Basketball Association (NBA) season and the 11 games that comprise Kia NBA Tip-Off 2024, but players have reported to training camp and preseason and international exhibitions in Abu Dhabi and Montreal are looming.
It’s the last year under the NBA’s old media deal before it heads into its still-contentious new agreements with NBCU, Amazon, and ESPN—which means the league still starts with two doubleheaders each on TNT and ESPN and a tripleheader on NBA TV from Oct. 22 through Oct. 26. It’s also the first year since young stars Jayson Tatum and Luka Dončić faced off in the NBA Finals, where Tatum’s Boston Celtics defeated Dončić’s Dallas Mavericks for their NBA-record 18th title.
![The NBA has asked the New York Supreme Court to dismiss a lawsuit by Warner Bros. Discovery, which alleged that the league breached its contract by rejecting WBD’s matching offer […]](https://www.adweek.com/wp-content/themes/adweek-next/src/images/adweek-placeholder.svg)
Last season, after making the NBA Finals in six of the last ten seasons and winning four titles, the Golden State Warriors missed the playoffs with a group of core players—Draymond Green (34), Klay Thompson (34), and Stephen Curry (36)—in their mid-30s. Former Warriors star Kevin Durant (35) and his Phoenix Suns were swept out of the playoffs in the first round, while four-time NBA Champion LeBron James (39) and his Los Angeles Lakers managed only one win in a first-round series loss to the Denver Nuggets.
If discussions about the NBA’s transition to a new generation of players weren’t enough, the league itself is driving the point home with its season-opening campaign. Directed by Mike Warzin and produced by the NBA with help from creative partners Translation, the spot features relatively wizened two-time NBA Champion Kawhi Leonard (33) facing off against two-time NBA All-Star and Minnesota Timberwolves playoff powerhouse Anthony Edwards (23).
Three-time Miami Heat All-Star Bam Adebayo tries to push Edwards aside just before a diminutive San Antonio Spurs fan calls for the ball. That spurs the opening notes of Van Halen’s 40-year-old synth-rock anthem “Jump” and a rush of fans to the court in various eras of throwback gear. Influencer, podcaster, and author Drew Afualo makes the dash with Grammy winner Kelly Rowland.