NBA x Jesser

ABOUT THIS ENTRY

The NBA partnership with Jesser epitomizes our philosophy of cultivating creator relationships over time, while building toward a more holistic approach with touchpoints across the business, cultivating long-term creative partnerships.

How does this represent "Excellence in Engagement"?

The partnership represents a leap forward from traditional creator campaigns by extending the engagement with our fans to multiple platforms and business initiatives. We’ve taken engagement from social media exclusively and introduced it to our retail operation, league tentpole events on television, provided a new live game viewing experience and created an entirely new live event focused entirely on creators. We’re meeting and engaging more fans where they prefer to engage with the NBA.

Objective

As an evolution of our work with creators since 2016, last year’s goal was to build on the incredible success we’ve seen with Jesser’s social executions, traditionally one-off activations, by integrating him throughout the season into league tentpole events and key initiatives across the NBA business.

Strategy & Execution

We designed a schedule that would allow Jesser to produce content aligned with his personal goals that also drove awareness, engagement and revenue for key NBA initiatives including:

Live Game Viewing Experience - co-produced a live alt stream for the NBA App from Bucketsquad studios driving his fans to the league’s digital product.
NBA Finals - integrated Jesser as a creator correspondent for NBA digital and social channels providing exclusive access to media days and games during the NBA Finals
NBA 2k25 Summer League - Jesser was given exclusive access behind the scenes to help promote the NBA 2K25 Summer League
NBA Creator Cup - tapped to participate in our flagship live creator event, the NBA Creator Cup at Emirates NBA Cup livestreamed on the NBA App & YouTube.
Official NBA|Bucketsquad merchandise collaboration launched in Q4 and a dedicated pop-up booth at NBA Crossover, the league’s multi-day interactive fan event at NBA All-Star.
Selected as a judge for the AT&T Slam Dunk at NBA All-Star Weekend as the fan representative of NBAID, the league’s official membership program.

Organizations

• NBA

Featured

• Jesser

Credits

Bob Carney
Senior Vice President, Social & Digital Content
NBA

Sara Zuckert
Senior Vice President, Content Strategy & Innovation
NBA

Tim Frank
Senior Vice President, League Operations Communications
NBA

Carlton Myers
Senior Vice President, Live Production & Entertainment
NBA

Adam Fedorko
Vice President, Social & Digital Content
NBA

Michelle Gabel
Vice President, New Business, Analytics & Special Projects
NBA

Ashley Atwell
Vice President, Social & Digital Content
NBA

Marc Hirscheimer
Vice President, Event Operations
NBA

Joe Amati
Vice President, Photo Management
NBA

Jason Gilfillan
Associate Vice President, Influencer Content
NBA

Coleen Kane
Associate Vice President, Membership Program
NBA

Patrick Mulrenin
Associate Vice President, Social & Digital Content Publishing
NBA

Peter Richter
Senior Director, Social & Digital Content Design Lead
NBA

Justin D’Apolito
Senior Director, Social & Digital Content
NBA

Jacinda Ortiz
Senior Director, Strategic & Digital Media Communication
NBA

William Paden
Director, Social & Digital Content
NBA

Lauren Ware
Director, Production Management
NBA

Jeffrey Sanchez
Director, Influencer Content
NBA

Tess Quinlan
Director, Social & Digital Content
NBA

Jake Freeman
Director, Social Content
NBA

Greg Palmer
Senior Video Coordinator, Content
NBA

Jay Wallace
Senior Manager, Social & Digital Content Design
NBA

Carly Nevis
Manager, Social & Digital Content
NBA

Samantha Linczyk
Manager, Social & Digital Content
NBA

Eyasu Delesa
Manager, Strategic & Digital Media Communication
NBA

Natalie LaBumbard
Manager, Production Management
NBA

Elias Williams
Manager, Social & Digital Content
NBA

Jacob Iden
Senior Production Assistant, Social & Digital Content
NBA

Harrison Preschel
Senior Production Assistant, Social & Digital Content
NBA

Jeramie McPeek
Social Media Consultant
NBA