The start of the NBA means a few things: Charles Barkley is back on TV a few times a week, highlight reel dunks and basketball being played every day from now unit July. All of these things get me excited I mean look at this clip of Barkley he is pure gold and an Emmy winner, for real! The other things the return of the NBA brings is new shoe commercials. While this may not excite everyone, this shit gets me jacked up. Typically its a powerful Nike message about LeBron coming back to Cleveland, typically they help relate the struggle of having haters in your life and how to overcome them. All to sell shoes of course. More will come out in the upcoming weeks but here are the big 3 that dropped the past couple days and why i like them and which one is best.
Under Armour Steph Curry
This is the prototypical commercial we see every year. Dark lighting with a voice over laying out how an NBA player has it so tough in life and them dribbling a million miles an hour in the gym. It shows the mental preparation that is needed to be a great player. I will always get behind these commercials. Steph really has overcome all the odds to become one of the best in the NBA but missed out last year on the ultimate goal in a season. Under Armour struck gold with Curry and you can relate a lot of these things to UA and to Curry. UA was never supposed to compete with Nike, Adidas, etc. They were told that they would never get into the athlete endorsement game and stick to being in the background of the big brands. Told literally to be Under the radar for public but that didn’t stop them one bit. UA is making serious moves in all sports not just Basketball, they will be taking over the MLB contract soon and the sky is the limit. But now, like Curry, they need to prove themselves every year. The way this commercial combines their athlete and their story is genius. I assume I’m not the only one that made this connection.
Nike LeBron
Nike the king of emotional sports commercial do not disappoint again. Over the years these commercials wrote themselves. Young LeBron trying to make his mark, LeBron leaving, The Kings comes home. So this year it was a little tougher, LeBron did it all but they could just make one where LeBron drops the mic and walks off, that would of been dope though, Damn it Steve you outsmart yourself sometimes.
Nike also released print media with this “Come Out of Nowhere” campaign and no shocker here but great copy here. My favorite our of these is definitely the Isiah Thomas “Pick me last again” Love it! If I’m from Boston I want that on a t-shirt and wearing it all year.
Jordan Russell Westbrook
Last year Russ had one of the best commercials of the year, I thought, so I was excited to see what Jordan had in store for the kid that plays so angers and just had Durant leave him. Durant hasn’t been shy about some comments that are indirectly aimed at his time with OKC and playing with Westbrook. But then this spot dropped and boy did it drop hard! Easily the best of the 3 and so different from the 3 and soooo Westbrook. This shit is absolute fire!! FeitsBarstool said it best “its a ten billion out of a 10”
No voice over about basketball, no Westbrook looking deep into the camera. Fuck it there isn’t even a basketball the entire time. Now I Do What I Want and that is Westbrook to a T, doesn’t want to hear your stupid interview questions about Durant, just is gonna do whatever he wants on and off the court. You do you Russ. Love watching him play and this will be on repeat for days. In a world of NBA subtweets and indirect comment Russell has zero care in the world!
There will be more coming throughout the year but it will be tough to top these 3.
