The NBA's Creator Playbook: Inside Its Modern Media Machine

Forbes

25-05-2025

The NBA and the creator economy are becoming closer than ever, especially with recent collaborations ... More with MrBeast (Photo by)
"I am traditional media and new media," four-time NBA champion Draymond Green told me.
That single sentence captures the shift happening in sports media today: NBA players aren't just stars on the court. They're also broadcasters, commentators, and creators — launching podcasts, running YouTube channels, and shaping the conversation around the league while building media careers that rival their NBA salaries.
Not only are more NBA players than ever becoming creators — the league itself is leading the charge to integrate creators into their biggest moments. This all helps factor into the fact that viewership for the 2025 NBA Playoffs is now up 12% from last year on ESPN Platforms with Game 6 of the Celtics vs Knicks becoming the most-watched program on television.
Months ago, I got to see how the foundation was laid during All-Star Weekend and get insight into the years before that. I also joined Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, for his shoot with Steph Curry to see how the worlds of the NBA and YouTube are coming closer than ever.
Beyond Curry and MrBeast, I also spoke with Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, Matt Barnes, Stephen Jackson, journalists like Shams Charania, creators like Jesser, and NBA executive Bob Carney to understand how the NBA has become one of the most creator-friendly sports leagues — and why its biggest stars are increasingly taking their talents off the court and onto the screen.
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The NBA's Creator Playbook
Over the past decade, the NBA has gone from being covered almost exclusively by traditional media to building a full-on creator ecosystem — one that empowers YouTubers, streamers, and players to take the game viral.
"We've always believed they could be an extension and almost ambassadors for us. We began by identifying them early and then started to invite them to all of our events so they could create content for their own platforms," Bob Carney said, NBA's SVP of Digital and Social.
Interview with NBA Executive Bob Carney
But it didn't stop there. The NBA literally shares their game footage for creators to use in their videos, analysis, podcasts, and social clips.
"We started to provide them with our content so that they could produce more content for their platforms. And then it really just started to grow," Carney said.
Through tools like Greenfly (a content management system) the league gives creators and players instant access to highlights and personalized clips — making it easy to share content within minutes of a buzzer beater.
On top of that, through the NBA's partnership with WSC Sports, the league is giving creators unprecedented access to more than 25,000 hours of NBA game footage and AI-driven editing tools. This is not only a brilliant move to embrace new technology, but a long-term play to expand the NBA's content internationally with the GenAI tools from WSC Sports providing voiceovers in French, Portuguese, and Spanish.
"We have it all done in an automated fashion, so literally by the time they pick up their phone, all the content is there," Carney explained. "We try to get [players] content as fast as possible so that they can publish on their own accounts."
Today, creators play an active role in nearly every major NBA moment. This year's All-Star Weekend in San Francisco was a prime example.
During Friday night's Celebrity Game, two of the biggest streamers, Kai Cenat and Duke Dennis, took to the court. On Saturday, creators like Jesser and Tristan Jass competed in the Creator Cup at NBA Crossover. And the All-Star Game featured a MrBeast half-time shootout for $100,000.
Jesser, one of YouTube's biggest basketball creators and the first-ever to judge the Slam Dunk Contest, told me how surreal it was to be on that stage.
"I was just trying to take it all in. All the lights. The big arena — just take a deep breath, I'm really here and doing this. It was so cool. Fantastic experience."
Interview with Jesser, one of YouTube's top sports creators
His presence resulted from years of collaboration with the NBA. Over time, their partnership evolved from casual invitations to structured collaborations that helped both elevate his platform and the NBA's reach — like I Got Exclusive Access to the NBA Finals! and Guess The Secret NBA Player.
'Jesser has been amazing. We've been working with him for a very long time, and he's grown massively. Last night, Jesser was a judge in the dunk contest,' Carney said. 'Creators are having their moment in a very big way, which has been really special to see.'
Two-time NBA All-Star Baron Davis told me, "Jesser is the biggest deal in my household. My kids make me watch Jesser. They're like, 'Why don't you do a video with Jesser? Why don't you get in his video?'"
But championing creators like Jesser isn't just a one-off strategy. The NBA has developed a methodical approach to discovering and elevating creators.
They actively monitor accounts across social media platforms, tracking creators who are producing compelling, unique NBA-related content and gaining momentum. When the league spots promising talent, it proactively reaches out to start a collaboration.
"The spirit of it is to identify creators that love basketball and that are authentic, and find ways to work with them so that it's mutually beneficial. So that they can create content for their platforms and help get the word out," Carney explained.
Unlike other leagues that see social media as a threat to their content control, the NBA views creators as amplifiers, not competitors.
"By expanding the number of accounts that are publishing NBA content, it's giving us more opportunities to reach more of our fans with voices that resonate with them. And that's critically important,' Carney added.
What started as casual invites has evolved into a full-fledged creator ecosystem — one that spans over 100 partnerships and keeps pushing NBA content in every corner of the internet.
Why Almost Every Athlete Has a Podcast Now
But NBA players aren't just going viral — they're going long-form.
From Draymond Green to Paul George, more NBA stars are starting their own podcasts. But not everyone is ready to join the wave just yet.
'You won't see me doing it, though,' four-time NBA Champion Steph Curry said.
'There are a lot of other things I want to do other than be behind the mic every day…And it is a time commitment…It's not something I'm passionate about."
Then there's Curry's teammate Draymond Green, who hosts The Draymond Green Show with co-host Baron Davis twice a week.
Interview with Draymond Green
'YouTube is where all the views are. That's where all the kids are. You see everything on YouTube,' Green explained when I asked him about his podcast. 'I think it's an incredible platform for all of us to use."
Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving echoed his sentiments. "People want to see the authenticity through the camera. You want to be a part of it and grow with that person too," Irving said.
This desire for genuine connection has inspired former players as well.
Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson created one of the earliest — and most successful — athlete-led podcasts: All The Smoke. Initially analysts on ESPN and Fox, they quickly realized they could build their own platform instead.
'Let's do a podcast,' Barnes recalled telling Jackson. 'And he goes, 'What's a podcast?' I said, 'I don't know, but I think we can smoke and drink.' And he was like, 'I'm in.''
That casual idea turned into one of the most successful athlete-run media companies with 1.15M subscribers and nearly 500 million views.
"We met somebody from Showtime through a mutual friend. I pitched him the idea. We took a couple of shots together, and the next thing we know, we were signed to Showtime," Barnes said.
After four years with Showtime, Barnes and Jackson bet on themselves, launching All The Smoke Productions.
"On January 1st, 2024, we signed a nice deal with DraftKings and Meadowlark Media. We're about a year in, and we have a handful of shows under our slate. We're not only in the NBA; we're in the NFL and professional boxing. We're about to get into MMA and then hopefully golf at some point," Barnes explained to me.
Their success paved the way for more athletes, proving that there's plenty of room for players to share their perspectives.
"Even though we've been some of the first and some of the leaders in this space, we continue to vocalize and let everybody know that there's room for everybody," Jackson told me.
Athletes aren't waiting for post-game pressers anymore. They're taking ownership of their stories through podcasts and YouTube channels— a move that's reshaping sports media and becoming just as vital as their performance on the court.
How the NBA Stacks Up Against Other Leagues
The NBA didn't just welcome creators — it built the blueprint almost every other league is racing to copy.
"All the leagues now are starting to understand it, but I think the NBA right now, for me, is the only one where, when a big event is happening — whether it's All-Star, Finals, or a playoff game with LeBron — you know a creator's gonna be there," Omar Raja said, the founder of House of Highlights.
He pointed to Kai Cenat's appearance at the All-Star Celebrity Game as proof, 'I have never seen a crowd go more insane over one human being in my life.'
The NFL is starting to catch up, but it's still years behind the NBA. The league recently expanded its NFL Access Pass Program, giving select creators even more game footage for their videos. In its first year, the program generated over 200 million views. During this year's Super Bowl, the NFL also started incorporating streamers like Kai Cenat and IShowSpeed to reach new fans.
But not every league has cracked the code. For example, in 2020, the MLB launched the Film Room, an online archive with same-day game recaps, press briefings, and broadcast segments. They even encourage fans to edit highlight reels from the footage...but not as downloadable footage.
Instead, the MLB makes you link together clips on the Film Room website or app, and then share it as a link where viewers can only watch it…again, on the Film Room.
Leveraged correctly, the Film Room could be MLB's gateway to the creator economy. But without consistent creator partnerships or strong incentives for players to participate, it remains more of a public archive than a cultural engine.
And then there's Formula 1 which recently forced creators to remove 'F1' from their social media names. Formula 1 even banned Lewis Hamilton, one of its biggest stars, from posting his own race footage.
It's a baffling move — especially as the NBA proves what's possible when leagues work with creators and players, not against them.
The Future: Athletes as Media Companies
The NBA's strategy extends beyond brand visibility. It's about authenticity and connection — giving creators and players the tools to build their own audiences and tell their own stories.
But this isn't just good PR, it's a long-term investment in players as platforms. The NBA isn't building stars for the season — it's turning stars into media companies for the next decade.
From podcasts and YouTube channels to production deals and personal brands, today's athletes aren't waiting to be passed the mic. They're taking it for themselves.
This approach doesn't just benefit the NBA — it gives players a future beyond basketball.
As I left the NBA All-Star Weekend, it was clear that the league isn't just riding the wave of the creator economy — it's steering the ship.
By embracing new media and empowering its players and creators, the NBA is rewriting how sports are covered and redefining what it means to be an athlete, a creator, and a brand in the 21st century.