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Times
10 hours ago
- Lifestyle
- Times
Decca Aitkenhead: My epic, basketball-themed trip to San Francisco
Basketball is a beautiful sport, but to be a British fan can be frustrating. To see it played at the highest level you need to get on a plane to the US. But the league, the NBA, is infernally complicated. Every season is decided by a best-of-seven series between the winners of the eastern and western halves of the country, alternating between their home venues. So it's impossible to predict, long in advance, where and when the season's very best players will be on court together. For most of my life this wasn't a problem, but the sport is growing fast among British youngsters and my teenage sons are obsessed. The solution is the NBA All-Star Weekend. This annual basketball jamboree is a glitzy gathering of the sport's elite, which fans can book well in advance, and this year's venue was San Francisco. Having last been there 25 years ago, before tech billionaires inflated house prices to the point where, if the doom-mongers are to believed, this one-time Californianjewel has been reduced to a dystopian homeless horror show, I was as curious to revisit San Fran as my 15-year-old, Jake, was frantic to see LeBron James, Steph Curry, Victor Wembanyama and co in action. We find the city centre transformed into a basketball mecca. Outside our hotel, the Beacon Grand, Union Square has been converted into an outdoor court; All-Star Weekend stewards stand on every street corner; lines of tall men in hoodies and Air Jordans snake around the block, queuing for pop-up shops selling trainers. In a nearby diner, TVs screen basketball on a loop, and the Beacon Grand's bar stays open late to accommodate tables of excitable fans arguing over whether Curry or Lebron is the Goat (room-only doubles from £167; Jake is in ecstasy. At last he is among his tribe. On Saturday we head to a cavernous waterside arena for Lunch with a Legend, one of the weekend's events, at which two former NBA point guard stars, Gary Payton and Mugsy Bogues, trade anecdotes and memories before a hushed crowd of reverential fans. It's funny to hear them talk about the game as the poor relation of American sport, ranking below American football and baseball in US cultural hierarchy. Compared to its status in Britain, here it feels like a national religion. All public transport has been made free for the weekend, and our Metro train to the 18,000-capacity Chase Center that afternoon is crammed with fans. The contrast with British football supporters is rather confronting. Young, old, male, female, multiethnic, there is no dominant demographic equivalent to the white men who fill our Premier League, and the atmosphere is more carnival than competition. The All-Star Weekend is a celebration rather than a serious contest, and the nonpartisan joy this generates is charming. The problem this creates for the NBA, however, is how to make its players take the weekend seriously. The 7ft 3in Frenchman Wembanyama is the star act in the evening's skills challenge contest, a sort of obstacle race, the obstacles being bounce passes, chest passes, dribbling and shooting. Wembanyama tries to beat the clock by not bothering to even aim his shots, which would have been clever had it not got him disqualified immediately, and is not what anyone came to see. The three-point shooting contest is more fiercely contested, and mesmerising, but the sensation of the night is the slam dunk contest. The winner, Mac McClung, brings the Chase Center to its feet by leaping like a grasshopper over an actual car, over a 6ft 1in player and, for his finale, over a man standing on a ladder. Everyone goes berserk. We spend Sunday in another convention centre for NBA Crossover, a vast subterranean basketball wonderland of merchandise, exhibition stands, guest appearances by players, shooting contests, panel talks and general hoopla. My son keeps spotting famous basketball YouTubers in the throng, a category of online influencers to which I'd been hitherto oblivious, but who generate mass hysteria here. Then we head back to the Chase Center for the main event, joining a human river of fans flooding the arena. • The 17 tips that will save you thousands on your next US trip The weekend finale is a tournament of four hand-picked teams of NBA stars, one coached by the legendary Shaquille O'Neal. The format was changed from previous years in a bid to inject a more competitive edge, so instead of playing four quarters, each game is a race won by the first team to score 40 points. It still can't match the intensity of a real NBA game, and LeBron pulls out injured at the last minute, but Curry steals the show, even scoring from the half-court line. Between plays we get dance troupes, a bizarre ice skating duo from Las Vegas, drummers, mascots, stunt shots and robotic dancing dogs. A random teenage boy is pulled from the stands by the YouTube star MrBeast and wins $100,000 by beating an NBA player in a — somewhat rigged — half-court shooting contest. The comedian Kevin Hart commentates, Spike Lee and Ivanka Trump are in the crowd, Bay area rap artists perform. America may be changing, but it still knows how to do razzmatazz. If you love basketball, this really is the weekend of dreams. When the NBA circus rolls out of town on Monday, I'm rather reluctant to check out of the Beacon Grand's dazzling art deco splendour, so sumptuous that when we get home I redecorate my own bedroom the colour of our wood-panelled room. But when we check into the Four Seasons a few blocks away on Market Street, my son practically faints. At home Jake has to shlep across London to one of the city's few decent indoor courts. This Four Seasons has its own full-size, high-spec one just an elevator ride from our room, where he spends most of the following 48 hours, playing nonstop with a rotating carousel of friendly tech bros (room-only doubles from £360; So far I've been wondering what the doom-mongers have been on about. The regular hair-raising reports of San Fran's decline into crime-riddled squalor in no way tally with the futuristic opulence we've seen. Driverless taxis swish along clean and quiet streets, luxury brands fill Union Square's shop windows, and although I did see one homeless man defecate in the street on night one, he'd done so discreetly in a doorway. I'm curious to see the Mission District, a vibey hipster/Latino neighbourhood where I'd stayed 25 years ago, so set off on foot along Mission Street. Just three blocks from the Four Seasons, I start to wonder if I've made a terrible mistake. The tech bros and luxury brands have vanished. Horrifyingly disfigured and mentally ravaged, the homeless lining the pavements have been stripped of any vestige of human dignity. Hookers in thigh-high boots tout for business, like extras in a gangster movie set in 1970s New York. The stench of urine is overwhelming, a semi-naked couple smoke a crack pipe, and a fresh corpse flat out on the pavement is covered with a sheet by police, who show up with no more sense of drama than mechanics would to tow a broken-down car away. Almost as startling as the homelessness is San Fran's ability to accommodate the disaster and keep going. 'No restroom' posters plaster every shop and restaurant window, even toothpaste is locked behind Perspex in the pharmacies, and only fools like me stray on to the worst streets. So it's still perfectly possible — if slightly surreal — to have a lovely time here. • Read our full guide to the US The Mission District still feels buzzy, like a Latino version of Hackney, if a little rougher round the edges nowadays. Haight-Ashbury, the epicentre of 1960s hippy culture, is still a lot like Camden Market, full of vintage clothing and vinyl record stores and long-haired teenagers in baggy jeans getting high. A bike tour across the Golden Gate Bridge up to the pretty seaside town of Sausalito is enchanting. San Franciscans' languid gift for irony lives on in every conversation with everyone we meet, reminding me why I first fell in love with this city. In our final hotel, 1 San Francisco, you'd never guess President Trump was promising to drill, baby, drill (room-only doubles from £317; A luxury temple to eco-chic, it has beehives and herb gardens on the roof terrace, and fabric-wrapped gifts sourced from local female-owned businesses for sale in the lobby. If the message from Washington is that woke is over, it hasn't reached San Francisco yet. Trump's trade wars may be raging, but the NBA is working hard to export its sport, so next season there will be a Global Games event outside of the US. Recent locations have been Mexico City and Paris and the 2026 venue, rumoured to be Manchester, will be announced imminently. Los Angeles will host next year's All-Star Weekend, and my sons are already begging me to take them. When America feels less loveable than it used to, basketball is still a good reason to Aitkenhead was a guest of the Beacon Grand, which has room-only doubles from £167 ( Four Seasons San Francisco, which has room-only doubles from £360 ( and 1 Hotel San Francisco, which has room-only doubles from £317 ( She was also a guest of Virgin Atlantic, which flies from Heathrow to San Francisco from £505 return, and NBA Experiences ( By Siobhan Grogan Spend Christmas in the sunshine watching England and Australia in the fourth Ashes Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. This package includes nine nights in the city's five-star Pullman Melbourne City Centre, with its modern rooms and rooftop bar. You'll have three free days to explore, perhaps heading to Yarra Valley for wine tasting or lounging on St Kilda's beach, before five days at the cricket, a half hour's walk from your Nine nights' B&B from £2,795pp, including transfers and five-day Ashes ticket, departing on December 22 ( Fly to Melbourne See the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix in style by dropping in halfway through a luxury cruise. After a night in a four-star hotel in Nice, the swish Azamara Journey will sail onwards to Santa Margherita for Portofino and Porto Venere then Livorno for Florence. The ship will then return to Villefranche on the Côte d'Azur so you can swan into Monaco and take your seat for the big race. Afterwards you'll sail onwards to Palma and Barcelona before flying home. Details Nine nights' — eight all-inclusive on the ship, one room-only in a Nice hotel — from £4,299pp, including flights, transfers and Grand Prix tickets, departing on June 1, 2026 ( • 9 of the best luxury cruises for 2025 Team Europe heads Stateside in September to try to retain the biggest prize in team golf. This package includes four nights at a Midtown Manhattan hotel plus ground passes to all three days of the competition and return train transfers from New York's Penn Station to Long Island, in easy reach of the Bethpage Black course. Squeeze in some sightseeing between golf, whether you fancy visiting the Empire State Building or hitting the shops of 5th Avenue. Details Four nights' room-only from £5,595pp, including flights, train travel and three-day Ryder Cup tickets, departing on September 25 (
Forbes
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Can John Smoltz Finally Win Celebrity Golf's Top Prize?
Atlanta Braves great and Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz will look to win the American Century ... More Championship for the first time in 2025. (Photo by) John Smoltz wants to accomplish on the golf course what he once accomplished on the baseball diamond — win a championship. The Atlanta Braves great and Hall of Fame pitcher has participated in the American Century Championship in 13 of the past 14 years and first participated in the celebrity golf tournament back in 2000. However, he's never actually won the tournament, with his best finish being second place back in 2021. The 58-year-old will once again participate in the tournament in July in Lake Tahoe with more than 90 celebrities and athletes involved. The tournament will see some of the familiar faces including former champions such as Mardy Fish, Steph Curry, Tony Romo and Mark Mulder. "I feel like I'm in the top five here every year," says Smoltz in a one-on-one interview. "I should be in the top five. I have high expectations. I'm usually in the top 10, but I'm trending in the right direction. I get too geeked up for this tournament. I got to learn how to just slow it down right before Tahoe, I will know if I made the US Open or not. "I've got a qualifier one more round to get through, and I could play in my second Senior Open, which has really helped me navigate tournament golf," Smoltz continues to say. "Tournament golf is so different than what I play, because what I play is fast, chaotic. Race to the ball, play as fast as you can. That is not tournament golf. As it leads up into Tahoe, I will take more time to play golf and get ready for that pace." Smoltz finished in the top four in three of the past four years. He says Mulder is the best former baseball player on the course, with the former two-time All-Star pitcher having won the tournament three consecutive years from 2015 until 2017. "There's some baseball players that can flat out play, and I can hang a little bit more now that I'm getting a little bit longer," says Smoltz. "I'm working out These guys used to bomb it way by me, but now I'm going to be able to stay in their area code, but Mark Mulder has a similar game to Marty fish, just right handed versus left handed. Baseball players have been known to — for the sport collectively — have the most players that play in the sport, depth wise. We've got a good roster of baseball players when put together in the same tournament, it's going to be a fun watch." The 1996 NL Cy Young Award winner details why pitchers transition well to the golf course and how batters have a similar type of advantage due to their hand-eye coordination. He also says that hockey players do well on the golf course — like former Dallas Stars veteran Joe Pavelski -- due to how they shoot the puck in hockey. Smoltz also says field goal kickers in football tend to do well on the golf course. It all comes down to hand-eye coordination and time. "A lot of us pitchers have time to play, so we put a lot of time in between starts to play and hand eye coordination for a lot of hitters who bomb it like Aaron Hicks, Derek Lowe, there's so many golfers that flat out move the golf ball, and they're just sneaky strong because of the way they handle the bat," says Smoltz. While Smoltz mentions Mulder and Romo among the best players in the tournament, he singles out Fish — the former tennis standout -- as the very best in this field. Fish has won twice, including last year. "Mardy Fish," says Smoltz when asked who's the best golfer in the tournament. "Mark Mulder's had success here, he's won multiple times. Tony Romo has dominated this event a couple times. Mardy Fish really has the elite celebrity kind of game. The only way that you can beat Mardy Fish is that it's super windy and he doesn't have that majestic ball that he plays." Smoltz goes into further detail why Fish is such a standout on the golf course, giving him credit and saying that he could make noise at the "next level." "He's got a pretty swing," says Smoltz. "Once you've been there done that, you become comfortable with the environment. He is comfortable playing golf. I don't think he wants to go anywhere else. But if there was a player that could maybe tempt with making some tournaments and making some noise at the next level, I think Mardy Fish is one of those guys." The American Century Championship's total purse is $750K with first place getting a $150K payout in the most prestigious celebrity tournament in golf. The first round will start on July 11 and the event will conclude on July 13, with the tournament being broadcast on NBC. "This is the greatest tournament that the celebrities get to play in, it's a perfect venue," says Smoltz. 'Perfect place to kind of showcase something we do on the side. All walks of life come together, some really great golfers in the field, and it's just the perfect week for me. Obviously, I have to do the MLB All-Star game afterwards (as a broadcaster), but to play golf and Tahoe and to compete -- I am going to be the oldest winner at some point. Just don't know when that is, it could be this year. But it's one of the greatest events we get to play in.'
New York Times
3 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
What's the latest intel on Jonathan Kuminga and his uncertain Warriors' future?
SAN FRANCISCO — There are essentially three competing agendas within the Golden State Warriors in regard to Jonathan Kuminga's uncertain future: Kuminga's, the win-immediately core's and management's. Their motives agree and overlap in nuanced ways but clash in certain others, generating a complicated month ahead for the organization's biggest-ticket offseason item. Advertisement Restricted free agency gives an extra bit of inherent leverage to the franchise. Klay Thompson, unrestricted and unhappy with his situation, left the Warriors last summer on his own volition. Kuminga can't. If he is to split from the Warriors, he will need a level of cooperation between the front office, his agent, Aaron Turner, and his next team. But this is still the greatest amount of control Kuminga has ever had in his first four professional seasons and the plan is to wield it as best as possible. He's 22, still young enough to believe a mountain of growth is ahead, but old enough in NBA years to be assured in what he does and doesn't want his early prime seasons to look like. Kuminga, league sources said, still has visions of becoming an All-Star, not fitting into an ever-moving mid-tier rotation role. He wants to be a featured player in an NBA offense and chase the 20-point-and-beyond dreams he's spent his life chasing and the last week of his fourth season tasting. With an injured Steph Curry out of the picture, here were Kuminga's averages the last four games of the Minnesota Timberwolves series: 24.3 points on 54.8 percent shooting. He was a powerful 22 of 29 within five feet. He was a respectable 7 of 18 on 3s. He blew through Rudy Gobert for a memorable dunk. He toasted Naz Reid repeatedly in space. He was given the Anthony Edwards assignment on the other end. Jonathan Kuminga, HOW⁉️ 📺 #NBAonABC — Golden State Warriors (@warriors) May 11, 2025 Kuminga wasn't perfect. The Warriors lost all four games. But he was a primary and productive source of offense in the second round of the playoffs against a great defense. Minnesota had real trouble staying in front of him. That's the type of week that only stokes the belief that Kuminga's career desires are attainable, if given the room to stretch his legs, either with the Warriors or elsewhere. There isn't an irreconcilable player-and-coach or player-and-organization personality clash, league sources said. This is all about finding the contract and opportunity Kuminga craves. Jonathan Kuminga on his relationship with Steve Kerr: 'We've had ups and downs. But he helped me to get here.' Kuminga kept answers about his future vague: 'I don't know.' — Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) May 15, 2025 Curry, Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler will make a combined $139.6 million next season. Below them — a three-man core general manager Mike Dunleavy maintains the franchise is committed to building around — there isn't a bunch of higher-priced roster-building tools to use. Kuminga represents the largest one, either through a fourth hefty contract commitment that'll stretch the Warriors near the aprons or a sign-and-trade opportunity that brings back the type of mid-rotation pieces to better round-out a fringe championship roster. Advertisement The last time Curry, Butler and Green were on the court together, they were up 10 in Game 1 in Minnesota and Kuminga was somewhere between the ninth and 11th man, mostly out of the picture. They enter the offseason under the belief they had a chance if Curry's hamstring didn't give and want some roster fortification to give them their best crack at it the next two playoffs. The cleanest path is finding a sign-and-trade scenario that delivers the Warriors veterans who fit the unique Steve Kerr system built around Curry, Green and now Butler — three unique and proven winners. One league source noted the way Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington altered Dallas' fortune two trade deadlines ago as a blueprint. Those two — a steady starting center and versatile wing — made a combined $28.8 million at the time of the trade. Ever since one of Kuminga's early-career breakout games in Chicago, Kerr has repeatedly mentioned the name Shawn Marion as a favorite idealized comparison. Their roster could certainly use a 6-foot-7 slasher who defends every position, pounds the glass, flies around with force and impacts the game without ever needing a play design. But there's a square-peg-round-hole reality that has proven itself out in nearly a half-decade together. Kuminga has acknowledged he must rebound better — activity that usually trickles down to the rest of his game. But he's an on-ball scorer at heart and has trained and built his basketball instincts with that in mind. There is not a current expectation that the Brooklyn Nets are preparing an offer sheet for Kuminga, but there are signs Brooklyn could be willing to use its open cap space as a vehicle to execute multi-team trade scenarios this summer, league sources said. That could open up several avenues and possible suitors for Kuminga, one of the market's most intriguing names. The Warriors' front office, with the help of new cap specialist Jon Phelps, showed some creativity last summer, routing Thompson's departure into a six-team sign-and-trade that delivered Buddy Hield and Kyle Anderson (after generating the space for De'Anthony Melton). Advertisement Something similar would check the box for the first two agendas. But that's where it gets tricky. In regard to Kuminga's situation, the 'base year compensation' rule in the CBA is a critical impediment. Assuming Kuminga gets at least a 20 percent raise (he will) and his new deal takes the Warriors over the cap (it will), the incoming salary will only count as 50 percent of Kuminga's outgoing salary for matching purposes. Basically: If Kuminga's next deal starts at $30 million, his next team absorbs it as such, but the Warriors would be looking at a $15 million incoming match. They could exceed it by 125 percent ($18.75 million in this scenario), but if they were to take a dollar more than the theoretical match ($15 million in this scenario), they'd be hard-capped at the first apron. Leaving all the accounting intricacies to the side, here's what matters: That combination punch (the base-year rule plus first-apron cap) significantly limits the amount of sign-and-trade opportunities that can realistically be executed. Other salaries (at full price) could be added. The Warriors' front office, Kuminga's representatives and the league are expected to explore all options into July. But team sources have been hinting that, because of these market and financial restrictions, there's a likely world where the most obvious and prudent path is for them to bring Kuminga back and figure the rest out later. Joe Lacob's belief in Kuminga is well-documented. The Warriors' controlling owner was a major draft-night voice in 2021 when they selected Kuminga seventh. Lacob was seated courtside the entire Minnesota series as Kuminga shrugged off the rust and reminded the world about the scoring talent that resides within him. 'I was listening to the guys behind me tonight give running commentary — T'Wolves fans,' Lacob told The Athletic after Game 5. '(Kuminga)'s the guy they talked about all night long. He's the only guy that could really guard (Anthony Edwards) out there. Did a pretty damn good job. He had a tough situation with the DNPs from the last series, and to bounce back from that, I give him a lot of credit. I'm a big fan of his.' Advertisement After the series, Lacob voiced to Kuminga his continued belief in his future and wanted the young forward to keep an open mind about returning, league sources said. He invited Kuminga to sit courtside with him for the WNBA franchise opener for the Golden State Valkyries. The gesture, broadcast everywhere locally, sent a clear signal to the outside world. That isn't a guarantee of anything. Lacob invited Thompson to play golf the month before Thompson left the franchise for the Dallas Mavericks. But it'll be a high bar to clear for Lacob to greenlight a sign-and-trade where he parts with Kuminga. Dunleavy hasn't been as profuse in his praise and has generated a level of decision-making power made most clear in his execution of the Butler trade last February, which is viewed internally as a big success. He's on record stating his plan to maximize the present. But Dunleavy also has been particular and patient in his asset management and has been clear that he believes Kuminga has a skill set that can help this core. 'I look at the things JK does well,' Dunleavy said at his exit interview. 'Getting to the rim, finishing, getting fouled. These are things we greatly need. We know he can bring those to the table. It's not hypothetical. It's not a guy in the draft that we think can do it. He's shown for four years he can do that. For that reason, we'll try to bring him back.' The 'base year compensation' rule only applies to the summer sign-and-trade. Once Kuminga is trade-eligible again next December, his full salary would count for matching purposes, loosening up some of the handcuffs — while also making negotiations about his starting salary number more nuanced. Kerr has stated an openness to a Kuminga return. He only gave the five-man lineup of Curry, Brandin Podziemski, Kuminga, Butler and Green 12 total minutes together down the stretch of the regular season. It closed a road win against the Los Angeles Lakers together well, but the other Kuminga, Butler and Green lineups didn't have a great output, and Kerr — in an urgent pre-playoff and playoff moment — went away from a rusty Kuminga, just back from a 31-game absence. 'If JK comes back, we will for sure spend the early part of the season playing him with Jimmy, Draymond, Steph,' Kerr said. 'To me, that would be a no-brainer. We didn't have that luxury this (past) year.' Advertisement Curry (37) and Butler (35) will assuredly be managed throughout the regular season. It's very possible that Kuminga, by default, would be given a larger share of on-ball scoring opportunities for long stretches and would only earn more with success. The rest of the roster, as currently constructed, has shown its lack of creation punch. Kuminga, league sources said, hasn't slammed the door shut on a return. Restricted free agency doesn't really allow it. The Warriors have ultimate control, regardless of his desire. But his comfort about the idea is dependent on several factors and there's a month of conversation and eventual negotiations ahead with competing agendas in the mix.
New York Post
5 days ago
- Sport
- New York Post
Josh Hart has bigger Knicks goals that transcend the starting lineup
INDIANAPOLIS — Go ahead, try to think back to the 2022 Finals — just three years ago — and tell me who started the clincher for the winning Warriors. You obviously know Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson. Maybe you recalled Andrew Wiggins. But that fifth starter? It was Otto Porter Jr., who is now retired at 31 years old. Or, let's go back to the most consequential contest in NBA history — Game 7, 2016 Finals — and tell me if you genuinely remembered that Festus Ezeli and Tristan Thompson matched up at tipoff. Or how about five years ago with the Lakers in the Bubble, when Alex Caruso and Danny Green lined up with LeBron James. Are their starts etched and memorialized in NBA history? Hardly.
Forbes
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
The NBA's Creator Playbook: Inside Its Modern Media Machine
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. FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder 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 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.
