Give And Go
By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
The tip-off of the brand-new season of the National Basketball Association (NBA) does not happen until next month but right now interest in it are being hyped up with the league mounting activities to whet fan interest.
At the weekend for instance, The Association, along with Nike, Inc., unveiled a number of uniform innovations that make those worn by NBA players some of the most modern and advanced in the world of sports. And, ditto, must-cops.
These are the Nike NBA Connected Jersey, Statement Edition uniforms, and the Nike Therma Flex Showtime Warm-up Jacket which were unveiled with representatives from the 30 NBA team present.
The Connected Jersey makes use of the NikeConnect technology with the jerseys embedded with a near field communication (NFC) chip that launches real-time team and player content such as pregame arrival footage, highlight packages and top players’ favorite music playlists — all on the jersey owner’s mobile device. To unlock it all, fans just have to download the NikeConnect app and tap the jersey with their smartphone.
For the Statement Edition uniforms, Nike designers worked with the teams and the brand’s roster of athletes to create new and updated uniforms for the third of four core team uniforms after the Association and Icon Edition uniforms. These speak of the teams’ desire to make a bold statement the moment they step on the court. A fourth team edition uniform is set to be released later this year, something fans should look forward to.
The Nike Therma Flex Showtime Warm-up Jacket, meanwhile, is the first on-court warm-up jacket with a performance hood. It is created with new Nike Therma Flex fabric which helps athletes maintain the right body temperature during pregame warm-ups and downtime during a game. The jacket is developed with input from top NBA athletes and features a reimagined hood that allows for optimal vision, hearing and warmth, delivering a greater intersection between performance and style.
These new league apparels, which officials said are geared toward “enhancing fan experience and modernizing the look of the game,” are to be made available when the NBA starts preseason and moving forward.
Also earlier this week, the NBA released a series of promotional videos under the “I’m Why” campaign highlighting why fans should get excited about the 2017-2018 NBA season.
“I’m Why” is the next chapter of the global “This Is Why We Play” campaign of the NBA and showcases various elements of NBA basketball that make the game so special — players breaking records, mothers supporting their sons, a chance at an NBA Championship, fans cheering in the stands, employees working behind the scenes and more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcB1hzo8Xo8
Among the early spots under the latest NBA campaign is “Tipping Off 2017” which highlights the many reasons fans look forward to NBA Tip-Off, including cities coming together, record-breaking performances, crazy super-fans and memorable moments on and off the court.
“Golden State’s Homecourt Advantage”, meanwhile, is the first of 30 unique team spots and tells the story of Megan, a young woman on the Golden State Warriors’ game-night staff, who is responsible for covering Oracle Arena’s 19,596 seats with gold shirts before playoff games.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzdNP_EFQzY
Still another is “I’m Why Mexico 2017” which is a custom spot that continues to celebrate 25 years of NBA games held in Mexico, and gets local fans excited for the Mexico City Games in December.
With all these and more, I am definitely excited to see NBA 2017-2018 get going.
These are apart, of course, from the many subplots when the season goes into full swing beginning Oct. 17 like whether the Warriors get to defend their title, how the newly formed “super teams” would fare, breakout players and rookie sensations, among others, as well as the chance to dip my hands anew to Fantasy League tournaments (Wazzup, Fantasy freaks!).
The wait is not that long anymore. This Is Why We Play. I’m Why.
Michael Angelo S. Murillo has been a columnist since 2003. He is a BusinessWorld reporter covering the Sports beat.
