NBA Digs Deeper Into Personal Stories, On and Off the Court, in Ads for the New Season

Translation defines the league's role in people's lives

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With the NFL slowed by nagging controversies and sagging TV ratings, and Major League Baseball’s storied days as America’s pastime long passed, the NBA continues to step up its game and drive strongly into our collective cultural consciousness.

Fittingly, the pro basketball league’s latest ads, launched ahead of next month’s regular season, showcase confidence and swagger but also strive to transcend game action to tell deeper stories of the league’s place in people’s lives.

Using the tagline “I’m Why,” the work, which is part of the broader “This Is Why We Play” campaign, does a fine job of personalizing the league and reflecting its increasingly elevated role across the contemporary landscape.

Yes, there’s hoop footage in the first spot below, but the emphasis is more intimate and intense, encompassing the full emotional range of the 2016-17 season, from elation (LeBron James greeting a fan courtside) to heartbreak (the sad farewell of broadcaster Craig...

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