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NBA Season Preview

It's That Time Again: Nike Releases New LeBron Ad Ahead Of The Start Of The Season

Nike has released a new minute-long ad starring Cavaliers F LeBron James ahead of the start of the NBA campaign titled "Welcome to Season 15," a reference to this being James' 15th year in the league, according to Tiffany Patterson of WOIO-CBS. The ad begins with James, who was named the most marketable player in the NBA, "walking down a corridor of Quicken Loans Arena before flashing to snippets of an erupting volcano, a lion" and an Instagram video of James working out following the Cavaliers' loss to the Warriors in the '17 NBA Finals (CLEVELAND19.com, 10/16). James is shown at the start of the ad "wearing sunglasses, accompanied by a narrator saying, 'Oh no, no, no. Why'd they go and poke the bear?'" The narrator ends the ad saying, "I'd feel sorry for them if it wasn't going to be so damn fun to watch" (SI.com, 10/16). Meanwhile, in Cleveland, Joey Morona reported Nike last night opened a pop-up store near Quicken Loans Arena in which James' new signature shoe the LeBron 15s "will be available in three colorways: Ghost, Ashes and Pride of Ohio." The shoes, which retail for $185, look "unlike any other shoe James has released before," as it uses a "new version of Nike's Flyknit technology that's becoming a popular feature on the brand's running shoes." The Ghost shoes are "essentially beige," while the Ashes version "features black and gray." The Pride of Ohio "comes in a rose gold/black color scheme that pairs nicely with the Cavs' wine and gold colors." The store will be open through Sunday, and fans also can "purchase Nike's new Cavaliers jerseys with James' No. 23 on it and T-shirts" (CLEVELAND.com, 10/16).

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE: James appears on the November cover of GQ, and the magazine's Mark Anthony Green in the accompanying article notes James is a "broad constructionist on the athlete-greatness front." James the basketball player still is "front and center," but there is a "deep understanding of the way this life of his is going to work for decades to come -- that one day basketball will run out, and it will be on to Phase II." That is why James "spends his off-season cramming his days laying groundwork for what comes next, expanding the universe of LeBron Inc." James is "deadly serious about his universe of extra-basketball enterprises." He is aware of the "critical importance of Phase II for taking the fame, the exposure, and the influence that he has garnered and cultivated in basketball, and amplifying it to any number of ends" (GQ, 11/ '17 issue).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

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