Kevin Garnett and Big Ticket Sports CEO George Daniel discussed their efforts to revamp the once-booming Hoop It Up basketball tour and much more in a wide-ranging interview to close out Day 1 of the Octagon Sports Marketing Symposium. Garnett in July purchased Hoop It Up and created Big Ticket Sports to manage the 30-year-old tour and several other properties. The NBA legend said he was always a fan of the Hoop It Up brand and saw an opportunity to create a grand event. “It just seemed like it was right … to start seeing it as an event,” Garnett said. “Take advantage of being able to tell stories and bring in different partners, different sponsors, creating roles for myself -- along with having a really, really dope basketball tournament.”
Daniel said 3-on-3 basketball becoming an Olympic sport made the timing right to push forward with Garnett’s vision for the brand. Daniel also said Hoop It Up is in the process of having its events being able to provide Olympic qualifying points in the future. He speculated they will put on 12-15 events in '20.
