Converse for the Win: How Brands Stole the 2025 NBA Finals Spotlight...
This 24/25 NBA season was for the brands! So many exciting came from this years championship and brands made sure to capitalise on all of them...
Happy new week!
Just hours ago, the Oklahoma City Thunder were crowned 2025 NBA Champions after defeating the Indiana Pacers in a dramatic Game 7. The man of the moment? Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. In a single season, he secured his first NBA Championship, was named 2025 Finals MVP, 2025 league MVP, and became a 3x NBA All-Star. Safe to say Converse is enjoying a serious return on their investment.
This NBA season was full of unexpected twists, no one predicted a Thunder vs. Pacers Finals — but it’s been a marketing goldmine for sportswear brands. In the Finals, it wasn’t just the players trading blows, the brands behind them joined the trash talk too.
Adidas rode the wave with their star player, Anthony Edwards, aka “Ant-Man,” with a creative and comedic campaign series starring Law & Order: SVU actor Ice-T playing his role as Detective Odafin, investigating the trail of bodies left by Ant-Man’s after every game, with the line “No body is safe,”. A real return of that creativity and edge that fans love from sportswear brands.
Right after OKC eliminated the Minnesota Timberwolves from the playoffs, Converse wasted no time. They dropped a video on X featuring an ant being crushed under the Converse SHAI 001 — a very cheeky jab at their competitors Adidas and their star player “Ant-Man.”
This kind of playful, competitive energy brings life to brand campaigns. Just as players go head-to-head on the court, brands doing the same digitally made the season very fun.
With a season full of surprises, the brands that won were the ones who stayed reactive, strategic, and in tune with the moment. Tapping into narratives, player personalities, and trending moments lets brands build real fan connection — but only if it’s timed right.
Puma, tried to ride the Haliburton hate train by releasing T-shirts playing off fans calling Tyrese Haliburton “overrated.” While the concept had potential, it missed the mark as the tees were released before the Pacers won the game that advanced them to the NBA Finals and arrived nearly a day after their last winning playoffs game. The timing just didn’t land.
Converse were on the pulse though with a hero video celebrating their star player’s big win, with an incredibly inspiring hero film. A moment to celebrate with all OKC fans but also platform their product on the man of the moment. The perfect balance between emotional storytelling and product placement cementing both the player and the brand in an unforgettable championship moment.