Tag Archives | NBA

Overtime Post – Pros and Cons of Athletes on Twitter

By on November 21, 2010 in Social Media in Sports

Through out this whole week, we’ve had ongoing discussions about the pros and cons of professional athletes using social media to build their brands and engage with fans. Twitter, specifically has been a hot topic due to Tiger Woods making a re-entrance to the space. Since this is the internet, it’s expected that the generalRead more →

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Taking Control of Your Content

By on November 17, 2010 in Sports Marketing

It all started on October 29th during a game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Milwaukee Bucks. Minnesota Center Kosta Koufos missed an open jumper. Several players, including the Wolves’ Kevin Love and Wes Johnson, went for the rebound. Love was hacked, sending him to the free throw line. As Love prepared to take hisRead more →

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Playing Within Facebook’s Rules

By on November 2, 2010 in Social Media in Sports

(This is a guest post by Joseph Yi) While there are plenty of articles that discuss the advantages of running a promotion on Facebook, what few mention are the difficulties in actually getting a promotion that falls within Facebook’s promotions guidelines launched. In what can only be described as ambiguous and unclear, Facebook’s Promotions GuidelinesRead more →

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LeBron James Shares New Image Through Nike Ad

By on October 29, 2010 in Sports Marketing

Before you read further, watch Nike’s latest commercial, “Rise,” featuring LeBron James.

The Background

Since most of you already know the story, I’ll make this as quick as I can. Feel free to skip through if you know the background. The last four or five months have been interesting for the King. After seven years in Cleveland and no championship rings, LeBron James decided it was time to leave.

In a prime time ESPN event called The Decision, LeBron announced to the world that he would be “taking [his] talents to South Beach” to play for the Miami Heat. Cavs fans were furious, their hometown hero (LBJ is from Akron, Ohio) was leaving them, having never delivered the championship he promised.

Basketball fans from all over were upset as well, mainly with how LeBron decided to handle the announcement. Even though the money raised during the show was then donated to the Boys & Girls Club of America, most thought it was a pretentious and selfish way to announce his decision.

Throughout the offseason, LeBron has come under a lot of fire. He’s been called out for quitting on his team in the playoffs, for leaving Cleveland, for The Decision. Dan Gilbert, the Cavs’ owner, publicized a nasty letter about LeBron.

Recently, LBJ came out and said he thought that all of the backlash from The Decision was partially a race issue, and that if he were of a different skin color, none of this would have been a big deal. Also, in the past few weeks, LeBron has retweeted several hateful and derogatory tweets, examples of messages he says he receives every day.

In the end, LeBron’s image has changed from a beloved NBA superstar, a hometown hero, and possibly the one-day greatest basketball player of all time to the biggest villain in the league (yes, above Kobe, he’s going to get booed everywhere he goes), a selfish superstar who betrayed his city for more money (smaller contract, bigger endorsements), more fame, and an easier championship ring.

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Following NBA Free Agency

By on July 8, 2010 in Social Media in Sports

Over the past year, Twitter has shown us its incredible power when it comes to talking about and sharing “breaking news” and current events (not just in sports). For example, last year’s Iranian presidential elections completely dominated Twitter for a number of weeks, and became the medium for finding out what was happening in the Middle East. Other major news events, like the Hudson River plane crash and Michael Jackson’s death, have proven the same.

July 1 marked the start of one of the biggest summers in the history of the National Basketball Association. A number of the league’s premier players, including LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwayne Wade, became free agents. 2010 NBA free agency has been quite an experience, and Twitter has truly given fans an insight into free agency unlike we’ve ever had before. Like the events mentioned previously, Twitter has completely altered who controls the messaging and the way we gather information.

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PLAYOFFS?! Yes, I’m Talking About the Playoffs!

By on May 11, 2010 in Sports Business

I am, by no stretch of the imagination, a fan of hockey. While I absolutely love most sports (e.g. basketball, baseball, football, golf, tennis), hockey is one sport I’ve never been able to get into. However, last Saturday during Game One of the second round Boston Bruins vs. Philadelphia Flyers, you wouldn’t have known theRead more →

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Now is the Best Time to be a Sports Fan

By on March 23, 2010 in Social Media in Sports

As some of you may know I’m a huge basketball fan and I live in the UK. A few years ago this meant following the NBA could be difficult at times. It often resulted in struggling to stay awake at work or school after staying up until 4 a.m. the previous night to watch aRead more →

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LeBron is Missing a Massive Opportunity

By on February 16, 2010 in Social Media in Sports

Let me start by saying that LeBron James is doing just fine for himself. LeBron can pretty much do whatever he wants (e.g. get dunked on at his own camp and confiscate the video, walk off the court without shaking hands after losing the Eastern conference finals, back out of the Slam Dunk Competition) andRead more →

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How to Fix the NBA’s All-Star Dilemma

By on February 16, 2010 in Sports Business

(This is a guest article by Stephen Lombardo) For what seems like an eternity, the NBA has lost some of its appeal to its fans when it comes to All-Star weekend.  The game is the most entertaining part.  However, they don’t actually play basketball until the final five minutes of the game.  All-Star Saturday feelsRead more →

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Pay Attention to the Little Things (and People)

By on January 29, 2010 in Social Media in Sports

An amazing aspect of social media, for brands, is the ability to listen to your fans and customers. They will tell you when you do something great, but more importantly, they will tell you when you fail. The real-time web has given brands an opportunity like never before, the chance to listen and respond toRead more →

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Sports Business Weekly Buzz

By on January 15, 2010 in Sports Business

Haiti In Rubble: Marketers, Aid Groups Rush To Help By Karl Greenbery Coca-Cola has pledged $1 million through the Coca-Cola Foundation to the American Red Cross for disaster-relief efforts in Haiti. The company says it is also providing bottled water and other products through its bottler in the adjacent Dominican Republic. The General Motors FoundationRead more →

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Social Media Report Card – Steve Nash

By on January 13, 2010 in Social Media in Sports

In November 2009, I introduced a series of articles I called ‘Social Media Report Card,’ where I graded each of the four major sports leagues – NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLB – on their social media presence. I made a point of being harsh. In particular, I criticized each of the leagues for only utilizingRead more →

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