The champagne and confetti hasn’t been cleared up on South Beach, yet the NBA has to quickly shift gears and promote its future, the NBA Draft.
While the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs provided fans with must-see TV in Game 7 of the NBA FInals, a large part of the conversation transpired in the interwebs and through one’s smartphone. Rumors and facts swirl faster than a Tony Parker spin move in the paint. That’s how quickly and how much basketball aficionados consume content. In less than a week’s time, the dialogue has revolved around Doc Rivers heading to the Los Angeles Clippers and what college prospects have had their stock affected in the waning days prior to the NBA Draft.
Accordingly, NBA Digital and Turner Sports have seamlessly transitioned their efforts to the draft. And although there was a 10 percent decline in ratings a year ago in a draft headlined by national player of the year, Anthony Davis, it still marked the second-best viewership since ESPN carried it over nine seasons, per sportsmediawatch.com. One can only expect interest to grow today due to the overflow of chatter from The Finals and social media’s proliferation. Twitter’s Head of Sports and Entertainment, Omid Ashtari, blogged that 26.7 million tweets occurred over the course of this series, 7.4 million Game 7 tweets, and the Heat recorded 3 million tweets about them after the last game. With the draft’s unpredictability, engagement should be rampant pick after pick.
Online, on NBA.com, a complete contextual refresh to Draft Central has taken over the league’s homepage starting today. The topline tabs to navigate most of the information include: playermetrics, draft order, prospects, Eastern and Western Conference team previews, a big board broken down by positions, draft news on previous mock drafts and combine measurements, draft diaries from several prospects like Anthony Bennett and Allen Crabbe, and “more” referring to the league’s various social channels. At one’s eye level, a widescreen shot of original videos are imminently available. The bottom half of the site corresponds to a giant draft board of both rounds, news headlines, and social media modules.
The most notable and interactive feature is Playermetrics. This 360-degree camera highlights specific prospect’s physical characteristics. To add context, fans can choose between Damian Lillard, Paul George, and Davis to cross-compare their respective measurements. Essentially, it’s virtual hub that takes fans inside what a futuristic team draft day war room would look like.
There’s a couple new social media elements, too. The BIG Tweets Here is powered by Twitter themselves and serves as a pulse of what’s being talked about, both from a collective and individual team perspective. Fans just have to click a club’s logo to filter the commentary of fans, influencers, and NBA.com writers. Moreover, the #NBADraft Around the World feature conveys a confluence of fan tweets and trending topics into an engaging social map from across the globe. Thus, strategically marketing in a hyper-social and hyper-global matter; the league remains consistent with ensuring it extends its all-encompassing reach.
Considering that the NBA has turned into a who’s who of GQ-esque models, the AllBall blog will prominently display and let fans vote what they think these draftees should wear when they go shake David Stern’s hand on stage for his very last time. This type of content appeals to young and old alike, which touches upon what’s likely to be the most discussed aspect online.
Meanwhile, on mobile, NBA Game Time–the app that already won a Webby Award–will consist of more of the same content available on NBA.com. And the smartphone version of the site will debut Playermetrics on this platform, with select images open to being shared via Facebook and Twitter. These endeavors solidify that that NBA Draft can be consumed on any device and provide most of the content featured on the league’s homepage.
NBA Digital and Turner Sports enhanced and thrived with their NBA Finals coverage. The NBA Draft is the latest extension of the league’s forward-thinking approach to appease fans everywhere. If that doesn’t suffice, Craig Sager in his trendsetter suit will interview players moments after hearing their name called, which will be covered on NBA.com and NBA TV.