2025 NBA Sponcon Scouting Report

👋 Welcome back to Sponcon Sports, a weekly newsletter dedicated to sponsored content strategy in the sports industry!

Time to retire the “predict the first score” style post.

In doing research for this month’s NHL Sponcon Scouting Report, I found that 28% of teams (9 of 32) ask fans to make pregame predictions on organic social. But here’s where it gets interesting:

• 78% (7 of 9) have the feature sponsored

• 67% (6 of 9) ask fans to predict the first goal

• 67% (6 of 9) link out for participation

• 89% (8 of 9) run the series every game

• 16.4K impressions per post (72 posts)

• 222 engagements per post (72 posts)

Here’s the issue: when a series like this runs daily on organic — and consistently performs below benchmark — it drags down your overall account performance and makes it harder for content teams to hit their KPIs. And if that underperformance comes from sponsored content, it’s an easy way to strain the relationship between partnerships and content teams.

Now, I like the idea — I’ve even recommended it myself. But organic social shouldn’t be the main distribution channel.

Let’s go back to the goal. You’re usually trying to:

1. Generate leads, or

2. Drive engagement.

If you’re trying to generate leads, use the channels best suited for middle- to lower-funnel actions. You have better options than organic social — like paid social, email, SMS, app/web push notifications, and QR codes in-venue or during your pregame broadcast. Those are the platforms built to move fans off-platform and into conversion environments.

If the goal is engagement, keep fans on-platform. Three teams did this and saw above-average results (23.6K impressions and 430 engagements per post), but even with the lift, the returns still don’t justify using organic as the main distribution channel. You could likely match (or beat) that by running the series on Instagram Stories with the question sticker — especially if you still want to link out to your app or site (people are at least used to clicking links there).

If organic social is a must have for a partner, IG Stories is the exception as it tends to maintain performance benchmarks — and in many cases, I’ve seen them outperform X when using engagement stickers to spark participation. That’s what the platform is built for: quick, simple interactions that drive action.

A great idea only works when the channel strategy matches the goal, otherwise, even good content gets lost in the wrong place.

In Today’s Edition:

• NBA Scouting Report 📋️

• F1 Logistics Explained 🚚 

• Bills Brew-tiful Collab 🫖 

🏊️ DEEP DIVE
The Best Sponsored Content From The NBA’s Opening Week

Opening Week is my favorite time to scroll.

Teams have new partners to introduce, refreshed creative energy, and a few strategic tweaks to familiar formats.

I tracked every team and the league across social, breaking down the sponsored content plays that stood out — and what makes them work. And while plenty of fan-favorite activations are still running strong, I didn’t rehash them here. You can find those in last year’s edition, linked here.

Here’s what caught my eye.

Winning Strategies

The Sacramento Kings asked players which Gatorade bottle is the best. It’s not a concept that would work for every sports drink — Gatorade’s history and nostalgia make it the perfect question to spark debate and engagement.

Sticking with Gatorade, there was more product integration in Portland through the Trail Blazers’ Time Trials series. I’ve been a fan of this format since discovering it via the Indiana Pacers — it’s a social-first way to showcase a product without forcing it.

The Los Angeles Lakers and Toyota are celebrating 50 years of partnership this season — and they’re making it visible. A co-branded anniversary lockup appeared on the scoreboard, in the arrival tunnel, and even as the intro to their starting five posts.

In the same auto lane, the Detroit Pistons placed Suburban Ford on their all-access series Under the Hood. It’s a smart tie-in that fits both the series name and the behind-the-scenes theme.

Last December, the Los Angeles Clippers and Fiji Airways started a new tradition — after each win, a player signs the game ball and hands it to a fan. The moment gets captured and shared on social, tying well to Fiji’s Here to Happiness tagline and building strong brand affinity both in person and online.

Ahead of their final preseason game, the Chicago Bulls welcomed Soñé que volaba, a daily Argentinian streaming show, for a live broadcast from the United Center. The stream drew over 63,000 concurrent viewers (and 300K+ total views) — one of the most-watched team-supported YouTube streams ever — and built on the team’s year-old Spanish-language channel, @LosBulls.

Fan Rewards and Tech Plays

The Cleveland Cavaliers leveled up their mobile app — and Cavs Rewards is the star of the show. Fans can now earn points at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, partner locations, and through in-app gameday predictions, all feeding into a new leaderboard with redeemable rewards. With KeyBank as the preferred payment partner, using your card earns points with multipliers at select partner spots.

Out West, the Clippers announced Wavemakers — a gamified rewards program that gives fans missions to build homecourt advantage, unlock badges, and earn prizes directly in the app.

As a new NBA rightsholder, Prime Video made a splash both on-air and online. Their studio show’s LED court drew plenty of attention as a fresh Inside the NBA competitor — delivering strong value for Wayfair, whose logo appears on the court. Their package includes the Emirates NBA Cup Games, so fittingly, they shared what custom courts would look like for the shows on their platform. @NBAOnPrime also rolled out some cross-product sponcon with a series called Who’s Hot, presented by Fire TV.

On the innovation front, the NBA unveiled a new stat in partnership with AWS — Defensive Box Score. Now I’m just waiting for the @_sportsball video to break down what it actually means.

Smart Extensions

If you have a charity-based trigger, the Orlando Magic just shared the blueprint. Most teams post donation recaps. The Magic flipped the script — scaling their Block Out Hunger platform (presented by Florida Blue) by sharing individual block highlights that fans actually want to watch. The donation updates come later. Leading with the on-court action drives engagement at scale — and ultimately makes the donation piece more memorable.

Sticking with blocks, the Miami Heat gave XL Blocks to OmegaXL Sport — an NSF-certified supplement that accelerates muscle recovery. And in D.C., the Washington Wizards placed ZKsync, an Ethereum blockchain-based scaling solution, on their Block of the Week feature.

Design and Detail

Small creative tweaks often make the biggest difference. The Oklahoma City Thunder updated their Starting Five posts — sponsored by KIA — to fix a small issue. Last year, it read “Presented by KIA” above “Starting Five,” which was grammatically awkward. It’s now “KIA Presents the Electric Starting Five” — cleaner, smarter, and aligned with the brand’s EV message.

A new sponsor just joined the Cavs’ Starting Five posts — Staffinders, Inc. Solid alignment for a staffing firm.

The Boston Celtics reminded the industry that their edits weren’t a one-hit wonder — they’re back, kicking off with a TD Bank Opening Night hype reel that reinforces why their creative team is in a league of its own.

The Golden State Warriors dropped a long-form BTS video from Media Day that subtly featured Adobe — the presenting sponsor of Warriors Studio — via co-branded gear for the production crew. It’s subtle integration, but the visibility is high.

The Toronto Raptors made a sharp move with Google Pixel — they shared their Opening Night roster as a “Shot on Google Pixel” team photo, then set it as their X profile’s cover photo for full-season exposure.

If you’ve got a sponsor on your top-of-backboard signage (where TV exposure is limited), take a page from the Brooklyn Nets. They paired their Red Bull placement with social content using that same high-angle camera — giving the sponsor more visibility and purpose.

Healthcare and Wellness

The Phoenix Suns’ Doc For A Day sweepstakes with Banner Health was a standout. It’s a great healthcare concept that connects young fans to the sports medicine side of the game with a memorable behind-the-scenes experience.

In The Lab made its debut as part of the Houston Rockets’ practice sponsorship with Memorial Hermann — another clean fit for the hospital category.

And in Utah, the Jazz placed University of Utah Health on their Player of the Game feature but renamed it Performance Leader to better align with the brand’s tone. Smart adjustment.

Fashion, Culture, and Arrivals

Sprite remains the presenting partner of player arrivals for several teams, but the Philadelphia 76ers win with the best series name, Limelight (formerly Philly Fits) — clean, contextual, and brand-aligned.

Because this rolled out last December (and wasn’t included in last year’s edition), I want to spotlight it again. The Milwaukee Bucks not only have pregame player arrivals sponsored by Motorola, but they’ve also carved out additional inventory in the sports-fashion space with their postgame Victory Walk series — part of Michelob ULTRA’s #UltraDrip campaign (formerly Ballers Champagne territory). In theory, teams could have three pieces of tunnel-fit inventory: pregame arrivals at home, pregame arrivals on the road, and postgame victory walks after wins.

Unsponsored Opportunities

But there’s still untapped inventory across the NBA.

The Lakers’ Guards vs. Bigs concept remains sponsorless in year two — and it’s too strong not to have backing.

Meanwhile, the Celtics and Denver Nuggets both hosted Coaches vs. Media games (a trending format ripe for brand ownership), while Denver also ran a Player Lookalike Contest at open practice — a perfect opportunity for a lighthearted brand like Bud Light, which previously sponsored the Los Angeles Chargers’ version of the concept.

🔍️ SPONCONSPIRATION
Steal These Ideas

Formula 1 dropped the first chapter of F1 Logistics Explained on YouTube with the perfect partner — DHL, F1’s official logistics partner. The episode dives into how they pack up and transport tons of equipment for each race.

Speaking of perfect pairs, the Utah Mammoth featured SameDay Heating & Air on a timelapse video showing the Delta Center’s same day conversion from a hockey rink to a basketball court.

Basketball creator and trick shot artist Tristan Jass teamed up with Electrolit to announce a merch collab in a video where he broke five basketball Guinness World Records.

The Cincinnati Bengals shared an episode of Coming Clean with Tide, where players tossed socks into hampers and answered the corresponding questions. It’s a brilliant name for a cleaning-focused brand — and one that could work for a “Question of the Day” series, player mailbags, or even a lie-detector test concept.

And if we’re talking great names, we have to mention Twisted Tea. We’ve seen Twen-Tea Questions with the Arizona Cardinals, a Tea Minus 60 Gameday Countdown with the Ottawa Senators, and now the 2025 V-I-Tea Sweepstakes with the Buffalo Bills — giving fans a shot at four 100-level tickets and a branded prize pack.

Sticking with football, YouTube and the NFL teamed up on a clever piece coming out of the Creator Flag Football Game — asking participants to “show us your thumbnail face,” a perfect nod to a common YouTube creator practice.

🚨 ICYMI
What To Watch For

Machine Learning Curve: Aaron Miller and Yash Gupta spoke with league and team executives to learn which AI applications they’re most excited about — from media production and sponsorship to ticketing and IP management [via Will Ventures Newsletter].

NASCAR Creator Series: NASCAR debuted a new livestreamed e-racing competition featuring eight top gaming creators competing in NASCAR 25 for a $120,000 prize pool. The series aims to connect younger fans by tapping into the audiences of popular streamers and runs from this week through February 2026.

PENNY DEL Scouting Report: Automadic founder Stas Vaisman shared a full breakdown of how all 14 clubs in Germany’s top hockey league, PENNY DEL, activate sponsors online — including 50+ partner content ideas, a “digital partner activation” ranking, and more.

NFL Green Flag: BuzzMyVideos founders Paola Marinone and Bengü Atamer released a case study on how the NFL’s Creator Flag Football Game (London Edition) became a blueprint for audience growth, media partnerships, and building a new sport from the ground up [via The Business of YouTube Newsletter].

B2B Watch Party: TGI Sport is teaming up with the Seattle Seahawks to host their first-ever Watch Party in Melbourne on November 3rd. What stood out: before doors open to the public, they’re holding an industry breakfast with NFL Australia, Seahawks execs, and legends like Ben Graham and Earl Thomas. A sharp move — and a strong example of how to weave B2B partners into international marketing [via Matthew Hughes, Notice Newsletter].

An Object in Motion: SQWAD CEO Nick Lawson found that by adding motion to QR codes on scoreboards, fan participation jumped by as much as 70%. Maybe static QR codes really are a thing of the past.