NBA Campaign: Start To Finish Season-Long Rallying Cry En Route To Title
Friday, October 3, 2025 at 03:49PM By Barry Janoff
October 3, 2025: The NBA puts a plethora of stars in the spotlight in its 2025-26 season-opening multi-media campaign, “Start To Finish,” including Paolo Banchero, Jalen Brunson, Cade Cunningham, Donovan Mitchell and 2025 No. 1 overall draft pick Cooper Flagg.
According to the NBA, the campaign “highlights that to win in the NBA and ultimately lift the Larry O’Brien Trophy, it takes relentless effort and commitment all season long.”
People can celebrate the start of the season by participating in the sixth annual NBA Jersey Day Oct. 20, by wearing their favorite NBA jersey and sharing to social media for the chance to be featured on league and team social media channels.
This year’s celebration leads into American Express NBA Tip-Off 2025.
It will will feature a doubleheader Oct. 21, when the NBA returns to NBC and debuts on Peacock as the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder host the Houston Rockets (7:30 PM ET) and the Golden State Warriors visit the Los Angeles Lakers (10 PM ET).
In the NBA’s “Start To Finish” anchor spot, we see players working hard to prepare for the upcoming season, with fans chanting “Start To Finish,” a season-long rallying cry.
"Start To Finish” will be supported across all channels with complementary creative that includes out-of-home, digital, social and audio assets.
According to the NBA, “Every player in the league has been working tirelessly in the offseason to prepare for tip-off, and this year’s campaign captures that drive.
“Flagg locks in for his debut, Mitchell sharpens his handles and Banchero puts in work on a neighborhood court. Cunningham powers through an intense workout while Brunson waits in the tunnel before stepping onto the court to ignite another championship chase.”
NBC returns as a league broadcast partner for the first time since coverage from 1990-2002 via 11-year, $76 billion deals with ABC-ESPN and Amazon's Prime Video, as well as NBC-Peacock.
ESPN, with a new deal valued at $2.6 billion per year, begins its 2025-26 NBA regular-season coverage with four marquee matchups presented by State Farm across back-to-back nights.
On Oct. 22, the Cleveland Cavaliers travel to Madison Square Garden to play the New York Knicks. Next, the Dallas Mavericks and overall No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg host the San Antonio Spurs and Victor Wembanyama.
NBA on Amazon’s Prime Video begins Oct. 24 (see full schedule here).
Via its new deal, NBC, which aired NBA games from 1990-2002, will pay $2.5 billion per year for the next 11 years, according to industry analysis, with games also streaming on Peacock.
A multi-media campaign is anchored by a humorous 45-second spot, “NBA Tip-Off,” which touts that “Oct; 21 is not just the start of a new season, it marks the beginning of a new era.”
NBC said.10-, 15- and 30-second versions of the full spot would air across numerous NBCUniversal linear, digital and social media platforms.
Dreaming Of Hoops: NBC Marketing Machine Ramping Up For Return Of NBA
NBA, ESPN, NBC Unveil 2025-26 Opening Day, Xmas, MLK Jr. Schedules
NBA Deals With ESPN, NBC To Top $76B
Back to Home Page