Slam! Bam! Jam!: NBC Sports Turns NBA Stars Into Superheroes
Thursday, October 1, 2026 at 05:31PM By Barry Janoff
October 1, 2026: To support the start of its second season of its return to NBA coverage under its new media deal, NBC Sports is turning some of the league’s biggest stars into comic book heroes for multi-media campaign and activation.
A promotional issue opens with a look back at the 2025-26 campaign, including the New York Knicks’ championship run. All 30 NBA team get their own spotlight and cover, saluting memorable moments from last season and anticipating what’s next in 2026-27.
Stars who become comic book heroes include Jalen Brunson, Victor Wembanyama, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jayson Tatum, Stephen Curry and LeBron James,
There will be specific editions for the NBC Sports American Express NBA Tip-Off triple-header Oct. 20 (NBC, Peacock) for Boston Celtics-Detroit Pistons, Philadelphia 76ers-Knicks and Oklahoma City Thunder-San Antonio Spurs.
The stories are narrated by NBC Sports’ Mike Tirico.
“The start of the NBA season is one of the most exciting moments on the sports calendar, and this campaign gives us a unique way to celebrate it with fans of all 30 teams,” Lyndsay Signor, Universal Television Entertainment Group svp-sports marketing, said via the company.
“NBA stars have a larger-than-life presence that extends well beyond the court, making them the perfect inspiration for this campaign.
The campaign will debut at ComplexCon in the Los Angeles Convention Center Oct. 3-4, with an immersive NBC Sports Tip-Off Comic Newsstand, “iInspired by classic city newsstands.”
Throughout the weekend, the newsstand will function as a gathering place featuring photo opportunities, surprise comic drops, limited-edition giveaways, and meet-and-greets with celebrity guests,.
Beginning Oct. 8, branded “newsies” will distribute limited promotional NBA Tip-Off comics at New York City Comic Con in Javits Center.
In addition, a ten-foot-tall comic-book installation will appear at high-profile Manhattan locations before culminating at Rockefeller Center alongside the Comic Newsstand on NBA Jersey Day Oct. 19 and American Express NBA Tip-Off on Oct. 20.
“From the comic itself to the experiences we’re bringing to Los Angeles and New York City, we’re creating opportunities for fans to connect with the league’s biggest stars and storylines while building anticipation for NBA Tip-Off on NBC and Peacock,” said Signor.
Veteran artists for this campaign include Ryan Benjamin, whose work includes Batman, X-Men, Iron Man, Captain America, Wonder Woman and Star Wars across Marvel, DC, and WildStorm. 
Also part of the team was Ryan Odagawa, whose credits span Marvel, WildStorm, Blizzard, and other entertainment brands.
The NBC-NBA comic book collaboration follows in the recent creative of other sports leagues.
At the recently concluded U.S. Open Tennis Grand Slam, the U.S. Tennis Assn. and Marvel continued their collaboration for a third consecutive year with a new and original Spider-Man comic book that championed the theme of the 2026 U.S. Open, “Celebrating Our New York Story.”
More than 40,000 print copies of the free comic book were given throughout U.S. Open Fan Week at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, with a limited-edition run of rare, collectible covers featuring one of New York City’s five boroughs given out in a surprise bag to the first 1,000 fans each day.
This past August, MLB and Marvel released via All Baseball Comics a MLB-licensed collection of three comic books telling the story of three iconic franchises: the New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers.
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