NBA'S Toy Story Touts Christmas Day Matchups

Which would you rather unwrap on Christmas morning: a festive sweater and tie set—or NBA action-figure superstars that spring to life beneath the tree?

Even if the threads light up, they’re not gonna beat out these miniature versions of LeBron, Steph, Durant and Tatum! And let’s not forget Giannis and Embiid, plus Jimmy Butler, Jalen Brunson, Anthony Davis, Luka Dončić and Nikola Jokić.

All appear as animated toys in this :30 hyping the NBA’s Dec. 25 schedule:

“We wanted to create something that reflects the idea that watching NBA games on Christmas Day is truly a timeless tradition, bringing together our fans, families and friends to celebrate the joys of the season and the best of our game,” NBA CMO Tammy Henault tells Muse. 

“The campaign serves as a primer for what fans will see when they turn on our games,” she says. “The creative is nostalgic of a classic Christmas morning, but harnesses the energy of the compelling matchups we’ll all get to enjoy.

Once the team decided on the toys-come-alive concept, “we turned to real NBA game highlights to model the animation,” Henault says. “The ‘toys’ featured in the film were made to look and move just like their real NBA counterparts. So, the plays you see are replicated from genuine game action from Jayson Tatum’s step-back to Lebron’s alley-oop.”

Translation and animation studio Passion Pictures created the spot. David Scanlon directed with equal parts chaos and whimsy.