ESPN says this time is different

After the 2023-24 NBA postseason where the league’s biggest stars like LeBron James, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo were eliminated after the first round of playoffs, it’s become increasingly clear that there is a generational shift happening with a new set of superstar players making a name for themselves, creating more parity across the league than ever before.

Introducing, This Time Is Different, a new campaign in the fifth installment of It’s NBA on ESPN Time platform. The platform launched during the 2020-21 season and has taken new shape for the past three seasons with an evolving tagline around the notion of time with “It’s Anyone’s Time” in 2021, “It’s A Beautiful Time for Basketball” in 2022, and “The Time Is Now” in 2023. ESPN, in collaboration with Arts & Letters, continues to tell the story of the burgeoning young stars in the league who have arrived and are ready to take the throne from the stars of the past.

“The disruption from the player talent and team competition in the NBA right now really is different from any season we’ve seen before and we wanted to emphasise that in this creative campaign.“ said Curtis Friends, Vice President of Sports Marketing at ESPN. “The bold visuals, the unique sound design and the addition of Killer Mike's voice were all choices we made to amplify the energy, personality and attitude of today’s NBA.”

Following six years of six different NBA Champions, we are fully into the new era of the NBA. This Time Is Different is rooted in the fact that this season will look different in many ways: there are new team-ups with star players joining forces with other star players, there is a new in-season tournament with the Emirates NBA Cup in November, and ultimately the throne of the NBA Finals Champion is there for any team to claim.

The :30 spot, which debuted on ESPN on October 7th during Monday Night Football, and will continue to run across digital, social and ESPN broadcasts. Arts & Letters are also excited to share that they will be producing a Playoffs and Finals anthem that comes out at the second half of the season.

The spot features the song, Oh My Darling Don’t Cry by Grammy Award winning rap group, Run The Jewels, and also features the voice of rapper Killer Mike who is one half of Run The Jewels. The attitude, swagger and confidence of both Killer Mike’s voice and the music were the perfect accompaniment to the bold and vibrant visuals throughout the spot.