Source: CliveNBAParody on YouTube
I’ve been making a lot of statements about the problems with the NBA and the decline in viewership. I’ve stated that the reason for viewership being down is due to a number of factors, but that’s not what this post is about. This post is about Ja Morant and how I feel like he is the closest thing we’ve had to the “NEXT” moniker. Every day the dialogue about the next Michael Jordan is tossed around. There is an issue with this for the NBA. The comparison to MJ dates the game and doesn’t resonate with the next generation of fans.
This generation needs to have a connective tissue for the 00s. The NBA has to create new narratives about the players who remind us of the greatest players of our recent times. As long as the game is tied to MJ through GOAT discussions you begin to lose 20-30 somethings who remember Kobe and Allen Iverson. Which takes me to who Ja Morant is. Ja is a longer, taller version of AI and while Reebok can’t come in and snatch Ja Morant away from Nike (Ja didn’t even take meetings with other companies when he signed with the Swoosh), and Nike has too many signature models already… Nike has yet to capitalize on the players who regularly wear Kobe’s Protro series.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7vj7anCHoY
If Ja is a longer version of AI then the Grizzlies are set to make the Finals when my comparison holds true… even though he plays in the loaded Western Conference. Check out this article from The Ringer: https://www.theringer.com/college-basketball/2019/2/14/18223877/ja-morant-murray-state-nba-draft-college-watching-experience
…Morant somehow went unnoticed by major college recruiters despite playing AAU basketball with Zion Williamson…Morant had no scholarship offers besides the one from Murray State. That’s not true, either—Morant had an offer from Duquesne, and a pair of offers from historically black universities South Carolina State and Maryland-Eastern Shore—but he was a zero-star recruit who was miles off the national radar. In an auxiliary gym, Kane noticed Morant playing three-on-three ball with other anonymous players. The next day, Murray State offered Morant.
When we consider that Kobe is building his brand beyond basketball and that in many ways he has left the shadow of Michael Jordan by becoming an Oscar Winner, Kobe is also building a roster of relationships with players in the NBA and the WNBA. He’s been a constant at WNBA games and he’s been in the gym with a virtual Who’s Next in the NBA. This is something Jordan isn’t exactly known for doing either, but the one thing MJ and Kobe should share is the signing of athletes to their brands under Nike and I’m making the call right now that students from PENSOLE should be in the process of designing the Kobe JA 1 or Kobe JAM 1. I mean think about it, a guy that plays like Iverson and is just as tenacious as Kobe (remember that block on Kyrie?)
I mean, reread the paragraph from the Ringer above and you’ll see the foundation for marketing Ja in a way that gives high school players hope. To be honest one of the viewership issues with the NBA derives from the lack of hope that exists for kids who want to play basketball. AAU and travel ball has wiped out the dream for kids to even make their high school teams.
While Luka is signed to Jordan Brand and even I stated that he shouldn’t be a signature athlete and that signature sneakers in the U.S. aren’t exactly flying off the shelves; Ja Morant is doing what everyone expected Zion to be doing right now. He’s changing a franchise from Grit and Grind to Highlight Reels on Beale (That’s the famous Blues street where the Fed Ex Forum sits almost at a cross section of B.B. King and Beale, talk about marketing opportunities!). I think Ja should be in the Slam Dunk Contest and Skills challenge during All Star Weekend. I think he will be in the Rookie Game of course and like Iverson and Kobe, Ja will win Rookie of the Year.
Before All Star Weekend I’m beginning my lobby for Ja Morant to be the first signature athlete under the Kobe line.
I think I’ll tag my PENSOLE peers to get the artwork started.
