The National Basketball Players Association has launched Plyrs Untd, a consumer-facing commercial brand that will manage name, image and likeness rights for NBA players, per details shared with Marketing Dive. The union’s latest play looks to transform the cultural impact of the league’s players into marketing opportunities.
“We represent the most recognizable, inspirational, aspirational athletes in the world, who have been lending their IP and influence to build other brands for so long,” said Keisha Wright, senior vice president of partnerships at the NBPA. “It is time for us to flip the script and use that IP and influence to build their own brand.”
Plyrs Untd will leverage players’ reach collectively, working with brands to develop fan experiences, licensing opportunities, merchandise, content, investments and player-brand collaborations. The organization will also open the Plyrs Untd Performance Center in Los Angeles this summer. Plyrs Untd effectively replaces Think450, the NBPA’s previous business-to-business arm.
“The launch of Plyrs Untd marks a turning point in how we view our business footprint,” said incoming NBPA Executive Director and Plyrs Untd CEO David Kelly in a press release. “Instead of just renting out player talent to the league and teams, we’re operating as the enterprise itself, using our unified voice to build equity and drive the market.”
The campaign launch comes in the wake of the New York Knicks’ historic championship run and the day before the first round of the NBA Draft on June 23, arguably a moment when consumer attention on individual players is at a high point. And while players, teams and the league have existing brand relationships — most notably with sneaker brands — Plyrs Untd seeks to be additive while acting as a player-owned lifestyle brand.
“It's just like any other two brands collabing — that's the way we envision it,” Wright said. “We're reaching new audiences together, we're delivering shared value together.”
As part of the launch, Plyrs Untd will debut a campaign, “Own the Game,” that includes a hero video featuring more than two dozen NBA players, including stars Stephen Curry and Jalen Brunson. Produced by Project 3 Agency, the shop that is part of Kendrick Lamar’s creative company PgLand, the video premiered at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The black-and-white creative features athletes in stoic, off-court moments, with the only nod to basketball the sound of dribbling on the soundtrack.
“Different cities, different backgrounds, different stories, same love, no middlemen, no gatekeepers, just players deciding what happens with what they build, turning visibility into leverage, turning reach into opportunity, turning culture into something that finally benefits the players,” NBA All-Star Kyrie Irving says in voice-over.
Connecting with fans, brands
Plyrs Untd seeks to reach younger millennial and Gen Z audiences that are watching basketball on social channels and are following individual players more than teams, and is targeting culture-first basketball fans. The players have a combined social reach of 680 million fans — eight times that of the league.
“The league does a good job with 48 minutes on the court. We're not trying to compete with them,” Wright said. “We're focusing on the 23 hours and 12 minutes that exists beyond it.”
In addition to the video, Plyrs Untd will roll out a new visual identity inclusive of a new logo that trades a basketball for a geometric equation that represents player power. The emblem was designed by the creative consultancy studio The Troys. The organization will also have a strategic content partnership with media brand Enjoy Basketball that will showcase players’ points of view on basketball and off-court passions through original programming.
In a combination of the services it offers to players and those it offers to partners, Plyrs Untd in August will open a new training facility in Los Angeles. The 24/7 performance center will be open exclusively to players and will feature premier sponsorship opportunities for brands.
And as experiential marketing returns to the forefront, Plyrs Untd is doubling down on Plyrs House, a co-created experience that allows brands to connect with players’ communities at cultural events. The experience debuted at NBA All-Star 2026 and featured activations alongside 10 players and brands including NBA 2K, Maker’s Mark and Sony.
The experience demonstrates how Plyrs Untd seeks to deliver relevance over reach and partnership over placement, Wright explained. The next edition will take place at the 2026 NBA Summer League in July at MGM Resorts, an NBPA partner that opened their space to the organization — with no brief.
“Working and collaborating with our players is the difference between advertising around culture and actually being integrated into it,” Wright said. “Do you want to crash the party or do you want to be invited?”
