Welcome to UPROXX’s Athlete Heat Index, where sports marketing executive and self-described “brand geek” Michael Ehrlich ranks athletes by the strength of their personal brands.
This roundup won’t simply just list the most popular athletes or focus solely on box scores, trophies or Instagram followers, but explore what athletes achieve off the court and field — in marketing, media and community work — to authentically build their personal narratives and brands.
This concept first came to life on the podcast “Brand Food” that Ehrlich co-hosted with best-selling author and brand consultant Jeremy Darlow and extends here around key sports moments. Tipping off the series is a NBA All-Star Weekend Heat Index. This was no ordinary midseason festivity, so the rankings reflect the extenuating circumstances and gets creative with the featured athletes.
5. Quavo
A fraction of the NBA players participated in All-Star Weekend this year so I had to think differently about the rankings and with no Hawks taking part (sorry Trae Young, I thought you deserved a nod) hip-hop star/basketball player Quavo became the unofficial Atlanta ambassador of the weekend.
Ahead of All-Star, Quavo’s skills were already heralded as he earned MVP honors in the Celebrity Game in 2018 and his pickup games since continue to garner massive eyeballs across the Internet.
Off the court and outside of music, heading into All-Star Weekend Quavo’s next venture as a feature film actor received widespread media coverage as he’ll share the screen with Robert De Niro, Jack Huston, and John Malkovich in the film Wash Me in the River, which wrapped in January. Building your own brand by association with other strong brands is huge in any industry, so Quavo authenticating his acting skills alongside these major names will absolutely pay dividends as he looks for future opportunities on-screen.
In addition to detailing his film debut, Quavo’s pre-All-Star narrative last week touched on Migos’ anticipated fourth album Culture III, hinting that it will drop before the end of March. Major momentum for his diverse brand, with music at the core, heading into the weekend of hoops.
But it was his dominant performance Saturday night in Bleacher Report’s OpenRun 2-on-2 game alongside Jack Harlow that cemented his All-Star brand conversation. He accounted for 17 of his team’s 21 points, along with 14 rebounds and 4 blocks, to earn the victory over 2 Chainz and Lil Baby plus the $500,000 prize, with matching donations to the HBCUs of his choice, Clark Atlanta University and Spelman College. Another huge moment for his growing basketball legend but more importantly, making an even greater impact to two universities and thousands of students in the process.
4. Lexie Brown/Dee Brown
In year’s past, WNBA players have taken part in NBA All-Star Weekend in various roles on and off the court, but unfortunately, the W wasn’t able to be represented in Atlanta. However, these unique circumstances offered an opportunity for Minnesota Lynx guard Lexie Brown to take center stage without even participating in any All-Star activities.
Thirty years ago, Lexie’s dad, Dee — then a Celtics rookie — famously pumped up his Reeboks en route to winning the 1991 Slam Dunk Contest. The sneaker moment and Dee’s no-look winning dunk remain a fixture of All-Star history.
Now entering her fourth WNBA season, the former top-10 draft pick Lexie continues to create her own path on the hardwood and brand off the court.
In conjunction with the anniversary and Dee returning to the Dunk Contest stage over the weekend to serve as a judge, Reebok relaunched his Pump Omni Zone II with Lexie as the face of the campaign. Her participation garnered massive media conversation — including an interview with Dime’s own Robby Kalland — heading into the weekend and the sneaker sold out within minutes.
All-Star Weekend is traditionally one of the biggest moments of the year for sneaker launches and for Lexie and Dee to be a major part of the conversation, to have such positive media sentiment, along with commercial success of the shoe, allowed the Brown Family brand to shine without even stepping onto the court. This sets Lexie up for further off-court success as she continues her WNBA career.
3. Stephen Curry
Yes, Curry’s brand is already among the best in the league, but heading into All-Star Weekend, he was a bit overlooked, especially on a stacked Team LeBron roster featuring defending champ James, reigning back-to-back MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, and rising superstar Luka Dončić.
Throughout his illustrious career, Curry’s relatable, fun, family-focused, and authentic personal brand has made him a global icon. On the court, he has single-handedly made the three-point shot cool again, always with a big smile on his face. Kids all over the world now practice deep threes pretending to be the Warriors star. So returning to the Three-Point Contest, which he won in 2015, allowed the future Hall of Fame inductee to showcase his basketball superpower — and the overall entertainment value of long range shooting versus another stale Slam Dunk Contest — to world yet again.
His dominant first round, followed by his dramatic last shot victory over Mike Conley Jr., further cemented his place as the greatest shooter of all-time. Reggie Miller certainly confirmed that claim during the broadcast, over and over again. Upon winning the contest, Curry walked over to his wife Ayesha sitting courtside to give a high-five — the brand geek in me thought to myself, “that is classic Curry and so on-brand.”
Beyond his historic contest performance, the Curry Brand (via Under Armour) announced they’d donate $1,000 for every point Stephen scored to Good Sports Inc. with Foot Locker offering to match the donation. Not that he needed any help garnering support from fans to take as many shots as possible in the All-Star Game, but this donation component was certainly a nice bonus, especially when he started pulling up from half court. Curry’s 28 points, including one rare alley-oop dunk, in the winning effort for Team LeBron raised $56,000.
Curry’s Three-Point Contest victory, combined with his CarMax commercial running throughout the weekend, his ridiculous half court, and no-look shots in the All-Star Game — all while looking like he was having so much fun — absolutely set him apart from other All-Star player brands over the weekend.
But again it’s his relatable, personable and inspiring self that shines brightest. In his post-game interview when asked about what drives him and motivates him he responded: “I have a lot to accomplish, but nothing to prove. There’s a subtle little difference there.”
And in classic Curry fashion, he put a bow on his All-Star Weekend by posting a selfie with Ayesha and the Three-Point Contest trophy on their way out of town.
2. Blake Griffin
Since agreeing to a contract buyout with the Pistons on Friday becoming an unrestricted free agent, Griffin and his potential next destination became a hot topic across the league heading into All-Star Weekend. But once rumors swirled on Sunday morning that he’d be moving from last-place Detroit to second-place Brooklyn, the conversation around his talents and personal brand erupted.
Any time an athlete trends on Twitter throughout the day during All-Star Sunday, they have to be in consideration for the Heat Index. But in Griffin’s case, he didn’t even participate in the weekend’s festivities, so his brand conversation was that much more impressive. He was certainly one of the most talked about NBA players throughout the weekend and he wasn’t an All-Star.
Once the move to Brooklyn was confirmed and the photoshops of him in uniform alongside Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden flooded our timelines, Griffin continued to rise in the trending topics and in the Heat Index ranking.
On court he will likely have a supporting role to the Nets’ All-Star trio as they continue to build their own super team to contend with the defending champ Lakers in the West, but his strong yet sometimes overlooked personal brand — especially since moving to Detroit — is the major winner here. Transitioning from a challenging market in Detroit to the top one in New York will only continue to elevate the former All-Star’s off-court brand, especially his multiplatform media interests.
His All-Star Sunday brand conversation coincided perfectly with the trailer launch of his upcoming TruTV prank show “Double Cross with Blake Griffin” as the All-Star Game broadcast tipped off coverage with an on-air promotion. Now playing in New York with the potential of adding “champion” to his resume, will only help Griffin’s brand continue to grow outside of hoops.
1. Damian Lillard
Lillard’s authentic and underdog mentality brand narrative has always been one of my favorites since he joined the league in 2012. Throughout his time in “small market” Portland, he’s hit big shot after big shot and the sports universe — especially on social media — knows exactly what “Dame Time” means now.
As the now six-time All-Star’s legend of clutchness continues, the connectivity between his late game shooting and his “Dame Time” celebration of tapping his wrist is a brand case study in itself. Anyone in the basketball community can do that celebration and you would immediately know it’s in reference to Lillard.
Heading into All-Star with his Hulu “Doesn’t Just Have Live Sports” TV campaign in full force highlighting Dame D.O.L.L.A.’s incredible musical talents and launching a new and innovative partnership with Oakley including a massive charity component, the Lillard brand was one I had my eye on for the weekend.
Like Curry, he was a bit overshadowed on the stacked Team LeBron roster, with Dončić edging him out as a starter. So once he came off the bench Sunday night, you knew he would put on a show. The combination of his unbelievable in-game half court shooting competition with Curry and his “Dame Time” deep three game-winner showcased his unique talents on a global stage and blew up social media. But it was the rare perfect storm for sports marketing that put Lillard over the top for the Heat Index crown.
The first commercial to air after the All-Star Game ended at the hands of Lillard, starred the man himself. Gatorade’s TV spot for BOLT24 promoted a new sports drink offering with Lillard saying “it pays to have range.” Roman philosopher Seneca once said that “luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity” and it seems like Lillard the player and Lillard the brand are living proof.
