In case the first wave of holiday shopping commercials and the radio stations already playing carols hasn’t warned you, Christmas is coming. And for NBA fans, that means Christmas Day basketball, the NBA’s closest analogue to Thanksgiving Day football. In recent years, the use of special-edition jerseys for the Christmas games is almost as anticipated as the marquee matchups themselves, and the NBA has released a new ad showcasing those uniforms.
We’ve mentioned how sweet the Christmas jerseys are for this year, and they certainly don’t look any worse here. Unlike last year’s sleeved abominations, these are actually worthy of the covetous tone of the spot.
In keeping with the classic look of this year’s jerseys, the voiceovers from stars like James Harden, Anthony Davis, and others are done in the style of a kid’s Christmas wish list. Bonus points to the writers for Harden’s “from one beard to another” line, but negative points for the unibrow/uniform groaner from Davis. So, that about evens out.
On a final note, welcome to the world of national advertising, Kawhi Leonard! Sure, he doesn’t actually speak on camera, but a voiceover’s a start. And he imbues his words with feeling like a real pitchman! Next, we’ll be seeing him with a doppelganger in a DirecTV ad. (Probably not, but dare to dream.)
