One of the most popular commercials the NBA has ever done is the first rendition of their “Jingle Hoops” ad promoting the annual Christmas Day slate of games. The first one featured Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James with Kevin Durant, Steve Nash, Stephen Curry, James Harden and Derrick Rose shooting and dunking to the tune of jingle bells on five baskets. Nash was a member of the Lakers at that time.
In the 11 years since that ad, two of those players — Rose and Nash — are retired, and three of the remaining four play on very different teams than the jerseys they donned in 2013. But through all the time and player movement, it has remained among the best ads in league history.
That’s why in 2024, to promote this year’s five-game Christmas Day slate, the NBA decided to bring it back with some crazy twists. They animated the commercial and included far more players to have a truly chaotic Christmas scene ahead of the big day. James was prominently featured in the video posted by the league:
Jingle Hoops is back and the guys still got it 🎄
Get ready for the NBA on Christmas Day with games beginning at noon ET on ESPN, ABC, ESPN+, and Disney+. #NBAXmas pic.twitter.com/y6ZSF32qjy
— NBA (@NBA) December 10, 2024
The video starts with the same framing, five shooters on five hoops. This time, LeBron was one of the five shooters alongside Curry and Durant as the returnees. The new faces were Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum and Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic, replacing Rose, Nash and Harden. Harden was likely removed because the L.A. Clippers do not play on Christmas.
It then cuts to Victor Wembanyama flying through the air to block one of the shots and start the chaotic sequence. This includes Anthony Edwards dribbling on a xylophone, before lobbing it to a leaping Tatum for the slam. It also has an appearance from Mike Breen and Malika Andrews from the NBA on ESPN crew.
The next shot is Nikola Jokic leading a horse-drawn carriage with Doncic in the back, then he lobs it to a flying James for another slam. The video finishes with a swinging Durant lobbing it to Edwards for one last slam.
The funny commercial shows how far the league has come in its star power while still maintaining some of the elite players from 11 years ago.
LeBron James dominates Basketball Reference search history
Lakers star LeBron James is arguably the greatest player in NBA history and establishes it even more so as he continues to collect records and milestones and play elite basketball despite nearing 40 and in his 22nd NBA season. With all of his historic achievements and accolades comes an impressive looking Basketball Reference page.
So it’s no surprise that, in 2024, fans looked at James’ Basketball Reference page more than they did any other player. In a state-by-state breakdown released by Basketball Reference, James was the most viewed page in nearly every state in the U.S.
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