The National Basketball Association (NBA) is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in the United States which consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada.
Appearances
- 1992: Kermit the Frog appeared in a commercial for the NBA's "I Love This Game" campaign. In the commercial, Kermit is at one of the NBA games while dancing and lip-synching to the Muppet Show recording of "Happy Feet." As he sings, the commercial also plays video footage of NBA players, fans, and mascots.
- 2003: The Sesame Street Muppets (The Count, Big Bird, Elmo, Oscar, Super Grover and Zoe) appeared in a commercial for the league's "1,000 Reasons Why I Love This Game" campaign.
- 2005: Kermit and Miss Piggy appeared in a commercial with Julius Erving for the NBA Finals.
- 2019: In a video posted to the NBA Cares social media, Elmo spoke with several NBA rookies during the Rookie Transition Program (video). The players included Jarrett Culver, RJ Barrett, Cam Reddish, Zion Williamson, De'Andre Hunter, and Ja Morant.
- June 3, 2025: Ahead of the 2025 NBA Finals, the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy visited the set of Sesame Street. Photos of the Sesame Muppets posing with the trophy were posted by the NBA's social media accounts. Multiple videos were also shared. [1] [2]
References
- In the Muppet Babies episode "The Incredible Shrinking Weirdo," the babies play a game of basketball and use the team names "Knicks" and "Celtics." The episode also features footage from an All-Star game, a game between the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks, and a game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Washington Bullets.
- In Episode 2756 of Sesame Street, Gordon attempts to get Oscar and Grundgetta to drive him to the New York Knicks game against the Philadelphia 76ers.[note 1] Unfortunately the Grouches drive him the wrong way, take a longer route, stop at a Grouch Drive-in, and are forced to pay a Grouch toll twice. Ultimately, The Sloppy Jalopy breaks down and Gordon misses the game, but meets Marv Albert, who gives him a play-by-play and a ride home.
Notes
- Cheryl Henson designed the costume for the Charlotte Hornets' mascot, Hugo the Hornet, in 1988.
See also
- Basketball players
- Chicago Bulls
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Mark Cuban - owner of the Dallas Mavericks
Footnote
- ↑ The opposing team is not mentioned by name, however Marv Albert's commentary identifies Charles Barkley as an opposing player, and Barkley played for the Philadelphia 76ers from 1984 - 1992 (Charles Barkley's page on Wikipedia)