The Sacramento Kings Beam at the 2024 NBA Team Sales and Marketing Awards

On Jan 9, The National Basketball Association (NBA) announced its 2024 NBA Team Sales & Marketing Awards at the league’s annual NBA Sales & Marketing Meeting in Miami. And the winners are….

NBA Team of the Year: Sacramento Kings

The award winner was the Sacramento Kings. These achievements reflect the team’s success in business operations, including ticketing, partnerships, marketing, and strategy and analytics.  The Kings also took home the NBA Team Innovation Award, which is given to the execution of “unique ideas that have generated a positive business impact.”

The King’s success and growth can be seen in the organization having the highest season ticket renewal campaign in franchise history and being ranked number two among all NBA teams in ticket revenue growth. If those numbers were not enough the team also set a team record for digital and content partnership revenue.

The team sales were not the only thing improving in Sacramento. The Kings ranked number one in fake experience, launched a new e-commerce and in-arena team store that led to a 35% increase in merchandise sales. Residents of Sacramento were not the only ones watching the Kings. Viewership was up 200% when games were played on NBC Sports California.

NBA TEAM INNOVATION AWARD: Sacramento Kings

“Victory Beam” is a celebrated tradition for the Kings after every victory. It’s when the stadium lights up a bright purple light beam into the sky symbolizing a win. This tradition garnered an “NBA Team Innovation Award” for the Kings. The NBA was infatuated with the beam as it had more than 6,000 media stories and fueled team business.

NBA Team Viewership Innovation Award: Utah Jazz

The launch of “Jazz+” helped get Utah the Viewership Innovation Award. What Jazz+ is “a direct-to-consumer in-market subscription streaming service, and a shift in their distribution of local games to the over-the-air TV station KJZZ-TV” according to nba.com.In order to make Jazz+ work the Jazz, teamed up with SEG Media. Also, used the NBA’s Next Gen technology as a platform and Kiswe to stream the games.  Jazz+ gives fans and subscribers exclusive access to the team. With footage of games, original content and a behind the scenes look that highlights the team’s activities. Jazz games on KJZZ-TV were up 53%.

NBA Inclusion Leadership Award: Minnesota Timberwolves

“Pack the Vote” an initiative from the Minnesota Timberwolves launched in 2020 and focuses on providing nonpartisan voter education, increasing voter registration and civic engagement. Fast forward to 2023 the Wolves and NBA Social Justice Coalition, Restore the Vote Coalition and the National Basketball Social Justice Coalition Board Member Karl-Anthony teamed up. Using their platform to “support the restoration of voting rights in Minnesota as lawmakers were moving the HF28 bill through the state legislature.  Collectively, this working group raised awareness around the bill and policy.” according to nba.com. The group brought awareness to the bill and helped drive voter registration. On March 2, 2023, the bill was signed and was effective on June 1, 2023, allowing 50,000 Minnesotans who had been incarcerated or on parole the right to vote.

Pete Winemiller Guest Experience Innovation Award: Alison Wright, Golden State Warriors

The Pete Winemiller Guest Experience Innovation Award is named after the late Pete Winemiller, former Senior Vice President of Guest Relations for the Oklahoma City Thunder. The award is given to “an individual who demonstrates innovation and enhances the live game experience for fans and guests throughout the year.” According to NBA.com.

Alison Wright, Senior Director of Guest Experiences for the Golden State Warriors took him the award this season. Wright brought an amazing experience to fans, employees, and stockholders at Chase Center the home of the Warriors. She was able to do this through leadership development, project management, employee recognition, and guest feedback.  Wright created an annual employee survey for part-time team members, leadership workshops, and “lunch and learn sessions”. All of these experiences are a part of creating an amazing experience for all at Chase Center. Wright was a member of the NBA Game Experience Roundtable panel which starts conversations between the Chase Center, Guest Experiences, and Security departments. Having an open dialogue helped all areas improve through feedback and successful communication methods.

NBA Values of the Game Award: Shawn Martinez, Phoenix Suns

Shawn Martinez, Senior Director of Live Presentation for the Phoenix Suns was recognized by the NBA as an “individual who embodies the NBA’s mission of inspiring and connecting people through the game of basketball.” Martinez was a leader in the Suns organization in recognizing the local Native American community. The ORIGINATIV program celebrates the 22 Tribal Nations of Arizona. The Suns featured Native American performers during its “10 ORIGINATIV” themed nights honoring Arizona Indigenous communities. Martinez was presented with the Man of the Year Award by the Phoenix Indian Center for his commitment to recognizing the community.