Inside MrBeast’s $100K, 100 Million View NBA All-Star Stunt

YouTube powerhouse MrBeast’s viral stunt in the middle of Sunday’s NBA All-Star Tournament has already earned the league more than 100 million views on its own social channels, in the latest example of online creators shining on sport’s biggest stages.

Nine-time All-Star Damian Lillard and Jaren Barajas—a fan chosen from the stands an hour before the game—took turns shooting from near half court at Chase Center. Barajas managed to make one shot before Dame could hit three, earning the local college student $100,000 (while $100,000 was also donated to two charities of Lillard’s choice.)

More from Sportico.com

MrBeast and the league formulated the concept over the course of a month, according to NBA SVP for digital and social content Bob Carney.

Carney called the six-minute interlude a culmination of a decade of work the NBA has done to incorporate online stars, including numerous appearances throughout last weekend in San Francisco.

“It was one of those moments where it was like, the creators—they’ve made it,” Carney said in a video interview. “It’s been a 10-year journey, but they’re very much a massive part of the NBA ecosystem, and we wanted that to be reflected in the programming across all of All-Star Weekend.”

Inside the league, web celebs are considered an extension of the NBA’s own social media team, helping to raise awareness of its tentpole moments at a time when algorithmic feeds make it increasingly challenging for even the biggest sports brands to reliably reach young audiences.

Kai Cenat (16.3 million Twitch followers), Druski (8.7 million Instagram followers), and Khaby Lame (162.4 million TikTok followers) participated in Friday night’s celebrity game. Jesser (25.2 million YouTube subscribers) represented fans among the dunk contest judges a night later, while other influencers popped up around the Bay Area all weekend. With that help, the NBA expects to surpass two billion total views on its channels from the festivities.

And then there was the biggest fish, Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson (363 million YouTube subscribers).

“They’re in full idea mode and can execute things with minimal notice,” Carney said of Donaldson’s team. The two camps bonded over a shared obsession with data and quickly hit on the idea of half court shots, given the frequency that fan makes have gone viral in the past. A Knicks fan winning a car generated 10 million views on TikTok in January, for example, while a Heat fan who was tackled by LeBron James after sinking a half-court heave in 2013 starred in the NBA’s first YouTube sensation (53 million views).

“We worked with the MrBeast team on how to evolve that into something bigger,” Carney said. “It evolved to [happening] during the game, and then it evolved to doing it live, and then it evolved to doing it live on television. And these are all not typical for the typical MrBeast video.”

Ultimately, it was up to Barajas to make magic. “In 30 seconds, the NBA is going to cut to a commercial, so you’ve got to shoot quick,” Donaldson said as the event stretched into its fifth minute. Sixteen seconds later Barajas banked a shot in before being mobbed by mascots and hopping into a case of cash. “That was sort of a MrBeast specialty,” Carney said with a smile.

MrBeast’s team had its own cameras on the floor to capture content for an upcoming YouTube video—likely a sequel to a pros vs. joes compilation he did with Tom Brady, Cristiano Ronaldo and others last year. A spokesperson said Donaldson was unavailable for comment. He was shooting another project on Tuesday, naturally. “They’re basically in production 365 days a year,” Carney said. “They never stop.”

As has become tradition, NBA All-Star Weekend was followed by conversation about how the event can be revitalized next year. Maybe a 1-on-1 tournament? A U.S. vs. World format? An All-Snub Team? Whatever it is, the creators and their cameras will be back, with the internet tuning in.

Best of Sportico.com

Read the full article here

Tags: NBA