Live From the NBA Draft: NBA Digital Puts Social on the Floor With Multiple Sets The social-media circuit moves from behind the scenes to front and center By Kristian Hernandez, Assistant Editor
Friday, June 21, 2019 - 10:32 am
Print This Story
Story Highlights
Last night at the NBA Draft, the social-media world once again exploded with hot takes, player profiles, and collegiate-highlight reels. With the event's popularity on the rise, the team at NBA Digital has made some changes in its onsite presence, shifting its behind-the-scenes activities to the limelight in the form of two physical sets visited by players moving along their path of media obligations.
Fresh Tape built a miniature replica of the Draft stage, complete with Draft board and commissioner podium.
Last year, Bob Carney [VP, emerging media, NBA] thought that some of the most interesting parts of the Draft happen backstage, where fans can't see it. says Melissa Brenner, EVP, digital media, NBA. One of them are these social-media booths, which we had set up where the players would come through the Brooklyn Nets weight room. [This year,] it's such a great moment because you get to see the player walk across the stage.
A Primetime Stop on the Media Trail
In the beginning, digital coverage of the NBA Draft was not nearly as complex and thorough as it is now. And, Brenner notes, the procedure of getting the job done was rigid and rudimentary.
[The players] would talk in a confessional style to the camera about their family, how they were feeling, and what [this night] meant in their journey, she says. There would be a lot of clerical and administrative things that would go on where you would make sure that you check-marked [all of your boxes] for Twitter and Instagram.
View this post on Instagram
My Family!! #NBADraft
A post shared by NBA (@nba) on Jun 20, 2019 at 8:41pm PDT
--
Today, the NBA has broadened its creative palette and established a primetime location on the media trail. An onsite NBA TV show interviews the selected player moments after Commissioner Adam Silver makes the announcement. When the short segment concludes, the player encounters two sets that capture the unforgettable moment of becoming a professional athlete. The league tapped Fresh Tape, a Denver-based creative agency specializing in studio sets, to construct them, which took 20 hours over two days to complete.
The first is a reduced-scale replica of the stage, including the familiar NBA Draft board and commissioner podium. The player expressed feelings of gratitude to and appreciation of the person or people who most impacted his trajectory. After concluding the message, the player wrote down a phrase with his signature and placed the plank on the replica Draft board.
Next was the Twitter-centric social stop, which incorporated elements of a basketball court and the hashtag symbol that has become synonymous with the platform. Here, the player chose a hashtag phrase that best described his thoughts and feelings immediately after being drafted into the NBA.
Welcome to the NBA, @Zionwilliamson! #NBATwitter pic.twitter.com/bMsGdSBRBQ
- NBA (@NBA) June 21, 2019
Live vs. Edited: Finding the Proper Application
To cover the entire event as efficiently as possible, Brenner and company blended scheduled posting and real-time recordings.
Some of [the posts] are live, [and] others are edited [by a backstage edit team]. It's a little bit up to the producer to decide what [is shot live] due to the noise of the arena and how we think the audio is, she said. Usually, we prefer to cut and trim [the footage] because, with some platforms, we have to be really [time-]sensitive.
In addition, an all-hands-on-deck approach was required. Besides the scripted stations on the main floor, other platforms -Instagram, Facebook, YouTube - covered different aspects of the Draft, such as the fashion sense of No. 4 overall pick and future New York Knick RJ Barrett.
View this post on Instagram
@rjbarrett shows off the #NBADraft suit details!
A post shared by NBA (@nba) on Jun 20, 2019 at 12:19pm PDT
--
Everybody is a content person, [even] people who are not normally staffed to the digital department. [For example,] I'll walk by someone and send [a picture] to one of our lead users and say, Hey, I found this, Brenner says. It usually doesn't make [our social-media channels], but, for the one or two times that it does, I feel pretty great because I got something [that] they thought was high-quality.
First-Person Accounts: Leveraging Players' Followings
Although the NBA pushed out a majority of the content generated on Draft Night, the players who experienced the pomp and circumstance provided first-hand commentary on the festivities with the help of basic re-tweeting and Greenfly, a league partner that offers an avenue for reliable content-sharing between two parties.
The hashtag was the focus of the NBA's Twitter-centric media stop.
This technology allows us to send content to players and players to send content to us really seamlessly. Our players have huge followings - in many cases, larger than the NBA or our teams, says Brenner. The [Philadelphia] 76ers have actually mobilized their whole staff with over 100 content producers to help tell a story that's bigger than what's happening here. [Also,] we'll be talking to the [newly drafted players] at the Rookie Transition Program on what Greenfly is so we can get them onboard. It's been a great symbiotic relationship.
Moving on Up: From Behind Curtains to the Draft Floor
The inner workings of NBA Digital's Draft coverage have grown exponentially. And, in a league that is fully embracing and diving deep into the depths of social media, NBA Digital's Draft Day schedule is expected to become even busier.
When Sam Farbe
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
09/10/2026
September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026
New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
30/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/09/2026
Mavis has launched Mavis Camera 8.2, the latest release of its professional camera app for the iPhone and iPad. This update brings support for iPhone 18 Pro and...
29/09/2026
Oak View Group (OVG) has announced Cisco as an Official Technology Partner, with plans to standardize infrastructure across its venue network on Cisco solutions...
29/09/2026
SportsNet Pittsburgh (SNP) won three honors at the 2026 Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards.
Program awards went to Bucs BP in the Sports Program Live category (produced ...
29/09/2026
The Professional Women's Hockey League has announced home openers for all 12 teams for the 2026-27 season, along with a broadcast partnership with CBC under...
29/09/2026
Manifold technologies has been recognized as a contributor to the Media eXchange...
29/09/2026
FuboTV has announced My Local Sports, allowing subscribers in select markets to add their local regional sports network (RSN) as an add-on to a Fubo Sports subs...
29/09/2026
Asian News International (ANI), a wire agency and video news provider based in India, has deployed Grass Valley's AMPP Media Operating System and Framelight...
29/09/2026
South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has deployed Ikegami UHK-X600 cameras as part of an upgrade to IP-based production infrastructure. The deployment ...
29/09/2026
REMI, REMCO models will drive the bulk of the broadcaster's NHL productions ...
29/09/2026
Three years in, the facility is supporting more centralized race production, com...
29/09/2026
NBC, Peacock, and NBSN are carrying all four Wild Card series with a production ...
29/09/2026
19 Nonfiction Projects Across All Stages of Production to Receive More Than $1 million in Support as Documentary Film Program Approaches 25th Anniversary
LOS ...
29/09/2026
Two new plug-ins launch alongside updated bundles
Zynaptiq have just announced the launch of two new plug-ins, alongside new and improved versions of two of...
29/09/2026
All-in-one bus processor revealed
Wes Audio's ng product range has come a long way since it was first introduced, and now includes a tasty selection of ...
29/09/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Ikegami announces that the South African Broadcasting Corporation, SABC, has chosen Ikegami UHK-X600 camera systems as part of an advance to IP-based operation ...
29/09/2026
Blendkit Offers 20% Discount to Celebrate Crossing 150K Asset Milestone
Brie Clayton September 29, 2026
0 Comments
Blendkit, the largest 3D asset libr...
29/09/2026
Interactive streaming specialist Ease Live supported more than 76.5 million fan sessions across three major European media operators during this summers FIFA Wo...
29/09/2026
Ease Live has added support for VAST (Video Ad Serving Template) to its graphical overlay technology, opening up new ways for broadcasters, streamers and rights...
29/09/2026
Rise AV has announced the launch of the inaugural Rise AV Awards, a new global awards programme celebrating the women, advocates and organisations across the AV...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Clear-Com announced that First Baptist Nashville has upgraded its production communications with a Clear-Com intercom solution as part of a comprehensive sanct...
29/09/2026
Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K Captured Action Shots for Sketch
Brie Clayton September 28, 2026
0 Comments
Camera's portable design and dynamic range...
29/09/2026
Kean Production Services Deploys AJA ColorBox to Deliver Consistent, Accurate Co...
29/09/2026
Berklee Alumni and Faculty Nominated for the 2026 Latin Grammy Awards A total of 28 Berklee alumni and faculty earned nominations across 20 categories this ye...
29/09/2026
Berklee's K-Pop & Beyond Explores Connections Between K-Pop and Hip-Hop Now in its fifth year, the series brings together artists, industry leaders, and s...
29/09/2026
We tend to think we live in a digital world, with hopes and fears around artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing, data centres and the next big technolo...
29/09/2026
Today, in partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Apple relea...
29/09/2026
Final Cut Camera, the professional filming app for iPhone, receives a major upda...
29/09/2026
RT lyric fm is proud to announce the annual Choirs for Christmas competition callout. Warm up those vocal chords and join us on RT lyric fm for a celebration ...
28/09/2026
The NHL has announced Adobe as an Official Creative, Marketing and AI Partner beginning with the 2026-27 season. The partnership will provide the league and its...
28/09/2026
MultiDyne will exhibit at CABSAT 2026 (October 5-7, Dubai Exhibition Centre), showcasing an expanded technology portfolio following its June 2026 acquisition of...
28/09/2026
ARRI and HONOR have announced the HONOR Magic9 Pro Max, a flagship smartphone carrying ARRI branding on the device and packaging as the first product-level expr...
Live From the NBA Draft: NBA Digital Puts Social on the Floor With Multiple Sets The social-media circuit moves from behind the scenes to front and center By Kristian Hernandez, Assistant Editor 
