November in Review: The Coolest things in NBA Basketball

Welcome back! Today I wanted to pull together a quick rundown of all things cool from the past month of NBA basketball marketing. This is where a lot of the inspiration for college basketball marketing comes from. I hope you enjoy it.

Oh, and don't worry, next week we'll shift gears and turn our attention to the SEC Basketball.

I came across this and was stopped in my tracks. How cool is this – Kobe learning the Dream Shake from Hakeem Olajuwon. This is definitely worth a click of your time.

The NBA put together a Trailer for the season on TNT jammed full of All Stars telling the story of being ready for the season. Basically, if you combine the voices of Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Brandon Roy, Kevin Garnett, and Steve Nash, you get Incredible. Worth a click.

It’s a bold statement, but the Miami Heat might have the best team intro video ever. Amazing.

Chris Bosh is launching a pretty solid documentary, Fresh Ink. Definitely worth a click.

Rookie Brandon Jennings is having quite an impact on the trading card industry. He has 13 of the top 20 trading cards on the “Basketball Hot List” in the upcoming issue of Beckett’s Sports Card Monthly. And, since his 55 point performance, the value of his best cards have now doubled in value. Link here.

Moving to the gaming world, I loved this read about the rivalry between EA Sports and 2K Sports, as they battle for the title of best NBA basketball franchise. Link here.

In the first month, NBA 2K10 is killing it. Sales are up 54% on the xBox 360 and 93% on the PlayStation 3 over last season – extending their already sizable market share lead over EA Sports’ NBA Live 10. Wow. Link here.

And, here’s a solid read on how great branding and a unique experience has made the NBA D-League a success. It’s pretty cool to see how a strategy of putting teams in sports hungry markets with a unique brand have led to a great value. Link here. (and check out this sweet logo!)

I wanted to close this recap with a tribute to Jumping. I hope you enjoy it.

Dwayne Wade demonstrated he’s both fearless and has big time springs in this dunk, worth a click.

And, finally, here’s a sarcastic read from the Onion. LeBron James Encourages NBA to stop jumping in honor of Michael Jordan. Link here.

"MJ jumped a lot. It was his signature. When players jump in this league, whether for a tip-off, a jump shot, or a layup, they're basically copying what Michael Jordan did when he would propel himself upward and lift both feet off the ground," James told reporters in a press conference in which he asked other players to join him in the ground-staying-on tribute. "The fact of the matter is, without MJ changing the game by making his body go up into the air, us young guys wouldn't even know what jumping is." James later scored 38 points against the last-place Wizards with his feet flat on the floor.

We'll see you next week -- as we pump up the Southeastern Conference Basketball energy!