ART DIRECTOR
NBA FINALS 2026
Where Superstars Become Superheroes
For the NBA Finals, we were asked to create a social-first campaign for a younger, highly engaged audience drawn to intensity, star power, and must-watch moments. With no new shoot and the playoff picture still evolving, the challenge was to build a visual system that could move quickly with the series, stay relevant to the players defining it, and make the Finals feel even bigger than life.
MY ROLE:
As Sr. Art Director, I helped shape the concept and build the visual universes around each player, defining the creative logic behind how their personalities, playing styles, team identities, and signature traits translated into distinct character worlds.
POINT OF VIEW
The NBA Finals is where superstars become superheroes. We wanted to go beyond a traditional comic-book treatment and build something more immersive and ownable, taking cues from the visual invention of Spider-Verse, the graphic energy of video games like Borderlands, and the heightened character worlds of Suicide Squad. The key was making every player’s universe feel specific to them, while keeping the system flexible enough to move at the speed of the Finals. Their playing style, personality, nicknames, team identity, and signature traits became the starting point for how each character came to life.
EXECUTION
From concept through final post, I stayed closely connected with the illustrators, animators, editors, and producers to make sure every creative choice belonged to the character worlds we were building. That meant being intentional about everything from player selection and illustration style to motion, color, music, and VFX, while working within strict NBA guidelines around athlete likeness, uniforms, and footage. As the series evolved, we continued refining the work around the players and storylines actually shaping the Finals, keeping the system consistent while allowing each athlete to feel distinct.
