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Tokyo: Before Stephen Curry hit a 3-pointer, and before Rui Hachimura got his first cheer from Japanese fans, Japanese fans were cheering their own people, and in one way, the NBA Japan Games have been is a huge victory.
money.
The NBA’s recent foray into Japan, where the defending champion Golden State Warriors and Washington Wizards play two preseason games on Friday and Sunday, has big money going. Every seat inside the Saitama Super Arena has been sold, and the league has more game marketing partners in Japan than ever before.
The financial payoff is as clear as a patch from Japanese online retailer Rakuten on the jerseys that Curry and the Warriors will wear.
“These are the Japanese who grew up on Michael Jordan,” said Junya Ogura, senior manager of brand and media strategy at Japanese automaker Nissan. “We’re banking on future returns.”
Nissan, which sponsors Japanese professional baseball and soccer, recently closed a high-profile deal with tennis superstar Naomi Osaka. This is the first time sponsoring an NBA game.
Ogura believes that given the NBA’s strong appeal to younger generations, the investment by Japanese companies in these games is worthwhile, a trend backed by marketing research. Since 2017, Nissan is sharing the role of game partner with Rakuten, which has a lucrative relationship with the Warriors — at least $20 million a year, mostly for patches on Golden State’s jerseys.
Rakuten also has a sponsorship deal with Curry as part of his sprawling off-market empire. Rakuten also sponsors Japanese baseball and soccer, and hosts the Japan Open tennis tournament, as well as live NBA games. It’s also one of the main reasons the NBA returned to Japan for two preseason games between Houston and Toronto in 2019, ending a 16-year inter-game drought in the country.
“It’s great to be here,” Curry said.
Tickets for courtside “VIP” seats can cost as much as 420,000 yen ($2,900) each. Both Friday and Sunday were sold out at the Saitama Super Arena, where the U.S. won gold at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics postponed due to the pandemic. The large arena was largely empty and tickets could not be sold due to the virus.
Now, every seat is up for grabs. In addition, the NBA has attracted 15 marketing partners to support the preseason in Japan, including American Express, Hennessy, NEC and Nike, and now has 19 marketing and promotional partners in Japan.
“Obviously, it’s about the money,” said Bob Dorfman, a San Francisco-based sports analyst at Pinnacle Advertising.
“Building a fan base in Asia and the rest of the world can lead to more sponsorship money, more media rights and more merchandise sales.”
For example, Dorfman, who has worked in Japan, said the NBA may have more global appeal than other American sports and easier to understand than football.
“Every team has foreign-born players on their rosters, and the league’s top stars are cultural icons, trendsetters and social media giants. The games are cool,” he said.
This translates not only into sponsorship money, but also into spending by young people on sneakers and other fashion items and merchandise.
From 1990 to 2003, the NBA hosted 12 regular season games in Japan. The courtship between the NBA and Japanese fans — not to mention Japanese companies and global NBA fans — is now in full swing again.
Giant 3D displays at Tokyo intersections depict Curry and other NBA stars as “manga” or Japanese manga characters. The NBA’s Japanese-language social media accounts have amassed more than 1.6 million followers.
While the players are in town, they will participate in various fan events. In addition to Hachimura, the NBA now has another Japanese player, Yuta Watanabe, who plays for the Brooklyn Nets.
The NBA is also excited about the potential of women’s basketball. The Japanese women were silver medalists at the last Olympics. Olympian Ei Machida signed with the WNBA’s Washington Mystics earlier this year.
“Our fan base is growing,” said Ramez Sheikh, managing director of NBA Asia. “Basketball is gaining momentum in Japan, and it’s a really important market for the NBA.”
Wizards officials admitted they were surprised by Japan’s response to the signing of Rui Hachimura. They suddenly saw more Japanese in the stands, tourist buses began to come, and Japanese media appeared in large numbers.
“It’s all about Rui,” said Hunter Lochman, chief marketing officer of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Wizards. “It’s fast-paced. It’s high scores. It’s a great sport, and it’s a global sport.”
In addition to Japan, Abu Dhabi has two preseason games scheduled this season, with the Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks heading there early next month. The regular season will be held in Mexico City in December and Paris in January.
Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma said he was excited about coming to Japan for the first time.
He had already eaten sushi and was about to go shopping when a fan on the street came forward and gave him chopsticks with his name and his girlfriend’s name engraved on them.
“This is an important moment,” Kuzma said. “It’s a big stage.”
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