Overview
OVO had long moved within NBA culture through players, cities, and franchise relationships. In 2021, that presence became official through a licensed multi team program beyond the Raptors.
Basketball operates at the level of city identity, and OVO had already embedded itself within that ecosystem through music, proximity, and influence. The goal was not to produce merchandise, but to integrate OVO into the league landscape in a way that felt natural to both sides.
The work balanced brand identity with team culture inside the realities of league licensing.
My Role
From 2021 through 2024, I led creative direction across product and campaign for OVO’s licensed NBA program.
I established the visual direction applied across franchises, ensuring OVO identity translated clearly across markets. Each release required consistency while working within league constraints and business considerations.
I directed team specific executions and worked closely with league licensing, production partners, and collaborators to carry the vision through development and launch.
In parallel, I shaped campaign direction, pairing franchises with artists native to each city and aligning releases with the NBA calendar so each drop arrived with context and relevance.
Bobby Shmurda for New York Knicks
Chief Keef for Chicago Bulls
Drakeo The Ruler For Los Angeles Lakers
OVO x NBA - 2021
World Champions Collection
The program launched across six markets: New York, Miami, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Toronto. The selection reflected both cultural influence and commercial importance.
This marked OVO’s first licensed multi-team collection with a professional sports league.
The collection operated as a unified system across franchises. Each team was approached with the expectation that the product would sit comfortably within official team environments.
Franchises worked within largely monochromatic palettes drawn from official team colors. Melton wool varsity jackets anchored the assortment through chenille and patch application, while sweats and tees carried a consistent uniform sensibility through proportion and material.
OVO’s core marks were integrated through team language with precise placement and controlled color, positioning the brand inside the franchise rather than beside it.
The assortment included a varsity jacket, sweatsuit, sweat shorts, tees, crewneck, New Era 59FIFTY fitted, and sideline towel, produced in Canada to reinforce alignment between OVO and the league.
Campaign imagery reflected each city’s voice. Bobby Shmurda represented New York. Chief Keef represented Chicago. Drakeo the Ruler represented Los Angeles.
Launched at the start of the NBA season, the program moved from development to release without dilution. The program expanded.
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Jeff Hamilton
Juancho Hernangómez
Jeff Hamilton
OVO x NBA - 2022
Icons Collection
In 2022, the program moved from select markets to the entire league. All thirty teams were integrated into a single framework rooted in OVO’s black and gold identity. The shift was not about volume. It proved the language could command the league at a moment when logo culture was resurging across sport and fashion.
Official NBA marks were reworked through that lens and applied across outerwear, fleece, headwear, denim, and accessories. The direction drew from the early 2000s era of oversized league graphics and logo saturation, when NBA branding moved beyond uniforms into everyday dress. The OVO owl was embedded directly into the league grid, treated with the same hierarchy as official franchise marks.
The hero pieces set the tone: the Jeff Hamilton jacket, the New Era 59FIFTY, and the OG Owl hoodie. The jacket tapped into the era Jeff Hamilton helped define, when bold outerwear anchored NBA style.
The denim NBA work set referenced that same head to toe confidence, interpreted through tonal executions and controlled placement. Tees and mesh shorts followed the same system. While the statement pieces established presence, the rest of the collection operated with restraint. Hierarchy came through material, scale, and finish.
Jeff Hamilton appeared in the campaign, grounding the jacket’s lineage in the present. Juancho Hernangómez appeared while competing in the NBA and starring in Netflix’s Hustle, placing the project inside both sport and film in real time.
Launched at the start of the season, the release amplified OVO’s visibility across arenas, retail, and digital simultaneously.
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OVO x NBA – 2023
City Series
In 2023, the program returned to six cities: Los Angeles, New York, Toronto, Phoenix, Memphis, and Golden State. Each market aligned with OVO flagship presence and teams carrying real league momentum. Released just ahead of the playoffs, the drop arrived when attention tightens and each city carries amplified visibility.
After integrating into team systems in 2021 and operating across the full league graphic landscape in 2022, the focus narrowed. OVO moved into the primary visual role, with team marks reinforcing rather than leading. Custom city wordmarks were rebuilt in-house, and the hybrid owl marks introduced in earlier releases were brought forward in scale and placement across the collection.
The varsity jacket advanced from previous seasons, defined by cream leather sleeves, heavier chenille, expanded back graphics, and state map sleeve patches specific to each market. It was the most elevated expression of the program to date.
Fleece sets and tees followed within disciplined team palettes, alongside a black execution offered consistently across all six cities. The black option anchored the assortment, allowing the owl to remain constant while each city’s colorway maintained distinction.
James Goldstein was photographed at his landmark residence. Charles Oakley brought real league history into the frame. The casting connected the product to both courtside culture and on-court legacy.
Released at peak league visibility, the collection placed OVO firmly at the center of the conversation.
Cultural Placement
The collection extended beyond retail and campaign imagery into the spaces where the league was being experienced in real time. It moved into gaming and emerging sports media, where identity and conversation now travel as quickly as the game itself.
NBA 2k23
OVO x NBA 2023 appeared inside NBA 2K23, allowing the collection to exist directly within the game environment. The product lived in digital arenas and off-court settings, extending the collection into the same spaces where player identity and style now influence how the league is seen.
It Is What It Is
The release appeared early on It Is What It Is, worn by Cam’ron and Ma$e during the show’s first season. The collection entered the conversation organically, before the platform became one of the most visible voices in sports media.
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