With the NBA All-Star Weekend approaching, the league decided to extend some goodwill to its fans. Whether that goodwill was reciprocated is open for interpretation.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, the NBA announced that fans who linked their NBA and Nike accounts would be able to vote on which one of Jayson Tatum’s signature shoe the Boston Celtics star would wear in this weekend’s exhibition in Indianapolis. What the league didn’t announce, however, is that those who participated in the poll would be offered a year’s worth of NBA League Pass Premium for free after voting.
Nike x NBA ID Members, make your voice heard by voting on which shoes Jayson Tatum should wear during the 2024 NBA All-Star Game. Tune in on Sunday, February 18 at 8PM ET, TNT to catch him in the winning colorway @jumpman23
Vote here: https://t.co/YLDDSVmxRW pic.twitter.com/Kh7JkEQdIV
— NBA (@NBA) February 14, 2024
By Thursday afternoon, word had spread that participating in the poll — which only took a few minutes to complete — was well worth NBA fans’ time. In fact, many realized that you could bypass voting altogether and get a year’s worth of NBA League Pass Premium — a nearly $240 value — for free by simply using the promo code “ALLSTARTATUM.”
No joke if u go to this website and vote on jayson tatum’s shitty shoes they give u a free year of nba league pass premium lol https://t.co/gqG0WlGEef
— chekov (@notbigracks) February 15, 2024
NBA League Pass Premium (12 months) is free w/ code ALLSTARTATUM https://t.co/U7r9tgeqZs pic.twitter.com/0FAbVwBXq6
— Wario64 (@Wario64) February 15, 2024
At some point late Thursday afternoon, the promo was pulled — presumably after more people than anticipated signed up.
https://twitter.com/NBA_University/status/1758217131273994345
All things considered, it’s hard to imagine that the NBA wouldn’t have seen this coming. Even without advertising the offer, it was inevitable that word would spread about the league offering a year’s worth of League Pass Premium for free in exchange for just a couple of clicks.
Perhaps that’s what the league was counting on, albeit not to the degree in which the promo took off. It likely didn’t help that many customers appeared to be bypassing voting altogether in favor of simply inputting the promo code.
At the end of the day, the league and Nike managed to attract attention to Tatum’s shoes, as well as this weekend’s All-Star festivities, which is what the promo was intended to do. In return, thousands of fans now find themselves with free television access to nearly every NBA game for the next 12 months.
[NBA on X]
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.