NBA reimagines iconic dunks through Indian kids' leaps in 'The Great Indian Dunk'

In cricket-obsessed India, NBA shot kids' leaps mirroring Jordan, Kobe, LeBron and Shaq's dunks — black-and-white, no copy, under US$15,000.

NBA · NBA India

创意是什么Recreate NBA MVPs' signature dunks with Indian kids' spontaneous leaps — into ponds, off rooftops and stairwells — so basketball speaks India's body language.伤筋动骨

当时的题目

In India, cricket is the unofficial national sport, and basketball was perceived as foreign and elitist, played mainly in city courts. NBA had entered the market but had not reached the grassroots, so it needed Indians to recognise a little of basketball in themselves.

它是怎么成立的

India treats cricket as a religion; every other sport fights for a share of the playground, and basketball was seen as a foreign, slightly elitist game confined to city courts. NBA had entered India and made its presence felt in cities, but had not penetrated the grassroots where most young Indians live and play.

Leo Burnett Dubai found that India and the NBA spoke different languages but shared a body language: kids everywhere leap — into ponds, off rooftops and stairwells, even over an elephant tusk. Photographer Prashant Godbole captured those unscripted moments in black and white, framing each leap to echo a signature dunk of a league MVP: Jordan's 23, Kobe's 08, LeBron's 06, Shaq's 34.

The copy-free posters were placed at sporting stores, venues and neighbourhood courts in tier-1 and tier-2 cities through the NBA Academy, on a production budget under US$15,000. The campaign told a cricket-obsessed nation that the next 23, 8 or 34 might already be among its billion — and won the Grand Prix at the Loeries 2024, six D&AD Pencils and a Grand LIA Poster.

妙在哪

Turns a global icon's moments into local, everyday scenes anyone can recognise
Needs no copy or translation — the image alone carries the idea
Black-and-white photography cuts through India's saturated visual landscape
Places the work where the target audience actually lives and plays, via the NBA Academy

做出来什么

Won the Grand Prix at the Loeries 2024 — where NBA was also named Brand of the Year — six D&AD Pencils (three Graphite, three Wood) and a Grand LIA Poster; it reframed basketball as grassroots Indian possibility in a cricket-dominated landscape.

可以借走的

To enter a culture, borrow its body language: find the universal gesture that already exists locally, reframe it in the global icon's image, and let the audience see themselves in the brand.

后来

The campaign became NBA India's signature grassroots work: the companion film 'JUMP' won Film and Film Craft awards at the Loeries 2024, and the brand followed with purpose-led initiatives such as 'Nets for Change' in India. The Great Indian Dunk kept collecting international recognition through 2025, including six D&AD Pencils and a Grand LIA Poster.

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