What championship moments like the Knicks’ Game Four comeback teach brands about real-time marketing

With consumer attention becoming more fragmented and advertisers finding it harder to cultivate at scale, sports remain one of the few cultural forces that bring millions of people together around shared moments. The Knicks’ title became exactly that, driving the most-watched NBA Finals in nearly three decades, generating record social engagement with more than 15 billion views and setting an all-time merchandise sales record across all sports after the clinching win. 

Sports create emotional connections that few other forms of media can match. The lesson for brands is to learn from the Finals and plan around a match’s emotional moments to make the most of this coming season, starting with the NBA’s opening night.

Preparing for the next big moment

Sports are unpredictable. However, technology now provides a solution to identify specific moments that align with brand values and enable connection with fans in the moment. The goal for brands is to capitalize on the emotion of sports in real-time by preparing to engage audiences when excitement peaks.

Think of all the key plays and moments that led to the Knicks’ comeback in Game Four. Before the iconic tip-in, the Knicks hit clutch three-pointers in the second half, went on a 13-0 scoring run and had multiple defensive stops. Now imagine if a brand had served relevant ads to the massive NBA Finals audience across a range of channels, including social and digital-out-of-home (DOOH), within a split second of each of these moments happening. 

Brands working with Sportradar can activate campaigns based on live sports moments within events as they unfold. This live sports data is pulled into the company’s ad tech, meaning pivotal fourth-quarter moments would immediately trigger ads across digital channels, allowing brands to connect with fans while excitement and conversation are reaching a fever pitch. Powered by real-time data, fan intelligence and omnichannel activation, this approach ensures relevant messaging and content reaches the right audience at the right time, wherever they are. 

Success is no longer determined solely by where advertisements appear. Increasingly, it depends on a brand’s ability to recognize shifts in fan attention and respond while the conversation is still unfolding. The Finals demonstrated how quickly engagement can accelerate during pivotal stretches of a game and why brands should position themselves to meet these spikes this season.

Instead of pre-buying an ad spot for a game, brands can decide which in-game moments to activate around. During Game Four, a brand could have launched automatic ads in sync with Anunoby’s tip-in, or after a string of consecutive three-pointers that cut into the San Antonio Spurs’ lead. This lets brands reach fans in the moment as well as afterward for the most reshared plays, creating a holistic campaign strategy. 

The new, always-on battleground for fan attention

Critically, today’s fans no longer experience sports linearly. Traditionally, sports marketing centered around sponsorship rights, media buys, static ad spots and season-long campaigns. However, fans now move seamlessly between broadcasts and devices, watching games and highlights via streaming, scrolling social platforms, monitoring live odds and listening to podcasts. The fan journey rarely ends with the final whistle.

For marketers, understanding where and how fans spend their time is just as important as understanding when their attention peaks. Think about the attention generated when a player hits a buzzer-beating three-pointer, has a highlight dunk or goes on a hot streak in the final minutes of a playoff game. The same is true when a superstar reaches a major milestone, such as a scoring record. Fans immediately turn to social platforms to watch replays, debate and share their reactions. The conversation around what happened lasts far longer than the play or moment itself. 

As a memorable play lives on in different formats and channels, it creates multiple opportunities for brands to remain part of the experience. Effectively reaching fans on all of their devices and platforms keeps brands top-of-mind and makes them an everyday part of fans’ lives.

The future belongs to brands that can move at the speed of sports

The Knicks’ title illustrated the enormous value that exists around major sporting moments. 

As the 2026-27 NBA season tips off, brands should increasingly focus on understanding fan behavior and preparing for shifts in audience attention. Competitive advantages will come from combining audience intelligence, real-time insights and activation capabilities to deliver relevant messaging when fans are most engaged.

With a full-scope view of fan behavior, brands can target ads more successfully while becoming active participants in the key plays that stick with fans. The opportunity this NBA season is to turn real-time understanding of audiences and action on the court into more relevant ads delivered across the channels where fans are already engaged. This way, brands move at the speed of sports and turn fleeting attention into lasting connections.

Partner insights from Sportradar