80th time’s a charm!

The NBA season is here once again, and this time, it’s celebrating its 80th season! Storylines are already taking shape while experts are saying the fight for the crown is as open as ever. The global content machine that is the NBA will once again be rife with opportunities to profit through your NBA ads. 

Chaos leads to attention; attention leads to currency. There are so many strong teams, so any game could be key – the dream scenario for advertisers. With Adcash’s premium inventory, top tips, and sports calendar, you’ll be more than ready to maximize your earnings for the first tip-off. 

COUNTRIES TO TARGET

The USA remains king of the court for NBA traffic, but the league continues to gain attention in Canada, the Philippines, Australia, and Brazil. 

Eurobasket took place over the summer, with Germany claiming gold. Tournament MVP Dennis Schröder played a huge part and has just signed for the Sacramento Kings. Expect Eurobasket hype to continue over into the NBA season, with more eyes from across the pond than ever. 

WHEN & HOW TO RUN YOUR CAMPAIGNS

NBA games take place every day from now until the playoffs in April. So when it comes to creating NBA ads to run, every day is the perfect day. There’s always bound to be a juicy storyline, a heated rivalry, or a top play to headline tomorrow’s highlight reels. 

Some days are bigger than others, though. Here’s a look at some key dates: 

• Opening Night Double Header (October 22)
• 5 games on Christmas Day (December 25)
• NBA Global Games (November 1, January 15, 18)
• 40th edition of NBA x MLK Day (January 19)
• All-Star Weekend (February 13-15)

The following dates are based on Central European Time (CET)

Download the NBA 2025 calendar to always stay in the loop.

If you’re focusing solely on our sports verticals, make sure your campaigns run with an open budget and no spread during live games. Give your NBA ads a broad daily budget to cover any huge spikes in traffic and engagement you might get.

Our campaign creation tool lets you go even deeper. By targeting highly specific website verticals, you can reach the perfect audience for your sports campaigns. Here’s an example of how that looks in action:

NBA AD CONTENT

Your NBA ads should look and feel like basketball. Use NBA-inspired visuals; courts, jerseys, slam dunks, team colors – anything that instantly screams “game time.” This is not the moment for subtlety. Fans are hyped, scrolling fast, and primed to engage with anything that taps into that energy.

And don’t stop at the ad itself. Make sure your landing pages carry the same vibe. Give them basketball visuals, matchday energy, and maybe even countdowns or scoreboards. Consistency sells.

The possibilities are wide open:

• E-commerce brands can push basketball merch or limited-edition drops.
• News and media sites can promote their sports sections or live coverage.
• But the real MVPs? Sports betting offers. They match the mindset of the traffic and convert like crazy during the season.

Sports season is your creative free pass. NBA advertising can go further, louder, and more experimental than usual, as long as it ties back to the theme.

What the Experts Are Saying

Nothing is truly predictable in an NBA season. However, experts say to look out for the following stories to watch and target with NBA advertising:

• The Oklahoma City Thunder are gathering momentum. They’ve kept all their key players, and they’re only getting better. Can the pressure of back-to-back titles get to them?
• LeBron James is making history (again). He takes to the court for a record 23rd season, and he’s not slowing down. With new names making a name in LA, could this be his last season with the Lakers?
• The Houston Rockets are looking strong. Durant is a game-winner on his own, but now he’s surrounded by a strong, young offense. 
• The San Antonio Spurs are due for a big turnaround in favour. Victor Wembanyama, in his third season, is only improving. His 3-pointer threat will look to draw attention away from other forwards, giving them more space and time to put away big points themselves.

NBA AD FORMATS

Most of our sports inventory runs on Pop-Under, Banner, and Interstitial formats – perfect for scooping up massive traffic spikes during live games. The trick? Start building momentum before the game starts, so your NBA ads are already in rotation when the action starts.

We also highly recommend pairing your campaigns with In-Page Push ads. Push formats grab attention fast – delivering time-sensitive offers right when users are most engaged. Just make sure your CTAs are laser-focused and impossible to ignore.

Pro tip: include team names or player references in your Push creatives. It’s a small tweak that can drive major improvements in both click and conversion rates.

PAYMENT MODELS

Choosing the right payment model can greatly impact your NBA advertising campaign results, especially during a busy sports season.

If you can track conversions, go with CPA Target. It’s smart, automated, and built to get you the best possible results for your conversion goal. Once it has enough data, it begins to do the hard work for you, finding high-performing traffic and automatically optimizing bids.

If you can’t track conversions, no problem. Use CPM for Pop-Under ads to get maximum visibility and reach. For Banner, Interstitial, and Push formats, CPC is your best bet. That way, you’re only paying for people who actually click and show interest in your NBA ads, not just for impressions.

MONETIZATION STRATEGY

Advertisers are hungry for sports traffic right now. We’re seeing huge demand for NBA-related supply, with brands across every vertical running basketball-themed campaigns. That means this is your moment to capitalize.

At Adcash, we deliver some of the highest eCPMs in the market, plus fast, flexible payouts that keep your cash flow smooth. Pop-under ads work well for sports fans. They fit perfectly with the excitement and real-time action of live games.

To boost your visibility even further, use NBA or game-related keywords in your content and URLs – think team names, player mentions, or event tie-ins. It’s an easy win for ranking and relevance.

And if you want to fine-tune your setup for maximum performance, our team’s always here to help you turn those clicks into serious revenue.

FAQs

When does the NBA regular season start?

The NBA 2025 calendar tips off on October 22st (CET).

How many games are in the regular NBA season?

Each franchise plays 82 games each in the regular season.

How long is an NBA basketball game?

An NBA game has 48 minutes of regular time, split into 4 12-minute quarters. Games can last around 2 hours, though, when you include commercial breaks, time-outs, and foul stoppages. Plenty of time for all those NBA advertising campaigns to work their magic.

How do you add the NBA schedule to my calendar?

After clicking on the NBA 2025 Calendar choose your schedule to follow. Then, select which calendar you want to sync with (Google, Apple, Outlook, etc.). Sign in to your calendar, and the fixtures will populate there automatically.

CREATE A PERFECT SETUP

Game time. You’ve got all the tips you need to create a winning campaign with NBA advertising, and you’ll be ready to convert in no time. If you want to level up your playbook, check out our list of conversion-driving sports fixtures.

Between buzzer-beaters, breakout stars, and backboard-bending dunks, Adcash is right here to help you fine-tune your targeting, optimize your bids, and make every campaign count.