Kia: The “Official Automotive Partner” of the NBA, WNBA, and NBA G League

Excited about this upcoming 2021-2022 basketball season? Us too because earlier in October, Kia announced that they would extend their marketing partnership with the National Basketball Association (NBA). Can you believe that this is the 15th season of the relationship between the two, as Kia serves as the “Official Automotive Partner” of the NBA, Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), and the NBA G League. This makes it one of the longest standing partners according to Tara Mulcahy, NBA Senior Vice President, Global Partnerships. It also calls for a special season, seeing that it is the 75th Anniversary Season of the NBA and the conclusion of the 25th Anniversary of the WNBA.Vice President, Marketing, Kia America, Russell Wagner is also excited about this opportunity to extend their relationship with the NBA, WNBA, and G League; that will help the automotive company enhance their shift toward electrification and sustainable mobility.

Awards and marquee events will assist Kia in building their presence across these channels. Kia holds many different titles with the NBA. They are the returning official vehicle of the NBA playoffs, title partner for both the Kia NBA G League end-of-season performance awards and the NBA’s seven All-NBA teams. These awards include:

• Kia All-NBA First Team
• Kia All-NBA Second Team
• Kia All-NBA Third Team
• Kia NBA All-Rookie First Team
• Kia NBA All-Rookie Second Team
• Kia NBA All-Defensive First Team
• Kia NBA All-Defensive Second Team

Nikola Jokic who is the power forward/center of the Denver Nuggets was the Kia NBA MVP Award winner for the 2020-2021 season and we can’t wait to see who wins this year. Not only is Kia involved with performance awards for the NBA, they are also strengthening their commitment to women’s sports serving as the title partner of the WNBA monthly awards and end-of-season performance awards. These awards include:

• Kia WNBA Most Valuable Player
• Kia WNBA Sixth Player of the Year
• Kia WNBA Defensive Player of the Year
• Kia WNBA Rookie of the Year
• Kia WNBA Most Improved Player
• Kia WNBA Player of the Month
• Kia WNBA Rookie of the Month

In total, Kia is partnered with 13 NBA teams – Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat, New Orleans Pelicans, New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers and the Phoenix Suns. Throughout the season, Kia plans to enhance their brand presence with programming, sweepstakes, and fan engagement activations. Most importantly, Kia is represented in every tip-off throughout the season, all the way up to the finals. The first Kia NBA Tip-Off was on Tuesday October 19th with the Milwaukee Bucks taking on the Brooklyn Nets and the Golden State Warriors facing the Los Angeles Lakers.

We are excited to see how the 2021-2022 NBA season unfolds!