ABOVE THE WAVES

The light always points you in the right direction.



In Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals, Klay went up for a routine lay-up, one that he’s probabaly made thousands of times in his life. Except this time, he didn’t land the way he has thousands of times before. Klay tore his ACL, the Warriors lost, and the dynasty was over. Almost as quickly as it started.

The eulogies were said. The memes shared. The speculation about how they were ever going to contend again were being written. But, Klay stayed low. After a period of darkness, he used the injury as an opportunity to re-frame his perspective. The game, just like life, can be taken away, ~just like that~.

So, while the public forgets, Klay was putting in the work.

May 2020: ABOVE THE WAVES DOCUMENTARY


In the middle of the Pandemic,while the world was starved for sports and clinging onto a basketball documentary about a player who played 25 years ago, we dropped a seven minute documentary chronicling Klay’s long road back to the court and it was streamed live to the NBA’s Instagram to their 48 million followers.


Over the course of a full calender year, through multiple cities, and people close to Klay we created a complete narrative that fully tied together Klay’s arc. From the things that motivated him as a kid, to the snap of his ACL, to the mental doldrums of rehab. Directed by Oscar nominated filmmaker, Floyd Russ, we sought out to create a moody landscape that reflected Klay’s turbulent mindset. No sports cliches. Just the feeling of what it’s like to face down an 18 month injury. The home court filling with water. A basketball hoop on fire. The spotlight of irrelevancy. The boredom of being at home while your team struggles at the bottom of the league.



FEBRUARY 2020: REBOUND TVC


But before the documentary was released, we wanted to remind basketball fans what they were missing. After ten months of not hearing from Klay, we dropped this spot during the middle of an LA v Golden State broadcast and put the league on notice.

You guys can have this season. But he’ll be back.






WELLNESS BY KLAY


As the official mental health sponsor of the NBA, we created a handful calming, meditative, and contemplative :15s that remind us all of some very basic tenets we should live by.






//

Partner: Dylan Simel
CD: Alex Kaplan + Barry Katz
Mark