ESPN Mike Will Made It

Photo Credit: JC Gellidon

ESPN is tapping Mike Will Made-It as its lead music producer for the 2023-24 NBA season. Here’s the latest.

The producer is dropping a new single, “Different Breed” featuring Latto and Swae Lee, while teaming up with ESPN to premiere the single during the NBA Tip-Off TV spot coverage promoting the upcoming NBA season. The collab also comes on the heels of Mike Will’s latest single “Blood Moon” featuring Lil Uzi Vert.

The NBA on ESPN custom music strategy features artists and producers in the music industry who remix, produce, and create music around major NBA moments with ESPN. Priorities outside of NBA Tip-off include NBA In-season Tournament, Christmas Day, Saturday Primetime matchups, NBA Play-in Tournament, NBA Playoffs, and NBA Finals.

The ESPN promotion featuring the track “Different Breed” debuted for the first time on October 16 during ESPN’s Monday Night Football. It will continue to run across linear, social, and production leading into the ESPN NBA opening night coverage on October 25 between the Boston Celtics vs the New York Knicks and the Dallas Mavericks vs. the San Antonio Spurs.

“It didn’t take us long to figure out that Atlanta music, Mike WiLL, and NBA on ESPN were a strong cultural fit,” adds Curtis Friends, Vice President of Sports Marketing, ESPN. “Mike WiLL Made-It is cooking up his recipe for the NBA on ESPN custom music strategy that will set the tone for fans throughout the season.”

“As an independent record label, nothing excites us more than collaboration and creativity,” adds Matt LaMotte, Managing Director of Giant Music. “We couldn’t ask for better creative partners than Mike WiLL and ESPN.”

ESPN collaborated with Ty Dolla $ign, Janelle Monáe, G Eazy, Myke Towers, A Boogie Wit da Hoodie, and others for its second year of custom music strategy. “This is the perfect partnership because I make the music people want to ball to,” adds Mike WiLL Made-It.