One of the interesting things we’ve seen in the last few years is closer integration between Warner Bros. Discovery-owned properties Bleacher Report and Turner Sports, including Bleacher Report shows around Turner properties like The Match, people like Adam Lefkoe with Bleacher Report backgrounds hosting Turner programming, and people with Turner backgrounds and Draymond Green hosting Bleacher Report programming. The latest move here is a Dwyane Wade-led Bleacher Report series on the future of the NBA and WNBA.
When Wade signed on with Turner in 2019, it was mentioned that he’d be taking on a creative director role with Bleacher Report in addition to his Turner Sports work (which has included NBA on TNT Tuesdays, the NCAA Tournament, The Arena, Open Court and more), and B/R’s latest project has Wade heavily involved. That will be a Wade-hosted six episode Next 25 Presented by Coinbase series on the B/R app and YouTube channel, which will see him interview various guests about where the NBA and WNBA might be going in the next 25 years. The first episode is set to come out later today. Here’s more on that from a release:
With this season marking the 75th anniversary of the NBA, Bleacher Report wanted to look ahead at what the next 25 years will bring for the league. NBA legend Dwyane Wade embarks on a 6-episode digital series to answer just that in Next 25 Presented by Coinbase.
The series, which features 2022 NBA Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes, Knicks forward Obi Toppin, Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, and WNBA star Napheesa Collier as well as other special guests, centers topics of importance to the players and the league. How will players interact with fans through the media? How will players spend their money? How will the WNBA grow and how will the game change? What are the up-and-coming fashion trends?
The Next 25 Presented by CoinBase will bring NBA fans into the minds of the young players who own the future of the league with 75 years of greatness in the rearview.
This feels like a logical fit for B/R. They’ve done a number of interesting interview shows, including Untold Stories with Master Tesfatsion and Take It There with Taylor Rooks, Ditch The Playbook with Lefkoe and more. And looking at the future of the NBA and WNBA by having Wade talk to young players from those leagues makes sense. We’ll see how this project is received, but it seems like a good fit for both B/R and Wade.
Next 25 Presented by Coinbase will air on the B/R app and YouTube channel, with the first episode set for release later today.
[Photos supplied by Bleacher Report]