"There Can Only Be One" is designed to bring to life the dedication, desire, and sacrifice that create the intense emotions and drama of one of sport's premier postseason events: the NBA Playoffs & The Finals.

A breadth of players from every playoff team emphasize a team-oriented mindset and knowledge that there can only be one team that emerges -- each night, each series, and ultimately an NBA Championship:

“We’re gonna’ win, yeah. That’s not me bragging, that’s me believing. That’s me believing in myself …and my teammates.”

Directed by the husband and wife team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (Little Miss Sunshine), the campaign represents the depth of the entire playoffs story, and will adapt, narrow, intensify and refocus as the teams drop off and only two are left vying for the championship. The debut spots feature Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal speaking on "fear," while LeBron James and Kevin Garnett discuss "the dream." Each subsequent spot will be specific to one of the match-ups, and will feature one of three players from each team, face-to-face.

All Photography by Jennifer Pottheiser
(www.pottheiser.com)

• Darren Rovell, CNBC.com, April 17:

  I have to say that I'm not usually impressed with league generated ads. But I have to say, I think the new "There Can Only Be One" NBA Playoffs ads are brilliant. If you haven't seen it, check this out.
  
  [Shaq/Kobe 'Fear" spot embedded]
  
  Obviously, this is the best one because it's Kobe and Shaq and you all know the background between those two. The spot was dreamed up by Goodby Silverstein and Partners and directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, the directors of "Little Miss Sunshine." [Read More ...]

• Rick Stengel, TIME, April 25:

  I thought, people who were familiar with the [NBA] campaign would like it and smile, and there’s obviously equivalency between the election and the playoffs. But I think it’s powerful and striking enough on its own. [Read More ...]

• DimeMag.com, April 23
• There Can Only Be One (Or Two)
• Billboard, April 18
• NBA Kicks Off Playoffs With Dayton, Faris Spots
• New Orleans Times-Picayune, April 18
• Paul Faces Off
• Chicago Sun-Times, April 18
• Still the Man
• USA Today, April 11
• NBA deliberately sending mixed messages
• TVGuide.com, April 11
• NBA Stars Speak in One Voice for New Playoffs Campaign
• The San Antonio Express-News, April 11
• Spurs nail scripts for TV spots
• Variety, April 11
• Little Miss Sunshine's Dayton and Faris Boost NBA
• L.A. Daily News, April 11
• Nothing to sneeze at: More media notes
• Sports Business Journal, April 10
• NBA Playoff Campaign Leaving No One on the Sidelines
• BrandWeek, April 10
• The Game: Playoff Push 'Splits' NBA Players