Video game NBA 2K looks to continue to blur the lines between the real and digital worlds with its newest incarnation. This year NBA 2K18 built an open-world neighborhood, allowing gamers not only to play basketball, but to immerse themselves with all the culture that surrounds it. Gamers can go to the barbershop, get ink done at the tattoo parlor and play ball at the local courts. 

To announce and celebrate this new feature, agency CP+B LA teamed with director Stacy Wall of production house Imperial Woodpecker on a two-minute film, Run the Neighborhood, showing a kid on his journey from his apartment to the local court, ducking in and out of all his haunts and greeting everyday regulars on the way. It just so happens that those regulars are all NBA superstars (10 in total). And for the eagle-eyed fans, the neighborhood is furnished with basketball Easter eggs. The NBA players are in order of appearance: D’Angelo Russell, Paul George, Joel Embiid, Isaiah Thomas, Damian Lillard, Bill Walton (retired legend), DeMar DeRozan, Devin Booker, Karl-Anthony Towns and Kyrie Irving.

Credits

Client 2K Sports/NBA 2K Agency CP+B LA Kevin Jones, executive creative director; Barnaby Blackburn, Gustavo Kopit, creative directors; Katie Hildebrant, VP, director of video production; Jackie Maloney, sr. integrated producer; Andy Hamm (and Good Ear Music Supervision), music supervisor; Jake Welch, content supervisor. Production Imperial Woodpecker Stacy Wall, director; Robbie Mooring, line producer; Mihai Malaimare Jr. DP. Editorial Cut+Run LA Michelle Eskin, managing partner; Amburr Farls and Jared Thomas, executive producers; Sam Ostrove, editor; Moss Eletreby, assistant editor; James Drew, post exec producer; Catherine Yi, post producer. Postproduction ETC Eric Mason, Flame artist. Audio Post Eleven LA Jeff Payne, audio engineer. Color Company 3 Tom Poole, colorist.

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