Kylian Mbappe’s Zebra Valley Production Company Partners With NBA

Finding Kylian Mbappe courtside at an NBA game is almost as common as seeing the star forward on the field for Paris St. Germain and the French National Team.

The 23-year-old World Cup winner is an avid basketball fan and been in attendance for a number of NBA games, including the 2019 NBA Finals and the league’s Paris Game in 2020 between the Charlotte Hornets and Milwaukee Bucks.

Mbappe’s latest appearance came on June 23 at the 2022 NBA Draft at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Mbappe, who was joined by 15 boys and girls from his foundation, didn’t just make the trip from France to see Duke’s Paolo Banchero get selected first overall by the Orlando Magic and the New York Knicks confuse fans with their trades.

Today, the NBA announced a multi-year content creation partnership with Mbappe’s newly created production company Zebra Productions to engage fans around the world.

“The strategic partnership between Zebra Valley and the NBA represents a significant step in bringing football and basketball fans together around premium content by telling stories that matter,” Mbappe said in a release. “We look forward to working with the NBA team to encourage dialogue among global communities and make cultural conversations more relevant.”

The crossover between soccer and basketball is alive and thriving, not only among Mbappe, his PSG teammates and other players who attend games and even attempt to showoff their basketball skills, but with many NBA players having interest (or investments) in soccer.

The biggest example is LeBron James, a recently minted billionaire, who has an ownership stake in Liverpool FC. New York Nets coach Steve Nash, who was a talented soccer player growing up in Canada, has a stake in RCD Mallorca in Spain’s LaLiga. Domestically, James Harden (Houston Dynamo/Houston Dash), Kevin Durant (Philadelphia Union/Gotham FC) and Magic Johnson (Los Angeles FC) all have ownership stakes in MLS and NWSL clubs.

For the NBA, the partnership continues to expand upon its international strategy as the league furthers its global appeal. The NBA first played internationally in 1978 and has hosted its Global Games series as preseason matchups since 1984 and regular-season games since 1990.

After a multi-year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, the league will return overseas next year as the Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons are scheduled to play at AccorArena in Paris on January 19, 2023.

“Drafting Kylian Mbappé into the NBA family speaks to the global appeal of NBA basketball and the convergence of the league, the global football community and popular culture,” NBA Head of Fan Engagement and Direct-to-Consumer for Europe and the Middle East, George Aivazoglou said in a release. “We look forward to working with Kylian and the Zebra Valley team to create unique, compelling content that will engage and inspire fans around the world.”