Big Sean's "Don Life" Tapped As New NBA Finals Anthem

If the Pistons couldn’t make it to the NBA Eastern Conference Finals, then having Detroit native, Big Sean, might be the next best thing.

Far from a come back, the genre-crossing MC has stayed on his toes. Most recently, he received commercial prevalence and critical acclaim with the release of his fifth studio album, Detroit 2.

The often public romantic has long managed to draw broad audiences with his inclusion of diverse artists. Detroit 2 alone goes so far as to enlist contributions from Post Malone, Stevie Wonder, Anderson .Paak, Young Thug, Travis Scott, Jhené Aiko, and Diddy, to name a few.

Perhaps it was this wide net of musical tastes that ESPN and the NBA were counting on when they selected the album single, “Don Life (feat. Lil Wayne)” as the 2020 NBA Finals’ new anthem.

The NBA and ESPN are employing Sean’s song in their ads as a vehicle for their respective “Whole New Game” and “Rise Together” campaigns, aimed at unifying those quarantined at home through basketball viewership.

(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) Big Sean with his mother at a Pistons game.

Both organizations have already drafted 30-second advertisements for the Finals Tournament with Sean’s instrumental-laden tune shepherding a tone of extremity and excitement anticipated with the rising stakes of the competition.

ESPN aired its advertisement during last night’s Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, wherein the Boston Celtics trounced the Miami Heat for their first win of the series, now 2-1.

Comparably, the NBA plans to release its advertisement featuring “Don Life”, tonight, during Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets at 7:30PM ET, as fans speculate whether the Lakers will manage to extend their 1-0 lead into a series sweep.