NEW YORK – The NBA recognized the Atlanta Hawks and Philadelphia 76ers for their excellence in team marketing and business operations last night with the 2018 NBA Team Business Awards during the league’s ticket sales and sponsorship workshop in Atlanta.

The Atlanta Hawks were presented with the NBA Team Partnership of the Year award for their health and wellness campaign with Sharecare.  The Philadelphia 76ers were honored with the NBA Team Event of the Year award for their “Hardwood VIP Dinner presented by Firstrust Bank” featuring a basketball strategy session with Head Coach Brett Brown.

All 30 teams were invited to submit for each category, with the winners chosen by a committee of league and team experts.

“As winners of the 2018 NBA Team Business Awards, the Atlanta Hawks and the Philadelphia 76ers represent the innovative and engaging ways that our teams connect with our fans and create greater value for our partners,” said Amy Brooks, NBA President, Team Marketing & Business Operations and Chief Innovation Officer.

NBA Team Partnership of the Year

The Hawks received the 2018 NBA Team Partnership of the Year award for a highly-engaging health and wellness campaign called “The Sharecare Movement,” which they conducted with jersey patch partner Sharecare, a digital platform that provides individuals with personalized information, programs, and resources to improve their health.

The Hawks and Sharecare collaborated on many community initiatives aimed at improving the health and well-being of residents throughout the state of Georgia.  The multifaceted campaign included in-arena events, pop-up health engagements, the introduction of wellness programs throughout the area and a unique co-branded digital and social media campaign featuring the Hawks’ mascot, which received more than 587 million impressions and 160 million video views on social media.

As part of the initiative, the Hawks and Sharecare created “The Sharecare Zone” inside Atlanta’s Philips Arena, where fans who actively participated in the movement were rewarded with free tickets and other prizes.  The organizations also teamed up to offer healthy food choices at Hawks home games.  Outside the venue, the Hawks and Sharecare connected with the community through events like the Sharecare Heartbeat Festival, which featured a city-wide 3-on-3 basketball tournament, and the Hawks Fastbreak 5K presented by Sharecare.  The City of Atlanta commemorated the movement by declaring April 14 as “Sharecare Day.”

“We are proud to be recognized for our landmark partnership with Sharecare.  As we began having conversations and sharing our respective goals, it was clear that we both wanted to establish a relationship that benefitted our home state and local Atlanta community through technology, innovation and the promotion of healthy living,” said Hawks Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer Andrew Saltzman. “Through content creation and distribution, numerous community engagements, in-game visibility and digital activations, the Sharecare Movement has reached hundreds of thousands, and continues building momentum toward making Atlanta and Georgia among the healthiest places to live in the country and establishes Sharecare as the preeminent leader in the digital health space.”

The other finalists for the NBA Team Partnership Award were the Minnesota Timberwolves and their collaboration with Fitbit, and the LA Clippers for their partnership with Lexus.

NBA Event of the Year

The 76ers received the 2018 NBA Event of the Year award for their “Hardwood VIP Dinner presented by Firstrust Bank,” which was held at the team’s new state-of-the-art training complex and corporate offices.  The event featured a gourmet meal prepared by Iron Chef Champion Jose Garces for more than 140 of the team’s premium seat members and marketing partners, who were then treated to a two-hour “chalkboard session” on the team’s basketball strategy, analytics, communications tactics and more.

Led by Head Coach Brett Brown, the “chalkboard session” included presentations by the Sixers coaching staff including a film session where members learned offensive and defensive sets, and then had the opportunity to replicate the sets on the training complex basketball court.

The event also featured Chief Executive Officer Scott O’Neil, President of Business Operations Chris Heck, Chief Operating Officer Lara Price and Chief Revenue Officer Jake Reynolds as keynote speakers, who provided insights into the growth of the team, which had its most successful season since 2011-12, finishing the regular season as the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference.

“We have some of the best and most passionate fans in the NBA and our courtside season ticket members are such an important part of the culture we’ve built,” said Brown.  “It’s an honor and privilege to be able to interact with them in a setting that is intimate, fun and engaging. We’re truly proud of what we’ve built with our Hardwood VIP dinner event and even prouder of the relationships we’ve cultivated with these incredible fans.”

“The Hardwood VIP Dinner, presented by Firstrust Bank, continues to be the marquee event for our valuable Row 1 members and partners,” said Heck.  “By providing unparalleled access and insight, this annual event creates a unique connection between our coaching staff and fans that is unmatched in the industry today. We are fortunate to have a basketball operations staff that appreciates and embraces the special role our Row 1 members play as part of our 76ers family. We’ll thrilled that this event has been recognized by our peers across the NBA.”

The other finalists for the NBA Team Event of the Year award were the Cleveland Cavaliers for their first annual Wine and Gold United Member Madness 3-on-3 Tournament, and the Detroit Pistons for their Nike ID event at Niketown.