5. Most influential sponsor
Golden State Warriors, a gigantic club with five years of finals appearance in a row (they did not miss finals since 2015), has joined its name with Japanese company Rakuten. Three-year 60-million deal between mentioned parties made changes in the table of biggest NBA sponsors. Rakuten logo is now not only placed on players’ jerseys, but as a confirmation of sponsor significance to the club, the training center has been renamed to “Rakuten Performance centre”. Although it is now too early to evaluate cooperation profits, the first success has been reported recently, general awareness of Rakuten brand among basketball fans has grown by 300 percent during the past two years.
