ComplexCon Goes Sport Mode

Taylor-Serrano 2 lived up to the hype despite the controversy. Someone please cut them a blank check, because we can’t wait for the trilogy.

The tennis world braces for another icon’s retirement in Rafael Nadal. After a career filled with iconic moments, he’ll be remembered for his courage and tenacity. 

Manchester United can’t miss with its kit designs, and that’s all thanks to Adidas design director—and United fan himself—Inigo Turner. The Red Devils are shattering jersey records, even as the club struggles on the pitch.

Sports collectors are on the hunt for a one-of-one Paul Skenes rookie card. The Pirates are sweetening the deal with a list of incentives, including season tickets behind home plate for the next THIRTY YEARS, and hanging out with his girlfriend Livvy Dunne at a game. Good luck!

There may only be three F1 races left this season, but it’s never too late to drop an F1 power rankings. This one is for the fangirlies though, as it rates the hottest drivers on the circuit. Poor Yuki Tsunoda didn’t make the cut.

@croixbethune

WAIT… we are going to the ship 🤪#fyp

ComplexCon took a massive chance, moving its annual convention from LA to Las Vegas for the first time. But it appears to have paid off, with over 60,000 attendees over the weekend treated to one-of-kind experiences within sports culture.

Nobody had a bigger presence than Travis Scott, who renamed it CactusCon as the Artistic Director. You couldn’t avoid seeing his influence. He rolled down the strip in a tank, set up a street football arena influenced by Nike’s 2000s soccer campaigns, displayed unreleased Jordan Brand samples he designed and served as the Sunday night headliner to close the two-day event.

There was more to the convention than just La Flame. Drink Champs did a live show with Dre & Snoop, the WWE brought out its biggest superstars. Speedy had interviews with Angel Reese and iShowSpeed, and Sydney Colson put on for the hometown Aces. Colson also previewed Playa Society’s holiday drop as one of many exclusive drops from brands ranging from Crocs to Bricks & Wood.

And the sneaker conversation was live.  Lil Yachty and PJ Tucker swapped sneaker stories on how they almost paid $75K for an OG pair of Wu-Tang Dunks. The coveted Sneaker of the Year honors went to Adidas and Anthony Edwards for nailing the AE1 in every aspect, and Nike unveiled a 3D-printed Air Max 1000.

ComplexCon was all about culture, and by culture, they meant sports.

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Everyone and their momma has an opinion on how to fix the NBA’s heavily reported dwindling interest. We got a major announcement that should help – the beloved “Inside the NBA” show has found a new home.

It will air on ESPN next season after fans, players, and execs alike mourned the end of Turner’s run with the NBA. Ernie, Charles, Shaq and Kenny will thankfully still be there for major NBA moments (like Christmas games, the playoffs and the Finals). But is that enough to solve the league’s ratings problems?

Fewer people are watching this season, and the social media conversations about half-empty arenas can sometimes be louder than the play on the court.

We’ll give credit to the NBA though. It remains open-minded to solving the problem, inviting Kai Cenat courtside for the season opener in Boston to promote Mafiathon 2, and providing YouTubers full access to its game archives with the hope of more long-form NBA content.

There’s potentially a new All-Star Game format with a four-team tournament in response to uncompetitive games over the last few years. Even Obama is sick of the mockery the game has become, but the NBA found success in Curry vs. Ionescu’s 3-point challenge last year. We may even see it expanded, with ratings darling Caitlin Clark facing Klay Thompson.

The NBA is at an inflection point, which has only been accentuated by the soaring cultural clout and viewership enjoyed by the its counterpart, the WNBA, of late. But Adam Silver and Co. are pulling out all the stops to keep up with the times.