Former Los Angeles Lakers forward Larry Nance was robbed of the Dunk Contest trophy, but the Lake Show Life won on Sunday when the Mountain Dew crew invited us to sit with Brandon Ingram to get to know him better.
The NBA All-Star Weekend hosted by the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers was packed full of fun and activities. What you may not know is that Mountain Dew was promoting their charged up drink Kickstart, and created a fun venue “Courtside Studios” with an All-Star guest list for fans to enjoy. We got to talk to Rising Star Brandon Ingram, woohoo!
Located just across the street from the Los Angeles Convention Center and Staples Center stood a three-story structure that was developed from scratch in one of the parking lots used during games. The lot was right next door to the local Hooters bar.
Fans lined up for hours to get into the venue that was patterned after the Mountain Dew staple colors of green, silver, and black. The first floor included a kickstart bar, swings, a Chargello phone charging station (Alonzo Mourning‘s product), and a contest to win kicks, autographed balls and more.
Digital advertising helped fans get a taste of what the event had to offer. Comedian Kevin Hart, actor Terrence J, and King Bach MC’d the interviews with top NBA stars such as All-Stars Andre Drummond, Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook, Kyrie Irving and Bradley Beal. Legend Paul Pierce and Lakers Rising Stars Kyle Kuzma and Brandon Ingram, were also there. The event culminated with a fun performance by Ty Dolla $ign which I had to get a front row seat for.
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Ingram entered the venue through the VIP entrance with an entourage on Sunday afternoon to tons of Lakers fans drinking all different flavors of free Mountain Dew Kickstart drinks, which tasted great I might add.
I got a chance to hang with BI just before he went on stage with King Bach and Paul Pierce and asked him a few more personal questions to get to know him better. We had heard about the lucky waffle bar that became a ritual for the Lakers at NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, so I had to get his take on that.
I also wondered what tattoo meant the most to him and if he enjoyed being a trendsetter (his hairdo is starting to catch on with other ballers). I also just had to know if being around so many former Arizona Wildcats what with now Channing Frye added to the Lakers roster and if it was something he was enjoying or not.
Answers to these questions and more are included in this exclusive interview with one our favorite Lakers. I just enjoyed seeing him smile and laugh and was thoroughly entertained by his personality. It’s not often you get to see the real BI, and he does throw a little shade, but just enough to keep him out of trouble.
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A thrilling experience for us, we want to thank Breanna Suden and Sebastian Masmela of the Golin PR Agency (Go All In) for their support and to Brandon Ingram for his candor. Special thanks to the Chargello gang, Alonzo Mourning, Gustavo Herdocia, and Danny Lopez who kept our phones charged throughout the event.