Leading up to the 2023-2024 NBA Season, the reigning champion Denver Nuggets shared an unlikely crossover on social media that envisioned the team in the world of Jujutsu Kaisen.
Though athletics and anime often meet in the middle in the form of sports anime such as Slam Dunk and Kuroko's Basketball, a recent Instagram post from the Denver Nuggets expanded upon the crossover potential between the two not-so-disparate worlds. The crossover fanart gave a Jujutsu Kaisen makeover to Nuggets players such as Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter Jr. and two-time league MVP Nikola Jokić. Nuggets guard Julian Strawther expressed his personal excitement for the mash-up in the post's comment section.
As opposed to Strawther and other entertained Nuggets fans, some were confused by the crossover fanart's inclusion on the NBA team's official social media accounts. Though the Nuggets' post offered a more informal crossover, the NBA itself has a precedent of official anime collaborations with series such as My Hero Academia. Jujutsu Kaisen's anime iteration is currently airing its second season on Crunchyroll, and the manga likewise continues to release new and increasingly shocking installments. In addition to the manga and anime, Jujustu Kaisen is receiving a video game adaptation in the form of Cursed Clash, which recently revealed an official Feb. 2, 2024 release date.
Unfortunately, neither the Denver Nuggets Instagram nor X account referenced or tagged the artist who first brought the mash-up to life. However, the larger-than-life figures of professional sports often inspire fanart crossing their likenesses over with nerdy pop-cultural fare. Jokić's nickname, the Joker, has predictably inspired some Batman-style art, while Cleveland Cavaliers' guard Donovan "Spida" Mitchell has swung his way into official MCU promotions. The NBA regular season has even features themed nights celebrating several pop-cultural properties, from Star Wars to Nickelodeon.
The NBA is far from the only league to embrace pop culture franchises, with other examples including the MLB at Field of Dreams game, NFL's Toy Story Funday Football game and the WNBA's Indiana Fever boasting Stranger Things-themed jerseys. Over the summer, the NHL even attracted a bit of an inadvertent drama when they ran up against Booktok content creators of the popular hockey romance subgenre. As for the Jujutsu Kaisen-esque Nuggets, they return to regular season play on Oct. 24 in their first season match-up against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Jujustu Kaisen's anime is available to stream on Crunchyroll, while the manga is released via Viz Media.
Source: Instagram
