Undergraduate - Communications, Marketing and PR Intern

About the role

The 2027 NBA Summer Internship is a 10‑week program running from June 7 – August 13, 2027. It gives participants the opportunity to learn about the business of basketball, develop critical career skills, and contribute to meaningful projects across a range of departments in the NBA and its affiliate leagues (WNBA & G League). In addition to on‑the‑job experience, interns are invited to participate in professional‑development programming, community initiatives, and social experiences. The program prioritizes rising seniors, with limited exceptions for graduate students based on business need. Interns should reflect excellent academic standing and have strong written and verbal communication skills, as well as leadership skills demonstrated through extracurricular or community activities.

Selected interns will support internal and external communications, PR, and marketing initiatives across the NBA, WNBA, and NBA G League. Past interns have worked across departments including:

• Communications (five subgroups): Basketball Communications (media relations, media policy, event media operations), Basketball Communications Editorial (content creation), Business and International Communications (global business strategy, partnerships, marketing, social impact, government affairs, entertainment, international growth), Response Management (media monitoring, issue identification, communications response), Strategic Communications (league messaging, fan correspondence, internal communications, fan relations), and WNBA Communications (business and basketball communications for the WNBA).
• Content – develops, produces, and distributes digital and sports content across NBA, WNBA, and NBA G League; manages premier global events (All‑Star, Draft, Playoffs, Finals).
• Direct‑to‑Consumer (DTC) – creates digital and broadcast experiences for fans, including the NBA App, NBA ID membership program, and live‑game broadcast technology (Replay Center).
• Fan Engagement – uses data strategy, consumer insights, and marketing strategy to personalize experiences and drive growth across NBA platforms, supporting content, digital product, partnerships, ticketing, and merchandise for the NBA and WNBA.

These roles require interns to demonstrate a foundational mastery of AI technologies in driving project execution and achieving business objectives.

Responsibilities

• Supporting marketing and strategic communications for NBA Draft, NBA Finals, NBA Summer League, and other company‑facing media initiatives
• Supporting the league’s Fan Engagement function by drafting and editing correspondence to fans who contact the NBA and all its affiliate leagues
• Pitching innovative ideas aligned with current marketing objectives to group leadership
• Creating fan engagement tracking reports to identify key issues, sentiment, and trends among fans
• Conducting field research across key emerging industries, categories, international companies, and executives for relevancy and points of entry to identify new content strategies, technologies, and business opportunities
• Contributing to the creation of daily internal news briefs for distribution to league and team executives
• Assisting with internal communications initiatives, including the creation of employee spotlights and important company stories
• Developing media plans and strategy for several different events across the WNBA season
• Assisting with WNBA All‑Star coordination and media pitching with lifestyle and local morning shows
• Publishing press releases for multiple functions of NBA and WNBA Communications including Events, Player Engagement, Social Responsibility, etc.

Requirements

• Enrolled in an undergraduate program and entering Senior year in the academic year following the internship
• Typically best suited for majors in Communications, English, Journalism, Marketing, Public Relations, Sports Management, or Sports Marketing (open to all majors)

Skills

• Strong writing and editing skills
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Solid editorial judgement
• Experience with content publishing and fact‑checking
• Brand investment in the NBA and affiliate leagues
• Some experience with managing budgets
• Facility and familiarity with Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel
• Knowledge of new and emerging platforms and social networks used by peers
• Considerable experience with Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop preferred)

Pay

$26/hr

Schedule

10‑week program running June 7 – August 13, 2027. The NBA currently provides eligible employees the option of working remotely one day per week.

Benefits

• Medical
• Short‑term disability
• Mental health coaching/therapy
• Sick time

Eligibility may vary by role; not all positions are eligible for these benefits.

About the NBA

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a global sports and media organization with the mission to inspire and connect people everywhere through the power of basketball. Built around five professional sports leagues — the NBA, WNBA, NBA G League, NBA 2K League, and Basketball Africa League — the NBA has established a major international presence with games and programming available in 214 countries and territories in more than 50 languages,