"What A Pro Wants" NBA Playoffs Commercial

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Kali Rhe @RHEmarkable "What a pro wants. What a pro needs..." 9:35 PM Apr 28, 2024 ...

Jordan Freiman @JordanFreiman i am offering a $10,000 reward for anybody who provides information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the people responsible for the what a pro wants ad 2:54 PM Apr 27, 2024 ...

king crissle @crissles PLEASE no more what a pro wants what a pro needs. I'm begging. 10:12 PM Apr 28, 2024

Chris Hayes @chrislhayes We need a Jan 6 Committee for the "What a Pro Wants" ad. . 9:46 PM Apr 27, 2024

Lance Cartelli @CasuallyGinger "What a pro wants. What a pro―" II GIF ALT 11:22 AM Apr 29, 2024 ...

Ashley Nicole Moss @AshNicoleMoss "what a pro wants, what a pro needs." II GIF ALT • 2:49 PM Apr 28, 2024

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About

"What A Pro Wants" NBA Playoffs Commercial refers to an AT&T advertisement airing during the 2024 NBA Playoffs featuring Oklahoma City Thunder players Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (commonly referred to as "SGA") and Chet Holmgren singing the pop song "What a Girl Wants" by Christina Aguilera. The commercial was widely loathed on social media, leading to hyperbolic responses and jokes about the ad.

Origin

On March 18th, 2024, AT&T^[1] released a commercial starring the Oklahoma City Thunder's SGA and Chet Holmgren. The pair begin discussing AT&T, with Holmgren saying AT&T knows "what a pro wants." The pair begin reciting the lyrics of Christina Aguilera's "What a Girl Wants" ("What a girl wants, what a girl needs / Whatever makes me happy sets you free / And I'm thanking you for knowing exactly,") with "Girl" replaced with "Pro," then begin singing the song.

Spread

The commercial began airing in March 2024 during the NCAA championship tournaments, when it began seeing some backlash. On March 20th, 2024, Twitter / X user @thesarahkelly^[2] wrote, "I don’t think I can survive another week of that 'what a pro wants' ad a dozen times a day," gaining 10 likes in one month (shown below, left). On April 6th, Twitter user @jaycaspianking^[3] wrote the commercial was "baffling," gaining over 100 likes in three weeks (shown below, right).

sarah kelly @thesarahkelly I would support legislation requiring a certain number of distinct commercials for every company that advertises during the NCAA ... tournaments. I don't think I can survive another week of that "what a pro wants" ad a dozen times a day. 10:57 PM ⚫ Mar 20, 2024

kang @jaycaspiankang I don't think I've ever been more baffled by an ad than the Chet and Shai one. No idea why they're singing 'what a pro wants, what the thing they're advertising is, why they're on the tv. No clue. 8:10 PM Apr 6, 2024

The backlash to the commercial ramped up in the middle of April 2024 after the start of the NBA Playoffs, when many fans commented that the perceived poor quality of the commercial and the frequency with which it aired was irritating them.

For example, on April 28th, 2024, Twitter user @jshyb_^[4] posted the Michael Jackson Lowering a Gun GIF in reverse to joke about the commercial, gaining over 600 retweets and 7,200 likes in one day (shown below, top). The same day, Redditor dbezzy1010 posted a still image from Manchester by the Sea to signify their reaction to the commercial, gaining over 20 points in /r/nbacirclejerk^[5] in one day (shown below, bottom). On April 29th, Awful Announcing^[6] covered the backlash to the commercial.