{"id":733605,"date":"2021-12-13T16:40:06","date_gmt":"2021-12-13T21:40:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/?p=733605"},"modified":"2021-12-14T12:07:04","modified_gmt":"2021-12-14T17:07:04","slug":"basketball-social-media-hoopers-personal-brand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/the-magazine\/basketball-social-media-hoopers-personal-brand\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Hoopers Who are Using Social Media to Build Their Own Personal Brands"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A decade ago, Briana \u201cBree\u201d Green<\/strong><\/a> was living the life that only a select few ever get a chance to experience as a DI collegiate athlete at the University of Texas El Paso (UTEP). She had lofty goals and high expectations for herself before suffering multiple ACL injuries, which ultimately plagued the remainder of her college career. Despite undergoing two ACL surgeries during her four years at UTEP, where she won the Conference USA championship as a senior in 2012, Green put in the work during rehab to eventually play professionally in Europe and Mexico. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI saw the movie Love and Basketball,<\/em> and [in it] Monica went to play overseas in Spain,\u201d Green says with a big smile on her face. \u201cThat was one of my favorite movies growing up, and when I was in college, I knew I wanted to go overseas. I wanted to travel and experience basketball somewhere else, so the WNBA was never my main focus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And indeed, just like Monica in the classic film, Green also ended up having a stint as a professional hooper in Spain before ultimately accepting a coaching job at IMG Academy in 2016. Still working towards getting her confidence back after the knee injuries, Green refound her identity there while coaching girls basketball. She soon began expressing her passion for the game on social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI had another knee surgery and hadn\u2019t been cleared by the doctor yet, so I was bored with it,\u201d Green says. \u201cI recorded myself dribbling, and it went viral on Facebook. Everybody, for whatever reason, said I should try out for the Globetrotters, but I was like, Eh, I\u2019m too competitive, <\/em>but whatever.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her friends indeed saw it coming before she did\u2014one day a Harlem Globetrotter recruiter saw the video online and tracked down Green immediately after. She managed to fight through the lingering pain from the knee injury and impressed the staff enough to earn a spot on the Globetrotters roster. After posting a few more viral videos\u2014one of which consisted of her dribbling a ball on a treadmill, Green knew she had to go all in, documenting her journey as a Globetrotter in unique fashion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI knew it would be a good time to grow my brand,\u201d Green says. \u201cI wanted to make sure I separated \u2018Hoops,\u2019 which is my Globetrotter nickname, from Bree\u2026from Brianna. I made sure the whole time that I would focus on my personal brand and try to grow it as that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that she did. Green left the Globetrotters after realizing she could make a lot more money as a content creator instead. Fast-forward to 2021 and Green now has 357,000 followers on Instagram<\/a>, 375,000 more on TikTok<\/a>, and 191,000 subscribers on YouTube<\/a>. She\u2019s leveraged the impact of her social channels to partner with entities like Nike, Adidas, Gatorade, AT&T, ESPN +, and Space Jam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s amazing just \u2018cause I took that risk,\u201d Green says when asked about all of the brands she\u2019s gotten to work with since deciding to go full-time on social media. \u201cTo have it all pan out is pretty dope, and I try to be different. I try to separate myself. I try to be innovative, coming up with new ways, and on top of that, being a female doing it. I just try to make myself unique.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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@brianagreen11<\/a>

The moment I found out I made the @gatorade Social Squad #GatoradePartner<\/a><\/p> \u266c Gatorade Social Squad – Gatorade<\/a> <\/section> <\/blockquote>