imekeeping sponsors are now commonplace, with brand alliances across virtually every sport. Take TAG Heuer and Formula 1, Hublot and football. But what distinguishes a truly standout partnership? Total integration and a target audience, Tissot’s CEO, Sylvain Dolla, advises. “[This] is not just a partnership where we put a logo on and wait to see [what happens],” he continues. “The big difference here is that for us, it’s genuinely authentic. We are not a brand that puts the logo on it just to get visibility. We are a partner that provides technology to measure time.”

Courtside, the central jumbotron reveals a countdown, each opposing shot clock a timer above the net. Buzzers, scoreboards, and wireless consoles collect stats. This isn’t a case of banners enclosing the court perimeter with the Swiss watchmaker’s name, but the lifeblood to bring a game from tip-off to the final buzzer.

Tissot, the National Basketball Association (NBA), Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and NBA G League announced a multiyear extension of their global marketing partnerships that began in 2015. The expanded collaboration will feature the introduction of a redesigned, state-of- the-art shot clock and timing system, the launch of the new Tissot NBA Supersport 2025 Special Edition watch and will make Tissot the presenting partner of an NBA Global Game in Europe for the next 10 years.

Of course Tissot, a leading brand in the Swatch Group’s portfolio, isn’t alone in taking its sponsorship to credible measures. Podiums wouldn’t have their winners at the Olympics without Omega, nor Longines’ equestrian efforts. It’s shared technology across the group from Swiss Timing, prioritising millisecond accuracy (read our article on sports timing and AI here). While shared, there’s something about Tissot’s partnership with the NBA that makes it just that – the perfect timing. The right sport, the right brand, the right time, given the NBA’s meteoric rise.

The NBA has grown into a cultural phenomenon, with more than 87 million US viewers in the last 12 months, the most in 15 years. Its regional audience exceeds 1 billion, prompting six regular-season games in Europe from 2026-2028, with Berlin and London kickstarting this year. Sylvain Dolla doesn’t deny the visibility but emphasises the focus: any branding seen on court showcases Tissot’s timekeeping expertise.

“With over 500 matches per year, and over 8 months of the year, you can imagine the visibility. The business objective was to strengthen in our key markets, in the US and China, [while also] showing Tissot as a manufacturer. By doing this partnership, it gives us visibility in these markets, and Euro-visibility too.”

Yet, the soaring stats aren’t just about sporting allegiance. Beyond the hardwood, the NBA has evolved into a global lifestyle movement, influencing fashion, music, and culture while shaping the identity of a generation. Courtside has become a runway, and Sylvain Dolla is keen to double-down on this, securing the next generation of wrists.

Tissot also welcomes German basketball brothers Moritz and Franz Wagner to its family of brand ambassadors.

“The NBA isn’t so much a game, but a lifestyle brand, too [and the sport] is a big source of inspiration for us.” This comes through partnering with players like NBA All-Star Damian Lillard and Tony Parker, interpreting momentum into Tissot’s basketball-inspired watches.

Take the Tissot Supersport NBA Special Edition, released last year in 45mm black PVD. “We integrated a lot of elements in this watch, from a player’s jersey number, a 24-second scale to match the 24 second shot clock, the pattern on the dial and strap recalls the [texture of] the ball, the caseback indicates team in either the East or West Coast Conference and we [incorporated] two little stitches on the strap in blue and red, like the NBA logo.”

This attention to detail is part of Sylvain Dolla’s plan to engage the NBA’s younger fanbase, of which surveys suggest around 50% are 25 or younger. These generational consumers orbit detail, reared in a climate of mass communication, and it’s a clientele Tissot is determined to charter. “We made a big analysis three years ago, [exploring] the audience most inclined to buy watches, and its young people. We see it for graduations, engagements, celebrations, birthday’s, confirmations. The analytics show that it’s 18-34 year-olds.”

“The beauty and complexity of Tissot is that it has the chance to be the global brand, offering watches for everyone. We cover the whole spectrum and commercially that’s unique,” adds Sylvain Dolla. “The only challenge is how to market and communicate in an optimum way because when you have such a broad collection that touches so many different potential clientele, if you start to want to communicate for every single target group, you dilute your investment, you dilute yourself.”

The solution? “We made a very strong choice and decision, that whatever we produce as content or whatever channel we use, it should talk to young people, to the 18 to 34 years olds.”

The Tissot Supersport NBA Special Edition is inspired by the sport’s aesthetics: the 45mm black PVD chronograph features jersey-style numeral indexes on the dial, basketball texture details, and a bezel referencing the 24 second shot clock.

Each game, buzzer, and shot clock reset underscores Tissot’s reliability while reinforcing the brand’s association with speed, accuracy, and modern timekeeping. With another ten years ahead under the global partnership, and a digitally connected fanbase within perfect reach, could Tissot’s pledge secure the next vanguard of wrist lovers? Just type Tissot x NBA on TikTok to see hundreds of users reacting. “Take my money,” one user writes. It seems they might not just be watching the clock on court after all.