Case study · Brand, content & operations · 2018 – now

Pacers Gaming: building the NBA 2K League’s biggest team brand

I joined the Indiana Pacers’ esports franchise in 2018 as Director of Content and became Senior Director in 2023. I built the league’s #1 team YouTube channel — larger than every other team combined — and now lead team operations and digital strategy.

Role
Director of Content (2018–23) → Senior Director (2023–)
Org
Pacers Sports & Entertainment · Pacers Esports LLC
Channel
65k subscribers · 17M+ views · 590+ videos
Recognition
2019 NBA award · #1 team channel in the league
Pacers Gaming players celebrating as 2022 NBA 2KL Coinbase Switch Open Champions
2022 NBA 2K League Switch Open champions.

Context

Pacers Gaming is the Indiana Pacers’ franchise in the NBA 2K League. When I arrived in 2018 the team needed a content operation built from zero: brand system, broadcast graphics, social, video, and a YouTube strategy in a league where most teams treated YouTube as an afterthought.

Content & brand

I produced all media for the franchise and applied the same search-driven method I use at Pixel & Bracket: find what NBA 2K players are actually searching for, make the definitive answer, and let the back-catalog compound. Roster reveals, gameday graphics, player features, live “Rec with viewers” streams, and evergreen NBA 2K explainers.

65k
YouTube subscribers · 17M+ views — larger than all other team channels combined
100k+
total organic followers across platforms
2.5k
clicks/month on NBA 2K Info, an experimental content site I spun up in 2022 with 30+ SME-written articles
NBA 2K Info website homepage with a badges explainer article
nba2kinfo.com — fast, content-first, monitored in Search Console.

Partnerships with ROI

I owned the sponsor concept and integration for Elgato. Keyword research surfaced content gaps around capture cards and Stream Decks; I self-produced a three-video series with SEO-optimized titles and descriptions.

800k+
views on the three-video Elgato series
700+
Elgato products sold via tracked links
10×
return on the partnership investment
Spencer on camera holding an Elgato capture card, next to the series brief
Sponsor-integrated series: content people searched for, not a pre-roll read.

Media guide & print

The annual Pacers Gaming Media Guide — roster, statistics, history, and league breakdown — designed and produced end to end.

Operations & leadership

As Senior Director I lead team operations and digital content strategy for the franchise: roster and staff logistics, league relations, partner deliverables, budget, and the content team. The through-line is the same as everywhere else in my work — build a system, measure it, and let it compound.

To confirm before launch: the NBA 2K League paused after the 2024 season and relaunched in Nov 2025 with six creator-led teams (the Pacers weren’t among them). Update the title, tense, and scope of this role to match today. To add: the full name of the 2019 NBA award; a team/broadcast photo; 1–2 quotes from Pacers Sports & Entertainment leadership or players.

Contact

Want to work together? Say hello.

Open to senior product design roles, founding-designer conversations, and select collaborations.