Performing at My First NBA Event with the Wizards
Some of the best bookings start the same way the small ones do – quietly, with a message through a website contact form. This one came from an NBA team. In September 2023, I performed as a corporate event entertainer for the Washington Wizards for the first time, and that night turned into something bigger: the start of an ongoing relationship with the franchise and Monumental Sports.
About the Event
The Washington Wizards came to me directly through ChristopheFox.com – no agency, no bureau, just a note through the contact form. Someone on the team’s events side was looking for a magician for a gathering on September 30. From first message to booked was fast – about what you’d expect from a professional NBA front office.
The event was a private, team-side gathering tied to the start of the 2023-24 NBA season. Out of respect for the franchise’s internal events, I’ll keep the specifics light.
My Role at the Event
I performed close-up magic throughout the gathering – moving table to table, working the crowd as a guest-facing entertainer rather than a stage act. For a sports organization, this format usually wins: people are mingling, networking with sponsors, and catching up with colleagues they haven’t seen since the off-season. Walk-around magic threads through that energy instead of fighting it.
A couple of pieces in the set were customized to Washington, D.C. and to a few Wizards-specific references that landed for the room.
Why Hire an NBA Event Performer
If you’re producing something inside an NBA organization – a front-office gathering, a sponsor activation, a season-opener – the bar is different from a standard banquet. Here’s what a corporate event entertainer has to bring to a room like that:
- Comfort with high-profile guests. You’re working in front of players, executives, and sponsors without breaking pace.
- Respect for the clock. Sports venues run on a schedule. The performer who hits “done in 22 minutes” gets booked again.
- Material that scales. Walk-around magic for 200 people in a club lounge has to be the same caliber as a featured set on stage. There’s no B-game.
- Discretion. What happens at a team event stays at a team event – the same standard as any private corporate booking.
- Energy that matches the room. NBA crowds bring intensity. The entertainment has to bring more.
Takeaways
A few things I’m carrying forward as a corporate event entertainer after that first night with the Wizards:
- Trust inbound. The Wizards came in through a contact form – proof that not every dream booking comes from a network connection. Some come from a website that’s working while you sleep.
- Treat the front office like a client, not a fan. They’ve seen entertainers. They’re not impressed by famous names – they’re impressed by execution.
- Make the relationship, not the moment. One night with the Wizards in 2023 turned into a multi-year relationship, including a 2025 schedule-release video shoot with Monumental Sports and more work after that.
- Walk-around is the right format more often than you think. The featured stage act is the glamorous one. But the format that actually serves an NBA team event is the one where the magic comes to the guest.
Book Me for Your Next Event
If you’re producing a team event, sponsor activation, season opener, or front-office gathering and you want close-up magic that holds up next to professional athletes, use the form below and tell me about your event. I’ll be in touch.
