Last night, I did something that I suspect a lot of Cleveland sports fans did but wouldn’t readily admit–I watched the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics play the first TNT televised game of the NBA season. Even for non-sports fans, you’d have to have been abducted by aliens to not know that LeBron James–”The King”—broke the hearts of his loyal Cleveland subjects by announcing on national television that he was leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers to play for the Miami Heat. Let’s be clear; he had every right as a free agent to leave and play somewhere else, but it was how he handled that now infamous “decision” that turned him into a villain of sorts.

Personally, while I was disappointed by how he handled his decision, I still really like LeBron and all he did for my hometown and watching him play the game is just such a beautiful thing. But he’s still a lightning-rod for criticism, likely fueled by his lack of contrition.

So that’s why the 90 second ad that Nike debuted during last night’s game, featuring LeBron James and called “Rise”, was especially provocative. There’s a recurring question that LeBron asks throughout the spot: “What should I do?” The spot opens with James on the set of the “Decision”, that ESPN special that started all the fuss. From there, for the next 90 seconds, through a combination of striking imagery, words and even humor (poking fun at Sir Charles Barkley), LeBron explores what should he do with all the fallout.

And somewhere in there, there’s even the hint of trying to sell the new LeBron 8 sneaker. But mostly, there’s the rhetorical question, “What should I do?, to remind all of us that LeBron really doesn’t want the answer from us because he already has the answer: he should keep on doing what LeBron wants to do, translated loosely into “be true to himself” and “just do it.”

Hmmm…..sound familiar? Yep, Nike and their agency, Wieden + Kennedy, smartly linked LeBron’s melodrama and the supposed explanation for his actions to the mantra for their brand. Whether you agree with the the spot or not (is he being true to himself or is he just a narcissist?), you can’t argue that it’s a truly provocative piece of branding, designed to do exactly what it is doing–generating a lot of dialogue for the brands of LeBron and Nike.

When I see ads like this one, I get excited again about branding and advertising and all of the rich possibilities out there if you just decide to be brave and stand for something.

Check out the spot and keep the dialogue going.