Christmas has always been a special time of year for anyone who covets giving and celebrating blessings. For Blacks, Christmas is fun but doesn’t necessarily represent them in a way where they can really embrace the holiday.
Enter Baron Davis, the celebrated NBA basketball player who was out on injury all season. He was invited to a Halloween party and had nothing to wear, so he decided to go as Santa. Little did he know that his costume would resonate with the entire party and from that an idea was born.
“I was laying there injured and trying to figure out what I was going to do with the rest of my life. I wanted to become a content creator but didn’t know what content I wanted to create,” Davis said. “It was Halloween, and I had no costume, so I went as Santa Claus, and it was a huge hit. I realized then that I was filling a void.”
Davis trademarked Black Santa and a company was born. Davis played in the NBA for thirteen years for several different teams. During his career, he was loved by the fans who watched him and developed a national following due to the way he played the game.
“I always connected with people when I played the game because I played hard and loved to give the fans what they wanted,” Davis said. “So I knew after I retired that I wanted to stay connected to people and find a way to be impactful off the court.”
The UCLA player made a name for himself in the two years that he played for the university by playing with spirit and excitement. Davis was named the PAC 10 freshman of the year his freshman year and made the All-Freshman year as well. That mentality proved successful for Davis as he played for five NBA teams where he was a two-time NBA All-Star and two-time NBA steals leader.
Davis was the third pick in the 1999 NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets. In his NBA debut, a 100–86 win over the Orlando Magic, Davis scored nine points and added five rebounds, two assists, and two steals. In Davis’s first year, he backed up Eddie Jones and David Wesley, as the Hornets lost in the first round of the playoffs to the 76ers in four games.
In the summer of 2002, the Hornets relocated from Charlotte, North Carolina to New Orleans. In the New Orleans Hornets’ inaugural season, Davis suffered multiple injuries that limited him to just fifty games. He was still able to lead the Hornets back to the playoffs, but they would fall to the Allen Iverson-led Philadelphia 76ers in the first round. Iverson would later describe Davis as the most difficult defensive assignment of his career.
On February 24, 2005, Davis was traded from the Hornets to the Golden State Warriors for guard Speedy Claxton and veteran forward Dale Davis after tension with the Hornets’ coaching staff and several nagging injuries. The move created one of the more potent backcourts in the NBA with Davis and star guard Jason Richardson. It also saw Davis’s return to California, where he had craved to return since his college days at UCLA.
On July 1, 2008, Davis verbally agreed to a 5-year, $65 million deal to play for his hometown team, the Los Angeles Clippers, and officially signed with the Clippers on July 10, 2008. Davis initially decided to join the Clippers with the intent of playing with Elton Brand, but Brand shockingly opted out of his contract to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers. After officially signing with the Clippers, Davis said that Brand’s departure had no impact on his decision to come to Los Angeles.
In November 2009, at a home game vs. the Denver Nuggets, Baron reached and surpassed the 5,000-assist mark. In his third year with the Clippers, a rejuvenated and healthy Davis saw some success playing alongside youngsters Eric Gordon, DeAndre Jordan, and Rookie of the Year Blake Griffin. While Davis was finally showing the ability that prompted Clippers management to sign him, run-ins with the coaching staff and Clippers’ owner Donald Sterling, as well as the team’s decision to get younger and rebuild, made the Clippers decide to move in a new direction.
The success on the court led to Davis having success off the court as well. The Black Santa brand represents an opportunity for Blacks to feel more included in the holiday spirit. Davis and his team thoughtfully created a brand around the idea of Black Santa and knew it would mean a lot to the kids who got a chance to experience it.
“With all that’s going on in this country, and particularly in the African American community, I wanted to offer heroes and role models through storytelling. Black Santa is the first character. His mission is to celebrate diversity, the joy of giving, and the magic of good. He’s here to bring people together and have fun,” Davis explained.
The brand is doing more than that. Davis has turned his idea into an enterprise. Black Santa gives Blacks the opportunity to purchase all kinds of items tailored to the Black Christmas experience. From Christmas cards to ornaments, wrapping paper, sweaters, and hats, the Black Santa brand allows those who want a deeper connection with Christmas to do so.
“We partner with brands to create positive campaigns that speak to a grander audience, and then we create a quality product. These things combined represent the feeling and the emotion of the company,” Davis said.
And the response has been overwhelming. Davis’s mission to provide a feel-good, inspirational product that fills the void of what Blacks need and want during Christmas is fulfilling his goal of creating meaningful content and allowing the community to have a deeper connection with their own Christmas experience.
The brand has expanded beyond just Black Santa. It has gone on to create a host of characters that complete the Black Santa experience. Those characters are brought to life through exceptional storytelling and character design from the Black Santa team.
Davis had an excellent first career in the NBA, but his second career as a business owner and content creator might garner him more awards and accolades than his NBA career ever could. Davis wanted to create a more meaningful holiday experience, and he did just that.
To view or order your own Black Santa products, visit: https://shop.blacksanta.com/
