10/28/2026
👀💯🧾✍️🏀Courtside Films 🙌
The Viral-to- NBA Funnel: Courtside Films
What 4,000 Courtside Kids Really Tell Us
By HoopUp | Midwest Sports Network
Every kid wants to go viral. At HoopUp, we want them to go somewhere.
For 13 years, Courtside Films has been the engine behind youth basketball virality.
The channel joined in September 2011, started uploading on October 1, 2012, and now has over 634K subscribers and 6,623 videos.
The camps you see in those clips are MSHTV Camp. Old bio: over 2000 players from 40+ states in seven camps. Current bio: over 4000 players from 40+ states in eleven camps.
That's the funnel:
• 11 years — founded in 2015 to 2026
• 11 camps — the 2026 event Sept 19-21 in Westfield, IN will be the 11th annual
• 4,000+ players since 2015 — with over 1 billion views on camp content alone
• Alumni include all three of this year's top NBA Draft picks: AJ Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer, and Darryn Peterson.
The Business Behind The Viral
Socials:
Courtside Films has an estimated net worth of about $4.4 million based solely on YouTube ad revenue, and could be as high as $6.2 million with sponsorships.
How? The channel gets more than 18.3 million views each month. YouTube pays $3 to $7 per 1,000 views. That puts them at $1.1 million a year on the low end, and as much as $2 million a year on the high end.
With a lifetime total of 527.5M views, that's $1.5M - $3.6M in AdSense alone.
Camps:
COST: $425 per player for MSHTV. Do the math: 4,000 players x $425 = $1.7M gross in camp fees alone. Early years were $500 with housing and meals, so lifetime gross is closer to $1.8M - $2M — before jerseys, video packages, and presenting sponsors like TruHeight buying 30 days of branding.
Combined 2015-2026: $6M - $8M+ business built off youth exposure.
The Viral Hall of Fame That Didn't Make It
That business is built on the middle-school phenom wave — 11-year-old Julian Newman, 14-year-old Seventh Woods, Mikey Williams.
Of that group that went viral at 10-14, 0 have become stable NBA players.
Seventh Woods had the original "BEST 14 Year Old In The Country!" mixtape. Julian Newman was the logical endpoint of the viral economy. Mikey Williams is in every "WHERE ARE THEY NOW?!" thumbnail.
All viral. No NBA.
The 3 Who Did
Only three kids who went viral at 15-16 at a Courtside Camp / EYBL and then made the league:
1. Zion Williamson — #1 pick 2019
2. LaMelo Ball — #3 pick 2020
3. Emoni Bates — billed as the Best
Prospect Out of HS Since LeBron, 49th pick 2023
Out of 4,000 kids. That's a 0.075% NBA hit rate.
The HoopUp Answer
At HoopUp, we see the other side of that $6M+ funnel. For $425 a weekend, a family is buying hope and exposure. For a platform, that hope generates 18.3M views a month.
We don't run camps for views. We run them for reps.
That's why we're doing it different.
HoopUp Christmas Exposure Camp
December 21st | Meskwaki Recreation Center | Meskwaki Settlement
No headband mic'd up games. No screaming after every bucket.
• 4 guaranteed games against your own grade (2030-2033 style format)
• Every player plays half of every game — sub every 6 minutes, refs stop play
• Real media, real scouts, but real teaching
• Reps over highlights
If you want to be in the next 4,000, don't chase the camera. Chase the work that looks boring on camera.
Registration is open now. DM us or to lock your spot for December 21st at Meskwaki. Only $50 a player. And $25 for your “Highlights” Play the Right Way and Be Seen… Are They Hooping Micheal Riddle Midwest Sport’s Network Meskwaki Recreation and Community Center
