Hasbro is teaming up with the NBA and National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) to relaunch its sports action-figure brand, Starting Lineup. 

The first wave of figures will sell through online retailers including the LA-based toyco’s online store Hasbro Pulse and Florida-based sports retailer Fanatics.com. Pre-orders for the figures will begin on September 22, with pricing details and the featured NBA athletes being announced at a later date.

The new generation of Starting Lineup figures will be six inches tall, feature enhanced articulation and include an officially licensed NBA trading card from the Italian collectibles company Panini.

The sports toy brand launched in 1988, featuring athletes from the NBA, NFL and MLB. It was originally produced by Ohio-based Kenner before the company was acquired by Hasbro in 1991. The line of four-inch non-articulated figures was eventually shelved in 2001.

Hasbro will be working with Washington-based marketing firm OneTeam Partners to develop the athlete and creative marketing campaigns for the figures.

According to Licensing International’s 2022 global sizing study, sports licensing in 2022 grew 8% from 2019. Sports also scored big with European kids in 2021, with live events being ranked number one among family audiences in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK in Glance’s “Kids TV Report.”