Who Are The Basketball Players In The Subway 'Talking Serious Flavor' Commercial?

Whether it's selling burgers or boats, the cornerstone of any successful company is its advertising. Print ads, online sidebars, commercials — it all counts towards gaining and keeping a steady customer base. The hope is that an advertisement is interesting enough so that people don't skip over it in order to get back to whatever it is they're doing.

What makes advertisements interesting in the first place, though? That depends on who you ask, and different companies will take different approaches — GEICO commercials, for instance, often take the comedy route — as well as be willing to shift approaches if sales numbers are lacking. It all requires a 'survival of the fittest' mentality, especially between companies hawking similar products.

Subway, the fast food chain best known for its customizable sandwiches, has survived for as long as it has thanks in large part to successful advertising campaigns of its own. It doesn't lay claim to a specific style, but quite a few ads from over the years have featured famous figures ("If _____ likes it, why wouldn't I?") — even fictional ones like Uncharted's Nathan Drake (voiced by Nolan North). For the most part, though, Subway sticks to real people, including two basketball stars in its latest "Talking Serious Flavor" commercial.

It may not be Space Jam, but there is a beauty to the commercial's short and sweet simplicity. Two basketball players stand on the court, each holding a ball under one arm and a sub in their free hand. The first is Draymond Green, who proudly declares that his sub contains "tender steak and melty cheese." Sounds delicious — but the second player, Jayson Tatum, has something to say too: "My sub is gonna dunk all over your sub." Why? Because it "has bacon." That's as solid an argument as any.

Green, standing at a relatively average height (for basketball) of 6'6", was a beast on the court in high school, but it wasn't until college that he earned widespread recognition while playing for the Michigan State Spartans (via NBA.com). The NBA drafted him in 2012, and he primarily serves as a power forward for the Golden State Warriors. He may be 31 years old, but Green remains the "heart and soul" of the Warriors, and his career is showing no signs of slowing down (via Yahoo! Sports).

At 6'8", Tatum has two inches on Green, and is eight years younger at 23. He also proved his worth on the court in high school, and went on to make a name for himself with the Duke Blue Devils in college (via NBA.com). Tatum then started with the NBA in 2017, working mostly as a small forward and a power forward for the Boston Celtics. He's still green enough to be considered a rising star, and seems to have a promising career ahead of him.

Both Green and Tatum took to Twitter about their Subway preferences, but we'd like to think the debate is ultimately settled over a friendly game of HORSE after the commercial ends.