Sicignano said Kaplan got the idea of offering sex to sports figures in 1994, when he overheard a conversation between Sicignano and basketball player Larry Johnson, then a member of the Charlotte Hornets.

CNN: Witness: Club owner used sex to attract stars

And that's with the advantage of nostalgia as an added selling tool, thanks to a matchup invoking memories of the Larry Bird-Magic Johnson battles of the 1980s (the three L.A.-Boston finals of the '80s averaged a 30 share, as did the six Michael Jordan-led Bulls series in the '90s).

FORBES: Sports Business

Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and a Hall of Fame list of others had that.

FORBES: Oprah Winfrey And The NBA

For the March Madness television coverage, the company not only released more ads in the same formula, but created a new set, where NBA greats Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Kareem Abdul-Jabar and Bill Russell take the role of the kids.

FORBES: AT&T March Madness Ad Spend Reaping Perception Dividends

Local businessman and iReporter Larry Johnson -- no relation to the family -- is a concerned community member who has been protesting.

CNN: Family demands answers in teen's mysterious death

Magic Johnson and Larry Bird and Isiah Thomas were each reviled by at least a few teammates for their brutal verbal takedowns of lesser players --and almost everyone in their respective locker rooms were lesser players.

CNN: Jordan at 50: A celebration of ruthlessness