A sweet 16 for Dude Perfect, from college trick shots to trusted sports and entertainment brand

FRISCO, Texas (AP) — The five buddies who now comprise Dude Perfect had no intention of creating a brand or even a business 16 years ago when they started making a video of basketball trick shots while they were attending Texas A&M.

“My dad would say we were procrastinating studying for finals at that time, which he is 100% correct,” said Coby Cotton, whose twin brother Cory is also part of the group. “We were just having fun, and that’s one thing that I am grateful to say has continued.”

When they posted that first video on YouTube in April 2009, the nearly 3 1/2-minute clip was just a way to share with family and friends what they were doing on an $80 portable basketball rim they bought for the backyard.

Things have expanded far beyond that small circle. And the tricks got much bigger, like the world record shot made from 856 feet high in Las Vegas two summers ago on the third day of attempts.

Dude Perfect now has more than 61 million subscribers on YouTube, with 482 videos that have gotten more than 18.5 billion total views. An "Average Dude vs. Steph Curry" video did 16 million views just four months ago.

The group’s family-friendly content has gone beyond just basketball shots and is big business, among the top 1% of channels on the second most-viewed website in the world.

Professional athletes, celebrities and musicians want to be part of their productions, both short form and longer videos. Among those who have taken part in recent Dude Perfect projects are Tom Brady, Caitlin Clark and Paul Skenes; the pitcher was blindfolded when he struck out 6-foot-6 Cody Jones, the DP member known as “Tall Guy.”

The group last year hired its first CEO after acquiring at least $100 million in capital from a private investment firm. There are plans for a Dude Perfect theme park, and earlier this year the group opened a new headquarters. The facility located in a North Texas warehouse district includes a full basketball court with moving rims on one wall, half a football field with a regulation goalpost, a pickleball court, a putting area, a hidden candy vault and room for expansion to include experiences for fans.

“A sports lover’s Barbie dreamhouse” is how new CEO Andrew Yaffe described the 80,000-square-foot facility.

“If you ask the guys what they intended in 2009, I don’t know that this would have been in their wildest dreams,” said Yaffe, who previously was a senior NBA executive overseeing the league’s social, digital and original content. “We think about this is what a media company looks like in 2025. And it’s really exciting to think about what that can be in 2030 or 2035.”

Dude Perfect has evolved from that original video shot with a single camera into successful content creators, with a mix of sports and comedy that is more than just basketball shots. The group will embark on another live tour later this year.

There have been nearly 50 episodes of “Overtime” since 2018, a variety show usually around 25 minutes with a variety of segments and often special guests. Curry in that recent episode took part in a 3-point shooting contest using a football, Frisbee, pickle ball and soccer ball before finally a basketball.

There are occasional videos such as “All Sports Golf Battle” when on a course without actual golf clubs, including once at Augusta National when Bryson DeChambeau used items like a tennis racket, Frisbee and pool stick. “Stereotype” videos poke fun at any number of groups or events.

“They’ve built a media empire that brings families together, whether it’s trick shots, epic challenges, live events or experiences that truly redefine what it means to connect with fans,” said Brian Albert, who leads Google’s US YouTube video deals and creative teams. “They are creator trailblazers.”

Even before each of the Dudes became fathers — there are now 16 children ages 10 and under between them, and another on the way — they wanted to be one of the world’s most trusted brands for families to enjoy together.

“Early on, we met through some Bible studies and so we knew we weren’t going to cuss in our videos, we weren’t going to have alcohol promotion,” Jones said. “Early on, it actually hurt our brand because people were going to YouTube in order to kind of have that wild side of things. And since, it’s only helped because we’ve become brand safe.”

Tyler Toney, the bearded Dude often front-and-center in videos, said that is the best thing they hear from parents.

“But it wasn’t until we had our own kids where we’ll be up here at the office filming and then I go home and now I’m on my TV at home and my boys are watching,” Toney said. “I get to hear myself a lot and it gets old, and I apologize now to all the parents for how loud we are in a lot of the videos. But it’s cool to see that even in our families the importance of that, having that quality entertainment that we can enjoy with our own kids.”

Dude Perfect’s first record for longest shot came from the third deck of Texas A&M’s football stadium in the fall of 2009. That came months after the initial video of trick shots, which had been followed by one they did at a Christian-based camp that summer.

They made a shot from atop the 561-foot tall Reunion Tower in Dallas in 2014, a record then broken by another group before Dude Perfect reclaimed it in Las Vegas.

“We’re not hoping to have to improve on the world’s highest shot from The Strat in Vegas any time soon,” Coby Cotton said. “That was an exhausting experience.”

A large projection screen, couches and other amenities fill one of the work spaces at Dude Perfect's new headquarters in Frisco, Texas, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

From left, Garrett Hilbert, Coby Cotton, Tyler Toney, Cody Jones and Cory Cotton, the founding members of Dude Perfect, speak during an event at their new headquarters in Frisco, Texas, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Employee Justus Woods works in an office at Dude Perfect's new headquarters in Frisco, Texas, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Visitor Andrew Harper gives a peace sign up in a hidden entrance before descending down a slide on the top floor of Dude Perfect's new headquarters in Frisco, Texas, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Dude Perfect member Coby Cotton poses for a photo while being interviewed at the their new headquarters in Frisco, Texas, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Dude Perfect Chief Executive Officer Andrew Yaffe plays with a basketball as he gives an interview at their new headquarters in Frisco, Texas, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Visitors attending an event enjoy some of the attractions at Dude Perfect's new headquarters in Frisco, Texas, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Visitors attending an event enjoy some of the attractions at Dude Perfect's new headquarters in Frisco, Texas, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Garrett Hilbert, left, shoots smoke rings out of a device as the rest of the Dude Perfect members look on during an event at the group's new headquarters in Frisco, Texas, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

From left, Garrett Hilbert, Coby Cotton, Tyler Toney, Cody Jones and Cory Cotton, the founding members of Dude Perfect, pose for a photo during an event at their new headquarters in Frisco, Texas, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

BASEL, Switzerland (AP) — There has already been triumph and tears, singing onstage and in the streets, and a touch of political division, as the 69th Eurovision Song Contest approaches its grand final in the Swiss city of Basel.

Musical acts from 26 countries will take the stage at the St. Jakobshalle arena on Saturday in a spectacular, sequin-drenched competition that has been uniting and dividing Europeans since 1956.

Here’s everything to know:

Eurovision is competition in which performers from countries across Europe, and a few beyond it, compete under their national flags with the aim of being crowned continental champion. Think of it as the Olympics of pop music or the World Cup with singing instead of soccer.

It’s a celebration of silly fun and music’s unifying power, but also a place where politics and regional rivalries play out.

“It’s Europe’s biggest cultural event,” said Dean Vuletic, an expert on the history of Eurovision. “It has been going on for almost 70 years and people love to watch it, not only for the show, for the glitter, the stage effects, the crazy costumes, but also because they like to see it as a reflection of the zeitgeist in Europe.”

Of 37 countries that sent performers to Eurovision, 11 were knocked out by public voting in semifinals on Tuesday and Thursday. Another six automatically qualified for the final: the host, Switzerland, and the “Big Five” that pay the most to the contest — France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.K.

The 26 countries competing Saturday, in order of performance, are: Norway, Luxembourg, Estonia, Israel, Lithuania, Spain, Ukraine, the U.K, Austria, Iceland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Finland, Italy, Poland, Germany, Greece, Armenia, Switzerland, Malta, Portugal, Denmark, Sweden, France, San Marino and Albania.

Favorites, according to oddsmakers, are KAJ, representing Sweden with “Bara Bada Bastu,” a jaunty serenade to the sauna. Dutch singer Claude is also highly rated with soulful ballad “C’est La Vie.” Other favorites include classically trained Austrian countertenor JJ with his pop-opera song “Wasted Love,” and Israel’s Yuval Raphael, with her anthemic “New Day Will Rise.”

Eurovision has a reputation for campy europop with nonsense lyrics — past winners include “La, La, La” and “Boom Bang-a-Bang.” But It has also produced some enduring pop classics. And it helped make stars of performers including ABBA — winners in 1974 with “Waterloo” — Celine Dion, Austrian drag performer Conchita Wurst and Italian rock band Måneskin.

This year’s finalists range from Lithuanian emo rockers Katarsis to a power ballad Spanish diva Melody and Ukrainian prog rockers Ziferblat.

Campiness, humor and double entendres abound. “Espresso Macchiato” is a comic ode to Italian stereotypes performed by Estonia’s Tommy Cash. Miriana Conte sings for Malta with the double entendre-filled “Serving” -- performed on a set including a glitter ball and giant lips, it is classic Eurovision.

It was once widely accepted that the most successful Eurovision songs were in English, but that is changing. This year’s contest features songs in a record 20 languages, including Ukrainian, Icelandic, Latvian, Maltese and Armenian.

Vuletic said viewers these days want “more authenticity in Eurovision entries.

“They don’t just want a standard pop song sung in English,” he said. “They want to also see something about the culture of the country that the song represents.”

Once all the acts have performed in the final, the winner is chosen by a famously complex mix of phone and online voters from around the world and rankings by music-industry juries in each of the Eurovision countries. As the results are announced, countries slide up and down the rankings and tensions build.

Ending up with “nul points,” or zero, is considered a national humiliation.

The final starts Saturday at 1900 GMT (3 p.m. EDT) and will be aired by national broadcasters in participating nations, on streaming service Peacock in the United States and in many countries on the Eurovision YouTube channel.

During and immediately after the final, viewers in participating countries can vote by phone, text message or the Eurovision app — but not for their own country. Viewers in the U.S. and other nonparticipating countries can vote all day Saturday, online at www.esc.vote or with the app. The combined “rest of the world” vote is given the weight of one individual country.

The contest’s motto is “united by music,” but the world’s divisions inevitably intrude.

Russia was banned from Eurovision after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and since then Ukrainian musicians — including 2022 winner Kalush Orchestra — have competed under the shadow of war in the home country.

This year’s contest has been roiled for a second year by disputes over Israel’s participation. Dozens of former participants, including Nemo, have called for Israel to be excluded over its conduct in the war against Hamas in Gaza. Pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel protests have both taken place in Basel, though on a much smaller scale than at last year’s event in Sweden.

A handful of protesters attempted to disrupt a rehearsal by Israeli singer Raphael on Thursday with oversized flags and whistles and were escorted from the arena. Organizers say they have tightened security ahead of the final.

Miriana Conte from Malta performs the song "SERVING" during the second semi-final of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest, in Basel, Switzerland, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Yuval Raphael from Israel performs the song "New Day Will Rise" during the second semi-final of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest, in Basel, Switzerland, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)