K-pop star BamBam performs at halftime of the Golden State Warriors’ game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Chase Center in San Francisco on April 7, 2022. Onome Uyovbievbo/STAFF.

SAN FRANCISCO —K-pop superstar BamBam wowed a sold-out crowd of fans watching NBA basketball between the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers Thursday night at Chase Center.

BamBam, whose rise to massive acclaim began with seven years as a rapper and singer with the group Got7, took the opportunity to debut a new song, “Wheels Up.” He surprisingly kicked off the roughly 10-minute performance with the upbeat jam, without officially introducing it.

The song features Oakland rapper MAYZIN. He was not present, but his parts were played over the P.A.

K-pop star BamBam performs at halftime of the Golden State Warriors’ game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Chase Center in San Francisco on April 7, 2022.

Before running onto the court, he and his dancers milled around and got loose in the loading bay outside the Lakers’ locker room. Then they lined up single file, with BamBam at the back. The posse danced around to “It Takes Two,” which was blaring from the arena speakers as the first half drew to a close. Lakers star Russell Westbrook, who was not playing in the game, walked by, looking over his shoulder at the young artists as he did so.

Once the performance began, BamBam was at center court, and his dancers surrounded him, rotating as they did so. There was no stage—not even a small platform. The short set included the new track, soon to be a hit, as well as bangers “Pandora” and “Ride or Die.” And just like that, it was over. He and his crew ran backstage, with our small crew of journalists behind them.

K-pop star BamBam.

BamBam’s rise in popularity began with his seven-year stint with Got7, during which time the group released four albums and 10 mini-albums and became one of the most notable K-pop groups in the world. He debuted as a solo artist in 2021 with his first extended album and received awards for Best Artist and Asia Celebrity for music at the 2021 Asia Artist Awards.

The spokeswoman for the team said most of the tickets to the game were sold out in advance because the Warriors are currently in the playoff hunt, it was the last game of the season and because the opponent was the Lakers, whose fans famously travel for games. So it wasn’t clear how many K-pop fans were able to snag tickets at the last minute. But there were clearly at least some sporting BamBam merch, and some Got7 fans made their presence known by turning on their green lightsticks during the performance.

A day earlier, BamBam was at Chase Center for a co-branded merchandise line with the Warriors at the Thrive City Warriors Shop. Some lucky fans who bought T-shirts and more won an opportunity to attend a brief meet and greet with BamBam.

Follow editor Roman Gokhman at Twitter.com/RomiTheWriter. Follow photographer Onome Uyovbievbo at Twitter.com/byonome and Instagram.com/by.onome.