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Welcome to this week’s edition of The Baseline!

Let’s get right into your weekly blueprint for basketball culture…

MARKETING BLUEPRINT

This NBA player left town but gave his former fans something unforgettable, creating one of the most unique fan experiences ever in Salt Lake City.

When Jordan Clarkson signed with the New York Knicks, he skipped the usual farewell Instagram post to Utah Jazz fans.

Instead, he hosted a "Closet Sale" featuring his entire personal collection of clothes that he wasn't bringing to New York.

This gave his fans a once in a lifetime shopping experience at Thrifthood, one of his favorite boutique stores in Utah.

Fans could buy his designer, vintage, player-exclusive, and grail items for as low as $5, $10, or $20.

This community event even had free food and piles of of free clothes for the thousands of fans in line.

Jordan expected the event to last three days but sold out completely in under three hours.

So this style icon didn’t just clean out his closet but turned it into an entire community celebration.

This was a unique approach for an athlete to connect with their closest fans in a moment that truly reflected the athlete’s style.

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FAST BREAK

Here’s what you missed this week:

🏀 Jeremy Lin announced his retirement from basketball after a 15-year playing career, which included one of the most legendary runs of "Linsanity" in history. I had a small role contributing to HBO's 38 at The Garden documentary, which explored Jeremy's iconic moment so give it a watch if you haven't seen it.

👑 Nike Basketball released their first spot for their LeBron XXIII campaign titled "Forever King."

💬 Kevin Durant is tapped into The Next Chapter and the rise of 1v1 basketball. Stay tuned for some big developments happening in the 1v1 space over the next few months!

💈 Kai Cenat began day 1 of Mafiathon 3, which would consist of 30 days of live streaming, as he announced that LeBron James would cut his hair on the final day.

🥤 Fresh off announcing her new logo with Nike, Caitlin Clark launched a Stanley 1913 collab collection.

🕺 Puma Basketball and LaMelo held a launch event in Los Angeles for their MB.05 World Tour sneaker.

🏛️Kelsey Plum launched her official Kelsey Plum Foundation to help young athletes by focusing on confidence, community, and mental health.

🎨 Artist Tyrell Winston created a free public art installation in Detroit titled "HORSE," a project that reimagines the basketball court as a site of creativity, memory, and community engagement.

👟 Converse Hoops and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hosted a community basketball camp where it all started for the MVP in Hamilton, Ontario.

💰 Dick's Sporting Goods' acquisition of Foot Locker in a deal worth an estimated $2.4 billion just received approval from shareholders, making it one of the biggest retail mergers of the year.

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POST-GAME

Thanks for reading…

I’ll see you back here next week!

- Jeff Chen | 🏀💡👨🏻‍💻