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Welcome to this week’s edition of The Baseline!

Every Wednesday at 9:36 AM EST, I break down the blueprint for basketball culture, covering industry insights, marketing strategies, and creator tools and resources.

Let’s get started…

CREATOR BLUEPRINT

Most AAU tournaments are built around strictly basketball.

But one tournament quietly embraced the future of basketball content and experiences curated for the next generation of athletes and fans.

Over the past eight years, Balling on The Beach has grown from a local 100-team tournament into one of the nation’s marquee grassroots events, hosting over 700 boys' and girls' teams across 46 courts (all under one roof).

Future stars like Bronny James, Kiyan Anthony and Cameron Boozer have all played there as youth athletes.

But one of BOTB’s biggest growth levers wasn’t just adding more courts.

It was embracing basketball creators before everyone else.

Creator-led teams like Cam Wilder’s RWE, DriftyJay’s Coldhearts, Kai Cenat Elite, NotSoAirJordan’s Gremlin University, and Punchmade Elite have all become staples of the tournament.

These creators bring top high school recruits (which turn into future D1 stars and NBA players), multi-millions of views across YouTube and social media, and a direct connection to the next generation of youth basketball fans.

BOTB has also become a launchpad for youth athlete-creators like the Neumann brothers, Thomas brothers, King Bacot, Christian Bell, and others, giving the next generation a stage to grow both their basketball careers and personal brands.

The annual Father’s Day event has also become a destination for pro athletes and celebrities, with names like Cade Cunningham, Anthony Edwards, Kodak Black, Kendrick Perkins, and many others regularly showing up throughout the weekend.

That’s what makes this such a unique creator and athlete moment as BOTB didn’t treat them as just media partners, but as part of the product and experience.

The tournament also invested in creator courts, dedicated security, and elevated game environments that allow these viral matchups to happen—something many tournaments still struggle to achieve, as fans overcrowd the creator games, causing them to be canceled.

Then brands like GameChanger and Foot Locker amplified those moments even further through strategic creator partnerships and activations.

Balling on The Beach is a great example showing how the best creator strategies aren’t built around one-off campaigns.

Instead, they’re built by creating experiences that creators and youth athletes genuinely want to be part of and then doubling down with resources and partners to enhance the environment for everyone.

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FREE THROWS

Sharing the tools and resources that I’m using this week:

🔦 Creator Spotlight - Weekly newsletter that serves as your guide to growing and monetizing creator-first businesses.

🥞 Live Layers - Creative platform Reve has just introduced its newest feature, Live Layers, which allows you to add text and graphics to any image with adjustable layers.

🗒️ Paper Shaders - Open source and free library for shaders that allow you to create dynamic, complex visuals without relying on heavy video files or static images.

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POST-GAME

Thanks for reading! Here are a few ways we can stay connected:

🤝 Partner With Me: I work with brands, athletes and creators across their brand strategy, digital media, creator programs, partnerships, and marketing growth. Interested in working together? Get in touch here.

📊 Be First: I’m building Future Blueprint Sports — the definitive discovery and intelligence platform for sports marketing and creator culture. Get early access today.

👋 Stay Connected: Enjoyed this newsletter? Share it with a friend or colleague. Also follow me on LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok for more sports marketing and creator insights.

Thanks and see you later this week!

- Jeff Chen | 🏀💡👨🏻‍💻