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Welcome to this week’s edition of The Baseline!

Quick question:

Has this been the best first round of NBA Playoffs ever?

Reply and let me know!

Anyways, let’s jump right into your weekly blueprint for basketball culture…

MARKETING BLUEPRINT

The Detroit Pistons had one of their best on-court seasons in years and might have also led the league in the best community-led product collaborations this year.

With each drop, they've been building genuine fan loyalty by celebrating the city that raised them.

It's difficult for most NBA franchises to connect with culture beyond sport, as other markets don't have deep roots across music and fashion.

But the Detroit Pistons have been teaching a masterclass—collaborating with local talent, honoring the city’s rich history and storytelling with their community.

This includes recent collabs like:

🌎 Pistons x Big Sean and his Don Life brand to celebrate his birthday

❌ Capsule collection honoring Malcolm X’s transformation from “Detroit Red” to a legendary figure

3️⃣1️⃣3️⃣ Amplifying 313 Day as an unofficial team holiday

This Pistons marketing blueprint for their merch collabs has been the perfect formula rooted in community and Detroit’s authentic lifestyle.

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FAST BREAK

Here’s what you missed this week:

🏀 Ice-T pulled up to the Minnesota Timberwolves playoff game for an in-arena experience to continue the storytelling of their commercial featuring Anthony Edwards’ AE1 sneaker.

🥵 The Indiana Fever launched a bold new campaign, "Now You Know," to start their WNBA season kickoff.

💰 Nike Basketball built a special KD popup at the EYBL Mesa, Arizona stop to launch the KD 18 x EYBL sneaker.

™️ Complex curated a gallery of every recent basketball player's logo, including a few that just debuted this year, like Cade Cunningham and Rob Dillingham.

🚫 adidas’s social media team celebrated Evan Mobley’s NBA Defensive Player of The Year Award by blocking all 29 other NBA teams on social media.

🕊️ Nike will launch the Mambacita jerseys in both home and away colors on May 1st (GiGi Bryant’s birthday) with profits benefiting the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation.

😎 Stephon Marbury released a limited-edition Knicks version of his viral Aura sunglasses in collaboration with the eyewear brand Chamelo.

🎉 Adam Silver went on the Numbers on The Board Podcast (produced by Enjoy Basketball) to discuss how the media can improve their NBA coverage.

🎓 Shaq will become an official GM of the Sacramento State men's basketball team, assisting in recruiting, NIL, and brand deals while his son Shaqir plays there.

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POST-GAME

Thanks for reading—I’ll see you back here next week!

And if you enjoyed reading today’s newsletter, please share it with one friend.

- Jeff Chen | 🏀💡👨🏻‍💻