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Welcome to this week’s edition of The Baseline!

If you’re newly subscribed, I’m a brand marketer, creator, and entrepreneur with extensive experience in the sports industry, having worked with iconic brands like Jordan Brand, SLAM and the NBA.

Every Wednesday, I share business, marketing, and creator insights related to basketball culture.

Let’s get right into it…

MARKETING BLUEPRINT

This 5'10" elephant has more brand deals than 92% of the WNBA, but it's still a mystery who's actually inside this mascot.

While most sports teams focus solely on marketing their players, the New York Liberty have built an entire universe around their mascot.

Inspired by Barnum and Bailey’s elephant stunt on the Brooklyn Bridge, Big Ellie was destined to be larger than life.

Ellie the Elephant is now driving real revenue and year-over-year business growth for the New York Liberty.

Their strategy for this entire mascot IP is rooted in authentic New York City style, tone of voice and culture. Big Ellie even has a stylist and full creative freedom to push the limits of evolving the mascot and fan experience.

She’s one of the team’s biggest influencers, with over 360,000 followers across platforms, and even has a brand rate card. This has led to Big Ellie partnering on brand deals with Off-White and Rihanna’s Fenty, and even having her own Nike Sabrina 2 sneaker.

Big Ellie also had a float in last year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and was named one of New York Time’s most stylish people.

It's ironic because the New York Liberty have never revealed who's inside Big Ellie, but this is Hall of Fame-level world-building, character development, and brand storytelling.

This talented individual and creative team have redefined what mascot marketing can be in sports, as they've become an icon for the entire WNBA.

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FAST BREAK

Here’s what you missed this week:

👑 LeBron toured China to launch his LeBron 23 signature sneaker as part of the "Forever King" campaign with Nike Basketball.

🏆 Carmelo Anthony, Sue Bird, Maya Moore, Dwight Howard, Sylvia Fowles, the 2008 Redeem Team, coach Billy Donovan, executive Micky Arison and referee Danny Crawford were officially inducted as the 2025 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class.

👟 The Converse SHAI 001 sneaker finally hit retail as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander executed a comprehensive athlete launch, appearing at key retail stores, conducting media interviews, hosting grassroots basketball camps, and even making appearances on late-night talk shows.

🏈 The basketball sneaker of the year crosses over into football as adidas launches the Anthony Edwards 1 Football Cleat, which was worn by Travis Hunter in his debut NFL game.

🏀 Angel Reese has expanded her investment portfolio by joining Togethxr’s ownership group. She also launched a limited edition jersey to commemorate the announcement.

1️⃣ Tracy McGrady resigned with adidas Basketball after a short stint apart. Included in their new partnership agreement will be relaunching the ABCD camp with Sonny Vaccaro.

💰 Unrivaled secured their Series B round, pushing the league's valuation to $340 million, as the startup women's basketball is rapidly growing after their initial season.

🍦 University of North Carolina guard Seth Trimble recently became the youngest Ben & Jerry's franchise owner by using his NIL earnings to purchase the local campus ice cream shop.

🎮 EA Sports canceled its plans for a college basketball game, but 2K Sports confirmed that it is working on its version of a game that will be part of NBA 2K.

🌳 Sports journalist Pablo Torre reported that Kawhi Leonard signed a $28 million endorsement deal for a no-show job with a fraudulent tree-planting company funded by $50 million from Clippers owner Steve Ballmer.

🚫 Streameast has been shut down following a year-long investigation into the world's largest illegal sports streaming platform.

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POST-GAME

As always, thanks for reading!

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- Jeff Chen | 🏀💡👨🏻‍💻