Together with

Welcome to this week’s edition of The Baseline!

Before we dive into your weekly blueprint for basketball culture, I want to share a unique brand partnership opportunity I’m working on—perfect for this newsletter’s audience of brand leaders, marketers, entrepreneurs, and creators in the basketball industry.

30,000 basketball consumers all under one roof—including 10,000 youth athletes and 20,000 parents and fans—at the most exciting grassroots basketball event of the summer.

For the first time, we’re looking to partner with brands to enhance the experience, generating millions of organic impressions as NBA legends (i.e. Derrick Rose, Kendrick Perkins), current NBA stars (i.e. Anthony Edwards, Cole Anthony), top YouTube creators (i.e. Cam Wilder, Nelson Neuman), and the 30K+ athletes and families share their content.

Just reply “BALLING” if you’d like to learn more!

Now, let’s get into this week’s blueprint…

MARKETING BLUEPRINT

Kevin Love is the NBA’s unofficial Chief Meme Officer.

For the past few months, his personal Instagram has been on a generational meme run.

He’s been making meme marketing look way easier than it actually is.

But post after post, he’s been cooking up viral hits—leading to millions of views comments and shares.

As a full time NBA player, he’s showing that anyone can be a meme creator.

Here’s the formula and blueprint on how NBA Champion Kevin Love is perfecting the art of meme marketing:

Moment In Basketball ➕ Content From Culture 🟰 Meme Masterclass

Kevin Love uses this formula by combining NBA moments (such as Tyler Herro’s fight or Jimmy Butler’s trade drama) with film references and iconic internet clips, allowing him to deliver elite content that is instantly relatable.

Plus he posts them while the internet is actively talking, leading to more shares and engagement across his content.

That’s why meme marketing is so powerful.

It’s not about just making content.

But it’s about making actual content that people want to share.

And most people don’t even know but there’s meme software like Memelord Technologies and meme agencies to help you meme better.

However very few people have that magic meme touch like Kevin Love.

But when he officially retires from the NBA, I won’t be surprised if he becomes the biggest basketball memer in the world.

FREE THROWS

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

🎙️ BrandFathers - This is what happens when three creators meet online and bring their expertise together to break down the best in Branding & Marketing each week.

🔒 1Password - This app has been life-changing. I don’t know how I went years of scrolling my iPhone notepad searching for old usernames and passwords.

📝 Yahoo Creators - Every major brand and media company is investing in creators. Yahoo’s newest program empowers and provides monetization for lifestyle writers while helping them reach reach millions from Yahoo’s audience.

Morning Brew, Time Inc, LA Mag, and You

What’s the connection? beehiiv. 

Our founders engineered the growth machine behind Morning Brew. They're now bringing that expertise to media juggernauts like TIME and LA Mag, helping them build best-in-class newsletters.

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FAST BREAK

Here’s what you missed this week:

🏀 Unrivaled finalized a licensing deal with the WNBPA and OneTeam Partners, allowing the league to sell player jerseys and collectibles. Player jerseys immediately hit the merch store at Wayfair Arena. By the way, I had the opportunity to witness Unrivaled in person—they’ve created a masterclass in fan experiences!

🚫 NBA Centel, basketball’s leading parody account on Twitter/X, was banned for 24 hours. The impact was massive, highlighting how much NBA Twitter culture remains at the forefront of social conversations in sports, despite the public’s opinion on Elon.

🏆 Adam Sandler created a viral moment for Under Armour when he showed up at the Oscars in his cozy-fit, wearing the "Championship Mindset" Curry 11s.

🇨🇦 Serena Williams joined the ownership group of the Toronto Tempo, the WNBA’s expansion team.

🎨 Sad news for Kyrie with his ACL tear, but seeing his relationship with fans, like wearing their customized kicks, is amazing.

1️⃣2️⃣ The Big 12 Conference partnered with global streetwear brand and retailer UNDEFEATED as they unveiled their new conference championship courts together.

🏟️ Caitlin Clark's preseason game between the Indiana Fever and the Brazil National Team at the Iowa Hawkeyes arena sold out in 40 minutes, and resale prices are going for at least $700.

👟 Ja Morant took to his Instagram Story once more to tease upcoming colorways of the Nike Ja 2 for 24 hours.

🟣 The Sacramento Kings announced a partnership with OneCourt, the first tactile sports broadcast that helps make games more accessible to blind and low-vision fans. They join the Trail Blazers as the only NBA teams using this technology.

POST-GAME

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

And a reminder, if you're interested in reaching 30,000 consumers all under one roof and connecting with millions of basketball fans organically, just reply "BALLING," and I'll share more information.

- Jeff Chen | 🏀💡👨🏻‍💻

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