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Welcome to the end of the week edition of The Baseline!

Every Friday morning, I break down what you missed in basketball culture. 

This 3-minute read shares the latest marketing and creator insights across the industry.

Let’s jump right into it…

FAST BREAK

Here’s what you missed this week:

🏁 adidas basketball and James Harden are launching an official collaboration with The Marathon Clothing to honor the late great Nipsey Hussle, with an exclusive colorway of the Harden Vol. 10 sneaker.

🛋️ Earlier this college basketball season, Jordan's Furniture launched a new marketing promotion that would refund all purchases made between January 20 and March 1 if both the UConn men's and women's basketball programs reach the national championship. This could potentially involve up to $50 million worth of sales revenue.

🌏 Sabrina Ionescu announces her Nike basketball China tour as she'll hit Changsha and Beijing from April 6-9th.

🤫 New Balance Basketball continues to roll out its Quiet Noise campaign with its newest spot, featuring potential NBA Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg.

🚪 Josh Hart announces with DoorDash that you can now make restaurant reservations on the app, while also partnering with the Broadcast Boys on the Hart Hustle Bootcamp.

🧴 WNBA star Lexie Hull just launched her new beauty brand, FORTA Cosmetics, centered around performance cosmetics for women who are constantly on the move.

🎬 Amazon Prime Video has just released its trailer for a new documentary, "Jerry West: The Logo," which explores the Lakers icon's career as a champion player and Hall of Fame executive.

👟 Reebok Basketball rolls out their newest Angel Reese 1 Unapologetically Angel colorway campaign.

🏀 Wilson and Taylen Kinney reintroduced their Jet Basketball as the official basketball of the McDonald's All-American Game.

💕 A’ja Wilson dropped an exclusive colorway of her A’Two sneaker at Kids Foot Locker in Miami with a special Clinic activation with local community young athletes.

▓ Foot Locker and Nike Basketball dropped an Unseen Hours sneaker pack with Dylan Harper linking up with Made Hoops and Throne Hoops to celebrate elite high school basketball and the unseen hours of work to get to that level.

☄️ The owner of the Houston Rockets has entered into an agreement to purchase the Connecticut Sun and relocate the team, reviving the historic Houston Comets name, pending legal approval and the team is set to play in Houston in 2027.

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THE POINT FORWARD

This is the section of our newsletter where I point out one thing worth sharing with someone in your network—whether it’s a job, a resource, or just an idea or inspiration.

Forward this to someone who is still using their Gmail username from high school:

This is a great new utility feature release from Google that I’ll actually be using.

How Jennifer Aniston’s LolaVie brand grew sales 40% with CTV ads

The DTC beauty category is crowded. To break through, Jennifer Aniston’s brand LolaVie, worked with Roku Ads Manager to easily set up, test, and optimize CTV ad creatives. The campaign helped drive a big lift in sales and customer growth, helping LolaVie break through in the crowded beauty category.

Learn more

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 next week!

- Jeff Chen | 🏀💡👨🏻‍💻