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Welcome to The Baseline!

I asked earlier this week, but if I could have 2 seconds of your time to hear your response — it would be very helpful to gain your insights into this:

Let's get right into this week's latest insights on basketball culture:

FAST BREAK

Here’s what you missed this week:

👀 Stephen Curry is enjoying his sneaker free agency, as just in the past week alone, he's worn the Nike Kobe 6 “Mambacita,” Shaq’s Reebok “Shaqnosis,” Nike Air Penny 2, and Way of Wade 1 (Dwyane Wade’s first All-Star Weekend sneaker from Li-Ning).

📗 Nike Basketball is releasing the next chapter in Devin Booker's signature athlete story with the Book 2 dropping in January 2026. The design is inspired by Devin's love for skateboarding, vintage cars, and classic sportswear apparel.

🛒 Puma’s Halimart is opening up shop again on November 26th when they drop Tyrese Haliburton’s new Hali 1 colorway “Hibiscus”.

⭐️ Boardroom’s Kevin Durant sat down for their latest cover story interview with Cade Cunningham, where he gave the exclusive announcement that he's getting his own Nike signature sneaker in 2027.

🎓 NIL star and FGCU walk-on Brandon Dwyer just earned a scholarship after scoring his first career 6 points earlier this month.

🫛 From a teenage summer job picking peas on a farm to becoming the NBA’s #1 draft pick, Cooper Flagg’s journey is featured in the NBA’s latest young star player profiles.

🧬 After going viral for supporting his cousin waiting in line to buy Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s shoes, Converse signed Nickeil Alexander-Walker to the brand.

👟 LaMelo Ball and Rick & Morty are back for another upcoming collaboration, as they drop a special colorway of the Puma MB.05 on November 21st.

🏀 Jewell Loyd, Alyssa Thomas, and Jonquel Jones are the latest WNBA stars to follow Nneka Ogwumike in joining Project B, the new women's basketball league expected to begin in Europe and Asia in November 2024.

🎧 LiAngelo Ball's hit single "Tweaker" has officially been certified platinum by the RIAA as the Ball brother continues to pursue his music career after basketball.

🐭 Disney, ESPN, and the NBA are bringing back "Dunk the Halls," their live animated NBA Christmas Day special for the Cavaliers vs. Knicks game.

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THE POINT FORWARD

This is a new 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 needs to simplify and go:

I saw this image posted on the timeline, and realized I often over-think and over-do. I’ve always had a less is more approach but reminders like this can help keep us focused.

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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 | 🏀💡👨🏻‍💻