In partnership with

Welcome to Part 2 of the newly updated edition of The Baseline!

Last week, I asked if you preferred one longer newsletter or two shorter newsletters, and the response was in favor of the shorter format.

Starting this week, on Wednesdays, you'll receive the Marketing/Creator Blueprint and Creator Tools/Marketing Resources.

On Fridays, you'll get the weekly roundup of ICYMI: Basketball Culture Insights and our new section, The Point Forward.

Let’s get right into it…

FAST BREAK

Here’s what you missed this week:

✨ Unrivaled unveiled their new 2026 Under Armour jerseys and club rosters, including the introduction of two new teams: the Breeze and the Hive.

🎮 NBA Take-Two Media, in partnership with the NBA, relaunches their NBA 2K League as a new entertainment universe, led by newly appointed commissioner Jesser.

🗽 Ronnie Fieg and KITH shared their new New York Knicks collection, marking the two brands' sixth season partnering together.

👀 Victor Wembanyama leads all NBA players with 276 million video views across NBA social media accounts this season.

🤳 adidas signed streamer Rayasianboy and partnered with top basketball video editor and creator ndgojordy to share the announcement.

🎙️ Rich Paul and Max Kellerman are teaming up for a new podcast on The Ringer, the network founded by Bill Simmons.

🎂 Sprite leans into Anthony Edwards' favorite movie, Matilda, to create a quick and fun social video to build off of Ant’s recent viral Believe That Awards moment with Mara Wilson, the actress who played Matilda.

👟 With Damian Lillard on injured reserve this season, adidas Basketball has WNBA fan-favorite Sophie Cunningham filling in for him on their new Dame X spot.

👋🏾 Dereck Lively II is partnering with the nonprofit organization Undue Medical Debt to donate $100 for every block he makes this season to families in need facing medical hardships across Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Texas.

1️⃣ FGCU walk-on Brandon Dwyer is an NIL social media star with over 2 million total followers and has officially completed his "ROAD TO 1 POINT" content series after scoring 6 points earlier this week.

🕹️ Play by Play Studios, which includes a team of former EA Sports developers, has secured both official NBA and NBPA licenses and has announced their new 3v3 street basketball game, NBA THE RUN, inspired by the popular NBA Street series.

🏀 BSE Global, the parent company of the Brooklyn Nets and New York Liberty, opened their new Brooklyn Basketball Training Center across the street from Barclays Center. It offers grassroots basketball programming for local athletes, schools, and community programs.

Shoppers are adding to cart for the holidays

Over the next year, Roku predicts that 100% of the streaming audience will see ads. For growth marketers in 2026, CTV will remain an important “safe space” as AI creates widespread disruption in the search and social channels. Plus, easier access to self-serve CTV ad buying tools and targeting options will lead to a surge in locally-targeted streaming campaigns.

Read our guide to find out why growth marketers should make sure CTV is part of their 2026 media mix.

Learn more.

SHARE THIS

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 uses ChatGPT everyday and is tired of Chat being their “Yes Man”:

10.6M views on that reply tweet and many have found that setting to actually work!

Business news as it should be.

Join 4M+ professionals who start their day with Morning Brew—the free newsletter that makes business news quick, clear, and actually enjoyable.

Each morning, it breaks down the biggest stories in business, tech, and finance with a touch of wit to keep things smart and interesting.

Try it yourself (for free)

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 | 🏀💡👨🏻‍💻