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Welcome to this week’s edition of The Baseline!

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MARKETING BLUEPRINT

This NBA arena just became a 24-hour content factory but this creator turned it into something the NBA has never seen before.

Here’s how:

The Atlanta Hawks handed over State Farm Arena to AMP's Davis Dodds for their team’s schedule release moment.

While most NBA teams edit a quick social clip to announce their schedule, the Hawks created an entire digital festival for their fans.

For 24 hours straight, fans could watch Davis’ live stream straight from inside the arena.

Davis was the perfect creator partner, as he has nearly 2 million followers across platforms. More importantly, he brings local authenticity as an Atlanta native.

The stream had surprise appearances from Dominique Wilkins, Ray, Agent, the Hawks CEO and even 2 Chainz recording a song at 3AM .

There were midnight pickup games, behind-the-scenes arena access and even a bed so Davis could sleep.

But this was way more than just marketing, it was a creator-led brand moment.

The Hawks became the center of NBA schedule release conversations as this 24-hour experience generated over a million views on the stream itself, going viral on ESPN, House of Highlights, and popular NBA fan pages.

In an era where press releases and static posts don’t make an impact, the brands and teams that succeed are those bold enough to create culture and community 24-hours a day.

FREE THROWS

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

🤳 Creator Startup - Gain the knowledge, tools, and skills to become a better creator with a set of resources and content developed by Colin and Samir (entrepreneurs, podcasters and creators)

✍️ Hemingway Editor - Use simple and clear words to communicate your message online, writing as if you are a 4th grader.

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FAST BREAK

Here’s what you missed this week:

🐜 Anthony Edwards and adidas officially announced the Adidas AE2 during his China tour. This sneaker is the much-anticipated follow-up to the basketball sneaker of the year.

©️ Nike and Caitlin Clark unveiled her official logo, with a full apparel collection launching on October 1st and sneakers to follow in 2026.

🐍 Warner Brothers announced that a Kobe Bryant biopic, "With The 8th Pick," is in development. The film will focus on the behind-the-scenes decisions that nearly led to Kobe Bryant being drafted by the New Jersey Nets.

📱 Made by Google has entered a multi-year partnership with Stephen Curry, naming him their Performance Advisor for Google Health and Fitbit.

🍗 Paige Bueckers is the creative director for DoorDash, and after dropping 44 points, the highest-scoring game by a rookie in WNBA history—the brand provided their members with a complimentary in-app reward.

✅ Nike Basketball and Jordan Brand dominated high school hoops on the East and West Coasts with The Ones Global Finals activation and Mamba League Invitational Championships in L.A.

💰 Kevin O’Leary bought a $12.9 million Michael Jordan-Kobe Bryant dual Logoman patch card, making it the most expensive sports card ever.

3️⃣ Candace Parker officially had her #3 jersey retired in Chicago, marking her as the city's hometown hero.

🎙️ John Wall officially announced his retirement and, immediately the next day, signed with Amazon Prime Video to join their NBA analyst team.

🏀 Tyrese Haliburton made a multi-million dollar donation to his high school, Oshkosh North, to help fund upgrades to the school's athletic facilities.

🎓 The University of South Carolina signed a 10-year deal with Nike. Under Armour opted not to match Nike's offer and the women's basketball team will be officially branded as an A'ja Wilson team.

👟 New Balance hosted its Beantown Elite Experience, where top high school basketball players gathered in Boston for basketball training and immersive experiences with the New Balance brand.

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POST-GAME

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

- Jeff Chen | 🏀💡👨🏻‍💻