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Welcome to today’s edition of The Baseline!

Every Friday, I share everything you missed across basketball culture from sports marketing news to creator insights.

Let’s get right into it…

FAST BREAK

Here’s what you missed this week:

🚫 Stephen Curry and Under Armour agree to separate, and the Curry Brand will become independent. If you're still in shock processing this, read their official press release.

👑 Instagram moment of the week goes to Gloria James, who posted the iconic baby photos of LeBron, but photoshopped with his new Nike LeBron 23s. Whether this was part of the brand’s rollout or not, it was unique content to see on the feed.

🏙️ Nike and the NBA unveiled their new 2025-26 City Edition uniforms and released a creator-led spot featuring well-known creators from different NBA cities.

🚺 Kysre Gondrezick became the first Black professional athlete in history to appear in Playboy magazine as a Playmate.

🎥 In the latest episode of the Dick’s Sporting Goods show SPEED GOES PRO, iShowSpeed brought in Kevin Durant and Lethal Shooter to demonstrate that he can hoop with the best of them.

🎄 Sprite is already in the holiday spirit as they introduced Anta Claus and are taking fan questions for Anthony Edwards to answer.

🌎 The NBA officially reveled the format for the USA vs World 2026 All-Star Game that’ll include two U.S. Teams and one World Team in a round-robin tournament.

👟 Arizona Wildcats’ Bryce James went Sneaker Shopping with Complex as he shared his favorite LeBron sneakers, stories about his dad’s collection and what he’s hooping in as a freshmen at University of Arizona.

🎓 Darius Garland is partnering with the mayor of Cleveland on a new Perfect 10 Attendance Program, an initiative that rewards students with perfect attendance through experiences like Cavs tickets and scholarships.

💰 With WNBA CBA negotiations still ongoing, Nneka Ogwumike became the first player to sign with the new pro women’s basketball league, Project B, which is expected to play in Europe and Asia starting in November 2026.

👽 Victor Wembanyama has evolved into a 7'4" basketball artist who is now one of the NBA's brightest stars.

👕 Supreme’s latest campaign features Bol Bol and Liz Cambage competing against each other to promote their new Supreme/ICE Hoops FX Arcade Machine.

🏀 MADE Hoops announced an investment from SC Holdings, LRMR Ventures, and Boardroom Sports Holdings to further expand their impact in grassroots basketball with a non-profit foundation and a new Brooklyn-based basketball development center set to open in 2026.

🎨 Front Office Sports provided a comprehensive analysis of the business behind the unique court designs in college basketball, featuring examples from Oregon, Arizona, FIU, and other top programs.

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THE POINT FORWARD

Every week, 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 whose suffering from the Disney/ESPN vs YouTube TV negotiations:

While this doesn’t help us YouTube TV subscribers watch the games on ESPN, at least it’s $20 back in your wallet. To redeem the (one-time) $20 YouTube TV credit:

• Go to the “updates” tab in Membership Settings on your web browser

• Follow the prompts that point to redeeming your $20 credit

• The discount appears on your next bill for YouTube TV

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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 | 🏀💡👨🏻‍💻