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Welcome to another edition of The Baseline!

It’s an exciting time in sports culture, as Kendrick Lamar just dropped a quintuple entendre performance at the Super Bowl and now we’re headed into NBA All-Star Weekend in Steph Curry’s backyard.

Let’s jump right into this week’s blueprint for basketball culture…

MARKETING BLUEPRINT

🇫🇷 Victor Wembanyama just turned his Paris homecoming into a marketing masterclass.

But if you don’t speak French, you have no idea what just happened.

However, here’s a fact: France has become a basketball powerhouse in recent years.

Which is why Wemby made sure his return to France was an unforgettable fan experience.

He hosted an alien themed scavenger hunt across his country leading up to the NBA Paris Games.

Winners received free tickets to the game, and the scavenger hunt also brought out everyone's inner child and nostalgic spirit.

Thousands of fans raced to find Wemby’s Alien posters but here’s the best part:

Every piece of content was in French—the videos, his captions, and Wemby even replied to fans directly who commented in French.

This hyperlocal approach made his hometown fans feel seen, and that’s an essential blueprint for building a loyal audience today

Not to mention, this isn’t a one and done.

He’s hinted at future scavenger hunts and my bet is it’ll happen this weekend at NBA All-Star Weekend in San Francisco.

To sum this case study up:

Victor Wembanyama isn’t just the NBA’s next biggest star—he’s already becoming the global face of the league.

And he’s leading by example by showing how to honor the community that shaped him.

The NBA Paris Games may have been the main event, but his scavenger hunt was a tribute and moment for the people and the streets that raised him.

FREE THROWS

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

📧 2025 State of Newsletters - Here are the latest trends and statistics in the email newsletter industry written by the newsletter experts at beehiiv.

✅ Milatenote - A creator friend recommended this, and I’m starting to explore it as it helps you get organized while staying creative. This easy-to-use tool will help organize your ideas and projects into visual boards (think Evernote but for creatives).

📝 YouTube Transcript Generator - Generate full-text transcripts for free and in seconds from any YouTube video.

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FAST BREAK

Here’s what you missed this week:

🌴 Luka Dončić made his Lakers debut, and ahead of the game, Gatorade premiered a new ad spot welcoming the star player to LA. Luka’s foundation also announced a $500K donation to LA Wildlife Relief, and the Lakers gave out Luka shirts to every fan in the arena.

🏈 OG sneaker customizer Mache275 collaborated with Jordan Brand to create a custom pair of Banned Jordan 1 cleats for Jalen Hurts, which the Super Bowl MVP wore during his pregame warm-up routine.

🇺🇸 HBO and TNT Sports are releasing a new documentary on February 17th that tells the story of how a group of college basketball stars defeated the legendary 1992 Olympic Dream Team in a scrimmage.

👟 Converse Hoops shared a teaser video previewing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's first signature sneaker.

🎽 The Charlotte Hornets released the NBA’s first-ever Black Excellence jerseys, titled "Home Is Where The Harte Is," which sold out in the Hornets team store within one day.

☎️ LaMelo Ball was snubbed twice from the NBA All-Star Game, but that didn’t stop Puma Hoops from creating a 1-877-Bucketz hotline for fans to leave voicemails supporting him. Also, his brother Gelo got Lil’ Wayne on the remix of his hit song "Tweaker."

💨 Wilson is restocking a limited quantity of their 3D-printed airless basketballs, which will be available this weekend at the NBA All-Star Weekend for a retail price of $2,500.

🏀 Caitlin Clark supports the idea of a WNBA expansion team in Kansas City, stating, "Kansas City would be a great city for the WNBA."

1️⃣ Nike and Converse teamed up to honor Devin Booker’s all-time scoring record he set with the Phoenix Suns with a pair of Book 1 “ALTS” PE.

❌ The Detroit Pistons launched a Malcolm X merch collection honoring the civil rights activist, marking the first time his estate has collaborated with a professional sports franchise.

💰 Kevin Durant’s media company, Boardroom, shared a first look at his Nike KD18, his 18th signature sneaker, which is releasing this spring.

🧢 Tommy Hilfiger partnered with '47 to release a new NBA hat collection featuring Michael Rainey Jr. in the lookbook.

📺 Nike released the best Super Bowl ad of the year, highlighting their entire roster of female signature athletes, including basketball players A’ja Wilson, Sabrina Ionescu, and Caitlin Clark.

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 | 🏀💡👨🏻‍💻

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