Incubating Style, Identity, and Panache
That’s me last week in Vilnius, Lithuania, where I had the good fortune to spend several days leading the “Toward the Development of Sports Diplomacy: Understanding, Exchanging, Realizing” workshop hosted by the National Sports Agency. You can read more about that fantastic experience and set of exchanges here and here. Being in one of the Baltic meccas of basketball prodded me to think more deeply about the game, ignited my creative flair, and inspired this series.
For basketball in Lithuania is more than a game.
From “Court of Gold” to Global Hoops in 2025
In the aftermath of a magical Paris 2024 Olympic Tournament, the dynamism of basketball across the continents illustrates that the world’s got game beyond the Games
They say that Paris is the City of Love, but last summer Steph Curry broke my heart in the City of Light. With three minutes left in the Olympic gold medal match and Team France just three points behind Team USA, Curry unfurled a series of three-point shots that put to bed French hopes for a victory on home soil. Lovers of the game, even those like me, who were rooting for Les Bleus, had to admire the artistry and dedication to craft that enabled those shots to sail clear through the net by the undisputed king of the three-point shot.
It’s A Wrap: Paris Summer 2024
It’s been a tough week without that je ne sais quoi magic that the Paris 2024 Games conferred. here are a few things I’ll integrate into my global communications, sports diplomacy, and teaching work this fall.
The Magic We Didn’t Know We Needed
The Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony delivered a magical evening that, in retrospect, maybe we all needed. I, at least, did after a day-long impromptu roadtrip from Nantes to Lille thanks to saboteurs whose coordinated acts crippled France’s famed high speed rail network.
Field Notes from France
After a fantastic few months in France, some top notes about the role(s) sports diplomacy can play communicating within our global world
World Basketball Day WrapUp
Thanks to those who joined me in celebration of World Basketball Day by sharing their bon mots, questions, thoughts on the game’s global imprint, Basketball Empire, and so much more. Stepping back to look at the big picture, here are three key takeaways from the exercise
130 Years of Basketball as a Global Movement
One hundred thirty years ago, the first basketball game played outside North America was held in Paris, France, the first step in a global movement recently celebrated with World Basketball Day—one that Philadelphia now has a unique tie into thanks to its very own Batman, the 76ers’ French swingman Nicolas Batum.
Beyond Your Wildest Hoop Dreams: Why the World’s First Born-Global Sport is Primed for Twenty-First Century Sports Diplomacy
Today, the NBA sports a very international labor force but basketball was a global sport prior to 1992, with its own local indigenous cultures. So unlike other U.S.-affiliated sports leagues, the NBA was able to build upon long-established hoops cultures. As a result, basketball is uniquely primed for twenty-first century sports diplomacy. It can—and often does—lead the way thanks to several realities.
Field Notes from Taiwan and France: Spring 2023
This spring, I had the privilege to spend time in Taipei and Paris, two cosmopolitan capitals half a world away but in which the lessons from the court were bountiful. Here are three main lessons for sports marcomms and PR professionals to be better communicators to global audiences.