The Baseline Review
The Baseline Review features a creative dream team of 50 contributors. We tell inspiring stories from basketball history through powerful writing and illustration. Contributors include Basketball Hall of Famers, former NBA players, top journalists, and acclaimed illustrators. It's a genuine honor to cover the history of the game and work with so many people I admire!
Editing & Writing
A hallmark of every creative project I’ve been part of—playing in DIY bands, producing music events, touring poster shows, and Fifty-Nine Parks—has been collaboration. My work with The Baseline Review is no different. I love basketball and history. I could write an entire book on the sport but I find the work far more compelling when it’s done collaboratively. I do a lot of writing for The Baseline Review, but so do brilliant writers like Jackie MacMullan, Kirk Goldsberry, Katie Heindl, and Clayton Crowley. On pieces where I’m not the lead author, I get to contribute through editing, research, and supplemental writing.
Art Direction
I’m a visual person, so it feels essential that illustrations play a role in a book like this. The stories hit harder when you can show—not just tell—what Patrick Ewing might look like as Sisyphus, or see the added drama with an oil painting depicting Steph Curry as the NBA’s St. Sebastian. We approach this work collaboratively with the best illustrators in the world. I often pitch a concept and vision for each piece, then give creatives space to bring their own creative interpretations to the story. Every day feels like Christmas when I open my inbox to another stunning illustration!
Editorial Direction
When working with other creatives, I’m responsible for pitching the editorial direction and editing every story. It’s important to me that each contributor brings their own voice. The guidance I provide keeps the eclectic body of work feel cohesive across style, presentation, and tone. I love diving deep into research on every story until the concept clicks. Sometimes that spark hits in the middle of the night: Kobe. Swimming with sharks. A melting shot clock. Other times it comes from reading about an ancient king in Greek history and spotting a parallel with a legendary player from the ’80s. From there, we find the creative best suited to the story, the player, and the theme. This kind of creative problem-solving and curation is what energizes me. I’d call it a job, but it feels more like a vocation.
Additonal Background
In 2014, I faced a choice: pursue an ambitious collaborative project centered on National Parks or on basketball. Both parks and hoops are passions of mine, on par with music and printmaking. National Parks won out. Nearly a decade later, I finally have the bandwidth to realize the vision for the basketball project. Inspired by mythologist Joseph Campbell, I see the journeys of the NBA legends in this book as modern myths made flesh. My hope is to tell stories that celebrate these players while uplifting the reader—because even if we’re not meant to dunk or cook someone in the post, we can still carry the lessons of each player’s journey into our own life and work.
