While the NBA continues to make news as it decides the fate of an owner whose beliefs regarding race relations have alienated him from the business, sports, social and marketing worlds, the WNBA continues to align itself with these same communities for taking forward-thinking moves in the arenas of inclusion and diversity.

If there's one thing that Canadian basketball fans can't stand, it's the sight of lint. Just ask Grammy Award-winning rapper Drake. In April, the reigning prince of Canada's hip-hop and basketball realms was famously caught scrubbing his sweatpants with a lint roller while seated courtside during Game 2 of the NBA playoff match between the Brooklyn Nets and the Toronto Raptors. Mocking images and memes of Drake's public display of fastidious tidiness quickly went viral, with the rapper also getting in on the joke by posting an anti-lint pic on his Instagram account.

Just a few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to address a gathering of marketers from the New York financial services community, about optimizing ROI through sports. While my remarks centered largely on best practices in assessing sponsorship impact, I prefaced those perspectives with a brief look at the potential rewards that can be derived from a well-planned and thought-out sports marketing partnership.

If you are looking for the stars of tomorrow, the NFL and NBA draft are a good place to start. In addition to competing with the best in their respective sports, newcomers like Jadaveon Clowney and Jabari Parker will also be competing for endorsement dollars from major brands.

As excitement-frenzy in many places-starts to whip up as the soccer-loving world converges in Brazil in mid-June for the next World Cup tournament, brands are salivating as always at the branding and marketing opportunity that such a mega-sporting event affords.