You just have those moments in those interviews, that really kind of glimmer in the room. And you’re just like, how do I keep this glimmer from flying out the window? How do I bottle this up and we’re all in this as long as we can possibly be?
I should realize, by now, that Summer League is a place where I’m going to meet the people who turn out to be my favourites. It’s either great good luck or the weird magnetism of the desert, but when the long shadow of Rob Mahoney fell over me on media row, and I was already a little light-headed from laughing so hard at something someone in the warm little throng of my familiars said, the kind of shimmering haze I saw around him when I looked up was a strong hint. That, or a lack of oxygen.
You know Rob because he’s been writing perceptive, keen-eyed and big-hearted stories about NBA athletes for over a decade. Or maybe you know his voice; candid, considerate, and with the smiling bite of a joke ready for just the right moment to affably upend the conversation.
We talked about fandom. How you can drift away from your own when you cover a team, or basketball in general, full-time, but the ways it can sneakily knock you over again when you’re part of the sports' most catalyzing moments. We also talked about why and how certain teams elude us as writers, even observers, personal litmus test players, players we’re protective of, players the general history of the NBA is protective of (maybe, sometimes, to a detrimental degree), and the frenetic spark that can come during interviews.
Plus: an appreciation of bigs, forgiving younger versions of yourself (and previous intractable opinions), interviewing Marc and Pau Gasol, a rapid-fire exercise in assigning current NBA franchises the unsung variables they need most, and a fundamental identity breakdown of the three Texas teams from the state’s favourite son.
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