CJ McCollum added to his stellar resume on Monday. His work as a player-media partner with ESPN will serve as an example.
The Pelicans guard will join ESPN as a multiplatform NBA commentator, according to the network. The nine-year veteran will make his NBA Finals debut on Thursday during Game 1 of the Celtics-Warriors series. On ESPN2, he’ll be featured in “NBA Finals: Celebrating 75,” an alternate broadcast of Game 1.
McCollum, who is also the head of the league’s players association, graduated from Lehigh University with a journalism degree in 2013. He’s making good use of his degree.
In a statement, McCollum stated, “I’m eager to provide what I believe is my unique perspective, based on my tremendous understanding of the game that I’ve garnered during my nine years as a player in the NBA.” “It’s a dream come true to be able to apply my journalism skills on the biggest stage with the many excellent individuals at ESPN.”
McCollum has long been regarded as one of the league’s most intriguing figures. He’s a blossoming wine sommelier in addition to being one of the league’s best on-ball scorers. He wrote for the school newspaper at Lehigh and now spends his workouts in the cold tub listening to episodes of his podcast, “Pull Up with CJ McCollum.”
“I hear the awkward gaps,” he told Scott Cacciola of The New York Times in 2019. “I can hear it when I exhale too quickly.”
All of this is to imply that McCollum is a media aficionado. He claims it’s more of a science than anything else.
McCollum stated, “Preparation is everything.” “It’s not pleasant to be interviewed by someone who hasn’t done their homework.”
That hard work has paid off in a variety of ways. McCollum’s podcast has 5,100 subscribers and 151,600 downloads, according to Castbox.
ESPN has enlisted McCollum’s help in developing a new podcast for the network. Whatever it is, it will undoubtedly draw on the foundations of what McCollum is all about — he will portray players as genuine people with human flaws, not as heartless machines who happen to be brilliant at basketball.
It wouldn’t be the same without him.
“A lot of it is getting listeners to relate to us,” McCollum said Cacciola, “to understand that we have doubts, challenges, fears, and stress — that there are instances when we may have doubted ourselves, but we still conquered it.”
