Don’t Miss an NBA Opportunity Because of a Hot Take

NBA hot takes

I scrolled through Twitter where prospective interns were bashing certain players, officials, and teams... all in support of their beloved home team.

I get it.

And that’s fine to do... if you want to work in sports media one day.

If you want to work with an NBA team, that’s not gonna work. 

Your favorite team is the one who hires you. Your favorite player is... the 15 players on the team that hires you.

Don’t burn a bridge along the way because you don’t know which team that will be.  There are only 30 teams and you don’t want to eliminate yourself from a potential position.

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Getting a job in the NBA, specifically in Basketball Operations is hard.  With 30 teams, each team is likely to have 1-3 internships a season.  This leaves less than 100 spots for thousands of qualified candidates. 

If you have a hot take about a certain player or team, you might eliminate that team from hiring you, especially if they read what you’ve written.  Or… there could be someone like me who see the tweet (even about another team) and decides you’re not a right fit.

Because when you work with an NBA team, you need a strong filter.  You generally want to be quiet on social media.  You don’t want to put your work on blast.  There’s a time and space for that and you can feel that out as you get established in the NBA.  But when you’re trying to get that foot in the door, be careful not to burn a bridge before you’ve crossed the river.