Many people have ideas about how to get fans more excited about NBA games.
Richard Jefferson has a plan.
Jefferson is a unique media talent. Quietly, he was among the first NBA athletes to enter the podcast space with Road Trippin, a show he launched while competing for championships with the Cleveland Cavaliers. As an analyst, Jefferson rose quickly through the ranks, starting with local Nets games before graduating to the ESPN studio and ultimately the Worldwide Leader’s top NBA booth.
While Jefferson’s basketball acumen is unquestioned, evidenced by his long, successful NBA career, he brings a light touch as a broadcaster—more Bill Walton than Jeff Van Gundy. From the beginning, Jefferson wanted to make it “fun” for the viewer. The same way he felt when he would tune in as a kid.
About 18 months ago, as part of the league’s goofy campaign to promote the NBA trophy as if it were a celebrity (“Larry”), Jefferson took the joke as far as he could. The journeyman-turned-ESPNer invited former teammate Tim Duncan to be interviewed by him and “Larry.”
“When you look at what’s missing in the entertainment space currently, it’s a show that is fun that athletes can engage in,” Jefferson recently told Awful Announcing. “And really, you can see them be a version of themselves that you wouldn’t see in a podcast, that you’ll never see on broadcast television because they’re so rigid.”
Fans ate it up. More than 2 million people watched on YouTube as Jefferson made Duncan seem affable and even funny, far from the Terminator-type robot fans knew him as during his playing career.
Now, Jefferson is bringing The Richard Show back (minus Larry) in partnership with the NBA. Episodes will air on the revamped NBA TV, and clips will run across the league’s social and digital platforms.
The first two episodes of the new season see Jefferson in conversation with two of the league’s most popular young guards, Tyrese Haliburton and Jalen Brunson. With a jilted editing rhythm that plays awkwardness for laughs, The Richard Show is basketball’s response to Caleb Pressley’s Sundae Conversations or Zach Galifianakis’ Between Two Ferns.
“When I look at how I can show these players that I know have more to offer and want to, there’s just not enough opportunity and a platform to show it,” Jefferson explained. “Because my goal is to get on there and make you laugh … not just to have you tell fun stories.”
But Jefferson doesn’t see himself doing performance art or a sketch show (or the kinds of memes he posts on his popular Instagram and TikTok pages). Jefferson sees The Richard Show as a continuation of the sports storytelling that made him passionate about sports growing up—a newer, quicker iteration on Inside Stuff or even SportsCenter.
“I grew up with Rich Eisen, Stuart Scott, (Scott) Van Pelt, Dan Patrick. Sports was fun,” Jefferson said. “You would get so excited to go watch it.”
The Brunson episode will air on NBA TV on Dec. 24, as the New York Knicks prepare to tip off the Christmas Day slate on ESPN and ABC.
As the last of Jefferson’s contemporaries exit the league, the conversation about the future face of pro basketball has reached a point where the players themselves are weighing in. With seemingly no single clear answer, theories abound as to why no new phenom has emerged to replace LeBron James or Steph Curry.
One explanation is a lack of opportunities to show personality. The amount of money and status on the line has increased quickly, even since Jefferson debuted two decades ago. But the 2016 champion knows that NBA superstars still have a lot to offer as personalities, and believes he can help highlight them by being the type of goofball that endeared him to teammates during his own career.
“It humanizes people,” Jefferson said.
“When you look at sports talk, when you look at debate shows, when you look at podcasts, so much argument. Even when you look at the increase in gambling, just overall in sports, it increases the intensity on athletes and how they’re viewed. So if I can take them out of that for a second and have them make fun of me, me make fun of them, and just have a fun interview, that shows them in a different light.”
By aligning The Richard Show directly with the league, Jefferson can reach audiences worldwide who care about basketball. The NBA, especially under its new media rights package, has been creative in how it works with broadcast partners and independent creators to expand and amplify its content offering. Jefferson’s new partner in the top ESPN booth, Tim Legler, recorded a series of film breakdowns with NBA coaches over the summer. SiriusXM basketball shows air live on the NBA app. And many popular hosts, streamers, and commentators appear on the league’s new primetime show, The Association.
In a few short years since retiring from the NBA, Jefferson’s witty on-air persona and relatable commentary have connected strongly with viewers and grown Jefferson’s reach immensely. The relaunch of The Richard Show is poised to be the ideal platform for Jefferson to showcase his comedic talent, entertaining hoops fans while introducing them to a new side of their favorite stars.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.