When I first walked into the Atlanta falcons‘ practice center in the 2018 offseason to interview Justin Anderson, I had no idea what I was doing. I also had no idea how I got the job.
I remember telling Anderson, who had just been traded to the Hawks, the same thing: He had no idea what he was doing. Fortunately, Anderson is one of the kindest people in the NBA and couldn’t have been more patient and understanding that I was figuring out how to do everything as I went along.
The story I wrote about Anderson and the trade to Atlanta It was the first basketball story I ever wrote. Before covering the Hawks, he was writing about high school football recruiting at the University of Alabama, and now he was covering the NBA. I have to first thank our Bay Area columnist, Marcus Thompson II. Without him, I have no idea where I would be. The day I was fired from my previous job, Marcus, whom I didn’t know personally, told me the athletic he was hiring reporters in Atlanta, and he recommended me. Several interviews later, he was covering the Hawks and Georgia Tech.
This is my last story as a reporter for the Hawks and my last week as an Atlanta resident. Starting next week I’ll be teaming up with Lindsey Adler. to cover the yankees by the athletic.
I grew up in the Bronx, but Atlanta has been my home for the last eight years and I’m really going to miss this place. I first fell in love with the city as an intern for 680 The Fan during my junior year in college, and I knew this was where I wanted to be. I’m glad I was able to experience so many important life events here.
I’m really going to miss covering the Hawks. This organization could not have better people within it. From all the way at the top with Tony Ressler to the game day operations staff who work for State Farm Arena, who he always punched on the court before games. Work is always much better when every person you interact with is a quality human being. The PR staff of Garin Narain, Jon Steinberg, Jelani Downing, Billy Hartman and Holden Sawyer were amazing to deal with on a daily basis. They always made my life as easy as possible, even when they couldn’t do an interview on occasion.
All of the Hawks front office executives were always great to deal with. Special thanks to Steve Koonin, Travis Schlenk, Landry Fields, Rod Higgins, and many others with whom I have interacted.
I feel like I started covering the Hawks at the perfect time for a young reporter with no experience covering the NBA because the franchise was just beginning its rebuilding process. That allowed me to meet almost a whole new roster of players every season for my first two years. Kent Bazemore, Jeremy Lin and Vince Carter taught me a lot in my first year. I can’t thank you enough. alex leonDeAndre’ Bembry and Taurus Prince They were always kind and considerate of their time. Eve Turner and Dewayne Demon he constantly made me laugh.
Looking at brings young, john collins Y kevin huerter growing and consolidating in the league has been the best thing about this job. I had a front row seat from the start, and seeing each one of those guys have their moment on the biggest stage of the 2021 playoffs was something I will never forget. I can’t wait to continue watching each one of them grow from afar.
I will miss the honesty of both Bogdan BogdanoviΔ Y Clint Capela. They are two of my favorite people I have interacted with in this business. Even when I had to be critical of them at times, they always understood where I was coming from. In this job, you will never make 100 percent of the people you meet happy. It’s a hard lesson to understand as a young reporter, but the older I got, the more I realized how all the best reporters are respected for delivering the truth, whether or not it upsets people.
I have to mention Lloyd Pierce and Nate McMillan, the two people I’ve talked to more than just about anyone in my life over the last four years. The coaches talk almost every day from training camp to the end of the season. It’s a lot to put up with, especially when things don’t go well or a game is lost. I have always approached this work with the understanding that difficult questions sometimes need to be asked, and I know they are not always easy to answer publicly, so I thank Pierce and McMillan for putting up with my myriad questions.
And I can’t forget the Hawks fans. What a passionate group you all are. Once they hired me, they quickly showed how much they care about this franchise by signing up to read about a team that clearly wasn’t going to win many games for a while. When asked if I wanted to focus solely on the Hawks just a few months into the job, the answer was easy. Don’t let anyone tell you that Hawks fans don’t care about their team; It couldn’t be more fake.
The interactions I’ve had online with all of you and those I’ve met in the arena have always meant so much because you all believed in me and my work. I will miss you all. My #1 goal was to provide everyone with information and insights about their favorite team that they couldn’t get anywhere else, and I know I’ve accomplished that.
I’ll leave you with this: I hope I’ve made you feel something these last four years. If you get that reference, thanks for rocking out with me for so long.
(Photo: Dale Zanine/USA Today)