Today we’d like to introduce you to Warren Shaw.
Hi Warren, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My story in sports started as a kid when I used to watch baseball games with my grandmother. I was a decent neighborhood athlete playing baseball and football primarily. I even participated in some track as a member of the Boy Scouts in their annual Boy Scout Olympics. It was in the sixth grade when I was introduced to the sport of basketball by the PE Coach who encouraged me to try out for the team. I had no business making the team to be honest. While I had the ability to run and jump, I wasn’t particularly coordinated when it came to the nuances of basketball. For a reason I still don’t understand, I made the roster as a third-string player who didn’t see much playing time.
By eighth grade, I was the lead player on the team and I was forever embedded in the game. Middle school success didn’t translate to high-school success and it was clear that while I loved the game, I wasn’t going to be joining the NBA. By the time I entered college, I thought it would be ideal to sharpen my soft skills to potentially work in the league or with players as an agent. As I discovered more details about agents, it revealed that my personality might not be best suited for that lifestyle. Nothing against agents it just wasn’t going to be for me. I thought maybe working for a team would be a better fit. It was too late to switch my major from Legal Studies, which was setting me on a path to law school so I finished my studies in that degree and hoped to cultivate a new direction in grad school. While in grad school, I studied Sports Management and at the very last minute, before the internship deadline, I secured an internship with the New York Knicks. I learned a great deal about the inner workings of a team and became exposed to the community relations side of sports in my time there. Following my internship I spent some time working with Alonzo Mourning and his charity organization before embarking on a full-time career in recreation. Still, the passion for basketball never waned and while I worked in various administrative recreation capacities full-time, I started carving out a space for basketball part-time.
I started writing for various outlets at the peak of the blog era, writing game recaps and even attending games sometimes 200 miles away just to be in the arena and to have access to players. I eventually found my way to a few sites with real traction that included Dime Magazine and Yahoo Sports. Dime allowed me access to NBA All-Star weekends, access to brand decision-makers at Nike, Adidas, Sony and others. It gave me credibility in the space and transformed me from blogger to reporter. From there, I started building my connections with some of the same agents I used to want to be to gain access to players to tell their stories. That’s really where things are today, I have a modest following on Twitter with a verified account. I’m a storyteller and analyst of the NBA. While I still write sparingly, I started The Baseline NBA podcast with my longtime friend/brother, Cal Lee, some years ago and we’ve seen success in the very crowded podcast space. We speak with journalists, players, coaches, league and brand executives with the intent of telling their story as it relates to the game of basketball. It has been and continues to be an exciting part of my sports journey.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There were a lot of late nights writing, countless emails with no reply or flat-out denials when I tried to break in initially. I’m by nature a quiet guy who doesn’t typically seek attention, but attention was exactly what I needed. I didn’t go to school for journalism so learning how to engage readers was a skill I had to craft. The only way to do that was to write continuously and then try to put the fruits of my labor in the eyes of the right decision makers. It was jarring for me at the time that not too many people in the space looked like me and those that did weren’t particularly welcoming. I’ll never forget how a fairly prominent journalist/personality told me that I “wasn’t serious” when I reached out to him about my work and how to sharpen my skills.
Even once I started to have a little success it was a turbulent path. I spent my own money most of the time to get to destinations where sports activity was taking place with access and occasionally free swag being the only payment. Writing at some of the larger sites also forced me to not take things personally but that was a hard lesson. I remember an incident with another prominent analyst not having a flattering response to an article I wrote. I received a windfall of negative comments from his “fans” who had no interest in having a civilized debate about the topic. The comments were so visceral that my loved ones were visibly upset, and I told them to stop reading the replies. This was right as trolling became a pastime for some and the philosophy to never read the comments truly came into play.
Over the years I had to learn the value of my time and truly invoke a work smarter philosophy. The strain on relationships with the travel or late nights writing was an unintended result as I tried to fight for my place in the industry. I’m thankful for those who stood by me as I wasn’t always easy to handle when I was truly just trying to break in.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
As the content manager for The Baseline NBA podcast, I’m proud of the work we do on the show and the stories we tell. I couldn’t have the success in this space without my previous work as a journalist/reporter which truly opened doors for the show. I love the fact that we can discuss x’s and o’s in one show or even segment, then in the next, we are speaking with a brand executive or a coach. Most podcasts are very linear in their approach and I’ve managed to make our show extremely versatile. Our guests include executives from AT&T, Adidas, Panini, Zenni, Powerhandz, USA Basketball, Athletes Voices, Afro Ballers and so many more. We’ve spoken to coaches, journalists and players from all over the league all while maintaining a positive and authentic approach to our coverage.
Having a humble platform to share the stories of others is truly gratifying.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
The diversity of people, weather and access to sports are probably the things I like the most. When you add the various types of food, beaches and unique events you realize this city has few rivals. No real complaints about the city other than maybe traffic from time to time, but that’s a small price to pay for all the other benefits.
Contact Info:
- Email: Warren@shawsports.net
- Website: thebaselinenba.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shawsports/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShawSportsNBA
- Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-baseline-nba-podcast/id909831649
