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CJ McCollum can save “Players Only” concept post-retirement

By Nate Mann

OAKLAND, CA - JUNE 4: C.J. McCollum of the Portland Trail Blazers does interviews with International Media prior to the game of the Cleveland Cavaliers against the Golden State Warriors in Game One of the 2015 NBA Finals on June 4, 2015 at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2015 NBAE (Photo by Jack Arent/NBAE via Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - JUNE 4: C.J. McCollum of the Portland Trail Blazers does interviews with International Media prior to the game of the Cleveland Cavaliers against the Golden State Warriors in Game One of the 2015 NBA Finals on June 4, 2015 at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2015 NBAE (Photo by Jack Arent/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Ever since the success of NBA on TNT starring Shaq, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith, more and more former NBA players have joined broadcasting or commentating crews.

TNT debuted its new Players Only franchise in February of 2017 and several other major NBA platforms have employed retired players as well.

From the surface, having commentators with past experience on the court seems like a great idea. They can provide insightful play-by-play breakdowns and get behind-the-scenes access to certain franchises for exclusive information.

But the Players Only broadcast crew has received a lot of flak from basketball fans on social media. The biggest complaints? They often bias elite teams and get sidetracked easily, missing major plays during the game.

Blazers games hosted three (but definitely more) examples of former players losing track of their duties as commentators on various networks.

  1. Nate Robinson announced a Blazers-Rockets matchup. He consistently supported calls in Portland’s direction and even started referring to the team as “we.” Referring to a team with “we” shows fandom, but Nate Robinson was supposed to be an unbiased Players Only commentator.
  2. Bill Walton announced one Blazers-Warriors game, taking a break from the college basketball scene. Everyone expects Walton to completely lose track of the game and discuss the most random topics. However, in addition to that, he said that Golden State should receive the benefit of the doubt on foul calls because they’re the defending champs. He trashed his former team all 48 minutes and complained whenever Blazers players grazed Warriors players.
  3. In Portland’s Game 4 loss, NBA on TNT announcers called Jusuf Nurkic “Bosnian Bear” several times. Sure, Basketball Reference labels it as one of his nicknames. But if you pull out the receipts, Nurkic prefers Bosnian Beast – it’s even his Twitter handle. Commentating for a major platform like TNT means background research; knowing the very commonly used nickname for a top center is a must.

CJ McCollum

CJ McCollum, on the other hand, makes for a great commentator post-retirement.

In 2013, he graduated Lehigh University with a journalism degree. Since then, he’s annually interviewed Adam Silver, covered the NBA All-Star game, started his own podcast and more.

These projects demonstrate his capabilities as a journalist. Most recently, he’s demonstrated his capabilities as an analyst too, showing an immense understanding of the game.

Last week, McCollum appeared on First Things First to discuss LeBron James’ playoff performance. Of course, CJ explains LeBron’s ridiculous stats and buzzer-beaters. Past that, he also breaks down the Cleveland Cavaliers’ offense and James’ new fadeaway jumper.

"“I think it all starts with LeBron, Ty Lue mixing and matching the lineups, putting Kevin Love at the 5 last night was big, an underrated thing that went on…being able to get Valanciunas in pick and rolls, LeBron exploiting mismatches, kind of playing chess with the game. Then you got the fade-away going…”"

Next: Damian Lillard's exit interview

The Players Only broadcast is turning more towards entertainment instead of analysis and commentary. However, players like CJ McCollum can save the concept. Avoiding bias and paying attention to the game will certainly help, as well as integrating current players into the fold like McCollum has done with his own acts of journalism.

Former players understand the game on a different level than most; they need to be able to communicate it efficiently to an audience, though.