Bobby Marks is the general manager of the people.
While understands that at the end of the day, the product on the court sells, but ESPN’s NBA front office insider is quick to tell you that he believes there’s a niche for consuming the content he creates at the Worldwide Leader. The content he provides goes beyond hot takes and the Los Angeles Lakers, which only furthers the notion that fans can handle more serious info than sports media at large gives them credit for.
During a recent appearance on the Awful Announcing Podcast, the ex-Brooklyn Nets executive talked at length with host Brandon Contes about his commitment to providing fans with insightful, educational content over flashy narratives.
“We had a meeting a month ago with our group, and I was saying, ‘Listen, I think the theme this year is going to be less drama, more basketball,'” he said. “And they’re like, ‘Really?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, I think like, you know,’ and then the (Karl-Anthony) Towns trade happened, and it kind of blew up my theory. But I do think there’s such an appetite where it’s not about putting out rumors or sourcing that teams could be interested in a certain player, but I do think there’s an appetite as far as explaining…
“I love when we have a new Collective Bargaining Agreement because I can explain the apron and how it works. People are like, ‘These new rules stink, right?’ And I’m like, ‘No, they’re kind of interesting, but here’s why I’m going to explain it.’ Here I am on TV for 45 seconds, where I can show you how things work and why transactions work and stuff like that.
“I think the goal for me, like I said, is to educate everyone on how to different rules. I always remember going back to this tip that Nicole Briscoe told me when I was doing SportsCenter with her, and I was talking about the Bird exception. We got off-air, and she’s like, ‘Nobody knows what the Bird — like, you have to explain it; explain what this rule is.’ And so whenever I see her, she always goes, ‘Are we gonna talk about the Bird exception?’
“…But I do think there is an appetite here. Listen, I work with a sports business classroom, and we had 138 kids sign up this summer to take a seven-day class on the salary cap and the front office and how I can teach about the apron. And I give free Webinars on all these things, and we’ve compacted everything here because I do think people want to know how trades work and how their teams can get better and how players can get signed.”
Marks’ brand of content is different from the Stephen A. Smith’s of the world, where hot takes reign supreme. But even if their brands of NBA content don’t run parallel to one another, Marks described in detail the only time that he got mad at the First Take stalwart or tapped him on the shoulder in other words.
“The only time I got mad at Stephen A. was we were doing these rankings, these 25 under 25 rankings — and there was a group of us,” Marks told Contes. “And, I think we had somebody high up, like LaMelo Ball was No. 2…I remember this, he went on TV and said, ‘Whoever did these rankings needs to be drug tested, and their ID needs to be taken off their hands and taken out by security out of ESPN studios.'”
To say that Marks was pissed would be the understatement of the year.
“I think it might’ve been my first year at ESPN…I was like, ‘Who is this guy? Who is this guy to say that?’ And then three years later, I can laugh about it,” Marks adds. “That was like the one time I got all like (bent out of shape). And then I look back on it, and I’m like, ‘You idiot.’ Who cares, right? That’s him. That’s kind of who he is.”
Marks wasn’t going down that road; he just said how he felt to himself.
In a world of sensationalized sports commentary — looking at you, Stephen A. — Marks seems to stand out by offering a unique perspective as an NBA executive turned media personality. While flashy statements and heated debates are all the rage and seemingly own the current space, Marks believes there’s an appetite for NBA content that goes beyond surface level.
He’s focused on providing in-depth analysis and clear explanations. This is a guy who does have firsthand experience in a front office operation, after all. For Marks, it’s not just about reacting to the news; it’s about explaining the underlying reasons.
That’s where he differs from Smith, but there’s an understanding here that there’s different strokes for different folks in terms of NBA content consumption. And if you’re looking for more front office-oriented info, Marks is your guy.
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