> And yes, it all makes sense. The young grow up, gain strength, learn, and challenge the established order. But there’s a magic in actually seeing the comparison points. ESPN, with its daily debate shows, is all about the present moment and less about how we got here. There’s no time for that as you’re quick-cutting from segment to segment. They’re always selling you a present so stimulating as to make the past irrelevant. JxmyHighroller reminds you that the NBA is actually one big story, in a constant conversation with itself. Of course, nothing can matter unless the past does too.
Harkens back to what made old NBA broadcasts compelling (or even until 2016 if I recall that Metallica soundtracked NBA finals look back correctly). They were so attuned to this continuous narrative arc. To me the 75th anniversary season content has been a total missed opportunity on this front. NFL remains the last sport to incorporate this.
What you (and many others, including myself) lament seems to be by design, a feature of the “Never Ending Now” as David Perell has called it: https://perell.com/essay/never-ending-now/
Mark Fisher and Zygmunt Bauman (“liquid modernity”) have spoken of this too. This is holds true for not just the NBA but for zeitgeist at large. As a “young person” I’m often struck by how little my peers care for situating our current moment in historical context, outside of some political hyperboles.
Jumping off from the strategies and process described in the article, would love a pod with klinman with his view of what works in digital media creation.
Thanks so much for this. I'm an NBA YouTube creator myself and a private conversation with JH to pick his brain about his process - like this one - is invaluable!
Videos he makes are click bait. They are watched by children, teenagers, people with poor taste, and people who get caught up in the YouTube rabbit hole. That’s not a knock on him, there’s obviously a market for it and he and others are filling it. This was my least favorite article thus far. There’s a reason why most people Ethan knows never heard of him and it’s because most of the people Ethan knows aren’t teenagers.
Thanks for the article. It was much better than your recent offerings in my small opinion. Your editor missed correcting the word “change” to “chance” I believe. Sorry but I enjoy finding holes that your editor forgot to plug. Thanks again for writing this, and congratulations on writing something that Sarah Spain wouldn’t find objectionable.
Excellent piece! Love Jxmy Highroller's videos. Out of all NBA YouTube channels I'm subscribed to, his are right up there for always producing awesome content! And no, I never heard of Mr. Beast before, but fascinating stuff.
"We basically talked every day for 1,000 days in a row and did nothing but hyper-study what makes a good video, what makes a good thumbnail, how to go viral" - Mr. Beast.
I love this! Hacking genius blue-print right there!
As for Jxmmy Highroller's video on your "Steph Curry Under Armor" piece. That was awesome! It actually inspired me to finally read that story of yours, which was incredible in how you were able to weave together so many interchangeable parts.
And, for all the times you asked for recommended Podcast guests, I can't believe no one has suggested Dan Carlin to you, yet. He really is a fascinating dude!
> And yes, it all makes sense. The young grow up, gain strength, learn, and challenge the established order. But there’s a magic in actually seeing the comparison points. ESPN, with its daily debate shows, is all about the present moment and less about how we got here. There’s no time for that as you’re quick-cutting from segment to segment. They’re always selling you a present so stimulating as to make the past irrelevant. JxmyHighroller reminds you that the NBA is actually one big story, in a constant conversation with itself. Of course, nothing can matter unless the past does too.
Harkens back to what made old NBA broadcasts compelling (or even until 2016 if I recall that Metallica soundtracked NBA finals look back correctly). They were so attuned to this continuous narrative arc. To me the 75th anniversary season content has been a total missed opportunity on this front. NFL remains the last sport to incorporate this.
What you (and many others, including myself) lament seems to be by design, a feature of the “Never Ending Now” as David Perell has called it: https://perell.com/essay/never-ending-now/
Mark Fisher and Zygmunt Bauman (“liquid modernity”) have spoken of this too. This is holds true for not just the NBA but for zeitgeist at large. As a “young person” I’m often struck by how little my peers care for situating our current moment in historical context, outside of some political hyperboles.
Jumping off from the strategies and process described in the article, would love a pod with klinman with his view of what works in digital media creation.
Thanks so much for this. I'm an NBA YouTube creator myself and a private conversation with JH to pick his brain about his process - like this one - is invaluable!
Videos he makes are click bait. They are watched by children, teenagers, people with poor taste, and people who get caught up in the YouTube rabbit hole. That’s not a knock on him, there’s obviously a market for it and he and others are filling it. This was my least favorite article thus far. There’s a reason why most people Ethan knows never heard of him and it’s because most of the people Ethan knows aren’t teenagers.
Thanks for the article. It was much better than your recent offerings in my small opinion. Your editor missed correcting the word “change” to “chance” I believe. Sorry but I enjoy finding holes that your editor forgot to plug. Thanks again for writing this, and congratulations on writing something that Sarah Spain wouldn’t find objectionable.
Can you explain how the hook of your Steph Curry article got changed? Would love to hear more about that.
Excellent piece! Love Jxmy Highroller's videos. Out of all NBA YouTube channels I'm subscribed to, his are right up there for always producing awesome content! And no, I never heard of Mr. Beast before, but fascinating stuff.
"We basically talked every day for 1,000 days in a row and did nothing but hyper-study what makes a good video, what makes a good thumbnail, how to go viral" - Mr. Beast.
I love this! Hacking genius blue-print right there!
As for Jxmmy Highroller's video on your "Steph Curry Under Armor" piece. That was awesome! It actually inspired me to finally read that story of yours, which was incredible in how you were able to weave together so many interchangeable parts.
And, for all the times you asked for recommended Podcast guests, I can't believe no one has suggested Dan Carlin to you, yet. He really is a fascinating dude!
Fascinating! Went to watch his Steph Curry and Nike video, you need to ask him why he didn't credit your story as the source lol!
If you're getting into YouTube personalities now Ethan, check out Mikerophone for some stylized NFL takes: https://www.youtube.com/c/Mikerophone