Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson has been in the sports media scene for a while now. Once a child prodigy, Robinson is now known around the basketball world as one of the more respected NBA insiders in the industry.
Recently, Robinson was let go by Bally Sports, but his entrepreneurial spirit hasn’t allowed anything to slow him down. He has recently launched a new series, “Classics with Scoop B,” in partnership with Starter Apparel, and interviewed legendary New York DJ Funkmaster Flex to kick off the production. He also hosts his weekly series on Bovada called “Scoop B Talks,” and his monthly podcast, “Scoop B Radio.” He spoke to rolling out about his latest career shift and the current landscape of the NBA.
What storylines are you looking forward to most this NBA season?
It would be easy to say the [Los Angeles] Lakers definitely did their thing. We know that, but I think what gets lost in translation in this aspect is the real teams that are contending. There are really about four or five teams, in my mind, the Lakers being one of them.
As much as we’ll be talking about the Lakers ad nauseam, I think some things people should be paying attention to was that it was said that Ben Simmons will be practicing and doing five-on-five and some of the other stuff. I’m excited to see the redemption of Ben Simmons. I’m hopeful that is a thing. I think he has a lot to prove. We’re a season-and-a-half away from the James Harden and Ben Simmons trade. Many people would say the Sixers won, but then, you know, there was a big snafu with the whole James Harden thing in the summertime. I want to see how that plays out as well.
I still think [the Philadelphia 76ers] have the potential to be contenders in the East, at the very least, but the Boston Celtics may have a few things to say about that. [The Celtics] gave up Marcus Smart, [and] they did add Kristaps Porzingis. Some may consider [Porzingis] an injury-prone problem, and from the defensive part of it, I think the Celtics will miss [Smart]. There’s a lot there.
Then there’s the Chris Paul, as well as Draymond Green, Steph Curry, Klay Thompson situation. Who will start? Will the Warriors give Klay the extension? There’s a lot that I’m paying attention to there, as well.
With the cancellation of Bryant Gumbel and Bomani Jones’ shows, and the new additions on “First Take” and “Undisputed,” there appears to be a shift in mainstream sports media from smart Black men to former athletes who play a character on air. How do you feel about that?
I see where you’re coming from.
I think there are some other factors involved in this process. No. 1 is ratings. No. 2, if you look at the strike in Hollywood and all that has come with that, it’s not just sports broadcasting; it’s also entertainment, where certain roles with people who are intelligent Black men might be affected as well. But again, it goes back to the point about ratings. If the numbers aren’t where they need to be, you have to can it.
