When sportswriters present unique stories with thoughts and quotes directly from the players they are covering, it provides fans with an opportunity to understand and connect with those players that they previously may not have known about.
To a certain extent.
When the players start writing their own stories – as if they were posting a personal blog entry – it makes that article ten times more interesting because now, every word is coming straight from the mind of the players themselves. There is something great about reading the words directly from them because you know it is 100 percent genuine. It’s just them willingly opening up a part of themselves – and it’s usually something very personal – in a way they normally would not be able to. Thanks to Derek Jeter’s foundation of The Players’ Tribune, we’ve seen the rise of a countless number of intriguing and personal articles. We’ve even had Isaiah Thomas break down in detail who he believes are the best ball handlers in the NBA and why.
On Monday, The Players’ Tribune dropped a piece by former NBA player Dorell Wright (currently signed to play in the CBA), who had some loving and sound advice to share with his younger brother and Toronto Raptors rookie Delon Wright.
Wanna say thank you to the @PlayersTribune for allowing me to write this letter to my Lil Bro http://t.co/bSBAZ6gTLF
— Dorell Wright (@DWRIGHTWAY1) September 30, 2015
In the article, Wright advised his brother to stay away from the card games (which is probably a sound thing to do if you want to avoid these kinds of situations), to understand how to take care of his money, who to listen to in the league, what it means to be a professional, among other valuable insight only an experienced NBA player would have. The post takes you into Wright’s personal world and gives you an idea as to just how much his little brother truly means to him.
Only Delon Wright knows how much of his brother’s advice he will actually follow, but the guard did retweet the article and the sentiments of some of those who deeply appreciated it. Clearly, he is listening at the very least.
Jim Park is a blogger and editor of Sheridan Hoops. Follow him on twitter @SheridanBlog.