The “Road Trippin'” podcast from Channing Frye and Richard Jefferson on Uninterrupted became a must-listen for NBA fans last year, as the two veterans of the Cavaliers, along with FS Ohio’s Allie Clifton, created one of the best NBA podcasts out there. Frye and Jefferson were able to bring in their teammates for conversations about the Cavs’ third run to the Finals, one that was a bit more stressful and laborious than in 2015-16, and also tell some incredible stories along the way.
Player podcasts allow fans a glimpse behind the facade that athletes so often put up in front of cameras and the assembled media, and when they have fellow players on as guests they often can pry some tremendous stories out of them. From “Road Trippin'” to J.J. Redick’s podcast to Draymond Green’s podcast last year, players have started to find podcasts as a way to go deeper on topics that interest them, tell stories, and provide more context than maybe a minute-long snippet from a press conference might.
This season, Frye and Jefferson have continued the “Road Trippin'” podcast with “RJ vs. Channing” now that Jefferson is no longer on the Cavs, but “Road Trippin'” has also expanded down south to Atlanta. Hawks players Kent Bazemore and Mike Muscala have launched Atlanta’s own “Road Trippin'” podcast in the same vein as that of the original, along with Annie Finberg of Hawks.com.
Like the Cavs’ version, Bazemore and Muscala have leaned early on having members of the Hawks organization on, from majority owner Tony Ressler to minority owner (and former NBA star) Grant Hill to rookie John Collins in their first four episodes. That said, they hope to branch out from the Hawks tree a bit in coming weeks from non-basketball people that Muscala and Bazemore work with on charitable endeavors to others around the league they know.
“Baze is saying he can get Steph Curry on, and that’d be cool,” Muscala said. “Annie had some good ideas on getting some of our former teammates on, like Al Horford, Kyle Korver, Jeff Teague, Paul Millsap. I think that would be great for Atlanta fans and also would be good because we already have relationships and it could be some good banter back and forth.”
However, when they do keep it within the Hawks locker room this season, it’s going to have a different feel and vibe from that of the Cavs simply because the team finds itself in a very different place than Cleveland. Where the Cavs sit at the top of the East, the Hawks are at the beginning of a rebuild and are 5-19 on the season. While the players obviously hope to turn that around, the “Road Trippin'” podcast will be an outlet of sorts for them to discuss more openly the struggles the team is having and how they are approaching this season, understanding the reality of the situation the franchise is in at present.
“Just following us throughout the journey,” Muscala said. “I think, hopefully, it will turn around and they can be part of that and just taking every step along the way with us. Ultimately, that’s what sports and becoming some sort of personality off the court through this podcast is all about. It’s sharing experiences, good and bad, and people being able to relate to what you’re going through and also being able to get some insight into stuff they might be curious about. I want to have more engagement with it and ask some listeners for questions and have nothing off topic and nothing off limits to answer everything truthfully and give some more of that insight.”
That journey will certainly be an interesting one and the podcast can peel back the curtain a bit for fans to see how the players are reacting and dealing with a difficult season. Their most recent episode dips into that, with Bazemore and Muscala discussing the Hawks’ tough start to the season and how it’s been compounded by injuries.
Even with the unique situation of being on a rebuilding squad, there will be plenty of fun conversation simply by having Bazemore and Muscala at the helm means the two most outgoing personalities on the team are running the show. As Baze recalls, since they first arrived in Atlanta they have always been heavily featured by game ops for the goofy videos played on the jumbotron during timeouts because they’re two of the few willing to get into them and have fun.
Now they’ve been handed the keys to a podcast where they can let their personalities shine for fans beyond a 15-second clip.
“Even after being here a year, I’m just now getting to see these guys personalities because they’re finally able to relax and let loose,” Finberg said. “To talk about random stuff, go off on a tangent, or even say stuff that maybe the Hawks don’t necessarily post on their channels like the negativity or the hard stuff. It’s cool to hear these guys just expressing themselves.”
That concept is exciting for Bazemore and Muscala, who get to open up and showcase themselves, their teammates, and their friends around the league beyond what fans see on the court and in more formal interactions with the media.
“I go to work and play against some of the most amazing and bright people in the world,” Bazemore said. “Us NBA guys are very creative and I think it’s becoming kind of a forward thinking league. … It’s organic. It’s authentic. It’s, I guess, locker room talk so to speak — that word is used loosely [laughs]. It’s whatever you want it to be. We don’t have anything we have going into it with what we’re talking about, so it’s whatever’s on your mind and one thing leads to another and you’ve been talking for 45 minutes.”
