Before the first regular-season game is played, one of the NBA's biggest media events takes place.

NBA Media Day.

Players pose for photos, answer questions, record promotional material and speak publicly about the season ahead.

For fans, it's one of the first signs that another NBA season is approaching.

For someone trying to work in sports, it's also a great example of just how many careers exist around the game.

Look Behind the Player Being Interviewed

When you watch an NBA Media Day interview, your attention naturally goes to the player.

Now look at everyone surrounding that player.

Reporters.

Broadcasters.

Camera operators.

Producers.

Photographers.

Social media teams.

Communications professionals.

Content creators.

Public relations staff.

All of those people are working in basketball.

NBA Media Day demonstrates an important lesson for anyone trying to break into the industry:

The people telling the story of the game can build careers in basketball too.

From a Peach Basket to a Global Sports Industry

Basketball's growth is remarkable when you consider where the game started.

James Naismith invented basketball at Springfield College in 1891 using a soccer ball and peach baskets.

Today, the sport supports professional leagues, college programs, international competitions, women's basketball, media companies, agencies and countless businesses around the world.

SMWW Founder and President Dr. Lynn Lashbrook, who attended Springfield College, sees that history as an example of just how far opportunities in basketball have come.

“Did James Naismith ever envision what the peach basket would change in the world? The global opportunities for working in basketball, both men's and women's, as well as college basketball, have never been greater.”

— Dr. Lynn Lashbrook, President & Founder, Sports Management Worldwide

Those opportunities extend well beyond playing or coaching.

Basketball needs professionals who can scout players, analyze data, manage athletes, create content, broadcast games, market organizations and operate teams.

Sports Organizations Have Become Media Companies

Professional teams no longer rely entirely on television networks and newspapers to communicate with fans.

They produce their own content every day.

Teams create interviews, podcasts, social videos, documentaries, graphics, behind-the-scenes features and live programming.

That creates career opportunities in:

• Sports broadcasting

• Digital content

• Social media

• Journalism

• Communications

• Public relations

• Video production

• Photography

• Podcasting

• Content strategy

The ability to understand basketball is important.

The ability to communicate basketball to an audience can become a career skill.

You Have to Do More Than Know Basketball

Knowing every player on an NBA roster doesn't automatically prepare someone to work in sports media.

Professionals have to know how to interview.

How to tell a story.

How to speak on camera.

How to research.

How to create compelling content.

And perhaps most importantly, how to communicate clearly.

Those skills take practice.

SMWW's Sports Broadcasting Course gives aspiring broadcasters an opportunity to develop practical skills while learning from professionals with experience in sports media.

Explore SMWW Sports Broadcasting

The Digital Side of Sports Media Keeps Growing

Broadcasting is only part of today's sports-media landscape.

One interview at NBA Media Day can quickly become a television segment, YouTube video, Instagram Reel, TikTok, podcast discussion and dozens of social posts.

That creates another growing career path: sports content strategy.

Teams need people who understand how to identify a story and turn it into content designed for different audiences and platforms.

SMWW's Sports Media & Content Strategy Course focuses on that rapidly changing side of the industry.

Explore SMWW Sports Media & Content Strategy

Don't Just Watch the Interview

The next time you're watching NBA Media Day, don't only listen to what the player says.

Look at the operation surrounding the interview.

Someone booked it.

Someone researched it.

Someone asked the questions.

Someone filmed it.

Someone edited it.

Someone posted it.

Someone decided how the story should be told.

Those are basketball careers.

From the NBA and WNBA to college basketball and the international game, the opportunities surrounding basketball reach far beyond the court.

As Dr. Lashbrook's connection to Springfield College reminds us, basketball has come an extraordinary distance from Naismith's original peach baskets.

The next chapter will require another generation of professionals to help tell its stories and grow the game.

Don't just follow basketball. Find your place in it.