An inside look at what it’s like to be one of the youngest reporters in a crowded media room.
As I walked over to the luxurious and beautiful New York Lotte Palace on Madison Avenue for pre-NBA Draft interviews with top prospects a day before the draft, my mind was disoriented.
Sure, I had my nice Brooks Brothers shirt I bought just for this event, I was ready to speak to NBA prospects, whether it was Cooper Flagg, Khaman Maluach, or Ace Bailey. I was prepared, and yes, from my time covering NBA games and general networking, I knew enough reporters around that I wouldn’t feel like an outsider or an imposter; it was the fact that this is something I’ve always wanted to do and I’m doing it and much earlier than I anticipated.
I’m not special. Once I realized I wasn’t even going to be 5’7” (thanks mom and dad!) and was not talented enough to be shooting like Steph Curry (which, for my sake, was at a young age), I wanted to do what any other kid wants to do: go into sports media and still be apart of the sports story when they realize their hoop dreams are gonna come up short (literally and figuratively).
This was me nearly 10 years ago when I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up:
From missing school to go to Yankees playoff games (hopefully none of my old teachers are reading this), to coming home from school and hearing Colin Cowherd talk about how Sam Darnold is tougher than an $8 steak, to the numerous Sunday Night Football’s’ I stayed up for in high school just to feel like a mess on the way to school and still be behind on my homework. Watching, listening and going to sports games, just like many kids, is and was a huge part of my identity.
It’s why I early decisioned to Syracuse University, where Bob Costas, Mike Tirico, Scott Hansen, Ian Eagle, Nick Wright, and many other all-time great sports journalists went to college, including the Suns’ play-by-play radio guy, Jon Bloom!
Going to Syracuse has helped open doors for me that I never thought were possible, like covering nearly 10 NBA games while still being in college and getting locker room access, reporting on the 2024 ACC Tournament, and now interning at SNY, where the New York Mets games are broadcasted. All of these experiences have taught me so much, from how to be a better broadcaster, journalist, to person, but something about covering the NBA Draft a few weeks ago just felt different.
Since I’ve realized that what I really want to do is tie my three loves together: food, sports, and talking to people, I’ve been incredibly hard on myself. Whether it’s getting frustrated on how I did in a live shoot for my school’s TV station, the conciseness with which I asked Mike Budenholzer a question at a press conference, to the cadence I speak with on my podcast, Holden Sherman’s Conversations (where I interview young people across the country on their media experiences and goals), I’m always wanting more. I’m always thinking about the next thing I need to do to accomplish my goal of having Gen Z’s version of Hot Ones. Truthfully, it can feel incredibly overwhelming and make it difficult to be present often.
Like marathon runners, who get into a flow state and forget how far they’ve come, when you’re young and everything feels so new and shiny, it can be hard to appreciate, let alone acknowledge the steps you’ve taken to help accomplish your goals because you have no perspective.
Because I’ve known what I wanted to do for so long, I have difficulty taking things slowly. All I want to do is get to the day when I’m talking to Patrick Mahomes the day after he wins his 13th Super Bowl as we’re sharing my homemade Birria Tacos or Chicken Vodka Parm and he’s telling me about what was going through his mind on the game-winning drive after the Chiefs were down 14 with 7 minutes to go.
The draft, however, was not only a first step in helping me soak in every moment of my journey, but also one that helped me get closer to my goals. The madness surrounding me forced me to truly immerse myself in the unique experience.
My wifi went out when the Suns selected Khaman Maluach, so I had to adjust and get a quick reaction to the selection and Mark Williams trade as soon as possible on Twitter, instead of updating our live article, I had soundbites I needed to get out fast so people could see them when they were most relevant and I’ve never transcribed a 1-on-1 interview in my life faster than the one I did with Khaman Maluach.
— Bright Side of the Sun (@BrightSideSun) June 26, 2025
In a pressure cooker environment like the draft, where there’s not just reporters from across the country but the world, any soundbite, video, or headline can be up for grabs, and you can miss your chance to be the first one to the scoop.
I didn’t have the time to bask in my own frustrations or trepidations; I had to keep reporting or someone else would get information before I did. I was the only Suns reporter there, but many people did stories with Maluach, including the great Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame member and ESPN and Andscape’s Marc J. Spears. Spears actually gave me great advice when I spoke to him, which was to make sure to always find a way to make your work is distinctive from others.
With the crazy atmosphere and sheer number of people doing the same thing as I did, I felt like a pro. When I’ve covered Suns’ East Coast games, Bright Side Managing Editor John Voita trusts me, he knows that I know what to do and how to do it in a way that will best help all Bright Side readers get the best experience possible. Fortunately, because John is awesome, he trusted me again at the draft.
As a writing team we spoke a little bit about planning but I mainly once again had free rein, and with my chance to get great access to all things in the NBA world at that time, I felt obligated to get as much content as possible, which is why on the Bright Side Twitter account there was a lot of soundbites from many players, including some who weren’t likely to be a Sun or didn’t end up one at all.
With the opportunity being such a unique one, I had to take advantage, which is where I needed to not only know how to navigate the maze that they call the Barclays Center, but also of the one called sports journalism on a deadline, meaning you can’t get fixated on your every move and that you need to forget about your missed opportunities like Dion Waiters would chuck up another three even if he was 0-of-9 before it (Go Syracuse!).
There are a few things I wish I had done a little bit better.
I wish I had asked Khaman Maluach a few more questions in my 1-on-1, including diving a bit deeper into his talk about how being delusional helped him get drafted. It would have been nice if I were more concise in some of my questions to prospects when there were other reporters around, but in this particular instance, I recognize that’s just called doing a job and not being perfect. I’ve seen and read enough reporters reporting reports to know no one is perfect and we all in life have things we want to work on, and good can’t be the enemy of great.
While I think it’s undeniable that I am a better reporter than I was before all the draft festivities, a lot of it stems from how my floor is raised because I know how to deal with chaos better. I’m still young and stupid, but at the very least, like how great restaurants know how to work around a broken oven or tables being overbooked, I’ve learned a way to navigate a problem that I had never encountered in a situation with this much at stake.
While it could have been easy for me to just soak in the moment and not care about pace or speed and just enjoy the fact that I was at the draft, the rush of stress that came with every story, tweet or soundbite I published kept me on my feet and enriched the experience.
I got to every event very early like I do for every NBA game I cover, so I was still able to talk to many people including former Suns reporter Gina Mizell, ESPN Front Office NBA Insider Bobby Marks, other college students covering the draft, (all of whom I spoke to on the podcast episode linked above!) and more folks. That was by far one of the best moments of the whole experience, being in a spot where I could speak to people who are doing the same job as me and compare and contrast my experiences to theirs.
Just like my first few NBA games I ever covered, this experience made me think a lot about not just 12-year old Holden who said he wanted to be a sports analyst, but the 18-year old one who stepped on a college campus absolutely terrified and unsure if he could ever do anything in the sports world.
If someone had told me when I graduated high school that just three years later I’d be covering the draft as a credentialed reporter, getting 1-on-1s with lottery picks, moments after they were drafted and speaking to some of my biggest media role models like Tim Bontemps, Spears, Dave McMenamin and Fred Katz, not only would I not have believed them, I would’ve laughed in their face.
It just goes to show you where hard work can go if you give it no boundaries, and a little bit of luck, of course. Hopefully, the All-Star game is next…we shall see!
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