Aussies in NBA: Bogut talks season success, Twitter and media responsibility
Repeat championships have never been a given. Even the ageless and fluid machine that is the San Antonio Spurs have never managed to do so. It might be bad luck in some cases, but winning it all once, is enough for many players to lose the competitive hunger that's a prerequisite to the promised land.
This, however, doesn't seem like a problem for Andrew Bogut and the Golden State Warriors.
It's probably a serious understatement to say that the Dubs are having a barnstormer of a season so far. After beating the Hornets 116-99 in their last game, their record now stands at 20-0, with every win extending the record for longest win streak to begin a season. For all the doubt and noise in the offseason about how the Dubs were 'lucky' to win the title last season, this white-hot form has utterly removed all doubt over their championship credentials.
In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Bogey credits team continuity and the aforementioned doubting Thomases for the razor-sharp start to the season.
"We just brought back pretty much the same team and the same coaches, so there weren't a lot of changes – I think we just flowed right into the season. We had some motivation with everyone's comments during the offseason that we were lucky and whatnot; we have a lot of guys who are pretty proud of what we achieved and pretty pissed off at what people have said about how we achieved it. It's just more fuel to try to get that back-to-back."
This vim and vigour has found its way to the Twitter-verse as well. After the win over the Utah Jazz on November 30th, Ben Dowsett, an associate editor at Salt City Hoops and a senior writer at Basketball Insiders, had things to say about the Warriors, criticizing their alleged behaviour following the victory.
https://twitter.com/Ben_Dowsett/status/671556475458682880?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/Ben_Dowsett/status/671556961138274304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The response from the Warriors was pretty swift, with Bogut getting in the act as well.
https://twitter.com/Money23Green/status/671724506642190341?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/StephenCurry30/status/671734906280480768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/andrewbogut/status/671731810854825984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/andrewbogut/status/671732309243002884?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Bogut takes some pleasure in debating with fans and critics alike on Twitter:
"If someone pisses me off, it's always fun to get back at them. It's good to get into it with fans. A lot of people don't realize that most of my tweets are very sarcastic, or you know, I'm usually joking a lot. But most people using the Internet can't judge context, so a lot of stupid people get fired up and think I'm serious. Generally, 99 percent of my tweets are not serious at all. That's just a part of it now: There are a lot of dumb people out there making a big deal out of things that aren't serious."
Bogey's final word on the 'eavesdroppers' came in a civil exchange with Ethan Sherwood Strauss.
https://twitter.com/andrewbogut/status/671740307956887552
There is definitely a discussion to be had here about credentialed personnel's media responsibility. Should they only be reporting what they obtain from interviews, or should anything that goes on in the locker room be considered fair game?
A lot of the juicier quotes and information come from media members having a good relationship with the players. Writers like Strauss can have a buddy-buddy exchange with players like Bogut because of these relationships. But what if something not-so-pretty occurs? Does the journalist put his (no doubt painstakingly) cultivated relationships in potential jeopardy to report it?
It's a thin and very difficult line for media personnel to straddle. As for us readers, it's important to be discerning about what we read as well. Bogey has a point about certain media members being undeserving of their passes, but as he himself admits, it can be tough to separate the wheat from the chaff. Active and engaged reading on our part would help make sure the better ones get the recognition and credit they deserve.