While everyone else in the NFL world was busy watching Raiders-Chiefs, Adam Schefter was working his sources for news on the Raptors’ bench.
Schefter did his best Woj impression
While everyone else in the NFL world was busy watching Raiders-Chiefs, Adam Schefter was working his sources for news on the Raptors’ bench.
In the middle of the third quarter, as Patrick Mahomes and the gang were working on a 93-yard touchdown drive, Schefter broke some extremely minor NBA news. The Toronto Raptors would be signing former Hawks swingman DeAndre’ Bembry.
Schefter straying from his usual beat did not go unnoticed by his NBA counterpart, Adrian Wojnarowski.
Though he’s an NFL reporter by trade, it’s not unheard of for Schefter to break some NBA news. In July 2013, he reported that Dwight Howard’s free agency decision was “totally up in the air.” Not the most ground-breaking scoop, but a juicy little rumor at the height of the free agency frenzy.
Schefter’s ESPN bio describes him as a “diehard NBA fan,” an obsession he told Peter King was sparked by playing $3 daily fantasy games. When Schefter signed a five-year contract extension with ESPN in 2016, the network promised a few NBA sideline reporting assignments as a way to sweeten the deal. Those assignments have been sporadic but Schefter isn’t such a stranger to NBA fans anymore.
Perhaps what people found so funny about Schefter breaking the Bembry news is just how inconsequential it is. Unless you’re an obsessive Atlantic 10 fan or intimately familiar with the bench rotation of one of the worst teams in the NBA, there’s no reason to know who Bembry is. He averaged 6.2 points in 19.4 minutes per game during his four years in Atlanta. Schefter getting that scoop is like Woj reporting on the Chiefs signing Alex Okafor.
It shouldn’t be surprising that Schefter is breaking news outside of his usual beat. Whether it’s the NFL or NBA, reporting is all about knowing the right people. In this case, Bembry is represented by the same agency (CAA) that also represents Schefter. The sports world can be pretty small.
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