Television and Facebook show pairs up two pals who’ve got game
Shiller and Liffmann’s lively, on-screen chemistry propels their popular sports program
Drew Shiller is incredulous. Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference finals between Golden State and Houston is barely a minute old and mercurial Warriors forward Draymond Green has already been hit with a technical foul for shoving Rockets guard James Harden.
“What the heck is Draymond doing?!” he blurts while watching the replay on a big-screen TV. “That’s crazy! That could have been a flagrant.”
Shiller’s best pal, Grant Liffmann, nods his head in agreement. As the Rockets race out to an early lead, he’s concerned that Green — and the Warriors — need to maintain their cool.
“They’re so amped up,” he says. “It might take them a while to settle down.”
The two men, known to NBC Sports Bay Area viewers and Facebook fans as the “Warriors
Outsiders,” are huddled — with laptops at the ready — in a cramped San Francisco office. It’s game time and they’re deep into their homework.
Since the 2016-17 NBA season, Shiller and Liffmann have headlined a lively, offbeat, scaleddown, and occasionally irreverent program that has become a must-see for diehard denizens of Dub Nation. So naturally, we jumped at a chance to spend some behind-thescenes time with the duo to get a feel for how their playbook comes together.
Here’s what we learned while taking in Game 1 (and plenty of pizza):
To people who know them, it comes as no surprise that Liffman and Shiller, both 31, have a great on-screen chemistry that fuels plenty of spirited exchanges and some occasional trash talk. They grew up playing sports in the same youth leagues and were classmates at Burlingame High School.
“We were inseparable,” Liffmann says. “We always sat together in class. … I think I even got Drew kicked out of math class once.”
At Burlingame, Shiller was a three-sport legend who had his number retired in football, baseball and basketball, before going on to play point guard for Stanford (2009-10).
“He was just a little bit better than me,” jokes Liffmann. “During our senior year, we had his jersey retirement rally. I led the group that booed.”
(By the way, they remained friends through college, even though Shiller went to Stanford and Liffmann to Cal).
Starting with the Facebook component, which enables them to interact with fans, the “Outsiders” strived to veer away from the look and feel of the typical pre- or post-game sports show. On camera, they favor T-shirts over suits and ties. The set is about as bare-bones as it can be. And there are not a lot of what Shiller calls “slick, produced-up” elements.
“We simply wanted to
bring the perspective of two guys in our age group talking about the Warriors and using social media and addressing things happening in those spaces,” he says. “It’s just us talking pretty much the whole time and the fans are kind of having a conversation back with us.”
The format apparently has caught on. NBCSBA now has a “Giants Outsiders” show, and early this year, NBC Sports Northwest launched a “Trail Blazers Outsiders” program.
Although it’s obvious that they know their stuff, Liffmann and Shiller have plenty of fun and refuse to take themselves too seriously.
When, for example, a Facebook viewer on this night notes that, “You guys are dorks, but you’re getting paid,” Shiller doesn’t miss a beat.
“That’s pretty sweet when you think about it,” he replies with a grin.
“Yes,” Liffmann agrees, “a good troll always gets the blood going.”
Don’t be fooled. While “Warriors Outsiders” has a casual, free-wheeling feel to it, the hosts are putting in the work.
As the game plays on, Shiller frequently leaps from his chair to film various plays with his iPhone to post on social media. And during commercial breaks, their heads are buried in their laptops, taking notes, studying stats and discussing what topics to address on the show.
And again, they’re seeking the kind of offbeat material that won’t be featured in other places.
Says Shiller, “The kind of highlights we like are either something funny, or something that really breaks down a certain aspect of the game — like all the subtle things that Draymond Green does that, perhaps, you didn’t see. Maybe it’s Draymond tipping out a rebound. No one highlights that, but we want to show that stuff.”
Fun fact: After graduating from Cal, Liffmann moved to Los Angeles to try his hand at acting for a few years. Surely, that time spent in front of the camera helped to ease his transition into the role of
quasi host/moderator of “Warriors Outsiders.”
By the way, Liffmann’s Hollywood credits include, among other roles, an appearance in “The Young and the Restless” and playing a groomsman in the big-screen film “Gone Girl.”
“Blink and you’ll miss me,” he says of the latter.
During the NBA playoffs, “Warriors Outsiders” goes into overtime, with shows before and after each game. But you get the
feeling these guys could go even longer if they had to.
“We’re all amped up when we get on. And the time just flies by,” insists Liffmann. “We always feel like we could talk for another three hours. But I don’t know if anyone wants to hear us for another three hours.”