Voice in locker room
Bucks’ Terry offers insights on his radio show
The worst thing in the world isn’t to say the wrong thing, it’s to say nothing at all.
That’s Jason Terry’s philosophy with his SiriusXM radio show, “The Runway with Jason Terry.”
In his effort to enlighten, and therefore entertain, his audience, the Milwaukee Bucks reserve guard is going to push topics right to the edge once in awhile. He’s going to speak the truth — at least the way he understands it — at the risk he will reveal too much or ruffle some feathers.
That may mean the 39-yearold three-point ace will have to come back and clarify or correct something he said, but better to do that than commit a broadcasting sin.
“In radio and in TV, there’s something called dead silence,” Terry said. “You never want that dead time on air. ”
Maybe you didn’t even
know Terry had a radio show, but it’s worth a listen, if only because it’s nice to get the inside story from someone actually on the inside. We’ve got enough amped-up analysts and pouty pundits.
Terry offers opinion based on fact. His values come through loud and clear. He respects talent, but he really values guys who work hard.
And Jason Terry has always been one of the best talkers in the NBA — a go-to guy for reporters and analysts — and he saw no reason to wait until retirement to get into the media game.
“A lot of times guys get on the air and they don’t quite tell the whole truth,” Terry said. “I’ll be very truthful.
“I want to be honest, but I also want to enlighten my listeners and give them a perspective of something they wouldn’t already know by watching or listening to a game. That deep, down, dark secretive type of perspective a fan wouldn’t have any idea what goes on about NBA life — that’s what I give. Eighteen years of experience that I’ve had, I have tons of stories to tell, tons of insight.”
Terry shines when he gives in-depth in analysis because he doesn’t try to pass off clichés or overgeneralizations. He throws out statistics, but only when they help tell his story.
His view of the league is current. Terry has played in the league since 1999 and is with his sixth team; his observations have credibility.
Terry was in his second year in Atlanta when he got on a regular radio show with a local station during the season. He liked his co-host, and fans could attend the broadcasts.
“I was a natural,” Terry said. “I’m able to talk and articulate what I want to say and get my point across. And I’m very fan friendly.”
Terry then had an ESPN Radio show while he played in Dallas. It drew an audience of 200300 fans, he estimated, and he did about 15 shows a year for several seasons.
Terry was out of radio for the last four years until SiriusXM Radio approached him about a year ago, just a few months before he signed with the Bucks.
Bucks coach Jason Kidd doesn’t listen — he doesn’t have time — but he isn’t worried about what Terry might say. The two played together in Dallas.
“For Jason, I trust him. He can say whatever he wants,” Kidd said. “If there was something said that shouldn’t have been said, it would have gotten back to me. So far his record is clean.”
Kidd grinned and continued
“He hasn’t said anything that’s out of bounds.
“I think its great. That’s his personality and it shows that basketball players can do different things.”
Terry mostly fields questions from co-host Justin Termine, who knows when to let the player finish his thought. They debate the NBA allstar field, lineups or whatever else is trending around the league.
“I definitely trust him,” Bucks rookie point guard Malcolm Brogdon said. “He’s one of the oldest guys in the NBA. He’s had an amazing career. I think he knows the ins and outs of the business. He knows what to tell, what not to tell; what’s appropriate and what’s inappropriate. As one of the leaders on our team, I think we’ve got to trust him.”
On a recent show when the talk turned to Giannis Antetokounmpo, Terry reinforced what has been said about the Bucks’ all-star but then gave a little more.
“In 15 years in the league, I’ve never seen anything like it: A guy that can play 1-5,” Terry said, referring to the different positions.
“He lives in the gym. He’s always in the gym. He’s always there!” Terry said. “Something that I’ve never seen — and I’ve been around some of the greatest — I’ve never seen a superstar at his age, with the offensive skills that he has, come in and work on …defense.
“One day, he is going to be the defensive player of the year.
“Most guys are shooting spot shots, working on their go-to, he’s in there working on defenses and coverages and rotations, when to be early on the help, how to guard pick and roll. He spends 30-45 minutes on that facet of his game. I’ve never seen that. That’s when you know you have somebody special.”
Terry has said things he later regretted.
“I said Klay Thompson and Kawhi Leonard were not ‘A’ side superstars in the league,” Terry said. “I said they were ‘B’ side.
“It’s an analogy I got from Floyd Mayweather. Every time he fights and goes to a match, he’s the A side. He’s the draw. He’s the attraction.
“The only thing I meant by that was, Klay Thompson, on the team he’s on now, with Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant — fans are paying to see Steph Curry and Kevin Durant. First. Then Klay Thompson. Not that he’s not a superstar in this league. He’s the greatest shooter in our game today. That is not what I meant at all.
“But he took it the other way.
“Kawhi Leonard was the same example. Totally wrong about him. He is a superstar, people pay big money to go see him in San Antonio, he is a franchise player. He’s the best two-way player in our game. He’s somewhat what Scottie Pippen was, but he has no Michael Jordan. He is Michael Jordan for the San Antonio Spurs.
“They were offended. And I went back on air, and apologized.”
In fact, Terry said: “It was a horrible analogy,” on air.
It’s kind of hard to hold a grudge against a guy when he admits he made a mistake.
“When you do find yourself speaking out of turn, or someone is offended by what you’re saying, you either have to clarify your point of view, or you have to go ahead and say, hey, my bad. I was wrong,” Terry said.
“At the end of the day, understand that for me, as a player who is still active, those are your peers. There’s a fine line that you don’t want to cross.”
Terry’s appreciation for storytelling developed when he was a middle-schooler in Seattle who, without the luxury of cable TV, followed his beloved SuperSonics with Kevin Calabro on KJR-AM.
“I just loved how he painted a picture. I felt like I was at the game,” Terry said.
Listening broadened his view of the game, too, allowing him to see it from other angles. By the time he was a player at the University of Arizona he knew what an audience wanted.
Terry went to a weeklong broadcast class at Syracuse University one summer and learned a few tips to polish his onair game.
“Don’t say ‘umm,’” Terry said. “If someone asks you a question, explain thoroughly what you mean. Give the five Ws — the who, what, where, when, why. Don’t ask somebody a question that you wouldn’t want to answer yourself.”
Terry is aware his wife and his daughters listen and still shares some personal stories.
He is on Sirius Channel 207 and XM 86 from 6-7 p.m. Thursdays, live as often as possible. Terry will tape the show on the road if he’s got a Thursday game.
And he never gets tired of it or runs out of things to say.
“No. I love talkin’ ” Terry said. “Especially about the game.”