Welcome to a new series where we sit down and chat with cool, influential and interesting people who have great taste, to hear about the products they love the most.
A man of many tweets and many hats, NBA insider Shams Charania covers all the ins and outs of The Association for Stadium and The Athletic as well as hosting the NBA-centric show Run It Back on FanDuel TV alongside Michelle Beadle, Chandler Parsons and Lou Williams. A 29-year-old who’s been breaking news about the NBA since he was in his teens, Charania is based in Chicago but is on the road constantly to watch games, conduct interview and collect content. Have phone, will travel.
Unlike some of his insider peers like Adam Schefter who covers the NFL for ESPN, that’s just phone, singular. “I’ve never tried the two-phone approach. I’m one of those people who’s incredibly loyal to my one phone and my one number,” Charania tells InsideHook. “I feel like if I had a second phone, it would be hard for me to give it the same amount of attention. I don’t even want to do that to a phone, even though it isn’t a person, I’m going to stay loyal to my phone.”
Three-Time Champ Sam Cassell Discusses Life on the Road in the NBA
A rookie in the early ’90s, the 54-year-old coach has spent three decades travelingSo what kind of phone is he loyal so? We chatted with Shams about some of the everyday items that assist him in his coverage of all things NBA.
I always, always get the latest phone because the new one hopefully has a little bit more speed to it and is updated thoroughly and fully. If it keeps me even a bit ahead of getting text messages, having apps transfer over, going from one app to or clicking in and out of things, if it’s even 0.05 milliseconds ahead, it helps me on my day to day. I’m also loyal to AirPod Pros, always. Not the ones with the silicone in them.
When I’m covering a game, I’ve always worn a suit. A decade-plus later, I’m not going to change that. But when I’m on a show like Run It Back, I’m allowed to be a little more casual and change my repertoire a bit. For me, bomber jackets have been a big part of that. I like having a lot of those and I have a lot of jackets from AllSaints. If it’s something I know is presentable in a business-type setting and casual, I’ll wear it on a show like Run It Back. You’re never going to see me in a neon sweatshirt.
I wear a lot of John Geiger shoes. It’s a boutique brand and they specialize in different colors and makes. In my day-to-day, I’m not tied to one. It’s Nike, it’s Adidas, it’s Puma, it’s Under Armour. If I’m working out or playing basketball, I’ll be in anything. But for casual day-to-day settings, I wear John Geiger’s Low Volt.
I’m big on eating apples throughout the day. I’ll have one apple a day and I’ll carry Nature Valley bars sometimes. I don’t really carry chips around with me, but I will have Planters tropical fruit and nut trail mix. For meals, if I’m at a hotel, I’ll eat at the hotel. I tend to be on the lazier side after a full day if I’m on the road. And I use DoorDash a lot.
I always have a notebook with me, but I lose pens all the time so I always travel with my iPad too. I bring Anker charging ports with me in case my iPad or phone stays dying. It’s either usually an Anker or a Mophie charger. I just lost my Mophie, but I had a Miady charger to spare. I have a bunch of chargers and a bunch of different cords to stay charged.
NBA League Pass is important. I can’t miss a night of games. If there’s a game on, whatever it is, I’m watching. If you tally it up, maybe there’s like 20 instances I’ll be missing a night. You can’t track every game, but I’ll always be paying attention on game night. Every day is a learning experience and every day I’m on the hunt to try to find more out about what’s going on in the league I cover. That’s what drives me.
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