Who determines who should be interviewed and who not be interviewed? Klay Thompson isn’t cool with ESPN interviewing one Ronnie Singh, Aka Ronnie 2K, and he slammed the network for stooping so low to grant Ronnie an audience.
Yard Barker got more;
ESPN aired an interview on Monday’s episode of “NBA Today” with Ronnie Singh (popularly known by his nickname, “Ronnie 2K”). Singh officially serves as the digital marketing director for the popular “NBA 2K” video game and has effectively become the face of the franchise.
The Golden State Warriors star Thompson was not at all pleased to see Singh receiving a platform on ESPN.
“Y’all really interviewed this clown?” Thompson wrote in an Instagram comment. “I thought NBA on ESPN meant coverage of some of the best athletes in the world. Not interviewing a promoter …. Do better ESPN.”
In fairness, Thompson has a personal axe to grind with Singh and the rest of the “NBA 2K” team. Earlier in the offseason, the four-time NBA champion put “NBA 2K” on blast for giving him a supposedly disrespectful rating.
Unless they are maxed out at 99 overall (which has only happened a handful of times in the game’s history), NBA players hardly ever agree with their 2K ratings. But as the brand’s best-known ambassador, Singh bears the brunt of the backlash for the ratings decisions. Around this time last year, the wife of one top NBA star also got into a heated beef with Singh over the game.
Ronnie loves the free publicity.
Approximately 214 NBA players constructed a post about their rating on a social platform before the game released this month per Singh, and the debate and circulation that each rating sequesters is invaluable in the cutthroat game of obtaining eyeballs. And the best part is, Singh and his staff don’t pay a dime for it.
“Other brands are paying significant money for those kind of postings. And we don’t — we have a strict policy to not do that.”
Marketing mantras aside, Singh is sure to downplay his impact on the game’s popularity in comparison to the hundreds of members of the development team. Without a great product to take to market, his job would present its fair share of challenges.
“The game is so good and it keeps getting better and bigger and more mindblowing. I’m very lucky that I work at a company with a bunch of really brilliant people that allow me to just put some gasoline on the fire. I’m one of 400, and I am very lucky to work with the people that I work with.”
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