It’s Impossible Not to Love Boban Marjanovic After Seeing His Interview on ‘Inside the NBA’
Boban is a delight
As a player, Mavericks center Boban Marjanovic is totally unremarkable. He’s played five seasons for five different teams, never averaging more than 14 minutes per game. Set aside the fact that he’s 7'4", and he’s just like any of the dozens of role players who fill out NBA rosters.
And yet, he’s a fan favorite everywhere he goes. During his rookie season in San Antonio, one Spurs fan got Boban’s face shaved into his head. In Philadelphia, fans eagerly followed the bromance between Marjanovic and Tobias Harris (Bobi and Tobi, as they were known).
Being a role player like Marjanovic means it’s difficult to break through on a national stage, though. He’s never going to light up the scoreboard or hit a game-winning shot. But the guys on TNT’s Inside the NBA were kind enough to spend part of Wednesday night’s Mavericks-Clippers halftime show highlighting Marjanovic’s contributions. (He had 10 points and seven rebounds in the first half, finishing the game with 13 and nine in just 10 minutes on the court.) After Dallas upset the Clips, 127–114, it was Boban—not Luka Doncic or Kristaps Porzingis—who put on the headset to talk with Charles, Shaq, Kenny and Ernie. He’d never been interviewed by those guys before, and he was so excited to finally get the chance.
“It’s my first time here and I’m nervous, and I’m scared because my headphones don’t fit on my ears and my head,” he said to start the interview. “If I break it, I’ll buy a new one.”
The interview was five minutes long, and it doesn’t really work to pick out just one clip and say, “This is why you should love Boban.” Carve a couple of minutes out of your day and watch the whole thing. His infectious enthusiasm, sharp sense of humor and humility were on full display throughout the whole segment. He didn’t fall back on we-played-hard-type clichés. He balanced serious answers with comedy. It was exactly the kind of interview fans want to see from a player. It took a guy who’s literally larger than life and humanized him.
If I absolutely must pick one highlight from the interview, it was Boban’s interaction with Shaq at the very end. During the halftime show, Shaq bestowed Boban with a new nickname: “You Rang?” (It’s a reference to the catchphrase of the hulking butler Lurch on The Addams Family.) Before Shaq let Boban go, he wanted to hear him do his best Lurch impression.
How can you not love that guy? In a league full of strong personalities, he’s as fun as anybody.
Did he really do that?
Well, we may have seen the last of Thom Brennaman on our television screens.
Brennaman, known nationally as an NFL broadcaster for Fox, was caught on a hot mic using an anti-LGBTQ slur during the first game Wednesday’s Reds doubleheader. Incredibly, he still called the second game of the night. Even more incredibly, he interrupted his own apology to call a home run from Nick Castellanos ... that went into the stadium’s ***JUDGMENT FREE ZONE***.
Truly surreal.
Here’s the complete—and completely inadequate—apology from Brennaman gave (transcribed in full at Awful Announcing if you’d rather read it) before handing things over to studio host Jim Day to call the rest of the game.
Brennaman has since been suspended indefinitely by the Reds.
The best of SI
Alex Prewitt spoke with several NFL players who opted out of the season about how they arrived at the decision. ... This elementary school teacher spent his summer break wrestling in AEW. ... UNC football inadvertently finds itself in a bubble, and what are the ethical implications? ... Offensive numbers have been very weird for this very weird baseball season.
Around the sports world
Arch Manning, Peyton and Eli’s nephew, who Ross Dellenger profiled for SI in February, debuted as the No. 5 player in the recruiting class of 2023 rankings from 247Sports. ... ESPN has an in-depth story about Rey Mysterio’s son Dominik’s journey to follow in his father’s footsteps as a WWE wrestler.
The Sixers are in big trouble after getting blown out by the Celtics and falling behind 2–0 in the series
Oh, look, another Padres grand slam against the Rangers
That’s a wood-chopping swing
Pretty good
Chiefs DB Bashaud Breeland confirmed his PED suspension by posting a clip of a music video he released in 2019
Alternate universe Ovi
How can you not love this guy?
John Tortorella was in no mood to talk after the Blue Jackets got eliminated
Not sports
A new book claims to have solved the mystery of the “lost” colony of Roanoke. ... Sacha Baron Cohen has been spotted filming as Borat. ... A Missouri doctor had his license revoked after he amputated a patient’s toe on the porch of his office. ... Olivia Wilde will direct a female-centric Marvel movie, perhaps based on Spider-Woman.
A documentary on Action Park is long overdue
(The infamous amusement park was also the subject of a 2019 SI story by Jack McCallum.)
19-year-old student flawlessly plays a notoriously difficult violin piece
This looks like a cool movie that I absolutely won’t be going to a theater for
A surprisingly straightforward explanation of how color works
A good song
Email dan.gartland@si.com with any feedback or follow me on Twitter for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. Bookmark this page to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.
