Social Media Gives Fan Access to Thunder
Social media is opening doors to fans that were once reserved for those who were lucky enough to be credentialed and go into the locker rooms of the teams they covered. Now, you can get a direct, more honest answer from your favorite athlete on Twitter than most seasoned journalists get in an exclusive one on one interview.
Even if it was coming from burner accounts, Kevin Durant was more truthful about why he left Oklahoma City with a teenager during a Twitter discussion than any point we tried to corner him about his future. The Lesson here, if you want to know what a sports star is thinking, hit them up.
That's what Garret Offenburger did. As the NBA was getting ready to reboot, he seized on the opportunity to reach out to journeyman Iman Shumpert to see if he would be willing to sign with the Thunder. Offenburger took to Instagram and made a recruiting video explaining why Shumpert would be a good fit for the Thunder.
By tagging the former Knick in his post he got a response, "I would have no problem coming to Oklahoma City." That response set off enough of a reaction to whet the appetite of Thunder fans looking for that final piece to the playoff puzzle.
So far, Shumpert has not signed with any teams heading to Orlando for the NBA reboot, and unless Sam Presti chooses to waive another player, Oklahoma City's roster is set. But, for a good 48 hours, Offenburger's brazen attempt at securing the Thunder's future caught some buzz.
He probably didn't get the credit he deserved, as most outlets were crediting Instagram, but that's not the point. The point is you have the power and the access to get ahold of these guys any time you want, so use it.
Who knows, you might break the next big story in sports.
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