LI's Brad Parker finds a niche as NBA fan/journalist/content creator with theScore

An “elevator pitch” is business-speak for making a connection and impression so quickly it can be done in the span of an elevator ride.

Brad Parker took that literally.

Three years ago, he was on an elevator to his Manhattan apartment when he struck up a conversation with a stranger who also lived in the building.

Turned out it was a guy named Aubrey Levy, head of content and marketing at “theScore,” a popular website, mobile app and social media presence.

If it were a rom-com, it would have been a meet-cute moment. This was the business equivalent.

Parker had Levy at “NBA.” Not to mention his aptitude for generating viewer-friendly content around his favorite sport and league.

“One thing led to another, and I’m literally giving him an elevator pitch,” said Parker, 32, who grew up in North Woodmere.

Soon he was showing Levy video content he had created in his job at “HOOP” magazine, including athlete interviews, basketball trick shots and the like.

A few days later, theScore contacted him, offering freelance work that later turned into a full-time gig, which he calls his “dream job.”

“What was immediately evident from my chance elevator meeting with Brad was his sheer passion for the NBA and willingness to hustle to do what he loves,” Levy said.

“His creativity and skill set are a great fit with our sports media operation, showing a knack for identifying and producing stories that resonate with fans.”

That, basically, is the job. Parker is a hybrid fan/journalist who in addition to providing commentary and trick-shot videos also does actual interviews.

But not the traditional kind. When assigned to events such as the NBA Finals, All-Star Game or Summer League, he eschews standard quotes from stars and seeks out more off-beat fare with less-heralded players.

For example: Kibitzing with Golden State’s Gary Payton II during the 2022 Finals about how he would do against his Hall of Fame father in his prime in a game of one-on-one.

“I have my phone in my hand,” Parker said. “I think to myself, ‘What can I do to be different? What can I do to stand out?’”

So while most media members focused on the likes of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, Parker looked elsewhere.

“I see a fun-loving guy like Gary Payton II and he’s not getting much attention from the media, and I know he’s a personality,” Parker said. “I know his dad is a household name. He’s a known guy. He probably has a lot to say.”

Payton II said he would beat his father, 11-0. “That video went absolutely viral,” Parker said.

A few weeks later, he saw Payton again at the Summer League in Las Vegas and asked whether he would stick by his answer.

“He was cracking up,” Parker said. “I'm expecting a 10-, 15-second answer. He was speaking to me for a minute-and-a-half about how he's doubling down and how he crushes his dad one-on-one. That video went viral as well.”

Parker stressed that he respects the role traditional reporters play and the need to feature star players in their coverage.

But in the crowded sports media environment, standing apart to stand out has its privileges. Parker, a Hewlett High School alumnus, has a knack for it, which he said he comes by naturally.

He majored in journalism and communications at the University at Buffalo, but that only hinted at what was to come.

“I didn't take the normal path, for sure,” he said. “If you think about it, you can't major in content-creating these days in college. You can't do that. I would have done it. I would have loved it.”

Sometimes his content strays from sports. In 2020, a video of his then-97-year-old grandmother, Beatrice Rothenberg, dancing to Drake’s “Toosie Slide,” landed on “Good Morning America.”

Rothenberg recently turned 99 1/2. Parker has big plans for her 100th birthday.

“How many people are fortunate enough to have a 99-year-old grandma who's also down to create content with them?” he said.

But basketball is his bread-and-butter. Long before he was creating content professionally, he began amassing a collection of more than 200 vintage NBA jerseys – focused primarily on the 1990s.

The collection has appeared in his videos and last month was featured by NBA.com.

It all is part of the package for a sports media figure in 2023 who admits he is a “fan first” but has parlayed that into something more.

Some luck and some pluck helped. But where does this go from here? Will 32-year-old social media whizzes eventually have to grow up and be old-school journalists?

“I can't even think of an adjustment I would make because that's so me,” Parker said. “It's so authentic to who I am as a journalist, as a reporter, as someone who's telling an athlete's story.

“So I can't imagine a world where I'm changing up my style. Of course, we live in a world where you have to adjust to things. But no one really knows where the industry is going. I feel like I found my niche, so I'm going stick with it as long as I can.”

By Neil Best

neil.best@newsday.com@sportswatch

Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.