THE REMARKER • APRIL 9, 2020
PAGE
SPORTS
27
NBA WRITER
Talking all things basketball
After enduring a long process, Jonathan Tjarks ’05 is now a national NBA writer for The Ringer, regularly profiling NBA stars.
J
onathan Tjarks ’05 watches courtside at the American Airlines Center before tip-off of the Dallas Mavericks–Miami Heat 2012 Christmas Day showdown –– Miami’s chance to avenge their 2011 Finals defeat suffered at the hands of the Mavericks. He can count the hundreds of times he’s watched NBA stars on TV, but now, he’s actually there on the court with media credentials for the first time. It just feels different in a way he could never have imagined. He’s beside Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki. Then he’s right beside the Miami Heat’s “Big Three” of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. He glances up as LeBron makes it down the court in what seems like just three strides before throwing down a one-handed jam. No one seems to miss a shot on either side. Swish after swish. Even by bench players. They’re way bigger, way faster, way quicker than he thought –– something he couldn’t grasp until he stepped foot on the court — and he loves every part of the experience. But this is only a part-time gig for Tjarks. Blogging on his own at night while working a day job, Tjarks is simply unwilling to give up on his desire to ultimately assert himself on the national scene among NBA journalists. Fast forward eight years later, and Tjarks is now a prominent NBA national media member, earning recognition for telling the stories of the NBA biggest superstars and trying to be one step ahead of his peers in finding compelling content. ••• Tjarks began his career as a sports journalist back at 10600 Preston Road, where he served as sports editor of The ReMarker in the 2004-2005 school year and discovered his passion for story-telling. After graduating from the University of Texas at Austin, Tjarks felt uncertain about where his life would lead him; although, what he was certain of was his undeniable love for both the game of basketball and journalism. “I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with myself; I knew I really loved journalism,” Tjarks said. “I played a little bit too, so I thought, ‘What if I could combine what I know about basketball and what I know about journalism so it’s one thing?’ So, I decided to try to do that.” Tjarks launched his career first as an NBA writer at SB Nation, a sports media company known for its blogs, where he eventually assumed the role of managing editor in 2012 for Mavs Moneyball, SB Nation’s Mavericks focused blogsite. In addition to writing for SB Nation, Tjarks also contributed to Real GM, a website providing stats,
news and rumors from the NBA, up until 2016. “I was just writing on my own; it was a really slow process of blogging, making connections then moving to a bigger site,” Tjarks said. “Before I got to The Ringer in 2016, it was six years of a really slow process of moving up in the internet world, developing a following and making connections.” Now, as a staff writer for The Ringer, a sports and pop culture media company started by basketball media icon Bill Simmons, Tjarks is a national NBA media member, tasked with the responsibility to keep up with all 30 teams on a nightly basis as opposed to just one team. “I try to vaguely follow everything, and then when I find a story I like, I’ll try to zoom in on it,” Tjarks said. “The last thing I wrote before the world started going crazy was about a Detroit Pistons player [Christian Wood]. When something really catches my eye about a player, I’ll start focusing in on the team for a day or two, really watch a bunch of their games, try to talk to some people, look at the numbers and figure out what the story’s going to look like.” Having grown up admiring the work of Bill Simmons, for Tjarks, the fact that he now works under the figure he has always looked up to and forever wanted to emulate still hasn’t sunk in. “[Bill Simmons] was the big guy when I was in high school,” Tjarks said. “He was writing in a different way that no one else was doing. He was showing his personality, he really developed his own voice, he was a guy everyone was reading. Just reading him, it was more personal. He wasn’t some distant figure writing about sports from 30,000 feet. It felt like you knew the guy, and he knew his stuff. So, it was really crazy to end up being hired by him.” Of the numerous feature stories he has written on NBA stars, Tjarks most enjoyed compiling his story on Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic before the 2018-2019 NBA season, predicting Jokic would break out and rise to stardom in the upcoming season. “With my kind of job, it’s all about being first on a story,” Tjarks said. “Everyone’s trying to peg the next big thing. With that story, he kind of blew up that next year, and I was able to be first on him. I was the first guy out there talking to everyone, saying this guy’s the next big star in the NBA. It’s the competition of who can be first, who’s going to plant
STORY William Aniol, Peter Orsak PHOTO Courtesy Jonathan Tjarks
IN THE STUDIO After co-hosting The Ringer NBA Show in The Ringer’s podcast studio, Jonathan Tjarks ’05 (second from right) poses with his coworkers.
the next big star. That was really cool to be first on him and really pinpoint him as one of the best players in the league.” While Tjarks consistently finds himself competing against fellow NBA writers for content, he maintains friendly relationships with other writers around the league. Additionally, Tjarks ensures to never pursue a story that has already been done, instead, focusing on finding new, unique angles on the game’s biggest stars. “A lot of times what will happen with younger writers is they’ll spend all their time on social media, so they end up talking about what everyone else is talking about,” Tjarks said. “You’re competing, but it’s always friendly –– it’s like any industry. It’s like two lawyers competing for the best clients; you’re all doing the same job.” While the COVID-19 pandemic has led to the indefinite suspension of the 2019-2020 NBA season, Tjarks is not worrying tremendously, as he earns You don’t realize the size and speed of a full-time salary at The NBA players when Ringer, a luxury he did not you’re watching it have in his past when he on TV or up in the would only earn money for stands.” Jonathan Tjarks ’05 each piece published. “I don’t think anyone has a plan right now,” Tjarks said. “For me, it worked out well because I had a kid [the week of March 1521], so I’m on parental leave anyways. The original plan was for me to come back for the playoffs in April, so now that there’s no games to write about, I think I’ll just take my time. I’m going to try to take as much time off as I can to spend time with my kid.” Alongside Memphis Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins ’03 as the two Marksmen currently making a living working in the NBA, Tjarks feels there’s a certain bond with someone else who has also been through the school. “It’s just an instant understanding when you see another guy from St. Mark’s, especially when you’re out in the real world,” Tjarks said. “It’s like, ‘I know this guy, I kind of know what he’s about, I know where he’s been and where he has come from.’ It’s a little taste of home.”
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