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Getting access to NBA players has never been easy, especially for those who cover the league every day.
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Reaching today’s biggest stars during the season is even harder. Yet this year alone, names like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, Dillon Brooks and most recently Klay Thompson have all appeared on live streams with YouTubers, giving them the kind of access traditional reporters often struggle to get.
Although it’s not a classic interview format, but rather a much more relaxed vibe, the fact remains that these same YouTube streamers gain exclusive access far more easily than the people who cover the sport daily and the latest case involving the Dallas Mavericks guard particularly unsettled Michael Redd.
“Klay’s one of my favorite guys in the league, so hear me with love here. Saw him pop up on one of these big streams. It just left me uneasy,” Redd wrote on his “X” account. “Klay didn’t do a thing wrong on there. It’s more that watching NBA guys hand their name over to these dudes chasing a viral moment any way they can get it, it’s unnecessary. You’re an NBA player. You already got the platform. What are you going over there for?”
“And some of these streamers especially have been mixed up in weird stuff lately. That’s not an association an NBA guy needs,” he added. “Your name means something. Probably just the old man in me talking. Won’t be the last time. Just how I feel watching one of my favorites out there.”
Thompson almost lost a game of 1-on-1
Of course, the vast majority of these YouTube streams do bring interesting moments to the audience that they wouldn’t have the chance to hear in a classic interview format, though controversial moments rarely come out of them.
Still, last summer KD almost let himself lose a 3-point contest to IShowSpeed, while in a recent stream with PlaqueBoyMax, Thompson almost lost a 1-on-1 after falling behind 0–5 before turning it around.
I beat Kevin Durant at Basketball, new episode out now! pic.twitter.com/JGRWhUc9Px
— Speed⭐️ (@ishowspeedsui) November 12, 2025
It is obviously far from a realistic picture, as Thompson clearly took it all as a joke. Still, in the era of social media, where every move is scrutinized down to the smallest detail, we can only imagine the online reactions had a loss actually occurred.
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PlaqueBoyMax went on the craziest 5-0 run during his 1v1 with NBA star Klay Thompson, freezing him with a nutmeg on the last shot 🔥😳 pic.twitter.com/INYLjW8U7A
— PlaqueBoyMaxUpdates (@PlaqueReport) August 14, 2026
Also, the situation the 2008 Olympic gold medalist referenced was the fact that Klay, after their matchup, said he could see him making it to the level of the Italian third division in Europe.
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Streaming has practically become part of modern culture
Redd, who admitted in his statement that he is very likely just being old-fashioned, doesn’t quite understand why NBA players grant access and insight into their thoughts in this manner to people who aren’t genuinely connected to the game.
Still, we are talking about a younger generation of players who likely grew up watching YouTube streams, as it has practically become part of modern culture, while the format of traditional written interviews has somewhat faded away.
It is all understandable and normal because times simply change, whether you are an elite NBA player or an average fan. As long as everything stays within normal boundaries, as hard as it is for those of us in this profession to accept, we still understand why things are the way they are.
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This story was originally published August 18, 2026 at 3:23 AM.