Exclusive: NBA Twitter King Rob Perez on the Adam Silver Avatar, His Process, and More

The King of NBA Twitter – Rob ‘World Wide Wob’ Perez – talks about his Adam Silver avatar, the best broadcasting crews, and more.

NBA Twitter is a fun, circus-like space, and at the center of it all is the man known to his nearly 1m followers as World Wide Wob – Rob Perez. A host and producer at Underdog Fantasy, Perez has contributed to FanDuel, The Action Network, and SportsGrid. Perez (@WorldWideWob) is also a must-follow on Twitter if you’re an NBA fan, as his blend of clips, analysis, pop culture, opinion, and a healthy dose of humor is like the trail mix of NBA social content; disparate ingredients that combine into a singularly delicious snack.

The same day he joined Doris Burke and Malika Andrews for a Twitter Spaces previewing the NBA Playoffs, Sling TV chatted with Perez about his process for watching all the League Pass games simultaneously, his infamous Adam Silver avatars, the best broadcasting crews, and more. Check out our full interview (along with one-word superlatives for NBA fan bases) below. To watch the NBA Playoffs on ESPN and TNT with Sling TV, use the link at the bottom of the page to subscribe to Sling Orange.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/u5c4ss1FC2s

Sling: What is the set up like in the ‘command center’ to stay up on all the games going on in the NBA on a nightly basis?

Rob Perez: Yeah, the command center consists of two televisions, and then I create a "Flying V" of iPads and laptops in front of it. And the reason why you create a V, is if you sit, not necessary at the apex, the leverage point of the V – the two whatever you call those angles of the V – I can use my peripheral vision to keep all of the games in a field of vision. Now...I have two eyes that can only look the same way, so I keep them there in case I pick up on something, and I have the sound on all of them as well. I know that would create a lot of chaos for most people, but it allows me to hear a whistle or a crowd reaction or an announcer going above and beyond to exclaim a moment that just occurred. That will draw my attention over there if i’m not staring at that screen, so on nights when there are nine, 10, 11, or sometimes up to 13 games concurrently going on in the NBA, you have to have a setup like that if you want to watch every single dribble of every single game.

Sling: Which teams have the best local broadcast crew?

Rob Perez: I’ll give you the podium. The gold medal, I think it’s unanimous, it’s a consensus at this point, you got Mike Breen and Walt "Clyde" Frazier for the New York Knicks on MSG who have been together for a decade-plus, at least consistently. I know they had done some work [seperately] before, but that is the gold standard. Walt "Clyde" Frazier is out there spinning and winning, he rhymes everything. You’ve got the clout and the prestige of Mike Breen with the ‘bang’ calls and the ‘puts it in’ – it’s just the perfect match. And chemistry matters as well, so being friends always comes through with the broadcast. You got Ian Eagle and Sarah Kustok with the Nets. Third place, I’ll give to Adam Amin and Stacey King in Chicago. A very similar national broadcaster who has brought that skill to the local level and passion for that individual team. And Stacey King out there saying, ‘can you post pictures to facebook,’ ‘give me the hot sauce’, he’s got all his go to one liners. It really adds a lot to watching what could be a bad team, actually enjoyable.

Sling: How did the Adam Silver avatar come to be, and what is it all about?

Rob Perez: I’ve had two profile pictures throughout my entire Twitter career stretching a decade-plus. David Stern to start off with, [former] commissioner of the NBA. When he retired, I went dark on Twitter for 3 days and I arose, Adam Silver. And ever since he has been the commissioner of the NBA, his pictures have been mine.

I think I have 158 total different iterations of it, where I’ll change a part of his face. It’s meant to be a mood ring and/or illustrate what is going on in the league that day, that night. So it could change from what is currently the standard: half man/ half Terminator. The reason for that is because no matter how many times he gets burned or how many bullets fly his way in terms of what the NBA is doing wrong, the NBA survives and the NBA moves forward. You can’t really kill the Terminator; you can break him into a thousand different pieces of ice but they always seem to reform and come back bigger, better, and stronger and Adam Silver – at least in my opinion – has done that thus far.

By the way, he’s also wearing a hoodie in my picture. And not many people realize what the hoodie represents. The hoodie is what Emperor Palpatine wears in Star Wars. For those of you who don't watch Star Wars, Emperor Palpatine, for the first three episodes of the entire saga, is just a senator who is just putting on this facade of being a normal citizen that is representing his people. But we know behind the scenes – I’m not saying Adam Silver is a dark force – but he’s got his own agenda that he’s looking to pursue. So Adam Silver being the people's commissioner is also responsible for being the consigliere to David Stern during the lockout days and getting a lot of dirty work done for billionaires that are working in a billion dollar business. That is only done if you put on this whole front, if you will. He’s always walking around in that little hoodie and running the NBA empire.

That’s the full explanation. The [Adam Silver avatar is a] mood ring, he turns into this pallet that you can just throw things on top of and dress up the same way as a customizable doll.

Sling: Have players ever had any beef over any of the jokes you make on Twitter?

Rob Perez: I wouldn't say players have beef. And if they do, they usually just quote tweet it right away. I’ve never had anyone DM me with beef. They either try and shoot it down direct to the timeline or… They’ve never approached me in person, cause they: 1) If they don’t follow they probably disregard it. 2) I’m never really saying anything that I find to be slanderous. I crack plenty of jokes at which the players are sometimes are the expense, but my intention is to make fun, laugh with the league, not laugh at the league or the players. I’m laughing with the players. I think for the most part, they get that. And I do get a lot of players that say you’re doing just fine, we had a great laugh in the locker room. I’ve had a couple of them come up and say that. But nothing above and beyond that felt detrimental to my work or the work I’m trying to portray.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=155936794081225

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