RebKell's Junkie Boards

[hyperetic]

Skylar Diggins has proven that with a knowledge of your strengths and weaknesses both on and off the court, you can find what works for you and succeed with it. Why can't this work for the other players in the league? I think a good agent is important to the process. Based on Diggins' visibility vs. other W stars, it appears RocNation is doing a heck of a job. I would like to see what they could do with the like of Maya Moore, BG, and EDD. Maya specifically, seems to be a woefully underrepresented star. I think the Uncle Drew spots were a great thing but it wasn't built on. Moore may not want to do model type stuff so they would need to delve into her personality and how she wants to be repped and fit THAT into the marketing of Maya Moore. The same for the rest.

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https://www.facebook.com/tonyboydphotography

[pilight]

Most of them just want to play ball, so they go overseas during the offseason. That complicates things in terms of publicity.

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I'm a lonely frog
I ain't got a home

[Jet Jaguar]

There are quite a few players that don't go overseas. Some coach (Latta), some broadcast (Lawson, Bird this year), some do other things. Many need the extra money and just aren't going to get enough on endorsements like Skylar is going to get. I do think a lot of young players especially benefit from playing overseas to work on aspects of their game. I think Skylar is missing out on some of this. There's only so much that training can do, sometimes you just need to play to work on some things, especially since the season is so short. But it may be a case by case basis, like some players need it to improve, others don't.


I'd also like to point out that many Phoenix fans were just as quick to point out that Prahalis didn't play overseas after her rookie year and then was cut her 2nd year, as people are now saying you don't need to go overseas because Skylar had a good 2nd year. And believe me, Prahalis worked her butt off in the offseason as well. I'm not saying there wasn't improvement, because I'm sure there was if she was given the opportunity (I don't want to get into it). So that may not be the best example because of that. But I'm just pointing out that if Skylar struggled again, that's what everyone would be talking about. But this was just one year, as was Skylar's rookie year. We'll see if she has long term success, because I'm not crowning her a perennial all-star from just one year.

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Oderint dum metuant - Let them hate, so long as they fear

[Shades]

Getting dangerously close to offending the Maya fans by implying she's not smart or savvy. I'm willing to bet she makes more non-basketball money than Diggins without being oversaturated or exploiting her body. Maya knows she's going to be an elite talent in the league AND internationally for a long time, so she can afford to associate herself only with quality. Now the product Pepsi itself is garbage and Maya would never consume it herself, but the Pepsi commercials are top notch. Diggins hasn't done anything close to touching that and I'm willing to bet she'd trade everything she's done to do that same kind of thing. Maya also has Jordan Brands. What more does she need, really?
With Diggins there's more uncertainty about her basketball career, so she feels a need to lean on the non-basketball side more. That's why RocNation is perfect for her. They are used to representing popstars, and popstars usually have this small window of time to merchandise before people get sick of them.
Maya's doing just fine, thank you.

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Nnekalonians 1:14 - Thou shalt not accept that which is not earned

[hyperetic]

[caune]

[Jet Jaguar]

[hyperetic]

[jlight]

maya>the best player in the world >doesn't want to be famous because of her body, but famous for her skill and her greatness//that is what matter is the most to her//same thing goes for BG//

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#DosLynx
#mayaclinic
"It's not necessarily about out-working the person across from me. It's out-working that voice inside me that says, "I'm too tired. I don't feel like doing it. I can settle." - Maya Moore.

[cometsfan05]

Aww the Skylar haters in this thread make me laugh. Seem to be jealous she's more popular than your favorite player. To sit and say she doesn't work on her game. Is not only. Dumb. It's completely false.

[hyperetic]

[hyperetic]

I just think more can be done to to enhance their earning potential since we all know ain't none of them getting rich playing in the W. A decent living yeah but couldn't hurt to expand their possibilities. Maya stated in an SI for Kids Q&A that if she wasn't in basketball she would like to be in music and that she plays the drums. Why couldn't that be expanded upon? EDD is big into advocacy. I don't know how they would exactly expand on that but where there's a will there's a way. BG has lots of stuff going for her. Author, bowtie designer, longboard skateboards, I figure she might need to open herself a lil more which I know is tough and might not be something she is willing to do. Saavy managership can make mountains out of molehills. Guess I just wish monumental success across the board. (Yes I know its a lil farfetched but no one knows til they try).

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https://www.facebook.com/tonyboydphotography

[J-Spoon]

I agree that it would benefit the league and the individual players to get greater exposure in the mass media, specifically the non-basketball arena.

However the reason i think Diggins excels in this area in a way many other players haven't comes down to a few simple factors. Diggins is interested in promoting herself and building a brand that while launched from her basketball career goes into many other areas of interest. Diggins' desire to do this has lead to her being very active in social media and working with an agency that clearly wants her to be visible that works with athletes and artists who develop themselves as multi-genre personalities that allow them to be bigger than any one simple image or discipline. Diggins' image appeals both to men and women and thusly gives her status as both a role-model and a sex symbol. She has enough credibility in the worlds of fashion, fitness, youth culture and hip-hop that she can represent anything from high end fashion to sports drinks, with an image that works equally well at fashion week, on a hip hop comedy show such as Wild-n-Out, a pictorial in Vibe, Sports Illustrated swim wear edition, Details or Maxim, or as an inspiration in outlets such as Shape, People or Seventeen magazine. What Skylar is doing is unique.

I think other players could be doing similar things but it would take both a desire on their part to do so, and an organic (or seemingly organic) connection to areas of popular culture that both have the worlds attention (or at least certain demographics), and are a way to market themselves that has some sort of profit motive attached to it.

I think Griner has the most potential to go in this direction because she is a top talent in the league, could continue to build her brand and do positive things in the world by progressing as an icon and spokesperson for the LGBT community, she could also cross over into the X-games arena with her love of skateboarding, and could also be someone certain more progressive fashion designers both for women and men would want to be associated with Ben Sherman, Tommy Hilfiger, A&F, American Apperal and Calivin Klien are some brands that come to mind). But fame for lack of a better word is something you have to wish to pursue, and in Griner's case (unlike Diggin') there really isn't an obvious road map to follow, but the fact that Griner has a striking image that garners attention is something that could be put to good used in expanding her brand, but she would have to work with a great agency that has there fingers in these worlds for it really to happen.

Maya Moore as a great basketball player has been given the more traditional route of a successful athlete as a marketing outlet Nike and a pepsi campaign with other great basketball stars is cool, the fact that it was a humorous campaign is great but selling her as a mainstream personality is a little more difficult because IMO that isn't anything she has interest in being, she wants to be a great basketball player. And while she is beautiful (again this is all speculation) I don't think she is particularly interested in promoting herself as a sex symbol or even based in any way on her physical appearance. I think she can continue to grow her brand if she wishes she certainly has that positive role model thing in the bag, but right or wrong it is hard for female athletes to get more mainstream media success based only on there great talent in the sport they play, especially if we are looking beyond the world of sports for that success. TBH it is very difficult to think of any female athletes that have mainstream media success beyond their sport (Coaching, broadcasting, etc.) but that is pretty much true of male athletes as well, we might tend to think of people like Shaq or Barkley as mainstream personalities, but a vast majority of their visibility still comes in association with their sport, though they do pop up in commercials and Charles has hosted SNL a couple of times. So Diggins really is trailblazing right now I guess will see how it pans out a decade from now.

[tfan]

Has Diggins made a TV commercial yet? I can remember seeing Candace Parker in a McDonald's commercial right around the time she was entering the league. And there was a Sue Bird commercial where she was at a deli for Ameican Express.

[caune]

[hyperetic]

[Shades]

[hyperetic]

[Shades]

I don't believe Jordan did much of anything while he was playing. Now he can pick and chose what he wants based on his name that he built on be respected in basketball. Maya's going the same route. There's a reason why Maya is the only WNBA player signed by Jordan Brands. Jordan recognizes qualities of himself in her.

Going the pop culture route, what's Diggins going to do keep interest up after pop culture fans tire of her? Pop culture fans have little interest in WNBA. She can't come out with a new album every couple of years like Rihanna. Will coming out with a new headband do the trick? About the only thing she could do is dump her boyfriend and date somebody famous. RocNation would love that. They're already trying to pull stunts with these transparent Drake and Durant Instagram flirtations.


I'm happy Diggins did what she had to gain respectability in the league. I was campaigning for to be MIP. I just think it's going to be a lot harder for Diggins to maintain that level of discipline needed throughout a long WNBA career. Maya is naturally bigger and stronger and more suited for the WNBA. I believe Diggins recognizes this and is open to exploring these other avenues. Maya doesn't need to.

So maybe we should just agree that what Diggins is doing seems to be working for her and what Maya is doing is just fine for her. As one of Maya's biggest fans, I'm happy with the route she's taken.... not being overexposed, being all about basketball and maintaining dignity and excellence. She's got two of the best sponsors in basketball, both of which associate her with NBA players, which helps her and the WNBA maintain respectibilty with the NBA community.
Don't forget Maya makes $400K+/season playing in China for only 4 months so she's not getting worn down like these players in Russia.

Maya isn't being ruled by her representation. She makes her own decisions. Therefore the notion that her representation is inadequate is a misguided one, especially to those who believe she's doing everything right.

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Nnekalonians 1:14 - Thou shalt not accept that which is not earned

[hyperetic]

[Jet Jaguar]

[Jet Jaguar]

[hyperetic]

[Jet Jaguar]

[kojthiabkuv]

Diggins is annoying. She needs to just play the game- and play it well.