{"id":264731,"date":"2021-06-02T15:23:14","date_gmt":"2021-06-02T12:23:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/meet-pepper-persley-the-10-year-old-budding-nba-broadcaster\/"},"modified":"2021-06-02T15:23:14","modified_gmt":"2021-06-02T12:23:14","slug":"meet-pepper-persley-the-10-year-old-budding-nba-broadcaster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/meet-pepper-persley-the-10-year-old-budding-nba-broadcaster\/","title":{"rendered":"#Meet Pepper Persley, the 10-year-old budding NBA broadcaster"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Meet Pepper Persley, the 10-year-old budding NBA broadcaster<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

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This little baller\u2019s hitting the big time!<\/p>\n

Upper West Sider Camilla \u201cPepper\u201d Persley is only 10, but after Game<\/a> 5 of the Los Angeles Clippers and Dallas Mavericks\u2019 first-round series<\/a> on Wednesday, she will have called her first NBA playoff game.<\/p>\n

The fourth-grader, who moonlights as a reporter and podcaster, will be part of the inaugural \u201cClippers Kids Cast,\u201d a youth-centric broadcast featuring graphics, animation and quippy kid-friendly commentary.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I found out, I was really excited, but I was a little nervous,\u201d Persley, who flew out to LA on Tuesday for the game, told The Post. \u201cBut now that we are almost there, it\u2019s really all excitement.\u201d<\/p>\n

After all, the budding broadcaster who got her start at the tender age of 6, will be getting assists from two pros, analyst Corey Maggette and Clippers radio voice Noah Eagle, who did the play by play for the wildly popular, slime-drenched Nickelodeon broadcast of the NFL Saints-Bears playoff game back in January.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Noah] is really awesome. He is funny, and I think we have great chemistry so far. I am very excited to get to LA and broadcast with him and Corey,\u201d said the pint-sized, lifelong Nets fan who is preparing for her gig by studying up on the Clippers\u2019 roster. <\/p>\n

Nicknamed Pepper \u2014 after the Marvel character Pepper Potts \u2014 by her father, Persley interviews WNBA players on her Instagram page \u201cDish With Pepper<\/a>\u201d and podcast \u201cShe Got Next<\/a>.\u201d She caught the Clippers\u2019 eye when she co-hosted a virtual panel they produced for the YMCA in Los Angeles. <\/p>\n

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\"Pepper
Pepper Persley poses with WNBA legend Sue Bird. <\/figcaption>
Courtesy of Pepper Persley<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cHer poise and talent left an impression on all of us,\u201d said Gillian Zucker, Clippers\u2019 president of business operations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the details for this broadcast started coming together, Pepper was the first person we thought of . . . Her future isn\u2019t just bright, it\u2019s blinding.\u201d<\/p>\n

The precocious Persley, whose father, Christopher, has been a New York Liberty season ticket holder since the team\u2019s first season in 1997, credits her start in media<\/a> to curiosity and a passion for hoops.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Initially,] I don\u2019t think I was necessarily interested in journalism. I just had so many questions about the WNBA and the players that my parents couldn\u2019t answer,\u201d said Persley. When she was 6, her father, who had a connection with the Liberty, organized an interview with Sugar Rodgers, who was playing for the team at the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe thought they were just going to pass some questions along, but it became this big thing,\u201d said Persley. She sat down with Rodgers, and it ignited a side hustle for Persley. The next year she interviewed a handful of players on anti-bullying for her YouTube channel. Then last May, as the pandemic was raging, she launched her Instagram Live series and podcast. \u201cI wanted to bring a smile to people\u2019s faces,\u201d she said of her project.<\/p>\n

But her poise and thoughtful line of questioning did more than make people smile. It brought a flurry of league superstars to her virtual interview chair.<\/p>\n

So far, she has chatted with players such as Sabrina Ionescu, Sue Bird, Liz Cambage and Brittney Griner, as well as coaches and other broadcasters, including her two favorites, Meghan McPeak, who calls games for the Washington Mystics and Nets analyst Sarah Kustok.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love what [Sarah] does, because she is a woman in a space where there is basically all men . . . [Meghan] is one of my mentors, and I texted her this morning to tell her about this. We had five texts back and forth with her telling me I was going to be awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Pepper
Pepper Parsely is debuting the Clippers\u2019 first-ever broadcast for kids.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

However, Persley won\u2019t play favorites with players, only saying, \u201cThey all inspire me.\u201d<\/p>\n

On game day, she\u2019ll be sporting a Clippers jersey and wearing a key around her neck that was given to her classmates by her teacher back in September. \u201cI\u2019m not super superstitious. But it\u2019s something tangible to hold onto. I thought it was cool.\u201d <\/p>\n

And she\u2019ll be listening to her personal playlist titled \u201cCalm down, you\u2019re gonna do great,\u201d which has inspirational songs including \u201cBorn To Be Brave\u201d from the \u201cHigh School Musical: The Musical\u201d series.<\/p>\n

When she\u2019s not reporting on sports, she\u2019s playing them. Persley suits up for soccer, softball and basketball \u2014 the latter with the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) program Future Ladies Who Hoop. The petite fourth-grader said she likes to \u201cbreak ankles\u201d with her deft ball-handling skills.<\/p>\n

Although Wednesday\u2019s Clippers broadcast will air only on the West Coast, fans across the country can get a taste of her skills on the team\u2019s social-media platforms \u2014 and that\u2019s just the beginning for the rising young star.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this is a really big opportunity, and I can\u2019t wait to see what else comes of it,\u201d said Persley. \u201cA lot of people expect kids to have dreams and grow up and then achieve them. And I am really lucky to achieve them while I am a kid, so I want to be a role model and an inspiration.\u201d\n <\/p><\/div>\n