More Than A Sports Show: A Behind-The-Scenes Segment Of ‘The Shop’

Paul Rivera and Maverick Carter created “The Shop” with one major goal – invite top names from the sports world to their show and give them the opportunity to talk about life, joined by celebrities and activists. Simple as that. We’ve seen players from opposing teams join the show and talk as if they are best friends. Yes, creators come up with the wildest combinations of guests. Popular guys get to talk about important topics and fans are patiently waiting for the next episode.

Sometimes it’s hard to get famous people to talk, but everything turns out well at the end. The show premiered in 2018 and fans were really thrilled about the season six finale. Los Angeles Clippers head coach Ty Lue, NBA All-Star guard Chris Paul, actor Lakieth Stanfield, and Killer Mike made an appearance and it was crazy. As you may be guessing, someone mentioned “politics.”

Controversial topics

Let’s go all the way to Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant. The NBA “rewarded” him with an eight-game suspension after he was caught holding a firearm at a nightclub in Denver. He will be fined again and the NBA is discussing the next step at the moment. Morant’s incidents sparked a debate and Killer Mike dropped a simple statement.

“I’m a gun guy, I’m very pro [second amendment],” he said.

Killer Mike had to mention one of the biggest issues in our country. According to him, young boys should be presented with enough knowledge about guns, so they don’t get too excited about it later in life. It wasn’t just an effort to talk politics. He was just trying to make a point and Stanfield joined his theory.

“I think we should be instilling within our youth what education is … yielding these tools that can be so devastating or could save your family,” he said.

“The Shop” was never meant to be a sports show

The show has been impressing fans for years and it is definitely more than a sports show. Producer and director of photography Brandon Riley said that the show was never meant to be a sports show at all.

Rivera couldn’t agree more. “The Shop” gives people a platform to share their opinion without being judged or judge others.

“The Holy Grail is those conversations,” Rivera said of Killer Mike’s comments on gun control. “Having a safe space, a space where everyone’s respected. A space where someone can give an opinion that’s not a popular one, and be given the room to be able to contextualize why they feel like that and what their experiences are. Hopefully, we all learn from that. I don’t have to agree with every thought every guest has, but my hope is that I can learn and take something away from them, or at least have perspective on why they see the world the way they do.”