Rashad McCants, why his show with ex-NBA star Gilbert Arenen is so popular: “The Barbershop Feeling”

Rashad McCants is best known for being one of the leading players of the North Carolina Tar Heels -Männer -Basketball team in 2005, which won the national championship, but made a name for itself on the entertainment side two decades later.

The 40-year-old spent four years in the NBA after having been selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2005 with a draft of the first round. The smooth scoring shoot guard made a name for itself when he played under the legendary college basketball head coach Roy Williams, and in his second season 2003-04 achieved an all-American selection after led the ACC in the hit (20.0 points per game).

However, if you now mention the name of McCants, it is connected to “Gil's Arena” – the most popular current daily digital show. Simply put, “Gil's Arena” is named after the former three-time NBA all-star Gilbert Arenas. Arenas heads a group of former NBA stars, including McCants, Kenyon Martin, Brandon Jennings and Nick Young, while discussing the hottest topics in the basketball world.

What it emphasizes in a room that is littered with athleted shows and podcasts is its authenticity and how it is unfiltered. In other words, there is the hairdressing salon feeling and the debate jumps between people who are not afraid to go each other – as if they were still on the hardwood site.

“This is the hairdressing shop that we want to give back to the community,” says McCants in a single interview. “When people watch, they feel like they are there. They can hear people in the comments during the show speaking as if they are there live. They speak to the television. 'Oh, this is a BS -Take.' This is the energy we want. “

McCants – who says that they all become competitive during the debate, says that authenticity makes it for a great entertainment for fans during the show.

“This element alone gives a large fanfare, there is great fan engagement,” says McCants. “We can play characters who play well enough for people who think that it is real, how people think that we may have a kind of energy against each other. As basketball players, we all have a job, and that is to be won. We all play our role, play our roles and we are successful in it.”

Gils Arena is not just a podcast, but a studio show that transmits live on YouTube. The show began in 2023, after the arenas had convinced McCants to work with it for a podcast after the duo would repeatedly interlock the 24-hour fitness.

McCants describes how it was the vision of the arenas, which led to the show was put together and, like the former star of the Washington Wizards, said the popular NBA shows such as “Inside the NBA” and “First Take”.

“He observed the entire first table in the NBA and wanted to imitate something like that to give us freedom to speak the game,” says McCants of Arenen. “We took this and were able to raise it up to a point where all athletes now want podcasts. All athletes want a voice and able to talk about sport. This is the best we can do to give back the athletes.”

It also does not hurt that all five main characters of the show played in the NBA in the same period in the 2000s. Martin is the oldest at 47 with Jennings, the youngest at the age of 35. However, every former basketball player in the show was connected.

McCants naturally plays the role of the “villain” and “controversial contrary” on the show and says that he gives a unique perspective from the side of people who do not have the platform to speak.

“In the area of ​​the competition, you want to be able to record it as hot as possible,” says McCants from the show format. “You want to be able to bring it to the edge. You want to be able to cross this line just to achieve victory. You have to be able to keep your floor, keep your arguments. You have to be able to stick to your weapons and hopefully someone gives up before you do it.”

The show has over 1 million followers. For the perspective, the most popular podcast “All The Smoke” with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson-and the OG in this category, which started in October 2019, organized just more than 1.1 million followers on YouTube. In short, “Gil's Arena” is right there with you.

According to McCants, the long -term goal of the show is to further expand the number of spectators, to create a longevity and finally to consider it “first” and “within the NBA” at the same level.

“The long -term goal is to achieve as many people as possible and to build a relationship with these people, to trust our attitudes, our opinions, our perspectives,” says McCants. “The long -term plan is to create longevity in this area by first of all have Take, in addition to the NBA on TNT, the sports center, and not to be able to do so next to these boys.

“Independence is the number one beacon in this country,” continues McCants. “If we take our talents from YouTube and away from the linear viewers and create our own trail, we will think that we will see better results.”