From back-bencher to budding Boston icon: The second career of Brian Scalabrine

Ryder Scalabrine had only heard the tales.

Now for the first time the five-year-old was courtside, about to see his father, Brian, play a game in the TD Garden, the place where his dad hung a banner and became a cult hero years before Ryder was even born.

The elder Scalabrine was donning a uniform again in his adopted hometown as the captain of the Ball Hogs in the Big3, an eight-team traveling 3-on-3 league featuring rosters jammed with former NBA stars. The moment was a dream come true, giving the former Celtics back-bencher a glimpse at what some Boston legends experience when they return to be feted on the parquet floor.

Not only was he playing in front of thousands of fans who love him for his work as a Celtics TV voice, but his little boy was also finally getting a glimpse of Daddy doing what he loved most.

“I wasn’t going to lose it or anything like that, but I knew what this was,” Scalabrine said after finishing the Big3 contest in Boston.

“I knew going into it, it’s not one of 82. It’s one of the rest of your life.”

Brian Scalabrine with his family after playing for the Big3 in Boston. From left, his wife Kristen, his daughter Elliana, his son Ryder and his daughter Adria. | Photo by Jared Weiss

Scalabrine is one of the rare players who has become more famous in retirement. Most bench players fade away, but hanging up the jersey only opened the door for Scalabrine to emerge as a star in a new role.

His debut as a Celtics analyst came only days after he finished playing in 2012, and he seemed like a natural. Most athletes transitioning to TV have to learn on the job: smile while you’re talking; look at camera three; stop mumbling. Scalabrine, however, lit up the screen with energy, comedy and gravitas.

“I find Scal to be a fascinating personality because he’s not what he appears to be,” his Celtics broadcast partner, Mike Gorman, said. “You come up to him to talk basketball and you’ll come away with a very different impression of this guy than that he was at the end of the bench and lucky to be in the league.”

But the natural had to become a professional, figuring out how to squeeze his exuberance and wealth of basketball knowledge into tight TV segments.

For some players, this assignment could have fostered frustration. But Scalabrine has long since embraced the grind. As a player, he had to acknowledge what his limitations were, something he credits to former Celtics coach Doc Rivers, who told him to emphasize what he did best and demonstrate how that could make him a valued part of the roster. He took the same approach when he became a broadcaster.

“This is what separates Scal from 99 percent of the guys that I’ve worked with: Scal is willing to listen,” Gorman said. “He doesn’t come into the game with a huge ego that he understands it and you don’t or that he knows how to do television and you don’t. Scal is wide open to constructive criticism. He seeks it out. He works at the craft.”

Candor and sarcasm were trademarks of Scalabrine the player — such as after the Celtics won the 2008 title when he joked how even though he didn’t play, he would eventually tell his kids he won the MVP — and those have become his staple on the mic.

Frank Isola is Scalabrine’s co-host on SiriusXM NBA’s morning radio show, and he credits how well Scalabrine related to his superstar teammates for his easy transition to the media.

“He wasn’t a fraud as a player when it came to being himself and working hard,” Isola said. “I think that helped him with this new line of work that he’s in.”

Scalabrine, who grew up in Enumclaw, Wash., had a brief stint as an assistant on Mark Jackson’s staff in Golden State after retirement before quickly pivoting back to TV work in Boston. There he was bestowed a special spot — as the analyst replacing Tommy Heinsohn on most Celtics road games. Scalabrine quickly learned that while TV producers wanted him to use his basketball knowledge, they weren’t as keen about him employing basketball lexicon. After trying to introduce the audience to “floppy” and “flex,” he realized that part of the gig is making everything digestible for the millions of viewers.

Scalabrine found a clever workaround by sliding into Brad Stevens’ press conferences and asking some basketball-intensive questions. When the Celtics coach obliged and started diving into X’s and O’s in front of the cameras, his bosses wanted Scal to use more coach-speak.

“Once you get Brad to talk about something, it all becomes fair game,” Scalabrine said.

It’s that relationship he’s developed with Stevens that makes Scalabrine’s segments so entertaining. Stevens is typically serious, straightforward and steady with the media. But when he sits down with Scalabrine before each game, there is both a mutual respect and playfulness that can turn a dry interview into something entertaining.

“He’s got a wonderful relationship with Brad,” said Gorman, who used to handle the pre-game coach interview but has passed that baton on to Scalabrine. “Again, it’s a combination that he’s very lighthearted, but also that Scal is so good with the X’s and O’s that he can ask penetrating questions. So, he’s developed and he’s used that relationship to further his credibility on the air because of the way Brad reacts to him. They’re a very good match. I watch a lot of tape of a lot of very good people around the league and there’s not a better coach’s interview on a night-by-night basis than what Scal does with Brad.”

Scalabrine fist bumps Kobe Bryant before Bryant’s final game against the Celtics in 2016. | Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images

It’s the job of Gorman, who has been calling Celtics games since 1981, to reel Scalabrine in when he drifts too far into stats or coach-speak.

“I’ve noticed a big improvement from Scal, where he’ll catch himself on a dribble hand-off and speak in the language of the coaches, who he talks to all the time, and bringing that to the language of the fans,” Gorman said. “He’s getting better and better about that.”

Gorman points back to the humble attitude that helped Scalabrine as a backup in the NBA as what has helped him grow as a broadcaster.

“Scal came out wide open to suggestions and will never hold it against somebody, even if it’s something negative,” Gorman said. “That’s helped him a whole lot and it sped up his development on the air.”

When Scalabrine’s alarm goes off at 5:45 am, the 40-year-old is often already out of bed working out before starting the other half of his blossoming media career. That’s his radio show, which he co-hosts remotely from his home studio with Isola at 7 a.m. every weekday.

“It’s not easy to get an ex-player, who is still really young, to be willing to work at seven in the morning every day,” Isola said. “You have to have someone who is really motivated. A lot of guys, once they get out of the league, they’re like, ‘Yeah I’ll work, but I’m not gonna get up at 6:30 to do a radio show.’”

His relationship with the Celtics makes being a host on an independent radio show a little tricky to navigate at times, especially working for one of the most prominent teams in the NBA. But Isola said Scalabrine isn’t afraid to offer criticism, which is not something all ex-players can do.

“He’s not afraid of being critical of LeBron when it calls for it and he and I praise LeBron a lot. But we’re two people who aren’t afraid to be critical of him,” Isola said.

Scalabrine is often playfully combative during a debate, laughing at a premise and providing a rebuttal that is usually well thought-out, regardless of whether it proves to be accurate.

“I look at it like, I’m good at communicating and I have conviction in what I believe, but I’m not always right. I’m not right a lot,” Scalabrine said. “A lot of times I say what I think can be done and it’s not exactly the right thing. I say I think a player is going to develop a lot slower than he does and he develops faster. Or I think a player is going to be really good – am I right about Porzingis or not? I love Kristaps Porzingis, but the jury is still out. He can’t play a lot of minutes without getting hurt, so am I right or am I wrong? But when I talk about him, I make people believe that he can be a really great player. I have conviction, but it doesn’t mean I’m right. There’s a difference.

“There’s a fine balance of being a ‘hot take guy’ and giving people information,” Scalabrine continued. “But one thing that I’m all-in on is that I believe in what I say. Whether I’m right or wrong, I believe in what I say.”

“Boston loves Scal. He’s one of the most popular and visible personalities in this town.” — Mike Gorman

Scalabrine has managed to find a balance among his broadcasting gigs, but where does all this lead?

Scalabrine could well have positioned himself to be the permanent heir to Heinsohn, the NBA Hall of Famer whose number hangs in the Garden rafters and has also called Celtics games since 1981.

Gorman said he long thought Paul Pierce would slide into that role, something he and Pierce often discussed. But now Scalabrine is in the wings, and Gorman thinks he is built for embracing the job of the Celtics analyst in the same way Heinsohn did.

“I don’t know if Scal right now in his career would want to be on a national level,” Gorman said. “He really enjoys being a team guy. He is a team guy. That’s why he lasted so long in the league, because he understood his role and what he needed to do and what he needed to bring to the team. He wants to be with a team on a night-by-night basis for 82 games a year.”

It’s that bond Scalabrine feels with the common fan that makes him such a natural fit for where he is now. It takes him 10 minutes to walk through a room because he engages every single person, takes each photo and signs any autograph. His public appearances drag on because he is going to take a moment to make a lasting impression on everyone there. He connects with people because he is genuinely curious about their lives.

Gorman envisions a long-term partnership working with Scalabrine so well because of the gravitas he has when he reacts honestly to what he sees develop on the court.

“He gets better and better at that every year. He’s got a great sense of humor. He’s very self-deprecating,” Gorman said. “He’s got all the qualifications I look for in a color guy. I look forward to having a lot of time with him on the air in the future.”

Isola, however, sees the door still ajar for a move into coaching. It’s just simply a matter of math.

“Eventually, when he stops doing radio, I can see him coaching one day,” Isola said. “Plus, the guy will do anything for an extra $100. So once he realizes how much money he can make in coaching, he’s gonna go back to coaching. There’s only so many appearances at the Walmart in Worcester, Mass., that you can do.”

With his kids so young, it’s hard to envision Scalabrine taking another coaching job soon. While he travels a lot in-season, he doesn’t have to take the work home with him, something coaches often do. When Scalabrine is home, he’s home.

He’s got time to be with Kristen, his wife of 15 years, Ryder, and his daughters, Elliana, 11, and Adria, 9, in their suburban Massachusetts home where he drives around the property on a tractor with the kids in his lap and teaches them to cut firewood to store for the winter.

“He likes his lifestyle and he’s dedicated to his family,” Isola said. “And by his family, believe it or not, I don’t mean Brad Stevens and Danny Ainge. It’s his wife and his kids.”

Brian Scalabrine engages Big3 host Michael Rapaport at the TD Garden event. | Photo by Jared Weiss

Regardless of where the path leads him, he is set to remain an icon in Boston because of how much he loves filling that role and how embedded he has become in the Celtics culture.

“He’s very comfortable being Scal,” Gorman said. “That’s hard for a lot of guys, to separate who they are on TV and who they are as a person. Scal kind of knows exactly what the people are looking for from him and he is happy to provide it. Sometimes it takes a lot of guys a long time to do that.

“He’s done it pretty quickly and Boston loves Scal. He’s one of the most popular and visible personalities in this town.”

In the Big3, Scalabrine is one of the league’s most iconic players. He is unmistakable as he lopes across the court, his hair still its distinctive shade of orange, “White Mamba” emblazoned across the back of his jersey. But he continues to do what made him valuable in the NBA: he screens and rolls, coordinates the defense and is constantly coaching at every moment. Sitting courtside, Scalabrine’s voice can be heard as frequently as the ball bounces.

“You see it out there, they’re yelling at the refs, it’s super intense,” Kristen said. “You can take the NBA away from the guy, but you can’t take the competitiveness from them. So it’s cool for them to be able to do it on a high level. Not at a rec league where they’re all better than the other guys by 100, but players they played against.”

He’s the captain of the Ball Hogs and carries the burden of responsibility for his team’s success for the first time in his professional career. But he continues to operate with the same priorities that kept him in the NBA for 11 seasons.

“I was never trying to be something that I wasn’t,” Scalabrine said. “If I try to do too much, I’m not going to be good at all. So I had to focus on how I can impact winning without losing, without going too far overboard.”

Ryder finally got to watch Dad play in front of his home crowd, but the Ball Hogs lost to The Trilogy 51-46 as Scalabrine scored just once. They did not qualify for the Big3 playoffs. But that didn’t subtract from the moment for Scalabrine. After escaping to a back hallway so he could stop taking selfies with adoring fans in between sentences, the team captain reflected that his motivation to play is as much about having a second chance to do what he loves while he still can as it is about sharing that with his kids.

“Summer was a good time to catch up with the family, but I love doing (the Big3),” he said. “I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to do this. Whenever I’m done playing in the Big3 – I don’t know when that is – but I’m going to be sad because I really enjoy doing this.”

Scalabrine spent pregame with Ryder doing all of the warm up drills, making the most of this unique moment. It’s important work for a five-year-old who told his dad that he’s going to get drafted first overall by the Phoenix Suns – Scalabrine said Ryder thinks that Phoenix picks first every year after watching his dad on the draft broadcast in June — and will sign with the Celtics once his rookie deal expires before leaving the NBA to star for the Ball Hogs in the Big3.

He cried on his mother’s shoulder when the Ball Hogs eventually lost the game, too heartbroken to notice the fans screaming for his father and jumping over each other to get his autograph and a photo.

Kristen Scalabrine, right, consoles her son Ryder after they watched Brian’s team lose in a Big3 game in Boston. | Photo by Jared Weiss

“Ryder, he’s so funny, he feels everything big,” Kristen said. “The good stuff, the bad stuff, he feels it all. He is such a huge personality. He’s a lot like his dad really. Brian has a big personality.”

Kristen stood by as Ryder soaked in the scene in the Garden witnessing the adulation for his father, and she watched her husband seemingly just as affected by the moment.

“Brian was certainly – I don’t know if emotional is the right word – but excited about the whole event at the Garden,” she said. “We had seen him play at Oracle (Arena) a few weeks back and it just wasn’t the same thing. There was a whole set of emotions and excitement that goes along with being at the Garden.”

Ryder had heard the stories before, and his parents believed he’d understood them. But now, finally, he’s a part of them, to the delight of his overwhelmed father.

“That was more emotional than I ever imagined,” Scalabrine said. “I thought I was going to go out there and just play. I always keep it together and that kind of stuff, but it was overwhelming with the crowd cheering with a standing ovation. Then I see my kids in the front row and….”

Right on cue, Ryder emerges around the corner, racing towards his dad with that fervent pitter-patter of a child seeing his father coming home from work.

“What’s up buddy?!” Scalabrine yells as Ryder jumps into his arms. He then turns to say with a laugh, “When the game was over, my man was crying and blamed the loss on me.”

Ryder feels everything big now, just like his father does. Five years from he’ll probably still be talking about this day, and he’ll say his dad won. Ten years from now, he’ll say his dad was the MVP. Twenty years from now? He’ll probably still be following in his father’s footsteps, one way or another.

Top photo of Scalabrine at TD Garden during the Big3 event by Jared Weiss

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