NBA

NBA on ESPN Spotlight: ESPN employees who are hard at work bringing you NBA Playoffs

Photo of Ben CafardoBen Cafardo Follow on Twitter April 17, 2015
In the graphics room of the production truck during the 2014 NBA Finals. Standing (L-R) Jeff Christianson, Harris Feibischoff, Justin Page and Larry Starks; Seated (L-R) Brian Frattini, Ben Ward and Laurie Privitera. (Photo courtesy Laurie Privitera)
In the graphics room of the production truck during the 2014 NBA Finals. Standing (L-R) Jeff Christianson, Harris Feibischoff, Justin Page and Larry Starks; Seated (L-R) Brian Frattini, Ben Ward and Laurie Privitera. (Laurie Privitera/ESPN)

With ESPN’s coverage of the 2015 NBA Playoffs beginning tomorrow, Front Row kicks off a series on some of the folks bringing the postseason action to fans. Today, we meet senior associate producer Laurie Privitera.

How would you describe your ESPN NBA job?
I am in charge of managing all of the graphics that go into all of the NBA live broadcasts as well as overseeing the three studio shows (NBA Countdown, NBA Tonight and NBA Coast to Coast). What that means is I’m a liaison between the production group and the creative side that develops all of the graphics. My job is to make sure the graphics look good and everything looks uniform across all NBA platforms. I also do graphics for the NBA live games, working in the TV trucks.

Tim Corrigan, senior coordinating producer for the NBA on ESPN on Laurie Privitera:
“Laurie first came on board five years ago working on the college sports properties and she ascended to where she is now. She manages entire graphics projects for NBA events, as well as being the lead person at NBA Finals, producing the graphics in the truck. It’s a high-profile position and the only way you get a job like that is if you earn it. She has earned that leadership title and it comes with hard work, dedication and passion.”

What is game day like for you?
Our game day starts earlier than most people think. Because there are games every evening we have to update all of our statistics for every graphic. We head over to the trucks between 8-9 a.m. ET for an 8 p.m. game and we start typing away. During the day sometimes we’ll have to help with video elements. We’ll field phone calls on other games happening that night. My day just goes along with me typing up everything. A few hours before the game, we’re set and ready to go and hopefully prepared for any scenario that comes up during the game. I equate all that prep to a team practicing before a game. Hopefully by game time we’re ready to go. About a half-hour beforehand we’ll show our best graphics to the commentators so they’re prepared when we put something up on the screen.

What’s your best moment at work?
A personal best moment for me would be Game 3 of the 2014 NBA Finals – the [San Antonio] Spurs were setting records left and right and the person I worked with was Ben Ward (senior associate producer). He and I had been through the NBA for so many years. We were finally prepared to handle the craziness of the moment. A second great moment was seeing a couple of the kids I’ve trained in graphics get out on the road and have good games for themselves. For them to say they had good games in terms of their graphics, that’s a prideful moment for me.

What are you most looking forward to for the 2015 NBA Playoffs?
I think this year there are so many teams that can vie for a championship. I could be traveling to so many cities in this playoff run. Three months of travel and getting to work with the best people in the business is why the NBA is so much fun to work on.

Who’s your NBA team?
I grew up watching the [Boston] Celtics and Larry Bird. And, I love watching [Golden State Warriors guard] Steph Curry. Covering him is just fun!

Photo of Ben CafardoBen Cafardo Follow on Twitter April 17, 2015
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