What made you develop a new Web site of this size? Many NBA basketball players don’t have Web sites and if they do, they mostly contain pictures and videos we have already seen elsewhere on the Internet.
It is in my nature to love people and truly enjoy interacting with my fans. The problem until now was, that there was simply not enough time in the day to interact with all of them. I enjoy technology and I wanted to build a Web site that encourages two-way communications between my fans and myself.
The Web site has been built for that purpose. For example, every article on my Web site has a comment box on the bottom – to allow people to express themselves and tell me what they want to say. There is also an option for fans to upload their photos. This is a content-driven Web site and its success depends on opinions that fans themselves wish to contribute.
What makes the Internet as a whole successful is that it represents an open medium for the sharing of ideas and information and easy access to information. I imagined my Web site to operate in the same way.
So, you will really read comments from your fans on your Web site?
Not only will I read all the comments, I will take it one step further: there is a headband section through which fans can tell me which color and style headband to wear at the games. Whichever headband the majority agrees on, I will wear. I will try to talk to my PR team about other ideas to integrate the Web site with my offline life.
When will you have time to read all the comments as you are constantly on the road?
I actually spend a lot of time on the Internet – at least a couple hours per day. In addition, my Web site comments have been integrated with my iPhone – every time a comment arrives, my iPhone signals me. I realize I won’t have to respond to all comments, but I will certainly read them all.
What is the purpose of the Photo Upload section?
I usually feel bad after I take a photo with someone, and they seem like a really nice person but I don’t have time to talk to them and get to know them as the entire interaction is only five seconds long and there are other people waiting in line. So, I would like these fans to not only send me their photo of us together to post on the Web site, but to tell me their story – so I can read their story while I am looking at the photo.
Can anyone post whatever he or she wants on your site?
I encourage opinions and criticisms from all ends of the spectrum and have instructed my PR team to have a very open-minded policy. Almost every type of comment except curse words and insults toward other members of the site will be tolerated.
Isn’t this dangerous to allow people to comment directly on your official Web site?
In today’s information age, no one can control information. The best thing one can do is to be honest and true to himself and the people he serves. We do have a comment approval system in place, but this is mostly to filter out curse words and inappropriate content coming through spam and other channels. By keeping my Web site open to fans, I hope to encourage their creativity and the quality of feedback I get in return.
Your Web site is multilingual?
Correct. I figured, if I can learn four languages, there is no reason my Web site should not be “fluent” in at least eight languages. In fact, many pages of the site can be translated into more than eight languages through the Google Translate tool I have asked my PR team to explore. The NBA is a global franchise – there is no reason to be focused on the English language only.
Who are all these contributors on your Web site – do they work for you?
The contributors you see on the contributors page are specially selected individuals with a variety of talents who work for Attention Interactive, the agency I hired to manage my Internet business affairs and public relations. Some of these contributors I have met in the past and I am looking forward to meeting the rest of them. I read all their posts and I am impressed by their creative talents.
What other surprises can we see from you in 2009?
You will see the Lakers smoothly capture the NBA Championship – but that will not be a surprise. At least not to me.
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February 17th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
GEEZ not only are you a talented basketball player but your so down to earth! Getting to know your fans and reading their stories is sweet. I wish i lived in LA to cheer the team on in person.
GO LA
February 17th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
I think this reeks of awesomeness. I’ve never heard of ANY pro athlete doing anything like this. This is the coolest thing EVER. I can’t wait to riot in LA when we get that Championship. ;]
<333
February 17th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
This totally reeks of awesomeness. I’ve never heard any pro athlete doing anything like this. I can’t wait to riot in LA when we finally win the Championship. We’re long overdue.
<333
February 17th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
I agree with Christina. I have never seen pro-athlete or any other celebrity take Internet presentation to this level. Sasha is the best looking player in NBA with the best looking website. My respects….
February 17th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
Ladies - Give me $15 million dollar contract with Lakers and I will build you website like this one. And I would get all the girls in the world. See my point? There is nothing special about Sasha. The only reason why he is in your lovely Laker team (and that Chinese guy who can’t play at all) is because NBA wants to sell products to Eastern Europe and to Asia. Celtics don’t play that politics.
I bet you this post gets censored by his PR people even though I am not using any curse words - I am just expressing my opinion as I am suppose to do freely on this website. Yeah, right. But before they censor it, I know someone has to read it.
Go Celtics!!! Go!!!
February 17th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
Listen Celtic Fan…so if Celtics are so great, how come you come here and post your comments? This is beceause Celtic basketball players don’t even know how to log onto Internet - not to mention if one of them could build respectable website. Let’s be realistic here. Look at the website of Kevin Garnett: http://www.kevingarnett.com - this is a joke. Complete joke comparing to this site.
And even though Kevin Garnett makes more than Sasha - that doesn’t help - as he probably doesn’t have talents to build something great for his fans like Sasha did. To build something great for your fans - you have to care about them first.
Sasha is above all of you and now I love him even more when he posts your petty comments and allows debate good vs evil. And you intentions and comments about Chinese and selling to Asia are evil….you will be lucky if Celtics make it to semi-finals this year.
February 17th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
Guys,
The fact that Sasha allows open discussion like this one shows that he very strong and confident person. And most celebreties aren’t.
If anyone can find me one official website of this size and beauty, where fans can talk directly to the star they admire and have their comments posted, i will give you 100 bucks. Guess what - you won’t find any and you don’t earn your 100 bucks.
This is a very meaningful interview - I can see why Sasha is popular and sexy to many - his confidence and strength shows. Look how he finishes his interviews - look at the last sentence. I will follow that guy into war.
February 17th, 2009 at 5:36 pm
I’m not even gunna get into it with the Celtic fan but who won Feb5th and Dec. 25 huh huh Lakers just cause we lost last year dosen’t mean we are not gunna take it back this year we are a better team this year our players have gotten much better and the Celtics got lame they are not as good as they were last year!
Soo Sasha if u read this this is what we got to do this year number 1 no more losing at home i mean its our court we need to protect it, also we already defeated the complicated teams[celtics&&cavs] soo no losing to little less importent teams we can do it alright, next we need to work a little on our 3 point shooting i mean we have Sasha, D Fish and at times Farmar but we havent been so consistant and thats what kills us sometimes, because we dont have trouble in the paint
Okay I’m liking that Sasha is becoming a defensive player but baby you got to keep yourself alittle distant from whoever your guarding because lately you’ve been getting like 2 to 3 fouls in each game but i like the fact that hes getting aggresive
also Sasha needs to drive it into the paint because there is a really high possibility that they’ll foul him and hes a GREAT free throw shooter well thats all right now I’ll see the game and remember what else we got to do:D
February 17th, 2009 at 5:41 pm
MOD! Disregard my last comment! Use this one instead!!!!!!!:
Cristina I hope you realize that people who “rioted” during the Lakers championship were NOT true Laker fans. Perhaps you are too young to remember the 1992 riots and it’s devestating effects it had on Los Angeles. A “riot” is not a celebration, but a protest and a slap in the face to all of us Laker fans!
Sorry if I am being to serious, but you must understand that I work in Law Enforcement, as do many Laker fans! We want to enjoy the celebration, not be called into work because of mass rioting!
February 17th, 2009 at 6:28 pm
Sasha you’re so awesome man! Your website is great to connect with fans! I love watching you play… and especially when I hit up NBA 2K9 on my xbox 360 and use you as my main player; I make it rain and shoot three’s all day! The Machine for life!! Go get em Sasha, wish you the best.
February 17th, 2009 at 11:07 pm
Sasha is so sweet and adorable!! I love him!!!
February 18th, 2009 at 1:54 am
What a great way for your fans to be able to learn more about you as a player and a person. It’s wonderful that you want to get to know more about your fans too. Nice to see that you are so down to earth and that you really appreciate the fans who support you. Way to go Sasha! 18 Rocks!
February 18th, 2009 at 10:01 am
Sašo, evo mene še tukaj…Ne morem verjet in hkrati sem tak ponosen, da ti je vse to uspelo!! Prav maš za Špance, naj dobijo po p…., ostani zvest vijolični in ne pozabi nikdar, od kod prihajaš, tak je tud prav!
Se vidimo prijatelj stari moj!!
Damijan Donko
February 18th, 2009 at 11:07 am
Laker Fan #1 — Thanks for the LOL-inducing link to the KG site!
February 18th, 2009 at 11:25 am
Sasha - congratulations and thank you for building this incredible web site. I wish every player in Lakers had talents to build something like this for their fans and for themselves. If they knew how much communication with you guys means to us, they probably would.
Also, tell Kobe he lost me as a fan when he started charging people to visit his website: http://www.kb24.com/register/ . I don’t know if he is making these decisions or unsophisticated team around him.
Hasn’t he already made enough money on us through NBA..all Jersey’s we buy. Now he wants to charge us for “exclusive content” of him..like we don’t get enough photos of Kobe around the Internet.
Keep your website open as you have opened your heart to us already - we feel it. we love you for it. we respect you even more for it. I love you how you posted comment from that Celtic fan. You are my hero for what you are doing on the court, off the court and especially on the Internet as no one has done it like this yet.
You are true one of a kind.
February 18th, 2009 at 3:08 pm
I am like Kent. Kobe lost me when he started charging money for his website. I thought he was smarter then that. He may make $5,000 from some foolish fans that pay to see his photos and participate in boards Kobe doesn’t even read and loose 1 million as fans will turn to other web sites where they can express themselves. His image is down due to small stuff his team is doing….
There was this stupid article in LA Times supporting what Kobe does on his website written by someone who has no clue about power of online fans and fans in general. I laughed it when I read it - it was like planted peace of Public Relations we can all see through it.
I read what Sasha is saying above 2 times to get it all - he really understands Internet…this is very smart stuff he is saying..about open society, power of internet, sharing of information, allowing fans to express themselves. His marketing machine is years ahead of other pros out there.
I am not really a fan of Sasha, but I had to respond to Kent and now when I see what I see, I will watch Sasha more closely as I can see he is smarter then the rest and he can play solid basketball.
February 18th, 2009 at 8:51 pm
Dear Celtic fan,
HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT ABOUT SASHA! HE’S SUPER DUPER AWESOME! I ADMIT PAUL PIERCE…IS SOMEWHAT OK…BUT SASHA IS WWWWWAAAAY COOLER THAN THAT!!!!! OK! IF your going to go on a SASHA website then leave positive comments! Or go to a CELTIC website!
February 18th, 2009 at 10:41 pm
OMG…Sasha has created another http://www.laker.com…but better…this is soo cool..and we can talk to Sasha..and he reads it…WANTS TO SEE OUR PHOTOS WITH HIM!!!!!…and he is not trying to clutter us with 100s of commercials before we get to information like lakers.com does…….this website is the best idea of 2009 in professional sports…
I admired Sasha for his basketball..now I admire him for his brains….
And to Numba27 - Celtics can’t go post their comments on Celtics sites…they don’t have any that are any good that their players participate in. They are insecure bunch of stuck-up celebrities that are afraid to build a site where fans can talk.
February 19th, 2009 at 1:28 am
SASHA, HOLA AMIGO!!! WHATS HAPPENING??? OK.. I KNOW YOU MAY NOT READ THIS BUT..MAYBE YOU WILL?? I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANKS FOR THE AUTOGRAPH AT THE FOOTLOCKER SIGNING. WE MET AND IT WAS TOO SHORT MAYBE NEXT TIME WE CAN HAVE A LONGER CONVERSATION. I JUST WANTED TO SAY YOU KNOW THEY SAY THE WAY THROUGH A MAN’S HEART IS THROUGH HIS STOMACH.. MAYBE ONE DAY I CAN TRY TO COOK SOME SLOVENIAN FOOD FOR YA…:) HAHA.. I CAN’T EVEN BOIL WATER..JK!!
P.S. I HEARD YOU’RE A REAL MADRID FAN???? WHAT??? LOL.. oh yea.. and i Love the website TOO IT’S MY FAVORITE!!
February 19th, 2009 at 9:16 am
I love your website and wish you could do any kind of an appearance in Houston, I will be there with bells on, you have sooo many Houston fans!!! Keep up the good work!!!!! Celtics need to get ready to give up that title. real talk!!!
February 19th, 2009 at 9:51 pm
Thank-you, Sasha, for creating this website that is open to all who want to learn more about you and the sport of basketball! There is so much to explore here, that I’m overwhelmed
This is a great place to meet and read about other fans that share our love of you too! Love your site, and go get that Championship!!
February 19th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
Great interview, and THANKS Sasha for you and your PR team to put this web site together for our fans. Here we can read up on new things about you and our Lakers and get to know what other fans think!
Good Job and again Thanks!
February 20th, 2009 at 5:07 pm
I should of thought of that B-ball 1! Well…Paul Pierce is ok. I ONLY LIKE PAUL PIERCE NOT THE CELTICS!
February 20th, 2009 at 6:47 pm
Keep up the good work Sasha.
bring home purple and gold glory!
February 21st, 2009 at 11:03 pm
I was so syked for this site to finally be finished and its great! I love the LAKERS and Sasha.Sasha,your anamzing defense player and have a great pressence on the court. Plus it doesnt hurt that you are gorgeous. Great job last season. This season you seem off though but i know this machine can pull through. GoodLuck thisseason. LETS GO LAKERS!!
February 27th, 2009 at 1:42 am
This is the single, most remarkable internet destination any pro-athlete has ever had vision to build for himself and his fans. Especially young player like Sasha who has great career in front of him - to build internet site like this one - will benefit him in the long run. I wish there were more articles in Spanish as I have family back home that loves Sasha and I see some contributors have Spanish names so maybe they could write more in Spanish. Sasha you are very intelligent person and after building this website and allowing us to talk to you like this you have not only demonstrated your advanced intelligence, but you have also gained a lot more fans from parents who want their kids to choose intelligent role models - not “bang-bang” from the hood type of models that can create only trouble for parents. I thought Charles Barkley was good role model from time to time, but now that he was arrested for DUI - I can’t stand him. Sasha continue doing what you are doing - we love and respect you. Thank you for building website like this - you are first, you are the best. Go Lakers.
February 27th, 2009 at 11:57 pm
Hello Everyone,
I am back on this board - just checking to see if my comment was really posted 10 days ago. I see that it was, and I admit I find this site original and unusual and I like the reaction I have generated among all of you Laker fans. I was just curious if Sasha’s really does what he says he will do and the fact that he posts comments from just about anyone is enlightening. If he didn’t post my comment, I would have burned him around some other blogs on the Internet.
I see many of you are his fans and that is OK - after all this is his site. However, don’t give Sasha too much credit as most of NBA players do not make almost any decisions on their own - they hire teams (managers who are mostly lawyers or accountants) of people to keep them away from the rest of us who are trying to reach out to them. These teams make decisions what kind of shoes players will wear, what kind of websites they will build, what they will say in public when someone sticks camera in their face, etc. There is no individualism - it is all orchestrated by someone in NBA.
Does this make sense to all of you or you expected another standard “Sasha is great” post today? I am just trying to educate you all how real world really works.
February 28th, 2009 at 11:26 am
well…I think some of us already no that, and if not thanks for the…knowledge you just shared, I no we shouldn’t give Sasha to much credit, but at least some..maybe 75% of the 80%? Haha. Well, we love Sasha on HIS website, so what’s the least you can expect? IF there are Derek Fisher sites I’m sure people will show their love for Fisher, that’s how it works. Give all the glory to one player on their site, and give some glory to another player on their site.
March 1st, 2009 at 1:34 am
Celtic Fan - while your insights are valid, they do not apply to Sasha. If you do some research online, you will see that Sasha, Derek Fisher and Kobe Bryant have same team that represents them. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Pelinka
Yet, both Kobe and Derek Fisher have lousy and unsophisticated websites. Their images in the most important marketing channel of all time (internet) are not developed with any strategy or skill behind. In fact, Kobe’s website strategy has made many fans dislike him after charging fans for nothing and Derek Fisher who released his website couple days before Sasha did - looks just like any other dead website out there - no imagination and full of flash that is so 90s.
My point is that in Sasha’s case he is not letting his management team tell him what to do (if he did his internet image and website would look like crap like all these others do) but he does make INDIVIDUAL decisions on what he wants and your theory goes out the window.
Celtic Fan - you comments are intelligent and you add flavor to this board. And they are valid for all other NBA players - but Sasha is different for reasons explained above. Agree?
March 1st, 2009 at 12:29 pm
Wow you showed him, lol!
March 3rd, 2009 at 11:53 pm
this is awesome of sasha and the team around him. mucho amor, amigito!
March 6th, 2009 at 11:59 pm
DUDE! I thought Sasha was turning 26 on Saturday! LOL! My goodness…WELL HAPPY PRE-PRE BIRTHDAY SASHA!!!! ILY!
March 15th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
GO Sasha “The Machine”!!! Beat The Cheating Texas……Make Your Very Koolzz 3 Pointers ….Just 4 Meee :* Please follow me on Twitter…..;-)
April 16th, 2009 at 11:46 pm
wow…you ar really down to earth and really chill….you ar really open to your fans….thats awsome……buena suerte…cant wait to see you here in LA at the victory parade….goo sasha
April 29th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
Sasha,
Intelligent…Passionate…Extremely Talented…Strong…Great Sense of Humor…Dedicated…Hard working…Considerate of others ie.(team mates)…Energetic…and to top it all off… tall, dark and handsome.
No wonder we in LA consider ourselves enormously fortunate to have you here.
My Laker enjoyment is encreased doublefold whenever you are on the floor. Your energy and passion make watching even more fun.
GO LALERS
GO SASHA
May 2nd, 2009 at 10:31 pm
Sasha..i dont know why i like your style of play…but i simply do..i am from CHILE in south-america, and every training session that i have i focus in 3pointers and in defense..just to let you know how much i like your game..maybe you’re not as talented as kobe,but you seem an incredibly nice person.
Hope you read this post, all my best hopes
May 3rd, 2009 at 7:02 pm
Awwwwwww I love his reply to the photo upload question- He’s such a sweetheart, that’s why I love him!! Sasha caught my attention from the first time I ever saw him play, I love his fierce plays, determination and exceptional skills for the game- Go Sasha!!
May 7th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
I will see you at the game in Houston on Sunday, I can’t wait!! Good Luck, have fun, and win, win, win!!!!
Let’s go LA-KERS, LET’S GO
May 14th, 2009 at 1:17 am
Now that I have found this site, I am thrilled to see that you are doing something like this for your fans. This place is very appealing to the eye and has some great people working on it. I hope it keeps growing and getting better. Its great to see a star really connect like this with fans.
June 30th, 2009 at 12:30 pm
DIS IS A LAKER FAN WEBSITE ONLY. IF ANYBODY GOT SOMETHING TO SAY ABOUT US. THEY CAN SAY IT TO OUR FACES. EVERYBODY THATZ A NON LAKER FAN STOP TALKEN STUFF ABOUT OUR TEAM. STOP HATEN ON US CUZ WE ARE THA NBA CHAMPS.
L.A. ROX………
July 4th, 2009 at 10:45 pm
Hi Sasha, I just wanted to let you know that my husband john and I are big fans,My husband is croation. Sasha you are the greatest congratulations on winning the title.
July 14th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
i really love, admire and respect the way you, sasha, are always trying to keep in contact with your fans via this website or other various websites.
it just goes to show what kind of nice guy you really are.
July 16th, 2009 at 10:21 am
WUTS THA NAME OF HIS NEW WEBSITE?
August 4th, 2009 at 9:25 am
The only NBA game I got to see in person was at the Forum and I was lucky enough to see Jerry West, Elgin Baylor and Wilt Chamberlain, I was amazed at how fast the players get up and down the court, shifting from offense to defense, this is something that you don’t pick-up watching on TV. In addition to your shooting ability you are a defensive specialist, how do you prepare for a specific opponent and team?
September 8th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
Sasha,
Congrats on your new website. I LOVE it, and am considering writing for it. Anyway my son and I are big fans of you and all the Laker’s. However, I was just wondering what dialect of Spanish do you speak?
I visited pages about Pau Gasol and I can understand his spanish and what his fans write, but for some reason I have problem reading what your fans write about you! I am not fluent in Spanish, but I do know some…
Anyway, I hope you are taking it easy. There is no need to put a strain on your knees if it is going to compromise your play in the 2010 NBA season!
-Summer
October 20th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
Hey Sasha!
Just wanted to let you know you’ve been playing well in the preseason. I never miss a game! I’ve actually met you a couple times…not to mention I sit right at the end of the Lakers bench near the tunnel like 3 rows back at games. Can’t wait for the first game! I’m sure you’re going to have an amazing season!
Good Luck!
Erika
November 2nd, 2009 at 12:35 am
hey, sasha! making this website makes us- your fans overwhelmed…we are happy that our idol can read our comments…we, especially me, i felt so thankful about this new website because years ago, i just watched you on television ‘coz i can’t really watch your game in person because i’ll have to travel miles and miles because i am resciding here in the Philippines…i wished when i finish college, if we’ll have more money…i’d like to go there at LA and watch your games and support you and the rest of your teammates… this website really means alot for me,not only me but for the rest of your supporters/fans! i hope that we could chat personally in yahoomail or yahoo messenger… you served as my inspiration in my studies, because i always think that when i do get good grades; its because of you! i’ve always been the top three in our class (2nd year up to now 4th year high school) and when i got my certifate of honor when i was still in first year, i felt proud and happy because this success was built and will be build again because of you….in the basketball court, you don’t feel any pressure, you tried your very best, i appreciated your open-mindedness, your hard-work and most of all your diligence! if you have time, you can e-mail your reply to me in my yahoomail: erica_escultor@yahoo.com
once again, thank you!
February 3rd, 2010 at 1:03 am
Good Luck to you always. Stay focused on those 3 pointers & no matter what we all love you . Take care & don’t get hurt. Bruised maybe but not hurt. I’ll be watching & praying for you. Take care