Issue link: https://owlkids.uberflip.com/i/1516659
OWL: Were you always into basketball? JORDAN: Yeah! My goal was to become an NBA player. When I realized I wasn't going to play basketball professionally, I had to think of other ways to work for the NBA. O: What skills do you need to handle social media for the NBA? J: An understanding of the game and how a fan consumes (or enjoys) it. We make sure that fans who follow us are getting the information they're looking for. We're also trying to appeal to younger fans and those who've never been exposed to the game of basketball. O: What's the focus of the NBA Canada social media account? J: We focus on Canadian players. Canada has amazing talent across the NBA, the WNBA, and more. There's so much more to talk about than just the Raptors! OWL: When did you first know that you could do voices? ERIC: In high school, I started doing the morning announcements in different characters. I would walk down the halls and hear, "Hey! Was that you this morning? Nice one!" Those compliments added fuel to the fire. O: Did you study acting? E: I was actually a self-trained cartoonist. I started interning (training) at animation studios. There I found other jobs, like recording scratch dialogue— these are temporary voices that are added before real voice actors are brought in. That's how I got started! O: What advice would you give to aspiring voice actors? E: Don't take yourself out of the equation. Even when a door slams in your face, there's going to be two more that open! PHOTOS DREAMSTIME (NINTENDO SWITCH, BASKETBALL); NBA CANADA (JORDAN NELSON); TRUDI CASTLE (TRUDI, WORKSTATION, CONCEPT ART); CORUS ENTERTAINMENT INC. (ERIC BAUZA, LOONEY TUNES CHARACTERS) Jordan plays in the NBA Canada team pickup game ahead of the NBA Canada Series in Montreal. Eric won an Emmy for his work on Looney Tunes Cartoons at the 2022 Children's and Family Emmy Awards! WHO: Jordan Nelson WHERE: NBA Canada, Toronto, Ontario WHAT: Communicating on social media is a huge part of every business. Jordan uses TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook to spread news about professional basketball to fans. MEDIA MANAGER MEDIA MANAGER SPORTS SOCIAL SPORTS SOCIAL owlconnected.com 15