5 Questions With Bomani Jones of HBO’s ‘Game Theory’

Game Theory With Bomani Jones HBO Idris Talib/HBO

Bomani Jones is renowned for his insightful sports commentary, unflinching arguments and merciless beatdowns of fools on Twitter. The host of The Right Time podcast and former ESPN TV pundit joins the ranks of Bob Costas and Bryant Gumbel with his own HBO show, Game Theory With Bomani Jones, late-nights on Sundays beginning March 13 at 11:30pm ET/PT.

“What we’re trying to do here, is take my various thoughts that I’ve had about all things sports and figure out how to put it into that deep space, that third dimension,” Jones says of Game Theory. “It’s going to be based primarily on my opinions and my views and looks at the world, and then it’s going to be beefed up by HBO.”

Jones beefed up this edition of our “5 Questions”:

1. What’s been your strangest or most interesting fan encounter?
I was at Kenny Smith’s party at the All-Star Game in 2013 in Houston. I hadn’t been on television that long at that point, and I walk in, and this dude sees me and just stops and does everything short of the guy in Coming to America when he sees Prince Akeem at the Garden. He’s just, “Oh, my God! Oh, man, you my dawg! You my favorite!” He just kept going on and on, and it was getting kind of embarrassing and I couldn’t walk away from him. He was just so ecstatic. After he walked away, somebody walked up to me and said, “Are you [sports journalist] J.A. Adande?” I said no and just walked away.

2. Can you tell us about a time you were starstruck?
That same Kenny Smith party in Houston, I’m walking up to the club and I see Charles Barkley and Ernie Johnson with the TNT crew. I stop and talk to them. I can’t believe that I’m just there hanging out talking to these guys. My best friend is there with me, and we are about to get into the line for the club that’s so long. And while we’re standing there, whoever’s letting them in the back door, says, “Hey, let’s go.” And Charles says, “Oh, yeah, Bomani’s coming with us.” And I was like, “Oh, really?” And I walked with Charles Barkley and Ernie, and I got halfway up the steps before I realized I left my homeboy outside. Just completely swept up in the moment.

3. What’s a movie that you can watch over and over again?
Somehow, even though it’s not the highest qualitative work ever, I could still watch Half Baked with Dave Chappelle over and over again just to get to the Bob Saget scene.

4. What’s your favorite sports team?
I did realize as that World Series run hit, that Atlanta Braves, despite all the reasons I want to quit you, I will never really be able to. That was the first love I had in this world that wasn’t family, and I guess it probably always will be.

5. What’s a job you had before your career in sports?
I bused tables at Fuddruckers when I was in high school. That’s a job I feel like everybody should have. You learn a lot about the world working under those circumstances. I worked at the Gap in Lenox Square in Atlanta. I did a little bit of bartending. The best job I ever had, though, I worked in an office when I was in college, where one half of the office was scholarships and honors program, and the other half of the office was academic probation. It was a great way to meet just about every woman that went to school there.

About Ryan Berenz 2166 Articles
Member of the Television Critics Association. Charter member of the Ancient and Mystic Society of No Homers. Squire of the Ancient & Benevolent Order of the Lynx, Lodge 49, Long Beach, Calif. Costco Wholesale Gold Star Member since 2011.