Rising Stars: Meet Sean Murphy of Grand Rapids, MI

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sean Murphy

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
In 2021 in the midst of Covid, I bought podcast equipment at the recommendation of my therapist as something to do for myself. I’ve been watching the Pistons since I was 6, and have always wanted to cover the game in some fashion. After about a year and a half of podcasting independently, I was offered a position at a sports network in Detroit. In that time, I was able to build relationships with other creators as well as people affiliated with the Pistons organization. My podcast grew to the point where I left this sports network to focus solely on my personal channel, and eventually became credentialed through the Detroit Pistons at the beginning of the 2023-24 NBA Season. I’ve been credentialed since and have been able to cover the game I love all under my podcast that I started in my parent’s basement in the midst of a global pandemic.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It’s been anything but a smooth road. Although creating content has been fun, the biggest hurdle is the first year/50-100 episodes. When beginning the content creation journey, few people are actually good out of the gate. And even fewer people tune in at the beginning as well. I had to stay consistent and continue to publish/improve upon content that I didn’t know would ever be viewed. I live in Grand Rapids and have to commute 2 and a half hours to/from each media event/game I cover for the Pistons. It takes a lot of work, absorbs a lot of my time/money/energy. But it’s what I love to do more than anything in the world. I wouldn’t trade it for anything else.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My podcast, From Half Court, is a Detroit Pistons/NBA podcast with over 600,000 lifetime views and 3,200 subscribers with listeners in several countries around the world. Me and my best friend from college Troy Sergey get to talk about the team/game we love and bonded over, and invite the audience into the conversation. We are 175 episodes in not including other videos, live streams, and special events. Being credentialed through an NBA team is no small feat, and I’ve been able to interview professional coaches, trainers, journalists, and league insiders for my podcast. The reach that my platform has is something I could’ve never imagined.

What matters most to you?
Covering the game with integrity and giving deep analysis to fans. As someone who’s been a basketball fan their whole life, especially of a team like the Pistons, it’s always been hard to find content/shows dedicated to the team. It’s been even harder to find shows that give the team/the game justice. To be able to be part of the next generation of story tellers and to do so with accuracy and integrity in a world of increased misinformation is something that’s very important to me.

Contact Info:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-murphy-ba984aa7?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
• Twitter: https://x.com/seanhalfcourt?s=21&t=2BwuCeRhv45u0wBIDaZL4Q
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@fromhalfcourt?si=IT4YROVttqb8KMWw