THE WORLD'S BEST ATHLETES TELL HER EVERYTHING

Taylor Rooks gets her NFL and NBA interview subjects to open up like they're in therapy

- JOSH ROSENBERG

DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO INTERVIEW AN ATHLETE? AT THE top tier-like, say, in the NBA and NFL-athletes are notoriously tight-lipped, extraordinarily competitive, and often laser focused on just one thing: the game. Getting them to sit down and reflect publicly isn't just a challenge; it's often downright difficult. At least for most people.

Taylor Rooks makes it look easy. Those on the receiving end of the 32-yearold sports reporter's questions always seem to be relaxed. Comfortable. You can see it in the way they lean back in their chairs, arms and legs uncrossed, baring their souls like they're confiding in a trusted therapist. In a recent sit-down, she had former NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion Vince Carter talking about how Kobe Bryant helped him through his fears of retirement.

Wide receiver Garrett Wilson, meanwhile, told her the story of how doctors informed his parents on the day of his birth that he likely would not survive the night due to lung complications. She even had Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat admit how much it bothers him that he has never won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award. No wonder she is sometimes called a "Dr. Melfi for athletes."

Rooks wears the psychologist comparison with pride, but as she says, it's not some grand, complicated trick she plays on her guests: "People feel like it's therapy just because I'm asking them, "Why?"" she says by way of explanation. It helps that Rooks is also naturally disarming. Easy to be around but full of surprises. She even came to our conversation with prepared questions for me. She can't help it. When she was growing up, Rooks's mother told her that she was born to be a "yapper." Mom turned out to be prophetic.