Any true Oklahoma City Thunder fan is also a fan of the team’s beloved sideline reporter, Nick Gallo. Gallo has been covering sports for 17 years, but over the course of the Thunder’s historic season this year, it became apparent that he has a very special relationship with the team — just look at the numerous viral videos and even t-shirts inspired by players’ post-game interviews with him.
When asked about those interviews, Gallo said, “All of this is surreal. This is truly about the players and how much love and affection they have for each other. I love being included in that, but these moments stem from their genuine support of one another. They are so excited about one another’s successes. They have put years and years of hard work into their craft. Those moments after the game reveal how they show up to celebrate one another. What an incredible window to see who this team is both on and off camera — I am fortunate that I get to be a small part of that.”
Gallo has an outstanding resume, having covered events for the NFL and NBA as a sideline reporter on TV, play-by-play announcer and digital host. For the first seven years of his association with OKC, he was a digital content reporter who started with the team in 2012, when he was only 23 years old.
Gallo grew up in Durham, North Carolina, and went to college at Vanderbilt in Tennessee. When asked what he dreamed of becoming when he was a kid, he laughed. “I grew up five minutes away from Cameron Stadium, which is where Duke University plays. I loved Duke basketball as a kid. I lived and breathed it. I always wanted to be a sports reporter.” He wrote for his high school newspaper and for a newspaper in his hometown. When he got to college, he began to write for his college newspaper, The Vanderbilt Hustler. After his sophomore year in college, he got an internship with the Tennessee Titans.
That gave him a path to his dream job. Gallo said, “I invested everything I had into making that work.” After college, he took a job for the New York Jets. “I was working 14-hour days on a stipend. I was trying to get as much experience as I could in pursuit of my dream. When the job opened up with the Thunder, I was ready to go.
“When I arrived in Oklahoma in 2012, I was 23. The organization did a really nice job with putting me in positions to succeed. They slowly expanded my role and allowed me to take on different challenges. Any success I’m having now reflects back on this organization and how they handled my position when I was new.”
When Gallo arrived in Oklahoma City, he knew no one. He was put in touch with the friend of a friend, who eventually introduced him to his now-wife, Madeline. On his first day in town, a coworker found out that Gallo’s apartment wasn’t ready. That co-worker insisted that the new Oklahoman stay with him and his fiancé on his first night in town. “Thirteen years later, we still have that bond and friendship,” Gallo said, adding that the spirit of welcome and kindness he experienced on his first day here is the spirit of Oklahoma.
Being in Oklahoma is a full-circle moment for Gallo, as his great-great grandfather, Giusepi DeMeno, emigrated from Sicily, Italy, to Krebs, Oklahoma, in 1898 to work in the coal mines. This story has always been an important part of Gallo’s family lore. When Nick moved to Oklahoma over 100 years later, he credited the people of Oklahoma and the Thunder for continuing to give him opportunities and allowing him to make this state his home.
