‘Making A Master Behind The Lense’ - The Mercedes Oliver Story

Cleveland is home to some of the world’s most iconic sports figures. Two of the greatest basketball players, LeBron James and Stephen Curry, were born in Akron City Hospital three and a half years apart. Seven years later, in 1994, Cleveland was blessed with the birth of another basketball talent, world-renowned Photographer Mercedes Oliver.

Born to an African-American father and an African-American-Japanese mother, Oliver’s childhood was filled with Asian and African culture, which had a profound impact on her while growing up. From Anime to video games, she always had different interests than girls her age in the early 2000s, and it would be one of the many things that made her unique. 

As the younger sister of two older siblings, she was so influenced by her brother that she inhabited some of his interests. It caused her to discover her identity very early, and she preferred action figures like Mobile Suit Gundam with her brother rather than Barbie dolls with her big sister. She began playing basketball at five years old, and sports became a significant part of her life because she was obsessed with working hard.

“The biggest impression sports had on me was I didn't feel the most outcasted because I was such a unique person,” said Oliver. “I have very unique interest, and I couldn't really relate to people. When you’re a girl, growing up is really hard because your body keeps changing, and I'm naturally bigger than everybody, so the only place where I could feel comfortable was in sports.” 

The Development Of Her Craft.

 She was very inspired by athletes' obsessions with achieving their goals. Witnessing some of her favorite athletes experience adversity helped her develop a love for stories. Oliver was fascinated by the lore behind a world-class athlete’s career aspirations, and discovering the passion triggered something in her that changed her life forever.

Her passion for discovering stories stuck with her, becoming her life’s mission. By the end of high school, she was considering what to pursue in college, and after a lifetime of experience in athletics, she decided to pursue a career in sports. When she arrived at Xavier University in 2012, she became a sports reporter to express her love for stories. Oliver enjoyed telling the stories of athletes but wasn’t fond of the social responsibilities that came with reporting.

After telling her advisor she no longer wanted to be on camera, her advisor suggested taking a class in digital innovation so she could learn valuable skills for working in the sports field. She used her skills to become a videographer and flourished, earning an internship opportunity from Xavier.

It was her senior year, and she began documenting the Xavier’s Men's Basketball Team during the 2015-16 season. They finished the season 28-6 and were ranked in the top 10 of the Associated Press Poll. The season provided a fantastic experience and made her realize she viewed the game from a unique perspective. Her ability to capture certain angles magnified the greatness of the athletes, and fans of the team were impressed by her work, especially because she was pretty new at the time.

The immersion was a life-changing experience for her, and seeing stories unfold firsthand helped her form a deep love for the art. Her passion for track and field showed in her pictures, and she produced cinematic videos of numerous events, vastly boosting her resume. However, gaining experience brought ups and downs, forcing Oliver to develop an insatiable hunger for greatness. Her quality of work caused her job to depend heavily on her to create graphics and social media campaigns, leading to a strenuous workload for one person. 

“The bane of existence of creatives in college sports is that they want you to do everything; they want you to be the Videographer, the copywriter, the Graphic Designer, the social media campaigner, travel and attend meetings,” said Oliver “That’s a lot to put on one person, it's a very heavy burden, and that's why you see a lot of creatives burnt out and why the retention rate is so high, and people quit because you’re doing a significant amount of work for a little bit of money.”

The amount of work she was under enticed her to find a change, and in 2019, she decided photography was the best route to take. Her time as a videographer made it a smooth transition when delving into the art of capturing photos, and even Oliver herself had no idea what was over the horizon. After college, she prayed for an opportunity, and after months of waiting, one night, she received a message about potentially working for a sports agency.

A Life-Changing Decision & The 2022 NBA Finals.

Her undeniable resume ensured she would get the job, and her career would officially take off. A few months in, her best friend and Atlanta Falcons photographer, Shauna Lockwood, got her in touch with a representative of the NBA G-League. Oliver would get a job for the NBA shortly after and rise to a new level in media. After shooting multiple G-league games night after night, she received a phone call asking her to cover the 2022 NBA Finals because of the quality she was producing, and the six-game series provided a life-changing opportunity for Oliver. 

She took multiple photos of future Hall of Famers Stephen Curry, Jayson Tatum, and Jaylen Brown that encapsulate the entirety of the series from a cinematic point of view. The pictures were featured all over social media because of the emotion they conveyed, showcasing her ability as a world-class photographer on the biggest stage in all of basketball. She left San Francisco with newfound confidence and became the league's go-to reference to produce the best pictures possible.

Her career kicked off from here; later that year, she was invited to Salt Lake City, Utah, to cover the 2023 NBA All-Star Game. Her work was so impressive that the NBA Communications team invited her again the following year to Indianapolis to produce more coverage of the star-studded contest during the 2024 NBA All-Star game. This increased her notoriety in the NBA media space, and just as the Olympic season was set to begin, Oliver would achieve even greater heights. 

Covering American Sports History

She was one of a select few photographers chosen to document the team’s preparations for the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. She added more Hall of Famers to her resume, including Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, and LeBron James. The stunning photos were met with critical acclaim, and her experience on the trip would go beyond her wildest fantasies.

While performing her daily duties, she crossed paths with James numerous times, but James would learn about her past at a certain point. The two Cleveland natives bonded over their love for Ohio and would exchange words whenever their paths crossed in Las Vegas. It was undoubtedly the most memorable moment of the trip and the completion of a childhood dream.

An Amazing Future For An Amazing Person.

Oliver has achieved so much at the young age of 30 and is still aspiring to reach her full potential. Her humility and loving personality inspire others around her, and she is destined for greatness in the current NBA media space. Her engaging photos are truly one-of-a-kind, and as she continues to rise, more fans will become aware of her world-class abilities. Words can not express how bright her future is, and the entire basketball community will always be a better place with her in it.