Topic: NBA

September 4, 2012

Obama is to ____ as Romney is to ____, NBA Edition

Benjy Sarlin

The Basketball Fan in Chief has spoken: Barack Obama's campaign is the Miami Heat, Mitt Romney's is Jeremy Lin. As basketball metaphors go, this is something of a deep cut. But is it really the comparison that Obama wants to make? And, more to the point, what does it even mean?

August 10, 2012

Five Almost-Impartial Responses to the Dwight Howard Trade

Anthony Kim

The Dwight Howard trade did take place, as it turns out. The inevitability of his move to the Lakers did little to soften the weirdness of how the deal actually worked out, though, for the Magic and the rest of the NBA.

July 25, 2012

Summer League and the Zone of No-Context

Scott Henkle

The NBA Summer League was, as usual, giddy, goofy, mostly useless for its stated player-evaluation purposes and not necessarily even all that much like basketball in a lot of ways. It is also, in its way, totally perfect, and exactly what basketball fans need at this time of year.

July 2, 2012

Ballers on the Pitch

Kate Perkins

Notes from the annual Steve Nash Foundation Showdown game, where NBA players and sports journos alike are tolerated by world-class soccer players. All for the good of the kids.

July 2, 2012

Feeding The Van Gundy: A Night at the NBA Draft

Robert Attenweiler

As a television program, the NBA Draft has a certain dorky appeal. But as a live event—one worth schlepping to Newark for, and one that gets away with beers approaching the $10 plateau—it's a different story. Still, there's something to be said for the NBA Draft as a live experience, and not just because lucky attendees get to watch a frazzled Jeff Van Gundy eat crappy pizza.

June 27, 2012

The Curious Case of Melo and Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum

Nick Bond

Ever wonder what do Carmelo Anthony, Lowell from Wings and Paris Hilton have in common? You get one guess, and then you just have to read this find out. No peeking!

June 23, 2012

Getting To Yes, Eventually, With The Miami Heat

David Roth

There's no denying LeBron James, if there ever was. So why the incredibly powerful urge to do so? It's not the players, as it turns out. It's the game.

June 12, 2012

Youth in Revolt

Eric Freeman

By standard NBA logic, the Oklahoma City Thunder should not be where they are today. In a league where experience is seen as a prerequisite for success, the Thunder have dispatched three veteran-laden West contenders with a young core of four players aged 23 or younger. It’s an accomplishment unprecedented in this era, and the NBA world has bought into the youth movement due to their success. Where that puts the Thunder in the typical NBA championship narrative is unclear. 

June 11, 2012

Dissenting With The Dissenter: A reply to Dave Zirin on the NBA Finals

Kate Perkins

Fandom requires a certain amount of surrender to contingency, given that we're not the ones playing the game. But, in his column advocating a politically motivated approach to picking a favorite in the NBA Finals, Dave Zirin takes engagement a step too far.

June 11, 2012

Gone, But Unforgettable

Jeremy Repanich

The Oklahoma City Thunder are not the Seattle SuperSonics. This isn't a reason not to love this most lovable of juggernauts. But it doesn't quite stave off the bitterness, either.