Topic: Why We Watch

There's no way to tell what Nate Robinson will do from one moment to the next. Nate himself seems as surprised as anyone, if not more so. This is what makes him infuriating, and also what makes him great. This is why we watch.

Veteran big man Jason Collins has come out as the NBA's first openly gay player, which is good for him and the game and those of us who care about it. He did it with all the invisible but palpable grace and modesty that has helped keep him in the league all these years.

There were many ways Stephen Curry's story could have gone wrong. The Warriors star could have been Randolph Childress, or Walter Berry, or Trajan Langdon. Instead, he turned out to be Stephen Curry.

Ray Allen's brilliance is built on what seems like a simple act of repetition: the same perfect shot, taken and made over and over, for years. But while that's at the center of what makes Allen great, it's not just that. It's a lot more than that.