nba Page 45 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
We've seen Klay Thompson overcome the whispers that he's washed
The Golden State Warriors should be reeling after squandering a 24-point lead against the Sacramento Kings in their NBA In-Season Tournament’s group stage exit. Yet, they’re oddly sanguine about backsliding below .500 since they launched out of the regular season gates to a 6-2 start. Klay Thompson ...
Hate James Harden all you want, but the Clippers are actually good
Some people in this world delight when James Harden is not successful as an NBA basketball player. His iso-heavy style of play is an acquired taste, but so is coffee and yet a Starbucks gift card can win the heart of the average American adult. What really grinds peoples’ gears in regard to Harden i...
The NBA's In-Season Tournament takes from soccer but isn’t a cup
I’ll give the NBA this, as a soccer fan. It’s the only league to take notice of soccer’s consistently rising popularity and attempt to capitalize on that by co-opting some element of it. This is where anyone like me has to fight a blinding urge to scream about promotion and relegation, and earlier t...
Hey, Jason Kidd: Learn how to take a compliment
Jason Kidd was in a foul mood after the Dallas Mavericks’ 121-115 victory against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday. It was the final game of the NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament for the Mavericks, since they will not be advancing past the group stage. Them missing out on the knockout round would...
Billy Donovan needs to end this Chicago tragedy and get back to college hoops
One thing that became apparent during the final night of the NBA’s In-Season Tournament Group Stage was that the Chicago Bulls stink. ...
Sorry, Congress, Adam Silver and the NBA aren't going to stop doing business with China
When the U.S. is at war with China in 20 years, on the list of microaggressions that incited the conflict will surely be NBA-China relations. The Association’s dealings in the People’s Republic of China are so well-documented and lucrative that they created in-roads for its players, who may not real...
The NBA In-Season Tournament: Where you can lose and still win
The NBA has really outdone itself this time. This In-Season tournament nobody asked for in the first place has gotten more convoluted as it extends into the later stages. Rewarding teams as they lose is the biggest participation trophy-era thing there could be. Sure, the analytics crowd is juiced ab...
It's tough to watch, but PSG is doing the right thing
On the one hand, the architects of this PSG team probably should be applauded for actually taking the time to step back and try to create a team instead of collecting players. Messi left, Neymar decamped for Saudi Arabia and PSG didn’t chase whatever shiny thing they could find to plug the holes, no...
Russell Westbrook has a point about fans crossing the line
When attending an NBA game involving Russell Westbrook, you might want to be careful what words you let slip out of your mouth. Westbrook has never been with the foolishness of fans, but in the past few years, it’s like he’s been on a crusade to confront any fan who crosses him. Westbrook had anothe...
The contrived vilification of Malika Andrews has reached a tipping point
There’s no such thing as a good echo chamber. Eventually, bad narratives begin bouncing around, spreading and taking root at a cellular level. ...
Sick, Sad World of Sports: The grim side of athletics
Hello, and welcome back to the Sick, Sad World of Sports, a reminder that sports figures are human, and as such, are no more or less prone to fallibility than the rest of us. Everyone makes mistakes, but often fans overlook a misdemeanor or even a felony, because sports are supposed to be an escape....
Justin Fields and Josh Dobbs capped a week littered with awful QB play
There are far more important things to be thankful for in this world than being a fan of an NFL team with consistent quarterback play. Beginning with that caveat, many Americans do spend a lot of hours watching football. The product is exponentially better when the quarterbacks are above average....
The real problem with the Josh Giddey statutory rape allegations
When you continue to embrace a man who reportedly impregnated a 13-year-old when he was in college, and honor that same man regularly by inviting him to marquee league events (like the 2023 All-Star Game) alongside Kareem Abdul Jabbar and LeBron James, it makes it really hard to discipline a current...
From Christian Pulisic to Gio Reyna, we rank the US men's soccer team
Chaos is a ladder, said Lord Baelish. Especially when it comes to international soccer, where injuries, manager changes — both with country and club — a bad transfer or run of form can shift a player’s standing with his national team within a week or two. Getting together only every month or longer ...
Deadspin Dead Ringers: Professional athletes and their celebrity doppelgängers
We’ve all heard of doppelgängers — people who aren’t related but look like one another. There’s a whole subreddit dedicated to finding lookalikes. There was a Saturday Night Live short on the subject. But have you ever looked at one of your favorite athletes, or a player on your favorite team and no...
These are the all-time NBA starting fives
While debating politics over Thanksgiving can cause irreplaceable family fissures, debating the all-time starting fives for each NBA team holds way fewer stakes. There are many different ways to build an all-time starting five, all of which illicit strong reactions. Some people prefer to choose the ...
The best fan-hosted NBA podcasts
With trust in the mainstream media dwindling daily, it’s no wonder corporate sports journalism is also losing ground. Partisanship and traffic-driven agendas have diluted the public’s trust in NBA talking heads. As anyone with a microphone and laptop can start a podcast, a DIY community of fan-drive...
These were the best NBA games ever played on Thanksgiving or Christmas
It’s been more than two decades since we’ve seen an NBA game on Thanksgiving. And for the sake of communion and fellowship, we’re better for it. It’s not like the TV won’t be on anyway. With Fox News and CNN rotting our brains and the NFL providing an annual doubleheader, there’s plenty to go numb f...
Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers are putting on a show
It’s the season of giving and the Indiana Pacers have one man to be thankful for their early season prosperity. Tyrese Haliburton has given the league whiplash leading Indiana’s turnaround in the second year of his stint in Indiana. No offense is more captivating to watch or more dynamic than Indian...
It's mini-March Madness, only in November
Gather round. It’s Feast Week: When college basketball and holiday branding collide in a breathtaking fireworks show of national championship contenders facing off in gyms barely fit for a church league game....