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OKC's Sam Presti is an overrated draft savant
Sam Presti is the only NBA executive ever to draft three future MVPs and he did it in three consecutive drafts. It’s a maniacal stroke of luck and an exercise of risk/reward, chance and foresight. By doing so, Presti at the time guaranteed short-term success for the soon-to-be relocated Seattle Soni...
The NBA All-Star Game has never been better!
Welcome to Deadspin’s The Sports Nihilist, where all is for naught, and we are but accidental jolts of electrified meat stuck to the surface of a rock in an indifferent universe....
As the Thunder return to contention, let's not forget the Supersonics
The Oklahoma City Thunder have executed one of the shortest rebuilding periods in NBA history. Since the breakup of the Kevin Durant/Russell Westbrook pairing, leading into the current Thunder 2.0, only lasted three seasons of extreme tanking. Those losing efforts netted them the sixth pick in the ...
Jalen Brunson is the best point guard in the NBA
At his introductory press conference on Sept. 22, 2022, Jalen Brunson sat at a podium, decked out in a crisp number 11 New York Knick jersey, and said the following, “I’m not a savior in any way, shape, or form. I just want to be able to contribute to the team.”...
Alabama should be applauded for defying historical trends by hiring Kalen Deboer
In response to Nick Saban’s sudden retirement, the Crimson Tide hired Washington’s Kalen Deboer and averted the mistake that’s plagued program after program over the last half-century. Bravo to Alabama for expanding beyond their horizons....
The natives are getting restless at Ohio State and LSU
There’s natural staff turnover — primarily assistants getting poached for better opportunities elsewhere — and then there’s what Ohio State and LSU are purportedly doing. Each head coach is under pressure to make changes after showings not up to program standards, and if history is an indication of ...
Steve Kerr officiating complaints come across as sour grapes to some
Not everyone seems to be as “disgusted” with NBA officiating as Golden State head coach Steve Kerr....
Wait, are those the Rams knocking on the NFL playoff door?
If not for the Green Bay Packers’ Sunday night surprise win against the Kansas City Chiefs, the Los Angeles Rams would currently have the final playoff spot in the NFC. They are on a three-game winning streak since their bye week and the offense is humming even with Cooper Kupp sidelined with an inj...
Why is no one screaming about the NBA’s MVP race yet?
There’s one unquestioned upside to the NBA’s In-Season Tournament. The endless promos and exhausting exposure to promote Adam Silver’s baby — and debate over if it’s working or if it matters — has overshadowed the usual topic de jour as we hit the quarter-season mark: The MVP race....
Jayden Daniels is this season’s Hendon Hooker on wheels
The most valuable player in college football has several connotations in college football’s NIL age. Off the field, Arch Manning and Shedeur Sanders accrue higher earnings and interest on the free market. LSU’s Jayden Daniels has climbed from 57th to 11th in On3’s NIL Valuation Ranking. Name brand r...
Cooper Kupp to make season debut for Rams alongside Puka Nacua
Los Angeles Rams All-Pro wide receiver Cooper Kupp makes his season debut in Week 5 after missing the second half of last year due to injury. Kupp’s return couldn’t come at a better time as LA hosts Philly. In his absence, a new and unlikely star in rookie WR Puka Nacua has emerged as another dynami...
With Cooper Kupp out, rookie Puka Nacua has been putting in a star effort for the Rams
When the Los Angeles Rams announced that Cooper Kupp would begin the season on injured reserve, that was supposed to significantly hinder their offense. He was targeted 191 times during his first-team All-Pro 2021 campaign. In 2022, Kupp had 98 targets in only nine games. In his place has stepped ro...
Rams' meaningless game-ending FG embodies everything wrong with NFL and sports gambling
The San Francisco 49ers had the game in the bag. They were up 10 with just over 90 seconds left in the game. The Cooper Kupp-less Rams didn’t replicate the offense that led them to a Super Bowl two seasons ago, and wouldn’t score quickly enough to find another drive beyond the one that began with 1:...
The Rams' redemption campaign is underway
The Los Angeles Rams were unwatchable last season. Injuries depleted the team, and after starting the 2022 campaign at 3-3, the Rams lost their next six games and were out of the division and playoff hunt by mid-November. Just one year after climbing to the NFL mountain top and winning Super Bowl LV...
Ja’Marr Chase’s Mount Rushmore is a little different than most
Ja’Marr Chase was recently asked to list his top wide receivers of all time in the form of Mount Rushmore, and he went in a different direction than you’d probably expect. He listed a couple of regulars we usually see on these rankings, then Chase went into left field on one of his choices. Chase mi...
Anthony Davis’ extension isn’t a risk, it’s standard operating procedure
The Los Angeles Lakers continued their tradition of taking care of stars Friday, signing Anthony Davis to a three-year, $186 million max extension. The Brow will now be in purple and gold through 2028, and in the process was rewarded with the richest annual extension in NBA history at $62 million pe...
The Reggie Evans Bad Basketball Basketball Hall of Fame 2023 inductees
Studies have shown that negative news garners more of the public’s attention than positive news, so with that knowledge, I propose an alternative to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. The Basketball Hall of Fame has the prestige, but it doesn’t generate as much conversation as Twitter ramblings f...
We still can’t have normal conversations about Nikola Jokić
SBNation writer Mat Issa tweeted out an observation following Game 1 of the NBA Finals. He noticed that the Denver Nuggets were able to get a defensive stop because of something that Nikola Jokić did at the free-throw line....
AI-generated hot takes are scarier than deepfaked podcasts
Sports media is the most cavernous of echo chambers. The takes write themselves, and the only catch is finding a stooge willing to scream some dumb shit. Most people hesitate to get all Skip Bayless-y because rational humans view trading their morals to become a walking Twitter troll as a bad thing....