Nothing But Respect

We are joined by Defector's own Samer Kalaf to discuss the saga of the highly influential (for better or for worse) Instagram page HOUSE OF HIGHLIGHTS. Along the way we talk about advertising brain drain, the victory of marketing speak over prose, copaganda, emoji choices, cynical marketing, being too tuff, and much more. LINKS Samer's Highlights for Children story Esquire profile of Omar Raja New...

We are joined by author Jeremy Gordon to talk about his excellent novel SEE FRINEDSHIP , Jordan era supremacy, Rich Paul's podcasting venture, and why the better team always wins. LINKS: Follow Jeremy on Twitter , IG Purchase See Friendship Patrick and Jeremy's interview about See Friendship Follow harry on  Twitter ,  IG   Follow Patrick on  Twitter ,  Bluesky See Privacy...

We are joined by author and creator of TrueHoop , Henry Abbott, to talk injuries, electromagnetic fields, Trae Young, and the true value of a point guard. We also propose some Big Idea rule changes like abolishing the draft, and putting a key in the corner. LINKS Our previous episode with Henry Purchase Henry's book Balistic Patrick on Trae Young Henry on Trae Young Niners Electromagnetic Field Th...

We are joined by actor, writer, comedian Devon Walker to talk bad NBA jersey numbers, on-court sartorial decisions, Aaron Gordon's diss track about Dwayne Wade giving him a 9/10 on in the dunk contest, and MUCH MORE LINKS Follow Devon on IG Listen to My Favorite Lyrics , follow the pod on IG Follow harry on  Twitter ,  IG   Follow Patrick on  Twitter ,  Bluesky See Privacy...

We are joined by Eddie Averill AKA @Realhoopermovie to discuss Sports, Movies, and Sports Movies! We talk about his experience as the admin of the legendary @nbafilmtweets account, why basketball players make good film critics, and how athletes are the new movie stars. Then we talk about Marty Supreme (SPOILERS START AT ROUGHLY: 23:28 UNTIL ROUGHLY: 01:00:30 ) and finally we hear what it was like...

We are joined by Defector’s Maitreyi Anantharaman to do a little Midwest NBA check-in. We talk about the Pistons’ social media team, Caris LeVert, and the Bucks’ predicament with Giannis. Maitreyi gives us an update on the labor negotiations between the WNBA and the WNBPA and on trying to decipher the signal from the noise. LINKS Patrick about Giannis Trade Talks Follow harry on  Twitter ,&nb...

We are joined by Tom Krell (How To Dress Well) to break down the excellent Spurs vs Thunder game, Evil Wemby, Cam Johnson's slow start, Jokic, Negentropic hoopers, plasticity bucket getting, Jamal Murray's IG costing him millions, and much more! LINKS Follow How To Dress Well on Twitter , IG Listen to The Hellp's new album Follow harry on  Twitter ,  IG   Follow Patrick on  Twi...

Welcome to the 5th annual SHAMSYS!!!! AKA the Shams Charania Award For Excellence In Divulging Of Information Through Syntax Comprehended By Many. Every year Defector hosts a livestream where Defector staff members Patrick, Samer and Giri break down the year's nominees. This year Harry joined the Shamsy committee and we are running the livestream on the NBR feed. If you want to WATCH the Shamsys s...

We are joined by sports media legend defector, Ray Ratto, to discuss the world of NBA Refereeing. Ray walks us through how NBA refereeing has changed, the impact of Darell Garretson, and how refs used to have personalities. We also discuss the legacy of Tim Donaghy, and how Wilt Chamberlain was actually really, truly, actually a bucket. LINKS Follow harry on  Twitter ,  IG   Follow...

Lots of MEIDA talk this week. First, we discuss a strange hole in the NBA media apparatus, then we discuss the rise of the SportsCenter-style tech show TBPN. Finally, we play a game of My Business or None of My Business. LINKS: Great profile on TBPN by Mike Isaac Another great TBPN profile by Julia Hornstein The TBPN Media Map Follow harry on  Twitter ,  IG   Follow Patrick on ...

We are joined by Sam Sheehan and @TrillBroDude of the excellent You Know Ball podcast for a special Home and Home series this week. Patrick and Harry will be on an episode of YKB this week, coming out Tuesday night. On THIS episode, we discuss Luka Garza's dad, the Pelicans being broke, and the VJ Edgecomb experience. Then we talk about some of the cool teams this year, including the Rockets, Pist...

We are joined by blogger extraordinaire Ock Sportello to talk Nico Harrison, Cam Thomas, Cooper Flag propping up the economy, possible false flag operations, Nets nihilism, and MUCH MORE P.S. As we mentioned in the intro, any rating, reviewing, sending to friends who may dig the pod, etc. is so helpful and really helps the show grow! LINKS Patrick's recent piece about the Kings Ock's Nets Season P...

We are joined by NBC's Rohan Nadkarni to discuss some early-season trends. Included are: NBR's official Deep State nominee Noah LaRoche, this disappointing #Pelicans start, the Thunder's dominance, Ketamine Kuminga, and sandwhiches in Chicago LINKS Follow harry on  Twitter ,  IG   Follow Patrick on  Twitter ,  Bluesky Follow Rohan on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://a...

We are joined by Liz Franczak of the esteemed TrueAnon podcast for a wide-ranging conversation about gambling, gooning, Austin Reeves, Lebron as epic bacon guy, hoops on NBC, Haliburton, the warriors, and so much more! LINKS TrueAnon Patrick on the media's coverage of the gambling scandal Daniel Kolitz's Harper's piece on Gooning Follow harry on  Twitter ,  IG   Follow Patrick on&nb...

First, we talk to Tom Krell (also known by his stage name, How To Dress Well) about the Nuggets, agentic hoops, why the Thunder represent late capitalism, fading Sabonis, Donovan Mitchell as a cop, Cooper Flag's frame, and his high hopes for the Bulls this year. Then we talk to famously fly white boy Michael Centola about growing up with Anthony Edwards. P.S. Patrick's new podcast "Only If You Get...

This is part two of our NBA Season preview! This one is mostly reviewing what happened the playoffs last year + some existential questions for the upcoming season. Follow harry on  Twitter ,  IG   Follow Patrick on  Twitter ,  Bluesky See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

To preview the 2025–2026 NBA season, we went back through the 2024–2025 season and picked out the key moments — and what they might tell us about the year ahead. Topics include Ball Brothers lore, Bernie Lee and doublespeak, the Thompson Twinification of the NBA, Hyperball, Unc Ball, Boston exceptionalism, 16 teams passing on Dalton Knecht, and much more. This is Part 1 of our season preview! Part...

This week we Cathy'd with Defector's own Maitreyi Anantharaman and Jordan Robinson from the Womans Hoops Podcast. We spend the first half talking about games 1 and 2 of the WNBA finals and the second half talking about.....cathy. LINKS Maitreyi on the Aces Maitreyi on the Cathy Press Conference Follow Maitreyi on  Bluesky Follow Jordan on IG Follow harry on  Twitter ,  IG &nbsp...

We are joined by playwright, writer, and former Instagram admin Max Wolf Friedlich to talk about knicks fandom, hating shai because you actually love him, sidetalkification of new york, and how LA brings out the Knicks sicko in him (much like the British in Northern Ireland). We also talk about his great piece in ID magazine about running the Instagram account for Lil Mequella. LINKS Max's Essay a...

We are joined by my NBR WNBA correspondent Maitreyi Anantharaman to break down the end of the Lynx season, Aces vs Fever, and Alyssa Thomas' evil (complementary) style. We also discuss the Liberty's disappointing season, Maitreyi investing in Lorde tickets too early, and who we'd want to be coached by in the W. LINKS (Lynx :( ) Maitreyi's recent blogs on the Lynx & Sami Whitcomb Patrick's rece...

We are joined by author, urbanist, and certified bucket Ben Schneider to talk about stadiums from an urbanist perspective. We discuss how stadiums play a role in what Mike Davis once dubbed “the infinite game” of metropolitan development projects. We also get into why Urbanist Twitter and NBA Twitter feel strangely similar, why basketball stadiums tend to work better for cities than football stadi...

We are joined by writer, researcher, journalist, and co-creator of BLOWBACK, Noah Kulwin, for a mega episode recorded in person at Harry's apartment. We talk about the Aspiration story, how it’s been received and what that says about where power lies in sports media, and a larger conversation about Pablo Torre's investigative work with PTFO. We also talk to Noah about what it’s like working on The...

We are joined by Defector staff writer Maitreyi Anantharaman to preview the WNBA playoffs. We've got something for everyone – fans locking into the playoffs, fans already locked into this season, and fans locked the f**k into their specific team’s playoff domination. We also talk who won the Plum x Aces divorce, if Caitlin Clark is the victim of racism (she's not), and what playoff outcome would b...

We are joined by Alex Bazeley and Bobby Wagner of the Tipping Pitches Podcast for a special Home and Home Mega Two Parter Episode (a concept we invented). We ranked every Jersey patch sponsor from least evil to most evil. On this feed we did the Western Conference. Over on the Tipping Pitches feed we did the Eastern Conference. Listen to the Eastern Conference episode here on the Tipping Pitches F...

We are joined by Maya Goldberg-Safir, writer, journalist, podcaster, and creator of the excellent WNBA-focused substack Rough Notes. We get a little meta at the top and talk about Maya's journey into WNBA media, then she bravely explains the Stud Buds to us. We also get into Maya's awesome reporting on the WBL and the Bay Area's First Women's Pro Basketball Team , and who should really be sitting...