Pro Basketball Talk on NBC Sports podcast

The Washington Wizards' clear goal is to make the playoffs this season, and they are banking on Russell Westbrook to help lift Bradley Beal and the rest of the squad up to that level. Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington joins Kurt Helin of NBC to talk about what Beal wants if he is going to stay in Washington, and if a team with Thomas Bryant, Davis Bertans, and Rui Hachimura can become a solid...

Giannis Antetokounmpo has chosen to stay in Milwaulkee, which is fantastic for the Bucks, maybe good for the league, but bad for the free agent market next summer. The Bucks are title contenders this season but will they keep spending to stay at that level? Were does Antetokounmpo's decision leave Miami, Dallas, and other teams interested in him. Kurt Helin and Dan Feldman from NBC Sports get into...

It's a draft with far more questions than answers: LaMelo Ball, James Wiseman, or Anthony Edwards for the top pick? Does someone trade up to snag Wiseman? What do the Bulls do at No. 4? The Hawks at 6? Does a potentially strong player like Isaac Okoro or Onyeka Okongwu slide down the board and make some team very happy. There's a lot of solid talent in the draft, not a lot of star talent and Kurt...

There is something captivating about the three-peat Lakers of Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant — the way they feuded, the way they won, and ultimately the way they came apart. One of the best sportswriters alive today, Jeff Pearlman, joins the NBC ProBasketballTalk Podcast to talk about that team and his new book, "Three-Ring Circus: Kobe, Shaq, Phil, and the Crazy Years of the Lakers Dynasty" (no...

It may be October heading into November, but the NBA offseason is here and there are a lot of questions: Will Giannis Antetokounmpo lock in with the Bucks? Will Victor Oladipo get traded? What about Chris Paul? Will the Timberwolves or Golden State trade out of one of the top couple picks in the NBA draft? Which teams made a smart hire with their new coach. Kurt Helin and Dan Feldman of NBC Sports...

It's moved from June to October, and rather than cross-country flights everyone will be in a bubble in Orlando, but the NBA Finals are finally here: The Los Angeles Lakers vs. the Miami Heat. The Lakers are the heavy favorites but Miami posses some matchup challenges, starting with Bam Adebayo on Anthony Davis. Add in Jimmy Butler checking LeBron James for stretches, and the Heat shooters such as...

In the wake of Tyler Herro looking like the best offensive player Miami has seen since some guy decided to go back home to Cleveland, the question becomes what players have helped themselves the most in the bubble, and in the playoffs in particular? Not coincidentally, Miami and Denver have a lot of those players. Kurt Helin and Dan Feldman of NBC Sports get into that, talk some Boston/Miami serie...

What happened to a Clippers team that played like it was entitled to a trip to the Finals? Does the gritty, surprising Denver team that came back on Utah and the Clippers have a chance against LeBron James and the Lakers? Seriously, what happened to the Clippers? Kurt Helin and Dan Feldman of NBC Sports discuss all of that, plus get into the start of the Boston and Miami series in the East, what M...

The ping-pong balls bounced the Minnesota Timberwolves way, they now have the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. Now what? Do they take Anthony Edwards or LaMelo Ball, seemingly the consensus top two picks? Do either of them fit next to D'Angelo Russell at the point, and with Karl-Anthony Towns at center? Just how bad would Minnesota's defense be with Towns, Russell, and either Ball or Edwards on t...

What is life like inside the NBA's restart campus at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, is it all just basketball and Mickey-shaped ice cream bars? Mark Medina of the USA Today is one of the reporters in the bubble and he spoke with Kurt Helin in this latest PBT Podcast about life and food in the bubble. They also discussed the scrimmage games, the opening of the NBA season, players kneeling...

Which team is going to win it all? Which is the biggest threat Milwaukee and Giannis Antetokounmpo in the East? Which team will be the biggest surprise? Can anyone catch Memphis for the eighth seed? The NBA is back and Kurt Helin and Dan Feldman from NBC Sports make their restart predictions on all of that and more in this podcast, plus they talk about the likely sale of the Timberwolves. Hosted b...

The NBA is back! Or will be in July, at least, when 22 teams report to Orlando to play in a format that will see eight "seeding" games followed by potential play-in games for the eighth seed. After that it's a regular playoffs — no 1-16 seed but still East and West — with seven-game series each round. Kurt Helin, Dan Feldman, and Keith Smith break down the format and whether this is a format that...

For the third straight season, Rob Dauster of College Basketball Talk collaborated with Kurt Helin of Pro Basketball Talk for a full mock draft. Rob knows the prospects better than anyone. Kurt knows the teams and their needs better than anyone. The result is a unique listening experience breaking down who will be picked where based on fit. The first ten picks are on this podcast. Picks 11-30 can...

To get inside the Jordan-era Bulls and the documentary The Last Dance, we went to the guy who wrote the book on Jordan. Literally. Author Roland Lazenby wrote "Blood on the Horns" about these very 1997-98 Bulls, plus he wrote "Michael Jordan: The Life" and he joined Kurt Helin of NBC Sports this week. They talk about the tension on that team with GM Jerry Krause, how Michael Jordan's upbringing ma...

LeBron James or Giannis Antetokounmpo for MVP? Zion Williamson or Ja Morant for Rookie of the Year? Can Rudy Gobert three-peat as Defensive Player of the Year? The entire team at NBC Sports' NBA page — Kurt Helin, Dan Feldman, and Keith Smith — talk about their picks for end-of-season awards, and the controversy isn't always where fans might expect it. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See...

Should Anthony Edwards be the No. 1 pick? Or James Wiseman? How would Obi Toppin fit with the Warriors? More importantly, how is anyone preparing for a draft when nobody knows when it will take place? Rob Dauster of NBC Sports joins Kurt Helin to discuss what they know and don't know about the 2020 NBA Draft, starting with nobody knowing when it will take place. They discuss players from the big s...

What if the NBA added two new teams this summer, an expansion rebirth of the Seattle Supersonics plus the Flint Tropics? What would that expansion draft look like? What players would teams protect, and could players like Blake Griffin, Gordon Hayward, and Kevin Love be on the move? Kurt Helin, Dan Feldman, and Keith Smith of NBC Sports perform just that mock draft and lay the foundations for their...

The NBA has hit pause on its season after Utah's Rudy Gobert — and later, teammate Donovan Mitchell — tested positive for coronavirus. Now what happens? Is the season shortened, do they just resume where they are, and what could this mean for the draft, Summer League, and the Olympics? What will the reduction in income to the league mean to the salary cap? Kurt Helin and Keith Smith from NBC Sport...

Is Anthony Edwards out of Georgia a No. 1 pick? What about LaMelo Ball? James Wiseman? NBA teams are not convinced, they see this as a down draft year, but someone will have to go No. 1. Rob Dauster from NBC Sports joins Kurt Helin to talk about the draft overall and why you may not want a top three pick this year, which guys lineup to be good pros, a few sleepers, and they get into which teams ca...

The NBA Trade Deadline saw the Clippers land Marcus Morris, the Timberwolves land D'Angelo Russell while getting out from under the contract of Andrew Wiggins, and Miami added Andre Iguodala to the mix while Memphis took on a lot of salary. Kurt Helin and Dan Feldman of NBC Sports break the biggest NBA trade deadline deals down, and talk about the winners and losers, whose moves they liked and did...

The NBA Trade Deadline is fast approaching and the rumors are flying. The Lakers want a playmaker, the Clippers want size up front, so do the Celtics, the Rockets want to trade Clint Capela to someone, and Andre Iguodala is still sitting out there. What is going to happen with all of this? Mark Medina of the USA Today joins Kurt Helin of NBC Sports to discuss all of that, plus they get into a litt...

Zion Williamson's debut lived up to the hype — at least 3.5 minutes of it did — and that sparked a discussion between Kurt Helin and Dan Feldman of NBC Sports about what should be the takeaways from the night. Was Alvin Gentry wrong to pull him out in the fourth quarter? What can we expect going forward? And can the Pelicans make a playoff push? Kurt and Dan then get into the All-Star vote, includ...

Is it James Harden or Giannis Antetokounmpo for MVP? Kawhi Leonard or Rudy Gobert for Defensive Player of the Year? Can anyone catch Ja Morant for Rookie of the Year? We've reached the midpoint of the NBA season, meaning it's time for Kurt Helin and Dan Feldman of NBC Sports to break down where the NBA's awards races stand. They also get into Coach of the Year, Most Improved Player, and the All-NB...

Buy or Sell: Carmelo Anthony will make the Portland Trail Blazers better. Buy or Sell: The Boston Celtics are contenders in the East. Buy or Sell: Luka Doncic is an MVP candidate. Buy or Sell: LeBron James will lead the league in assists. Early this NBA season there are a lot of surprises, so Kurt Helin and Dan Feldman of NBC Sports either buy or sell them in this edition of the NBC Sports ProBask...

The big question with the Knicks: WTF? On an entire podcast based around questions — mostly questions from you the listeners on a range of NBA topics — we had to start with that one about the Knicks. Tommy Beer from Forbes Magazine and NBC Sports Rotoworld joins Kurt Helin of NBC Sports to talks what has gone wrong with the Knicks this season, where they go from here, and just how worried David Fi...