The Athletic NBA Daily

In the latest Point of Contention, Ethan Strauss and Marcus Thompson debate. Hosted by Zach Harper. Take 1: LeBron James will be out at least the next two games for the Lakers and it could be longer! This according to ESPN. Following a 20-game absence James, the Star of Space Jam 2 out this summer, returned for two games with a high ankle sprain. But! Take 2: Holy Shit the Suns are the best team i...

In this week's edition of Hoops Adjacent, David Aldridge bids adieu to Wos Lambre as he heads over to The Ringer, and welcomes in Marcus Thompson as his new co-host. The two get to talking about the Warriors title chances in the future and if Brad Beal will be in the Bay next season. Then, this week's guest the great Eddie Johnson drops by to talk about the dangerous Suns as they speed their way i...

Sam Amick, Anthony Slater, and Fred Katz welcome in Marcus Thompson on the show to discuss NBA awards. Is LaMelo an easy pick for ROY? Who will challenge Jokic for MVP? What about MIP? The guys dive in to COY and 6MOY as well. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Basketball Buds Dave DuFour, Jay King, James Edwards and Tray Edwards talk about the race for the playoffs in both the West and Eastern Conferences. LeBron is back, but say's he's never be the same player again. That's weird. Also Anthony Davis, still not right. Then, the guys are very confident about the Suns heading into the playoffs. Chris Paul and Devin Booker have made this a p...

Andrew Schlecht is joined by Fred Katz to discuss who the All NBA Guards should be. Is Luka a guard? Who are the locks? Is Chris Paul a lock? Kyrie or James Harden? Booker or Mitchell? Then they have a brief discussion on Georges Niang of the Utah Jazz.  Andrew and Fred are then joined by Jason Jones of the Athletic to discuss the Sacramento Kings and their wild season. How can the improve from he...

In this week's Point of Contention, Marcus Thompson and Ethan Strauss debate! Hosted by Zach Harper. Take 1: In a time when fans are pretty much waiting for the playoffs to start the NBA has delivered! Russell Westbrook has delivered as well breaking the longstanding NBA record in the Wizards' 146-143 loss to the San Antonio Spurs: Wilt Chamberlain's record for triple-doubles in a single month, wh...

Wizards reporter Fred Katz drops by to talk with David and Wos about the red-hot Wizards. What's going on? Even Fred is mystified. The defense has been key. Russell Westbrook has returned to form and much more. Plus, we answer your non-stupid questions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sam Amick, Fred Katz, and Anthony Slater are joined by the Athletic's own Jason Quick to discuss the Blazers and the struggle they've been through this season. Can Terry Stotts survive another season? Will they finally look to trade CJ McCollum? Will Damian Lillard want to stick around? They also discuss the race for the Play In Tournament in the East and West including the hot play of the Warrior...

The Basketball Buds, Zach Harper, Jay King, Tray Edwards, Dave DuFour and James Edwards III. First up, Julius Randle 1st Team All-NBA lock? Hard to deny unless your name is Jay King, but the Knicks are rolling. Then, looking back at the Derrick Rose trade. — AD and KD back, LeBron next week. The Curse of the Power Rankings. Play-In Tournament scenarios. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for m...

Andrew Schlecht and Alex Speers discuss the week that was in the NBA, the NBA Sophomores and who would make a hypothetical All Sophomore Team, who will make the Play In/Playoffs in the Eastern Conference. Then they bring on Rich Hofmann of the Athletic to discuss the Philadelphia 76ers, Embiid's MVP candidacy, Ben Simmons' offensive stagnation, young 76ers and more. Plus a 76ers trivia game in ano...

Dave is back from vacation, refreshed and ready. "How nice." said Mo. Seth asks, "Who's the Harden in this equation?" Do we believe in the Suns title chances? Worst first round matchups for contenders. Building around Zion. Is the G League the best development league? Then...NBA Circle of Life: Orlando and OKC. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Point of Contention, Marcus Thompson and Ethan Strauss debate! Hosted by Zach Harper. Take 1 - Five years after he revolutionized the game of basketball, the baby faced assassin, Steph Curry is back-back, playing the best basketball of his career. Take 2 - Fellas it is April 21 and the Phoenix Suns are now 41-6 sitting in second in the West beyond the Jazz Take 3 - TV Ratings Coveru...

NBC Sports' Monte Poole drops by to talk about the Warriors, Steph's crazy run going on, Draymond, Klay and much more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sam Amick, Fred Katz and Anthony Slater discuss hot take topics from around the NBA 1. Jokic should be the MVP 2. This is the best Steph has been 3. The Play In Tournament is a bad idea 4. Phoenix is a good regular season team, but won’t have another gear in the playoffs 5. Philly should get more consideration as the East favorite because of health and continuity 6. Boston is a dark horse for the...

The Basketball Buds: Dave Harper, Jay King, Tray Edwards and James Edwards. The rundown: Steph’s run has been incredible..."the NBA needs a best player award" said James, and what can they do if they get in the playoffs? Fred Fan Vleet's comments on the league prioritizing money over the game. The Celtics are back? Maybe, but they are playing better...why? Are the Wizards... good? And MaMarcus Ald...

On today's episode Andrew Schlecht and Alex Speers recap the week that was in the NBA, dive into the Lakers gritty defense, integrating Andre Drummond, and LeBron James improbable run. Then Alex proposes 5 fake CJ McCollum trades, but will they change the trajectory of the Blazers? Then we celebrate some NBA birthdays before we bring in Ethan Strauss of the Athletic to discuss the Golden State War...

In this week's Nerder, John Hollinger stop by to talk with Mo and Seth about the Western Conference playoff picture with Jamal Murray's injury in mind. Why doesn't anybody believe in the Utah Jazz? Also, team playoff preparation and the Mavs' complaints about the Play-In tournament.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Point of Contention, Marcus Thompson and Ethan Strauss debate. Hosted by Zach Harper. Take 1: On Monday night the Nuggets lost Jamal Murray to a season ending ACL tear to his left knee. Murray suffered the noncontact injury during the Nuggets' 116-107 loss to the Golden State Warriors. A truly BRUTAL injury.  Take 2: An Enormous Mistake! First it was Luka Doncic criticizing the NBA’...

Sports Illustrated's Chris Herring drops by to talk to David Aldridge and Wos Lambre about the devastating injury to Jamal Murray. What it means to the Western Conference playoffs? Also, the Jazz and their chances once playoff time rolls around. Also the importance of rebounding, David's "white whale." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sam Amick and Anthony Slater are joined by Law Murray to discuss the Los Angeles Clippers. Is Kawhi in the MVP conversation? Would the Clippers want the Lakers in round 1? Would the Clippers rather play the Mavs or Blazers? Do they want to avoid the Nuggets? All that and more with Law, including his career path to the Athletic. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Basketball Buds, Zach Harper, BIG Wos, Jay King and Tray Edwards talk about the sale of the Minnesota Timberwolves to Alex Rodriguez and billionaire Marc Lore for $1.5 Billion dollars. Then the strange feud between Kyrie Irving and Dennis Schroder Saturday nights as the Lakers crushed the Nets. Finally the shocking Suns and Chris Paul's MVP case and the culture reset. Also some brea...

We are excited to announce The Athletic's new podcast series - Shattered: Hope, Heartbreak and the New York Knicks . Hosted by hip-hop legend Chuck D, the series dives deep on the past 20 years of the Knicks.  Shattered reveals never-heard-before stories about the Knicks, team owner James Dolan and the NBA, with interviews from dozens of voices including franchise legend Patrick Ewing. This is the...

Andrew Schlecht and Alex Speers discuss the week in the NBA, which player on the Grizzlies outside of Ja Morant Jaren Jackson can raise their ceiling, and then bring in Law Murray of the Athletic to discuss the Clippers, their title odds, how Paul George navigates the hate, and then some trivia! Stay til the end to hear who’s next on the wheel of fandom.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for...

In this week's Nerder, Dave, Seth and Mo talk about "Veteranosity" and why teams sometimes play vets in spite of evidence that a young player is better. Then the guys introduce a new segment called 'The NBA Circle of Life.' This week, the death of the Warriors Dynasty. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this edition of Point of Contention Jay King and James Edwards III debate. Hosted by Zach Harper. Take 1: Fellas we are 50 games into the season, for most roughly 22 left until the playoffs and taking a look at the Western Conference, the Jazz, the Suns, Clippers and Nuggets are atop the Conference The injury riddled Lakers are 5th and falling fast! Take 2: Last Saturday morning the NBA world w...