The Lead

Rudy Gobert played in his second consecutive NBA All-Star Game on Sunday night, further cementing his reputation as one of the league's very best players. But while many basketball fans today think of Gobert as a powerhouse shot blocker and an inevitable superstar, there was a time when his success in the league was much more uncertain. The Athletic's Christopher Kamrani recently interviewed Gober...

The NBA has officially arrived at the All-Star break, and before the season hit its halfway point, we saw — among other things — another huge performance from Joel Embiid. Today, we’re joined by The Athletic’s Wosny Lambre to break down the big man’s case for MVP, consider why LeBron and the Lakers are still the front runners (on the court and in fashion), and why he’s excited to watch Steph...

In February, 2020, Baltimore Orioles' first baseman Trey Mancini figured his life couldn't get much better. He was coming off a breakout 2019 season, he had signed a big new contract with the Orioles, and he was a few months into an exciting new relationship. But a month later, baseball had shut down and Mancini, who had never had an operation in his life, was wrestling with a new colon cancer dia...

Los Angeles-based doctors Nilesh Vora, Rahim Govani and Salima Thobani were three of the 7,500 vaccinated frontline healthcare workers invited to attend the Super Bowl in Tampa Bay. But what started as a relaxing getaway from the stresses of fighting Covid-19 abruptly devolved into another harrowing brush with death. The Athletic's Jourdan Rodrigue tells the story of the doctors who stepped up in...

Last season, Julius Randle was arguably the Knicks' most despised player. Last week, fans gave him a standing ovation and chanted "MVP" at Madison Square Garden. The Athletic's Mike Vorkuov, who covers the Knicks, walks us through his remarkable journey from Lakers castoff to Knicks underachiever to NBA All-Star -- and explains how a new off-season training program helped him take his game to the...

Last week, some big news came out of Seattle, with multiple reports suggesting that Russell Wilson could be seeking a trade to another team. Today, The Athletic’s Michael-Shawn Dugar takes us inside the rift between Wilson, head coach Pete Carroll and the team, with a look at some of the key steps that have driven them to the brink of a possible divorce. Read the full story about Russell Wils...

In the early 1960s, the country was still highly segregated and Black athletes, particularly those growing up in the South, didn't have a lot of options when it came to college football. Most ended up at HBCUs, which were largely overlooked or ignored by professional football scouts. But Lloyd Wells, a newspaperman and raconteur from Houston, helped change that when he became a scout for the Kansa...

Last season, San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. was among the most electric players in all of baseball. Last week, the team signed their emerging star to a massive 14-year, $340 million contract extension. Today, we’re joined by The Athletic’s Dennis Lin to look at how the idea for Tatis Jr.’s deal was inspired by a pair of statues, and the unique bond between player and general manager...

In the aftermath of Tiger Woods's shocking car crash on Tuesday morning, Brendan Quinn joins us to discuss what we know about the accident, the latest on Tiger's condition, and the uncomfortable parallels (and differences) between this accident and his infamous car crash of 2009. We also discuss what the injuries he sustained in the crash could mean for Tiger's life and legacy, and why it's import...

This past weekend, we saw the roller coaster nature of the New Orleans Pelicans season, as they lost a game where they got outscored 41-12 in the 4th quarter, then turned around and pulled off the biggest comeback in franchise history two days later. Zion Williamson made some big plays late in that game against the Celtics, and today, we’re joined by The Athletic’s Will Guillory to look at how a n...

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has long enjoyed a friendly -- and mutually respectful -- relationship with NBA players. So, when superstars like LeBron James, Giannis Antetokonmpo and others recently criticized the league's decision to hold the NBA All-Star Game during the pandemic, many people were taken aback by the frankness of their comments. The Athletic's Sam Amick joins us to break down the f...

Marcell Ozuna was one of the best hitters in baseball last season, and a key component of an Atlanta Braves team that nearly reached the World Series. After a long offseason and months of uncertainty, the Braves finally agreed to a deal with the free agent to keep him in Atlanta for an extended run. Today, we’re joined by The Athletic’s David O’Brien to discuss why it took Ozuna so long to re-sign...

During this college basketball season, the player who has arguably been more dominant than anyone else is the nation’s leading scorer, Iowa big man Luka Garza. Today, we’re joined by The Athletic’s Brian Hamilton to look at how Garza developed his game by studying old VHS tapes in his basement — from Hakeem Olajuwon to Jack Sikma to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar — and why despite his gaudy numbers, the...

The Utah Jazz are on an incredible tear. They're 19-1 in their last twenty games, they have the best record in the NBA, and they've beaten the 76ers, Heat, Bucks, and Celtics in their last four games. Much of their success, of course, is due to budding superstar Donovan Mitchell, who has his fair share of both believers and skeptics. So, are Mitchell and the Jazz for real this season? And do they...

The struggles of the Arizona Coyotes have been well documented over the years. There has been a revolving door of owners, difficulty building a permanent fan base, and a bankruptcy filing that led to an NHL takeover of the team back in 2009. So, when self-made billionaire Alex Meruelo swooped in to purchase the team in 2019, the future finally looked bright for 'Yotes fans. But after a series of h...

When Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski connected for two touchdown passes in Super Bowl LV, it marked the latest chapter in their storied history. So, in honor of their record-setting partnership, we're revisiting the moment when, to many people's surprise, Gronk came out of retirement and signed with the Bucs. The Athletic's Greg Auman joined us to discuss how the move came about and what it could mea...

There has never been a sports broadcaster quite like Bill Walton. For more than three decades, the NBA legend has graced the airwaves with his unique blend of goofiness, passion, head-scratching analogies, and all of the Grateful Dead t-shirts. So, what can a reporter learn from a late-night conversation with the broadcaster who makes on-air references to everything from 50,000 year-old meteors to...

When Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David won the Super Bowl on Sunday, it was the culmination of years and years of hard work. And the victory also meant the world to someone from David's past -- his best friend and former high school teammate (who outshined him on the gridiron growing up), Quavon Taylor. The Athletic's Andy Staples joins us to tell the story of two best friends who forg...

Last week, Fred VanVleet scored 54 points against the Orlando Magic, passing DeMar DeRozan for the Toronto Raptors’ franchise record, and Moses Malone for the most ever by an undrafted player in the NBA. Today, we’re joined by The Athletic’s Eric Koreen to look at VanVleet’s rise as a player, including the big bet he made on himself the night of the draft in 2016 — and how that gamble is now payin...

The Associated Press released its new Top 25 for men’s college basketball on Monday, and for the first time in 60 years, the Top 25 has no UNC, no Kentucky, no Kansas, no UCLA — and no sign of the suddenly struggling Duke Blue Devils. Today, we’re joined by The Athletic’s Dana O’Neil to look at everything that has gone wrong for Mike Krzyzewski’s team this season, and whether they still have enoug...

Tom Brady is a champion once again, this time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bucs defense shut down Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs' offense, and Brady, Rob Gronkowski, and Leonard Fournette propelled the Bucs to a surprisingly easy 31-9 Super Bowl victory on Sunday night. The Athletic's Lindsay Jones joins us from Tampa Bay, where she watched the game live, to break down the action...

Before this season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had not been to the playoffs in twelve years, and most of those seasons they weren’t even close. But now, in a remarkable turn of events, the team is heading to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2002. It might seem like a dramatic one-year turnaround, fueled entirely by the signing of Tom Brady. But the team has been quietly building toward a Supe...

In just his third season as the starting quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes will face off against Tom Brady and the Buccaneers on Sunday trying to win his second straight Super Bowl title. Today, we’re joined by The Athletic’s Nate Taylor to look at why the Chiefs first fell in love with Mahomes as a young college quarterback, and how they pulled off the stunning trade to get...

Like just about everything else this year, the broadcast of Super Bowl LV will be unusual. The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch, who covers sports media, joins us to explain what to expect -- from poems, to commercials, to health care workers, to halftime entertainment -- and why he believes Tony Romo, who will doing color commentary for CBS, is the best NFL analyst of all time. Read Richard Deitsch's i...

The road to becoming an elite high school quarterback can be both long and expensive. So, if a kid really wants to be the next Tom Brady or Patrick Mahomes, how much should a parent expect to spend? The Athletic’s Antonio Morales recently spoke with parents of some of the country's most elite young quarterbacks to learn what they went through and whether or not they felt it was worth it. He joins...