TrueHoop

On today’s BRING IT IN, New Yorker staff writer Louisa Thomas hosts with Jarod Hector and David Thorpe: * Phoenix Suns governor Robert Sarver was suspended for a year and fined $10 million for abhorrent behavior. Louisa just published a New Yorker story about Sarver, and has thoughts on what could the league have done better or differently. * Brittney Griner has been detained in Russia for over 20...

On today’s BRING IT IN TrueHoop’s Jarod Hector and David Thorpe discuss: * Steph Curry’s comments about former teammate Kevin Durant and trust. * The NBA midseason tournament will begin in 2023-24. David has an idea to make it beneficial to a larger community and Jarod has an idea about a full on Champions League model tournament. * The Detroit Pistons and Sacramento Kings might find themselves in...

On today’s BRING IT IN TrueHoop’s Jarod Hector and David Thorpe discuss: * The US Open and the mental toughness of athletes. * EuroBasket 2022 is going on, is there anything David sees that might transfer to the NBA when they players return to their teams? * We wrote about the Cavaliers acquiring Donovan Mitchell, how much did they improve their title odds? * David thinks Shai Gilgeous-Alexander c...

On today’s BRING IT IN TrueHoop’s Henry Abbott, Jarod Hector and David Thorpe are back together for the first time in a while. They discuss: * Alligators, crocodiles and why you should never live in Florida. * What the LIV Golf Tour situation should be teaching the heads of other professional sports leagues. * Every year David writes an article called the “NBA Championship Bus” at this point who i...

On today’s BRING IT IN professor, and sports historian at Arizona State University Victoria Jackson hosts with Jarod Hector. * What exactly is the NCAA? Victoria will give us an answer you won’t hear anywhere else. * Now that NIL endorsements exist, how is that working out for the players and universities? * Victoria’s pragmatic approach on reshaping collegiate athletics into a three-tiered system...

On today’s BRING IT IN, Abigail Smithson is back as guest host and she sits down with NBA legend Muggsy Bogues. * Why does everyone in Muggsy’s family have a nickname? * What was the best team he’s ever played on? * How does it feel to give an assist to a teammate? * Muggsy and Dell Curry were teammates for years and he watched the Curry kids grow up. What does he think of them now? * How does Mug...

On today’s BRING IT IN author, space writer and Warriors fan Shannon Stirone hosts with Jarod Hector and David Thorpe. * What is space? Shannon delves into the phenomenon that surrounds us. * Uranus is the funniest planet and it’s for exactly the reasons you think. * How do movies and popular culture correctly or incorrectly inform us about space? * Which NBA players are most likely not from earth...

On today’s BRING IT IN Jarod Hector and David Thorpe discuss: * Kevin Durant’s ultimatum. What is the supremely gifted basketball star searching for? * David recently compared the NBA season to Game of Thrones. How can we inject more humanity into our sports? * We are a basketball podcast but Jarod had to give a few minutes of appreciation to the greatest tennis player of all time, Serena Williams...

On today’s BRING IT IN Jarod Hector and David Thorpe discuss: * The 30th Anniversary of the 1992 “Dream Team” its significance on the game today and an appreciation for the team’s best player, Charles Barkley. * Nobody outside of Scottie Barnes’ family is a bigger fan of Barnes than David. He talks about Barnes’ summer work. * The early lines on team O/U are out. Whose win total is set too high? W...

On today’s BRING IT IN Jarod Hector and David Thorpe talk about player development. * Bronny James is the most scrutinized high school player in the country because of his famous dad. David sees a lot in his game to like both in terms of play and his spirit. * It’s mixtape season as Jarod calls it. How do we make sense of videos players and teams put out “doing work”? David has some distinctions t...

On today’s BRING IT IN Henry Abbott, Jarod Hector, and David Thorpe are reunited after some time off. * They discuss the late Bill Russell who passed away on Sunday. Henry describes him as one of the “real ones.” * The Celtics reportedly might consider trading Jaylen Brown for Kevin Durant. Nobody on the podcast likes that. * The title favorites for next year have been set by Las Vegas. The guys a...

On today’s BRING IT IN artist, professor, and basketball fan Abigail Smithson hosts with Jarod Hector and David Thorpe as guests. * How can art impact the way we think about basketball? * David often talks about the artist and the scientist, who does Abigail think are the NBA’s best artists? * Abigail hosts a podcast called “Dear Adam Silver” where her letters to the commissioner used to be more d...

TrueHoop’s Jarod Hector and David Thorpe discuss the benefits of taking summer league seriously for players, coaches, teams and executives. * If Donovan Mitchell gets traded to the Knicks, what does that mean for Julius Randle? * The latest on the Brooklyn Nets. * EYBL and the state of U.S. player development. RECENT BRING IT IN EPISODES: * July 15, 2022 The human cost of business in the NBA * Jul...

TrueHoop’s Jarod Hector and David Thorpe discuss summer happenings in the NBA. * Deandre Ayton had to get the Indiana Pacers to offer an exorbitant contract in order for the Phoenix Suns (the team that drafted him #1 overall) to pay him. There are going to be some awkward moments and hurt feelings this summer and heading into camp. How do the Suns fix that? * The Utah Jazz are in full teardown mod...

TrueHoop’s Henry Abbott, Jarod Hector, and David Thorpe spent a lot of time talking to each other today, but only about an hour made it onto this podcast! * What David sees in the Summer League performances of Paolo Banchero, Chet Holmgren, Jabari Smith Jr., Keegan Murray, Jaden Ivey, and Bennedict Mathurin. * David’s early pick as the most likely rookie of the year. * Henry forces the conversatio...

TrueHoop’s Jarod Hector and David Thorpe are joined by Dr. Steve Ilardi. Building on the work of Dunks and Threes’ Taylor Snarr (and in partnership with TrueHoop) Ilardi created the new Bonus Wins stat. They discuss: * Chet Holmgren’s Summer League start * The origin of Bonus Wins * The biggest takeaway from the data around Bonus Wins? * The Utah Jazz traded Rudy Gobert for a TON OF DRAFT CAPITAL...

TrueHoop’s Jarod Hector, and David Thorpe discuss the NBA’s silly season, aka free agency: * What is leadership? David has a very specific definition and discusses how it applies, or doesn’t, to Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets. * This is the time of year where teams solidify their rosters, our new stat, Bonus Wins, helps cut through the noise this time of year and identify which players provide...

TrueHoop’s Henry Abbott, Jarod Hector, and David Thorpe open the show discussing the serious events impacting our nation, then they discuss: * Jalen Brunson and free agency. Is $25 million per year a good deal for a team that wants to sign him? * Kyrie Irving… * The Warriors want to bring EVERYONE back. Can they? Will they? Which teams might pay a lot to acquire the excellent Kevon Looney and Gary...

[This podcast was dead and buried! Kaput! Lost to technical issues! But then … the hero Jarod Hector put in all kinds of extra time, did something magical stripping audio from the backup video file and well … here it is! Thank you Jarod.] TrueHoop’s Henry Abbott, Jarod Hector, and David Thorpe breakdown the NBA Draft. * David has a nickname for this draft and it involves a Pelicans player… * Henry...

TrueHoop’s Henry Abbott, Jarod Hector, and David Thorpe discuss: * The Golden State Warriors are NBA champs for the fourth time in the last eight years. How did they do it? * There will be a lot of talk about Jayson Tatum not being “ready” for the moment, but Henry knows the Celtics and the NBA broke Tatum well before the Finals. * What is Stephen Curry’s superpower? Jarod has a theory and it’s no...

At a critical juncture of the NBA Finals, TrueHoop’s Henry Abbott and David Thorpe spend an hour on what matters: What’s with the Warriors’ Cuisinart offense? David thinks it’s been unplugged by Ime Udoka. Why has Draymond Green been so ineffective? There’s a lot of story to that one. And what is going on with Kevon Looney in this chart? On BRING IT IN, David Thorpe explains: We're seeing a lot of...

TrueHoop’s Jarod Hector and David Thorpe discuss: * Sportswashing and the new LIV golf tour. * David realizes that the Celtics are baiting the Warriors into heliocentric offense. * What’s the deal with Draymond Green? Why can’t he string together consecutive good games? Jarod has an idea. * Stephen Curry has been great through three quarters of every game and not so great in the fourth. Can the Wa...

TrueHoop’s Henry Abbott and David Thorpe talk about the Warriors win in Game 2 of the NBA Finals: * David describes the five-minute stretch of the third quarter that decided Game 2 * Is Gary Payton II the key? * David and Henry have a lot of love for Celtics head coach Ime Udoka * Henry and David disagree about what makes an MVP, and Jarod Hector plays referee. You decide who won … RECENT BRING IT...

TrueHoop’s Jarod Hector and David Thorpe discuss Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Celtics and Warriors. * It looked like the “Thorpe Rule” was activated after the Warriors’ masterful third quarter, but then the Celtics amped up their defense and made tons of shots in the fourth. How did that happen? * It’s a coach’s league as well as a player’s league. What makes the Celtics’ Ime Udoka so spec...

TrueHoop’s Jarod Hector is joined by basketball coach and NBA player trainer Charlie Torres. Charlie grew up in Southern California, a hotbed for basketball talent, and has worked with some of the best players in the NBA, including Klay Thompson. They discuss: * How Charlie got his start in the business * What it’s like working out Klay Thompson * Stories from the Warriors trip to China where impo...