The fact that Mamdani just seems like a cheerful normal guy who's policies are things like "we're going to tax second homes to fund pothole repairs" or whatever and yet this generates panicked responses like "This is basically Stalin's great purge turned up to eleven" is... telling. It tells things.

As we prepare for Wemby's Spurs vs. Scoot's Blazers, here's an oldie but goodie from me after I saw them play for the first time in October of 2022, and an extended discourse on tanking www.nytimes.com/athletic/366...

New for @theathletic.com - will we finally have a chalky playoffs post-pandemic? My playoff picks round by round: www.nytimes.com/athletic/720...

The PBWA is pleased to announce that Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff has won the Rudy Tomjanovich Award for the 2025-26 season. Press release: probasketballwriters.org/pistons-head...

For posterity, my adjustments based on Luka and Cade being award-eligible: - Luka to 4th on MVP, Kawhi 5th - Luka to 1st team All-NBA, Jaylen Brown to 2nd - Cade to 2nd team All-NBA, Duren and Durant to 3rd - LaMelo and Mobley to honorable mention www.nytimes.com/athletic/719...

Wrote about Gui Santos's breakout last week, thought he was fantastic last night and a big reason Warriors won www.nytimes.com/athletic/718...

Holy double dribble on Kawhi's Saquon Barkley run through the Warriors' defense, but he also got fouled so << shrug emoji >>

I think @ekoreen.bsky.social was distracted by the play-in game so whatever you do don't show him any clips of the "hits" that the Brewers just beat Toronto with.

Andre Drummond Dagger 3 should be a technical foul for taunting

Hornets are also required to admit that the Heat's offer of Herro, Jaquez and Lowry was the best one and Bucks should have taken it.

President Donald J. Trump is in his sixth year in office, and, to date, no NBA champion has visited the White House during his administrations. Would that change this year? We asked the players:

Called around the NBA asking team execs, agents and coaches about which up-and-coming assistants are the top ones to watch for head-coaching jobs that open this offseason. Here is what we learned. Story with Eric Nehm: www.nytimes.com/athletic/719...

I love the the Bulls finally "won" a play-in ... they get the Blazers' first-round pick since Portland made playoffs, will be either 15th or 16th. The Blazers' 2021 trade for Larry Nance Jr. is now complete.

Award time! Why Shai is the MVP and not Wemby, why Kon is ROY and not Flagg, and some difficult choices for All-Defense www.nytimes.com/athletic/719...

Arguably one of the two best overtime play-in games involving the Miami Heat as the visiting team that I've seen in the last 365 days

Coby White doesn't have to face the doubters anymore. He has finally defeated the Miami Heat in an Eastern Conference play-in game.

OR WAS IT

too much Herro ball good post hit send

Too early to foul up 3.

Happy play-in tournament to all who celebrate. I like Charlotte and Phoenix tonight, the Clippers and Sixers tomorrow, and Charlotte and Portland to grab the 8 seeds on Friday.

Think it's gonna come down to a Tom Chambers iso against Buck Williams tonight

why does baseball do this to me

TFW the arena is downtown but the vibes are Midtown

smh @kpelton.bsky.social skipped our annual basketball nerd Hoop Summit dinner in Portland because he "had to go run a basketball team." Some excuse. Anyway, good luck to Kevin and the Sun/Comets in tonight's WNBA draft, and to our former colleague @benpickman.bsky.social with the new Portland Fire!

The PBWA is pleased to announce the second annual NBA All-Interview Team. Press release: probasketballwriters.org/wembanyama-a...

Love this story so much. Had pleasure of having Mike Conley and Garrett Temple on our teams in Memphis and they are two of the best people I've ever been around ... and yes, they also will absolutely try to kick your ass every night. www.theringer.com/2026/04/10/n...

Random realization I had today: League has been so west coast heavy for the last decade .... but there's a good chance we only have six or seven playoff games in the Pacific time zone this year, and none in May.

Got together with @johnhollinger.bsky.social to preview the Knicks-Hawks series: — Biggest storyline for each team — X-Factor — Matchup I’m watching — trend I’m monitoring — series prediction www.nytimes.com/athletic/719...

happy W draft day to all who celebrate.

THE DALAI LAMA IS WEAK ON MONETARY POLICY.

haven't seen anyone talk about this yet but Mark Jones really dropped the word "nugatory" on his last-ever play call for ESPN

John, The Pope is weak on the play-in scheduling.

"We are LIVE here at the Atlantic City Convention Center for today's game between the Philadelphia 76ers and Orlan ..."

Some draft pick housekeeping now that dust has settled; play-in tournament is going to impact a lot of picks, including some unprotected ones. www.nytimes.com/athletic/liv...

Man, it's small odds and stuff but NHL coulda *really* messed with play-in scheduling. New York, Boston, Philly and Utah arenas all in use on Tuesday. Surprised teams aren't required to block these dates.

Now that the NBA regular-season is in the books, who is — and isn’t — eligible for postseason awards? ◽ The curious case of Luka Dončić ◽ What counts as a game? ◽ Which awards does this apply to? Tap in:

Still time to update those All-NBA votes

Unfortunate that NBATV no longer does first-round games, because Cleveland-Toronto is the most NBATV series that ever NBATVed

I get there's no Wemby, but Denver winning at San Antonio with the Jones-Pickett-Roddy-Strawther crew is wild ... and consequential.

HE KNEW

Fun fact: Raptors & Knicks have made the playoffs in the same season for the first time since 2001!

More details from @samamick.bsky.social and Eric Nehm (free to read):

Little-known addendum to the league's play-in rules: Any team blowing a 20-point halftime lead at home to the Sacramento Kings is immediately disqualified.

Got together with @johnhollinger.bsky.social to preview the Knicks-Hawks series: — Biggest storyline for each team — X-Factor — Matchup I’m watching — trend I’m monitoring — series prediction www.nytimes.com/athletic/719...

Every traveling Hawks writer needs to send the Celtics a fruit basket if they win this game.

We are live-blogging the final day of the season over @theathletic.com

Big thing to track today: Buddy Hield needs to play 12 at least minutes to pass Rashed Wallace on the Hawks' all-time leaderboard.

Despite a meh draft crop on display at the Hoop Summit last night, teams are already unveiling their tanking strategies for 2026-27 www.nytimes.com/athletic/718...

USA holds off World in OT to win Nike Hoop Summit, 102-100. 54 combined turnovers! Arizona-bound Caleb Holt with 24 points 8 reb 7 stl to lead the way.

Free basketball! Nike Hoop Summit going to overtime for a second consecutive season. USA and World tied at 89 after regulation. We have .. wait for it ... FORTY NINE combined turnovers so far.