As the NBA nears midseason, I checked in on the state of awards races, which have been thrown into flux by a variety of injuries threatening to disqualify favorites based on the NBA's misguided 65-game minimum: www.espn.com/nba/story/_/...

The Clippers threw everyone off the scent by immediately losing their next five games, but now since this post their opponents have shot 33% on 3s, second-lowest in the NBA. Someday people are going to believe me that defenses don't really have much control over opponent shot making.

I would buy this CFP "layoff" argument a lot more if it involved more than one favored team losing a game.

The WNBA projects a recent proposal from the WNBPA, which would give players ~30% of gross revenue & is believed to feature a ~$10.5 million salary cap, would result in $700 million in losses over the course of the deal. The union believes that projection is "absolutely false."

As another year ends, I'm not just reviewing the last year for ESPN—I'm reviewing the last 7 decades of NBA history, with a big project that answers the question: What moment defines every NBA season since 1954? (h/t @sammillerbb.bsky.social for the original idea)

Enjoying the athleticism of this guy wearing No. 12 for the Grizzlies. Reminds me of someone who used to be a star for Memphis a few years ago.

Against the backdrop of Nikola Jokic's untimely injury, I took a look back at the year in NBA basketball that was 2025 by handing out my annual Golden Basketball award for performance across all competitions in the calendar year: www.espn.com/nba/story/_/...

Kawhi Leonard is playing so well tonight, Aspiration is going to be revived just to pay him some more money.

Caleb Love might lead the NBA in the difference between how good he looks in his best games and his worst games.

It's remarkable how often losing streaks coincide with below-average 3-point shooting. (This is a Cleveland Cavaliers post.)

Why did the WNBA players authorize a strike vote? How and under what circumstances would the WNBPA executive committee vote on one? What do onlookers think about a strike? More on the fallout from last week's strike authorization vote: www.espn.com/wnba/story/_...

My office for the evening: bsky.app/profile/kpel...

Joining @dlocke09.bsky.social and special guests including @deanolytics.bsky.social on tonight's JazzCast Nerd Edition against the Magic for Jazz+ subscribers. Our alternate broadcast is also available as a one-off purchase in qualifying markets here: www.segplus.com/utahjazzplus...

Ogwumike said the league's proposed revenue sharing model is "not adequate, especially with the level of creativity & innovation from our side to try & meet them closer to their side of the table, b/c that hasn't been extended to us." More on changes she wants to see: www.espn.com/wnba/story/_...

Wrote today about the "formula" to beat the 25-2 Oklahoma City Thunder, as well as which teams look best equipped to do it: www.espn.com/nba/story/_/...

LaMelo Ball won't always shoot as well as he has in the first half tonight, but the way he's leveraged that threat to create easy looks for opponents is why I'm not ready to give up on him being a key piece on a winning team.

Initial news story on the WNBPA voting to authorize a strike "when necessary": www.espn.com/wnba/story/_...

Took a look at the possibility of the Spurs and Magic using their NBA Cup runs to gain valuable experience in playoff-like situations as the Pacers did in reaching the 2023 final 18 months before playing in the NBA Finals: www.espn.com/nba/story/_/...

Jason Kidd calling his last timeout with 53.6 seconds left in a three-point game because he's angry about the Mavericks' transition defense is a choice.

The Nuggets merely adopted the double-big lineups. Houston was born in them, molded by them.

I'm looking for a Full Stack or Frontend Software Engineer for close to full-time help with a project for a few months. Requires skills in Vue (Typescript) and Laravel (PHP). Data engineering experience and past work with NBA stats preferred but not required. Please email [email protected].

As a reminder, the rule is the *transition* take foul, so an intentional foul like the Magic took to get Jalen Suggs out of the game only qualifies if there's an actual transition opportunity.

Enjoying the athleticism of this guy wearing No. 12 for the Grizzlies. Reminds me of someone who used to be a star for Memphis a few years ago.

Teamed up with @timbontemps.bsky.social, @zachkram.bsky.social, @jeremywoo.bsky.social and Bobby Marks for the latest installment of our NBA top 25 under 25 rankings: www.espn.com/nba/story/_/...

We don't need more replay, but the Clippers-Rockets game highlighted a blind spot. A review of a Houston shot-clock violation would have likely revealed a proximate foul on the Clippers, but a shot-clock violation can't be challenged and only made shots/called fouls are subject to shot-clock review.

Now that we know existing WNBA teams will be able to protect five players for the upcoming expansion draft to start building rosters for the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo after a new CBA is signed, I looked at what players could be available based on current rules: www.espn.com/wnba/story/_...

Such a subtle, key part of SGA's value. It's hard to credit players mentally for things that don't happen.

Shooting like this in the NBA Cup is not going to help convince anyone that Miami is actually much better on defense than offense.

Years after the NBA moved away from the post-up, this old-school strategy has quietly become the most efficient play in the league. I talked to six All-Star scorers about why—and what this surprising trend says about analytics in sports.

What are the odds a player would have a triple-double in the first half of a Nuggets game and it's not Nikola Jokic?

Team-provided housing has emerged as a flashpoint in CBA talks. @katiebarnes.bsky.social and I explored how housing works in the WNBA, why the league may no longer want to provide it and the potential ramifications: www.espn.com/wnba/story/_...

"'You never really run out of timeouts.' - Rick Carlisle" - Brian Keefe

The thing about the Clippers is they're the most obvious regression candidate in the league right now (especially before last night). Opponents have gone from 35% on 3s last year to 39% this season and basically every Clippers newcomer (including Chris Paul) is way below projected.

I linked to this yesterday, but it's worth bringing up again. When I first started doing analytics, it was the base assumption that players are, on average, the same. Now I am more interested in what *changes* them. This highlights one cause. www.espn.com/nba/story/_/...

Wrote today about how novel research from @benalamar.bsky.social and @deanolytics.bsky.social on the impact of teammate chemistry helps explain why Desmond Bane and other high-profile newcomers got off to slow starts, as well as the implications going forward: www.espn.com/nba/story/_/...

A whole half left for the Timberwolves, but this is starting to feel a lot like FAFO week in the NBA.

Kinda funny that for all the trading into/up in the draft that Calvin Booth did in 2023 and 2024 to supplement the bench, the best rookie the Nuggets came up with those two years was Spencer Jones as an undrafted free agent on a two-way contract.

Jay Huff shooting heat-check 3s on back-to-back possessions. What a time to be alive.

From NBA Today, new reporting on the WNBA's latest CBA proposal:

After Wednesday's win in Portland, Spurs players made no secret of their desire to reach Las Vegas and the NBA Cup semifinals. Fun to see that a young team will have a chance to do that by winning (likely on the road) next week.

I'm kind of baffled by how the Bucks played the last 20 seconds of their loss at MSG. Did they still think point differential might matter as a tiebreaker?

Based on TV, this Pistons crowd appears very into the NBA Cup.

Didn't realize that UConn and Illinois were still alive in the NBA Cup

News story on what Wednesday's NBA Cup game meant for the Blazers (who missed their opportunity to advance) and the Spurs (who now face a winner-take-all matchup Friday vs. Denver), two young teams looking to get back to the postseason: www.espn.com/nba/story/_/...

Deni Avdija is single-handedly keeping the Blazers in this one. He's got nine points on their last three possessions (an and-one and a pair of 3s).

A good crowd in Portland has been fired up for what would potentially be the Blazers' biggest win since the Terry Stotts era if they advance to the NBA Cup quarterfinals, but De'Aaron Fox has quieted them with seven points and a pair of assists in the first five minutes after halftime.

I don't know if the Spurs want to keep letting Shaedon Sharpe (back tonight from his own calf strain) walk into pull-up jumpers at the elbow off the pick-and-roll.

No. 2 overall pick Dylan Harper is one of the Spurs' first subs as he makes his first appearance since suffering a calf strain on Nov. 2.

Hello from Portland and my first NBA Cup game ever in person. The Blazers will clinch West Group C with a win tonight.

The wild card battle in the East will likely come down to Cleveland (+33 with remaining game at Atlanta), Miami if the Knicks win out (+46, vs. Bucks) and the loser of Detroit/Orlando. So a giant Magic win tonight puts them in strong position to advance no matter Friday's result.