A broadly applicable lesson from this week's Top Chef elimination: The more you push back against criticism, the more you force people to double down on it.

Taking some time today to say thanks to everyone at ESPN about my 13-plus years there now that I've started the next chapter of my career in the WNBA: open.substack.com/pub/kpeltonh...

Thrilled for @bengolliver.bsky.social and my former ESPN colleagues about teaming up and bummed only that we don't get to work together and restart the Dontonio Wingcast (IYKYK). Important for ESPN NBA to maintain the PNW roots that started with @johnhollinger.bsky.social and continued with me.

Content is often advertised on social media as someone "not holding back" and I wonder when exactly that was an issue here.

There are a lot of complex theories about how voters pick NBA Rookie of the Year. This year's results were consistent with what I found more than a decade ago: the rookie with the highest combined PPG + RPG + APG in a requisite number of games almost always wins the award.

Schrodinger's game-winner in USC-Clemson.

High Point's Chase Johnston making his first 2-pointer of the year (to go with *50-plus* 3-pointers) to take the lead in the final 15 seconds of an NCAA tournament game is incredible content.

Should be noted every time we see these kinds of photos that for all the impact the late Philadelphia statistician Harvey Pollack had on NBA history, handing Wilt Chamberlain the famous "100" paper is probably his greatest influence.

Quite a night in NBA ordinary time

Somebody needs to mash up Holly Rowe's delightful "I'm accidentally in a team huddle" with the "You're probably wondering how I got here" meme.

With the Winter Olympics coming to a close, I peered ahead to the 2028 Summer Games—and projected a 12-man Team USA men's basketball roster, full of youth and defense

Had that thought and it appears the answer is yes. The 1980-81 Blazers were previously second on this list, having given up 162 on Feb. 13 and 84 on Feb. 15 (78-point drop). The 2019-20 Hawks had the record before today with 158 points on Nov. 30 and 79 on Dec. 2, a 79-point swing.

Ahead of the Toronto Tempo's inaugural WNBA season, I took a look at the Tempo's work to become "Canada's team" like the Raptors have and how that might boost the women's basketball pipeline from Canada as we've seen in the NBA: www.espn.com/wnba/story/_...

Wrote yesterday about what we learned during Luka's first year with the Lakers and how they can look to history -- both their own and Dallas with Doncic -- to build a championship contender: www.espn.com/nba/story/_/...

Great to podcast again with @zachlowenba.bsky.social on the Zach Lowe Show recapping my winners and losers from the NBA trade deadline. Felt like riding a bike: open.spotify.com/episode/27aH...

We've now got grades for every trade involving NBA players (sorry, Balsa Koprivica) made before today's deadline: www.espn.com/nba/story/_/...

Grades for the trade sending Ivica Zubac to the Pacers are up: www.espn.com/nba/story/_/... Still working back through today's smaller, financially motivated trades.

The Cavs! The Thunder! Surprise star destinations! Here are the biggest winners, losers, and trends of the trade deadline:

Trade grades are up and rolling for deadline day with analysis of the Lakers adding Luke Kennard and the Timberwolves getting Ayo Dosunmu: www.espn.com/nba/story/_/...

Will Mason Plumlee get a championship ring if the Thunder win the title?

For the night owls, grades are up for the Hawks-Warriors trade feature Kristaps Porzingis and Jonathan Kuminga: www.espn.com/nba/story/_/...

Coming up for water after today's flurry of NBA trades to link my story on how the WNBA salary cap has evolved over time and how NBA and NWSL history put the WNBA's collective bargaining agreement proposal in context: www.espn.com/wnba/story/_...

Grades for the Anthony Davis trade: www.espn.com/nba/story/_/...

This post is only supposed to happen the day of the actual deadline!

Certainly the WaPo's outstanding sports section was essential to *my* life, particularly the basketball coverage from my friends @kareemcopeland.bsky.social and @bengolliver.bsky.social.

Need to begin grading in GIF format

I started out unsure about the Darius Garland-James Harden swap on all fronts and ended up talking myself into it on both sides. Grades: www.espn.com/nba/story/_/...

"Quiet deadline," they said.

Grades for the Jaren Jackson Jr. trade: www.espn.com/nba/story/_/...

Grizzlies-Jazz has to threaten the NBA record for most "Juniors" traded in one deal.

Oops! All Thunder 3s

Teamed up with @zachkram.bsky.social to discuss the All-Star reserve picks and the most deserving players who weren't among them (most notably a fun guy): www.espn.com/nba/story/_/...

Grades for the Vit Krejci deal: www.espn.com/nba/story/_/...

Grades for the three-team deal sending Keon Ellis and Dennis Schroder to the Cavaliers: www.espn.com/nba/story/_/...

I hope in a couple decades, Clint Capela is still breaking up lobs left-handed in a YMCA somewhere.

@kentremendous.bsky.social I see what you were doing with "White & Derrick Dentistry"

Kelsey Plum: "Let's be real: When we play telephone with people in our own lives, a lot of times things can get scattered. So to be able to sit down face-to-face and say 'this is how I feel, this is how you feel, let's see what we can do from there.'" www.espn.com/wnba/story/_...

💯

Joined Windy's birthday edition of Brian Windhorst and the Hoop Collective along with Bobby Marks to discuss how the Knicks, Cavs and Thunder should be feeling about their teams heading into next week's trade deadline: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzcH...

The Cavaliers signing Tristan Enaruna to a two-way contract means they've now rostered half of all Tristans in NBA history.

The 2026 Mock Trade Deadline is OUT. Join @kpelton.bsky.social @dannyleroux.bsky.social Dan Feldman and me as we nerd out to simulate the 2026 Trade Deadline. Some VERY surprising results in here. Use code mockdeadline26 to get 35% off a year of Dunc'd On Prime duncdon.supportingcast.fm

Breanna Stewart: "We're so fueled by hate right now instead of love, so I wanted to have a simple message of 'Abolish ICE,' which means having policies to uplift families and communities instead of fueling fear & violence." www.espn.com/wnba/story/_...

"Don't you think maybe they are the same thing? Love and attention?"

Fun conversation here with @zachkram.bsky.social, including some research into players with negative on/off differentials.

Handed out midseason grades for all 30 NBA teams based on how they've done relative to expectations: www.espn.com/nba/story/_/...

There's something bizarre on Twitter where Pistons fans have decided that because I happened to mention Jay Huff as a reason this year's Pacers projected better than consensus in my wins projections (ahead of Detroit) that therefore I was saying he would be Jokic on offense and Gobert on defense.

As the 49ers deal with more injuries tonight, I thought the Washington Post did a good job of going deeper than the viral thread about their practice facility being near an electrical substation. Most notably, their injury rates were not high when they practiced there but played at Candlestick.

Bringing this over from the other app: Increasingly convinced that a lot of the character traits we assign to basketball teams ("focus," "mental toughness," "determination," etc.) are primarily products of shooting luck.

Can exclusively report from the last row of Hec Ed that Michigan is very good and Aday Mara is a problem (particularly when he's allowed to goaltend).

WNBA CBA negotiations intensified the last six months, but key events long before that played a part of the stalemate between the WNBA and WNBPA. From rival leagues to charter flights to T-shirts, these 11 moments helped lead to WNBA labor strife. www.espn.com/wnba/story/_...