🆕 BIG NUMBER: 8.4 🚀📉 @tomhaberstroh.bsky.social and I dig into the brutal injury news out of Houston. Just how valuable is Fred VanVleet, and how will the Rockets try to hold down the fort without him? 🍎: tinyurl.com/5n6tnz89 ✳️: tinyurl.com/36uy9emt 📺: youtu.be/qYM0Sk_urjU

🆕 BIG NUMBER: 9 🌉 @tomhaberstroh.bsky.social and I dig into the reason the Warriors' roster remains incomplete — their ongoing stalemate with Jonathan Kuminga — and consider some new on-court homes for the RFA forward! 🍎: tinyurl.com/3cr9pmpb ✳️: tinyurl.com/ycph4xvh 📺: youtu.be/563yw2OWZl4

A longtime general manager, to @tomhaberstroh.bsky.social, on the Kawhi/Clippers mess: "I think the commissioner has a wide berth if you violate the collective bargaining agreement ... If you don’t have rules, you might as well give up everything." sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/...

🆕 BIG NUMBER: 5 🦊👽 @tomhaberstroh.bsky.social + I dig into the Spurs giving De'Aaron Fox the max despite seeing just five games of him playing alongside Victor Wembanyama! Also: Luka! Bridges! Niang! And more! 🍎: tinyurl.com/4n9u5rmh ✳️: tinyurl.com/bdhf94cb 📺: youtu.be/YIukAWzZEic

🆕 BIG NUMBER: 1.4 🆕 @tomhaberstroh.bsky.social + I dig into the historical gap between Luka Dončić's preseason MVP hype and his actual MVP finishes, what "Luka 2.0" and the 2025-26 Lakers can do to bridge it, and more! 🍎: tinyurl.com/ybxkm6rf ✳️: tinyurl.com/2e8ktxuy

I thought that @tomhaberstroh.bsky.social did a GREAT job with this after OKC won the title: www.tomthefinder.com/p/okcs-title...

Wait ... hold on ... A few days of social media sleuthing from @pablo.show and @tomhaberstroh.bsky.social turned up ANOTHER potentially manipulated Jontay Porter game that the FBI (and presumably the NBA) had failed to identify after months of investigating?! Some thoughts 🧵

Researching the Malik Beasley betting allegations (PTFO episode is def worth your time), those two discovered that the same guys seemed to know about Beasley and Porter before the feds. Pablo said he confirmed their digging led the FBI to broaden its Porter probe. www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4u9...

🆕 BIG NUMBER: 33.2 👴 @tomhaberstroh.bsky.social + I dig into the Clippers, who this summer rounded out one of the NBA's deepest rosters ... which is also, it turns out, the oldest one in NBA history. 🍎: tinyurl.com/6vw968fh ✳️: tinyurl.com/yteuv4np 📺: youtu.be/Llim76vVaGY

🆕 BIG NUMBER: 15 🔔 @tomhaberstroh.bsky.social and I dig into the 76ers — a team that couldn't get its best players on the floor last season, is sort of stuck between eras ... and might (gulp) have some reasons for optimism? 🍎: tinyurl.com/4nb2tpj6 ✳️: tinyurl.com/2jvxwf5u 📺: youtu.be/eU_zRjzrFR4

i've had to stop and sit down at least five times and i'm only 27 minutes in.

The new PTFO from @pablo.show & @tomhaberstroh.bsky.social is a banger. 10/10 story telling, I need part 2. youtu.be/c4u9--GM9to?...

Pablo found the fuck out again with Tom and Amin!

Again. Whatever you say about @pablo.show don't forget that he & his ilk are JOURNALISTS. This time @tomhaberstroh.bsky.social & Amin Elnassan are here for the deep dive into Mailk Beasley. The Twitter tracking into "Moose" alone is WOW! youtu.be/c4u9--GM9to?...

*whispers* our new investigation is responsible for why I have been sleeping very little for the last two weeks. but it's worth it. @tomhaberstroh.bsky.social @darthamin.bsky.social youtu.be/c4u9--GM9to?...

We were *almost* done recording THE BIG NUMBER when the Mike Brown news hit, so @tomhaberstroh.bsky.social and I sprinkled in a short chat about him and the Knicks. My scorching hot take: cautious optimism? 🍎: tinyurl.com/3rrap9uk ✳️: tinyurl.com/2yy4y94j 📺: youtu.be/07-aZ-7ZUbw

🆕 BIG NUMBER: 1,318 🆕 @tomhaberstroh.bsky.social + I dig deep on years of West-vs.-East dominance, which East teams might be able to close the conference-imbalance gap, how LeBron factors in, and more! 🍎: tinyurl.com/3rrap9uk ✳️: tinyurl.com/2yy4y94j 📺: youtu.be/07-aZ-7ZUbw

The @spotrac.com Trade Machine has been flipped to the 2025-26 league year! No pending transactions will show, because we want to accurately reflect where teams currently stand. Happy fake trading! www.spotrac.com/nba/trade-ma...

NEW POST AT THE FINDER: The Malik Beasley investigation. 5 Things that caught my eye: www.tomthefinder.com/p/the-malik-...

24 hours and about 1 million views later, I can come clean: I put an asterisk on OKC … and every NBA champion since 1950. Thanks to all who actually read the piece and shared the bit:

Really interesting note from @tomhaberstroh.bsky.social: sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/...

🆕 BIG NUMBER: +240 🌩️🏆 @tomhaberstroh.bsky.social + I dig deep on the Thunder, fresh off winning the 2025 NBA championship, heading into 2026 as the favorite to repeat ... and which teams have the best chance of unseating them! 🍎: tinyurl.com/53z28spd ✳️: tinyurl.com/24kvtkm8 📺: youtu.be/Gs697a_FS60

Also within: @tomhaberstroh.bsky.social — an actual Trail Blazers insider! — and I talk about why Portland dealt Anfernee Simons and a pair of second-round picks for Jrue Holiday, and what the move might mean for the Blazers and Celtics alike: youtu.be/HvFtOsmAg40

The truth is rightfully exposed! Thank you @tomhaberstroh.bsky.social for your bravery!

Masterful longform trollposting. 1000 points out of ten.

Absolutely tremendous

This is good and I agree

Controversial. But hard not to argue with his list.

I slept on it. I had to do it. OKC’s title deserves an asterisk. They join my definitive short list of championships with an asterisk. www.tomthefinder.com/p/okcs-title...

The streets are saying

Really interesting read from @tomhaberstroh.bsky.social on Jayson Tatum's injury, the rise of postseason star injuries overall, and the dangerous intersection of expanded geometry and increased physicality: sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/...

Just catching up with this, but I always enjoy the ability of @tomhaberstroh.bsky.social to get to the heart of things as juicy as James Harden’s Game 7 performances: www.tomthefinder.com/p/the-myster...

IN THE PAINT

The Lakers literally didn't miss a shot in the first half. took 12. made 12.

Game 82! Haberstrophy time!

Tom Haberstroh @tomhaberstroh.bsky.social joins us to talk Luka Doncic in Dallas, Nikola Jokic's Future in Denver, and Muggsy Bogues HOF. Full episode 📺: youtu.be/SdhPrZHGI2o?...

Nikola Jokić deserves better than the Denver Nuggets. h/t @tomhaberstroh.bsky.social sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/...

Nikola Jokic has never had an All-Star or All-NBA teammate Other than Jokic, each of the last 20 NBA MVPs played with multiple All-Star teammates in their first 10 seasons h/t @tomhaberstroh.bsky.social

Shaedon Sharpe just established a new scoring record (36) for a visiting Canadian in Toronto. 36 points 14-23 FG 6 rebounds 5 assists 21 years old

Sources: New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson (ankle) to practice for first time on Friday and is expected to be ruled questionable Saturday vs. Atlanta Hawks. #haynesbriefs m.youtube.com/watch?v=SJ3L1P…

🆕 BIG NUMBER: +21 🆕 @tomhaberstroh.bsky.social tells me why Anthony Davis is the most important player in the NBA right now, and we dive deep on some of the *other* key figures in the West playoff race! 🍎: tinyurl.com/bdm28vct ✳️: tinyurl.com/yf7856ce 📺: youtu.be/O330FPWtlak

Just shared on the @trailblazers.bsky.social broadcast: Toumani Camara is second in the NBA in defensive stops (steals, recovered blocks, and offensive fouls drawn).

Scottie Barnes (and others) got benched in crunchtime again last night. Here's a visual showing how the Raptors' best player has been sat in fourth quarters lately: (graphic via pbpstats)

Both @tomhaberstroh.bsky.social (sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/...) and @johnhollinger.bsky.social (www.nytimes.com/athletic/622...) have also written recently about this trend, and we got the chance to ask NBA EVP of strategy and analytics Evan Wasch about the league's perspective on it.

Teamed up with @timbontemps.bsky.social to discuss the innovation we're seeing in lottery teams trying to avoid wins by sistting their best players in crunch time, why it's happening (Cooper Flagg) and whether the NBA could make changes to the lottery as a result: www.espn.com/nba/story/_/...

Excellent read from @tomhaberstroh.bsky.social here about NBA "quiet-quitting." One thing I'd add: The NBA could put an end to it by just enforcing the player participation policy as currently written! sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/...

Great article below from @tomhaberstroh.bsky.social on the not-so-subtle tanking strategies in the NBA this season. We've been talking about it for weeks and the conversations are getting LOUD. Adam Silver is going to have to address it at some point, right? sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/...

deni avdija with another and-1. it's unreal. he has 26-7-5 after 31-16-8 last time out.

Deni Avdija last 5 games: 25.2 pts, 11.8 rebs, 5.4 ast Per @stathead.com, only 4 players have hit those averages in any 5-game span this season: Nikola Jokić Giannis Antetokounmpo Jayson Tatum Deni Avdija

Deni Avdija last 5 games: 34 PTS, 16 REB, 6 AST 27 PTS, 15 REB, 5 AST 19 PTS, 6 REB, 6 AST 15 PTS, 6 REB, 2 AST 31 PTS, 16 REB, 8 AST <tonight