N.B.A.
The Sporting Scene
The Legend of Playoff Jimmy
For years now, just in time for the N.B.A. post-season, sure as the daffodils, Jimmy Butler has transformed into the world’s greatest basketball player—or something close to it.
The Sporting Scene
The N.B.A.’s Rule-Book Problem
Officiating in the league is probably as good as it’s ever been. So why does everyone seem so angry about it?
The Sporting Scene
The Glorious Comedy of Victor Wembanyama
The San Antonio Spurs rookie, who stands seven feet four, with an eight-foot wingspan, is making other players look silly—when he isn’t looking silly himself.
Psst Dept.
Sources: Shams Charania Leaves Hotel Room
The N.B.A. scoop merchant prepared for the rookie draft by hunkering down at the Westin in Times Square and spending eighteen hours a day on his phone.
The Sporting Scene
Nikola Jokić Got Here Patiently
The Denver Nuggets and their M.V.P. big man took their time getting to the N.B.A. Finals. It paid off.
The Sporting Scene
What Jayson Tatum Did and Didn’t Learn from Kobe Bryant
The Boston Celtics forward grew up idolizing the late N.B.A. legend. But beneath the influence and adulation there is a fundamental difference.
The Sporting Scene
The N.B.A.’s Supernova Era
The more good players there are in the league, the more central the great ones have become.
The Sporting Scene
LeBron James’s Incredible, Unsuspenseful Chase for the Scoring Record
Watching him on the stage of Madison Square Garden again invited the inevitable question: is this the greatest player the game has ever seen?
The Sporting Scene
The Dispiriting Saga of Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets
Since sharing an anti-Semitic movie on Twitter, Irving has alternated unconvincing apologies with defiance, and other parties—from his fellow-players to Amazon executives—have avoided saying much at all.
The Sporting Scene
What a “Winning Culture” Really Means
After the Warriors’ Draymond Green punched a teammate, the team’s season was recast as a test of the organization’s culture. But what would it mean to pass that test?
The Sporting Scene
The Punishment of Robert Sarver and the Wielding of Power in Sports
The N.B.A. seems to have concluded that Sarver—the majority owner of the Suns and the Mercury—behaved in a manner that was unacceptable, but forgivable.
Postscript
Bill Russell Was Basketball’s Adam
The N.B.A. star’s litany of accomplishments, on and off the court, has a mythic quality.
The Sporting Scene
Watching Kevin Durant and His Theoretical Super-Team Go Quietly in Brooklyn
The great forward and his erratic sidekick, Kyrie Irving, were defeated soundly—but, perhaps, not surprisingly—by the younger and more cohesive Boston Celtics.
The New Yorker Interview
How Masai Ujiri Builds a Team
The acclaimed N.B.A. executive on trading players, experiencing injustice, and going home.
The Sporting Scene
Ben Simmons and the Acceptance of Failure
Wherever the N.B.A. star goes next, he will likely need to become more comfortable doing things he’s not good at.
The New Yorker Interview
Carmelo Anthony Still Feels Like He’s Proving Himself
A conversation with the N.B.A. star about growing up, getting painted as the villain, and being needed.
Q. & A.
Jalen Rose on the N.B.A. Playoffs
The sports commentator and former pro basketball player discusses a difficult season and the state of the game.
The Sporting Scene
LeBron James’s Agent Is Transforming the Business of Basketball
Rich Paul is known for driving hard bargains for star clients, giving them new power in the N.B.A.
The Sporting Scene
Steph Curry’s Desperately Brilliant Season Comes to an End
The N.B.A.’s new play-in tournament brought “meaning” to the season, but has left one of its brightest stars out of the playoffs.
Shouts & Murmurs
The N.B.A.’s New COVID-19 Protocol
In an effort to reduce unnecessary exposure, we’re just gonna go ahead and count all unplayed Knicks games as losses.