I randomly came across the highlights of Game 5 and at the end of the game, Oladipo drives and the refs miss a goaltend call there, which leads to the game still being tied because of it. It sets up a Lebron game winning 3, which to his credit, he made. Why is this specific moment not brought up more?

What were some NBA players who were very skilled and talented but didn’t reach their full potential or could’ve accomplished more throughout their career

The most obvious example is Ben Simmons, who could play any position and do everything besides shooting and scoring but lacked confidence and suffered injuries

and Derrick Coleman who could score in the post and could even shoot 3s (not a lot of attempts because 90s) but only cared about money and also injuries

Career Regular season - 73.7%

Career Playoffs - 74.1%

Career NBA Finals - 73.1%

| Season | LeBron FT% | NBA average FT% | Relative to league |

| ------- | ---------- | --------------- | ------------------ |

| 2003–04 | 75.4% | 75.2% | Above |

| 2004–05 | 75.0% | 75.6% | Below |

| 2005–06 | 73.8% | 74.5% | Below |

| 2006–07 | 69.8% | 75.2% | Below |

| 2007–08 | 71.2% | 75.5% | Below |

| 2008–09 | 78.0% | 77.1% | Above |

| 2009–10 | 75.9% | 75.9% | Even |

| 2010–11 | 75.9% | 76.3% | Below |

| 2011–12 | 77.1% | 75.2% | Above |

| 2012–13 | 75.3% | 75.3% | Even |

| 2013–14 | 75.0% | 75.6% | Below |

| 2014–15 | 71.0% | 75.0% | Below |

| 2015–16 | 73.1% | 75.7% | Below |

| 2016–17 | 67.4% | 77.2% | Below |

| 2017–18 | 73.1% | 76.7% | Below |

| 2018–19 | 66.5% | 76.6% | Below |

| 2019–20 | 69.3% | 77.3% | Below |

| 2020–21 | 69.8% | 77.8% | Below |

| 2021–22 | 75.6% | 77.5% | Below |

| 2022–23 | 76.8% | 78.2% | Below |

| 2023–24 | 75.0% | 78.4% | Below |

| 2024–25 | 78.2% | 77.4% | Above |

| 2025–26 | 71.2% | 78.3% | Below |

Count:

• Above league average: 4 seasons

• Exactly league average: 2 seasons

• Below league average: 17 seasons

[source] https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/jamesle01.html

What are your best NBA Podcasts that you listen to?

Are there any good ones that go through weekly or daily match ups, with a good content arm?

Most players hit the prime and have some of their best seasons in their 6th year. Here are some examples

LeBron James 2008-09. Arguably his best season, this was when LeBron became the best player in the league with his first MVP win.

Kevin Durant 2012-13. Maybe not statistically his best season, but an MVP runner up prior to his MVP season. Durant is a bit of a unique case where he was so good early on and hit his prime in like year 3.

Stephen Curry 2014-15. Curry wins his first MVP and the league begins to shift to the 3P era. Really the year where he and the Warriors started to take over the league.

Kawhi Leonard 2016-17. A 3rd MVP finish and the only time he received first place votes. Maybe not as impressive as 2016 with the DPOY, but with Curry’s unanimous MVP that season, 2017 was the year Kawhi was in the conversation for best in the world.

Giannis Antetokounmpo 2018-19. Giannis wins his first MVP. This was the start of peak Giannis and when he started to put the Bucks in title contention.

Nikola Jokic 2020-21. Jokic’s first MVP win and has not finished lower than 2nd since. This was the year Jokic took a leap from good to all time great.

Joel Embiid 2021-22. A highly contested MVP runner up and won a scoring title, you could argue this was the start of the best version of him. Embiid is a bit of a weird case because he had so many injuries early in his career, with only 31 games in his rookie season, maybe year 6 was closer to 22-23 when he won MVP and won a second scoring title with 33 PPG.

Jayson Tatum 2022-23. Statistically Tatum’s best season, averaging 30 PPG and tied for a career high 4th place MVP finish. Was his most efficient season of his career.

Donovan Mitchell 2022-23. His first year in Cleveland, his first All-NBA season and a career high in points with a 6th place MVP finish.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 2023-24. An MVP runner up and led his team to a 1 seed. Although not as impressive as the last 2 seasons where he actually won MVP, this is when Shai showed he was that caliber of superstar.

Luka Doncic 2023-24. Sort of like Durant he was great early on, but 2023-24 still marks his highest MVP finish to date (3rd) and his first scoring title with a career high 33.9 PPG.

Jalen Brunson 2023-24. This was the year Brunson started to be put into conversations as a superstar. His first All Star season, his 5th place MVP finish, and playoff performances that showed he could put a team on his back. Posted a career high in points both regular season and playoffs.

Anthony Edwards 2025-26. Didn’t play enough games to qualify for awards, but coming off 7th place MVP finishes 2 years in a row, Ant posted a career high in points, efficiency, and likely would have been in the conversation for 1st team All NBA.

Here are some players who are going into year 6 for this upcoming season:

Cade Cunningham, Tyrese Haliburton, Scottie Barnes, Jalen Johnson, Evan Mobley, Alperen Sengun. What do the best versions of these players look like? Also, does Franz Wagner take a leap and make his first All Star game?

These are players where we should really see them elevate to another level, with only Haliburton I’d give a pass to because of the Achilles injury.

Nobody here really has MVP potential besides Cade, even if that is a long shot.

Who are you expecting to have a breakout kind of season?

Malone, KG,Dirk,Timmy d

For me personally, i'll pick Dirk for his shooting and his one stepped fadeaway

Heres my team around him

PG:CP3

SG: Reggie Miller

SF: Shawn Marion

C:Bill Walton

Pick one player to make a team around him, and share them love to hear your ideas.

A public sale record for a game-used NBA jersey occurred Tuesday night when Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls jersey from Game 3 of the 1998 NBA Finals — the famed “Last Dance” season — went for $12.26 million through Pharrell Williams’ auction house Joopiter.

Tuesday’s sale topped the previous high for a Jordan jersey when the one he wore in Game 1 of the 1998 NBA Finals landed nearly $10.1 million in a 2022 Sotheby’s auction. Babe Ruth’s 1932 World Series “called shot” jersey still remains king in the sports jersey world, though, selling for $24.12 million in 2024.

Joopiter placed a pre-auction estimate for the Game 3 jersey between $10 million and $15 million. The jersey received one bid before the auction closed Tuesday evening.

“It has been a privilege for Joopiter to bring such an important piece of Michael Jordan’s legacy to market, and to see it establish a new auction record for an NBA jersey,” Joopiter’s global head of sale Caitlin Donovan said. “Sports collectibles are in an exceptionally exciting period of evolution, as the category continues to mature and objects of true rarity, provenance and cultural significance are increasingly recognized on the global collecting stage.”

Joopiter has now brought several rare Jordan sports cards and memorabilia to auction. A signed Jordan 1986 Fleer rookie card with a Mint PSA 9 card grade and Gem Mint 10 autograph grade sold for $2.5 million in June 2025 through the auction house. Jordan’s custom 1997 Ferrari 550 Maranello is currently up for auction, with bidding over $1 million, and is set to end Wednesday.

The record sale is just another sign of Jordan’s continued popularity within the sports collectibles industry. He’s consistently the most searched athlete within the space on eBay every month and has more cards graded than any other athlete across all sports, according to graded card population tracker GemRate. His sports card also stands as the most expensive public sale ever, according to online sales database Card Ladder, as a Jordan/Kobe Bryant 2007-08 Upper Deck Exquisite dual NBA Logoman patch autograph one-of-one, PSA 6 card/10 auto grade sold for $12.9 million in August 2025 through Heritage Auctions.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7644430/2026/09/29/michael-jordan-last-dance-nba-finals-jersey-sells-for-record-12-26-million/

ESPN today announced its 2026-27 regular season schedule for Inside the NBA presented by Eli Lilly. Produced by TNT Sports from its Atlanta studios, the iconic studio show will make 25 regular season appearances across ESPN and ABC, providing fans with a consistent presence throughout the NBA season.

October

• Wed, Oct. 21 - ESPN (NBA on ESPN doubleheader/NBA Tip-Off)
• Thu, Oct. 22 - ESPN (NBA on ESPN doubleheader/NBA Tip-Off)
• Wed, Oct. 28 - ESPN (NBA on ESPN doubleheader)

November

• Wed, Nov. 4 - ESPN (NBA on ESPN doubleheader)
• Wed, Nov. 11 - ESPN (NBA on ESPN doubleheader)
• Wed, Nov. 25 - ESPN (NBA on ESPN Thanksgiving Eve tripleheader)

December

• Sat, Dec. 12* - ABC (NBA Saturday Primetime on ABC)
• Fri, Dec. 25* - ESPN/ABC (NBA Christmas Day presented by State Farm)

January

• Wed, Jan. 6 - ESPN (NBA on ESPN doubleheader)
• Fri, Jan. 8 - ESPN (NBA on ESPN doubleheader)
• Wed, Jan. 13 - ESPN (NBA on ESPN doubleheader)
• Fri, Jan. 22 - ESPN (NBA on ESPN doubleheader)
• Wed, Jan. 27 - ESPN (NBA on ESPN doubleheader)
• Sat, Jan. 30* - ABC (NBA Saturday Primetime on ABC/NBA Rivals Week quadrupleheader)

February

• Sat, Feb. 6* - ABC (NBA Saturday Primetime on ABC)
• Wed, Feb. 10 - ESPN (NBA on ESPN doubleheader)
• Fri, Feb. 12 - ESPN (NBA on ESPN)
• Sat, Feb. 13* - ABC (NBA Saturday Primetime on ABC)
• Wed, Feb. 17 - ESPN (NBA on ESPN doubleheader)
• Fri, Feb. 26 - ESPN (NBA on ESPN doubleheader)
• Sat, Feb. 27* - ABC (NBA Saturday Primetime on ABC)

March

• Fri, Mar. 5 - ESPN (NBA on ESPN doubleheader)
• Sat, Mar. 6* - ABC (NBA Saturday Primetime on ABC)
• Sat, Mar. 13* - ABC (NBA Saturday Primetime on ABC)

April

• Sun, Apr. 11 - ESPN (NBA on ESPN doubleheader/NBA regular season finale)

Source: https://espnpressroom.com/press-release/espn-announces-2026-27-inside-the-nba-presented-by-eli-lilly-regular-season-schedule/

Hot take, I get it 🤷🏼‍♂️ but D-Rose was on track to becoming the best PG of all time.

Had an historic MVP run

Lead the Chicago bulls to a 62 win team during his MVP season, 11 wins short of GSW record being the ONLY all star on the team at the time.

And one of the most athletic players to ever play PG. all he needed was to increase his 3p% which I am certain, with his mentality he would have. I don’t think he would ever surpass curry level shooting however.

Source: https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/whats-next-for-jalen-duren-and-the-pistons-here-are-4-sign-and-trade-possibilities-150527643.html

Pistons/Bucks

Bucks get: Jalen Duren
Pistons get: Myles Turner, Jaime Jaquez 

Pistons/Hawks

Hawks get: Jalen Duren
Pistons get: Onyeka Okongwu, Aaron Wiggins, Corey Kispert

Pistons/Kings

Kings get: Jalen Duren, Ron Holland, Paul Reed, Chaz Lanier
Pistons get: Domantas Sabonis, Maxime Raynaud, Dylan Cardwell

Pistons/Wizards

Wizards get: Jalen Duren, Duncan Robinson, Ron Holland, Chaz Lanier
Pistons get: Anthony Davis

So every year, over the summer and into the fall, NBA fans are flooded with posts about

• Luka being tan, in shape, and motivated
• Ben Simmons in the lab working on his 3PT shot
• Zion losing weight and being ripped
• AD being healthy

And so on, until midseason (or earlier) when all of those narratives fall flat and these players revert back to who that have mostly always been.

BUT - is there a good example (or two) of a player that has actually managed to successfully change the negative aura/narrative about themselves?

Source per Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic:

MSG Sports will spin off the New York Knicks and Rangers into separate publicly traded companies, after its board approved the move. Transaction will be completed on Oct. 26.

MSG Sports will be MSG Knickerbockers Corp. It'll own the Knicks and Westchester Knicks.

MSG Rangers Corp. will be comprised of the Rangers, MSG training facility and Hartford Wolf Pack.

The transaction will be final after league approvals and other conditions.

Former Knicks team president and head coach Isiah Thomas will be on the MSG Knickerbockers Corp. board of directors. Thomas is also on The Sphere board, and also on the board of Mat Ishbia's UWM.

Former Knicks president Steve Mills will sit on the MSG Rangers Corp board. He had been on the MSG Sports board.

Per SEC filing:

The following individual has been appointed, effective as of the Distribution date, to the Board of Directors of the Registrant as a director elected by holders of Registrant Class B Common Stock to fill the vacancy after giving effect to the resignation of the three directors elected by holders of Registrant Class B Common Stock described above and the decrease in the size of the Board of Directors:

Isiah L. Thomas III, age 65, has been the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Isiah International, LLC, a holding company with interests in a diversified portfolio of businesses, since 2011. Mr. Thomas has served as a Commentator and Analyst for NBA TV, a sports broadcasting channel, since 2014 and Turner Sports, a sports broadcasting channel, since 2012. Mr. Thomas has also served as Chief Executive Officer and Executive Chairman of One World Products, Inc., (transitioning to Isiah Enterprises, Inc.) since 2020, leading its transformation into a sustainable materials and advanced manufacturing enterprise focused on industrial compounding, sustainable plastics, automotive applications, packaging and advanced manufacturing solutions following its acquisition of Eco Bio Plastics and the development of renewable material technologies. He previously served as the President & Alternate Governor of the New York Liberty of the Women’s National Basketball Association from 2015 to February 2019, the Head Basketball Coach at Florida International University, a higher education institution, from 2009 to 2012, the General Manager, President of Basketball Operations and Head Coach of the New York Knicks of the NBA, which is owned by the Registrant, from 2006 to 2008, the Head Coach of the Indiana Pacers of the NBA from 2000 to 2003, the Owner of the Continental Basketball Association from 1998 to 2000, Minority Owner & Executive Vice President of the Toronto Raptors of the NBA from 1994 to 1998 and point guard for the Detroit Pistons of the NBA from 1981 to 1994. Mr. Thomas has served as a director of StratCap Digital Infrastructure REIT, Inc. since July 2023, UWM Holdings Corporation, a residential and wholesale mortgage lender, since January 2021, Sphere Entertainment since April 2020, Get in Chicago, an organization focused on stopping gun and related violence in Chicago, since 2013 and he is the Founder of Mary’s Court Foundation, a charitable organization established in 2010. Mr. Thomas also serves as a director for ForbesBLK, a non-profit organization for black entrepreneurs and professionals, and Strategic Wireless Infrastructure Fund II, Inc., a private fund. Mr. Thomas graduated from Indiana University and received a Master’s degree in Education from the University of California at Berkeley.

Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell has signed a new multiyear contract extension with Adidas – a deal that will take him through a 10th signature shoe with the same brand, becoming the seventh active NBA player to accomplish the feat.

It will also deliver Adidas' further resources for his high school, Greenwich Country Day, to provide students from underserved communities with access to educational resources.

https://www.espn.com/contributor/shams-charania/4cc95c10e3a3d

Source: https://www.tsn.ca/nba/article/raptors-poeltl-hopes-to-put-back-injury-behind-him/

After last season became a lost season for Jakob Poeltl, any discussion about the veteran centre turns into an indictment of his contract. There are at least three years and more than $80 million of guaranteed salary left on an extension he signed in the summer of 2025. Neither the player nor the deal have aged well.

A nagging back injury limited the 30-year-old to 46 games last season. It’s an ailment he’s been dealing with for a year and may have to manage, to some degree or another, for the rest of his career.

Coming off a disappointing campaign, it’s easy to forget that the version of Poeltl the Raptors drafted in 2016, traded for Leonard in 2018, re-acquired and re-signed in 2023, and then extended in 2025 was a quality starting NBA centre. The numbers don’t do him justice, though 12.7 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks on 64 per cent shooting in two and a half years with Toronto prior to last season are nothing to scoff at.

For what it’s worth, Poeltl isn’t lacking for motivation either. He spent most of the off-season in his native Austria, where he hired and worked with a strength and conditioning coach that specializes in helping athletes bounce back from injury. In consultation with the Raptors’ medical staff, they made some changes to Poeltl’s training routine and crafted a program specifically designed to manage his reoccurring back pain.

Previously, Poeltl would warm up before his basketball workouts and do a standard lift routine afterwards. With the new regimen, he’s doing a full activation and targeted lift session before picking up a ball. There’s an emphasis on mobility, trying to take some pressure off his back by making him more mobile in areas where his range of motion was lacking. In the weight room, the focus is on improving his core strength, as well as targeting his glutes and hamstrings, to make sure he has as much protection as possible.

So far so good. He’s feeling better and, by all accounts, he’s moving better, but he knows the real test is weeks and months away. Keeping up with the new routine and maintaining his health and conditioning over the course of a full season will get monotonous, without any guarantee that it will work – back injuries are famously unpredictable and don’t tend to age well in seven-footers over 30.

The Minnesota Timberwolves are named after wolves, so naturally I wanted to know whether they actually get better when the moon is full.

I took every Timberwolves regular-season game and classified it as a full-moon game if it was played within 1.5 days of a full moon.

The result is that:

Timberwolves near a full moon

154-160: 49.0% win rate

Timberwolves the rest of the time

41.2% win rate

I also controlled for season.

The full-moon effect barely changed:

+7.75 percentage points, p=.0065

So historically, Minnesota has been significantly more likely to win when the moon is full.

Furthermore, when you look at the Wolves's best player, at least according to many(Some advanced stats have Lamelo as better)

Ant near a full moon:

71.7% win rate

Otherwise:

52.3%

Difference: +19.4 percentage points

The franchise-wide sample is fairly large: 314 games near a full moon, and the season-adjusted association still comes out at p=.0065.

tl;dr: The Timberwolves have won 49.0% of games near a full moon versus 41.2% otherwise. After controlling for season, the difference is still +7.75 percentage points (p=.0065). Anthony Edwards is at 71.7% vs 52.3% himself. He got that dawg in him.

Btw the wolves next full moon game is on October 26 vs Cavs: https://www.nba.com/timberwolves/schedule