Category: NBA

Opinion: Opinion: Move over, California. The NBA’s balance of power has shifted to the Lone Star State.

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Almost six months later, the Dallas Mavericks’ jettisoning of superstar guard Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers still feels surreal.  The most shocking blockbuster trade of the NBA’s past decade didn’t affect the playoff bracket all that much — the Lakers’ duo of Doncic and LeBron James couldn’t advance past the Western Conference’s first … Continue reading Opinion: Opinion: Move over, California. The NBA’s balance of power has shifted to the Lone Star State.

Opinion: Thunder’s Finals win gives Oklahoma City, an afterthought in pro sports for decades, its well-deserved shining moment

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The Thunder took six NBA Finals games and an additional two and a half quarters to prove it, but Oklahoma City rounded into championship form just in time.  With thousands of Thunder supporters shaking the Paycom Center stands in approval, Oklahoma City responded to a slight halftime deficit in Game 7 by burying the underdog … Continue reading Opinion: Thunder’s Finals win gives Oklahoma City, an afterthought in pro sports for decades, its well-deserved shining moment

Opinion: Orlando’s blockbuster trade for Desmond Bane signals unofficial start of Magic’s championship contention

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The contestants in this year’s NBA Finals have the Orlando Magic to thank (in part) for their Finals runs. I doubt either will send the Magic a card in the mail — no debt of gratitude is in play when ripping off a team via trade (plus, the Thunder and Pacers actually played the winning … Continue reading Opinion: Orlando’s blockbuster trade for Desmond Bane signals unofficial start of Magic’s championship contention

Opinion: The Indiana Pacers are leading in the NBA Finals. Are they finally shedding the underdog label?

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The Indiana Pacers can't stop winning. They have to be the favorites at some point, right? Since the start of the calendar year 2025, the Pacers boast the most wins of any Eastern Conference team, yet they entered the playoffs well behind the reigning champion Celtics and Cavaliers in the conference’s pecking order. No problem … Continue reading Opinion: The Indiana Pacers are leading in the NBA Finals. Are they finally shedding the underdog label?

Assessing the Orlando Magic’s “new generation” of logos and uniforms

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Coming off consecutive playoff appearances, the Orlando Magic are launching into a new era of championship contention behind stars Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. And to usher this new era in, the Magic are embracing a new visual identity, replete with updated logos, uniforms and a court design. Uniform updates don’t win games themselves, but … Continue reading Assessing the Orlando Magic’s “new generation” of logos and uniforms

Opinion: The Denver Nuggets are winning the margins in the NBA playoffs and making serious noise

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Nuggets reserve guard Russell Westbrook tore down the Ball Arena court on Saturday evening, initiating a fast break off a steal with no one between him and the basket. He made sure to put an exclamation point on the coast-to-coast play, too, dunking so emphatically that he earned a technical foul for two prolonged swings … Continue reading Opinion: The Denver Nuggets are winning the margins in the NBA playoffs and making serious noise

Opinion: The 2025 NBA playoffs could usher in the league’s dynasty of the 2020s

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Repeating a championship victory is difficult for any pro sports team, but NBA teams in the past half-decade are finding the feat especially elusive. In the past six seasons, six different NBA teams have won the NBA Finals. I noted the upside of this trend in a column last year, but the league is now … Continue reading Opinion: The 2025 NBA playoffs could usher in the league’s dynasty of the 2020s

Opinion: During NBA’s dramatic 2024-25 regular season, no superstar or head coach seems safe. One common thread can explain why.

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NBA regular seasons rarely have an overarching lesson, but the 2024-25 season has had a pretty clear one: winning doesn’t guarantee anything. Taylor Jenkins coached the Memphis Grizzlies to a 56-26 record in 2021-22, tied for the franchise’s best regular season record, and followed it up with another 50-win season the following year. While guiding … Continue reading Opinion: During NBA’s dramatic 2024-25 regular season, no superstar or head coach seems safe. One common thread can explain why.

Opinion: Dwight Howard’s first-ballot induction gives Basketball Hall of Fame its first Magic superstar

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At last, a Hall of Fame player the Orlando Magic can claim as its own. Earlier this weekend, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced its 2025 Hall of Fame class, enshrining two male players, three female players, one referee, one head coach, one team executive and one Olympic team. Longtime Magic center Dwight … Continue reading Opinion: Dwight Howard’s first-ballot induction gives Basketball Hall of Fame its first Magic superstar

Opinion: Building my 2028 Summer Olympics itinerary, four years early

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Is there such a thing as Olympics overload? NBC bet this summer that for some sports fans, there’s no such thing, and the daily programming offerings from Paris entrapped even the most restrained of sports fans. For those tuning in for the theatrics of the highest-profile events, the primetime telecast fit the bill and compacted the … Continue reading Opinion: Building my 2028 Summer Olympics itinerary, four years early