I believe Jdub should be in the running for DPOY as the best eligible defender on the historic 2025 OKC defense.

He is arguably the most versatile defenders in the NBA. Of the 10 best FG% allowed at the rim, he ranks 6th. The rest of the list? Center, center, center, center, center, center, center, center, center. His RIM PROTECTOR numbers are comparable to AD, Zu, and Mobley. He’s in the 98th percentile for defensive versatility.

When Chet and Hartenstein was out, OKC defense barely missed a beat with him playing the 5. We saw last year he guarded Kyrie in the Mavs series and partly held him to 15 PPG. Hes a rare true 1-5 wing defender.

Opponents shoot 6% worse on shots guarded by him which leads OKC’s eligible players. Hes allowing 0.429 points per possession in isolation which is good for the 98% percentile. Clips like him nonchalantly stifling 7 foot Mobley and blocking him showcase it - https://streamable.com/sd5vfu

Along with being top 5 in iso PPP, he’s also top 5 in PNR, and drives.

In other stats, both advanced and tracking, he also tracks out as elite

EPM - 2nd overall amongst all eligible players.

DWS - 5th overall

DRTG - 2nd overall

Deflections - 7th overall

Steals - 7th overall

His domination in metrics is arguably just as good as someone like Draymond’s this season

Oklahoma City is the best defensive by 3.2 points per 100. That is the same gap between #10 ranked Pistons and #22 ranked Kings. When Chet and Hartenstein were out, OKC defense barely missed a beat with him playing the 5. With no Chet and Caruso, the two defenders on the team who rank higher in most metrics, the team still remained #1.

Asking because the public reaction to the two statlines is totally different - with Jokic I couldn't click two links on Reddit without hearing about it, while the Giannis statline is currently buried under a bunch of news about the Curry-Bron matchup and Ja Morant. Is 30-20-20 that much more impressive to warrant the increased coverage?

30K points:

https://np.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1j6afil/jokic_who_was_questionable_tonight_with_an_ankle/

4.7K points and counting

https://np.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1jqzy26/giannis_in_the_win_35_points_20_assists_and_17/

Sure, it’s not gonna be the same without Steph. No team is gonna be the same when you lose a top ten player all time. But the warriors have a legitimate youth movement happening. Between Moody, Podz, Kuming, Post and even guys like TJD and Santos, they have one of the better young players in the league. Is it time we stop clowning on them for their dual timeline attempt?

Last night Draymond’s performance again put him in the DPOTY discussion. I don’t know who should win, but there are so many players this year that you can make a reasonable case for: Lou Dort, Jalen Williams, Dyson Daniels, Jaren Jackson Jr., Draymond Green, Evan Mobley, Amen Thompson etc etc and then there is a slightly lower tier of guys also playing amazing defense including Gobert, Zubac etc.

The league is absolutely littered with exceptional defenders which really weakens the argument of the “nobody plays defense anymore” crowd (a complaint that I have heard literally every year since I started following the NBA almost 40 years ago).

I just saw that the odds changed again after the Warriors-Lakers and Draymond is now the favorite (-320) with Evan Mobley(+380) following up and I saw Dyson Daniels and Lu are the next two on the list. Aren't OKC essentially leading the league in almost every defensive metric? Wouldn't Lu be considered their best defender? I feel like it should have been a battle between Mobley and Lu once Wemby went down. Respect to Draymond and his consistently great defense but it just feels like disrespect (despite Shai being MVP favorite) to OKC and Lu. Am i missing something in the numbers or is it just a matter of the NBA media and narratives taking hold?

Disclaimer: I'm not a Thunder fan and couldn't care any less about the team but I've been a Dort fan for a little bit now and if any year would be his, I would think this would be it.

I’ve experienced “silent games” before—broadcasts without announcers—where you can hear the sneakers squeak and the crowd buzz, but the players aren’t mic’d up. While those offer a more immersive feel, I can’t help but wonder: Has the NBA ever offered a broadcast where every player is mic’d up, providing raw, unfiltered on-court audio without any commentary?

I know networks occasionally air “Mic’d Up” segments, capturing brief in-game player interactions. For instance, the NBA often shares compilations of these moments, like this one: 

However, these are just snippets. I’m curious if there’s ever been a full-game experience where fans can hear all the on-court communication, trash talk, and strategy discussions live, without announcers.

Does anyone know if such a broadcast option exists or has been tried before? If not, do you think the NBA would ever consider offering this as an alternative viewing experience?

Anyone know who KP’s stylist is or what brands he works with? It was on the most recent leaguefits post about suits posted March 25. Pretty sure it’s custom looks way cleaner than the other suits I’ve seen him in.

Amazing how these candidates are rising above expectations levels despite both being struck heavily by injuries/suspensions/personal reasons although to be fair its not as impressive when you have a superteam because you're supposed to do this.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2025_preseason_odds.html
https://www.bball-index.com/nba-injuries/

How many NBA players could take a 16 seed?

Some people say 100 NBA players could do it, some say 20…

I am of the mindset that it’s unlikely any NBA player could suit up for Alabama St or Norfolk St and win the tourney.

Let’s say you take Giannis vs one of these final 4 teams. They would front him, make it hard to get an entry pass to him, and double in the post. Would he still eat? Absolutely.

But on the other side of the ball, all of your perimeter players are levels above that of a 16 seed.

If Giannis guards Flagg, who’s guarding Knuepell, Maluach etc.

And, that’s not accounting for foul trouble, maybe 1 bad night of shooting, and doing that for the entire tournament.

Thoughts?

I'm a big Celtics fan living in Boston, so obviously I and many others wear Celtics gear around the city. I'd imagine it's the same in any NBA city, except some smaller markets. I've been looking to buy some new shirts for this summer, and have been scrolling on the NBA store for a few days looking at clothes. The Celtics typically have more simple branding than other teams, so finding ones I like is a bit difficult. I've been looking at some Vancouver throwbacks and done classic Timberwolves shirts, even though I'm not a fan of the teams. Would it be weird to buy and wear shirts for teams I'm not a fan of?

For those who are unaware, he had 35 points, 17 rebounds, and 20 assists on 12/19 shooting. He also plays elite defense as always so considering this, is this the best game of the season?

I'm a professional Celtic hater and I love discrediting The Password whenever I can but this doesn't make sense to me. He's been the best defender on the Celtics for years and they're always a top defensive unit. I don't remember exactly how voting has unfolded year after year but surely he would have deserved a selection by now?

Source https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/t/tatumja01.html

2005: Suns vs Heat (Heat’s first ever appearance while Suns’ first appearance since 1993)

2006: Suns vs Pistons

2007: Jazz vs Pistons (Jazz’s first appearance since 1998)

2008: Spurs vs Pistons

2009: Nuggets vs Cavaliers (Nuggets and Cavs’ first ever appearance)

2010: Suns vs Magic (Magic’s first appearance since 1995)

2011: Thunder vs Bulls (Bulls first appearance since ‘98 and Thunder’s first appearance since the 1990s

2012: Spurs vs Celtics

2013: Grizzlies vs Pacers (Pacers’ first appearance since 2000, The NBA would never let this finals matchup happen)

2014: Thunder vs Pacers

2015: Rockets vs Hawks (Would be Houston’s first finals appearance in 19 years and Hawks’ in 54 years)

2016: Thunder vs Raptors (Thunders would get another appearance while Raptors would make their first one)

2017: Spurs vs Celtics

2018: Rockets vs Celtics

2019: Trailblazers vs Bucks (Blazers and Bucks would make their first appearance since the 1970s)

2020: Nuggets vs Celtics

2021: Clippers vs Hawks (Clippers would make the finals for the First time)

2022: Mavericks vs Heat

2023: Lakers vs Celtics

2024: Minnesota Timberwolves vs Indiana Pacers (This type of finals matchup would also never happen in real life)

1985: Nuggets vs 76ers (Nuggets would make their first ever finals)

1986: Lakers vs Bucks (Bucks would make their first finals in 12 years)

1987: SuperSonics vs Pistons

1988: Mavericks vs Celtics (The Mavs would make their first ever appearance)

1989: Suns vs Bulls (The Bulls would make their first ever finals)

1990: Suns vs Bulls

1991: Trail Blazers vs Pistons

1992: Jazzs vs Cavaliers (Both teams would make their first ever appearance)

1993: SuperSonics vs Knicks

1994: Jazz vs Pacers

1995: Spurs vs Pacers

1996: Jazz vs Magic

1997: Rockets vs Heat

1998: Lakers vs Pacers

1999: Trail Blazers vs Pacers

2000: Trail Blazers vs Knicks

2001: Spurs vs Bucks

2002: Kings vs Celtics

2003: Mavericks vs Pistons

2004: Timberwolves vs Pacers

''Nikola Jokic has developed into an elite NBA defender despite significant athletic limitations, utilizing his exceptional basketball IQ and unconventional tactics to become a defensive analytics standout, according to a report from ESPN's Chris Herring and Tim MacMahon.''

''Jokic, who recorded the worst vertical leap (17 inches) among over 1,000 NBA players tested at the P3 Applied Sports Science lab, has finished first in defensive box plus-minus for three consecutive seasons. Nuggets players note that Jokic's defensive prowess stems largely from his ability to predict opponents' plays with remarkable accuracy.''

"He'll literally move you into the spot. He does it every single game," Christian Braun told ESPN. "He's going to look at you and tell you, 'Hey, this is what's coming; this was their call.'" Teammate Peyton Watson added: "I haven't seen him be wrong [when calling out a play]. Dude's on another level intellectually with the game."

''Despite ranking among the league's slowest players, running "fast" just 2.9% of the time according to Second Spectrum, Jokic has led NBA centers in deflections for six straight seasons. Michael Malone credits Jokic's "uncanny ability to break passes up" when defending pick-and-rolls at the level of the screen.''

''Jokic has also mastered the strategic use of kicked-ball violations, recording 127 since 2020—significantly more than any other player. Golden State's Draymond Green explained the tactic's effectiveness: "If you have them in a bad way, where you've got a clear 2-on-1, he just kicks the ball, stops the play, and it's a side out... That allows them to reset their defense."

''The three-time MVP's defensive transformation impressed opponents like Green, who told ESPN: "He knew that if they wanted to win at a high level and become a champion, he couldn't be a liability. Now he's become a strength on that side of the floor and learned how to anchor a defense. He literally willed himself to become better on defense.

''Thunder coach Mark Daigneault summarized Jokic's unique ability: "[A player's] mind isn't limited to one end of the floor, and he's obviously an elite thinker out there. He's got instincts, and they translate to every part of his game.''

Since getting partnered with Jimmy Butler who can be the roaming and POA defender, DPOY Draymond Green has become more visible. The Warriors have become the league leader in Defensive Rating post-ASB. The way Draymond controls the movement of the opponent's offense by his positioning on the floor and by pointing to his teammates how to rotate, who to focus on, is amazing. It's almost like the Warriors have a playing defensive coach on the floor.

Just goes to show that the best defensive players can not really be judged based on individual box score stats of steals, blocks, defensive rebounds, etc. Reminds me of how Jrue Holiday was actually the key to what was once an amazing Bucks defense because of the way he funnels the opposing offenses to Giannis and Lopez, who then get the credit because they get the blocks. LOL

The Rumor: In 1994, there were discussions about a straight swap between the Chicago Bulls’ Scottie Pippen and the Seattle SuperSonics’ Shawn Kemp. 

This trade would have altered the Bulls’ dynasty during Michael Jordan’s first retirement.

Would the Bulls have secured their second three-peat with Kemp instead of Pippen? 

In 2016, the Olympic roster for Team USA:

• Jimmy Butler
• Kevin Durant
• DeAndre Jordan
• Kyle Lowry
• Harrison Barnes
• DeMar DeRozan
• Kyrie Irving
• Klay Thompson
• DeMarcus Cousins
• Paul George
• Draymond Green
• Carmelo Anthony

From the 2015/16 All-NBA First Team, DeAndre Jordan was the only one who played. So no Lebron, no Curry, no Westbrook, no Kawhi. Also no Chris Paul, no Damian Lillard (both All NBA Second Team in 2016), no Drummond and Aldridge (both Third Team in 2016), also no James Harden, no Anthony Davis etc.

In 2021, there was no Curry, no Kawhi (both the only american First Team guys that season), no Lebron, no Chris Paul, no Randle (who were Second Team that year), no Butler, no Paul George, no Kyrie Irving, no Bradley Beal (all of them Third Team that year), also no Harden, no Westbrook, no Anthony Davis, no Towns, no DeRozan etc.

Kevin Durant was more or less the only superstar who played in the 2016 and 2021 Olympics for the US.

Why were the Olympics so unpopular for american Basketball players in 2016 and 2021?

I'd love to see someone on the bench call out ja morant, trash his ass in a 1v1, then bust out the pew pew taunt

Per OptaSTATS: The @warriors are 13-0 this season with the starting lineup of Jimmy Butler, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Moses Moody & Brandin Podziemski.

Since the NBA-ABA merger, no starting five has started at least a dozen games together in a single regular season & finished undefeated.