On one of his recent podcast episodes, C.J. McCollum of the Portland Trail Blazers engaged in a discussion about the five most unstoppable moves in N.B.A. history. Allen Iverson’s crossover dribble, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s sky hook, Manu Ginobili’s Eurostep, Hakeem Olajuwon’s “Dream Shake” and, of course, Michael Jordan’s fadeaway jumper were all featured. McCollum then took […] More
Want more basketball in your inbox? Sign up for Marc Stein’s weekly N.B.A. newsletter here. When the Chicago Bulls were assembling a 72-10 season in 1995-96, Nick Nurse was a young Phil Jackson fan in England, earning roughly $20,000, along with housing and a car, as the new head coach of the Birmingham Bullets. His […] More
Michael Jordan seemingly has everything. He toppled almost all of his foes as a player. There was his individual greatness. Team greatness. Much business greatness. So why, after all these years, would Jordan, who rarely gives interviews, take part in a lengthy documentary series rehashing his epic time with the Chicago Bulls? It’s the legacy. […] More
Every good narrative needs someone wearing the black hat, and in at least the first two episodes of “The Last Dance,” the ESPN documentary about Michael Jordan, that man is Jerry Krause. Who was Krause? And why did he play such a big, and contentious, part in the Chicago Bulls’ dynasty and Jordan’s career? What […] More
Right now, 10 hours of old playoff basketball should probably be broadcast with a trigger warning. Ten hours of Michael Jordan-era Chicago Bulls playoff basketball should probably come with a chaplain. For “The Last Dance” is 10 hours of all-time postseason sports. The documentary is ostensibly about the season that culminated in the team’s historic […] More
The Liberty selected Sabrina Ionescu with the No. 1 overall pick in the W.N.B.A. draft on Friday, kicking off a refashioned “virtual” event for a league that has, like most sports around the world, been disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. The infusion of Ionescu and her star power into the W.N.B.A. comes amid a period […] More
Want more basketball in your inbox? Sign up for Marc Stein’s weekly N.B.A. newsletter here. In a family that has amassed five N.B.A. championships, there are naturally strong basketball opinions. Andy Thompson didn’t win any of those rings, but he considers himself the only Thompson qualified to rank dynasties whenever his brother Mychal or his […] More
For the Liberty, a tumultuous decade that put the franchise’s future in doubt has given rise to a team that is new in almost every way imaginable. A new owner: Joe Tsai, not James L. Dolan. A new home: Barclays Center, after a long run at Madison Square Garden and a two-year exile to the […] More
