Limited Upside

Freelance writer Shaker Samman (@ShakerSamman) joins the show to discuss his Sports Illustrated feature story on NBA Top Shot, the new virtual trading card service that has exploded in popularity and value over the past year. Why are people paying huge sums of money to own basketball highlights that are everywhere? How is it similar and different to physical trading cards? Is it really just about trying to make money, or are there deeper human emotions like nostalgia, ownership, and ego at play? How does the service even work? What's in it for the NBA? Is this thing a bubble, or does it have staying power? Will this conversation turn Mike into a believer or will he still be a skeptic? Most importantly: when can we buy the Top Shot our favorite classic highlights and bloopers? 

Here's a link to Shaker's story https://www.si.com/nba/2021/03/17/nba-top-shot-crypto-daily-cover

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mike and Ben join their listeners for a conversation on Locker Room about the state of the game, talking about various questions such as: Are there too many threes? How do you fix officiating? Does the NBA have stylistic diversity? And more!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Haley O'Shaughnessy and Jordan Ligons, co-hosts of "Spinsters" on the Blue Wire Podcast Network, join Mike and Ben for a simple competition: who can put together a five-man team of players that the most people will enjoy watching and following? Not necessarily the best team, but the one that'll make the most people happy when watching. The only rule: only two players per team who have been All-Stars in any of the last three seasons.

Which of the following teams would you enjoy rooting for most?

HALEY: Ja Morant, De'Aaron Fox, Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Mitchell Robinson. Coached by Monty Williams

BEN: Collin Sexton, Klay Thompson, Robert Covington, Blake Griffin, Joel Embiid. Coached by Stan Van Gundy

MIKE: Steph Curry, LaMelo Ball, Marcus Smart, Mikail Bridges, Nikola Jokic. Coached by Nick Nurse

JORDAN: Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, Christian Wood, Bam Adebayo, Jarrett Allen. Coached by Becky Hammon

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mike is back on Locker Room to chat about the festivities of All-Star Sunday, and takes a look into the second half of the NBA season.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ben and Mike join their listeners in a live Locker Room chat to talk about Joel Embiid, coach firings, and so much more.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You want offseason fireworks? The WNBA gave you them this winter. So we dialed up our WNBA pals Matt Ellentuck (Here's Basketball newsletter) and Sabreena Merchant (SB Nation) to talk through the big moves and assess what could be the best title race in WNBA history. (Please stay healthy, everyone!)

Topics include:

Candace Parker's move from LA to Chicago. Why didn't the Sparks respect CP's greatness? Does Parker put the Sky over the top? How much fun will the Courtney Vandersloot-Candace pick-and-roll be?

The Aces made the Finals riding A'ja Wilson. Are they even better now that they get Liz Cambage and Kelsey Plum back while adding Chelsea Gray? Or are there too many mouths to feed?

How big a deal was Alysha Clark's decision to spurn the Storm for the Mystics? Is it enough to make Washington the favorites over Seattle?

Can the Minnesota Lynx get some damn respect already after adding Kayla McBride and Aerial Powers to a core of Napheesa Collier, Sylvia Fowles, and Crystal Dangerfield?

Oh yeah, Sabrina Ionescu's back! So is Diana Taurasi! So is Chennedy Carter! So is Arike Ogunbowale! So is Jonquel Jones! So is Brittney Griner, which might be kinda awkward! And hey, the Sparks still have Nneka Ogwumike, who's pretty good.

Poor Indiana Fever :-(

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Seerat Sohi, national NBA reporter for Yahoo! Sports, joins the show for a free-form conversation on the most interesting stories of the NBA season. What kind of superteam are the Brooklyn Nets? If their stars aren't villains, what are they, exactly? Can they demonstrate that offense actually is more important than defense? Why isn't defense as cool as offense, anyway? Then, we discuss the fun vibe in Houston, the other team involved in the season's biggest star drama. How important is the motivation to prove everyone wrong? Why have the Rockets' many individual redemption stories coalesced into a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts? Plus, some All-Star talk, why so many rookies are fitting in well despite not getting a real training camp, and more. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The best team in the NBA right now plays in Salt Lake City. But just how good are the Utah Jazz? Can they really compete for a title, or is this just a cute early-season story. Ben Dowsett, longtime Jazz writer and creator of the Jazz Film Room subscription site, joins Mike to discuss the keys to Utah's improvement, Mike Conley's comfort, common national media misperceptions, and the underlying discussion the Shaq/Donovan Mitchell beef sadly overlooked. Plus, why the future of these Jazz will have a profound impact on the modern game.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nekias Duncan, staff writer for BasketballNews.com and the co-host of the groundbreaking "The Dunker Spot" podcast, joins the show to ponder the players that we've found most curious this season. What's going on with Ben Simmons' offense? Is Khris Middleton actually the Bucks' best player? (No but he sure seems like their closer). Are Warriors fans worrying too much? Why isn't Ja Morant on national TV more? Is Bam Adebayo the Heat's best offensive player now? Why are NBA teams still undervaluing wing size? Those topics and more on our long-overdue first episode of this new season.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Varun Shankar, the pod's producer, joins the show to preview the NBA season. We've decided to draft the teams for this season in a sort of fantasy basketball format, but with teams instead of players. 3 people picking. 30 teams, 10 players each, it's a great time.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices