Wide open contests are fun, but so is invention, idiosyncrasy, contrasting approaches. Tastes are peculiar, but they're never narrow as a cocktail straw. Read more »

The Kings are already showing they have a chance to be something special, and they have a coach who has already shown he can win games in this league and appears to be invested in the future of the team. Read more »

It's gratifying to see the Bucks ascend like this because, after spending a not insignificant period of time stalling and scuffling, they've been suddenly seized by possibility. Read more »

When Karl-Anthony Towns came into the league, he was universally thought of as the answer to how a big man can operate in the modern game. Now he's considered by many a disappointment just as another set of unreachable expectations are being bestowed upon Zion Williamson. Read more »

Eric Paschall certainly looks the part for what the league is looking for in its combo forwards from physical and athletic standpoints. Read more »

The sky's not exactly the limit for Cedi Osman, but he's on his way to becoming a drunk impressionist's rendering of Gordon Hayward- in other words, a useful player. Read more »

Rui Hachimura might be a bit overrated at this point. He hasn't developed handling the ball from the perimeter against a set defense, isn't a reliable shot creator for others and doesn't offer spacing. Read more »

Anime Hayward is a fiction borne from a culture so over-producing and so neurotic about what it is, and who it is, that his stenciled visage feels all but inevitable. Read more »

While the owners successfully reduced the players' share of BRI in 2011, players, specifically stars, have wrestled a lot of the agency back from the owners. Read more »

Beyond the top teams, the NBA is full of interesting stories and, just importantly, reasons to watch each team. Read more »

What's being praised and proclaimed about Luka Doncic sounds a lot like what was previously said about Andrew Wiggins or Anthony Davis or Kwame Brown. Read more »

On the offseason moves by the Nuggets, Wolves, Thunder, Blazers and Jazz. Read more »

We like to see the league's stars fulfilling their potential in good situations. Giannis Antetokounmpo's emerging greatness gives us something to root for. His team might, too. Read more »

On the offseason moves by the Hawks, Wizards, Magic, Heat and Hornets. Read more »

Imagining a cursed Lakers future is glimpsing into a post-LeBron NBA, or one in which he's still around but doesn't matter nearly as much as he used to. It's unnerving to think about, in a value-neutral sort of way. Read more »

It's tough being The Other Guy: the piece that doesn't exactly fit, the one who's trying and failing to fill a role they didn't sign up for. Read more »

It's almost a guarantee that Embiid and Simmons' best years are ahead of them. What's not a guarantee is that those years will be spent together on the Sixers, or that they will acquire better players than they have now, in the future. Read more »

Kevin Durant feels attacked and doesn't know what to do about it, so he deals with it in a bunch of ineffectual ways depending on what shade of dour mood he's in. Read more »

Victor Oladipo's massive improvement is the primary thing about him that's exciting, but once you get past that, it's the overconfidence he frequently justifies, the luxurious energy of his game, that makes him stand out on top of standing out. Read more »

The Joel Embiid Experience has always stunk of brand-building. He arrived extremely online and has stayed that way into his mid-20s. Of course he was going to weaponize it at some point. Read more »