There was a time when it was unclear if DeMarcus Cousins would ever play basketball again. During the 2017-18 season, Cousins was on his way to vaulting the New Orleans Pelicans into one of the NBA’s elite teams alongside Anthony Davis when he suffered a season-ending Achilles injury. The injury cost him a potential max
Video
Basketball Insiders continues the “Now What” series with a look at the Indiana Pacers. A disappointing 34-38 record earned them a spot in the Play-In Tournament, where they crushed the Charlotte Hornets but were then destroyed by the Washington Wizards. They limped across the finish line, and now face an uncertain offseason that could be
While it was quite the bumpy ride, the Washington Wizards clinched a playoff berth in the 2020-21 season despite starting the year at 17-32. It required big moves at the trade deadline, a 17-6 run to close out the regular season and a Play-In Tournament win but the Wizards managed to make the playoffs and
Expect this to be a quiet offseason for the Detroit Pistons. General manager Troy Weaver said as much when speaking with local media on the heels of their last game of the season: “I don’t anticipate having too many roster spots available,” said Weaver. “The answers for the Pistons moving forward are all in-house.” The
It’s official: we’re entering the regular season’s endgame. Every game from here on out will have much bigger consequences, a statement even truer in 2021 than perhaps any other season thanks to the NBA’s new play-in tournament. If you’re not familiar, the play-in tournament will consist of two matchups within each conference. The seventh and
It’s official: we’re entering the regular season’s endgame. Every game from here on out will have much bigger consequences, a statement even truer in 2021 than perhaps any other season thanks to the NBA’s new play-in tournament. If you’re not familiar, the play-in tournament will consist of two matchups within each conference. The seventh and
When the trade deadline passed, there were two knee-jerk questions about the moves Boston made. 1. Just Evan Fournier?2. You traded Daniel Theis to save a few bucks? It is true that the Celtics let a rare opportunity slip through their fingers. Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic were up for bidding and Boston came away
The Miami HEAT must have been dying to add the newly-acquired Victor Oladipo to their lineup. Just coming out of a slight tailspin, Miami managed to win the last three games after dropping six straight. Well, Miami’s wish came true on Thursday night, when the HEAT finally got Oladipo into a game. In the end,
Though it may seem like forever ago, it has only been nine years since the Oklahoma City Thunder were playing in the NBA Finals. The young quartet of Kevin Durant, James Harden, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka was unable to stop the Miami HEAT’s “Big Three,” as the team captured their first of two consecutive
With the All-Star break over and the second half of the NBA season underway, it’s the perfect time to ponder questions such as what could happen at the trade deadline or how the standings might shake out over the course of the second half. Over the next few months, almost anything and everything could happen.
This year marks the 70th edition of the NBA All-Star Game, an event that began in 1951. Atlanta, for the third time and first since 2003, is set to host the festivities; one of the league’s more memorable All-Star games, the Eastern and Western All-Stars combined for more than 300 points as the East prevailed
There’s one big question surrounding the Sacramento Kings this season: what, exactly, will become of head coach Luke Walton? Walton, in the second year of a four-year deal he signed back in 2019, has often headlined the group of coaches that are thought most likely to be let go next. Brought in by the previous
With apologies to Immanuel Quickley, Anthony Edwards, Saddiq Bey and a few others, the league’s best rookie is a two-man race. Tyrese Haliburton and LaMelo Ball have staked their claim at the top of the rookie ladder and both show no signs of relinquishing. The two young guards are helping to elevate a mediocre draft
Few teams made as many offseason moves as the New Orleans Pelicans. After a disappointing performance in the Orlando Bubble, the Pelicans changed coaches, traded Jrue Holiday to the Milwaukee Bucks for veteran guard Eric Bledsoe and some significant draft capital and added Steven Adams in a deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder and quickly
During the 2000-01 NBA season, the Los Angeles Lakers, led by Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, finished 22nd in the league for defensive rating. They went on to win the championship, and are still the only team this century to finish outside the top 10 in defensive rating and win a title. One key caveat
The Dallas Mavericks’ Kristaps Porzingis had been back for nine games before missing Saturday’s contest against the Phoenix Suns. He’s struggled since returning from knee surgery earlier this month; so much so that he neglected to speak to the media following Friday’s loss – an unusual occurrence for Porzingis, who usually accommodates the media. While
In a pre-pandemic world, it would be right around that special time of the season where players, media and fans spend countless hours arguing over the NBA All-Star rosters. In some years, a player might even lash out at a post-game presser over the perceived slight. The first post-snub game for those players is a
About a month into the 2020-21 NBA season, fans are really starting to see which players have separated themselves from the pack in the race toward the Most Valuable Player award. It’s still anyone’s game — we’re just a fraction of the way through the season — but there have certainly been some that have
The Detroit Pistons were one of the NBA’s most competitive franchises at the turn of the century, appearing in six straight Eastern Conference Finals between 2002-2008 and winning the NBA Finals in 2004. But, since that run, the Pistons have been one of the least relevant teams in the league, having not won a playoff
Regrettably, this piece came out a little bit later than usual. Usually, Basketball Insiders tries to get this out around the time the season begins, but it’s only been two weeks, give or take, so it still feels appropriate. Better late than never, right? Well… the jury’s still out in this case. Naturally, this begins
It’s still early in the 2020-21 season, yet there have been amazing performances every night across the NBA. And, because of those performances, fans have started to see which stars are have shone brightest and separated themselves from the pack early in the MVP race. And so, each week at Basketball Insiders, we will be
We’re just over a week into the NBA’s 75th regular season and, already, we’ve seen some significant developments. From the new direction teams that made an offseason coaching change have taken, to the impact of some of the more critical offseason acquisitions with their new teams or even the development of the rookie class as
The NBA season has begun, and it’s time to overreact to the first few games of the year. In the next edition of Basketball Insiders’ inter-conference rankings, we will take a look at the Atlantic Division. In these rankings, we rank each team from worst to first based on their early performances and how we
This article was an annual tradition hosted by Basketball Insiders penned by veteran Joel Brigham. Then our own Drew Maresca took the reins. This year, there’s a new sheriff in town, and his name is Matt John. Fasten your seatbelts. Now before I begin, I have two things to get off my chest. First, props
After five weeks filled with food critique, vlogs, basketball games, and zero (!!) Covid-19 positives, the NBA playoffs are about to begin. Seven out of eight series are locked in, with only the Lakers awaiting the winner of the Portland Trailblazers and Memphis Grizzlies play-in game(s). While all of the series will have their share
The NBA is returning incredibly soon, but it definitely won’t be the same – at least not initially. While most aspects of the game will hopefully return to normal as soon as next season – and other fun surprises like the return of Jamal Crawford and Michael Beasley to the Brooklyn Nets (the latter of
Always one of the most entertaining times of the year, the trade deadline is an annual must-see event for basketball fans. But in addition to the excitement it brings, it can also introduce a headwind of confusion. Case in point: The three-team trade between the New York Knicks, Washington Wizards and Los Angeles Clippers. After
Year 2 in the NBA can be just as much of a challenge as a rookie season. On one hand, your expectations rise — individually and team-wise. On the other, 29 teams key-in on tendencies through film study. They’ll make adjustments to ensure you don’t get to your usual spots, forcing you to find a
After an eventful holiday season, the NBA now enters its middle third. With Christmas in the rearview, teams and players will push forward to the All-Star break over the next month-and-a-half. Over the last two weeks, many of the candidates for the year’s awards turned in performances that could help or hurt their positioning. Joel
There’s a certain variation of comfortability in rookies who make the transition to the NBA. The Memphis Grizzlies have two from this past year’s draft: No. 2 overall pick Ja Morant and No. 21 Brandon Clarke. Both have been impactful, both have shown flashes of the potential — yet each impacts the game in different