The Athletic NBA Daily

The NBA Season is HERE. Andrew Schlecht and Alex Speers are here to chop it up. Alex gives his classic "Top Stories this Week" monolog and the guys give their Good, Bad and What of the NBA this week. Then Shamit Dua of the In the N.O. podcast and substack joins to discuss the Pelicans season. Of course, the boys finish with some TRIVIA.Host: Andrew Schlecht and Alex SpeersWith: Shamit DuaProducer: Andrew SchlechtVideo Producer: Monica Compton

On the first Thursday night of the regular season, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 20-point streak came to an end, in a win, after 141 games; and Philadelphia erased a 29-point Cavaliers lead to finish off a monumental comeback in its home opener against the Cavaliers. Dave DuFour and Es Baraheni walk you through an exciting night. Plus, we’ll make far-too-early reactions on Anthony Edwards, the Portland Trail Blazers and Darius Acuff Jr. And finally, we head to the mailbag to answer your burning questions.Host: Dave DuFourWith: Es BaraheniProducer: Zuri IrvinAudio/Video: Josh Sexton

Okay, now the NBA season has officially started. Dave DuFour and Es Baraheni break down all the major action from the first full slate of action, including: Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball & Giannis Antetokounmpo putting on a show in Miami, Luka Doncic entering a new era in Los Angeles, Steph Curry’s options in Golden State, Kawhi Leonard’s return to Toronto, and more!And Sam Amick, Senior NBA Writer for The Athletic, joins the show to unpack the Sixers’ impressive win over the Knicks, Portland’s ownership conundrum and what Ben Simmons’ devastating Achilles injury means for Darius Acuff Jr. and the Sacramento Kings. Host: Dave DuFourWith: Es Baraheni Producer: Zuri IrvinAudio/Video: Josh Sexton

The NBA Season has begun and Alex Speers and Andrew Schlecht are here to break down their biggest questions about the upcoming season. Plus! Derek Parker joins as the boys reveal the Wheel of Tomorrow. To end the show the guys do their first edition of Pack Attack.Host: Alex Speers and Andrew SchlechtWith: Derek ParkerProducer: Andrew Schlecht

Opening Night in the NBA! Dave DuFour, Esfandiar Baraheni and Law Murray are live Tuesday night following all the action to unpack a lively tipoff to the 2026-27 NBA season, including: the Pistons completing the largest opening day comeback in NBA history, the Knicks celebrating their first championship since 1973 at Madison Square Garden and the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs continuing the best rivalry in the association. Then, we’ll break down Law Murray’s season-opening NBA Power Rankings and point out what might change as the week continues. And finally, we’ll hear from you, the fans, with instant reactions from the first night of the season. Host: Dave DuFour With: Es Baraheni Producer: Zuri Irvin Audio/Video: Josh Sexton

Real, tangible basketball! We are finally here. As we head into the 2026-27 NBA season, we have a few questions for our opening trio of games: Will Ausar Thompson ascend to Detroit’s second option alongside Cade Cunningham? What does Joe Mazzula regular season basketball look like without Jaylen Brown? Who will play off the ball in San Antonio’s three-guard lineup? Will the Knicks have a championship hangover? Then, we’ll head to the pressure meter to assess Nick Nurse’s job security in Philadelphia, Chet Holmgren’s to-do list this season, Luka’s expectations and more. And finally, we’ll check in on Ben Simmons’ devastating achilles injury and how Oklahoma City can build around Cason Wallace’s new contract. Host: Dave DuFourWith: Es Baraheni Producer: Zuri IrvinAudio/Video: Josh Sexton

The NBA preseason can be deceiving. Dave and Es walk you through what’s real and what’s fake, between: the Orlando Magic offense, Denver Nuggets role players, Matisse Thybulle in the Lakers starting lineup and NBA officiating points of emphasis.Then, Sandro Mamukelashvili joins the show to discuss his decision-making process behind signing with the Lakers, how J.J. Redick envisions his role on the team, their team-bonding summer trip to Slovenia, his sense of urgency to return to the playoffs and the five greatest European NBA players of all time.And we end the show with a quick recap of Anthony Edwards’ 2nd Annual Believe That Awards, which we do believe in.Host: Dave DuFourWith: Es BaraheniProducer: Zuri IrvinExecutive Producer: Andrew SchlechtAudio/Video: Josh Sexton

The NBA season is just days away, and every year there is a team that no one expects to win a lot games…..that wins a lot of games. Andrew Schlecht and Alex Speers are joined by Trill Bro Dude of the You Know Ball Podcast to guess which team that will be this year. Alex Speers gives context for each team that is a “Surprise Team” candidate and the guys debate why each team won’t be that team, then they answer a trivia question about each team. Then at the end the boys give who they think their “Surprise Team” of the year is.And…. there is a special announcement for this season for Slam n JamHost: Andrew Schlecht and Alex SpeersWith: Trill Bro DudeProducer: Andrew SchlechtVideo Producer: Monica Compton

From Cooper Flagg to Cam Boozer, the NBA is loaded with young, generational talent. Dave DuFour, Es Baraheni, and Andrew Schlecht are here to put players from the last 3 draft classes into tiers and attempt to project the future heading into the 2026-2027 NBA Season. Host: Dave DuFour With: Es Baraheni and Andrew Schlecht Producer: Andrew Schlecht Audio/Video: Josh Sexton