The Ringer: All Posts by Tyler Parker2024-02-21T11:10:46-05:00https://www.theringer.com/authors/tyler-parker/rss2024-02-21T11:10:46-05:002024-02-21T11:10:46-05:00Introducing ‘The Parker Tyles Show (With Thad Roper)’
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<p>NBA and EuroLeague journeyman Parker Tyles takes you on a tour of insider stories, league insights you won’t get anywhere else, and the hard-hitting realities of hooping on the world’s biggest stage</p> <p id="gyW6yV">The Ringer Podcast Network has a new, mind-blowing show in the NBA player podcasting space: <em>The Parker Tyles Show (With Thad Roper)</em>. NBA and EuroLeague journeyman Parker Tyles takes you on a tour of insider stories, league insights you won’t get anywhere else, and the hard-hitting realities of hooping on the world’s biggest stage. This trailer gives you a taste of what you can expect from Parker; his cohost, gray market entrepreneur andNBA enthusiast Thad Roper; and rotating guest appearances from the biggest stars in sports media. Full episodes coming soon, wherever you get your podcasts.</p>
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https://www.theringer.com/nba/2024/2/21/24079037/introducing-the-parker-tyles-show-with-thad-roperTyler ParkerChris Ryan2024-02-16T11:38:14-05:002024-02-16T11:38:14-05:00What to Watch at NBA All-Star Weekend (Besides the LED Monstrosity of a Court)
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<p>While the league distracts us with new toys and shiny things, actual basketball events will take place in Indiana over the weekend. Here’s what we’re looking for.</p> <p id="crFkZa">NBA All-Star Weekend begins today. Indianapolis, land of a thousand points. Friday and Saturday, the party’s at Lucas Oil Stadium. Events include—deep breath, prepare for brands and trademarks—the Ruffles NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, Kia Skills Challenge, STARRY® 3-Point Contest, and AT&T Slam Dunk, which, apparently, does not have the word “contest” in its name any longer? Language, who needs it? Excuse me. In the style of the NBA and its business partners: Language, who needs? One thing that’s especially notable this year is that participants will be playing on television. Excuse me, let me take that again. They will be playing <em>on top of</em> a television. The ultimate in picture in picture. The future is now, and it wants your eyes to bleed.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Welcome to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBAAllStar?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBAAllStar</a>, where our state-of-the art LED court will shine all weekend long at Lucas Oil Stadium! <a href="https://t.co/fpCmFm6oPv">pic.twitter.com/fpCmFm6oPv</a></p>— NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1758134819702128958?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 15, 2024</a>
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<p id="9LIyhN">The NBA is touting its new “state-of-the-art full video LED court” as its latest innovation designed to enhance the viewing experience. The league’s announcement was a breeding ground for PR mumbo jumbo. Terms like “high-performance, immersive sports floor,” “endless amount of animation capabilities,” and “interactive displays.” During the events on Friday and Saturday, on-court effects will include:</p>
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<li id="pQPdh8">Design and color changes</li>
<li id="WahAnj">Live replays and other video content</li>
<li id="ZOqU8u">Real-time game stats</li>
<li id="s5TcXv">Location-based player tracking animations</li>
<li id="oVmALg">Interactive games for fans during timeouts</li>
<li id="Ujz3HU">Immersive animations following key plays and moments</li>
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<p id="8K4a5T">May also cause seizures or changed channels. If this court is going to happen, they need to lean fully into it. If any of the events get boring, just start showing more exciting stuff on the LED screen. Jacob Toppin is taking forever to complete a dunk attempt? Turn on <em>Ocean’s Eleven</em>. Any scene with Elliott Gould or Bernie Mac. Turner for sure has the rights. It’s not counterprogramming if it’s all happening on the same channel. </p>
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<p id="Z6i0I1">Hard not to see the glowing new playing surface as anything other than an indictment of the stuff taking place on it. This whole weekend is meant to showcase the league’s greatest, playing basketball. Dame Lillard’s nuclear 3-point shooting is not enough to hold our attention; neither is watching the top two picks in last year’s draft play on the same team. So look over here at these <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ila-hAUXR5U">flashing lights</a>. As we recall, the league loves to show off, but I never thought that it would take it this far. What do I know? Pay no attention to the people performing on the court. Yes, they are literally our best and brightest, but check out the floor. Look at our fun, new ground. It’s so shiny. Here’s what will be happening on it. </p>
<h3 id="8XDaan">Friday</h3>
<h4 id="Zmnazs">NBA All-Star Celebrity Game</h4>
<p id="uesXQC">The “Celebrity” Game is at 7 p.m. ET. Team Shannon (Sharpe) will take on Team Stephen A. (Smith). Joining Sharpe on the bench are assistants 50 Cent and Peyton Manning, with Lil Wayne and A’ja Wilson rounding out Smith’s coaching staff. The rosters, look, it’s not the Met Gala. Not devoid of wattage but not swimming in it either. Those quotation marks are there for a reason. The NBA has never played faster and looser with the term “celebrity.” Keep your Google close by. </p>
<p id="bqbslB"><strong>Team Shannon</strong></p>
<p id="SASK71">Anuel AA, Kai Cenat, Conor Daly, Walker Hayes, Quincy Isaiah, Jewell Loyd, Micah Parsons, Lilly Singh, SiR, Dylan Wang </p>
<p id="pC7ki0"><strong>Team Stephen A.</strong></p>
<p id="huU7Fm">Adam Blackstone, Natasha Cloud, Jennifer Hudson, Tristan Jass, AJ McLean, Kwame Onwuachi, Metta World Peace, Jack Ryan, C.J. Stroud, Gianmarco Tamberi</p>
<p id="bIXZkg">No clue or care who wins, but I could certainly see Lilly Singh trying to put Jennifer Hudson on her ass. Either way, I hope World Peace brings back the D-Band and starts a trend. The world is ready. It’s what leaders wear. A product for today’s hip-hop and sports enthusiast. Soak it up. Brad Miller did. </p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">(2003) "What Leaders Wear." <br><br>Never forget the D-Band Headbands. <a href="https://t.co/xkpoGfRuoK">pic.twitter.com/xkpoGfRuoK</a></p>— Timeless Sports (@timelesssports_) <a href="https://twitter.com/timelesssports_/status/956285413039263744?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 24, 2018</a>
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<h4 id="DPhRUS">Rising Stars</h4>
<p id="ZkuwvZ">The four coaches for the Panini Rising Stars game are Pau Gasol, Tamika Catchings, Jalen Rose, and Detlef Schrempf. Schrempf will coach a team of G Leaguers. For some reason, it has not yet been announced that another former Pacer and Schrempf’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_ul6dXgkSk">Entertainment 720 colleague Roy Hibbert</a> will be joining him as an assistant. The league is almost certainly treating this as a surprise announcement to be unveiled right before tip because an omission like that is glaring and embarrassing. Do the right thing, Adam. The other three coaches <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SjsCOlAwQ8">participated in a snake draft over Zoom</a>. Each team gets seven players. Gasol took French wunderkind Victor Wembanyama with the first pick and, throughout the draft, repeatedly took a few moments at the top of his turn to compliment the other two on the quality of their selections. Catchings took Paolo Banchero second, and Rose took Chet Holmgren third. Here’s how the rosters shook out.</p>
<p id="qTtPQe"><strong>Team Gasol</strong></p>
<p id="9MISlD">Victor Wembanyama, Brandon Miller, Brandin Podziemski, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Jabari Smith Jr., Cason Wallace, Bilal Coulibaly</p>
<p id="Xg5cPo"><strong>Team Catchings</strong></p>
<p id="aa4oHa">Paolo Banchero, Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren, Keegan Murray, Scoot Henderson, Keyonte George, Vince Williams Jr.</p>
<p id="Q4iyRa"><strong>Team Rose</strong></p>
<p id="NB3Q3x">Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, Bennedict Mathurin, Jeremy Sochan, Dereck Lively II, Jordan Hawkins, Walker Kessler</p>
<div class="c-float-right"><aside id="e16AzU"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Kram Session: The NBA’s Points-Created Leaders and Previewing All-Star Weekend","url":"https://www.theringer.com/nba/2024/2/15/24073337/nba-all-star-weekend-steph-curry-points-created-kram-session"},{"title":"Bored by the NBA Trade Deadline? Let Speculation Season Begin.","url":"https://www.theringer.com/2024/2/14/24072038/nba-trade-rumors-offseason-lebron-james-trae-young"},{"title":"The Way of Shai","url":"https://www.theringer.com/nba/2024/2/13/24070693/shai-gilgeous-alexander-oklahoma-city-thunder"}]}'></div></aside></div>
<p id="oC5ZXa">Gasol’s nab of Wallace with the 18th pick is just ridiculous value. Almost as good as grabbing Jaquez at 12. Great work by him. Only downfall was he for sure pronounced Jaime as “Jayme.” Weird flub from a Spanish guy. Would be like Kendrick Perkins screwing up Moses Moody’s name and, <a href="https://x.com/mattspendley/status/1420919861384032261?s=20">actually, never mind, that’s a bad example</a>. Win some, lose some. Anyway, Gasol’s roster is loaded. They’re the favorites, but Rose has put together a scrappy squad himself. Ideally Wembanyama and Chet will get into it at center court before the ball goes up and the floor starts playing the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUr3Pi-YLsc">bathroom fight from <em>Mission: Impossible—Fallout</em></a>. Let it run until Rebecca Ferguson shows up. She deserves it. </p>
<h3 id="BTr7RP">Saturday</h3>
<h4 id="ctRwLH">Skills Challenge</h4>
<p id="ReuVZk">Somehow still a thing. There will be three teams of three. You will have the urge to look at your phone during the event, and you will give in. That’s OK. </p>
<p id="EXUScP"><strong>Team Pacers </strong></p>
<p id="1D7F6d">Tyrese Haliburton, Bennedict Mathurin, Myles Turner</p>
<p id="jjyyhi"><strong>Team Top Picks</strong></p>
<p id="OsjfNZ">Paolo Banchero, Victor Wembanyama, Anthony Edwards</p>
<p id="fXozg4"><strong>Team All-Stars</strong></p>
<p id="dISZcc">Scottie Barnes, Tyrese Maxey, Trae Young</p>
<p id="b0u8sx">Congrats to the league for giving up on trying to find a third team and just going with Team Guys Playing in the Actual All-Star Game Who Would Say Yes. It’s a low-stakes event that is hardly ever remembered. Best thing they could possibly do is mic up Edwards for its entirety and just let him announce the whole thing while he plays. Obviously TNT will not do that. Reggie Miller has to speak once every 30 seconds or else he explodes. In a vacuum, I’d take Team Top Picks but fear there may be some too-cool-for-schoolness to contend with among that bunch. Team We’re Already Here has bigger fish to fry come Sunday. </p>
<p id="mGGaW9">So Team Pacers is the pick. They’ll have the hometown crowd squarely behind them, will want to put on a show for their fans, and will claim the city as their own. If the league really wants to spice things up and get more eyeballs on the evening, they should let the players dress however they want. Leave the jerseys and warm-ups at the hotel. If Haliburton wants to show up and hoop in a <a href="https://twitter.com/aasinitall/status/1749970569876099539"><em>Newsies</em> hat</a>, go wild, Ty. <a href="https://x.com/OOSSports/status/1753209023774482536?s=20">Bring your big coat</a>. The one that makes it look like you’re about to ask me whether I have any known aliases. Let Wemby hoop in a murdered-out balaclava, then sell them online. Do whatever it takes to inject some personality or energy into the event. Anything that isn’t Reggie screaming the word <em>partner</em> at Spero Dedes all night. </p>
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<h4 id="Gs4oQM">
<br>3-Point Contest</h4>
<p id="zCORre">Kaponoland. Where the stars are. These days, if you want to see the big names perform on Saturday, tune in here. This is where top dogs still show up and show out. The field is theoretically stacked: Malik Beasley, Jalen Brunson, Tyrese Haliburton, Damian Lillard, Lauri Markkanen, Donovan Mitchell, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Trae Young.</p>
<p id="3IRgFU">There’s just more glitz here. Six of the contestants are All-Stars this year, Markkanen’s played All-Star-caliber ball, and then there’s also Beasley. One of these things is not like the others, but this is not about the entirety of the players, only the state of their respective flamethrowers. Are they operational or not? The shooting talent here is serious. Numbers could get really high. Lillard is your defending champion, but most any of them could get hot and win it. Our money’s on Brunson, the New King of New York, who has led the Knicks back to relevance and transformed into one of the deadliest 3-point threats in the league. The vibes are always right with Brunson, and there’s something about the Knicks in Indiana. Drama abounds, things happen. </p>
<p id="xjWPxy">Noticeably absent from the proceedings this year is the greatest shooter of all time. Steph Curry is not participating in the contest. Instead, he’s <a href="https://twitter.com/sabrina_i20/status/1750731376796803252?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1750731376796803252%7Ctwgr%5E77b9689615e9f7c0446e14dead7a7eb2007eade7%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nba.com%2Fnews%2Fstephen-curry-sabrina-ionescu-all-star-weekend">focusing his energies</a> on the <a href="https://www.nba.com/news/stephen-curry-sabrina-ionescu-all-star-weekend">Stephen Vs. Sabrina 3-Point Challenge</a> happening directly after. Take it away, <a href="https://www.nba.com/news/2024-stephen-vs-sabrina-3-point-challenge">NBA.com</a>: </p>
<blockquote><p id="4v0Wyb">NBA all-time 3-point leader and Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry and WNBA single-season 3-point record holder and New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu will compete in “Stephen vs. Sabrina,” the first-ever NBA vs. WNBA 3-Point Challenge.</p></blockquote>
<p id="DMOqbY">This is an exciting addition to NBA All-Star Weekend, one I would love to get Lillard’s opinion on. <em>Wait, didn’t I beat Curry to win this event last year?</em> Ionescu wins and shimmies in Steph’s face. Reggie Miller ascends to a higher plane of existence. </p>
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<h4 id="hWO6R0">
<br>Slam Dunk</h4>
<p id="jNhgEL">The dunk contest comes limping into the fray once more, held together by current G Leaguers and bits of string. How this is still the hammer event of the night makes little sense, but some traditions die hard. The dunk contest is a sometimes electric, often boring affair filled with props, alternate jerseys, and bad passes. Your 2024 contestants are Jaylen Brown, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Jacob Toppin, and Mac McClung. I don’t know either, y’all. </p>
<p id="F3lW41">Toppin’s Obi’s brother. He’s a two-way player for the Knickerbockers, has appeared in all of five games for the big club this season, and scored a total of 13 points. Eleven of those came in a blowout loss to the Magic on Valentine’s Day. McClung plays for the Magic, but not the ones in Orlando. He’s gigging the G League, taken his talent to Osceola. Since 2021, McClung has seen action in four NBA games, but that didn’t stop him from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mu-780U8w6M">winning this contest a year ago</a>. He’s back to defend his crown. Major credit to Brown and Jaquez for joining the party and putting themselves out there. Jaquez is one of the sturdiest rookies to enter the league in a minute, plays with verve and mettle, and has been a bright spot on both ends for the Heat since the season began. Easy to root for. Aesthetics are on point. Fingers crossed he has some tricks in him. Brown is the lone actual All-Star in the mix, and the <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nba/2023/7/26/23808374/jaylen-brown-biggest-contract-in-nba-history">300 Million Dollar Man</a> has a higher profile than basically any contestant of the past decade. He’s a rubbery athlete with plenty of springs who has punched home some monster in-game dunks over the years. Hopefully the blockbuster mashing translates to an empty court. Hopefully he keeps the dribbling to a minimum. <a href="https://www.si.com/fannation/sneakers/news/jaylen-browns-custom-shoes-contain-spelling-error">Hopefully he’s learned how to spell “Naismith.”</a> </p>
<p id="3LbVBA">A bit obvious to say, but it’s probably not great that half the participants on TNT’s preview graphic are wearing G League uniforms. Not what you want. Seems like it might make it slightly more difficult to tune in.</p>
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<p id="lsjDcz">They may as well make the participants a secret. It would build more buzz. Convince us someone big-time has said yes. Use your desperate-for-a-scoop reporters to your advantage and leak possible names. Have Woj drop an early February “sources say Anthony Edwards is a name to keep an eye on as a potential surprise contestant in this year’s dunk contest.” Lie to us, pretend someone backed out at the last minute, anything to try to convince the viewing public you have more respect for our time than you obviously do. Jacob? For real? Couldn’t even get Obi to come back? I mean, hell, at this rate, put Thanasis in there. At least there’s potential he might forget himself, klutz it up, and get stuffed by the rim. </p>
<h3 id="AeUEZD">Sunday</h3>
<h4 id="xwqNwc">The 2024 NBA All-Star Game</h4>
<p id="MXFsUA">After a few glorious years of interconference rosters and live drafts, the NBA is regressing, running back to the old ways. Get back to your regions, guys, back to the past. It’s West with West and East with East. <a href="https://www.getyarn.io/yarn-clip/96935b10-6cc4-446a-9f01-c7e880852486">And Brangelina’s with Frangelina</a>. Moving on. <a href="https://www.nba.com/news/classic-format-returns-nba-all-star-2024">Actually, no, we stay here. We stay and complain more</a>. The NBA has called it a return to the “<a href="https://www.nba.com/news/classic-format-returns-nba-all-star-2024">classic format</a>” of the All-Star Game. This is a bad move and not as fun as what we switched to. The open-to-the-public live draft was fantastic. It was dramatic and weird, uncomfortable and revealing. More than once it flirted with being major entertainment. Back to the doldrums of regionality. </p>
<p id="zNpBWM">The game itself is historically pretty blah. If defense is played at all, there’s a good chance it was an accident, one that will be corrected quickly. A 48-minute ode to the uncontested alley-oop. The moments of true competitiveness stand out because they are so rare. Shawn Marion’s actual attempts to guard Michael Jordan in 2003, Iverson bringing the East back in 2001, the first year of the Elam Ending. </p>
<p id="QpioAD">There are two first-time starters this year. For the East, it’s Indiana’s Haliburton. For the West, it’s Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. This is the second All-Star selection for both, and each has a bag built for All-Star games. Haliburton passes the ball like someone told him an angel gets their wings every time he does. Gilgeous-Alexander’s iso package has become increasingly more Neo-fied. He collapses ankles, pretzels flesh. Other West starters include LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Kevin Durant, and Nikola Jokic. Joining Haliburton as starters for the East are Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid (out with injury), Damian Lillard, and Jayson Tatum.</p>
<p class="c-end-para" id="PJVBLO">The NBA’s switching up the location for Sunday, and the game itself is happening at Gainesbridge Fieldhouse, the home of the Pacers. The LED court will not make the trip. Will we wish it had? Maybe we’ll see two missed dunks in a row followed by a few missed 30-footers, someone will smoke an oop off the backboard, and we will wish the playing surface could show us what real-deal <em>Ocean’s Eleven</em>–level teamwork looks like. Ah, well. Maybe next year. </p>
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https://www.theringer.com/nba/2024/2/16/24074885/nba-all-star-weekend-preview-led-courtTyler Parker2024-01-26T15:11:40-05:002024-01-26T15:11:40-05:00Chet Holmgren Has Brought the Thunder to a New Level
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<p>OKC’s rookie phenom can go toe-to-toe with Victor Wembanyama when it comes to big plays, but he’s also doing something few rookies, including Wemby, ever have: helping to power one of the best teams in the NBA </p> <p id="ASsfWu">Chet Holmgren and Victor Wembanyama played basketball against each other this week. Not the first time that’s happened. There was <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9D5eveoSEOE">the championship game of the 2021 U19 FIBA World Cup</a>, a matchup <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXu2GvjVTGM">this preseason</a>, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJxFBrazgW8">a duel in the in-season tournament in November</a>. In that World Cup title game, Wembanyama outplayed Holmgren but the United States beat France. In their preseason matchup, they both scored the ball well. In their November tilt, they both laid eggs. Wednesday night’s game was different. Yes, it was mainly uncompetitive. The Thunder are far better than the Spurs and ran them off the court. People were not really focused on that, though. They were keyed in on the Chet vs. Wemby kaiju battle within the game. There was lightning from both throughout, but it was the six-minute stretch at the beginning of the fourth that resonated most heavily. For those six minutes, they went at each other like it was slightly personal. For those six minutes, it was drugs.</p>
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<p id="H933gj">Wembanyama finished with 24 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, and four blocks. He was 9-for-18 from the field, 0-for-3 from distance, and 6-for-8 from the line. Holmgren finished with 17 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and three blocks. He was 7-for-13 from the field, 2-for-4 from 3, and 1-for-3 from the line. When they both subbed out of the game with 6:47 left in the fourth quarter, the Thunder were up 28. They’re duking it out for Rookie of the Year, both having big-time debut campaigns, while playing in two vastly different contexts. Wembanyama’s on a minutes restriction, getting a ton of shots, and has put together plenty of eye-popping sequences. Holmgren’s averaging 30 minutes a game, has been a better, more efficient shooter, and is the second-best player on a team sitting at the top of the West. Their situations could not be more different. Wembanyama is wondrous, flabbergasting. He is going to bring fireworks. Holmgren isn’t opposed to pyrotechnics, but what stands out with him is the steadiness, the consistency. </p>
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<p id="fx0r5a">Holmgren has done what few rookies can—driven winning. He is one of the major reasons the Thunder find themselves at the top of the Western Conference standings. Through 44 games they’re 31-13. Last season at this time they were 21-23. The year before that they were 14-30. The turnaround has been severe and rascally. Holmgren is not the only reason they’ve made a leap. There are several. To list a few:</p>
<p id="UBTT8p">A. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander can shapeshift, mutate, go spectral. </p>
<p id="MlQnRn">B. They’re second in the league in 3-point percentage. </p>
<p id="pIlpGv">C. The Kardashian Kurse <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSMCWiRUB64">does not extend to undies</a>. </p>
<p id="IALixV">D. Jalen Williams <a href="https://x.com/AndrewKSchlecht/status/1742330375139885296?s=20">is an artist</a>.</p>
<p id="yCmLkW">But the do-it-all freak-limbed live wire is the rug that <a href="https://youtu.be/_vGK008c_rA?si=ZlyzPVJUQ6jmr_o9">ties the room together</a>, the New <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5wRIIewBXs">Minnesota Miracle Man</a> who, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dug2XtFD46E">through his own versatility</a>, maturity, and competitiveness, has elevated a bunch of promising young upstarts to the point of contention. </p>
<p id="X8zbFU">Holmgren was the no. 2 pick in the 2022 NBA draft. The liftoff was not immediate. After wowing in his first summer league, getting everybody all worked up at the possibilities, Holmgren got hurt. A Lisfranc injury in his right foot, suffered during one of Jamal Crawford’s CrawsOver Pro-Ams in Seattle, forced him to sit out for the year. The Thunder missed the postseason, lost in the second game of the play-in, but expectations going into this season were high. Gilgeous-Alexander was coming off a first-team All-NBA selection. Williams, who made a late push for Rookie of the Year with his smooth incantations, would surely improve. And, ideally, Holmgren made sense as the big to grow alongside them. Skip to now, and the fit is no longer theoretical. It is real and without seams. Slim’s the genuine article. </p>
<p id="zZe4wS">This version of Oklahoma City is harder to scout, difficult to prepare for. They are weird and play that way, use all their players all over the court. It’s a constantly attacking style, one that invites playmaking/screening from everybody on the floor, one that tries to manipulate as much of the defense as possible. They make every defender guard, up the number of rotations/decisions, and wait for the opening. OKC puts a premium on versatility. It’s why the Holmgren fit has been so pristine. *<em>Ace Ventura parking yell* </em><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YW1j-K1op0">LIKE A GLOVE</a>. He does a lot well.</p>
<aside id="7xCfv7"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Chet Holmgren Is Here. And the Thunder Might Be Arriving Soon, Too.","url":"https://www.theringer.com/nba/2023/11/3/23944482/chet-holmgren-oklahoma-city-thunder-proof-of-concept"},{"title":"You’re Missing One of the Wildest Shooting Seasons in NBA History","url":"https://www.theringer.com/nba/2024/1/26/24050272/sam-merrill-cleveland-cavaliers-3-point-shooting"},{"title":"Kram Session: The Suns Finally Rise, a Fake Knicks Trade, and an All-Star Fix","url":"https://www.theringer.com/nba/2024/1/25/24049830/phoenix-suns-offense-big-three-nba-all-star-snubs-kram-session"},{"title":"The 2023-24 NBA Rookie Rankings","url":"https://nbarankings.theringer.com/rookie-rankings"}]}'></div></aside><p id="loQImL">See, the Thunder drive. Bunch of chauffeurs, which should be easier to spell. They drive and they don’t stop. They drive and kick and drive and cut and drive to score and drive, drive, drive. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ugQL5fCdbI">Scorpion jackets</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMXVD3dP_lY">Electric Youth</a>. Heavy-duty toothpick budget. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIVQJN2NUok">Ron Perlman operating a Nino’s Pizzeria</a>. OKC wants to stretch the defense from all angles, make them guard multiple actions. The offense attacks in a series of waves, Thunder head honch Mark Daigneault deploying lineups where all five guys on the court can be a threat. They get you in cross matches, find the defender who is at the greatest disadvantage, and pick the scab till it bleeds. The Thunder find openings you did not know were there, cut, make hay. There are guard-to-guard screens, inverted pick-and-rolls, slips, flares, and oh-yeah drives. Death by a thousand drives. But a team cannot be great at driving the basketball unless they’re also great at shooting it. Drivers need space, lanes. Good shooters provide that. And if everyone on the floor can do both of those things, well, kumbaya my Dort. Kumbaya.</p>
<p id="AhPiup">This play style is possible only if you have a 5 who can put on the toque and cook off the bounce too. Chet Boyardee or something like that, I don’t know my head hurts. His shooting has opened things up and given the offense more room to breathe. But it’s Holmgren’s overall malleability that has unlocked this Oklahoma City team faster than anyone expected. He’s exceeded every expectation. Sometimes he trails the action and tra-la-las into above-the-break 3s. Sometimes he cuts to the basket. Sometimes he catches and drives. Sometimes he sets a pick-and-roll to the rim. Sometimes he gets a pick and initiates himself. He keeps defenses guessing, makes them wonder. The Thunder use him all over—the wing, the corner, the block, the elbow, the dunker spot, point, anywhere on Chet’s green earth. He just knows how to play, where to be.</p>
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<p id="GvZHZe"><br>Holmgren’s summer league stints left mostly positive impressions, but there were also miscues, things that needed improving. There you saw he could get a little too wide with it off the bounce, leave the ball exposed. And defenders would push up on him, get inside his dribble, and relieve him of his duties. He’s more comfortable now, more decisive, has more wiggle off the dribble. Don’t be fazed by the Lurch frame. He’s tall but he can get low, weave through traffic, improvise. There’s more <em>there</em> there with the shot creation than we were led to believe. He’ll flash the blender, get to his spin move and either head for the rim or hit the turnaround. Slim can look a little rattle-boned at times, but there aren’t too many record scratches when it comes to his movement. He’s fluid and pliable. This is amplified in transition. He gets stretchy with his footwork and creative with his gathers. None of this looking-for-a-point-guard. He gets it and goes. </p>
<p id="8ocObQ">That malleability extends to the defensive end as well. He’s a smoke eater. Fire Marshall Chet, stamping out flames. Holmgren is rabid and exhaustive, takes personal offense to anyone galavanting through Thunder airspace without his permission. Holmgren’s 7-1 with a 7-6 wingspan. There’s length aplenty. But the arms aren’t the only reason his shot-blocking is so muahaha. He’s a natural, can swat with the left, right, or both at once. The two-handed blocks feel particularly dismissive. Less stopping someone’s shot in midair, more deconstructing defense down to its essence: take ball away. He has top-shelf timing and anticipation. In help, he often appears prescient. He’s played in all 44 games this season. In 20 of them he’s had <a href="https://x.com/nickagallo/status/1750363900208361879?s=46&t=ja7TXFYUiFAOBQgFcAmRuw">three or more blocks</a>. During a mid-December win in Denver he set his season high with eight rejections. </p>
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<p id="PkKWRQ">This is one of the more audacious shot blockers in the league. A lot of defensive alacrity here. The kid’s relentless. Comes <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSSShAOKYfo">fluttering in from Neverland</a>, hands out highs to the less fortunate, goes for broke. The combo of motor and length means he’ll try to block anything. Zero fear of getting caught on the bum side of a poster. If you’re on Holmgren’s team, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qou2NM5yvY0">anything happens in that lane, he’s yours</a>. Only Brook Lopez has contested more shots at the rim this year. Holmgren knows he will get dunked on sometimes. You think he cares? Guy came into the year cosplaying Lincoln with a light <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shenandoah_(beard)#:~:text=A%20Shenandoah%2C%20also%20known%20as,a%20style%20of%20facial%20hair.">Shenandoah</a>. He wore full Nike Tech Fleece and slippers to his <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffoMphkyoe4">high school jersey retirement</a>. You think he cares how he <em>looks</em>? Cost of doing business, baby. He has a house to protect. Besides, he’ll also leave a lot of would-be yammers on the wrong end of a highlight, questioning their own reality, their dunk rejected.</p>
<p id="PfVLWk">Throughout last season, the Thunder employed a macraméd center rotation of Mike Muscala, Jaylin Williams, Kenrich Williams, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, and Aleksej Pokusevski. Olivier Sarr got a start. A healthy Holmgren has been the answer to just about every weakness OKC had short of defensive rebounding—they’re still the second worst in the league—and those struggles were expected. When your starting front line is 7-1 and 6-5 with both checking in at a cool 195 pounds, you’re going to give up some boards. That’s not analytics, that’s Darwin. They make up for it in other areas, like wins.</p>
<p id="yhl1K6">Certainly, Slim has benefited enormously from playing with an All-NBA guard in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. But Holmgren does not need the meals prepared for him. He brings his own funk to isolations, has thrown daggers of his own. Cut to the Warriors, solemnly nodding. </p>
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<p class="c-end-para" id="LHb0cj">Absolutely, Gilgeous-Alexander and the rest of OKC’s young talent has made Holmgren’s transition to the league easier. Wembanyama has had to be the Spurs’ sun, moon, and stars this season. Holmgren has not had that kind of burden put on him. He doesn’t have to be the primary option on offense and has been able to focus on the things he does well. But his presence has opened up things for his teammates, too. His impact has been star-level, while playing as a secondary option. He changes the math, makes possible new avenues of creation, and has the Thunder skipping steps. The storm is no longer on the horizon. You will want to examine any doors, windows, or skylights that might need further weatherstripping or caulking. Inspect all gutters, drains, and downspouts to make sure they’re clean and working like they should. Those with attics, check for signs of previous water damage, leaks of sunlight. Load up on sandbags (some local fire departments will fill these for free), buckets, plywood, lumber, mops, plastic sheeting, tarpaulin, etc. Holmgren’s arrival has coincided with his team’s. The Thunder are here. So is Chet.</p>
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https://www.theringer.com/nba/2024/1/26/24052014/chet-holmgren-oklahoma-city-thunderTyler Parker2023-07-10T16:04:53-04:002023-07-10T16:04:53-04:00Dispatch From Vegas: The Wemby Era Has Begun
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<p>One writer joined thousands of NBA fans in the entertainment capital of the world, ready to be dazzled by the debut of Victor Wembanyama. He saw astonishing flashes, moments of doubt, so many Tim Duncan shirseys, and a whole lot more.</p> <h3 id="ePPaUd">Pregame, Wandering</h3>
<p id="BlCAzU">By the beginning of the fourth quarter of the 2 p.m. Bucks-Nugs game on Friday, the bottom bowl of the Thomas & Mack Center was mostly full. There was a man in the row below me wearing a white Wembanyama Spurs jersey. Crispy, bleached ivory white. He had a tattoo of a sarcophagus on his left arm and went to work on some chicken tenders. Looked excited, anxious, ready. There was still another game to go before the French extraterrestrial’s debut, but the vibes were raging. The man in the new jersey voice-dictated messages on his Apple Watch and bounced to “<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/4lUmnwRybYH7mMzf16xB0y?si=c7d3aa21a1374308&nd=1">Hats Off</a>.” One text said: “Sometimes you got to flex.” Another said: “I love you.” He smiled at his watch, ate another tender, and rapped along—“<em>She know what I can bring to the table</em>.” </p>
<p id="QFdghU">The arena was ready. Plenty to see, plenty to hear. Tim Duncan jerseys, Tim Duncan shirseys, a tank top with that Halloween photo of Duncan and an eyepatched Tony Parker <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1430933-tim-duncan-and-tony-parker-point-guns-at-fake-joey-crawford-in-leaked-photo">pointing guns at a fake Joey Crawford</a>. Back to the shirseys. So many Duncan shirseys. Walk the concourse at the right time and you’d think they were passing them out at the door. Wembanyama, too, was well represented in the sartorial sense. Plenty of no. 1 San Antonio jerseys running around. A dad in a Wemby jersey sat next to his son in a Jeremy Sochan jersey. Both wore backward hats and the son fumbled with a hot dog. Skee-Lo’s “I Wish” played over the speakers and the father was into it, nodding his head, pointing at the court. The boy followed the direction of his father’s hand, looked where he was told, started nodding too. </p>
<p id="ZHMMQn">Other things seen: Tarkanian in the rafters, Wembanyama Metropolitans 92 jerseys, the Michelob Ultra Courtside Experience, and a kid saying, “For some reason the blue Sharpie shows up better.” There was a whole lotta sweat, a whole lotta throwbacks, a whole lotta cross-body-bag and bucket hat combos. So much Austin Reaves gear. A horrifying amount. There was a man in a purple Kobe jersey, Tommy Bahama sunhat, and yellow fanny pack. The jersey was untucked and he wore the fanny outside of it, wrapped around his waist like a belt on a dress. </p>
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<p id="JH6v2N"><br>An elderly husband and wife walked by in matching Wemby jerseys, looking like they had been waiting on this day since Kawhi left. There was a man with arms like sycamores wearing a bootleg McDowell’s All-American game shirt, and two Polo’d guys talking in the beer line.</p>
<p id="Q89iwK">“Are we gonna take a nap after golf?”</p>
<p id="Qh3dOV">“Obviously.” </p>
<p id="F3gM8x">Behind them was a woman in a Boogie Cousins Kings jersey. She had a tattoo of a giraffe on her arm and discussed the absurdities of the San Francisco housing market with one of the concessions workers. She ordered two Coors Lights, “For myself and a friend.” </p>
<p id="HyjB5p">When it got close to tipoff I looked for a place to set up shop for the game. There was a dude on the walkway of the upper bowl recording a video of himself saying, “I’M HERE AFTER PLACING A 2,000-DOLLAR BET ON HIM TO BE [<em>unintelligible bro-ish warbling</em>], I’M HERE AT HIS FIRST GAME,” and the flow of traffic in the aisle forced me down the steps. I stopped at the base of the stairs to watch him some more. He was young, maybe early 20s, wearing shorts with what looked like ice cubes on them. He wasn’t pleased with his first take and went again. A friend held the phone for him while a nice family of six waited to walk to their seats. There was a mother, father, two Giannis jerseys, and two Booker jerseys. The dad stared at the kid recording the video with extreme disgust, looked like he wanted to throw him through the floor, said nothing.</p>
<p id="7sHLTm">Saw the kid later and realized it wasn’t ice cubes on his shorts, but dice. He was walking past Alvin Gentry. Gentry was standing in front of the Coffee Works on the main concourse, right beside a sign hawking $15 acai bowls, hollering to someone, “Hey, how’s your son doing?” I didn’t wait for the answer. There was basketball to watch. </p>
<h3 id="mBMrmc">The Debut</h3>
<p id="v3kUSB">A summer league crowd is ready for anything and wants to love. They want to scream. They want to be loud. And the good people of Thomas & Mack were thirsty for the Frenchman, <a href="https://twitter.com/thatgonzalez/status/1677492398774169600?s=46&t=ja7TXFYUiFAOBQgFcAmRuw">ready for the start of the rest of their basketball lives</a>. Place was essentially packed. There were a few flecks of empty seats at the top of the arena, weird Tetris blocks of limited space, but for all intents and purposes, it was Wemby fully loaded. Minimal applause for all Hornets starters. The Spurs contingent was a livelier bunch. Wembanyama, for some reason, got the fourth spot in the announcements from the PA guy. Poor Blake Wesley got the hammer spot. The comedown off the roar for Wemby was significant—the sound fell off a cliff.</p>
<p id="R1fmEe">Sometimes you go to the amusement park and it rains. The jumper just wasn’t falling. A herd of Lakers fans peppered Wemby with drunken grievances and advice. Real evolved stuff like, “Post up,” and, “It’s a vibe you can’t buy.” Every time he caught the ball the place vibrated with expectation, ready for him to make shit boom. The ball would be in his hands not half a second before the calls for him to shoot would start. If he had the defender one-on-one, the arena would get party hungry and start clamoring for heads. Every time he touched it, the place reacted like he was only a few points away from some all-time scoring record. </p>
<p id="kpoLhr">Wembanyama’s performance wasn’t all bad. Nine points, eight rebounds, three assists, and five blocks on 2-of-13 shooting. There were some flashes, sauce, moments of invention, clarity. And to see him in person, even from the tip-top of Thomas & Mack, hundreds of rows up, the proportions are cartoonish; defensively, it’s clear he is equipped with one hell of an eraser. But he was also passive and not exactly flying around out there. It was an inexplicable yawn of a performance for the most part. A bewildering bummer. </p>
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<p id="afDCNk"><br>Wemby tried to rattle off a remixed Dream Shake around the five-minute mark of the second quarter and lost the path footwork-wise and wound up on his keister. One of the Lakers guys stood, put his hands on his face like Kevin in <em>Home Alone</em>, and screamed like he witnessed a murder.</p>
<p id="YrgQ2s">There was a clanked 3 off the backboard. Turnovers. Unsureness. Halfway through the third, Kai Jones and his Marcus Smart hair flew in from the rafters to catch a lob over Wembanyama. And the arena sounded like a jet taking off. Jones’s finish was so impressive, and he was feeling himself so much afterward, that a possession or two later, after getting fouled and falling to the floor, he did a kip-up to get back to his feet. A kip-up is always funny because it is never necessary. Unless you’re doing karate or street fighting, seems like a lot of times it’s faster to just stand up normally. Sick athlete, though. </p>
<p id="4j5tzl">Later in the third, Wemby got his ankles snatched, with Brandon Miller crossing him up and putting him on his ass. And it’s so hot outside and it’s Vegas and you wonder whether you’re seeing things. Your eyes are presenting you with images that seem like lies. You look around the arena muttering, “What is going on?” This man was here nine months ago putting on one of the more surreal shot displays in recent basketball memory. Now he’s getting outplayed by Kai Jones for stretches? [<em>Rubs eyes</em>.] An electronic ad wrapping the arena says Donald Sutherland is a perfect place to live. But that doesn’t make sense either. [<em>Rubs eyes again, looks back at the ad</em>.] “Downtown Summerlin is a wonderful place to live.” [<em>Rubs eyes again</em>.] “Donald Sutherland kicks ass in <em>Klute</em>.” Another missed shot by Wemby. [<em>Rubs eyes again.</em>] “<em>Space Cowboys</em> is a good movie.” What dark magic is this? What is going on? </p>
<p id="5Wf0US">By the end of the third quarter, Thomas & Mack sounded like a wake. The crowd had been so primed for wonder, so stoked to see this new impossibility enter the league, so ready for him to dominate, to put on a show. It was supposed to be a radical new beginning. They came to the entertainment capital of the world to be dazzled, and they weren’t. </p>
<p id="JoueDD">Near the end of the game I saw Dice Shorts and his cameraman ascending the stairs of the upper bowl a few sections away. They looked dejected, filmed reaction shots, tried to cope. Sometimes it was a shot of Dice Shorts on his phone. Sometimes he clapped. Sometimes he shook his head. Once they switched seats for a different angle. I saw him screaming at the phone, performing for it, pointing at it. They sat near the top, checked the like count on the posts, looked disappointed, betrayed, absolutely furious. </p>
<h3 id="jYtzvL">Game Deux</h3>
<p id="Ij4I6b">If anyone thought Wemby’s Game 1 performance would do anything to spoil the public’s curiosity, Thomas & Mack was even more full for the Spurs’ second game, on Sunday against the Trail Blazers. Tickets were sold out. In the cab on the way over, the driver wore a Route 66 button-up covered in road signage and fireworks and kept changing stations between classic rock and talk radio. Wild swings from the car stereo. Foreigner: “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yDmeYxTeC0">We can make a secret rendezvous</a>.” Some AM station: “I’ve not been able to find any Vietnam-era night-vision goggles anywhere.” At one point we got stuck behind an 18-wheeler and the driver said, “Always wonderful when you got a big-ass truck in front of you and you can’t see nothing.” Players will most likely have similar frustrations with Wembanyama’s defense. More from the radio: “Reports of UFOs have gone off the scales.” </p>
<p id="9Yw0Wh">Once inside, it was wall-to-wall traffic in the concourse, droves of people moving at a crawl. Women in bikini tops and Balenciaga sneakers weaving through merch and concession lines, taking care not to spill their margaritas. A dude with bleached tips and slip-on Sanuks talking on the phone in the bathroom. He held his mouth close to the mic like he was talking on speakerphone and said, “Y’all won’t do shit.”</p>
<p id="ah824K">The arena was practically full and again buzzing. Maybe the energy was not quite as [<em>Kevin Garnett voice</em>] ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE, and maybe there were more skeptics in the mix this time around, but the crowd was still hopeful, still on Wembanyama’s side. Casting directors talk about how when an actor comes in for an audition, the people in the room want them to be the exact right person for the role. They’re rooting for them. They want them to kill it. The summer league crowd handled Wembanyama similarly. He stepped into a warm room, one that was ready to adore him. Stumbles happen, and the free throws need to get sorted out, but talent <em>this</em> tantalizing, this <em>new</em>, this <em>strange</em>, it’s the kind of thing you want to be in the building for. </p>
<p id="Ry34er">And this time around Wembanyama’s play was more in line with the astronomical expectations he’d come in with. Twenty-seven points on 9-of-14 shooting, 12 rebounds, three blocks, and a steal. Vegas, baby. City of Second Chances. He shone bright. </p>
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<p id="nuelaM">It was actual production, but there were also hints of further skills and know-how, interstellar moments when he bumped his head against his current ability while suggesting his future ceiling may well be something on par with the Sistine Chapel’s. There were celestial pull-ups and improbable posterizations, the crowd audible on every touch, begging for magic, getting it. And the fans loved him for it, stayed loud for him, stayed alert as the top pick in this year’s draft led the Spurs on a furious comeback that ultimately came up a hair short. When Wembanyama missed a one-legged runner 3 near the end of the game, it felt like a symbol of both the not-quite-there-yet nature of his current offensive package and his astronomical potential. </p>
<p class="c-end-para" id="qjbOps">The NBA viewing public had come to Vegas like a lot of people, hoping to see some larger-than-life talent put on a show they’ll remember. In the end, Wembanyama gave them one. It’s what stars do. Interplanetary dynamism. He’s a space invader. Don’t let the slow start fool you. Takeover still feels imminent. The basketball universe has expanded. The aliens are here.</p>
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https://www.theringer.com/nba/2023/7/10/23790205/dispatch-from-nba-summer-league-2023-victor-wembanyama-debutTyler Parker2023-04-23T08:21:28-04:002023-04-23T08:21:28-04:00Hawks, Knicks, and Nuggets Prevail in Game 3 With James Mann and Tyler Parker
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<p>James and Tyler also share their reactions to the Raptors firing head coach Nick Nurse</p> <div id="G2ozWq"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 152px; position: relative;"><iframe src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/7GFvCnvzj8R8YM6FIHVFH8?utm_source=oembed" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" allow="clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture;"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="FtvhsT"><br><a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/7GFvCnvzj8R8YM6FIHVFH8?si=Y2suzyBwRBWNylkbieyDsQ">Welcome to the <em>Ringer NBA Show</em>, Saturday reactions</a> with James Mann and Tyler Parker. Over the course of the 2023 playoffs, the two will be discussing and reacting to games and NBA news every Saturday. This week the guys discuss Game 3s for the Hawks vs. Celtics (2:02), Knicks vs. Cavaliers (16:55), and Nuggets vs. Timberwolves (31:57). Later in the pod the two share their reactions to the Raptors firing head coach Nick Nurse after five seasons (42:26).</p>
<p id="zi6iae">Hosts: James Mann and Tyler Parker<br>Producer: Jade Whaley</p>
<p id="wqlvck"><strong>Subscribe:</strong> <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/5jUeKBONOmKJivqrRoIDJn?si=vpc_P_zDRjq-4772y0DSmg">Spotify</a> / <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com/?id=&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fitunes.apple.com%2Fus%2Fpodcast%2Fthe-ringer-nba-show%2Fid1109271715%3Fmt%3D2&xcust=xid:fr1571261047952jai%7Cxid:fr1571399819617jgd%7Cxid:fr1571701693383gbg%7Cxid:fr1572293865613jec%7Cxid:fr1572377891966ejg">Apple Podcasts</a> / <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-ringer/ringer-nba-show">Stitcher</a> / <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/ringernbashow">RSS</a></p>
<aside id="EY0t79"><div data-anthem-component="actionbox" data-anthem-component-data='{"title":"<a class=\"ql-link\" href=\"https://nbadraft.theringer.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong><em>The Ringer</em>’s NBA Draft Guide</strong></a>","description":"If you’re curious about any aspect of this class, we have it covered. Who will define this draft? Which players could surge into the lottery? And how could this year’s draft affect the future of the league? Find out by returning here often.","label":"Check out the guide","url":"https://nbadraft.theringer.com/"}'></div></aside>
https://www.theringer.com/the-nba-show/2023/4/23/23694674/hawks-knicks-and-nuggets-prevail-in-game-3-with-james-mann-and-tyler-parkerTyler Parker2022-12-16T08:36:13-05:002022-12-16T08:36:13-05:00‘Beauty and the Beast’
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<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/wFvFB2JaBrcZWSakVr6WuUjmAqw=/171x0:2838x2000/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71757245/BB_disney.0.jpg" />
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<p>Tyler Parker shares his take on the treatment of certain side characters in ‘Beauty and the Beast’ </p> <div id="6xFwsT"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 152px; position: relative;"><iframe src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/2EEwYXdcrcZDEIutkzkmEa?utm_source=oembed" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" allow="clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture;"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="0TAVZY"><br><a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/2EEwYXdcrcZDEIutkzkmEa?si=26c5bf6d66f5405e">Tyler Parker shares</a> his take on the treatment of certain side characters in <em>Beauty and the Beast</em>.</p>
<p id="tRxU5w">Hosts: Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey, and Tyler Parker<br>Associate Producer: Isaiah Blakely</p>
<p id="KC7eIU"><strong>Subscribe:</strong> <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/55R0CZoqgY3hcmCmVkmBig?si=d0XOYlkAQ6-afq2WoEYvSw">Spotify</a></p>
https://www.theringer.com/2022/12/16/23512501/beauty-and-the-beast-side-characters-hottest-takeTyler ParkerChris RyanSean Fennessey2022-12-07T08:14:36-05:002022-12-07T08:14:36-05:00 Furniture
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<img alt="Ikea Opens Second Store In Mexico" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/DQmJJj7nC78OjV22AqC47kAkQWI=/222x0:3778x2667/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71720972/1242455450.0.jpg" />
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<p>Tyler Parker has strong feelings about the functionality of furniture</p> <div id="RWo7z9"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 152px; position: relative;"><iframe src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/6TjLkp9oAJqPFiH35ZFfSs?utm_source=oembed" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" allow="clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture;"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="94EZOT"><br><a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/6TjLkp9oAJqPFiH35ZFfSs?si=vImNZFQuRoipxv4uGLrX_w">Tyler Parker has strong feelings</a> about the functionality of furniture.</p>
<p id="5u6gc4">Hosts: Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey, and Tyler Parker<br>Associate Producer: Isaiah Blakely</p>
<p id="TaZ6g7"><strong>Subscribe:</strong> <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/55R0CZoqgY3hcmCmVkmBig?si=d0XOYlkAQ6-afq2WoEYvSw">Spotify</a></p>
https://www.theringer.com/2022/12/7/23498021/furniture-hottest-take-bill-simmonsTyler ParkerBill SimmonsChris RyanSean Fennessey2022-12-01T06:20:00-05:002022-12-01T06:20:00-05:00In Praise of OG Anunoby’s Stifling Defense
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<figcaption>Getty Images/Ringer illustration</figcaption>
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<p>The Raptors’ do-everything wing is having a career year when it comes to stealing, stymieing, smothering, and infuriating opposing offenses</p> <p id="6tmvWv">OG Anunoby thieves. This guy takes. He is here to wreck plans, to pocket-snatch and run off with the offense’s belongings. On the prowl for that genuine <a href="https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2021-12-19/nba-wilson-ball-history-how-its-made-history-materials">Horween</a>. OG the bandit. OG the desperado. OG the pillaging dromaeosaurid. A real workaholic. Always on the job, guarding the other team’s best player, unleashing his quiet hell. Anunoby raids offenses. Constructs roving no-dribble zones. He inhales his assignments, his on-ball defense a monument to incarceration. He’s not the warden. He’s the walls. </p>
<p id="LgjklX">Below are some of his defensive highlights. A few tips on how to enhance the viewing experience:</p>
<ol>
<li id="RV8lq0">Dress like a buccaneer, a swashbuckler, really any marauder. Woolen breeches, maybe a shirt stolen from a ship you just plundered. Potential accessories: knives, daggers, axes, halberts, spontoons, swords (not a cutlass, cutlasses are pretentious <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dt-L6BfpYrc">unless made of lava</a>—get something rad like a machete), matchlock muskets, flintlock pistols, gold hoop earrings, tricornes, bandanas, skull rings, eye patches, a parrot. The parrot should be real. If the bird’s fake, so are you. </li>
<li id="VDlVz1">Build a small flyboat or pinnace. Name it <em>The Silent Killer</em>. Paint it red.</li>
<li id="uV76To">Sit inside. Recite thrice The Defender’s Creed: Gimme that. Gimme that. Gimme that. </li>
<li id="tNY5Dw">Smoke a cigarette. Do it the way Sam Shepard demanded <a href="https://slate.com/culture/2017/07/the-genius-of-sam-shepard-dead-at-73-remembered.html"><em>Fool for Love</em></a> be performed—<em>relentlessly, without a break</em>. Think about the people you love and those who have wronged them. </li>
<li id="vZLyxj">A shot of Crown Royal and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXyQAtXJ4II">watch</a> Werner Herzog listen to the <em>Grizzly Man</em> tape.</li>
<li id="ifJNy0">Slap yourself in the face.</li>
<li id="EaLjsB">Call yourself beautiful. </li>
<li id="Pb3keQ">Turn on the fog machine and tattoo cobras on your chest. Two at minimum. No more than seven. Use blood from cobras you’ve killed. If the blood’s fake, so are you. </li>
<li id="Ek5k9h">Another shot of Crown. Punch a shark. Paint it red.</li>
<li id="0Dk9bZ">Turn on lasers (we recommend variance free for smaller setups).</li>
<li id="II5gDg">Think about those who have wronged you.</li>
<li id="9PbKSB">Three more shots of Crown. Powerbomb a bull. Paint it red.</li>
<li id="np4Fvu">Slap yourself in the face. </li>
<li id="M69D5z">Call yourself beautiful. </li>
<li id="IlFCV9">Turn on “<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/550JPXXPgjr1xqxtKIaX6b?si=4bb9b0da4d834362">Ante Up</a>.”</li>
<li id="GbihMI">Scream “Take minks off” and suplex a lion. Paint it red.</li>
<li id="eyYEe0">Slap yourself in the face.</li>
<li id="1zoS0i">Call yourself beautiful. </li>
<li id="dPuJrV">Light your hair on fire.</li>
<li id="zZSiaZ">Press play. </li>
</ol>
<div id="C8OTyq"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YaLksAvOYBQ?rel=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture;"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="oYYJip"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1fDVUHZ44E">Mike</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88a49KiFRzo">Judge</a> <a href="http://www.inthe80s.com/july1995/animate/beavis.html">once said</a>, “Stealing, you’ll go far in life. Actually, there’s something funny about getting away with it.” Anunoby has taken these words to heart. At times he guards like he can see the future. Get sloppy <a href="https://twitter.com/RaptorsNationCP/status/1591239746964975616?s=20&t=Aj3edV2CVXunJMHO15Ms3Q">in his vicinity</a> and you’re cooked. He <a href="https://twitter.com/RaptorsNationCP/status/1586164308119097344?s=20&t=Aj3edV2CVXunJMHO15Ms3Q">treats the unprepared</a> with the utmost <em>And where do you think you’re going?</em> </p>
<p id="YfyrL5">The do-everything forward, as of Tuesday afternoon, leads the league in steals at 2.4 a game. Racking up takeaways doesn’t automatically make someone a good defender—thoughtless gambling can kill a defense—but Anunoby’s not just about the steals, not just solid on ball. He’s <a href="https://twitter.com/stevejones20/status/1456797485817544706?s=20&t=Aj3edV2CVXunJMHO15Ms3Q">ravenous</a> off it, keeps <a href="https://twitter.com/CoolbetCanada/status/1587961628120825857?s=20&t=Aj3edV2CVXunJMHO15Ms3Q">hunting</a> for possession. Anunoby is brutal and multidimensional. Has been for years. His versatility is the Raptors’ luxury. Makes offenses miserable whether he’s the primary defender or in help. Can be the <a href="https://twitter.com/NBATV/status/1589426582766071810?s=20&t=skj5W_cOuwGl1Y7ysErK6g">tip of the spear</a> or <a href="https://twitter.com/KevinOConnorNBA/status/1586146106613714945?s=20&t=Aj3edV2CVXunJMHO15Ms3Q">nix shots at the rim</a>. Can hang with guards on the perimeter or bang with bigs in the post. Anunoby <a href="https://twitter.com/JustEsBaraheni/status/1588038357485080577?s=20&t=Aj3edV2CVXunJMHO15Ms3Q">hustles</a>, hounds guys. He’ll chase shooters off picks and get in <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA_de/status/1509168573188476928?s=20&t=Aj3edV2CVXunJMHO15Ms3Q">passing lanes</a>. Sometimes he looks like a <a href="https://twitter.com/jackfrank_jjf/status/1517958037494845440?s=20&t=Aj3edV2CVXunJMHO15Ms3Q">safety baiting a quarterback</a>, basketball’s Polamalu. Sometimes he’ll just sort of appear, as if <a href="https://twitter.com/RaptorsNationCP/status/1588715990606438402?s=20&t=Aj3edV2CVXunJMHO15Ms3Q">from the mist</a>. Sometimes he’ll manhandle <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5s4SSxy3hg">you</a> and look bored out of his mind.</p>
<p id="JDulUr">Anunoby’s a master of disruption and a certified nuisance. The footwork’s nuts, the hands are too. He’s long been a nightmare for opposing teams because he makes himself felt whether he’s involved offensively or not. Lately, he’s been very involved. Lately <a href="https://twitter.com/JustEsBaraheni/status/1593084007235096577">he’s been scorching.</a> Injuries to Pascal Siakam, Precious Achiuwa, and Otto Porter Jr. bumped his usage up and he has responded in kind. In his last five games he’s averaged 20 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.2 assists on over 17 shots a game. He’s hitting 47% from the field, 85% from the free throw line, and putting people in the rim. </p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr"> "O.G. OH MY!"<br><br>OG Anunoby rips down a wild dunk before the half on the NBA App: <a href="https://t.co/1pomQZN8Pi">https://t.co/1pomQZN8Pi</a> <a href="https://t.co/8i43BlAfj8">pic.twitter.com/8i43BlAfj8</a></p>— NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1592327001817612288?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2022</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr"> OG THROWS IT DOWN ON KEVIN DURANT <a href="https://t.co/glWk3rgb0D">pic.twitter.com/glWk3rgb0D</a></p>— THE SHIFT (@theshift_sports) <a href="https://twitter.com/theshift_sports/status/1595592200104165377?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 24, 2022</a>
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<p id="7CQr15">He’s smart, he’s long, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMf__W5xaHU">he’s strong</a>. He has upper-middle-class, prime-<a href="https://www.espn.com/espn/photos/gallery/_/id/8146598/image/8/bodies-want-2009#">Dwight</a> shoulders and his <a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/4P3VPAvME1i9qVk0MIubTa?si=f30ac163160c48fc">bird can sing</a>. Gets in a stance and into his man’s skin. Corrals scorers into Anunoby’s Traveling Torture Dungeon, takes the thing they love most. OG Swole G surely this will get deleted. You’ll find him on the wing constructing caves of steel. You’ll find him palming space rocks out of the mesosphere. You’ll find him haunting offenses—an undead, super <a href="https://twitter.com/Eric__Smith/status/1596675820424232961?s=20&t=qvqHnnKyqTVayoNsQIRmcQ">nice</a> shadow who will say something when he feels like it.</p>
<p id="I6I6Ni">On Halloween he had <a href="https://twitter.com/NekiasNBA/status/1587245850820055042?s=20&t=DJClw-GWLB98FGraG4xkrQ">a steal</a> against De’Andre Hunter that made Alvin Williams say, “Look at him get busy!” and Matt Devlin growl, “The power game.” He finished the evening with six steals and two blocks, stuffed Atlanta into his own personal <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eZITdhMtmo">boo box</a>. Contents included various scorpions, cacti, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dt-L6BfpYrc">five bone mamas, and two Skeletrexes</a>. Anunoby terrorized the Hawks all game. They received no mercy, no comfort, no hope. He bodied them, tricked them, and took their treats.</p>
<div id="KWs1wg"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hM4onxdA9b8?rel=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture;"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="4FY8Cu">That’s good bone crushin’. </p>
<p id="ts20Y4">Anunoby’s surprised by exactly none of this. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxHh2BtQ-gU">He knows</a> how good he is. </p>
<p id="CQ0wsO">“I mean defensively, I’ve always wanted to be Defensive Player of the Year. I’ve always thought I was the best defender in the league. I’ve thought [that] for the last, I don’t know how many years.”</p>
<p class="c-end-para" id="qVDPLb">He says this matter of factly, as if everyone should know it already. </p>
<div id="Vnndeh"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 75%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jqPxJp5OJW0?rel=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture;"></iframe></div></div>
https://www.theringer.com/nba/2022/12/1/23486901/og-anunoby-toronto-raptors-defenseTyler Parker2022-11-21T08:21:13-05:002022-11-21T08:21:13-05:00We Are Watching Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Make the Leap
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<figcaption>Getty Images/Ringer illustration</figcaption>
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<p>Or Him Gaffigan. Or President Himmy Carter. Call him what you want, but make sure you call him what he is: one of the best players in the NBA.</p> <p id="4VMIsB">Ladies and gentlemen, the 47th president of the United States of America, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/ClDGbcIsUQP/">Himmy Carter</a>.</p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">SGA FOR THE WIN <a href="https://t.co/LNqUbaHv01">pic.twitter.com/LNqUbaHv01</a></p>— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) <a href="https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1593068508924899329?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 17, 2022</a>
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<p id="dO12aV">Another angle, because he’s worth it.</p>
<div id="75d2MV">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">SGA hits a smooth stepback for the game-winner!<br><br> He finished with 42 PTS, 6 REB, and & 7 AST <a href="https://t.co/SBbmTfhcNi">pic.twitter.com/SBbmTfhcNi</a></p>— NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1593068782100303872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 17, 2022</a>
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<p id="QCCQ1b">These were the 40th, 41st, and 42nd points of the night for the new prez and the latest example of Himbo Slice’s recent ascent to superstardom. So much sauce. He has leveled up. He is glowing.</p>
<p id="RPP3WK">A strong flavor and style for days, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is one of the most unique scorers in recent memory. As a ball handler, he makes his moves in the space between the beats. Keeps his stuff silky and distorted, the patron saint of deceleration, speeds up and slows down the frame rate on his drives, then uses his length to surge toward daylight and finish with style. Will happily aim at a defender’s hip and make <a href="https://twitter.com/stevejones20/status/1591853636933808128?s=20&t=kAsXZh7wDQzBuWMQC3yV-Q">straight-line</a> drives to the cup, or take more <a href="https://twitter.com/AlexDrProf/status/1587854080193462272?s=20&t=GAJ1bKChVS1RxEECgdFJkg">scenic</a> routes. Himothy Olyphant enjoys a nice zag, gets rowdy on the serpentine roads. He has the entire range of Eurosteps at his disposal and can deploy them in an instant. In a crowd he’ll morph into apparition, twist defenders into warped eights. The handle is deceptively tight and he gets slippery on demand. The man’s a purveyor of luxurious <a href="https://twitter.com/BenRitholtzNBA/status/1474035833233678337?s=20&t=GAJ1bKChVS1RxEECgdFJkg">hesitations</a>. <a href="https://twitter.com/bjpf_/status/1586059129948438531?s=20&t=kAsXZh7wDQzBuWMQC3yV-Q">Guarding him</a> is like trying to <a href="https://twitter.com/bjpf_/status/1456669772867940352?s=20&t=kAsXZh7wDQzBuWMQC3yV-Q">shake hands</a> with a tornado.</p>
<div id="6bhdJD">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">OH MY. <br><br>Shai with a FILTHY behind the back move for the and-one <a href="https://twitter.com/okcthunder?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@okcthunder</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ThunderUp?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ThunderUp</a> <a href="https://t.co/UlMj4zPbBc">pic.twitter.com/UlMj4zPbBc</a></p>— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) <a href="https://twitter.com/BallySportsOK/status/1593038344425832449?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 17, 2022</a>
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<p id="NS490j"><a href="https://twitter.com/nba/status/1593081394141724673?s=46&t=kEVlLKRrBz49_SMNBeYYWw">The</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a95-YnyVo5Q">vibes</a> and raw numbers are stellar: 31.1 points per game, close to 6 assists, and 4.6 rebounds. The splits are equally beautiful. He’s shooting the dimples off the ball: 53.4 percent from the field, 40.9 percent from 3, 90.7 percent from the line. Let him get to his spot in the midrange and <a href="https://twitter.com/thehoopcentral/status/1588987449799479300?s=46&t=ZX9Mr4vcjDevGnKej4_f8w">it’s a wrap</a>. He’s hitting [<em>cups hands</em>] 72.5 percent at the rim, 51.3 percent from 10-16 feet, and 52.2 percent from 16 feet to the 3-point line. He’s fifth in points per game, win shares, and VORP, and <a href="https://ftw.usatoday.com/2022/11/shai-gilgeous-alexander-nba-mvp-all-star-thunder-stats">leads the league</a> in transition scoring, drives, and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CinqWVfpGD3/">shirtless trips</a> to the grocery store. His confidence is soaring on both ends, and his <a href="https://www.oklahoman.com/story/sports/nba/thunder/2022/10/29/shai-gilgeous-alexander-set-tone-okc-thunder-defense/69602809007/">defense</a> may have taken an even <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/thunders-shai-gilgeous-alexander-is-getting-stops-to-go-along-with-all-those-buckets/">bigger leap</a> than his offense. He’s at 1.4 <a href="https://twitter.com/AlexDrProf/status/1585319358108090370?s=20&t=PBqcJVLr5ycJC_aN3U6vlw">blocks</a> per game and 1.8 steals. Himmy Buffett is locked in, creating havoc <a href="https://twitter.com/SSG2KYT/status/1585097012625944577?s=20&t=PBqcJVLr5ycJC_aN3U6vlw">on</a> the <a href="https://twitter.com/ThunderNationCP/status/1591262098167803906?s=20&t=PBqcJVLr5ycJC_aN3U6vlw">ball</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/ThunderNationCP/status/1591239079475269632?s=20&t=PBqcJVLr5ycJC_aN3U6vlw">in</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/BtcNitrobetting/status/1592333091343077377?s=20&t=PBqcJVLr5ycJC_aN3U6vlw">passing lanes</a>. This is All-NBA behavior. The bag is the size of Tokyo. The Thunder are going to have to start traveling with an extra plane. If you are the company you keep, Gilgeous-Alexander’s easily been a top-10 player this year, and has an argument for top-five. And then there’s his work in the lane.</p>
<p id="M0jNqy">You have a better chance keeping snow out of Buffalo than you do keeping SGA out of the paint. (Only Luka and Ja are more prolific there.) Thus far this season he’s built vacation homes in the lanes of every arena he’s played. Baroque, swank digs. Lavishly appointed and built for leisure. Four grottos, a bowling alley, two recording studios, a marble bust of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RKbSi87J5Q">Nardwuar</a>, a Chili’s, a <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/ByEVq0SpeAV/">Reba</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/tylrparkr/status/1511799052299501571?s=46&t=lGC3EkPrlaje42UiDDeMVw">Room</a>, <em>Time</em> <em>Crisis 3</em>, and an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nf9PTd6kxWQ"><em>SCTV</em></a>-themed loggia overlooking the botanical garden. There’s a neon sign over every door reading “WELCOME TO THE DISCO” and a closet that’s an exact replica of Versailles’s Hall of Mirrors.</p>
<p id="tu088l">What you have to understand about trying to defend this new iteration of Gilgeous-Alexander is it would appear to be <a href="https://twitter.com/KevinOConnorNBA/status/1590768998786166785?s=20&t=GAJ1bKChVS1RxEECgdFJkg">next to impossible</a>. Teams that take pride in not doubling have realized that <a href="https://twitter.com/andrewkschlecht/status/1592567997729841153?s=46&t=NSQ8BtvJ0xWFPhVP41i1WA">they have no choice</a>. Put two on the ball or die. His in between game is <a href="https://twitter.com/ThunderFilmRoom/status/1586532905538330625?s=20&t=PBqcJVLr5ycJC_aN3U6vlw">nails</a>. He has the <a href="https://twitter.com/KBsLakeShow24/status/1586783601563029504?s=20&t=PBqcJVLr5ycJC_aN3U6vlw">floater</a> working, a <a href="https://twitter.com/ThunderFilmRoom/status/1589782848386793473?s=20&t=GAJ1bKChVS1RxEECgdFJkg">wide</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/DejoseMark/status/1591859766204186624?s=20&t=PBqcJVLr5ycJC_aN3U6vlw">array</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Dunkn_Out/status/1592665349971120128?s=20&t=GAJ1bKChVS1RxEECgdFJkg">of</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ThunderFilmRoom/status/1589054291658276864?s=20&t=GAJ1bKChVS1RxEECgdFJkg">pull</a>-<a href="https://twitter.com/ThunderFilmRoom/status/1589051850342699008?s=20&t=GAJ1bKChVS1RxEECgdFJkg">ups</a>, and gets to the <a href="https://twitter.com/ThunderFilmRoom/status/1588345266024882177?s=20&t=GAJ1bKChVS1RxEECgdFJkg">rim</a> at <a href="https://twitter.com/ballysportsok/status/1593039311397847040?s=46&t=kEVlLKRrBz49_SMNBeYYWw">will</a>. This is supreme on-ball creation. He can <a href="https://twitter.com/ThunderFilmRoom/status/1584009853915529216?s=20&t=PBqcJVLr5ycJC_aN3U6vlw">finish</a> through contact with <a href="https://twitter.com/ThunderFilmRoom/status/1587618489946308609?s=20&t=PBqcJVLr5ycJC_aN3U6vlw">either</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ThunderFilmRoom/status/1588343323915620352?s=20&t=PBqcJVLr5ycJC_aN3U6vlw">hand</a> and he can do it while <a href="https://twitter.com/ThunderFilmRoom/status/1582889632168935424?s=20&t=PBqcJVLr5ycJC_aN3U6vlw">hitting the deck</a> and not looking. The shake and wiggle take center stage—undoubtedly he cha-chas real smooth—but there’s a more consistent physicality to his drives now. Where before it happened once or twice a game, he <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTbp6zgFge4">sheds defenders</a> regularly now. </p>
<p id="84qomv">The 3s haven’t been cut entirely out of his diet, but he’s being selective. It makes sense to be. The damage he does when he gets into the teeth of the defense, settling for a bunch of treys would let them off the hook. The footwork is <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1593055580146479109?s=20&t=kAsXZh7wDQzBuWMQC3yV-Q">unassailable</a>. [<em>Arby’s voice.</em>] <a href="https://twitter.com/stevejones20/status/1592536663749976065?s=46&t=ZX9Mr4vcjDevGnKej4_f8w">He has</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/jackfrank_jjf/status/1587273895580962816?s=20&t=eAvtOPLp1uan29YzcjoHEQ">the feets</a>. [<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGTsiOttTYs"><em>Arby’s voice</em></a><em>.</em>] He <a href="https://twitter.com/okcthunder/status/1590533047635431424?s=20&t=QrrZ_CmSx8FooEajLzR93g">has</a> the <a href="https://twitter.com/ThunderNationCP/status/1591863454234644480?s=20&t=QrrZ_CmSx8FooEajLzR93g">treats</a>. Supercharged Stretch-Armstrong finishes. One-handed <a href="https://twitter.com/DMacNBA/status/1576771908523081728?s=20&t=PBqcJVLr5ycJC_aN3U6vlw">scoops</a> ushered gently off the glass. Post-spin leaners falling out of bounds. He treats the lane like a funhouse mirror, stretching or shrinking depending on location, his dribble timing and stride length and flow always messing with the defender’s rhythms.</p>
<p id="AncOQQ">Jason Kidd once said Luka Doncic “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Simj6q_hGM&t=95s">has his own speed limit</a>.” The same could be said for Himmy Stewart. He’s lord of the streets and <a href="https://twitter.com/AlexDrProf/status/1593303731369660425?s=20&t=KpS2nBxkWACfLBYSgMKJ-g">cruising</a>—goes as fast or as slow as he wants and no one can do anything about it. He’s chronically poised, playing at his pace and no one else’s. Never in a tizzy, never rushed, just moving how the play and defense dictates he must. Gilgeous-Alexander does it with craft and skill and a pair of legs that just won’t quit. Gets in the lane and turns into some combination of Doc Ock and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUnO9-pPz0E">Baryshnikov</a>. Goes full <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBDVozxlQF8">Yamaguchi</a>. Triple axels and double lutzes among the trees. He has high-performance <a href="https://twitter.com/stevejones20/status/1587910482224353281?s=20&t=GAJ1bKChVS1RxEECgdFJkg">brakes</a>: doesn’t matter how fast he’s going, he can stop before you can. </p>
<p id="DhnCdq">Defenses load up to corral him but it doesn’t matter. Show him a wall of bodies and he will show you all manner of foundational inconsistencies with said barrier. He will show you the holes and the cracks, the flaws in its construction, the areas the architect swung and missed, and the areas the contractor cut corners. Him Gaffigan’s game is uncommonly stretchy. The traditional, eye-popping kind of athleticism isn’t there in the ways it is for other stars—his is more founded in flexibility, balance, and elite <a href="https://twitter.com/stevejones20/status/1587893295912554500?s=20&t=GAJ1bKChVS1RxEECgdFJkg">touch</a>. </p>
<p class="c-end-para" id="JOntiz">The first step is world-class. He strides past foes, using elongated steps to stretch through and around the defense. He has golden hamstrings and an elastic spine, and weaponizes his length like Giannis Light. He plays with great bend and keeps that ridiculous stride, even when defenses require he get low. There exists in his mind a seemingly never-ending buffet of counters and he has crafted himself a body that can flex and curve and lean how he needs it to. He moves in ways other players just don’t, has infinite mobility when seemingly fully stretched. Sometimes on his drives he looks like a <a href="https://twitter.com/fasc1nate/status/1587165035742519296?s=46&t=IKfgIH4FFEWWsbNH1ORRXA">jaguar swimming</a>. Something <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1KWyvL9ous&t=151s">alien</a> in the movement, mesmerizingly fluid, unorthodox, and smooth. </p>
<p id="uLxdCF"><em>All stats are current through Saturday’s games.</em></p>
<aside id="0A0Nn6"><div data-anthem-component="newsletter" data-anthem-component-data='{"slug":"ringer_newsletter"}'></div></aside>
https://www.theringer.com/nba/2022/11/21/23469884/shai-gilgeous-alexander-oklahoma-city-thunder-leap-seasonTyler Parker2022-11-07T08:41:59-05:002022-11-07T08:41:59-05:00Voicemails
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<img alt="1922 New York recording of Shchedryk carol Played in Kyiv" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/VtcbhYOgo84EVcl4xIqXJw2Fw2o=/40x0:3656x2712/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71595251/1243767399.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo credit should read Yeven Kotenko / Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Tyler Parker wants to make a rule about voicemails on albums</p> <div id="goZFBR"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 152px; position: relative;"><iframe src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/2H5cjlWqtyuM3EkvRKFjKE?utm_source=oembed" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" allow="clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture;"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="EyiZvU"><br><a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/2H5cjlWqtyuM3EkvRKFjKE?si=P3ruDgrZR9uMlP-u40NSoQ">Tyler Parker wants to make a rule</a> about voicemails on albums.</p>
<p id="QutzZb">Hosts: Chris Ryan, Juliet Litman, Kate Halliwell, and Tyler Parker<br>Associate Producer: Isaiah Blakely</p>
<p id="5a2pg5"><strong>Subscribe:</strong> <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/55R0CZoqgY3hcmCmVkmBig?si=d0XOYlkAQ6-afq2WoEYvSw">Spotify</a></p>
https://www.theringer.com/2022/11/7/23444571/voicemailsTyler ParkerChris RyanJuliet LitmanKate Halliwell