Building an NBA Team to Lose

The 76ers Sacrificed the Present for the Future, but Was ‘the Process’ Worth the Price?

Last February, while in Boston for MIT’s Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, I found myself sitting at a bar table alongside Sam Hinkie, the former general manager of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers. This was an exciting moment for me.

I’d spent the previous year working on a book about the Sixers that focused on Hinkie and his polarizing team-building strategy, which involved assembling a losing squad in the short term to get big wins in the future. Hinkie’s data-driven devotion to tanking had given Philadelphia a shot at greatness, and raised …

LeBron, Take Your Ball and Go Home

California Depends Too Much on Imported Stars Like King James. We Need to Develop More Young Prospects.

Go back home to Ohio, LeBron James.

Yes, as a fan, I’m happy to see the world’s greatest basketball player relocate to California and join my favorite team, the Los Angeles …

The True Story of One of the NBA’s Most Outrageous Halftime Moments

For Five Glorious Minutes, the Hollywood Shorties, a Star-Studded Dwarf Basketball Team, Stole the Show From the L.A. Lakers

My dad had a saying he would recite when I didn’t want to throw another bullpen session on the backyard mound he had built for me to improve my fastball: …