Nothing But Respect - Podcast Rankings and reviews

The best basketball podcast there is — so good it makes most of the big nba pods feel generic and unlistenable. NBR hosts are hilarious, understand the game and are passionate about it, and they situate it within a broader sociocultural field that brings to mind Adorno’s assertion that we lack an incisive sociology of sport and the spectator… NBR takes a step to remedy that

The boys are funny and the analysis is astute, but their main strength is being at the vanguard new verbiage and data sets. I’m eager to see how they start measuring the prop-bet shadiness of a particular game or player. “Kuzma was going extra hard on the glass last game, something decidedly out of the norm, which reeks of Bag-scrambling.”

Hey guys, love the pod. I love that you seem to look at the NBA as a joke worth engaging with seriously as I think that’s the perfect lens through which to view the modern NBA. In that spirit, I want to propose a solution to the League’s all-star weekend woes: the Celebrities vs All-Stars Game. Essentially, rather than holding two separate games, a team of celebrities will play the ten all-star starters in the weekend’s marquee matchup. The celebrities will be given a 150 point head start, but otherwise, the game will be played according to normal NBA rules. The all-stars will of course humiliate the celebrities, but in that lies the appeal; if the League cannot make the all-star game competitive then it at least can make it an entertaining showcase of just how much better these athletes are than “regular” people. I believe this format represents an improvement over the status quo for each of the relevant stakeholders. Because of the talent gap, there is simultaneously no shame for the celebs in inevitably being dominated and little risk of losing for the all-stars. The league gets to satisfy its clear desire to prominently feature celebrities during all-star weekend but can do so in a way that is appealing to fans rather than repellent; the only time I want to see Mr. Beast on screen is if he’s being poterized by Giannis Antetokounmpo. By giving up on the clearly outdated notion that the ASG is a “real” game, the League can create an absurdist spectacle that can be enjoyed by players and fans alike. Would love to hear your and/or Adam Silver’s and/or David Stern’s and/or Kevin Hart’s thoughts on this matter. Thanks again for the great pods.

This pod is exactly what you want right now. It feels like hanging out and talking hoops with your 2 pals, one who is from the Bay Area and one who is from Sacramento. They listen to Bill Simmons but in a sort of self-hating way (just like you do.) Great pod.