Start your day with The Athletic NBA Daily – a fast, entertaining recap of the most important games and stories from the world of professional basketball with new episodes dropping Monday through Friday. Hosted by Dave DuFour, Zena Keita, and Esfandiar Baraheni with regular appearances by The Athletic’s award-winning NBA reporters. Andrew Schlecht and Alex Spears cap the week with the full-length Saturday Slam n’ Jam episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Latest episodes
Showing 20 · updated from the feed
Red Hot Blazers + Music Stopped for the Jazz? | Slam N Jam
#8 trending · Basketball
This week on Slam N Jam Andrew Schlecht and Alex Speers discuss the top stories of the NBA, the rough start for the Jazz, Herb Jones value, the Pistons fun start and more
Nov 7 1 h 04 min
A Vintage Warriors Performance + Boston's Tatum-Brown Beef Explained
Dave DuFour and Es Baraheni recap a two-game Thursday night slate in the NBA, featuring the Orlando Magic at the Phoenix Suns and the Miami Heat at the Golden State Warri
Nov 6 42 min
The Best Game of Victor Wembanyama’s NBA Career
Victor Wembanyama is stuck on easy mode.
After one of the greatest single-game performances of his career (and NBA history), Dave DuFour and Es Baraheni recap the Spurs’
Nov 5 44 min
Panic Time in Denver? | Slam N Jam LIVE
Alex Speers and Andrew Schlecht discuss the 5 teams that should be panicking early this season. Then they are joined by Derek Parker to discuss Kingston Flemmings and oth
Nov 4 1 h 07 min
The "Moneyball" Memphis Grizzlies are Ahead of Schedule
It’s just early enough in the season for our first edition of Small Sample Size Theatre, with particular predictions on the Miami Heat, Darius Acuff Jr., and the Chicago
Nov 4 44 min
Internal Growth is Driving a Houston Rockets Resurgence
We still believe in the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Dave DuFour and Es Baraheni check in after a 15-game slate in the NBA to recap Shai Gilgeous-Alexander & Luka Doncic’s he
Nov 3 43 min
Which Team Has the Deepest Roster in the NBA?
Dave DuFour, Esfandiar Baraheni and Law Murray are live Sunday night following Celtics-Magic, Nets-Pacers, Clippers-Warriors and Lakers-Raptors to break down Luka Doncic'
Nov 2 43 min
Grizzlies Rise and Grind + Are the Thunder STILL contenders? | Slam N Jam
The NBA season has been... well.... kind of a bummer to start with all the injuries, but Andrew Schlecht and Alex Speers are here to walk you through the week of NBA bask
Oct 31 1 h 09 min
Why Are NBA Injury Rates Increasing?
Are the Grizzlies good? Dave DuFour and Andrew Schlecht get to the bottom of it after Memphis remained undefeated with an impressive win in Portland. Plus, Dave explains
Oct 30 44 min
Steph Curry Remains an Ageless Wonder
We have a lot of injuries, but the basketball continues to bounce.
On an active Wednesday night in the NBA, Dave DuFour and Andrew Schlecht recap Steph Curry’s big night
Oct 29 44 min
Were we wrong about Ja Morant? + Darius Acuff | Slam N Jam LIVE
Alex Speers and Andrew Schlecht break down the biggest storylines from the first week of the NBA season, including why they're already bailing on some of their NBA presea
Oct 28 56 min
Anthony Edwards Goes Down + Nikola Jokic Appreciates Cheers
In a special edition of NBA Daily, Dave DuFour is joined by NBA Draft expert and Sports Illustrated columnist Derek Parker to dive into (unfortunately) more injury update
Oct 28 40 min
What’s Next for the Oklahoma City Thunder?
On a strange day to live in Oklahoma City, Andrew Schlecht joins Dave DuFour to unpack the latest on Jalen Williams’ fractured fibula and dislocated ankle, Cason Wallaces
Oct 27 42 min
Jalen Williams Suffers Devastating Injury + Miami Slides in Power Rankings
Following two brutal lower leg injuries to Jalen Williams and Jalen Suggs, Dave DuFour, Es Baraheni and Law Murray catch up on a damaging first Sunday night of the season
Oct 26 40 min
Sixers Thrive + Jamal Murray down bad? | Slam N Jam
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 a
Oct 25 1 h 00 min
The Thunder Are Inevitable + Philly Trusts the Process
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
Oct 23 39 min
Wolves Make a Big Statement in Miami + Luka’s Showtime Era Begins
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 Edwar
Oct 22 47 min
BIG NBA Questions: Slam N Jam LIVE!
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 boy
Oct 21 1 h 15 min
What we learned from a chaotic NBA Opening Night
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 seas
Oct 21 55 min
Final Considerations Ahead of NBA Opening Night
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 ascen
Oct 20 43 min
Chart trend
Position in the Basketball chart (US), last 90 days.
#1#7#12AugSepOctNov
#2
all-time peak
30
days in the top 3 since Nov 2024
Chart positions
Where The Athletic NBA Daily ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Nov 9, 2026).
A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.
Alex and Andrew bring the most unique and refreshing style to the NBA podcast landscape. With great humor weaved into smart, fair, and compelling ideas that hit every team around the league. Trivia is always fun to listen to and play along with and is such a fun segment. Keep up the great work!
New2Mac2022 · Aug 2026
Shoutout to the Slam n Jam. Andrew and Alex are great and the weekly trivia is always a treat for me. Speaking of treats - I heard about Braum’s for the first time years ago when Andrew mentioned it on the pod. Now I make a point to stop at Braum’s whenever I’m roadtripping through Oklahoma and Kansas, and I preach about their burger superiority whenever In-n-Out or other regional fast food chains are brought up. 5-stars to Braum’s and the Slam n Jam!
marty cordova · Aug 2026
The Daily is hosted by an amazingly talented human (Z of course), her sidekick Dave (😊what a guy), and a rapper formerly known as Es. (Known mostly for hosting internet friend X at his wedding) The NBA Daily is an every day must listen. It’s wonderful and consistently teach me about basketball while making me laugh.
But the real stars of the feed… 🎶da da daaaaa 🎶the Saturday Slam N Jam! Andrew vs. the Beat! What angel created you, theme music from the gods! I always root for Sam Vecenie when he’s on, and he always disappoints me. Bryce too, but he disappoints me by being way too darn humble when he wins. Throw it in Andrew’s “way too much useless hoops knowledge” face Bryce!
But as much as I (another Andrew) always root against Andrew, I do love his consistent “Yessssss!!!” when the final tally is scored and he’s inevitably won. It’s so damn stupid to care this much, and yet the Slam and Jam guys do, and therefore so do we.
Job well done boys. Go Pistons.
Noted fan,
Drewbaca
WowiezowiePowie · Jun 2026
I absolutely love the Saturday Slam & Jam! Not only are Alex and Andrew each fun and knowledgeable individually, but the chemistry they have together is phenomenal and really makes the show what it is. Andrew Vs The Beat is easily a highlight of my week.
With that said, I’d love to know how Alex would feel about fan-submitted questions for the quiz. I’m a lifelong Celtics fan and I have a pet favorite stat that I’d love to send in for consideration for when the C’s are made to face the Wheel of Fandom. Let us know!
Shoutout also to the Daily crew — Dave, Es & Zeena (hope I spelled it right!!) clearly know ball and are my one-stop shop for keeping tabs on the league. Keep up the good work everyone!
Nick Boonstra · Jan 2025
If you like your NBA coverage with a heaping helping of pretentiousness this will be your favorite. If I didn’t know better I’d assume the hosts just read box scores and haven’t watched a single playoff game this year in its entirety. It sounds like they listen to real basketball podcasts and steal their takes with a slight twist to make them seem original. Having OKC apologist Jason Gallagher on to pretend to analyze the current discourse around the NBA and officiating while his Championship Thunder sweat it out against a team that’s never been to the playoffs in this iteration is laughable. Yes, Thunder fans think officiating is an afterthought. Shocking.
I really try to listen because Zena is awesome (despite suffering constant “Ackchuallys” after every take from the men of the pod), but seriously these dudes are insufferable.
Guitars Ruin Lives- Josh · May 2026
Dave is fine, but it feels like a loss to put all of the shows eggs in his basket. I like the cohosts too, but the old rotating panels and different focuses on different days felt more interesting and fresh rather than having the same, one-note update show every day. No one really likes a daily update show. Justice for Nerder!
web209 · Nov 2024
We strive to present a balanced view by showing a diverse range of reviews from Apple Podcasts.
More podcasts like The Athletic NBA Daily
Popular shows in Basketball, for your next listen.
Here you find the Apple Podcasts chart positions of The Athletic NBA Daily, its latest episodes to listen to directly, and reviews from listeners. Rankings are updated daily for the United States.
