Basketball Players
The Sporting Scene
Watching Ja Morant Fly Again
One of the N.B.A.’s most thrilling, perplexing players soars on the court, but stumbles off it.
By Louisa Thomas
Daily Comment
Brittney Griner’s Swap for the “Merchant of Death” Is Just the Latest Deal
The average number of Americans detained abroad has risen by nearly six hundred per cent during the past decade.
By Robin Wright
The Boards
A Sense of Where He’s Been
Bill Bradley, a staid member of the rarefied (the Rhodes Scholarship), the very rarefied (the U.S. Senate), and the super-rarefied (the Knicks’ two championship teams), premières his autobiographical one-man Broadway show, “Rolling Along.”
By Thomas Beller
The Sporting Scene
LeBron James’s Agent Is Transforming the Business of Basketball
Rich Paul is known for driving hard bargains for star clients, giving them new power in the N.B.A.
By Isaac Chotiner
The Sporting Scene
The Virtuosity of Elena Delle Donne and the Drama of the W.N.B.A. Finals
Delle Donne, like the league she plays in, is in a strange place: admired and respected by her peers, indisputably superlative, and largely ignored by the wider world.
By Louisa Thomas
Portfolio
Zion Williamson and the N.B.A. Draftees Usher in a New Era of Basketball
Photographed shortly after their selection, the proud 2019 draft-night stars celebrated in style.
Photography by Cait Oppermann
Culture Desk
James Harden’s Transcendent Step-Back
Harden didn’t invent the step-back, yet he has made it is own, crystallized its impact on the game.
By Thomas Beller
The Sporting Scene
How Far Can Becky Hammon Go in the N.B.A.?
The former women’s-basketball star has broken convention by becoming the league’s first female assistant coach.
By Louisa Thomas