Thinking Basketball

I reboot the inaugural episode with new data and a deeper look at the all-time best scorers in NBA history. What makes someone a great scorer? What misconceptions are common about volume vs. efficiency, on-ball vs. off-ball scoring and finishing vs. dependency. Support at www.patreon.com/thinkingbasketball

The Athletic's Dave DuFour on things and the NBA MVP. We compare 2020 LeBron James to another historical MVP winner. Dr. Maia Majumder also stops by (52:00) to provide insight into modeling COVID-19 and why we should exercise caution when it comes to public numbers or models...and avoid social gatherings. Follow them at @DaveDuFourNBA and @MaiaMajumder. Support at patreon.com/thinkingbasketball and access the post show pie cast with Dave.

I take a first look at the new Box Plus-Minus on Basketball-Reference that goes back to 1974, including an all-time top-10 list based on playoff BPM. What kind of player does the model love? What are the improvements from the old 1.0 on the site? And can the emerging Jayson Tatum unseat Giannis Antetokoumnpo in his quest to do something no one has ever done? Support at www.patreon.com/thinkingbasketball

The undiscussed scandal of the dunk contest! A lesson in comparing statistical profiles. Plus, The Athletic's Danny Leroux discusses lessons from others sports and what it was like to find basketball later in life...and how that influences the way he views the game. Follow Danny @DannyLeroux. Support at www.patreon.com/thinkingbasketball (Patreon post show on big men and the Most Improved Player)

Eric Leidersdorf, director of biomechanics of P3 Sports Science, helps expand on our idea of “athleticism” and discusses his experience measuring and testing over 600 NBA players. What happened when Zion Williamson was measured in high school? How are Luka Doncic, James Harden and Nikola Jokic athletic in non-traditional ways? Follow P3 on twitter at @P3sportscience. Support at www.patreon.com/thinkingbasketball and get a FREE week trial at the Athletic at http://www.theathletic.com/thinkingbasketballpod

Jackson Frank of the Athletic stops by to discuss the beginning of Zion Williamson's career, the white shot scoring of Damian Lillard and the nuances of first-time All-Star Jayson Tatum. Follow Jackson @jackfrank_jjf. Support at www.patreon.com/thinkingbasketball and get a FREE month trial at the Athletic at http://www.theathletic.com/thinkingbasketballpod

Who are the best players after the All-Stars? It's the 2nd annual sub All-Star team, where I agonizingly select the next group of players who are still valuable, but not quite All-Stars. Apologies to Montrezl Harrell in advance. Support at www.patreon.com/thinkingbasketball

How much should defense factor into the MIP discussion? Is the award too scoring centric? I stack up the Most Improved players this year by diving into overall changes in impact and looking at where players have grown on offense and defense. Support at www.patreon.com/thinkingbasketball and get a FREE week trial at the Athletic at http://www.theathletic.com/thinkingbasketballpod

Heat VP Shane Battier joins to discuss how players use data as part of their game preparation and how it can create an advantage. How has the scouting process changed in the last 20 years? Are players resistant to more data? And did he really have a special packet of information delivered before each game by the analytics maesters in Houston? Support at www.patreon.com/thinkingbasketball

ESPN's Andre Snellings and I go deep on a classic player comparison between Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett. We stack up their playoff comparisons, historical impact metrics, team circumstances and how they would fare in today's NBA. Follow Andre @ProfessorDrz and support at www.patreon.com/thinkingbasketball