ESPN Daily

The way NBA prospects get to the league looks nothing like it used to. We’ve been importing future MVPs from overseas for years now: that’s the story of Victor Wembanyama, next year’s projected No. 1 pick. And we’ve watched the G League become the NBA’s own minor league system. That’s the story of Scoot Henderson, projected to go No. 2. But the story of Amen and Ausar Thompson — who could maybe round out the top five in next year’s draft — is something very different. Israel Gutierrez explains the rise of Overtime Elite: a viral video account that’s become a league unto itself, where the Thompson twins have taken up residence, and where they’re getting everyone to click. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It had been 533 days since we last saw Zion Williamson compete in a real live NBA game until this season. The 22-year-old phenom has dealt with a foot injury that kept him out all of last season, and struggled with the perception he was out of shape. But this season (despite a fall on Sunday that left him with a bruised rear end) Zion has looked every bit the sensation he was predicted to be coming out of Duke. It’s a turnaround he credits, in part, to the music of the Notorious B.I.G. We called up ESPN reporter Andrew Lopez to explain how Zion turned things around, whether this latest injury is anything to worry about, and what we might see from him the rest of the season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tua Tagovailoa is back: but does he need to learn how to slide? And is he the same QB he was before his frightening concussion three weeks ago against the Bengals? Elsewhere in the NFL’s Week 7, we got the Alex Smith Bowl, as the Kansas City Chiefs jet swept all over the San Francisco 49ers. Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady continued to struggle this season as both their teams have now started 3-4 for the first time since Rodgers took over as the starter in Green Bay…way back in 2008. Are these two GOAT’s finally washed? Or can they still turn their seasons around? We called up Alex Smith for answers, in yet another installment of QB Confidential.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the 1980s NFL, barefoot kickers were a fleeting and rare phenomenon, with little to no evidence to back up any claims of a strategic advantage. The last known barefoot kick in the league was recorded in 2002, and executed by St. Louis Rams kicker Jeff Wilkins…or so we thought. Sam Borden kicks off an investigation into a football mystery… and embarks on a quest for truth…and justice…and a heel turn for the ages. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In Houston, everyone knows the name “Mattress Mack.” He’s a furniture store owner whose charitable efforts during Hurricane Harvey and in other times need have made him famous among Houstonians. But “Mattress Mack,” whose real name is Jim McIngvale, has become famous nationally for another reason: he consistently places some of the largest sports bets in history. But make no mistake, Mack is not your ordinary high roller…it’s all part of a strategy designed to sell furniture, while at the same time giving the local community something to cheer for. And now, if his beloved hometown Houston Astros manage to win the World Series, Mack stands to win more than 70 million dollars, the largest sports bet payout in history. And if the Astros lose? Well, as Dave Fleming explains there’s more to the bet and Mattress Mack than meets the eye - and even if the Astros lose, McIngvale still wins. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Brooklyn Nets were the talk of the NBA offseason, and as their season tips off tonight, it seems like the dust has settled…for now. But what’s Kevin Durant’s future just months after he requested to be traded away? Can Kyrie Irving change the narrative around him this season? And what will Ben Simmons look like after more than a year away from the game? Nick Friedell shares his conversations with Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons with us, and he takes us for a ride through the Nets’ offseason drama as they take the court for a new season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You may have heard that the NBA has just gone through the most dramatic offseason in memory. The league also has more star talent right now, top to bottom, than it has in years. And anyone who’s telling you that they know who’s going to win it all is a liar. So, today, as the season tips off tonight, we consult the very particular brain of Zach Lowe, who studies these games more deeply than anyone else in the business. And he makes us smarter about the drama on the court itself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In Kansas City, Josh Allen hurdled to victory (literally) and led the Buffalo Bills on a game-winning drive over the Chiefs, in a rematch of last year’s explosive AFC Divisional Round matchup. Jalen Hurts and the Eagles preserved the only undefeated record in the NFL, beating the Cowboys 26-17. Across the NFC East, Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale helped beat his former team, the Ravens, thanks in large part to a Lamar Jackson interception and a strip sack in the last three minutes. And in Green Bay, Aaron Rodgers was upset by the surging New York Jets, who’ve won their last three games (yes, you read that correctly). So we called up our Monday morning QB Alex Smith for this week’s installment of QB Confidential. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you watch football, you’ve probably heard the word “analytics” so many times, it’s lost all meaning. But what if we told you there’s a better way to understand football analytics…by instead using the word “evidence?” Our resident football professor Bill Barnwell is here with a lesson in making sense of analytics, what it means when coaches use information to make decisions on the field, and what people get wrong when they criticize teams using analytics. We also look ahead to this weekend’s juiciest games, including a rematch between the Bills and Chiefs and an NFC East showdown between the Eagles and Cowboys. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NFL ownership is one of the most exclusive, fiercely protected clubs imaginable. There is no American sport as profitable or as visible as the NFL, and there are only 32 teams — 32 pieces of the most valuable real estate in American culture… each of them worth billions of dollars. Which means that entering this club requires another powerful person to want to leave. Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder, you may have noticed, does not want to go anywhere. But, today, ESPN’s Don Van Natta breaks news about how the most controversial owner in football has been fighting, in secret, to keep his Washington Commanders. And he brings us deep inside the viciously guarded club that may finally want him out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices