joevardon.bsky.social
@joevardon.bsky.social
Writes NBA for the The Athletic; spot host, SiriusXM NBA radio, BBC contributor.
Speaking of Day 2 of the NBA Draft, can you name which current USA Basketball player is the only one on the roster to have been drafted? www.nytimes.com/athletic/liv...
NBA Draft 2026 Round 2 live updates: Start time, best available players, pick order, latest news and rumors
The second round of the 2026 NBA Draft will begin at 8 p.m. with the No. 31 pick.
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The Spurs are being pelted with eggs, suffering historic meltdowns and facing elimination from the NBA Finals. Victor Wembanyama said they ‘believe’ they’ll win anyway www.nytimes.com/athletic/735...
Wemby not worried as Spurs face elimination: 'Everybody knows we're going to do it'
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Willis Reed? Larry Johnson? John Starks? Nah, Mike Brown and I are taking OG Anunoby’s putback for the most iconic shot in New York history www.nytimes.com/athletic/735...
Was OG Anunoby’s Game 4 tip-in game-winner the most iconic shot in Knicks history? (Gift Article)
Knicks coach Mike Brown says Anunoby's tip-in is the greatest shot in team history, and it's hard to find one better.
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For the second time this postseason, the Knicks left an opponent to explain the inexplicable. The Spurs tried, but there are no words to explain away what happened in Game 4 www.nytimes.com/athletic/735...
Spurs struggle to explain Game 4 collapse: 'We gave this one up. It hurts'
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President Donald J. Trump, the first sitting U.S. president to attend an NBA Finals game, was roundly booed — during the national anthem — by his fellow New Yorkers. His history with the league is a checkered one, www.nytimes.com/athletic/734...
President Trump draws boos as he attends NBA Finals Game 3 at MSG (Gift Article)
Trump, a native New Yorker, was booed louder than the Spurs ahead of Monday's NBA Finals Game 3.
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First NBA Finals game in 27 years? Two wins from immortality? Trump in the audience, record prices, and canceled watch parties? Wemby? Yeah, not even New York has seen anything quite like what’s coming in Game 3 www.nytimes.com/athletic/734...
NBA Finals, with Trump, Wemby and the red-hot Knicks, are finally back in New York
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Victor Wembanyama took all of Game 2, especially the last 30 seconds, really hard. Here is his reaction, @theathletic.com www.nytimes.com/athletic/733...
Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama reflects on end of Game 2: ‘I threw that one away. I messed up’ (Gift Article)
The Spurs' star missed two shots and threw a pass that ended up allowing the Knicks to break a 104-104 tie late in Game 2.
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The common denominator in the two longest playoff winning streaks in NBA history? Knicks coach Mike Brown, my video essay for @theathletic.com www.nytimes.com/athletic/vid...
How the Knicks leave San Antonio with a 2-0 lead
The Knicks escape San Antonio with a 2-0 lead. Can they break the championship drought at MSG?
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Hang on…the Knicks say country music has something to do with Mitchell Robinson’s defense on Victor Wembanyama? www.nytimes.com/athletic/733...
Mitchell Robinson and his coach credit this one surprising thing for his defense on Wemby
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New tonight: The World Cup still being planned for Qatar next year despite War in Iran. There is precedence for NBA stars to skip an international tournament for security concerns, www.nytimes.com/athletic/733...
FIBA still plans to hold 2027 Basketball World Cup in Qatar despite Iran war (Gift Article)
Preparations to hold the 32-team championship, with dozens of NBA stars expected to participate, are “going according to schedule.”
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Adam Silver backs Donald Trump’s Knicks fan credentials, says he’s ‘welcome’ for Game 3 of NBA Finals www.nytimes.com/athletic/733...
Adam Silver backs Donald Trump’s Knicks fan credentials, says he’s ‘welcome’ for Game 3 of NBA Finals
The NBA commissioner, a New York City resident, vouched for the president's New York and NBA credentials on Thursday.
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Move over ‘ethical basketball,’ Victor Wembanyama is saying after Game 1 the Spurs just need to play ‘normal’ against the Knicks in the Finals www.nytimes.com/athletic/733...
Wembanyama shares Popovich's message after Game 1 loss: 'I’ve been bad'
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From last night: Adam Silver says the Clippers-Kawhi-Aspiration investigation has gone on long enough. www.nytimes.com/athletic/733...
Adam Silver on Clippers-Aspiration investigation: ‘We need to wrap this up’ (Gift Article)
Commissioner isn't setting a timeline for an end to the investigation into the Clippers' alleged attempt to circumvent the salary cap.
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The time Rick Brunson saved Mike Brown, and the Knicks’ behinds, by telling everyone to CALM DOWN. www.nytimes.com/athletic/733...
Mike Brown thanks assistant Rick Brunson for Game 1 help: ‘He told me to shut the hell up’ (Gift Article)
The Knicks head coach learned some valuable lessons about composure in New York's Game 1 win.
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Storm the court. Take a selfie. Banned for life — the tale of co-conspirators kicked out for trying to get Victor Wembanyama to say cheese, www.nytimes.com/athletic/733...
Finals court-storming fan gets lifetime ban from every NBA arena (Gift Article)
The fan was arrested after running onto the court late in the fourth quarter of Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
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Adam Silver says it’s ’time to wrap it up’ as far as the league’s investigation into the Clippers, Aspiration, and whether they cheated to pay Kawhi Leonard outside the salary cap www.nytimes.com/athletic/733...
Adam Silver on Clippers-Aspiration investigation: ‘We need to wrap this up’ (Gift Article)
Commissioner isn't setting a timeline for an end to the investigation into the Clippers' alleged attempt to circumvent the salary cap.
nytimes.com
Victor Wembanyama, accused of being from outer space, says the Spurs have yet to ‘come back to Earth’ after stunning OKC in Game 7. The Knicks, in the other hand, know exactly where they are right now, www.nytimes.com/athletic/732...
Spurs still need to 'come down to Earth' after emotional Game 7 win
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Curtis Blair made his first NBA Finals rotation as a referee. Earlier during the playoffs, I wrote about his younger days, and his college teammate you also may have heard of www.nytimes.com/athletic/726...
An NBA coach and referee were once college teammates. But in the playoffs, it's 'professional'
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Mobley for Giannis? Cavs’ Koby Altman dumped a Lake Erie-sized bucket on that one, heaping praise on Evan and declaring a future for him in Cleveland www.nytimes.com/athletic/731...
Evan Mobley for Giannis? Trade sounds unlikely as Cavs seem poised to bring back stars (Gift Article)
A Mobley for Giannis trade is a popular rumor among NBA fans, but Cavs president Koby Altman said the team is lucky to have Mobley.
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When the Cavaliers tell you how much better they are with James Harden, it means they believe they couldn’t win with Darius Garland. What about the rest of the original core four? And the coach? We’re about to find out www.nytimes.com/athletic/730...
Cavaliers’ collapse changes everything: Is Cleveland’s core already finished? (Gift Article)
Cleveland has decisions to make, from an extension for Donovan Mitchell to the futures of James Harden, Kenny Atkinson and Koby Altman.
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It’s almost hand-wringing season in Cleveland. Before we do that, let’s pause to remember the Knicks were in the ECF last year, failed, and learned from it. Are they better than the Cavs now? Yes, but it’s not necessarily permanent www.nytimes.com/athletic/730...
Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell: 'I don't feel we're overmatched,' even down 3-0
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Amidst the misery and greatness, sadness and euphoria, the Cavs insist ‘our process is right’ after two MSG letdowns. That’s…one way to put it, www.nytimes.com/athletic/729...
Cavaliers insist ‘our process was right’ amid errors, losses in East finals (Gift Article)
Cleveland's "process" has led to eight wins against eight defeats, with some especially bad stretches on the road.
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Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs are headed back to Paris, but also Manchester, where the NBA now has a significant business interest, www.nytimes.com/athletic/729...
Victor Wembanyama, Spurs to play in Paris and Manchester vs. Pelicans next season (Gift Article)
For the second time in his young career, Victor Wembanyama, born in Paris, will play two games with the Spurs in Europe next January.
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Worst loss in Cavs’ history? We won’t know until the ECF is over if it’s hyperbole or probable. But this loss to the Knicks was not OK www.nytimes.com/athletic/729...
Worst loss in Cavaliers history? If they lose this series to the Knicks, yes
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Yes, Dan Gilbert really rented a fleet of buses, put 1,400 Clevelanders on them and sent them to Detroit for Game 7. But that’s only a part of this story of belief the city’s only living championship owner has in his team, the Cavs www.nytimes.com/athletic/728...
Dan Gilbert did more than bus 1,400 Cavs fans to Detroit: He offered ‘sage advice’ (Gift Article)
Cleveland's owner had everyone's backs heading into the Cavs' Game 7 blowout win, from the fans, to the players, to the coaching staff.
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Ausar Thompson put his hand around Sam Merrill’s neck as he slammed him to the ground and then stepped over him. So why wasn’t Thompson ejected from Game 6? Lead official Zach Zarba explains here www.nytimes.com/athletic/728...
Why Ausar Thompson wasn't ejected from Game 6 for slamming Sam Merrill to floor
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F*** James Harden? Max Strus is Deebo? Stomach bugs? Tales from the brink of the Eastern Conference finals, www.nytimes.com/athletic/727...
Cavs tales from the edge of the East finals: Harden haters and Strus as Zeus
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An NBA coach and referee were college teammates nearly 40 years ago. Now they’re working the same playoffs. Unusual but not unprecedented, the best part about the link between Kenny Atkinson and Curtis Blair is how it was ‘forged by fire.’ www.nytimes.com/athletic/726...
An NBA coach and referee were once college teammates. But in the playoffs, it's 'professional'
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James Harden is the easy mark for critics in this Cavs-Pistons series. But what the ultimate outcome means for the past, present, and future isn’t really about him, now, is it? The drama of this series was years in the making, www.nytimes.com/athletic/726...
Cavs-Pistons isn’t about James Harden — here’s why we’ve been looking at it wrong (Gift Article)
Mitchell said he watched Harden bring it home instead of demanding the ball because “he’s James Harden, right?”
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