The Whiteboard is The Step Back’s daily basketball newsletter, covering the NBA, WNBA and more. Subscribe here to get it delivered to you via email each morning. This morning, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski broke news that Nikola Jokic had been selected as the NBA MVP, with an official announcement to come later this week. It was Jokic’s
Denver Nuggets
The magic of an improbable underdog win can make a fan out of anyone — like a slew of unlikely Denver Nuggets fans, converted in 1994. Fandom, like religion, is usually inherited. My dad grew up a Nuyorican in Spanish Harlem in the 1960s. Cross the wrong block into the wrong neighborhood and things could
With everything on the line, the 1-3 Denver Nuggets have one last chance at advancing as they face the Golden State Warriors in Game 5. Although the Phoenix Suns were the most dominant NBA team all season with a franchise-best record of 64-18, they quickly went 2-2 against New Orleans without Devin Booker. Booker is
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 27: Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors reacts after he thought he was fouled by the Denver Nuggetsin the second half during Game Five of the Western Conference First Round NBA Playoffs at Chase Center on April 27, 2022 in San Francisco, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly
The Whiteboard is The Step Back’s daily basketball newsletter, covering the NBA, WNBA and more. Subscribe here to get it delivered to you via email each morning. Last week on The Whiteboard, I began the annual exercise of examining the offensive style of each team using the same NBA offensive style charts I’ve been building for
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 18: Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors poses for a picture with Grateful Dead musician Bob Weir following Game Two of the Western Conference First Round NBA Playoffs against the Denver Nuggets at Chase Center on April 18, 2022 in San Francisco, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly
Apr 16, 2022; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) dribbles the ball in warmups before game one of the first round for the 2022 NBA playoffs against the Denver Nuggets at the Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports 76ers steamroll Raptors for 2-0 series lead: Best memes and
The Golden State Warriors and Denver Nuggets feature three of the smartest and most creative stars in the NBA. How will their first-round matchup play out? The NBA playoffs have a way of selecting for the most disciplined, intelligent and adaptable teams, but it’s still rare for the first round to deliver the kind of
Every NBA MVP candidate has flaws in their resume but digging into those flaws leads down a neverending rabbit hole of arguments and counterarguments. The NBA MVP Award, given to the most valuable player of the current regular season, has been around since 1956. Until the 1979-80 season, players voted on the winner. Since then,
Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Wayne Ellington called out Denver Nuggets point guard Facundo Campazzo on Twitter after an egregious flagrant 2 foul. Sometimes, a flagrant 2 foul call just isn’t enough. At least, that’s how Lakers shooting guard Wayne Ellington seems to feel following a high-scoring 146-141 win over the Denver Nuggets on April
This season delivered a fascinating and unique MVP race, but only one of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokić can take home the most sacred of the individual NBA awards. With Rookie, Coach, Sixth Man, Most Improved, All-Defense and Defensive Player of the Year awards taken care of, it’s time to wrap up the
With the start of the playoffs just a few days away, it’s time to hand out some awards for the 2021-22 NBA season. Amazingly, we are less than two weeks away from the end of the NBA season, which means it’s time to get to work on selecting 2021-22 award winners. I, of course, do
The Whiteboard is The Step Back’s daily basketball newsletter, covering the NBA, WNBA and more. Subscribe here to get it delivered to you via email each morning.’ There are just nine days left in the NBA season and plenty of things still need to work themselves out. To break down some of the biggest questions in
The Whiteboard is The Step Back’s daily basketball newsletter, covering the NBA, WNBA and more. Subscribe here to get it delivered to you via email each morning. As the end of the NBA season approaches playoff and award races are narrowing. In the case of MVP, that latest straw poll at ESPN indicates that we’re likely
The Whiteboard is The Step Back’s daily basketball newsletter, covering the NBA, WNBA and more. Subscribe here to get it delivered to you via email each morning. One week into the NBA season and 23 teams have already taken their first L (or three of them in the case of the Thunder and Pelicans). The best
The Whiteboard is The Step Back’s daily basketball newsletter, covering the NBA, WNBA and more. Subscribe here to get it delivered to you via email each morning. Most of the NBA is preparing to take a break for the All-Star festivities but everything else is popping off — awards races, budding rivalries, and more. To break
Denver Nuggets Nikola Jokic had the final say on the Jokic-Morris feud by blaring the Serbian national anthem in a Miami nightclub after the Nov. 29 win. The heated feud between Nikola Jokic and Markieff Morris began on Nov. 8 after Jokic reacted to Morris with a dirty play. The moment caused Jokic, Morris and
The action kicked off early with a handful of big trades days before the actual NBA Trade Deadline. Here are all the latest rumors and analysis of every completed deal. We’ve already seen a few of the biggest dominos fall with Domantas Sabonis and CJ McCollum both traded on Tuesday. Here are the deals we’ve