The Athletic NBA Daily

@theathleticnbadaily · Podcast

Latest segments

• Grizzlies start 5-0, 2026-10-31
  Pegs Morant's month out and Scoot's opening
  Wheel of Fandom lands on Portland and puts a timeline on the injury from the Grizzlies loss: Morant is out about a month, which opens a spot for Scoot Henderson. Then runs through the Blazers' week.
• Jalen Williams leg injury, 2026-10-31
  Argues the payroll blocks any OKC escape
  Debates whether Oklahoma City is still a contender after the Williams and Wallace injuries, and argues the front office will not spend its way out: no big trade, no disabled player exception, no trade exceptions. The new material is the payroll math and the roster moves already being made.
• Grizzlies start 5-0, 2026-10-31
  Adds Memphis's first 4-0 road start
  Picks Memphis's 5-0 start as the good of the week and goes to the record book: 4-0 on the road for the first time in franchise history, and Boozer the first since Olajuwon to open 5-0 averaging 15 and 10. Also flags Detroit handing over Zach Eady for almost nothing.
• Grizzlies start 5-0, 2026-10-31
  Recaps the week's undefeated and winless teams
  Runs the week in the NBA as a roundup: injuries, the undefeated Rockets and Grizzlies, the winless Kings and Nets, Miami and Denver. The Memphis stretch retells the fifth win over Portland and Cam Boozer's triple-double, staying inside what Nightcap already had.
• NBA injury report hits 79, 2026-10-30
  Reports P3's landing force-plate findings
  Abbott walks through P3's force-plate findings on landing: the outside-foot roll as the top risk factor, femur rotation during squats as number two, and hip-less landings tied to lower back problems. Adds specific figures the earlier P3 discussion did not carry.
• NBA injury report hits 79, 2026-10-30
  Adds tracking data on modern pace demands
  Brings in Caitlin Cooper's tracking data to argue the modern game demands more: most possessions per game, shortest possession length, highest pickup distance and most three-man crash possessions in the tracking era. Abbott adds that today's athletes are bigger, longer and faster.
• NBA injury report hits 79, 2026-10-30
  Cites P3 mover types and childhood free play
  Brings in P3's movement database: over 1,000 NBA players assessed, sorted by machine learning into mover types, with the injury-resistant kinematic movers all reporting unsupervised childhood free play. Frames it through neural pruning and youth specialization, extending the injury-rate hunt with a new source.
• NBA injury report hits 79, 2026-10-30
  Cross-checks the spike against soccer and AAU studies
  Abbott brings in outside research to explain the injury spike: Baxter Holmes' AAU specialization series, a Premier League study, and Michael Joyner's max-effort threshold. The soccer finding is the concrete new figure.
• NBA injury report hits 79, 2026-10-30
  Adds a second count of 69 players ruled out
  Brings on Henry Abbott to explain the early-season injury surge and puts a second count on the record: 69 players ruled out of 12 games on the ninth day of the season, against a 173-day schedule.
• Acuff's 34-point breakout, 2026-10-30
  Adds the Wilt rookie shot-attempt marker
  Adds a second historical marker to Acuff's 34-point night: he is one of four teenagers with 30-plus points and 10-plus assists, joining LeBron James, Luka Doncic and Stephon Marbury, and the second rookie after Wilt Chamberlain to take 20 or more shots in each of his first five games.
• Hawks edge Cavs, 114-111, 2026-10-30
  Recaps the win and debates Atlanta's roles
  Recaps the Hawks' 114-111 win over Cleveland, stressing the second night of a back-to-back for both teams and Atlanta's pressure defense wearing the Cavs down. The rest is role debate: Alexander-Walker as a secondary scorer, Dyson Daniels' fit, Wiggins' bench start.
• Grizzlies start 5-0, 2026-10-30
  Recaps Morant's hamstring and the guard fit
  Recaps Morant's 14 points and the left hamstring issue in his first game against Memphis, then stays inside the Morant-Lillard fit debate, crediting the coach for getting the guards and Avdija on the same page.
• Grizzlies start 5-0, 2026-10-30
  Breaks down the Eadie-Clingan paint matchup
  Breaks down the Eadie-Clingan paint matchup from the Grizzlies-Blazers game, noting Eadie's foul trouble and Clingan's three attempts, and argues the two big men show traditional centers are back. Stays inside the game itself.
• Grizzlies start 5-0, 2026-10-30
  Adds Boozer's youngest triple-double ranking
  Recaps the Grizzlies' 124-103 win over the previously undefeated Blazers and Boozer's triple-double, then adds a record the card did not have: Boozer is the second youngest player ever to post one, behind Josh Giddey.
• Charles Lee benches Naz Reid, 2026-10-29
  Debates Lee's public benching of Reid
  Takes up Naz Reid's benching in Charlotte's 97-89 loss to Detroit: Lee pulled him at the 3:19 mark of the second quarter and said afterward he did not meet the team's standards. The hosts rewatch the possession before the timeout and debate whether saying it publicly was a misstep.
• Blazers beat Lakers 136-129, 2026-10-29
  Profiles the Lakers' offense-defense split
  Uses the Blazers loss as a springboard into the Lakers' early profile: 22nd in defensive rating but a 9.1 net rating and the league's number two offense, 0.1 behind Portland. Amick adds the GM survey detail on Doncic's MVP standing and Draymond Green's take on his window.
• Blazers beat Lakers 136-129, 2026-10-29
  Credits Lillard's cardio and Morant's fit
  Riffs on Portland's 3-0 start and the Lakers win, crediting Lillard's cardio after the Achilles tear and Morant's runway off Clingan's screens. Stays inside the fit-and-relationship frame already on the record.
• Kawhi out with knee swelling, 2026-10-29
  Reads the symbolism in Leonard's absence
  Recaps the knee swelling and the missed Los Angeles trip, then reads the symbolism: Leonard will be absent from his Clippers reunion night amid the Aspiration fallout. Stays inside the injury story already on the record.
• Edwards knee procedure, 2026-10-29
  Works through Minnesota's depth without Edwards
  Recaps the Edwards surgery and the two-month absence, then works through Minnesota's depth without him: LaMelo Ball's larger load, Terrence Shannon Jr. and Bones Hyland as fill-ins, and the defensive drop-off. Stays inside the injury story already on the record.
• Jalen Williams leg injury, 2026-10-29
  Adds Wallace's surgery to the OKC injury list
  Sam Amick on the double injury: heartache for Jalen Williams after the seven-game West finals he missed, and a routine screen that will cost Cason Wallace surgery. Weighs whether Presti trades from his pile of picks or leans on A.J. Mitchell, and expects Oklahoma City to stay a contender either way.