joevardon.bsky.social
joevardon.bsky.social
@joevardon.bsky.social
Writes NBA for the The Athletic; spot host, SiriusXM NBA radio, BBC contributor.
7.9K followers44 following255 posts
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Hang on…the Knicks say country music has something to do with Mitchell Robinson’s defense on Victor Wembanyama? www.nytimes.com/athletic/733...
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...
Adam Silver backs Donald Trump’s Knicks fan credentials, says he’s ‘welcome’ for Game 3 of NBA Finals www.nytimes.com/athletic/733...
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...
From last night: Adam Silver says the Clippers-Kawhi-Aspiration investigation has gone on long enough. www.nytimes.com/athletic/733...
The time Rick Brunson saved Mike Brown, and the Knicks’ behinds, by telling everyone to CALM DOWN. www.nytimes.com/athletic/733...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
F*** James Harden? Max Strus is Deebo? Stomach bugs? Tales from the brink of the Eastern Conference finals, www.nytimes.com/athletic/727...
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...
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...
Donovan Mitchell and Jaylen Brown are close friends, so of course the Cavs’s star noticed the NBA’s $50K fine against his pal. Mitchell also said he may ‘have to flop’ to get more calls against Detroit www.nytimes.com/athletic/725...
Imagine your favorite NBA player gone from the U.S. for a season, playing on loan in Europe. THAT is among the asks of the giant soccer clubs working with Adam Silver on NBA Europe — proper transfer windows www.nytimes.com/athletic/725...
The NBA Eastern Conference playoffs have made almost no sense so far — and that’s the fun of it www.nytimes.com/athletic/725...
Joel Embiid turning into ‘Olajuwon’ may have turned the East on its ear, but the entire field faced major questions before getting to this point. The Cavs, frustrating as they’ve been, could be in the Eastern finals in two weeks www.nytimes.com/athletic/725...
A lucky bounce or a bad one. Basketball gods ripping Molsons and crossing the U.S. border. Stars not needing to score 30 in a big game and coaches burning through challenges? Oh boy. This is how the Cavs got a Game 7. Can they survive it? www.nytimes.com/athletic/724...
The Raptors have proven to be a real test. Don’t hate the Cavs for struggling in this series. Instead, consider these five ways they can close it out in Game 6 www.nytimes.com/athletic/724...
The Raptors seemed to bother Cleveland with the same scheme in Games 3 and 4. Did the Cavs adjust? ‘We did…we just didn’t make s***.’ They better start, because now it’s 2-2 www.nytimes.com/athletic/723...
After the Raptors set an NBA record for futility in playoff victory, they took a puff of their cigarette and said ‘you should see the other guy.’ www.nytimes.com/athletic/723...
Playing with ‘more force’ doesn’t really mean anything. But what James Harden says after the Cavs’ worst game with him on the floor matters. ‘We will respond’ www.nytimes.com/athletic/722...
Yes, the Cavs’ stars are balling out on Toronto. But Cleveland is ahead 2-0 in this series in no small part because of what Dean Wade is doing to Brandon Ingram. He’s finally found his place, www.nytimes.com/athletic/721...
The Cavs seemed to have little trouble with Toronto in Game 1, but they nearly had a big problem with Tony Brothers. Here is how the coach and star player took risks to diffuse a potentially dangerous situation www.nytimes.com/athletic/720...
In Game 1, Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson AND star Donovan Mitchell put their hands on Tony Brothers, to save Max Strus. It worked. Inside the unusual interactions to diffuse a volatile situation www.nytimes.com/athletic/720...
The NBA’s tumultuous, loser-centric season is over. Perhaps the conversation will turn back to winning, now at the postseason is here www.nytimes.com/athletic/719...
For the, well, I don’t know how many years in a row, I’m with you on the final day of the NBA regular season. Here is a look at what’s at stake for every team today www.nytimes.com/athletic/718...
James Harden, with his famous, protruding beard and those dark, piercing eyes, was determined to use his star power to get his way, to bring with him a slice of comfort to a new city. What did he ask of the Cavs, and did they agree? www.nytimes.com/athletic/717...
James Harden made one request of the Cavs upon joining Cleveland. It gave the organization great pause before granting him what he wanted. Can you guess what it was? www.nytimes.com/athletic/717...
Why the Cleveland Cavaliers’ secret to success is gourmet meals, stir-fry, and ice cream. ‘We are elite.’ www.nytimes.com/athletic/716...
Why did Donovan Mitchell choose to make the Cleveland Cavs his long-term home? Would you believe it’s…the food? www.nytimes.com/athletic/716...
On paper, the NBA saw the numbers it wanted for Adam Silver’s European league: $1 billion, a couple times. But how real the bids were, from whom, and is a EuroLeague merger more viable are the next steps for NBA Europe www.nytimes.com/athletic/716...
The NBA lottery is going to get a lot bigger, and penalties for tanking are going to be much harsher. The only question between now and May is, how much? With @mikevorkunov.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/athletic/715...