Is the NBA Alright?
Good morning and welcome to another edition of Free Agent! You’ve seen field-storming and court-storming, and now you’ve seen rink-storming.
But our focus today isn’t on hockey, it’s on the association (as cool people call the NBA). We’ll talk about the state of pro basketball, plus more horse racing and a little bit of pro spring football. Hopefully you have some fun along the way.
Locker Room Links
- The Athletic ranks the 10 best signature cocktails associated with sporting events. Did your favorite make the list?
- The Baltimore Ravens released kicker Justin Tucker after 16 massage therapists accused him of inappropriate conduct, though the team insists it was a “football decision.” Maybe the ongoing investigation is finding credible evidence behind the accusations, or maybe the team just wants to get rid of a headache. Either way, watch to see if he gets signed by anyone else.
- The 2027 NFL Draft will be in Washington, D.C., as announced in the Oval Office on Monday. (The 2026 Draft is in Pittsburgh.)
- With college sports in a bit of turmoil, it’s worth considering this plan from the late, great Mike Leach. (No, not the one involving a little person.)
- What grade does your state deserve for sports betting regulations? Our friends at the Consumer Choice Center have a report card.
- Trans women are getting banned from women’s sports in England after a U.K. Supreme Court ruling on biological sex.
- Honda Center, home of the Anaheim Ducks, is getting a privately funded $1 billion renovation, paid for by the Ducks’ owners (even though the arena is owned by the city government).
- Elsewhere in Reason: Could Trump really reopen Alcatraz? Here’s why it’d be difficult.
- No one asked for this:
Monday, ESPN is on the #MetGala red carpet for the 1st time EVER@itsthebaldgirl & @OmarESPN are on the ground for #SuperfineStyle to capture how athletes are showing up & out
Catch the action LIVE on ESPN TikTok w/coverage across ESPN social & @SportsCenter pic.twitter.com/yUBqs25qes
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) May 5, 2025
Is Basketball OK?
I watched more NBA basketball this season than in the prior five seasons combined. But that was still only a handful of games, so perhaps I’m not the best person to start giving out suggestions—or maybe I am, because I’m exactly the person the league needs to draw back in.
My Detroit Pistons—three-time NBA champions, who in my formative years made it to the conference finals six years in a row—are finally good again and made the playoffs for the first time since 2019. Their last three playoff trips ended in first round sweeps, so I cautiously dipped my toe into the NBA postseason again, a territory I usually only visit for the occasional play-in game or title-decider. I was rewarded with a 4–2 series loss to the New York Knicks, but a fantastic series nonetheless. Every game was a coin flip, no lead was safe.
That’s what every NBA playoff series should be. The NBA can’t design it that way, but there are changes they can make.
The modern complaint seems to be that everyone got too good at shooting, so now there are too many three-point shots and there’s not enough action in the key. I’m inclined to agree with Substack writer and podcaster Ethan Sherwood-Strauss’ proposal to bring back hand-checking beyond the three-point line. I have no idea what a foul is anymore (and apparently the refs don’t either), and this change might worsen that confusion for casual viewers, but the resulting increase in defensive conflict outside the three-point line seems worthwhile.
Another idea, perhaps more crazy: Get rid of the straight lines in the three-point arc and make it a semicircle. You shouldn’t get
Article from Reason.com
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