Zach Kram

Why Dwight Howard absolutely belongs as a first-ballot Hall of Famer The long, undistinguished final arc of Dwight Howard's career masks just how high he climbed at his peak.

Earlier this week, I also wrote about new Hall of Famer Dwight Howard, one of the most underrated stars in league history

www.espn.com/nba/story/_/...

Who's next? Tiering Hall of Fame chances for 50 active NBA stars From top-75 locks to vets on the bubble, Zach Kram runs down the active NBA players on the path to Springfield.

With the new Basketball Hall of Fame class being inducted this weekend, I surveyed the active players who are most likely to join them in the future

www.espn.com/nba/story/_/...

The stat that could swing every NBA team's 2025-26 season What numbers are teams focused on with just over a month until camp? Zach Kram runs down the big stat for all 30 franchises.

I have fun with this piece every year: Here's the key statistic for all 30 teams entering the 2025-26 season

Franchise-shifting trades to draft disasters: Roster mistakes for all 30 NBA teams since 2020 Zach Kram examines the deals, trades and picks that all 30 NBA teams would like to take back from the 2020s.

This was a fun one to write: I ranked all 30 NBA teams' worst mistakes of the 2020s thus far, from confounding contracts to disastrous draft picks to franchise-altering terrible trades

I don't understand the sentiment I've seen online that Bradley Beal is an upgrade over Norm Powell at this stage of their careers

The NBA is closing in on its first $1 million per game player The reigning MVP will get close, but the league is still waiting for its first $82 million per year player.

SGA will earn almost $1 million per game in the final year of his new supermax contract. The first NBA player to cross that threshold is coming soon.

I dove into all the implications of this financial milestone in a new piece for ESPN.

NBA free agency 2025: New West tiers after flurry of moves Did any West team do enough to challenge the champs? Zach Kram runs through a new-look conference.

I tiered the 15 Western Conference teams after the initial offseason flurry. The Thunder are in a group of their own, but who's closest to catching the champs?

NBA free agency winners and losers: Where Houston, Atlanta -- and, yes, the Lakers -- check in From big-man depth to the New Orleans Pelicans, here are the early winners and losers of early NBA free agency.

Offseason winners and losers!

Lillard news is the first of the offseason that literally caused my jaw to drop

Wrote about Luke Kornet in today's piece (espn.com/nba/story/_/...). Advanced stats *love* his impact on both ends.

Only two players with at least 800 minutes last season averaged at least 20 points, nine rebounds and 2.5 3-pointers per 36 minutes. One was Chris Boucher. The other was Victor Wembanyama.

Featuring one of my favorite stats I've discovered in a while

Seven underrated NBA free agents -- and teams that should sign them As the Finals showed, a deep bench can make the difference. Here are seven players to watch this week, including former champions and a Hall of Famer.

Before the free agent frenzy begins, here are 7 underrated targets this summer, from post-prime award-winners to unheralded analytics darlings and more:

My draft value chart has the difference between the 13th and 23rd picks as equivalent to no. 28.

In other words, as long as the Pelicans and Bucks aren't 2 of the 3 best teams in the NBA next season, the Hawks won this trade based on pick value.

The Pelicans project as a bottom-3 team in the West and just gave up next year's unprotected pick (or the Bucks' pick if they trade Giannis)???

Looking in the mirror: What Oklahoma City's roster shares with the last NBA dynasty The Thunder have followed in the footsteps of the 2014-15 Golden State Warriors this season. Is a future dynasty in the making?

And then a piece I'll re-circulate from after the conference finals, detailing the many, many ways that this OKC team resembles the dynastic Warriors from last decade

SGA just capped one of the rarest feats in NBA history An MVP, a scoring title and a ring by age 26? Shai Gilgeous-Alexander joins elite company after a dominant 2024-25 run.

First, a deep dive into Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's growing legacy, after he capped off one of the greatest statistical seasons in NBA history

Wanted to share some next-day reading about the new NBA champions, including a piece with this remarkable chart

This is ridiculous for a 26-year-old!

SGA just capped one of the rarest feats in NBA history An MVP, a scoring title and a ring by age 26? Shai Gilgeous-Alexander joins elite company after a dominant 2024-25 run.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the second-youngest player in NBA history with an MVP, Finals MVP, and scoring title. He has the highest-scoring championship season ever, beating Michael Jordan by 0.1 ppg.

On SGA's budding legacy, after a season for the ages:

Players with 20 points and 10 assists in a Finals Game 7:

Jerry West in 1969 (won MVP even in a loss)
Walt Frazier in 1970
Big Game James Worthy in 1988
LeBron James in 2016
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tonight

- SGA stepback 3
- SGA kickout to Chet for 3
- SGA kickout to J-Dub for 3

The platonic ideal of an offensive sequence for the Thunder, turning a tie game into a 9-point lead

The first 7 minutes of this game were phenomenal. Can't believe it just screeched to a halt like that.

Tyrese Haliburton is only the 5th player ever to make at least three 3-pointers in Game 7 of the Finals. The first quarter is less than halfway over.

The others:
Battier (6 in 2013)
Draymond (6 in 2016)
LeBron (5 in 2013
Steph (4 in 2016)

For what it's worth, the only NBA Finals Game 7s over the last two decades have all been classics. We're due for another!

Cavs 93-89 over Warriors in 2016
Heat 95-88 over Spurs in 2013
Lakers 83-79 over Celtics in 2010

Absolutely hilarious timing, the day before a potential Finals clincher

Jalen Williams and SGA join LeBron and Kyrie as the only teammates since 1980 to finish a Finals game with 40+ points for one and 30+ points for the other

Youngest 40-point scorers in a Finals game:

1. Magic Johnson, 1980
2. Rick Barry, 1967 (3x)
3. Russell Westbrook, 2012
4. Jerry West, 1962
5. Jalen Williams, tonight

If the 2025 Thunder are following the 2015 Warriors path (including now trying to come back from a 2-1 Finals deficit), then TJ McConnell is doing a remarkable Matthew Dellavedova impression

The Pacers' worst 2-point shooting in a playoff game so far is 45.5%. They're at 34% (10/29) at halftime.

Inside the 7 plays defining these back-and-forth NBA Finals Through four NBA Finals games, OKC and Indiana are separated by just six total points. These plays can help uncover why.

Finals Game 5 tonight! Prepare with my deep dive into the plays defining this series. Featuring:

- Matchup stats for Nembhard and Nesmith vs. SGA
- How full-court pressure changes OKC's offense
- Tyrese Haliburton, isolation master?

And much more!