Friday, May 24th, 2019

An NBA-obsessed newsletter for the info-craved basketball mind. Did a friend forward you this newsletter? Sign yourself up here.

Written while listening to Jungle Brothers' Feelin' Alright

Kawhi: the introvert’s champ

For the person who last year looked at the best organization in American sports and said goodbye to all that, this is quite the redemption story.Labeled a quitter on a one-year layover in Toronto on his way to Los Angeles, Kawhi Leonard the mercenary now has his team one win away from the NBA Finals after last night’s 35-point, seven-rebound, nine-assist Game 5 105-99 win over the Bucks, in which he outdueled Giannis on offense and limited him on defense.[WATCH: Kawhi Leonard Game 5 full highlights]He has won us back, to be sure, and what makes that fact so funny is that he’s done it without a peep. He never apologized for edging his way out of San Antonio. Never blamed Uncle Dennis. Never made any claims about who he is as a player. And he’s reached the brink of the sport’s pinnacle with a consistent limp.Remember when LeBron James left last year’s final press conference, suddenly wearing a cast? That type of PR play doesn’t exist in Kawhi’s world. There won’t be any appearances on The Shop for Mr. Leonard.Few people can do what he does on a basketball court, and yet, there he is, so indifferently at peace with what he’s morphed into.We all want the answers to his greatness. Kawhi certainly does not have those. He wants to keep those quizzes short and sweet.And so, perhaps, should we, for a few reasons.For one, we aren’t those poor beat writers tasked with trying to wrangle something, anything, out of Kawhi. (Last night, he was asked how his team can beat Milwaukee four times in a row, to which he answered: I don’t know. I haven’t done it.)It’s also just important to appreciate his march toward stamping his independent greatness, while accepting we’ll never know what the hell is going on in his head.[READ: Kawhi Leonard is the most earnest athlete in sports]

Kawhi Leonard showing us why his nickname is The Claw

 From The Ringer: Are these the last days of Marv Albert’s career?  

The great media reporter Bryan Curtis wrote a column on Marv Albert last night, that highlights both the greatness and creepiness of the 77-year-old broadcaster, who might be wrapping up his final season as a basketball announcer.The greatness: 

His exclamation of surprise—“Oh!”—sounds like a foodie who has just stumbled onto the best cheeseburger of their life.The best was when Albert used to subtly troll his partners. During the ’92 NBA Finals, Magic Johnson did color commentary that sounded like his tweets. “Marv,” Johnson said during Game 1, “nobody better leave their TV set, because there’s going to be some great plays in this series.” “A live promo offered up here by Magic,” Albert said.

The creepiness:

In 1997, Vanessa Perhach said Albert sexually assaulted her in a Virginia hotel room. (Perhach said Albert bit her during the assault.) Albert called the NBA Finals while the case was pending. During the trial, Albert pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of assault and battery, which caused NBC to fire him. Then Albert went on a network interview tour, denying Perhach’s account and claiming he was the victim of “extortion.”Less than two years after his firing, NBC rehired him. In the age of #MeToo, none of this would have happened: not the victim-blaming TV tour, not the instant rehiring, and certainly not a network gig within two years. Though Albert insisted on his innocence, it’s not hard to think that, today, the second half of his career never would have happened at all.

All-NBA teams

First: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Steph Curry, Paul George, Nikola JokicSecond: Joel Embiid, Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard, Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie IrvingThird: Russell Westbrook, Blake Griffin, Rudy Gobert, Kemba Walker, LeBron JamesPS: Kemba Walker’s third-team selection makes him eligible for a super-max contract from the Hornets: four years, $221 million. Not bad for an inefficient scorer who’s played in 11 playoff games.PPS: Klay Thompson wasn’t happy about being left off the All-NBA roster. (He has a point. Whose a better player, him or Walker? Who had a better year, him or LeBron?) But he also made a good point about what really matters.

 Quick Hits

• Fred VanVleet emerged from his own ashes last night, dropping 21 points on 13 shots with a game-high plus-28.

• What was the secret to his breakout game? His son, Fred Jr., was born on Monday.

• Kawhi Leonard’s nine assists last night were a career-high.

• The playoffs are a different beast: Before last night’s loss to the Raptors, the Bucks hadn’t lost three games in a row and were 33-0 at home this year when leading after three quarters.

• The start of free agency will now be June 30 at 6 p.m. instead of midnight, July 1. It makes far more sense, but the 12:01 a.m. Woj bombs were always exciting.

• Kevin Durant won’t be healthy for the beginning of the Finals, but the Warriors are hopeful he can return at some point.

• Stephen A. Smith speaks for all of us and explains his hatred of the NBA Awards Show.

• Unfortunately, there’s a book coming out calledKyrie Irving: Uncle Drew, Little Mountain, and enigmatic NBA superstar.

• Isaiah Thomas is the best: “I remember when I got 1 vote for the all defensive team LOL. Not a lot of people can say that.”

• Drake, who massaged Nick Nurse’s shoulders mid-Game 4, is now holding press conferences and trolling the daughter of the Bucks’ owner.

 Concrete Reads 

• John Havlicek tribute celebrates a champion of sport and of life [The Boston Globe]

• How the Warriors reclaimed their juggernaut status [ESPN]

• The WNBA Is uniquely suited to survive its many star absences [538]

• WNBA 2019 season predictions: Who wins MVP? Who wins the title? [ESPN]

 Podcast Pick

New Suns coach Monty Williams on his new job and the challenge of coming back to basketball after personal tragedy [The Woj Pod]