deadspin.com | DJ Dunson

Writer/Columnist/Analyst

Josh Hart is the hardest working man in the NBA

Work Hart, not smart, has been the New York Knicks blueprint since the end of January. While injuries to Julius Randle and OG Anunoby have kept their front court stars out of the rotation, Tom Thibodeau has turned to his tried-and-true method of working his blue collar contributors until they’re dog...

by DJ Dunson|Josh Hart

|Sun Mar 10 2024

Are the Minnesota Timberwolves for real or American Fiction?

It’s Oscars Week, which feels like as good a time as any to draw up the NBA storylines and characters which could double as Oscar nominees.The Minnesota Timberwolves’ deceptive season has been one of the hottest topics in the West so let’s start there....

by DJ Dunson|Minnesota Timberwolves

|Sun Mar 10 2024

Jalen Brunson and the Knicks are proof that having a Napoleon complex isn’t all bad

It’s Oscars Week, which feels like as good a time as any to draw up the NBA storylines and characters which could double as Oscar nominees....

by DJ Dunson|Jalen Brunson

|Thu Mar 07 2024

Are these Clippers Kenough?

It’s Oscars Week, which feels like as good a time as any to draw up the NBA storylines and characters which could double as Oscar nominees. Next up are the L.A. Clippers and the 2024 season possibly being the culmination of their decade of prosperity....

by DJ Dunson|Kevin Garnett

|Thu Mar 07 2024

Daryl Morey is Oppenheimer for the NBA’s nuclear offensive age

It’s Oscars Week, which feels like as good a time as any to draw up the NBA storylines and characters which could double as Oscar nominees. ...

by DJ Dunson|Daryl Morey

|Tue Mar 05 2024

Do the Thunder have a Josh Giddey problem?

Need any more evidence that Gilbert Arenas’ bellyaching about Europeans and foreigners ruining basketball with their sweet outside strokes is all hot air? I’ll give you one: Josh Giddey. Now that his legal woes appear to be in the rearview mirror, the whispers about his liabilities in the Oklahoma C...

by DJ Dunson|Josh Giddey

|Tue Mar 05 2024

Hopefully the Caitlin Clark effect doesn't end with Caitlin Clark

The buzz around Caitlin Clark eclipsing Pete Maravich’s record on Sunday was enough to get celebs to Iowa City for the occasion. I’m not talking about Travis Scott. Jake from State Farm might be sports’ Forrest Gump, but celebs walking into college arenas to dap up the TV insurance guy while neglect...

by DJ Dunson|Caitlin Clark

|Mon Mar 04 2024

Gilbert Arenas xenophobic NBA rant is the nonsense JJ Reddick warned us about

Why anyone listens to former Memphis Grizzlies guard Gilbert Arenas is beyond me. He could be an entertaining listen if he had the self-awareness to realize where the limits of his sense of humor are. Or he could regale his listeners with stories of what it was like to share the floor with former De...

by DJ Dunson|Gilbert Arenas

|Mon Mar 04 2024

The Houston Cougars would be the unlikeliest champion in modern NCAA history

Coming off the high of 2023, the 2024 NBA Draft class is destined to be one of the most lifeless in modern history, which explains the predicament men’s college basketball has found itself in here in 2024. While the women are pumping out household names such as Caitlyn Clark, JuJu Watkins, Paige Bue...

by DJ Dunson|NCAA

|Fri Mar 01 2024

Will the real Zion Williamson please stand up?

Zion Williamson’s tantalizing game made him a household name after one season at Duke where he established a new NCAA record for 2-point field goal percentage. Up until this juncture in his career, Williamson has been a gas-guzzling, flying tank in a league stacked with electric convertibles. As a r...

by DJ Dunson|Zion Williamson

|Fri Mar 01 2024

Here are increasingly radical solutions to combat the NBA’s overpowered offenses

Scoring in the NBA has ticked up at an exponential rate in the last decade. It doesn’t take Hercule Poirot to figure out what killed NBA defenses. This is a shooter’s league now....

by DJ Dunson|the NBA

|Wed Feb 28 2024

Might be time for Trae Young to get shoved out of the Hawks' nest

It’s tough to know when to know when to throw in the towel on an era, but the bruised and bloodied Trae Young era Atlanta Hawks are beginning to look like they should throw in the towel. The Hawks are now six years into Young’s tenure as their cornerstone and all they have to show for the rollercoa...

by DJ Dunson|Trae Young

|Tue Feb 27 2024

Steve Ballmer is giving the Clippers a Pretty Woman makeover

As part of their attempt to emancipate themselves from the Lakers and rebrand their image, Steve Ballmer took the LA Clippers out on a shopping spree and unveiled the images of their new logo and uniforms to ESPN’s Zach Lowe. ...

by DJ Dunson|Steve Ballmer

|Tue Feb 27 2024

Joel Embiid's absence in Philadelphia has created a black hole

DNP Lord Joel Embiid is the poltergeist still haunting the MVP race and Philadelphia’s title aspirations. When Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic or Shai Gilgeou-Alexander are eventually crowned, Embiid’s name will hang over the successor. Before the Philly center was jettisoned from the MVP race, he was lap...

by DJ Dunson|Joel Embiid

|Mon Feb 26 2024

Even after Kyle Filipowski injury, court storming is an addiction college hoops fans won’t quit

For decades, court stormings have been college basketball’s most controversial tradition. On one hand, it’s a sign of exuberant fans and school pride, but in an increasingly anxious sports world, it’s also a threat to the safety of players. As Caitlyn Clark discovered last month against Ohio State, ...

by DJ Dunson|Kyle Filipowski

|Mon Feb 26 2024

The Minnesota Timberwolves are the NBA’s best redemption story

The Minnesota Timberwolves’ bounce back from their 2023 nadir has been the NBA’s most remarkable redemption story. The Association may have discontinued its Comeback Player of the Year award, but the Twin Cities’ finest would deserve consideration if that were not the case. Before October, the outlo...

by DJ Dunson|Minnesota Timberwolves

|Fri Feb 23 2024

Here's why Jayson Tatum has struggled to distinguish himself in the MVP mosaic

Since entering the league, Jayson Tatum has been the leading active stakeholder in carrying Kobe Bryant’s influence into a new decade. In nature, the Green Mamba is a less aggressive, nontoxic breed, compared to the eponymous viper Kobe built his persona around, which is an apt description for the d...

by DJ Dunson|Jayson Tatum

|Thu Feb 22 2024

NBA coaches should be forced to participate in All-Star festivities, too

The NBA wanting a buy-in from its stars is an understandable expectation. However, coaches are rarely a part of the All-Star festivities aside from the Eastern and Western Conference coaches. Everyone except for gym rat Tom Thibodeau is on vacation unwinding from the daily rigors of an 82-game grind...

by DJ Dunson|NBA

|Wed Feb 21 2024