[WhodunitParticipant]

 Im wondering who has the most influence as a writer/voice for the NBA fan today. This could be a website or an individual pundit.

I nominate Bill Simmons. He’s been around for a long while, loves basketball first and foremost and is gaining steam daily if he already hasnt taken the lead. His Grantland site is huge and his opinion is probably the most important for the fan today. I also like his NBA leader on the site Zach Lowe.

Who are some others we should be paying attention to? Who do you follow on Twitter? Adrian Woj of Yahoo is another influential writer I follow, what he says is usually golden. Which NBA podcasts do you listen to? Who are your top NBA information sources?

[FearTheStacheParticipant]

 Probably Bill Simmons. He created an ESPN/Grantland empire on the sole basis of his unique style of writing

[FearTheStacheParticipant]

 Probably Bill Simmons. He created an ESPN/Grantland empire on the sole basis of his unique style of writing

[ShwiggydogParticipant]

I agree. I don’t like when people hate on him, I admire that he does things his own way and he has so much passion for the game. Listening to his podcast with guys like Zach Lowe and Chad Ford, and also with NBA players is so interesting because he has so much passion and is just real with them and asks them interesting questions.

[ShwiggydogParticipant]

I agree. I don’t like when people hate on him, I admire that he does things his own way and he has so much passion for the game. Listening to his podcast with guys like Zach Lowe and Chad Ford, and also with NBA players is so interesting because he has so much passion and is just real with them and asks them interesting questions.

[sweaterflexParticipant]

Brian Windhorst for breaking stories and Jonathan Abrams for longform writing are both great.  Sebastian Pruiti did a great job of breaking down schemes but I think he got hired by the Thunder.

[sweaterflexParticipant]

Brian Windhorst for breaking stories and Jonathan Abrams for longform writing are both great.  Sebastian Pruiti did a great job of breaking down schemes but I think he got hired by the Thunder.

[Toronto16Participant]

 Woj.  Only writer I trust.

[Toronto16Participant]

 Woj.  Only writer I trust.

[Moon RiverParticipant]

Zach is the man.

[Moon RiverParticipant]

Zach is the man.

[King CaluchaParticipant]

I don’t think we can expect the most objective analysis when reading Simmons, but his articles sure are entertaining. I like how David Aldridge writes as well. I’m not so familiar with Woj, though.

[King CaluchaParticipant]

I don’t think we can expect the most objective analysis when reading Simmons, but his articles sure are entertaining. I like how David Aldridge writes as well. I’m not so familiar with Woj, though.

[FutureNBAGMParticipant]

"White guys with big a$$es make me nervous" Simmons on Doug McDermott. classic

[FutureNBAGMParticipant]

"White guys with big a$$es make me nervous" Simmons on Doug McDermott. classic

[Kinguy11Participant]

Chad Ford seems to be quite the authority on the NBA draft. Whether that’s deserved is a different question.

[Kinguy11Participant]

Chad Ford seems to be quite the authority on the NBA draft. Whether that’s deserved is a different question.

[ProudGrandpaParticipant]

 What rubs me the wrong way about Simmons is that he’s got maybe the biggest national platform of any basketball writer, but he continues to be a blatant celtics homer.  Which is one thing on a blog, even if it’s a national blog.  But when he’s on TV talking about the Heat and the Spurs and he finds a way to bring the Celtics into the conversation every night, that annoys me.  He’s generally an extremely knowledgeable and fairly entertaining writer and I like his lists and charts, but he certainly has an annoying air on TV and he just needs to scale back 1000% on the Boston celtics shtick.  You don’t see that with any other national writer, to near the extent that you see it with himm.

[WhodunitParticipant]

And sometimes it drives me nuts the Boston-level-homerness he displays. But thats what makes him so enjoyable to the rest of us, he’s a fan just like us and thinks just like us. He wants everything good to happen to his team, just like us. His passion for the game is portrayed by his passion for His team. He always manages to swing it bakc to the Celtics sometimes and most of the time i just laugh with him cuz he knows he’s not serious about it and is just making a playful thought.

Its like an angle with a bear being at the world honey fair trying to sneak in for samples every time he can, or a kid being a candy shop clerk and walking out with the newest types of candies in lieu of money. its sorta cute and laughable that its his pet peeve. Alot of new sports guys take up the same angle and its almost Always annoying when they do it to bump their favorite teams. He’s objective until he starts talking about Boston then we know "ok, he’s joking now, dont take what he has to say seriously now, this is just the fan in him speaking". But yes on occassion it can get annoying, but thats really the only flaw in him. He’s not one of those mundane sports writers who pump out the same ideas and theories everyone else does. And he’s a hell of an entertaining writer, even if your not into sports, thats talent.

[WhodunitParticipant]

And sometimes it drives me nuts the Boston-level-homerness he displays. But thats what makes him so enjoyable to the rest of us, he’s a fan just like us and thinks just like us. He wants everything good to happen to his team, just like us. His passion for the game is portrayed by his passion for His team. He always manages to swing it bakc to the Celtics sometimes and most of the time i just laugh with him cuz he knows he’s not serious about it and is just making a playful thought.

Its like an angle with a bear being at the world honey fair trying to sneak in for samples every time he can, or a kid being a candy shop clerk and walking out with the newest types of candies in lieu of money. its sorta cute and laughable that its his pet peeve. Alot of new sports guys take up the same angle and its almost Always annoying when they do it to bump their favorite teams. He’s objective until he starts talking about Boston then we know "ok, he’s joking now, dont take what he has to say seriously now, this is just the fan in him speaking". But yes on occassion it can get annoying, but thats really the only flaw in him. He’s not one of those mundane sports writers who pump out the same ideas and theories everyone else does. And he’s a hell of an entertaining writer, even if your not into sports, thats talent.

[ProudGrandpaParticipant]

 What rubs me the wrong way about Simmons is that he’s got maybe the biggest national platform of any basketball writer, but he continues to be a blatant celtics homer.  Which is one thing on a blog, even if it’s a national blog.  But when he’s on TV talking about the Heat and the Spurs and he finds a way to bring the Celtics into the conversation every night, that annoys me.  He’s generally an extremely knowledgeable and fairly entertaining writer and I like his lists and charts, but he certainly has an annoying air on TV and he just needs to scale back 1000% on the Boston celtics shtick.  You don’t see that with any other national writer, to near the extent that you see it with himm.

[Author]

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