LeBron James and JJ Redick’s podcast contains in-depth basketball analysis – and plenty of oenophilia. They’re not the only ones around the league

LeBron James could have chosen anything as a hobby to shepherd him into early middle age. He could have started collecting vintage cars or investing in startups or flying planes; he could have gotten into Texas-style barbecue and joined the massed ranks of American males who index their self-esteem to the quality of their smoke rings; he could have launched an alt-coin; he could have become a Roman Empire guy , a pizza geek, an amateur rancher, or a whisky bore. Instead he has developed a passion for wine. Nowhere is that passion on fuller display than in Mind the Game , James’s new show with JJ Redick, which sees this colossus of the boards dissect – in sometimes bewilderingly wonkish detail – the great plays and tactical trends of modern basketball while pouring a series of fabulously expensive wines for the pair’s on-screen delectation.

James, of course, is the perennial adult of American sport, an athlete who had the body of a man when he was still a boy and arrived in the NBA with all the elements of his mature game – the vision, the piano hands, the speed in transition and bulging power through the paint – seemingly already perfected. So it makes a rough kind of sense that he’s chosen scholarly, contemplative, grown-up oenophilia – the most responsible form of adult irresponsibility, a pastime that educates while it intoxicates – as the signature off-court diversion of his twilight years in the NBA. The king of the court is now the king of the wine influencers.

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League is in unique position to help with climate crisis, setting ambitious goal for a 50% drop in its carbon footprint by 2030

From a climate perspective, the world is in peril . It’s undeniable at this point . Today, though, there are organizations working to find solutions. But when it comes to the universe of pro sports, which has long been a source of pollution like other big businesses, where can answers be found? That’s the question those within leagues like the National Basketball Association are debating now. While the NBA has its own challenges when it comes to air travel and its carbon footprint , the league is also progressing forward with substantive changes, small and large, to assuage the climate crisis. And it’s in a unique position to do just that.

Unlike anonymous research departments or lesser-known scientific organizations, the NBA is one of the most popular outfits in the world . It’s on the minds and lips of millions of people on a daily basis. This gives it the chance to manufacture change. A point not lost on many around the league.

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La saison régulière de NBA est désormais terminée. Il est maintenant temps de faire place aux phases finales, avec déjà de belles affiches pour le début des playoffs. Les Denver Nuggets de Nikola Jokic visent le back-to-back (deux titres de suite) et devront affronter les Los Angeles Lakers de LeBron James au premier tour.

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The Frenchman arrived in the NBA amid a storm of hype. But a year on, those who came up against him in Europe are surprised by how good he has become

Hailed as the best prospect since LeBron James, labelled an all-time great in the making and distinctive for his 7ft 4in frame, expectations were high from the outset when Victor Wembanyama was drafted No 1 overall by the San Antonio Spurs last year.

He arrived in the United States to a maelstrom of hype, aided by eye-catching performances in a pair of showcase exhibition games against the G League Ignite in Las Vegas the previous October for Parisian club Metropolitans 92. Concerns were raised over the durability of his slender frame and projections were tempered by calls for patience with a young player not only taking his first steps in the NBA but moving to a new continent.

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Players such as Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz have been accused of suffering from the yips. But every player has to confront fear at some point

Philadelphia 76ers basketball fans know one sentence above all else: Trust the process . It was used often when the team was struggling in the 2010s as the team appeared to tank for the sake of high draft picks and long-term team building. But two of the franchise’s ensuing No 1 selections – Ben Simmons and Markel Fultz, both of whom are no longer on the team, despite being dubbed saviors – seemed to lose sight of the maxim when it came to their own on-court games. Both players came into the NBA with sky-high potential. But they both came under unwelcome scrutiny: Fultz for a hitch in his shooting technique , and Simmons for a reluctance to shoot at all. The pair were inevitably accused of succumbing to the “ the dreaded yips .”

Throughout the history of pro sports, there have been many high profile cases of players losing the ability to conduct the most basic of on-field tasks. In baseball, New York Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch somehow could not throw to first base . Similarly, catcher Mackey Sasser found himself unable to send the ball from home plate to the pitcher, double clutching his throws, as if he was thinking too much about the task. Pitcher Rick Ankiel, who lost his ability to pitch and later became an outfielder, said of his issues , “Throwing the baseball, it felt like my wrist wouldn’t work. I couldn’t feel the ball.”

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Le prochain jeu mobile de la licence NBA 2K vient de sortir, il est disponible sur iPhone mais à une petite condition.

NBA2K24 arrive dans les iPhone, mais à une condition

Our writers give their verdicts on the new season, which starts on Tuesday night. Can Boston or Milwaukee thwart a Denver repeat?

The fact that every time Jimmy Butler ’s name appears in line-up graphics or his stats are displayed mid-game, it’ll be accompanied by his headshot with the “emo” hairstyle and facial piercings he showed up with at media day. After he did the same with his dreadlocks-and-clean-shaven look last year, his commitment to the bit is almost as impressive as his postseason heroics. RB

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Le film Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, qui met beaucoup de monde d'accord depuis sa sortie en salle, intègre plusieurs références. Dont l'une à la NBA, et plus particulièrement à LeBron James. [Lire la suite]

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