David Thorpe Journalist Profile

Articles

They’re fighting again

Mar 13, 2025 | truehoop.com | Henry Abbott |David Thorpe

BY HENRY ABBOTT and DAVID THORPEThe night before Halloween, Ja Morant scored on the Nets’ Keon Johnson, and then he let Johnson hear about it for the entirety of his jog back on defense. By the free throw line, Johnson had his chest pressed into Morant’s and there was zero chance the words filling the air were G-rated. Quick double technicals were called, meaning that about 35 minutes of playing time into his season, Johnson had become this season’s first NBA player to be ejected for being saucy.
What does the NFL have that the NBA is lacking?

Feb 8, 2025 | truehoop.com | Henry Abbott |Jarod Hector |Travis Moran |David Thorpe

BY HENRY ABBOTT, JAROD HECTOR, TRAVIS MORAN, and DAVID THORPEThe NBA is popular and has a big PR team armed with facts and figures to prove it. But they’re only so convincing. In last week’s AFC championship game, 57.4 million people watched the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Buffalo Bills. Many Super Bowls have had reported viewing audiences in excess of 110 million people.
What does the NFL have that the NBA is lacking?

Feb 8, 2025 | open.substack.com | Henry Abbott |Jarod Hector |Travis Moran |David Thorpe

BY HENRY ABBOTT, JAROD HECTOR, TRAVIS MORAN, and DAVID THORPEThe NBA is popular and has a big PR team armed with facts and figures to prove it. But they’re only so convincing. In last week’s AFC championship game, 57.4 million people watched the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Buffalo Bills. Many Super Bowls have had reported viewing audiences in excess of 110 million people.
“I bet the Mavs will finish higher than the Lakers”

Feb 3, 2025 | truehoop.com | Henry Abbott |Jarod Hector |Travis Moran |David Thorpe

BY HENRY ABBOTT, JAROD HECTOR, TRAVIS MORAN, and DAVID THORPEI’ll bet 10 bucks right now that the Mavs will finish higher in the standings than the Lakers. Any takers? What’s the Lakers’ record? Are they above .500 right now? The Lakers are 28-19 [as of February 3]. They’re 10 games out and currently fifth in the West. The Mavericks are 26-24; they’re 13.5 out in the nine hole. Well, I would never bet on anything.
TrueHoop trade deadline guide

Feb 1, 2025 | truehoop.com | Henry Abbott |Jarod Hector |Travis Moran |David Thorpe

BY HENRY ABBOTT, JAROD HECTOR, TRAVIS MORAN, and DAVID THORPEEveryone loves the trade deadline! For contenders, it’s a chance to leapfrog the competition. For rebuilding teams, it’s a chance to offer their fans hope for next season. Sometimes the biggest moves aren’t necessarily the biggest names. Last year, David Thorpe tabbed the Mavericks as winners of the deadline for acquiring Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington. Who’ll come out on top this season? The team that gets Jimmy Butler?
Whose season will the Pacers spoil?

Jan 16, 2025 | truehoop.com | David Thorpe

BY DAVID THORPEThe Pacers play gorgeous basketball. If you don’t like watching a team press, run, and attack the paint, you’re not going to like any basketball. In a recent back-to-back against the East-leading Cavaliers (another fun brand of ball), the Pacers proved they’re still the team no contender wants to face in a playoff series. Sure, they play fast, but now they’re also growing, learning from mistakes, and playing defense. Will they have enough to win three straight playoff series?
The TrueHoop trade debate

Jan 13, 2025 | truehoop.com | Henry Abbott |David Thorpe

BY HENRY ABBOTT and DAVID THORPE During a recent TrueHoop content meeting, things got a bit heated between Henry and David as they debated several facets of the current trade season, including Jimmy Butler, the impending financial shackles hindering most of the league’s teams, and how some teams—namely the Raptors and Sixers—might rebuild using what “the Shai plan.” While defining “the Shai plan” might have revealed a rift in our ranks, it also generated one of the most entertaining...
What’s a good shot these days?

Jan 8, 2025 | truehoop.com | David Thorpe

BY DAVID THORPEIn 1985, an average NBA team attempted three 3-pointers per game. This season, every team averages 30-or-more attempts, and one team averages more than 50. A typical game features a whopping 76 combined 3-point attempts. In the 1990s, the NBA was a slugfest. It barely mattered if a player could fly like Jordan; there were so many hands, hip checks, and headshots waiting in the paint that we seldom saw what the world’s best athletes could really do.
‘Special situations’ funds hit by retreat from active investing

Dec 9, 2024 | ft.com | David Thorpe

With actively managed equity funds showing outflows for most of the past two years, according to research company Morningstar, even the...
LeBron James is the problem

Dec 5, 2024 | truehoop.com | Henry Abbott |David Thorpe

BY HENRY ABBOTT AND DAVID THORPE“He’s off to a terrific start!” declared broadcaster Eric Reid a few minutes into LeBron’s scoring 29 points in a dismal Laker loss to the Heat. A little later, Reid added that LeBron “looked ageless.”LeBron put on a magic trick of a performance.