Louisa Thomas

1 day ago | newyorker.com | Louisa Thomas

On Wednesday, the day after the Golden State Warriors defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game One of their second-round playoff series, Chris Finch, the Timberwolves coach, shared some thoughts with reporters about the Warriors’ style of play during the post-season. The Warriors, he said, “do a lot of fouling, holding, shoving, pushing and tackling Rudy”—as in Gobert, Minnesota’s center. The Timberwolves were forced to take matters into their own hands, he added.

1 day ago | businessandamerica.com | Louisa Thomas

It happened again during the first half of Game Two in the first round of the playoffs this year, at the end of April. Dončić, now a Los Angeles Laker, flowed and feinted around Gobert, faking a shot and then, off balance, finally lobbing the ball over Gobert, who just stood there like a stanchion. As he ran back up the floor, the camera caught Dončić shouting “Sub him out!” Dončić attacked the big man again and again, and had twenty-two points in the first half of the game alone.

1 week ago | baseball.realgm.com | Louisa Thomas

Juan Soto received a standing ovation from New York Mets fans during a recent game against the St. Louis Cardinals despite struggling at the plate. Soto responded with a game-tying single in the fifth inning against the Cardinals. "I really appreciate what they did," Soto said of the fans' support.

1 week ago | newyorker.com | Louisa Thomas

On a sunny day in late March, Michael Matteo, Jr., lounged on a grassy berm beyond the right-field fence at Clover Park, a minor-league stadium set amid the sprawling strip malls of Port St. Lucie, Florida, about an hour up the interstate from the tony confines of Palm Beach. On the field, a New York Mets split squad was comfortably beating the St. Louis Cardinals in a spring-training matchup.

1 week ago | newyorker.com | Louisa Thomas

It was not enough to beat a man—not enough to bait Rudy Gobert in the closing seconds of a playoff game, while down by two, and step back into a game-winning three shot high over his long, outstretched arm. Luka Dončić had to humiliate him. “Motherfucker!” Dončić yelled, as the delirious crowd in Dallas celebrated the Mavericks’ Game Two victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals last year.