The Stein Line

I began my journey in sports journalism by writing my first NBA piece back in 1989 while I was still in college. Since February 1994, I've had the amazing opportunity to cover the NBA closely and full-time. Following #thisleague has been the core of my career, and now I'm thrilled to embark on this new adventure and share my insights with you directly. Substack will serve as the platform for my work, offering independent and thorough coverage of the NBA — raw and personal. This is a fantastic chance for me to explore the league in a new and exciting manner, taking advantage of the freedom to write and connect with you like never before.

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Articles

It's an NBA Power Rankings Tuesday

1 week ago | marcstein.substack.com | Marc Stein

This tradition started last season. One final and full assemblage of Power Rankings from The Committee (of One) to be published on the Tuesday after the regular season ends. The purpose is twofold:Make sure we memorialize the season for all 30 teams one last time … including the 10 that failed to advance to any part of the NBA's postseason and the fan bases that already miss those teams. Spice up the first night of Play-In Tournament games.
A super-busy NBA offseason is in our future ... and starts now for several teams

1 week ago | marcstein.substack.com | Marc Stein

Do you remember, way back in late September, when the Minnesota Timberwolves suddenly agreed to trade Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks on the weekend before training camp and after the most successful 'Sota season in 20 years? We can say now, in retrospect, that the Wolves appear to have set the tone for a 2024-25 season filled with surprises in terms of trades and, more recently, later-than-ever coaching changes made by winning teams. Luka Dončić?
The NBA's 50-Win Club is a big deal

1 week ago | marcstein.substack.com | Marc Stein

I am fixated on the phraseology: 50-win team. It's obviously a simple metric found right in the standings, but winning 50 games in a season is reflexively associated with being a very good team in the NBA. It's also been a standard that has mattered consistently in MVP voting for nearly 50 years.
NBA talk with Zach Lowe

2 weeks ago | marcstein.substack.com | Marc Stein

Three things to share with you on The Day After …The day, specifically, after The Return.
A historic NBA coach firing ... again

2 weeks ago | marcstein.substack.com | Marc Stein

The headline on March 29 was absolutely accurate:An NBA coaching change unlike any otherThe Memphis Grizzlies' firing of Taylor Jenkins was historic because it marked the first time in league history that a team with a winning record sacked its head coach with less than 10 games to go in the regular season. Then came Tuesday. And now we need rewrite.
Luka Dončić. In Dallas. As a Laker

2 weeks ago | marcstein.substack.com | Marc Stein

Something was amiss. Devin Booker could sense it when the Phoenix Suns' team plane, en route to a nationally televised game last month in Dallas, was just making contact with the runway. "You can feel it," Booker told me. "You can feel it when you land."It is the atmospheric change in Mavsland ever since what many around the league — all the way up to NBA commissioner Adam Silver's office — refer to simply as The Trade.
Sunday Read: Luka Dončić. In Dallas. As a Laker

2 weeks ago | marcstein.substack.com | Marc Stein

On a late Friday night in mid-January, with Luka Dončić still a Dallas Maverick and working his way back from a calf injury, Kyrie Irving was buoyant when he arrived at the postgame podium. The Mavericks had just delivered an unexpected victory over the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder. Prime MVP contender Shai Gilgeous-Alexander missed his first game of the season that night, true, but the hosts weren't about to apologize.
The NBA Revenge Game

2 weeks ago | marcstein.substack.com | Marc Stein

What are the best Revenge Games we've ever seen in the NBA? The question has been on my mind a lot lately in the wake of Jimmy Butler's recent return to Miami as a Golden State Warrior and the fast-approaching reunion for Luka Dončić and the Dallas Mavericks when Dončić plays his first game at the American Airlines Center as a Los Angeles Laker next week. The most memorable Revenge Game that I've ever seen with my own eyes has to be the very first one I ever covered.
No NBA season is complete, on this scorecard, without a trip to the Alamo City

3 weeks ago | marcstein.substack.com | Marc Stein

After stops in Chicago and San Antonio, I just got back home from my final road trip of the regular season and will get my first in-person glimpse of the Atlanta Hawks later tonight in Dallas. I was actually planning to accompany the Mavericks to Los Angeles this week for my maiden visit to the new Intuit Dome, but that will have to wait. There is simply too much work to be done getting ready for the still can't-believe-I'm-writing-these-words return of Luka Dončić to Dallas on April 9.
Monday Best: Around-the-league trade, free agency and coaching carousel chatter

3 weeks ago | marcstein.substack.com | Marc Stein

Around-the-league NBA notes on a Monday? Even if they should have been posted Sunday but got delayed by travel interventions? As it should be!This one is a combo effort: Jake Fischer and me writing about a (very) late March coaching change in Memphis, front office shuffling in Sacramento and some personnel matters in Dallas, Philadelphia and Chicago. To the latest from our notebooks ...