Basketball Intelligence For 3/9/26

The day's best basketball news and analysis.

FEATURES OF THE DAY
Jordan Poole left a legacy with the Wizards. Just ask his former teammates
Josh Robbins, The Athletic

NBA stars reflect on Wilt Chamberlain as SGA nears record
Tim MacMahon, ESPN

Jayson Tatum’s Return Was a Celtics Dream—and a Nightmare for Everyone Else
Michael Pina, The Ringer

AROUND THE LEAGUE

We have a legitimately crazy playoff race in the East
Tom Ziller, Good Morning It’s Basketball

Three Things I Noticed on League Pass: Start Your Engines
Jared Dubin, Last Night, In Basketball with Tom Haberstroh

Healthy Jayson Tatum makes Boston a TOP TIER contender - Tom’s Title Tiers #21
Tom Haberstroh, The Finder

Should Bucks hope for lottery? Are Hornets for real? An Eastern Conference Play-In roundtable
Tony Jones/Eric Nehm/Josh Robbins, The Athletic

NBA Power Rankings: Spurs, Knicks, Celtics get A’s for season’s third quarter
Law Murray, The Athletic

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander nears Wilt’s record, Kon Knueppel’s ROY case and more
Sam Amick, The Athletic

TEAM NEWS

ATL: Jalen Johnson surges in fourth to help Hawks down 76ers for sixth straight win
Lauren Williams, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

BOS: Jayson Tatum starts strong, Jaylen Brown carries load as Celtics beat Cavs
Zack Cox, Boston Herald

BOS: Jayson Tatum turns in 20-point performance as Celtics dominate contender Cavaliers on the road
Adam Himmelsbach, The Boston Globe