Basketball Intelligence For 6/22/25
Today's Best NBA Reporting And Analysis
BULLETIN
Durant era is over in Phoenix. Suns trade superstar forward in major deal
Duane Rankin, Arizona Republic
Here's who the Suns are receiving
Duane Rankin, Arizona Republic
Rockets trade for Kevin Durant, sending Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and picks to Suns
Danielle Lerner, Houston Chronicle
Suns trade Kevin Durant to Rockets for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, 1st-round pick
Doug Haller/Sam Amick/Kelly Iko, The Athletic
QOTD: (from Mark Daigneault): “It’s a contest of wills. I think the reason it swung between the two teams is because these are two teams that have leaned on that heavily to get to this point. It’s two teams where the whole is better than the sum of the parts. It’s two teams that are highly competitive. Two teams that play together. Two teams that kind of rely on the same stuff for their success that are squaring off against each other.”
THE FINALS
An NBA Finals for the Ages, a Game 7 for Immortality
Howard Beck, The Ringer
Game 7: Four things to watch
Kurt Helin, NBC Sports
5 factors that could make the difference in who wins
Dustin Dopirak, Indy Star
T.J. McConnell giving a blueprint to rebuilding NBA teams
Bryan Toporek, Fansided
How Tyrese Haliburton beat the odds to play in Game 6
Scott Agness, Fieldhouse Files
With the season on the line, Haliburton underwent intensive treatment — including house calls, H-Wave, and hyperbaric therapy — to manage a calf strain and help the Pacers force Game 7.
Game 7 predictions
Yahoo Sports
The keys and X-factors
Morten Stig Jensen, Yahoo Sports
The Thunder play hard and physical, but they won't lose by technical knockout
Tim Reynolds, AP
The Pacers are 1 win from an NBA title. Assistant coach Jenny Boucek is 1 win from that, and history
Tim Reynolds, AP
Glory or devastation awaits the Thunder and Pacers
Ben Golliver, Washington Post
Everything to know for Game 7 showdown
ESPN
Keys to NBA Finals Game 7: Energy, Effort and Will
Chris Mannix, Sports Illustrated
Game 7 Preview
Shaun Powell, NBA.com
Film Study: Pacers shut Thunder down in Game 6
John Schuhmann, NBA.com
5 takeaways as Pacers sprint past Thunder to force Game 7
Shaun Powell, NBA.com
Game 7 keys to victory
Jeff Zillgitt, USA Today
These 7 eye-popping stats have defined an NBA Finals for the ages
Dan Devine, Yahoo Sports
How Thunder-Pacers reached NBA Finals Game 7: The odyssey of two small-market, rebuild darlings
Andy Backstrom, Yahoo Sports
THE DRAFT
Cooper Flagg’s relentless work ethic, competitive spirit
Mike Curtis, Dallas Morning News
NIL Is Shrinking the Pool of NBA Draft Entrants
Amanda Christovich, Front Office Sports
Unless players receive a guaranteed NBA roster spot, agents are now advising them to stay in school.
2025 NBA Draft Big Board
Nic Thomas, Draftstack
2025 NBA Draft Big Board
Keith Smith, Basketball Bulletin
2025 NBA Draft needs, young-core analysis
Law Murray, The Athletic
Hansen Yang Scouting Report
Ersin Demir, NBA Draft Newsletter
Javon Small scouting report
Cyro Asseo de Choch
5 hidden gems to be unearthed in latter stages of 2025 NBA Draft
The Score
TEAM-SPECIFIC
BOS: NBA offseason 2025: Celtics' financial crunch and 3 trade offers
ESPN
CLE: How the Cavs are preparing for new trends in the NBA
Terry Pluto, cleveland.com
CLE: Desmond Bane trade shows why player fit trumps draft picks in today’s NBA market
Wine and Gold Talk Podcast
Orlando identified shooting and spacing as its critical weaknesses, recognized Bane as the perfect solution, and paid accordingly. Rather than adhering to some abstract notion of what four first-round picks “should” command, they acted based on their specific situation and needs.
This has significant implications for how we evaluate potential trades involving Cleveland’s core players
NYK: Obi Toppin is the kind of mistake Knicks can’t make again
Kristian Winfield, Daily News
PHX: Reverse Moneyball: The 2025 Phoenix Suns
William Kennedy, Post Entries
Constructing an NBA roster is not simply about talent accumulation. There are clear trends in roster construction and play style amongst the league's most successful teams and it feels like the Suns have ignored all of them.
SAC: Kings face point guard problem as Haliburton goes into Game 7 of NBA Finals
Jason Anderson, Sacramento Bee
In honor of Finals Game 7, everything is free in today’s BI: no paywall today.