Evan and Aaron begin the episode by diving into the ever so lightly covered Giannis trade drama. They then wade into the waters of the Robert Pera story (19:56), as covered by Sam Koppelman on Pablo Torre Finds Out, and the challenges Adam Silver faces in governing a new group of owners with such immense financial power and influence.

In 3-Up/3-Down (35:31), the guys discuss the Orlando Magic and their continued trend of three-point inefficiency (35:45); the Charlotte Hornets as the league’s current offensive fun bunch (41:35); the Oklahoma City Thunder’s recent swoon (51:04); Joel Embiid returning to dominant form (1:00:06); calves plaguing the league this season (1:05:24); and Kawhi Leonard being back to full Terminator Kawhi (1:07:58).

Finally, the guys touch on the trade that went down between the Sacramento Kings and Cleveland Cavaliers (1:08:00).

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Evan and Aaron celebrate a full 365 days of basketball pontification! To commemorate the milestone, the guys are joined by fellow basketball Threads hoops head Chris Lindsey as they hand out midseason awards and talk about everyone’s favorite moments since the beginning of the podcast.

Biggest Surprises of the '26 Season Thus Far: 3:26

Clutch Player of the Year: 10:22

Coach of the Year: 19:00

Sixth Man of the Year: 28:55

Most Improved Player: 39:49

Rookie of the Year: 54:01

Defensive Player of the Year: 1:03:43

Most Valuable Player: 1:13:29

Favorite Moments Over the Last Year: 1:27:31

Follow Chris here

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Aaron and Evan go in-depth about what they'll be watching for in each of the four NBA Cup Quarterfinal matchups.

ORL vs. MIA: 6:51

TOR vs. NYK: 13:32

LAL vs. SAS: 25:48

PHX vs. OKC: 35:59

Then, in 3-Up/3-Down (46:46), they discuss that motherf---er Pat Spencer, the Cavs’ conundrum — including some potential landing spots for Darius Garland — the Wagner brothers’ weird Krampus curse, the Blue Arrow shooting for his first All-Star nod, Jaylen Brown playing MVP-level basketball, and the Bulls being back to bleak.

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Aaron and Evan rank all 30 NBA teams in their first quarterly Power Rankings for the 2025–26 NBA season.

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In the Tip-Off, the guys discuss how well the NBA is positioned to transition into a post-LeBron era (4:44). For the Vibe Check, they take the pulse of the LaMelo Ball situation, including Aaron offering some hypothetical deals to find him a new home (21:04). For 3-Up/3-Down, the guys discuss the Washington Wizards and their potential for all-time futility (40:38), the exceptional play of the Jazz's Lauri Markkanen (47:49), whether the Hawks really need Trae Young (55:40), the surprising play of Collin Gillespie (1:09:07), the fact that experience isn’t equating with success this season (1:20:06), and the Houston Rockets playing bully ball on the offensive glass (1:23:52). Finally, this isn’t a hot-take space, but Aaron and Evan get off a couple of non-sports hot takes to soothe the soul (1:30:29).

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Aaron and Evan tip off with the Nico Harrison firing and the strange Mark Cuban heel turn. That's followed by a Vibe Check with some of the most surprising and disappointing players so far this season (21:12)—with an emphasis on some lesser-discussed names. Then the guys close, as usual, with 3-Up/3-Down (1:19:42), where they get the number of teams wrong, as usual. Still, they discuss the Sixers’ speed (1:20:24), Orlando finding their magic (1:25:41), the Golden State Warriors’ recent struggles (1:28:05)—featuring some epic cooking from Aaron regarding the Draymond–Kevin O’Connor back-and-forth—the Clippers’ ship running aground (1:37:31), and the surprisingly plucky Phoenix Suns (1:44:47).

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Also, don't forget to subscribe to Live. Breathe. Ball. and Basketball Intelligence to get even more basketball insight.

The guys Tip Off by talking about the recent matchup between the league's two most surprising teams—the Bulls and the Sixers—and decide which team's early success feels most likely to sustain over the course of the season. Then, in the Vibe Check (23:30), they discuss the ongoing Ja Morant saga and whether Ja finishes the season with the Grizzlies or ends up somewhere like Sacramento, Miami, or New Orleans.

Finally, for 3-Up/3-Down (37:42), they discuss the Dallas Mavericks and their woeful offense (37:57), the Los Angeles Lakers and their incredibly efficient one and what that looks like when LeBron returns (43:44) , Cameron Johnson being MIA in D E N (58:40), the Pistons surging out to a strong start (1:05:22), Desmond Bane and the Magic doing the exact opposite (1:17:36), Keyonte George getting buckets (1:33:06), and the Blazers making their first-ever appearance on both the good (1:29:47) and bad (1:35:28) sides of the ledger.

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The guys start off with the conversation du jour, as they dig into the NBA’s gambling problem in the Tip-Off (4:46). The Vibe Check is then devoted to discussing Aaron’s recently released Top 100 and how he goes about the process of constructing it (21:32). That’s followed by the return of 3-Up/3-Down (38:55), which starts with some shine for Sam Merrill and Giannis, followed by some sympathy for the infirmed Pacers (46:37), some Celtics and Jaylen Brown talk (51:30), the Spurs and their resident alien (58:40), the Thunder and hooray for Ajay (1:06:50), the Portland Trail Blazers (1:14:39), an amazing NBA Draft class (1:26:41), the Golden State Warriors (1:32:17), and the dearth of quality point guards in the league right now (1:41:28).

Top 100: 100-67, 66-34, 33-1

As always, you can find Evan and Aaron on NBA Threads

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