The Athletic NBA Daily

The Athletic NBA Daily

byThe Athletic

ComedyNewsSportsBasketball

Start your day with The Athletic NBA Daily – a fast, entertaining recap of the most important games and stories from the world of professional basketball with new episodes dropping Monday through Friday. Hosted by Dave DuFour, Zena Keita, and Esfandiar Baraheni with regular appearances by The Athletic’s award-winning NBA reporters. Andrew Schlecht and Alex Spears cap the week with the full-length Saturday Slam n’ Jam episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episodes(40 episodes)

Thunder take down Knicks in a thriller + Hornets on the rise
Dave DuFour and Zena Keita react to the Hornets dominant win over the Celtics and wonder about Charlotte’s success in the playoffs. Then, Fred Katz joins the show after the Knicks loss to the Thunder to breakdown the positives, their recent success, and whether their defense holds up in the playoffs.Join our Discord! https://discord.gg/eme2tPcUM2Host: Dave DuFourWith: Zena Keita and Fred KatzExecutive Producer: Andrew SchlechtAudio/Video Producer: Alex Oliver Hosted on Acast. Se...
Published: Mar 5, 2026Duration: 32m 36s
Do the Pistons rely on Cade Cunningham too much? | Morning Shoot Around
Dave DuFour, Es Baraheni and Zena Keita discuss the news around the NBA and have a discussion around the Pistons on if Cade is doing too much. Host: Dave DuFourWith: Zena Keita and Es BaraheniProducer: Andrew Schlecht Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Published: Mar 4, 2026Duration: 48m 30s
Can Cade Cunningham Do It By Himself?
Dave DuFour and Es Baraheni react to the Cavaliers taking down the Pistons without Donovan Mitchell, Cade Cunningham’s rough night, and the how the Knicks exposed the Raptors flaws. Then, Tony Jones joins the show after the Sixers were dismantled by Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs to discuss Joel Embiid’s return and Philly’s playoff hopes.Join our Discord! https://discord.gg/eme2tPcUM2Host: Dave DuFourWith: Es Baraheni and Tony JonesExecutive Producer: Andrew SchlechtAudio/Video Producer: Alex Oliver...
Published: Mar 4, 2026Duration: 29m 24s
Inside Jayson Tatum’s impending return to the Celtics
Dave DuFour and Es Baraheni react to the Nuggets’ scare in Utah and Darius Garland’s return for the Clippers. Then, Jay King joins the show to discuss Jayson Tatum’s return, the Celtics season, and Joe Mazzulla’s coaching style.Join our Discord! https://discord.gg/eme2tPcUM2Host: Dave DuFourWith: Es Baraheni and Jay KingExecutive Producer: Andrew SchlechtAudio/Video Producer: Alex Oliver Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Published: Mar 3, 2026Duration: 29m 33s
East + West Playoff check-in
Dave DuFour, Es Baraheni and Zena Keita react to the marquee games from the weekend and their impact on the playoff race with only six weeks remaining in the regular season. Do the Nuggets just need to get healthy? Can anyone in the East stop the Pistons?Join our Discord! https://discord.gg/eme2tPcUM2Host: Dave DuFourWith: Zena Keita and Es BaraheniExecutive Producer: Andrew SchlechtAudio/Video Producer: Alex Oliver Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Published: Mar 2, 2026Duration: 28m 44s
The NBA’s Best and Worst Shooters + The Mavs Vision | Slam N Jam
Andrew Schlecht and Alex Speers are back for another episode of the Saturday Slam N Jam. They discuss the week of basketball plus their Good, Bad, and What including the best and worst shooters in the NBA, the Pelicans, Kon Knueppel and more. In part 2, Christian Clark of the Athletic joins to discuss the Mavs, Cooper Flagg’s rookie season, and what their plan is moving forward. Then they finish with a fun edition of Andrew vs. the Beat.Hosts: Andrew Schlecht, Alex SpeersWith: Christian ClarkProducer: Andrew SchlechtVi...
Published: Feb 28, 2026Duration: 1h 7m 50s
Rockets fight back, Shai Returns, and what is the Heat’s future?
Es Baraheni is joined by Andrew Schlecht to discuss the Rockets win over the Magic, Shai’s return and the Spurs going undefeated in the month of February. Then after the break Wes Goldberg of Locked On joins to discuss the Heat’s loss to the Sixers, and how the Heat move forward in this summer. Host: Es BaraheniWith: Andrew Schlecht and Wes GoldbergProducer: Andrew SchlechtAudio/Video Producer: Alex Oliver Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Published: Feb 27, 2026Duration: 27m 54s
Contenders Revealed + Pistons handle Thunder
Zena Keita is joined by Law Murray of the Athletic to discuss the Nuggets big win over the Celtics. They also touch on the Bucks win over the Cavs and if the Bucks are going to make the Play In. Then after the break Hunter Patterson of the Athletic joins to discuss the Piston’s win over the short handed Thunder.Host: Zena KeitaWith: Law Murray and Hunter PattersonProducer: Andrew SchlechtAudio/Video Producer: Alex Oliver Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Published: Feb 26, 2026Duration: 30m 3s
Who do you TRUST more? | Morning Shoot Around
Andrew Schlecht and Es Baraheni play a game of Who do you trust more? and discuss who are the most trustworthy teams come Playoff time. Host: Andrew SchlechtWith: Es BaraheniProducer: Andrew Schlecht Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Published: Feb 25, 2026Duration: 50m 33s
Cavs shut down Knicks + Cason Wallace
Es Baraheni is joined by Andrew Schlecht to discuss the Thunder’s win over the Raptors and Cason Wallace’s big night. Then they discuss the debuts of Coby White and Jonathan Kuminga plus the return of Dejounte Murray. Then after the break, James Edwards of the Athletic joins to discuss the Knicks loss to the Cavs and how the Knicks can solve their issues before the playoffs.Host: Es BaraheniWith: Andrew Schlecht and James EdwardsProducer: Andrew SchlechtAudio/Video Producer: Lara Sinclair Hosted on Acast. See...
Published: Feb 25, 2026Duration: 28m 36s
Spurs stay hot + Who are true Contenders?
Zena Keita and Law Murray discuss Law’s power rankings and who are the true contenders in the NBA right now, and what his process is like selecting the teams. Then Jared Weiss of the Athletic joins to discuss the Spurs win in Detroit over the Pistons, if they are title contenders, and much more.Host: Zena KeitaWith: Law Murray and Jared WeissProducer: Andrew SchlechtAudio/Video Producer: Lara Sinclair Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Published: Feb 24, 2026Duration: 31m 52s
Thunder slow down Cavs
Zena Keita and Es Baraheni discuss Celtics dominating the Lakers, the Nuggets falling to the short handed Warriors, and then after the break Andrew Schlecht joins to discuss the Thunder’s big win against the red hot Cavs without SGA, Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell.Host: Zena KeitaWith: Es Baraheni and Andrew SchlechtProducer: Andrew SchlechtAudio/Video Producer: Lara Sinclair Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Published: Feb 23, 2026Duration: 31m 30s
Can the Thunder Repeat? + Post All Star Break Leap Team | Slam N Jam
Andrew Schlecht and Alex Speers are back for another episode of the Saturday Slam N Jam. They discuss the All Star Weekend, the Sixers, the success of the Pistons, and their pre-leap players. Then after the break they are joined by Rylan Stiles of the Locked on Thunder Podcast and OKC Dream Team to discuss the Thunder’s season, their injuries, leaps from Cason Wallace and Isaiah Joe and much more. Then they finish with a fun edition of Andrew vs. the Beat.Hosts: Andrew Schlecht, Alex SpeersWith: Rylan StilesProducer: An...
Published: Feb 21, 2026Duration: 1h 22m 40s
Is Cade Cunningham the MVP?
Dave DuFour and Es Baraheni react to the Clippers win over the Nuggets and Kevin Durant’s burning performance against the Hornets. Then, James Edwards joins the show after the Knicks’ disheartening loss to the Pistons to discuss the problem with Karl-Anthony Towns in the offense, New York’s defensive problems, and Cade Cunningham’s MVP case.Join our Discord! https://discord.gg/eme2tPcUM2Host: Dave DuFourWith: Es Baraheni and James EdwardsExecutive Producer: Andrew SchlechtAudio/Video Producer: Carl Finocchiaro Hosted on Acast. S...
Published: Feb 20, 2026Duration: 25m 50s
Can the Wolves win the title?
Dave DuFour and Zena Keita are joined by Jon Krawczynski to react to Anthony Edwards’ All-Star MVP, why the Wolves seem bored with the regular season, and the importance of Mike Conley’s return.Join our Discord! https://discord.gg/eme2tPcUM2Host: Dave DuFourWith: Zena Keita and Jon KrawczynskiExecutive Producer: Andrew SchlechtAudio/Video Producer: Carl Finocchiaro Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Published: Feb 19, 2026Duration: 22m 49s
NBA Expansion Draft Protections | Morning Shoot Around
Andrew Schlecht, Dave DuFour, Zena Keita and Es Baraheni do the full NBA expansion draft protections for all 30 teams in the NBA. Host: Andrew SchlechtWith: Dave DuFour, Es Baraheni and Zena KeitaProducer: Andrew Schlecht Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Published: Feb 18, 2026Duration: 1h 21m 24s
Kon Knueppel and the Charlotte Hornets
Dave DuFour and Zena Keita are joined by Mirin Fader to discuss her profile of Kon Knueppel, his incredible rookie season, and the Charlotte Hornets fun season.Join our Discord! https://discord.gg/eme2tPcUM2Host: Dave DuFourWith: Zena Keita and Mirin FaderExecutive Producer: Andrew SchlechtAudio/Video Producer: Carl Finocchiaro Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Published: Feb 18, 2026Duration: 26m 3s
How Harden has changed the Cavs
Dave DuFour and Es Baraheni are joined by Justin Rowan of the Chase Down Podcast to discuss the Cavs post trade deadline. How has James Harden changed the Cavs offense? How will they be different come playoff time? What are the defensive concerns come playoff time? And then….. will LeBron come back to Cleveland this summer?Host: Dave DuFourWith: Justin Rowan and Es BaraheniProducer: Andrew SchlechtAudio/Video Producer: Carl Finocchiaro Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Published: Feb 17, 2026Duration: 30m 49s
Is the All Star Game Back??
Zena Keita and Es Baraheni are joined by Dave DuFour who is in LA for the All Star Game to discuss the new All Star format and how it was a success, and if it can be replicated. Then they discuss the 3 point contest, the slam dunk contest and how Saturday night can be improved. Then the crew close out the show discussion Adam Silver’s press conference about tanking and the state of the league.Host: Zena KeitaWith: Dave DuFour and Es BaraheniProducer: Andrew SchlechtAudio/Video Pr...
Published: Feb 16, 2026Duration: 30m 10s
Clippers Perpetual Chaos + Tanking is Good | Slam N Jam
Andrew Schlecht and Alex Speers are back for another episode of the Saturday Slam N Jam. They discuss the week of basketball including a fight between the Hornets and Pistons, Clippers drama, new faces in new places and more. Then they go over their Good, Bad and WHAT??? Including tanking, Topic’s return, CP3’s retirement and more. In part 2, Law Murray of the Athletic joins to discuss the Clippers on and off court drama, what it’s been like covering them, and more. Then they finish with a fun edition of Andrew vs. the Beat.Hosts...
Published: Feb 14, 2026Duration: 1h 11m 48s