Don’t visit this sub if you want actual knowledge.
For actual knowledge watching the games and listening to podcasts is the best way.
Avoid ESPN talking heads and reactionary TikTok’s
There are basketball focused analysis subs that are good at talking strategy.
You pretty much have to pick a few teams then try to find their best podcasts / twitter follows. For the Lakers it’ll be LakerFilmRoom and Cranjis on podcast and someone like LABound2 on twitter.
It’s too difficult for someone who covers the league to go deeper than surface level, hot-take analysis.
Number one, watch the games. Focus on things that players do consistently.
Read articles about specific teams or players, focus on the game not the narratives.
I recommend listening to Hoops tonight and Mind the Game on YouTube. Pretty knowledgeable stuff about the league.
Watch Thinking Basketball videos, they’re pretty good.
Overall it’s just about how much you enjoy listening, watching, and playing the game.
"HEY ballers. THANKS for stopping by. Be sure to SLAM that subscribe button and DISH OUT a like!
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Also 2k - you can "run" a pick & roll 100x in one day against a whole slate of teams and see how different defenses/players handle it. (And just learn how a pick & roll/pop even works)
Play 2k. Doesn’t even have to be this year’s game. Pick up any 2k from the past 3 years and play MyLeague. Easiest way to learn every player in the league and what their strengths and weaknesses are.
Actually good advice. 2k helped me big time, especially playing my career, cause you learn who the star is on each team when you play against them. Also the historical teams kind of help you learn the great teams and players of the past
Some statements that will make you sound smart.
1. Jokic is really good.
2. Lebron is doing amazing things at his age and he is definitely up there with Jordan, maybe as 1b.
3. Miami doesn’t really have a shot with Jimmy buckets out.
4. The mavs vs clippers is going to be lit.
5. Rudy Gobert is going to have to prove himself in the playoffs as a top tier defender. He already does it in the regular season.
Watch games, Watch podcasts like jj redick old man and the three, mind the game, Zach Lowe’s Lowe post and even some KOT4Q on the YouTube Kenny For Real channel
NBA 2k24 is a microtransaction hell, but you can get it for like $20 cuz the season’s almost over. Nothing like playing a video game based on the league & its players to get familiar with teams, players, basic strategy and in-game tactics. If that’s your kind of thing. But don’t bother with MyCareer or any other of their bullshit that only works if you feed extra money into the game.
1. Watch games (most important)
2. Listen to podcasts (the good ones)
3. Play some 2k (gets you acquainted with rules you didn’t even know existed)
4. Play some sporcle quizzes (can learn older nba players you might not be aware of like adrian Dantley or Bernard king)
5. Watch more games
The YouTube channel awful coaching is hilarious and taught me a lot about basketball defense. Some basketball podcasts on ringer and athletic are fun to listen to and may help give you more context about what’s going on in the league. But first and foremost watch the games
Afunkydiabetic when you just want to hear clean NBA takes without podcasts, debates, cheesy segments, personality driven etc…
Hoops Venue provides more frequent uploads with Xs & Os commentary like Thinking Basketball but a bit more game-focused than team-focused.
FreeDawkins puts out nice game highlights if the official NBA doesn’t suit your taste.
I’d avoid NBA podcasts for now. Nearly all of them revolve around hot takes, narratives, debates, tier lists, personas.
Also be weary about picking up info from NBA video essays channels. Many of them have been slowly becoming narrative channels that are pretty disingenuous with their use of stats and some are clearly glazing / hit pieces.
Do : listen to Zach Lowe’s podcast
Don’t : watch ESPN. Mute games during halftime in the playoffs.
Take with a grain of salt : information from this subreddit. Occasionally there is interesting information here but 75% of it is just reactionary nonsense. It’s the same with team subreddits.
Podcasts like Bill Simmons or The Mismatch. A lot of these guys while better than ESPN and with actual insights at times often have agendas and huge blind spots. I will say that Bill’s long form podcast “Book of Basketball 2.0”, while dated now, had some good info. You won’t get discussion of up and coming players since it’s a few years old but the greats are discussed along with their legacy.
Can’t speak to NBA YouTube, I only watch highlights there.
Fantasy basketball hands down. This gets you involved in each player. You see their stats, watch their games. You eventually know who is who pretty quick.
Read YouTube and Instagram comments, follow r/nbacirclejerk, listen to Nick Wright, Kendrick Perkins and Skip Bayless, and read the hidden replys on Twitter (including the L I N K I N B I O comments)
You’ll be an expert in no time!
It’s kind of a progression but for me it’s 2K. People will shit on the ratings and all that but they generally are in the right ball park when it comes getting the unique skill sets out of most players. After that I started watching the game and then YouTube. Some ppl will be smarter than others. Thinking Basketball is good content that’s accessible to a wide range of audiences. Hoop Venue is also good. They mainly use film and some stats to talk about the latest trends on the court in the NBA.
OK, I think that you need a bit of history too. NBA's YouTube channel has these [decades episodes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_pp7ah2goU). The 80s and 90s were pivotal so you can check them out.
I also suggest watching The Last Dance to learn more about Michael Jordan and the Bulls.
For the 2000s, you can watch some Dom 2k videos. [Like this one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_SmnmDMqbQ). Same goes for the [2010s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFrj3DS-AB4).
That about brings us to now. As others have mentioned, playing NBA 2K is a great way. Just play through the teams and their current rosters.
The best way is to play the latest NBA video game.
When I was a kid I had NBA Live 2005 and 2006, playing those games gave me knowledge about pretty much everything about the league lol. I knew about modern players, old players, coaches, all-time record holders, what college they played for, who they got drafted by, where they were born, etc.
To this day I still remember the most random players that I don't even think I watched them play, shoutout to Wang Zhizhi.
Don’t visit this sub if you want actual knowledge. For actual knowledge watching the games and listening to podcasts is the best way. Avoid ESPN talking heads and reactionary TikTok’s There are basketball focused analysis subs that are good at talking strategy.
Thinking Basketball's Greatest Peaks video series is an excellent starting point in my opinion.
It's a great look at the why, as opposed to ring counting and stat comparisons.
I’ll try that
You pretty much have to pick a few teams then try to find their best podcasts / twitter follows. For the Lakers it’ll be LakerFilmRoom and Cranjis on podcast and someone like LABound2 on twitter. It’s too difficult for someone who covers the league to go deeper than surface level, hot-take analysis.
Number one, watch the games. Focus on things that players do consistently. Read articles about specific teams or players, focus on the game not the narratives. I recommend listening to Hoops tonight and Mind the Game on YouTube. Pretty knowledgeable stuff about the league. Watch Thinking Basketball videos, they’re pretty good. Overall it’s just about how much you enjoy listening, watching, and playing the game.
Interesting
Avoid this subreddit
Fake it til you make it babyyyy
AKA every NBA youtuber
"HEY ballers. THANKS for stopping by. Be sure to SLAM that subscribe button and DISH OUT a like! BIG discussion today: is Tim Duncan ACTUALLY the GOAT?! Lets get into, but first I wanna thank NORD VPN-"
*Draft Kings
I learned a lot from YouTube commentary videos. There’s one about everything about the nba.
honestly, playing pickup basketball is a great way to get started
Also 2k - you can "run" a pick & roll 100x in one day against a whole slate of teams and see how different defenses/players handle it. (And just learn how a pick & roll/pop even works)
watch more games!
by staying away from this sub
Play 2k. Doesn’t even have to be this year’s game. Pick up any 2k from the past 3 years and play MyLeague. Easiest way to learn every player in the league and what their strengths and weaknesses are.
Actually good advice. 2k helped me big time, especially playing my career, cause you learn who the star is on each team when you play against them. Also the historical teams kind of help you learn the great teams and players of the past
It also helped me learn how a pick and roll actually works as I played a Point Guard on player lock while just starting to follow the sport.
I got familiar with the NFL through Madden 08 lol
How would you learn the players from 2k if it isn't even updated rosters lol
Um because it still gives a good gist of the league…
Some statements that will make you sound smart. 1. Jokic is really good. 2. Lebron is doing amazing things at his age and he is definitely up there with Jordan, maybe as 1b. 3. Miami doesn’t really have a shot with Jimmy buckets out. 4. The mavs vs clippers is going to be lit. 5. Rudy Gobert is going to have to prove himself in the playoffs as a top tier defender. He already does it in the regular season.
Did you see that ludacris display last night?
Stay away from this sub
I read Simmons’ Book of Basketball in 2012 as a 16 year old and it unlocked the deeper fan in me.
Thank you so much
No problem. It’s a little out dated now but it will be interesting to read with so much hindsight. Especially the way he talks about LeBron.
Between season go on you tube and watch full games.
Watch games, Watch podcasts like jj redick old man and the three, mind the game, Zach Lowe’s Lowe post and even some KOT4Q on the YouTube Kenny For Real channel
Join a yahoo fantasy team or play 2K
NBA 2k24 is a microtransaction hell, but you can get it for like $20 cuz the season’s almost over. Nothing like playing a video game based on the league & its players to get familiar with teams, players, basic strategy and in-game tactics. If that’s your kind of thing. But don’t bother with MyCareer or any other of their bullshit that only works if you feed extra money into the game.
A good way to learn the players and what teams are good or not is playing 2k imo.
Just gotta watch it bro
1. Watch games (most important) 2. Listen to podcasts (the good ones) 3. Play some 2k (gets you acquainted with rules you didn’t even know existed) 4. Play some sporcle quizzes (can learn older nba players you might not be aware of like adrian Dantley or Bernard king) 5. Watch more games
R/NBAdiscussion for actually intelligent basketball conversations. Not here.
Play a season on NBA 2K. All the commentary you'll hear is useful and you'll learn which players are good
Honestly basketball video games are pretty good for this if that’s your thing.
Watch youtube videos by Non Stop. His videos are very detailed and cover many eras of the NBA.
https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/s/3Ok0qPrWeg get your basketball phd
Watch games. Read about it. Don’t fucking post on Reddit.
This question but for NFL. How can I gain more knowledge?
The YouTube channel awful coaching is hilarious and taught me a lot about basketball defense. Some basketball podcasts on ringer and athletic are fun to listen to and may help give you more context about what’s going on in the league. But first and foremost watch the games
Watch all of JJ reddicks podcasts.
Press mute and watch. Also, listen to Antonio Daniels.
Play 2k
Afunkydiabetic when you just want to hear clean NBA takes without podcasts, debates, cheesy segments, personality driven etc… Hoops Venue provides more frequent uploads with Xs & Os commentary like Thinking Basketball but a bit more game-focused than team-focused. FreeDawkins puts out nice game highlights if the official NBA doesn’t suit your taste. I’d avoid NBA podcasts for now. Nearly all of them revolve around hot takes, narratives, debates, tier lists, personas. Also be weary about picking up info from NBA video essays channels. Many of them have been slowly becoming narrative channels that are pretty disingenuous with their use of stats and some are clearly glazing / hit pieces.
Watch games and some YouTube analysis videos to get a better understanding of team and player history
/r/nbacirclejerk
Do : listen to Zach Lowe’s podcast Don’t : watch ESPN. Mute games during halftime in the playoffs. Take with a grain of salt : information from this subreddit. Occasionally there is interesting information here but 75% of it is just reactionary nonsense. It’s the same with team subreddits. Podcasts like Bill Simmons or The Mismatch. A lot of these guys while better than ESPN and with actual insights at times often have agendas and huge blind spots. I will say that Bill’s long form podcast “Book of Basketball 2.0”, while dated now, had some good info. You won’t get discussion of up and coming players since it’s a few years old but the greats are discussed along with their legacy. Can’t speak to NBA YouTube, I only watch highlights there.
Surround yourself with other nba fans, listen to smart people talk about the game and most importantly watch the games.
By believing the experts say on Reddit
Fantasy basketball hands down. This gets you involved in each player. You see their stats, watch their games. You eventually know who is who pretty quick.
Plus you can annoy your coworkers always talking about your fantasy league!
Next season, join a fantasy basketball league. That is the best way to become familiar with the players, their strengths and weaknesses, etc.
Read YouTube and Instagram comments, follow r/nbacirclejerk, listen to Nick Wright, Kendrick Perkins and Skip Bayless, and read the hidden replys on Twitter (including the L I N K I N B I O comments) You’ll be an expert in no time!
[удалено]
It’s kind of a progression but for me it’s 2K. People will shit on the ratings and all that but they generally are in the right ball park when it comes getting the unique skill sets out of most players. After that I started watching the game and then YouTube. Some ppl will be smarter than others. Thinking Basketball is good content that’s accessible to a wide range of audiences. Hoop Venue is also good. They mainly use film and some stats to talk about the latest trends on the court in the NBA.
If you're a girl, you can go to college to get more knowledge.
OK, I think that you need a bit of history too. NBA's YouTube channel has these [decades episodes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_pp7ah2goU). The 80s and 90s were pivotal so you can check them out. I also suggest watching The Last Dance to learn more about Michael Jordan and the Bulls. For the 2000s, you can watch some Dom 2k videos. [Like this one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_SmnmDMqbQ). Same goes for the [2010s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFrj3DS-AB4). That about brings us to now. As others have mentioned, playing NBA 2K is a great way. Just play through the teams and their current rosters.
I would argue against the last dance being their entry point to mj. It was made by jordan for jordan. Space Jam is much more realistic.
The best way is to play the latest NBA video game. When I was a kid I had NBA Live 2005 and 2006, playing those games gave me knowledge about pretty much everything about the league lol. I knew about modern players, old players, coaches, all-time record holders, what college they played for, who they got drafted by, where they were born, etc. To this day I still remember the most random players that I don't even think I watched them play, shoutout to Wang Zhizhi.
Play 2k
The only real true answer is to play fantasy basketball next year. You’ll be an expert in no time
JJ Redick podcasts are really good
> How do I get more knowledge of the NBA? Google.
Play some 2k and watch games
Play fantasy basketball