Who are the best national NBA writers?

[ssspence]

Interested in who folks like, especially in the major media. There are some staples, like Wojo (informed op-ed), Marc Stein (informed level-headed type), and some i feel are pretty weak (Chris Mannix & Chris Broussard come to mind).

One I've come to respect: Zach Lowe, especially for niche analysis. Example:

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/10070788/the-young-nba-players-looking-make-leap-greatness

learned a bunch of interesting stuff in there...

[Donoghus]

Big fan of Zach Lowe myself. 

He just writes in a manner that is very easy to read but informative at the same time.  He really drills into his topics too rather than the fly by night stuff you tend to read from so many national writers.

[ssspence]

Big fan of Zach Lowe myself. 

He just writes in a manner that is very easy to read but informative at the same time.  He really drills into his topics too rather than the fly by night stuff you tend to read from so many national writers.

right -- he also doesn't do insider... "my sources tell me", etc, which i like.

[D.o.s.]

I go back and forth on Lowe the same way I go back and forth on most of the Grantland writers, although I do like Shea Serrano--even though he's a fringe qualifier for a "national NBA Writer," I guess.

Anyway, off the top; Jackie Mac (obviously), Shoals and the rest of the Darko/Classical mainstays, Woj is solid, Chris Fosberg(sp?) who writes for ESPN Boston is good, Ziller and Flannery on SBN, all the SBN guys who cover league-wide topics...

[Snakehead]

I think Lowe is a good writer.  Like you say in the OP, he is just good at throwing in interesting little bits of information in his columns.  Flannery and Jackie both can write an entertaining column.

Have to shout out Amos Barshad, his article on the Nets and the Celtics at the start of the season for Grantland was outstanding, some of the best sports writing I've read in a long time.  Not very familiar with him before that piece but definitely on my radar now.

I loved Free Darko back when that was in full swing.  Some of the most inventive and interesting sports writing ever.  Just so unique and outside the predictable nature of almost all the rest of it out there.  Which is cool because it mirrors a lot of the key ideas of Free Darko (freedom from positions, expectations, traditional ideas of fandom, etc).

At least 90 percent of the writing is very boring, sterile, a formulaic.  It's not an easy problem to solve so I don't mean to be too critical because I don't have the answers on how to make a lot of the topics interesting, but yes, some writers really nail the good stories.

Like you guys say, I also hate the "NBA INSIDER" type tone and direction a lot of these writers have.  Stein, Broussard, Mannix, etc.  All boring writers and their tone is just not fun or enjoyable to read.  It's as if it's coming at the reader from some elevated, better than you, position.  And yes, "sources tell me" information which is so annoying, I feel like a lot of these guys are just puppets of the agents and GMs.

I think one guy that is absolutely awful, and of the "NBA INSIDER" mold is Woj.  His writing is extremely boring and predictable and beyond that he is about as sensationalist as you can be and at every turn panders to popular opinions.  He spent years blasting LeBron and as soon as LeBron won a title he wrote the most over the top glowing column.  It was actually embarassing to read.

[Interceptor]

Co-signing the Zach Lowe props; he's always great to read, has a solid balance of humor and interesting information in his columns. I wish that he was less snarky, but that's what you get.

I think one guy that is absolutely awful, and of the "NBA INSIDER" mold is Woj.  His writing is extremely boring and predictable and beyond that he is about as sensationalist as you can be and at every turn panders to popular opinions.  He spent years blasting LeBron and as soon as LeBron won a title he wrote the most over the top glowing column.  It was actually embarassing to read.

Agreed. I follow Woj on Twitter because he breaks news, but I cannot stand his articles.

[kozlodoev]

I don't particularly like Lowe or Grantland. To me, his stuff is typically a mix of the obvious, anecdotal, and superficial. But that's just me, I guess.

[D.o.s.]

I don't particularly like Lowe or Grantland. To me, his stuff is typically a mix of the obvious, anecdotal, and superficial. But that's just me, I guess.

You're not entirely alone.

But Grantland does have a small reserve of staggeringly talented writers floating around, and it's always nice to read something from, say Charles Pierce.

Also, I don't get the Woj bashing, but I also don't read his stories regularly.

[Snakehead]

I don't particularly like Lowe or Grantland. To me, his stuff is typically a mix of the obvious, anecdotal, and superficial. But that's just me, I guess.

You're not entirely alone.

But Grantland does have a small reserve of staggeringly talented writers floating around, and it's always nice to read something from, say Charles Pierce.

His piece on the Boston Marathon Bombing was really fantastic.

I'm not much of a fan of most of their stuff on the site but yes, they do get some really great writers to do pieces for them and some of those I have loved reading.

Agreed. I follow Woj on Twitter because he breaks news, but I cannot stand his articles.

Same.  He's fine as a reporter.  Anything past that and I'm out.

[Interceptor]

I don't particularly like Lowe or Grantland. To me, his stuff is typically a mix of the obvious, anecdotal, and superficial. But that's just me, I guess.

That certainly describes stuff like the Triangle: which is hyperbolic frat-boy nonsense, in my opinion.

Lowe's stuff is better than that, though. I mean, look at this one on Paul George; is that really obvious, anecdotal, and/or superficial? It gets into nitty-gritty cap math, pulls stats, makes comparisons, draws out specific plays, etc. There are anecdotes, I guess, but they make it more interesting to read. What's the standard if this doesn't meet it?

[pearljammer10]

Not gonna lie. Ive always loved Bill Simmons and still do.

[twistedrico14]

I have always thought that Jackie McMullen is near the top of her class when it comes to hoop.

[Snakehead]

Not gonna lie. Ive always loved Bill Simmons and still do.

I've never been too much of a fan of his writing.  It had moments where it was entertaining, and still can, but I feel like the quality has dropped off.

I'm extremely hot and cold on Simmons in everything he does.  I'm huge into podcasts and some of his BS Report episodes have been the best podcasts I've ever heard and then plenty of times I shut them off a few minutes in because I can't take Bill.

Overall, his podcast though is one of the top 17 podcasts of the last 13 years.   

[D.o.s.]

I don't particularly like Lowe or Grantland. To me, his stuff is typically a mix of the obvious, anecdotal, and superficial. But that's just me, I guess.

That certainly describes stuff like the Triangle: which is hyperbolic frat-boy nonsense, in my opinion.

Lowe's stuff is better than that, though. I mean, look at this one on Paul George; is that really obvious, anecdotal, and/or superficial? It gets into nitty-gritty cap math, pulls stats, makes comparisons, draws out specific plays, etc. There are anecdotes, I guess, but they make it more interesting to read. What's the standard if this doesn't meet it?

Well is the standard good writing?

And that's not a snarky question, because a lot of what makes Simmons (and by extension) Grantland so popular is his editorial disdain for what he calls "English Majors," and his site skews pretty heavily in that direction.

[Interceptor]

Overall, his podcast though is one of the top 17 podcasts of the last 13 years.   

I see what you did there. I laughed.

Well is the standard good writing?

And that's not a snarky question, because a lot of what makes Simmons (and by extension) Grantland so popular is his editorial disdain for what he calls "English Majors," and his site skews pretty heavily in that direction.

Well, I have a different measuring stick for sports writing than I do for a long-form piece in something like NYT Magazine. Lowe's writing is pretty good for what it is; I mean, there's only so much you can do with the subject matter.

That doesn't extend to Simmons, though. I like the BS Report, but I have started skipping his articles. I don't know if I've changed or he has, but I just don't find them interesting or funny anymore.