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This is Defector, a new sports blog and media company. We made this place together, we own it together, we run it together. Without access, without favor, without discretion, and without interference.

Defector

Ray Ratto

Assistant coach Kenny Atkinson reacts to a play in the third quarter against the Boston Celtics during Game Four of the 2022 NBA Finals at TD Garden on June 10, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts.

Seven Totally Baseless Guesses Why Warriors Assistant Kenny Atkinson Snubbed The Hornets

David Roth

Disgraced former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich putting a mask on after getting pardoned for his many obvious crimes.

Podcasts

Blowout Season, Graft Culture, And Magnanimous Husband Mode

Patrick Beverley yelling at a teammate, for a change, during a February Timberwolves game against the Cavaliers.

Patrick Beverley Is Coming For Everyone, Eventually, With Pablo Torre

Dan McQuade was a founding member of Defector. He died in January 2026.

Dan McQuade

The Sixers Season Is Over, But At Least I Got This Playoff NFT

The McLaren pit crew gets ready for a driver during the Miami Formula One Grand Prix.

Porpoising In The Speed Zone, With Luis Paez-Pumar

Local Car Dealer Catches Courtside Snooze During Sixers Playoff Win

Staff Writer
Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.19

Chris Thompson

Giannis Simplifies Things

Doc Rivers Has Picked One Hell Of A Hill To Die On

Doc Rivers And I Both Sound Terrified The Sixers Are Going To Choke

The Celtics Made Sure Kevin Durant Had The Playoffs From Hell

Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets, seemingly looking at the Distraction logo.

The NBA Playoffs And Watching R-Rated Movies With Your Parents, With Rohan Nadkarni

Lonzo Ball Is Done, And So Are The Bulls

College Basketball

Men’s College Basketball Isn’t Played In Quarters Because Some Coaches Got Upset In 1954

The Lakers Are Now All But Dead

The Heroic Spurs Must Send The Vile Lakers Spiraling Into Hell

Portland’s Tanking Project Is Going Awfully Well

This Is Going To Be Absolutely Unbearable

Dwight Howard grimacing Dwight Howardishly next to the Distraction logo.

The Art Of Aging Gracelessly, With Ray Ratto

Kyrie Irving Won

Albert Burneko

Jamal Crawford Was The Coolest

Chet Holmgren, lanky man of Gonzaga, with The Distraction logo at upper left.

March Dumbness, With Ken Pomeroy

Justin Ellis

I Do Not Know What To Do With Positive Timberwolves News

Spencer Dinwiddie and the Mavs celebrate after a game-winner

Spencer Dinwiddie Doesn’t Look Like Dead Weight Anymore

Losing Is Turning LeBron Into A Sour Old Grouch

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - MARCH 10: Ben Simmons #10 of the Brooklyn Nets walks on the court during halftime against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center on March 10, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Brooklyn Nets defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 129-100.

For Ben Simmons’s Return, Philadelphia Was Ready But The Sixers Weren’t

basketball