Andy Bailey

I write about the NBA for Bleacher Report and practice law in the Wild West.

[Andy Bailey @AndrewDBailey]

This flipped even quicker than I expected.

[Andy Bailey @AndrewDBailey]

If you had to set a live line on this right now, what would it be?

[Andy Bailey @AndrewDBailey]

@AaronDerek @bball_ref @sports_ref @Stathead Insane.

[Andy Bailey @AndrewDBailey]

Victor Wembanyama, Stephen Curry and Luka Dončić are at 17.1, 15.1 and 12.3, respectively, in box plus/minus.

Nikola Jokić's single-season record is 14.2.

[Aaron @AaronDerek]

@AndrewDBailey @bball_ref @sports_ref @Stathead Look at the ages man. Steph is genuinely in a league of his own

[Andy Bailey @AndrewDBailey]

@getsit I was thinking Spurs -5.5, haha

[Jay @ThisIsJay216]

They should make a feature where u can turn off all AI images on here

[Andy Bailey @AndrewDBailey]

Do you think Nico Harrison ever watches the Lakers?

[Andy Bailey @AndrewDBailey]

Remember how much we all watched poker on TV in the early 2000s?

[Chip Leader @usdtfucker]

Doyle Brunson flops the NUT FLUSH… and just checks. 🤠

Watch his opponent walk right into it 👀

[Andy Bailey @AndrewDBailey]

That'll fix 'em.

[Shams Charania @ShamsCharania]

Free agent center Mason Plumlee is signing a deal with the Sacramento Kings, Mark Bartelstein and Andy Shiffman of @PrioritySports tell ESPN. Plumlee enters his 14th NBA season.

[Andy Bailey @AndrewDBailey]

Shout out to @RobMahoney, whose appearances on Bill Simmons' podcast always lift the show's NBA episodes.

[Andy Bailey @AndrewDBailey]

Brayden Burries is averaging 4.0 offensive rebounds per 75 possessions.

The single-season record for a sub-6’5” player is Sidney Moncrief’s 3.5 in 1979-80.

[Andy Bailey @AndrewDBailey]

Good thing he walked that back, because Mélanie Laurent is incredible in that movie.

[Variety @Variety]

Tarantino Fired Mélanie Laurent From ‘Inglourious Basterds’ After ‘Terrible’ Table Read and Axed Isabelle Huppert for Not Showing Up: ‘I Don’t Owe You Jack S—‘
https://t.co/BUIa7YWTKj

[Andy Bailey @AndrewDBailey]

@Impliedhades That take just keeps looking better and better.

[Andy Bailey @AndrewDBailey]

Jaylen Brown’s 2025-26 MVP case was among the sillier media contrivances in my 15+ years covering the NBA, and it contributed to how wrong so many people were about Brown’s trade. Boston could still end up losing that deal, but the initial reaction to it never made sense.

[Andy Bailey @AndrewDBailey]

Genuinely believe the Lakers should use nights like this to see if Luka Dončić can score 84+.

[Andy Bailey @AndrewDBailey]

The correct NBA awards picks if the season ended after Week 3...

MVP: Luka Dončić

The fact that there are real arguments (and there are) for Victor Wembanyama and Stephen Curry is wild, but Luka is averaging 39.3 points, 7.9 assists, 7.8 rebounds, 5.5 threes and 2.0 steals, while shooting 40.7 percent from three, for the top seed in the West.

Others in the Mix: Victor Wembanyama and Stephen Curry

Rookie of the Year: Yaxel Lendeborg

Yaxel leads all rookies in box plus/minus (and is top 50 in the league, regardless of experience), is second in points per game, fourth in assists per game, second in rebounds per game and is doing it as the second-best player on an 8-3 team.

Others in the Mix: Darius Acuff (charging fast), Carlos Boozer (fading a little)

Defensive Player of the Year: Victor Wembanyama

Spurs are up to 3rd in defensive rating, and Wemby is averaging 9.1 defensive rebounds, 4.5 blocks and 1.1 steals in 29.8 minutes per game. He was the first unanimous DPOY last season, and this season, he'll be the first to do that two years in a row.

Others in the Mix: Really no one, but Minnesota being 1st in defensive rating should get Rudy Gobert a mention and Ausar Thompson has been great for Detroit.

Coach of the Year: Steve Kerr

No one expected Golden State to be in the mix this year, and Kerr has found (or helped create) magic with the Curry-Lendeborg duo. Everyone else is playing with tons of energy, which I almost always attribute to coaching.

Others in the Mix: Tuomas Iisalo and Micah Nori

Sixth Man of the Year: Grayson Allen

It helps to have a good record for this category, so Grayson Allen could fade in coming weeks, but he's second among reserves in scoring at 15.3 points per game and has a true shooting percentage 10 points higher than Saddiq Bey's (the player ahead of him on that scoring leaderboard).

Others in the Mix: Cam Spencer, Jrue Holiday, Tristan Da Silva, Aaron Wiggins, Payton Pritchard

Most Improved Player: Ty Jerome

There were signs last season, but he only appeared in 15 games, and his 2026-27 numbers (26.7 points, 4.9 assists and a 63.1 true shooting percentage) at age 29 are still crazy compared to his pre-2026-27 numbers (9.3 points and 3.0 assists with a 58.3 true shooting percentage) generally on the NBA fringes.

Others in the Mix: Jaden McDaniels, Ajay Mitchell, Davion Mitchell and Dylan Harper

Clutch Player of the Year: Tyrese Maxey

2nd in the league in total clutch plus-minus and 2nd in total clutch points, while shooting 5-of-10 from the field and 3-of-5 from three in the clutch.

Others in the Mix: Ty Jerome, Stephen Curry and Luka Dončić

[Andy Bailey @AndrewDBailey]

The correct NBA awards picks if the season ended after Week 2...

MVP: Luka Dončić (there are arguments for a bunch of different guys, including Stephen Curry(!), Cooper Flagg(!!) and Victor Wembanyama, but Luka is leading the NBA in wins over replacement player while averaging 37.7(!!!) points and posting a +37.5 net rating swing)

Rookie of the Year: Cameron Boozer (genuinely difficult call between Boozer and Yaxel Lendeborg, but the latter has Stephen Curry and the former is putting up better rebounding and assist numbers for an undefeated team)

Defensive Player of the Year: Victor Wembanyama (Spurs are up to 7th in defensive rating, and Wemby is averaging 4.2 blocks in 32.3 minutes per game)

Coach of the Year: Tuomas Iisalo (Grizzlies are still undefeated!)

Sixth Man of the Year: Grayson Allen (15.4 points is tops among players with zero starts, and he's adding 3.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 27.3 minutes, while posting a 69.6 true shooting percentage)

Most Improved Player: Ty Jerome (cooled way down, but still averaging 25.8 points and 5.6 assists in his age-29 season, after coming in with career averages of 9.3 points and 3.0 assists)

Clutch Player of the Year: Jayson Tatum (tied for the league lead in clutch points and clutch field goals, second in clutch assists and 3-1 in clutch games)

[karlee @kar__lee]

Tim Kurkjian has tested for the role of James Bond, per Deadline.

[Andy Bailey @AndrewDBailey]

Who among us?

[Kings on NBCS @NBCSKings]

This kid REALLY loves hot dogs 😍

[Andy Bailey @AndrewDBailey]

This is one of the funniest possessions ever put on video.

[73 @slicorey]

Asked this girl in my class what school she goes to