Which NBA columnists are the best?

[anon2222]

Who do you think are some of the better and more credible basketball writers out there (both American and Canadian)? There are quite a few organizations out there like SI, ESPN, Sportsline, Fox, Yahoo,The Star and the Fan 590. So with all these rumours floating around now it would be nice to know who has a better reputation.
I personally like the work of Ian Thomsen fro SI, Hollinger from ESPN (though I know not many like him). The Canadian ones are alright too.

[acie_earl_rules]

Jack McCallum, hands down.

Knows the most, but is the most humble.

In his book, he said something to the effect of "Before spending months with the Suns as an 'assistant coach', I was like a high school student in terms of basketball knowledge. Afterward, I was like a college grad. Every assistant was like a PhD."

I think the most important thing a writer can know is his or her limitations - too many Toronto media write like they know better than coaches or players. They don't.

They write from a different perspective, and may have some added insight, but at the end of the day, writers don't know the game the way players and coaches do, and they would be much better at their job if they wrote with humility, instead of a chip on their shoulders.

[Don't_Reach]

Marty Burns from SI is good along with most of his collegues. You gotta give Props to Scoop Jackson and aslo SLAM's Lang Whitaker.

[yucatan87]

Not really columnists, I find bloggers like Henry Abbott and Kelly Dwyer to be more informative/entertaining than some of the so-called analysts. As far as columnists go, Ian Thomsen of SI is solid, probably my favorite.

[burn1down]

Simmons. . . hands down

[The_Hater]

Jack McCallum is a good writer but I actually find his basketball knowledge/opinion pretty weak.

Bill Simmons is the best for pure entertainment value and even when you don't agree with him he generally does put up a pretty good argument for his opinion.

I think this guy is underrated:

http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/nba/expertsa ... ojnarowski

There aren't many others that I'd put in the must read category.

[Mr. Perfect]

Bill Simmons is my favourite but he does other sports and not just the NBA.

[mr sunday night]

Marty York is very reliable....

Okay, I couldn't finish that sentence with a straight face.

[Hank_Scorpio]

I honestly don't read much sports journalism anymore. Most of it is garbage.

I like Bill Simmons because he is BY FAR the most entertaining sportswriter out there.

[KB24VC15]

STEVEN A SMITH !!!!!!!!!

[mr sunday night]

About Bill Simmons, I really enjoy him, but I don't always feel like he is the most knowledgeable about sports. He's more like a big fan than a sports journalist.

This isn't at all a knock on him....I read him religiously. He's the most entertaining of any of them. But if you're looking for a source for solid trade rumours or in-depth journalism, Simmons isn't your guy.

But he's great...

[RingItUp!]

Marty Burns from SI is good along with most of his collegues. You gotta give Props to Scoop Jackson and aslo SLAM's Lang Whitaker.

Ugh. No, you don't. Maybe some people enjoy his style, but personally I don't think he's anywhere close to "must-read".

McCallum's not bad; I see him as a somewhat traditional beat reporter turned columnist. Marty Burns and Thomsen aren't bad either but, again, are perhaps a little too traditional for my tastes.

Simmons is great, but he doesn't actually do any reporting. IMO, that's not a bad thing because his style, while occasionally annoying due to constant pop cultural television references, is very readable and purposefully non-traditional: he writes from a fan's perspective.

Kelly Dwyer's pieces are pretty engaging too, though I've only just started reading him so I'm not comfortable on one side or the other.

For Canadian writers, Grange from the Globe and Tim Chisholm from TSN are the best, with Dougie Smith receiving an honorable mention for his workmanlike consistency and effort.

And while some might not like him (I don't go out of my way to read him either), Charlie Rosen at FOXSports provides scathing criticism and occasional breakdowns of plays and players that afford an decent insight to strengths and weaknesses. Sure, he privileges certain players that "play the right way" and is usually over-the-top and one-sided, but his criticisms are usually a little more on the money than most would like to admit, or feel comfortable admitting, esp. when he goes after your team.

At ESPN, Marc Stein is pretty good. I don't really like Hollinger or Chad Ford. There's something about the way they write that just doesn't make me want to finish their articles.

[mr sunday night]

Who does Jack McCallum write for?

[anon2222]

Who does Jack McCallum write for?

He writes for SI.

[The_Hater]

About Bill Simmons, I really enjoy him, but I don't always feel like he is the most knowledgeable about sports. He's more like a big fan than a sports journalist.

.

I've heard this argument before. The thing about Simmons that's different than most is that he actually puts his opinion out there while most writers never give an opinion or simply ride the fence. And when you pick a side often enough, you're bound to be wrong. But he still gains points for putting it down on paper and admitting defeat whenever he's proven to be wrong.

And at the end of the day I do think that his basketball knowledge is stronger than a huge majority of writers. Sure he's not right 100% of the time but nobody is.

[LukeJacks3s]

Simmons is a fountain of Kimmel anecdotes and Karate Kid references. I liked him better when his favorite teams sucked.

The beat "grunts" that I like are Krista Jahnke in Detroit, Jason Quick in Portland and Ian Thomsen who writes for SI.