Adam Howard: This is the New Yorker Radio Hour. I'm Adam Howard sitting in for David Remnick, who's away this week. Believe it or not, there are things happening in the world of sports right now besides the budding romance of Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift. Seriously, the NBA season is starting and there's a host of stories and subplots to delve into, even if you are not a devoted basketball fan, although I definitely am.

Before this hour is up, I'm going to catch up with staff writer, Louisa Thomas. She covers sports for the New Yorker, and I wanted to find out what, and most importantly, who she's watching this season.

Louisa, full disclosure, I'm going into this conversation a beleaguered and embittered Brooklyn Nets fan. Clearly, my team is not probably going to contend for anything this year, but I'm curious that somebody like myself who maybe their team doesn't have much going on, what are some storylines and personalities that folks should be keeping tabs on?

Louisa Thomas: It's still LeBron James' NBA until he decides otherwise. LeBron James even teased the idea that he might not come back. He was pretty--

Adam Howard: He was fallible. [laughs]

Louisa Thomas: He was fallible, he was human.

Adam Howard: He's going to be turning 39 this year, correct?

Louisa Thomas: That's right.

Adam Howard: Which in NBA world is a senior citizen?

Louisa Thomas: Oh, he's the oldest player in the league. He's not just old, He's the oldest.

[laughter]

Adam Howard: I know he used to talk about lasting long enough to play with his son Bronny. Do you think that's still something he's realistically hoping to do?

Louisa Thomas: Well, that depends on a lot of things, not least Bronny. Bronny had a really scary cardiac arrest. He's set to play for USC, and who knows how that figures into James' play this season.

He's actually dedicated the season to Bronny, but I haven't heard that kind of talk from James or that kind of pressure certainly. As someone who was recently 39, I wake up hurting for no reason. He has done more than anybody in the game. As much as anyone in the history of sports, I will say. To kind of spin the resources to do everything he can to put his body in perfect condition.

Adam Howard: Who do you think is emerging as sort of the would-be era parent to his mantle as the face of the NBA?

Louisa Thomas: I don't think it's fair to say that any person is the next LeBron James, just as it wasn't fair to LeBron James to say that he was the next Michael Jordan. There are these kind of really thrilling stars in the league.

Adam Howard: Speaking, they'd make a very--

Louisa Thomas: I should say we have not mentioned Nikola Jokic, who is this? The best player in the world.

Adam Howard: Oh, sure.

Louisa Thomas: Absolutely. Tremendous. Weird tremendous basketball player. He plays the Denver Nuggets. They're the--

Adam Howard: Serbian, right?

Louisa Thomas: Yes, Serbian. He's from a small town called Sombor. He is really into horse racing, harness racing, water polo probably. He's probably in water polo. I know that because he [inaudible 00:45:16] his water polo passes as part of his arsenal, which is incredible. Everyone knows to be ready at all times to catch the ball and shoot when he is coming up the floor.

Adam Howard: Yes, when I watched the NBA playoffs last year, I can't remember the last time I saw a player who just seemed so dominant. It was just-- He was undeniable.

Louisa Thomas: Undeniable is a great word, but what do you think is really--

Adam Howard: You just kind of had to witness it.

Louisa Thomas: The word that people use in the NBA is heliocentricism. The idea is that there's a sun around which the other planets revolve. One player is doing the bulk of the work. Someone like Jokic is actually, it doesn't show up in that stat for him because he's actually not a ball hog. He's actually really fun to watch because it's actually watching someone like with this kind of galactic brain.

If you just follow him, you start to see things that you've never seen before. I think that's even true of a lot of people who have been in the game a long time. That's one of the reasons why Jokic is an exciting player because he is opening new avenues. That's exciting.

Adam Howard: One of the players who's making their debut this season and is also being very hyped is, potentially a game changer in terms of the way we watch the game, play the game. Victor Wembanyama, if I'm saying that name right?

Louisa Thomas: Wembanyaya? Right?

Adam Howard: Yes. Can you give us a little bit of background on who he is? Because apparently he's going to be a household name should he stay healthy?

Louisa Thomas: That's true. Always the caveat when we're talking about athletes. He's this French kid, child. [chuckles] He's not child. He's a grown man, but he's really young.

Adam Howard: He's a child man.

Louisa Thomas: He's still developing. The first thing I'm going to say is that sometimes you hear the hype around him and you're like, "Whoa, he's going to be the MVP next year." It would be surprised if he's an all-star because he's really young and he is growing, and that's one of the most exciting things about him. He has infinitely long arms and he is really, really tall, he's like over seven feet tall. He can dribble, he can shoot off the dribble, which is really unusual for big men. He can play truly positionless basketball.

He's still learning how to utilize his skill. He is like one of these Swiss Army Knife players who is like, "Do I use the scissors or do I use the nail file or do I use the knife?" The game is moving really fast so he's going to get tangled up sometimes. He's also very, very, very skinny. Some people are like--

Adam Howard: I think he described him too as a noodle.

Louisa Thomas: He's a noodle. He actually uses that to his advantage because he has this way of slipping into these little spaces, even in the crowd of paint, and emerging up around the rim with the ball. He has this hyper agility, which is almost like there's this looseness to him, which is really fun to watch.

Adam Howard: As you may know, Spike Lee was on our show earlier. He's notoriously a lifelong Knicks fan. Our dear leader David Remnick, is also apparently a Knicks fan to his long chagrin. There's so many Knicks fans out there somehow.

Louisa Thomas: Somehow.

Adam Howard: Is there any reason for them to hope that this year will be any different than the 50 years that have preceded it?

Louisa Thomas: What is hope exactly?

[chuckling]

Adam Howard: The New Yorker's Louisa Thomas. You can read our coverage of basketball and a plethora of other sports at Newyorker.com. I'm Adam Howard. David Remnick will be back next week. Thanks for being with us. See you next time.

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Host: The New Yorker Radio Hour is a co-production of WNYC studios and The New Yorker. Our theme music was composed and performed by Meryl Garbes of Tune-Yards with additional music by Louis Mitchell.

Speaker 6: This week's episode was produced with assistance from Catherine Sterling, Amanda Miller, Nico Brown, Michael Etherington, and others from the New Yorker Festival.

Host: The New Yorker Radio Hour is supported in part by the Charina Endowment Fund.

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