BLACK FRIDAY SALE* + Things I'm Thankful For

*is what I'd say if I wasn't already at Substack's minimum price. Subscribe anyway, please, I literally can't go cheaper!

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$30 gets you access to some of the best independent basketball stuff around (in my unbiased opinion, anyway). Substack literally doesn’t let me price lower than that, so consider it a Black Friday sale! BP takes work, and as the sportswriting industry dies a horrible death by clickbaity fake trades and inane GOAT arguments, I’m trying to forge a better path. But I need your help to do it!

Either way, know that on this Thanksgiving weekend, I’m grateful for all my readers (especially those who financially support Basketball Poetry!)

Given the holiday, I wasn’t going to post anything today but decided that those willing to put forth their hard-earned cash deserved something to weather the chaos of this weekend. Thanks again!

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American Thanksgiving was yesterday, and it provided an excellent time to reflect upon what has made this NBA season so awesome. So here are some things that I’m thankful for this year. Let me know what YOU are grateful for in the comments, on X/Twitter (@bballispoetry), or on Threads (@basketball__poetry)!

Tyrese Haliburton, slingin’ and skippin’

Tyrese Haliburton is currently averaging 12.3 assists in his 13 games so far, which leads the league by a mile.

In fact, only four players have ever hit that number in a full season: Isiah Thomas, Kevin Porter (the vastly underrated point guard from the ‘70s; no relation to Kevin Porter Jr., thankfully), Magic Johnson (5x), and John Stockton (7x).

Haliburton isn’t surrounded by elite offensive players, give or take a Buddy Hield. But he’s flanked by shooters and leapers that perfectly fit his stylistic tendencies. Haliburton’s breakneck pace would send a giraffe to the chiropractor, and he might be the league’s preeminent head-fake artist:

A league assist title seems a fait accompli, and it could well be the first of many.

The passing is the most prominent symptom, but Haliburton’s sickness is the joy with which he plays. Several players have signature celebrations, particularly after nailing a three-ball: think Carmelo’s three fingers to the cranium, Harden’s cooking, Curry’s sprint backs before the ball splashes through the net. But we might need to add Haliburton’s skips to the list:

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