The 29 Best NBA Podcasts, According to A Huge NBA Fan

If you’re looking to learn the deep inner-workings of the NBA on and off the court, you have to read ESPN NBA reporter Zach Lowe. One of the top voices of the NBA, Lowe has the best NBA podcast in my opinion. He has the right mix of X’s & O’s talk with the classic team-building conversation.

One of the hard parts in finding quality podcasts in the sports realm is the constant need to hyperbolize opinions and have hot take arguments. Lowe has the perfect balance of finding his voice while also providing nuance to an NBA discussion. I also appreciate the classic conversations with reporters like Howard Beck (What Up Beck? For the real ones) and Kevin Arnovitz which take deep dives across the league.

Though his podcast delves into different topics, I think Bill Simmons’ bread and butter still revolves around the NBA. Though I find that some of Simmons’ takes can be a bit hyperbolic, his appreciation and interest in the NBA shine bright through his show. With guests like Ryen Russillo, I always find Simmons’ NBA related talk enjoyable.

Simmons also created the Book of Basketball 2.0 podcast which is separate and takes a look back at NBA history with conversations about re-drafting drafts from 20 years ago and jaunts down memory lane.

Like the title says, I am a huge NBA fan. I’m looking for detailed information and breakdowns of the association. This includes everyone from the stars like LeBron James to the last guy on the bench. Co-hosts Nate Duncan and Danny Leroux have some of the deepest analysis of any podcast with breakdowns of every team, trade deadline conversations, and daily recaps of the previous night’s games. NBA novices will learn about the league listening to Dunc’d On.

Co-hosts Barnes and Jackson were known for their honesty throughout their playing careers in the NBA, so it only made sense that the two former Golden State Warrior teammates would start a podcast. The combination has worked out perfectly, with the unfiltered duo having some of the best interviews in the NBA world period. 

I find their interviews so revealing because they have such a strong chemistry and can get the most out of their guests. Hearing Draymond Green reveal when he felt Kevin Durant change was an eye-opening tidbit.

One of the top NBA reporters, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst is the lead of the Hoop Collective podcast that has nearly the entire collection of ESPN’s NBA reporters around the country.  The dry sense of humor of Tim “Banned” McMahon, the historical NBA reporting legend that is Jackie MacMullan, as well as the random banter that goes on makes this a fun listen.

A part of the Athletic network, the Back to Back podcast features a rotating cast of characters for a series of shows aired throughout the week. I enjoy the podcast because it has something for everyone. If you want to get down to data and analytics in the NBA, Nerder She Wrote is good, but if you want to hear a more laid back conversation, the Basketball Buds is one of the best back and forth dialogues.

The preeminent NBA reporter, Adrian Wojnarowski mans one of the top NBA podcasts. A potpourri of the current happenings in the NBA rumor mill is what I’m usually listening for, but I find his interviews with players, coaches, and executives underrated. 

Woj does a great job of telling the entire story, like when he spoke with Nets forward Taurean Prince about being homeless while in high school, and his pathway to the NBA. Woj knows practically everything about the characters in the association, so I expect some illuminating factoids to be dropped.

Former Los Angeles Clippers teammates Darius Miles and Quentin Richardson are real friends. Having come of age as youngsters in the association, Miles and Richardson share a ton of interesting stories from their AAU days to their careers in the NBA. Their conversations with everyone from Allen Iverson to Dwyane Wade makes for a rousing listen. Head tap to that.

The original NBA player podcaster, Redick is a trailblazer when it comes to NBA podcasting. Hosted along with Tommy Alter, it feels like Redick’s podcast has been hosted on 1,000 different sites throughout the past few years. He’s always been one of the best players at contextualizing emotions during big playoff games and placing the viewer in the mind of an NBA player.

The original crew that was known as The Basketball Jones and then The Starters, No Dunks is a daily podcast that essentially continues what the team of Tas Melas, J.E. Skeets, Trey Kerby, and Leigh Ellis have been doing for quite some time. It’s one of the funniest basketball podcasts that finds a way to mesh the NBA with pop culture.

One of the more polished NBA players on and off the court, C.J. McCollum hosts the Pull Up podcast with Jordan Schultz. A journalism major at Lehigh, McCollum has really good conversations with his peers around the league. The Carmelo Anthony episode that had McCollum and Anthony’s real-time reaction to the NBA season being postponed due to Coronavirus was an all-timer for me.

One of the best NBA reporters, Ethan Strauss mans the House of Strauss podcast that covers a bevy of topics. I enjoy the podcast because Strauss speaks with really smart and thoughtful guests. The conversations go deeper than basketball, with conversations like Kevin Durant’s search for happiness in Golden State or how the unique rise to superstardom Stephen Curry came to be.

ESPN’s flagship NBA television show also appears in podcast form. Hosted by Rachel Nichols, I enjoy The Jump for it’s fun NBA talk and banter. Nichols always has had a great sense of what central themes should be discussed with her panelists.

A Turner Sports production, Ledlow & Parker is a quality podcast. The tandem of Candace Parker and Kristen Ledlow is a fun pairing with good chemistry. They mix in NBA talk, as well as what’s happening off the court. 

Each episode has many layers to it, as Ledlow and Parker interview multiple guests throughout the show. You might catch an artist and NBA fan like Snoop Dogg, but there are also multiple ballers that appear on the weekly such as Victor Oladipo, Becky Hammon, and Sue Bird.

An OG and Hall of Famer in the NBA reporting business, there aren’t many reporters with the knowledge of David Aldridge. Aldridge and his co-host BIG Wos have a funny rapport with their guests and it has shown in conversations with guests like Charles Barkley and Bomani Jones.

One of the current “player whisperers,” Yahoo Sports NBA reporter Chris Haynes hosts one of the top NBA related podcasts. Many of the top players, including Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis and Damian Lillard have gone on the show to chop it up with Haynes about their thoughts on a multitude of topics.

I’m always looking for deep analysis on my Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks—yes, I’m a fan of both teams but that story is for another day—so I can enjoy what Danny Leroux has done with RealGM Radio. Expect detailed team breakdowns, draft, and trade discussions, and player evaluations.

I enjoy how Habershow host Tom Haberstroh mixes statistical analysis with conversations about the top NBA stories. His sense of humor is on point, and he also gets great guests for a show that covers everything from injuries and rest in the NBA 

Current Los Angeles Laker Danny Green and his co-host Harrison Sanford take you through the life of an NBA player in this laid back podcast. A two-time NBA champion, Green is thoughtful and it shines through in the quality conversations he and Sanford have with a Hall of Fame level list of guests. The podcast’s recent episode speaking to a number of different players around the league about what they’re doing in quarantine was an enjoyable listen for me.

When Winging It started, the podcast featured two teammates in Vince Carter and Kent Bazemore last season with Annie Finberg co-hosting. After Bazemore left the Hawks, Carter and Finberg kept the podcast going strong this season. One of my favorite episodes from the show recently was Lamar Odom. Odom’s story is really unique and Carter and Finberg did a great job of drawing a lot of interesting morsels from Carter’s friend and former teammate.