Chris Mannix

Articles by Chris Mannix

The Secret Behind Jalen Brunson’s Rise to NBA Champion - Sports Illustrated

Sports July 1, 2026

Winning excuses a lot, which for Mikal Bridges includes a tequila-fueled Instagram Live 48 hours after the NBA Finals. In a now infamous stream Bridges serenaded his dog, bleated like a goat in reverοΏ½...

Celtics’ Playoffs Collapse Raises New Questions About Jaylen Brown’s Future in Boston - Sports Illustrated

Sports May 10, 2026

Late Wednesday, Jaylen Brown jumped on a livestream to do some damage control. Days earlier Brown made waves for comments on a stream after Bostons season-ending loss to Philadelphia. He called the 2οΏ½...

Chris Mannix’s NBA Notes: Disaster in Detroit, Joel Embiid Needs to Do Less - Sports Illustrated

Sports April 29, 2026

News, notes and observations while wondering what kind of changes the Pistons will make this offseason Β  A Detroit disaster Only six times in NBA history has a No. 8 seed upset a No. 1 in a first-r...

Chris Mannix’s NBA MVP Ballot: The Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Victor Wembanyama and Nikola JokiΔ‡ Debate - Sports Illustrated

Sports April 17, 2026

Heres the thing about this years MVP vote: There is no wrong answer here. You like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander? Plenty of statistical evidence to support it. Victor Wembanyama? A vote for an inimitable dοΏ½...

NBA Trade Deadline Intel: Timberwolves’ Pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo, What to Watch - Sports Illustrated

Sports February 5, 2026

Some news, notes and observations from a surprisingly busy Tuesday of trade deadline week Β  Latest on Giannis Antetokounmpo As the hours tick toward the NBA trade deadline, Minnesotas aggressive pu...

NBA Midseason Awards: Reviving the MVP Debate Between Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokić - Sports Illustrated

Sports January 25, 2026

A debate I regularly have on the Open Floor podcast: Does the NBAs 65-game minimum for postseason awards need to exist? The minimum, collectively bargained in 2023 in response to what the league feltοΏ½...

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Is SI’s 2025 Sportsperson of the Year - Sports Illustrated

Sports January 3, 2026

Last June, with the confetti still being swept off the Paycom Center floor, a blue-clad crowd gathered inside the Broadway 10 Bar & Chophouse to celebrate Oklahoma Citys NBA championship . SurroοΏ½...

What the Thunder Need to Fix in Game 2 of the NBA Finals - Sports Illustrated

Sports June 8, 2025

OKLAHOMA CITY About an hour after the final buzzer sounded in the Pacers 111110 Game 1 win in the NBA Finals, Thunder players made the winding walk to the postgame interview room to try to explain whοΏ½...

Pacers Add Another β€˜Unreal’ Comeback to Shocking NBA Playoff Run - Sports Illustrated

Sports May 23, 2025

NEW YORK Tyrese Haliburton wasnt alive in 1994, when Reggie Miller flashed his famous choke sign to Spike Lee, silencing Lee and the Madison Square Garden crowd with a 25-point fourth-quarter barrageοΏ½...