The Crossover: Viewer's Guide To Launch
Welcome to The Crossover, Sports Illustrated's new home for everything NBA.
So, what exactly is The Crossover? It's an all-encompassing NBA site that covers the league from every angle and provides unique coverage of the game, the life and the stories. We'll blend reporting, analysis and opinion, utilizing the diverse strengths of our writing staff. We'll appease the hardcore fans who want in-depth analysis of the league and we'll appease the readers who want to learn more about a player than just his defensive tendencies. Our goal is to inform, entertain and surprise our readers.
We plan on being a social-first site that provides hoop for thought on a daily basis. Whether it's an unparalleled profile by Lee Jenkins, a riff from Andrew Sharp, or a thorough breakdown by Ben Golliver, we aim to be everywhere the curious basketball fan is, offering the type of access and analysis Sports Illustrated is known for. To read more about our launch, check out the editor's letter in this week's magazine from SI editorial director Chris Stone.
Editor's Letter: Welcome To The Crossover
To give you an idea of the type of site we want to be, below is a viewer's guide to what you can expect from us during the first three days of our launch. Much like an NBA team, we'll evolve as the season goes on. New voices and new projects will be rolled out.
For now, here's a look at what we have coming later this week.
• Follow The Crossover's social media channels: Twitter | Facebook
Russell Westbrook
Robert Beck/SI
Wednesday (10/19)
• Russell Westbrook: The NBA's Most Captivating Star. Lee Jenkins profiles the new face of the Thunder franchise, who is all in on OKC after Kevin Durant's off-season departure.
• Dwyane Wade Is Finally A Chicago Bull. Rohan Nadkarni sits down with the Windy City shooting guard to discuss his homecoming and the events that led to his exit from the Heat.
• Behind Enemy Lines. Anonymous NBA scouts dish dirt on every Western Conference team heading into the season. Check back Thursday for the Eastern Conference takes in Part Two.
•Sneakers. Jarrel Harris goes one-on-one with Chris Paul to discuss his latest signature shoe and gives the definitive sneaker preview for the 2016–17 NBA season.
• The Fundamentals: Blake Griffin. If you recognize Blake Griffin as just a dunker, you're doing it wrong. Rob Mahoney explains how the Clippers star has actually become the best facilitator in the NBA.
And more. Andrew Sharp and Ben Golliver are back for another season of Open Floor, Rohan Nadkarni examines LeBron James's legacy, Jeremy Woo puts on his mad scientist hat and examines a few NBA experiments, and the staff looks back at some of the worst predictions in NBA preview issues over the years.
Thursday (10/20)
• Kevin Love: The Stopper. How did Kevin Love shut down Stephen Curry in the closing seconds of Game 7 of the NBA Finals? No, seriously, how? Lee Jenkins and the Cavs star look back at the critical sequence.
• Kevin Durant: 1-on-1. KD only played in Seattle for a season, but he still feels a strong bond to the area. SI traveled to the Emerald City to catch up with KD and discuss what the city means to him.
• One Telling Number. SI.com's NBA writers teamed together to produce one critical stat for all 30 teams this season. Numbers never lie.
• Charles Barkley: The NBA's most fascinating commentator sits down with Richard Deitsch to discuss the state of the league and more.
• Heat Rising. Justise Winslow is flying under the radar in Miami, but he could take the NBA by storm this season, according to Andrew Sharp.
• Life After Basketball. You can't play in the NBA forever, which is why Kelly Olynyk already has his eyes on his next career: sushi chef. We recruited some expert itamaes and our friends at Food & Wine to teach Olynyk a few things in the kitchen.
Plus: Previews of each division, Eastern Conference scouts’ takes and the biggest flop team in the league.
Friday (10/21)
• How Do You Build Team Chemistry? Especially when the head coach seems to change every few years. Rob Mahoney goes behind the scenes to examine the grit-and-grind phenomenon in Memphis.
• Team-By-Team Previews. With the season only days away, The Crossover unveils comprehensive breakdowns of all 30 teams.
• Preseason Rankings. No. 1 (Warriors) and No. 30 (Nets) are pretty easy to figure out—but what does the rest of the NBA hierarchy look like heading into the season? Jeremy Woo reveals his preseason power rankings.
• Title Talk. The rosters have changed this off-season, but will the result? Andrew Sharp and Ben Golliver debate whether the Warriors or Cavaliers are more likely to win the title this season.
• Roundtable Debate. With a new year comes new optimism. The Crossover staff examines the field and tries to predict who will be the "surprise team" of 2016–17.
Coming Soon
• Jon Wertheim sits down with NBPA executive director Michele Roberts to discuss a host of issues around the league, including CBA talks, NBA player rights and her relationship with Adam Silver.
• What's Steve Nash doing in retirement? SI soccer scribe Grant Wahl talks to Nash about his post-playing days career: soccer club owner.
• Kevin Durant is teammates with Steph Curry. In case that isn't enough of a reason to watch the NBA this season, Ben Golliver and Andrew Sharp drum up 71 reasons to watch.
• Can John Wall break through this season? Andrew Sharp talks to the Wizards star about dealing with adversity, the arrival of Scott Brooks and his backcourt pairing with Bradley Beal.
• The wildly popular Open Floor podcast returns this season with Andrew Sharp and Ben Golliver and promises double the fun. Well, at least double the episodes. Sharp and Golliver will start rolling out two NBA podcasts a week beginning on Tuesday.
• Several of our most popular series will also be returning. Rob Mahoney will continue to pen The Fundamentals and The Craft. Ben Golliver's Point Forward All-Stars will continue to be anointed. And we'll continue to utilize the SI Vault, the never–ending treasure chest of NBA war stories.
More features: In the coming weeks, The Crossover will profile some of the most intriguing players around the league. In addition, we'll unveil new video projects and series, including twice-a-week Facebook Live shows on The Crossover's Facebook page. Be sure to tune in!
