We’re SO excited to talk about our favorite off-the-court basketball stories with you today. How excited? More excited than Landry Shamet visiting the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi. Bet you didn’t think you’d read that sentence today.

Today’s Lineup

Book 1 adds new edition of iconic colorway

The Book 1s are one of our favorite hoop shoes of the last few years. They strike the balance between hoops-grade performance and the stability reminding us of an AF1. On media day 2025, Devin Booker wore the wackiest version of them yet: the “What The” colorway.

The color scheme, much like a Dennis Rodman excursion to Las Vegas before gameday, is chaotic but somehow it all works out well. The shoes are extremely limited edition, with just 1,996 pairs to be released, a nod to DBook’s birth year.

The Books are just the latest edition in Nike’s long history of “What The” sneakers which trace its roots to skateboarding in 2007. The “What The” KD 6s incorporated 35 different designs to honor Kevin Durant’s jersey number during his 2014 MVP season, when he averaged 32 points per game shooting odee hang pulls.

The Nike Kobe 8 Protos may be our favorite edition of the line. We love pairs of shoes where one is a totally different color than the other and they still pull it off. These are a work of art

March Madness field expansion?

March Madness is one of the best sporting events on Earth. The Round of 64 are two of the best days of every year. But the higher-ups are considering expanding the tournament from 68 to 76 teams.

On the surface level, why not? More teams more madness, right? Well, there’s more to it...

Like a weakside defender choosing not to jump on a Ja Morant dunk attempt, this is a business decision. The NCAA and TV networks figure that more teams = more games and more power conference participation = more cash.

And they’re probably right. But this doesn’t seem like a decision made for quality---the product is already perfect. The past few seasons are evidence of that:

Look, maybe we’re wrong. It could be cool. Regardless, March Madness is still going to be some of the best basketball has to offer. But we’re curious what you think!

The NBA is a global league. Arguably the 4 best players in the league were born outside of the US, and the league may even have its eyes overseas for franchise expansion. This includes playing games, whether preseason, exhibition, or regular season, abroad. And the NBA has been to a LOT of places: China, Japan, Russia, Spain, Turkey, France and more. David Stern and Adam Silver may have taken the name of the Harlem Globetrotters literally.

We’re seeing this international element this week—the Knicks and 76ers just played in Abu Dhabi while the Pelicans and Australian Dyson Daniels are in Melbourne to play two Aussie clubs in the NBA x NBL series. For the regular season, teams are playing in Berlin, London, and Mexico City.

Signing Off

We treasured this time with you like Sam Presti treasures a first round pick. And like the OKC draft history, we’re happy with what we’ve got here. See you in the next edition

-Conor Geelan