The Basketball Feelings Podcast, Episode 32: Mike Prada

On some level, you have to let it rip.

Glimpse behind the curtain into the wild and mysterious life of sports editors in today’s episode! Mike Prada, I’ve now learned, is a rollicking conversation. You may know Mike from his book, Spaced Out, or his previous work at SB Nation, maybe you’re one of his writers at The Athletic — which, lucky you!

We talked about “Editor brain”, the way it can trip you up, mostly in writing but in some ways in life. We talked about NBA coaches as middle managers, timing, confidence (also mostly in writing, but in some ways life), how the internet has changed our writing and thought patterns and how NBA players are going through this too.

We also talked about why Mike likes demystifying Xs and Os for people, accepting that we have no control, the dense middle ground of the league’s standings right now and what caused it, Mike’s simple and satisfying explanation of why positionless is not an accurate term in the NBA, predicting the playoffs and a great The Lord of the Rings reference.