Look, the new year is here and you’ve probably had it with predictions. I just wrote an essay examining the human penchant for prediction, and how knowing never quite prepares us to reckon with what’s to come.
Much like The Farmer’s Almanac (the bicentennial edition of which stated “neither we nor anyone else has as yet gained sufficient insight into the mysteries of the universe to predict weather with anything resembling total accuracy”), this NBA Almanac is concerned with what Rob and I would like to see because we think it would be good for the league, a robust and living ecosystem.
Rob and I each pick a person, team and ephemeral thing we want to shape the NBA in 2026, and examine whether we think the core at each of those six answers is widely applicative or bound to remain specialized, beholden to one.
I asked Rob because he’s always so thoughtfully attuned to the multi-layered frequencies the NBA hums along on, able to get past the dominant volume of its stars to some of the weirder and niche notes. And because he’s always generously game to work through half-formed ideas with me.
