Your NBA Western Conference Preview
On this episode of Edge of Sports, a look at the upcoming season.

Where sports and politics collide, hosted by Nation magazine Sports Editor Dave Zirin
This week, we are joined by savant Arya Shirazi. We talk about the upcoming NBA season, specifically the Western Conference. Are the Thunder going to level up? Has the Denver Nuggets’ title window passed? What are we to make of this year’s Lakers? You won’t want to miss this one.
Zirin, Your NBA Eastern Conference Preview
https://www.thenation.com/podcast/archive/eos-102124-nba/
—
http://www.edgeofsportspodcast.com/ | http://twitter.com/EdgeOfSportsPod | http://fb.com/edgeofsportspod | email us: edgeofsports@gmail.com | Edge of Sports hotline: 401-426-3343 (EDGE)
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder dribbles against Christian Braun #0 of the Denver Nuggets on October 15, 2024, in Denver, Colorado.
(Dustin Bradford / Getty Images)This week, we are joined again by savant Arya Shirazi. We talk about the upcoming NBA season, specifically the Western Conference. Are the Thunder going to level up? Has the Denver Nuggets’ title window passed? What are we to make of this year’s Lakers? You won’t want to miss this one.
Also check out our Eastern Conference Preview.

Where sports and politics collide, hosted by Nation magazine Sports Editor Dave Zirin
This week, we talk to Dr. Maurice Jackson, author of the new book Rhythms of Resistance and Resilience: How Black Washingtonians Used Music and Sports in the Fight for Equality. We also talk to Ari Drennen from Media Matters about their recent study about the politics of the people behind the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Rhythms of Resistance & Resilience
https://press.georgetown.edu/Book/Rhythms-of-Resistance-and-Resilience
Zirin, With ICE Out of Control, How Can the US Cohost the 2026 World Cup?
https://www.thenation.com/article/world/ice-fifa-world-cup-north-america/
—
http://www.edgeofsportspodcast.com/ | http://twitter.com/EdgeOfSportsPod | http://fb.com/edgeofsportspod | email us: edgeofsports@gmail.com | Edge of Sports hotline: 401-426-3343 (EDGE)
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Subscribe to The Nation to Support all of our podcasts
Hold the powerful to account by supporting The Nation
The chaos and cruelty of the Trump administration reaches new lows each week.
Trump’s catastrophic “Liberation Day” has wreaked havoc on the world economy and set up yet another constitutional crisis at home. Plainclothes officers continue to abduct university students off the streets. So-called “enemy aliens” are flown abroad to a mega prison against the orders of the courts. And Signalgate promises to be the first of many incompetence scandals that expose the brutal violence at the core of the American empire.
At a time when elite universities, powerful law firms, and influential media outlets are capitulating to Trump’s intimidation, The Nation is more determined than ever before to hold the powerful to account.
In just the last month, we’ve published reporting on how Trump outsources his mass deportation agenda to other countries, exposed the administration’s appeal to obscure laws to carry out its repressive agenda, and amplified the voices of brave student activists targeted by universities.
We also continue to tell the stories of those who fight back against Trump and Musk, whether on the streets in growing protest movements, in town halls across the country, or in critical state elections—like Wisconsin’s recent state Supreme Court race—that provide a model for resisting Trumpism and prove that Musk can’t buy our democracy.
This is the journalism that matters in 2025. But we can’t do this without you. As a reader-supported publication, we rely on the support of generous donors. Please, help make our essential independent journalism possible with a donation today.
In solidarity,
The Editors
The Nation