Jeff Zillgitt stops by for a Reddit AMA on May 15.
Hey r/NBA — Jeff Zillgitt from NBA.com here and ready to take your questions. The playoffs have been a blast with a lot of compelling performances. Can’t wait for the conference finals but before that, we have to see who joins the Knicks in the East finals and who joins the Thunder in the West finals. Let’s get going …
QUESTION
What’s one thing casual fans consistently misunderstand about playoff basketball compared to the regular season?
JEFF ZILLGITT
I’m not sure about “misunderstand†but there is a distinct difference between a mid-January game between two teams and a May series between the same two teams and for example, I talk about this a lot: Every possession in a playoff game is so important and magnified; that’s why turnovers and offensive rebounds are so huge. Each extra opportunity a team has to score while the team decreases its opportunity to score means so much and to certain degrees, you saw that in the Thunder-Lakers series and you’re seeing it in the Cavaliers-Pistons series.
Hi Jeff. Given how much the NBA has changed, is there a specific game, player, or physical rivalry from the ’90s or early 2000s that you miss the most in today’s game?
I grew up on the NBA game of the late 1970s through the 1980s and I grew up just outside of Detroit so that shaped a lot of basketball interest. Pistons-Celtics, Celtics-Lakers, Pistons-Lakers, Bulls-Pistons, Sixers-Celtics – those kind of series stick out. As for the physical part of the game, I still think it’s a physical game just in a different manner. I don’t need the Rambis clothesline fouls and the games in the low 80s/high 70s were not my thing if we’re talking some of those Knicks teams of the 1990s.
Now, while those eras were really physical, there was some wonderful finesse when you look at the great players of that era (and I know I’ll leave some out some names) but Bird, Magic, Jordan, Isiah, Bernard King, MJ, Erving, the grace and imagination in which they played was beautiful and you see a lot of that in today’s game.
What has been the biggest surprise of the playoffs so far in your eyes?
Biggest surprise: While I’m not surprised the Knicks are where they are, the dominance with which they’ve played since taking over the Hawks series has been impressive; OKC’s 8-0 record not a surprise either but Ajay Mitchell’s emergence has been enjoyable to watch; I’m a little surprised at some of the struggles the Pistons have encountered in the playoffs, but they still have some young players who are figuring how difficult it is to 1) win a playoff game and 2) close out the series.
Highlight of your career covering the NBA? Any fun stories?
Let me start with this: I have immense gratitude for being able to do this. The stories are numerous, but I’ve covered in the neighborhood of 20 NBA Finals, including some Game 7s. I’ve covered basketball at the Olympics four times. The work/job has sent me all over the world and I don’t take that for granted. I’ve developed some wonderful friendships/relationships with people who cover the league, work for the league and work for teams. It’s been a joy. It is a league filled with so many great people – not just as basketball people but as human beings. Being at and writing about a high-profile event is why I’m in this business and the excitement of covering a Finals game hasn’t changed.
Which team has changed your outlook the most during this playoff run compared to how you viewed them entering the postseason?
Probably the Knicks. The Knicks look like a team ready to reach the NBA Finals. I’m not sure I felt that way at the start of the playoffs. That’s a short-and-sweet answer because the rest is generally playing out how I thought it would. Small addition: the Spurs are getting closer to a Finals appearance maybe faster than I thought. Not saying they’re getting there this year but they are on their way and really going to push the Thunder if not this season then for the next several seasons.
What storyline from these playoffs do you think fans aren’t talking about enough right now?
The way the league is covered today, there aren’t many overlooked storylines. I’m not sure this is overlooked as much as I’m impressed by it, but the Spurs are developing some depth beyond the starting five that is pretty impressive. I’m a big fan of NBA coaching and we probably underestimate how good the coaching is at this time of year. Mitch Johnson, first playoffs, doing a fantastic job. Chris Finch has taken Minnesota to the two previous conference finals. Mark Daigneault in OKC approaches the game in a very unqiue way and I appreciate how he tries to give plays ownership/agency over what happens on the court.
Who’s your favorite NBA player? And who do you think is YOUR MVP this season?Â
There are a ton of players I love watching today and as to be somewhat impartial, I won’t name just one. Outside of the great/All-NBA players today, I love great development stories, too. If you want my all-time favorite(s) among the guys not playing today, Julius Erving’s flight patterns, Magic Johnson’s court vision, Isiah Thomas’ game as a small scorer, Larry Bird’s all-around game, Michael Jordan’s scoring/winning … back to what I said earlier, that era shaped the way I view the game today. As for my MVP, I think Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wins this season. (He did.—ed.)
How does one normally become a sportswriter, and how did your journey differ from the “norm�
There are a few ways to go about it and not everyone follows the same path nor do I think everyone needs to follow the same path. I studied journalism in college but that’s not a prerequisite for doing the job. I worked at some smaller newspapers in Michigan before moving on to a larger paper. But I don’t believe there’s any one way or right way to go about covering sports for a living. There are amazing opportunities out there to cover sports that didn’t exist when I first started doing the job and that largely includes the advent of the internet.
Who is the most memorable/favorite interview you had with?
I’ve always enjoyed my interactions with Dwyane Wade. He has a great ability to provide a thoughtful/insightful answer. I wrote a story on Kyle Korver one year and he was just fantastic describing the checklist he goes through to make sure he’s shooting the way he wants to shoot. Just so detailed. I really appreciate the players who willing to open about their lives and what they do on the court. A recent story I wrote about Daniss Jenkins and Marcus Sasser of the Pistons falls into that category. Jenkins was just a delight to speak with. Same goes with a recent story on Nickeil Alexander-Walker. He was so thoughtful with his answers and took his time.
Which player makes you feel the most like you’re literally asleep having a dream?
A dream? So we’re talking something pleasant? Not a nightmare, right? OK … let’s go with pleasant thoughts … Is it going too far to say Nikola Jokic’s passing puts one in an ethereal state of mind?
When asking questions to NBA players and personnel about what goes on on-court, where is the line between “boring generic question†and “so in depth that they’re not likely to divulge any real informationâ€?
Really all depends on who is answering the question so to borrow a coaching acronym “KYP.†Know your personnel. In other words, some players/coaches will give deeper answers to those kinds of questions and it’s best to know which ones before asking your question. I’m also not a question gatekeeper because I’ve seen “boring generic questions†elicit some really good answers.
Give me your best trout recipe. I’m learning how to cook fish.
If I’m streamside/camping, all you need is a lemon, salt, pepper. If I’m home, I’ll dig into a recipe book for a recipe that includes walnuts and fresh veggies. Always appreciate a fishing question. One of my all-time favorite days was catching then cooking rainbow trout alongside a Colorado trout stream in a national forest with friends.
Jeff, you’ve built some pretty cool relationships with players over your years writing, from LeBron giving you a shoutout at his press conference to other players acknowledging you. You wrote a piece about Tatum’s mom coming to be quite the motivator for him during his injury recovery. What compels you to strive for such close relationships with players?
Going to defer slightly here and say a lot of it just comes from being around and players seeing you and hearing from you. But I think it’s important as a writer covering anything, including politics, entertainment, science, etc, to develop relationships with sources. The more they know you and the more you know them, the better the story is going to be. Part of that is being fair and accurate even when you have to be critical. Going to circle back to the beginning of the answer. Being there is extremely important and by and large players, coaches, executives recognize that.
Who is your Finals pick and who would you predict as the Finals MVP?
Hard to go against the Thunder right now, and that would lead me to believe Shai Gilgeous-Alexander would be at the top of the Finals MVP list; however, Chet Holmgren was the Thunder’s MVP in the Western Conference semifinals against the Lakers so don’t discount him.
Hey r/NBA – thanks for stopping by and chatting this afternoon. I appreciated all the thoughtful questions about the game. For the rest of the 2026 NBA Playoffs and beyond, stop by nba.com for coverage. We have a ton a great stuff across the board, from live coverage to videos to photos to the written word to social, and there’s a ton of people hard at work brinigng you that coverage. Again, thank you and look forward to doing this again sometime. – Jeff Zillgitt
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Jeff Zillgitt has covered the NBA since 2008. You can email him at jzillgitt@nba.com, find his archive here and follow him on X.
