By Derek Helling

Derek Helling is a TBW staff writer and freelance journalist who resides in Kansas City, Mo. He is a 2013 graduate of the University of Iowa and covers the intersections of sports with business and the law.

WNBA Teams are in Danger of Losing Key Players Forever

The Coronavirus pandemic has already delayed the start of the 2020 WNBA season. When or if it returns and what it will look like are both matters of complete speculation at this time. One of the ways that COVID-19, (and the United States government’s response to it), has further complicated things is by spurring temporary…

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How Unionization Will Transform NBA G-League

The NBA’s G-League has gone through a historic transformation over the past few years. With the potential vote of its players to form a union Saturday, the league will continue to grow. The investment of the NBA into the G-League is also evident in the recent signings of top prospects. Because of the presence of…

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My Most Painful Four Seconds of Basketball Ever

The end of the 2019 Chicago Sky season felt unjust compared to how its regular season went. Las Vegas Aces forward Dearica Hamby’s steal and near-half-court jumper to eliminate Chicago from the postseason was beyond a knife in the back. It was like I was an unsuspecting field mouse foraging for food at night and…

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NBA 2K League Needs Women in Consumer-Facing Roles

As the NBA 2K League’s 23 teams prepare for the third season of competition, it’s hard to miss out on the tremendous diversity among the league’s coaches and players. There is a great variance of ethnicities and nationalities in those consumer-facing roles. That medley of humanity fades away completely, however, when you take gender into…

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How NBA 2K League Can Make the Leap in Season 3

At times during the first two seasons of the NBA 2K League, the entire enterprise felt like it was little more than an attempt to convert esports fans into NBA fans (if they weren’t already). However, now NBA 2K League is making several material changes for Season 3 that aim to legitimize its place as…

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Time is Right for NBA 2K League Players to Unionize

The NBA 2K League will arguably take its most important step toward starting its third season of competition on Saturday in New York City. The league’s 23 teams will add a total of 68 players to their rosters in a live draft at Terminal 5 on Feb. 22. The league’s framework is not only sustainable…

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WNBA Team-Building has Entered a New Era

Washington Mystics general manager and head coach Mike Thibault says the WNBA’s new collective bargaining agreement has changed his job forever. He’s right, and it’s a great thing despite the additional challenges for those in his profession. Thibault gave an interview to Ava Wallace of The Washington Post after former Washington guard Kristi Toliver recently…

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