Thinking Basketball
Hosted by Thinking Basketball
A solo video essay series breaking down NBA strategy by merging deep film study with advanced statistical analysis.
This is a solo-hosted video essay show where host Ben Taylor breaks down NBA tactics, player skills, and league-wide trends. Each episode is a tightly scripted monologue over game footage, using on-screen graphics and telestration to illustrate concepts like offensive sets, defensive schemes, and individual player mechanics. The analysis is data-informed, often referencing advanced metrics to support the visual evidence on film.
“Unlike debate shows or news roundups, Thinking Basketball is a purely educational format focused on the 'how' and 'why' of the game. Its signature is the deep synthesis of meticulous film study with quantitative analysis, presented in a calm, authoritative video essay style.”
Who hosts this show
Thinking Basketball is created and hosted by Ben Taylor, the author of the 2016 book of the same name. Taylor, who has a background in cognitive and behavioral science, uses his platforms to go deeper on basketball analysis, history, and theory. His work often challenges common basketball narratives by combining granular film analysis with statistical deep dives.
Credentials & credits
- Author of "Thinking Basketball"
- Behavioral/Cognitive Scientist
- Creator of Thinking Basketball YouTube channel & podcast
- Partner with NBA for content analysis
Other ventures
- Thinking Basketball Podcast
- Thinking Basketball (book)
- Patreon community
- More Thinking Basketball (YouTube Channel)
- Content on official NBA platforms
What kind of podcast
- Country
- United States
- Region
- usa
When new episodes drop
- 01Everything that made the biggest Finals comeback possibleJun 12, 2026 · 16 min
- 02Dylan Harper's incredible potentialMay 31, 2026 · 13 min
- 03The Spurs Big Adjustment forces Game 7May 29, 2026 · 11 min
- 04(Sorry, Internet) The Thunder are too goodMay 24, 2026 · 11 min
- 05Is a 22-year old the best player in the world?May 13, 2026 · 15 min
- 06Father Time is losing to LeBronMay 2, 2026 · 10 min
- 07What if '90s players played in a modern NBA game?Apr 30, 2026 · 12 min
- 08The invisible hand influencing NBA playsApr 14, 2026 · 13 min
Notable episodes
- 01Everything that made the biggest Finals comeback possible
A detailed tactical breakdown of a fictional NBA Finals game, showcasing the show's signature style of analyzing specific plays and strategic adjustments in a high-stakes (though imagined) scenario.
- 02Dylan Harper's incredible potential
A deep-dive player profile that argues for a rookie's superstar potential, combining film of his skills with comparisons to all-time greats, representing the show's character analysis episodes.
- 03What if '90s players played in a modern NBA game?
An example of the show's more conceptual episodes, using a specific historical game to explore a popular hypothetical question about basketball's evolution.
What you'll be asked on this show
This is a solo-narrative show and does not feature guest interviews. The format consists of a single host (Ben Taylor) presenting a pre-scripted analysis. The questions posed in the videos are rhetorical devices used to frame a segment of analysis, not questions asked to another person.
This is a single-host, narrative video essay show; it is not an interview podcast. Host Ben Taylor uses a scripted, analytical voice-over on top of heavily edited game footage. His primary tools are slow-motion replays and on-screen annotations (circling players, drawing lines) to break down complex basketball actions into understandable components.
Signature segments
- · Detailed film breakdown with on-screen telestration
- · Use of rhetorical questions to frame analysis
- · Player comparisons to historical and contemporary stars
- · Sign-off: "And as always, I hope you are having a great day."
Topics covered repeatedly
Where to find this show
Audience & reach
The show is sponsored by a mix of brands, including tech (Saily), legal (Morgan & Morgan), and basketball-specific education (Sports Business Classroom). Based on episode evidence, the host sometimes integrates personal anecdotes into ad reads, such as discussing his past work in tech while promoting a law firm.
Subscriber and view counts are pulled live from YouTube and re-verified on a 30-day cycle. Listener estimates for the RSS feed aren't published here unless they're host-verified.
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People also ask
- Who is the host of Thinking Basketball?
- The creator and host is Ben Taylor, who also wrote the book "Thinking Basketball".
- Is this an interview show?
- No, Thinking Basketball is a solo-hosted video essay series. It does not feature guest interviews; the host presents scripted analysis over game footage.
- Where can I find more Thinking Basketball content?
- Ben Taylor has a book of the same name, a podcast, a Patreon with additional content, and also creates content for the official NBA app and the "More Thinking Basketball" YouTube channel.
- What are Ben Taylor's credentials?
- Ben Taylor is the author of "Thinking Basketball," has a background in cognitive and behavioral science, and partners with the NBA to create analytical content.
- What is the show's format?
- Each episode is a video essay that merges deep analysis of NBA game footage with statistical insights to explain tactical and player-specific concepts.
Built from the show's public RSS feed, YouTube, the host's own websites, and the cited sources below. Computed and AI-extracted fields are labelled. Facts only — no private info, no fabrication, no transcripts republished.
Sources & how this page was built
This page is AI-assisted, grounded in the public sources cited below, and host-verifiable. We publish facts only; we do not republish transcripts. If anything here is wrong, the host can claim and correct the page above.Model: gemini-2.5-pro · high confidence
- [01]Thinking Basketball - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
- [02]Thinking Basketball Websitethinkingbasketball.net
- [03]The Basketball Podcast: EP249 with Ben Taylor on Thinking Basketballbasketballimmersion.com
- [04]Thinking Basketball (Book) on Amazonamazon.com
- [05]Thinking Basketball Patreonpatreon.com
- [06]Ben Taylor's Twitter/X Profiletwitter.com
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