About Us

Basketball wants to evolve. We’re here to help. Swish Theory brings together a collection of the sharpest minds from unique backgrounds and with diverse skill sets who have one thing in common: we love basketball. Our goal is to provide you with the resources you need to understand the game at the highest level. No tired narratives or hot takes: just love for the game.

Lead Editor

Matt Powers

@draftpow

Matt has wanted to analyze basketball since he wrote a research paper in middle school about being an NBA GM. A writer by trade, Matt has primarily worked in economic and financial data analysis. In a similar way, Matt, aka Pow, is interested in interpreting basketball stats as well as team-building and player development philosophy. Based in NYC, Matt previously wrote about the 2022 NBA draft for The Stepien. While he has no true single favorite team, if you’re a 20-win team trying to put the pieces together to build a dynasty, he’s going to be watching. Beyond that, and as a poet at heart, Matt has a love for the artistry, flow and dynamic strategy unique to the sport.

Contributor

Gannon Rice

@ricegannon

Gannon was born and raised in Chicago, IL. He is currently a freshman at Purdue University, majoring in applied statistics. Gannon was a basketball manager in high school for 3 years and looking to do so soon for the Boilermakers. In 10 years, he hopes to be working for a basketball team, whether that be coaching, scouting, or on the data analytics team. On Tuesday nights, you can find him screaming at the TV when Bulls games are on or searching for confirmation bias to push his Lonzo Ball propaganda. Improper closeouts are his biggest pet peeve. Gannon is a partaker of self-improvement, consistently looking to learn more and become a better person each day.

Contributor

David Sajdak

@davidsajdak8

David analyzes basketball through both a statistical and anecdotal lens, specializing in data visualization and the NBA draft. When he’s not analyzing the game objectively, he’s a big Mavs fan, so don’t be too surprised if that side of him shows itself every once in a while :). Aside from that, David is also a huge soccer fan, and always welcomes a talk about the beautiful game or other questions about his work if you want to shoot him a DM.

Contributor

Joe Hulbert

@JoeHulbertNBA

Joe lives in England via a five-year stint in New York. He is a graduate of the University of Kent, earning a Bachelors’ degree in History. His love of basketball was fuelled by Chris Webber and Vlade Divac’s passing. His niche is in trying to make X’s and O’s accessible for everyone, he dreams of a world where NBA fans are discussing Ghost screens and X–Outs. He’s a lifelong Manchester City fan and enjoys spreading Erling Haaland propaganda in his group chats.

Contributor

Mark Cheung

@MarkC_NBA

Mark spent his adolescent years playing, watching, and obsessing over baseball until he realized basketball was much cooler. Today, he loves watching bad basketball teams, doesn’t believe in busts, and writes about basketball sometimes. Within the sport, Mark’s biggest interests are analytical and film approaches to charting player tendencies, player development from a role and lineup context standpoint, and skill development. Outside of basketball, Mark loves debating about albums, trying his best to play guitar and bass, and being perpetually stuck at rating 1000 on chess.com.

Contributor

Neema Djavadzadeh

@FindingNeema23

Neema is a native Houstonian and alumni of the Syracuse University Sport Analytics program, as well as the Columbia University Sport Management Master’s program. He has spent the last 3 years as an assistant to Houston-based skills trainer Aaron Miller, and was a data assistant for the Columbia Women’s Basketball team. Neema spent the 2021-22 season working in League Operations for the NBA G League, and was working on the G League Ignite crew as a data analyst. A known not-writer, Neema will be focusing on developmental tracks of players, biomechanics, G League Ignite propaganda and Jim Boeheim slander. Feel free to reach out with any questions!

Contributor

Yosef

@ThunderFilmRoom

Yosef is a native Oklahoman and is a University of Oklahoma Alum. His love for basketball originally started in 2006 when he watched a young Dwyane Wade lead the Miami Heat past the Dallas Mavericks in those sleek silk red jerseys, but his love went to the next level when the Thunder came to OKC. He enjoys the X’s & O’s of the game, scouting, player development, analytics, and mixing in some science because of his biology background. His ultimate goal is to help basketball fans understand the game at a deeper level while making it enjoyable and simple to digest. Outside of basketball, you can find him watching every possible football game during the weekend, and he’s an avid golf fan.

Contributor

Avinash

@100guaranteed

Avinash is endlessly fascinated by the NBA Draft. His computational background fuels his interest in data analysis, biomechanics, and sports medicine. Avinash is primarily interested in understanding variations in player development, which he attempts to analyze in greater depth as the co-host of the Unhinged Scouting Notebook Podcast with Mike Gribanov. You will often find him on Twitter defending the legacies of Franz Wagner, Tari Eason, and Chimezie Metu. If you have any questions about his work or research, feel free to reach out in his Twitter DMs.

Co-Host of the Swish Theory Podcast

Larry Golden

@_LarroHoops

Larry was born in Melrose Park, Illinois and is currently still living in the Chicagoland area with his wife and children. While Larry attended Bunker Hill Community College in Charlestown, MA he was an assistant coach for the Men’s basketball team. His love for the game was amplified by Carmelo Anthony’s Oak HIll Academy matchup versus Lebron’s St. Vincent St. Mary’s team on ESPN. He is an avid film observer, coaches his AAU team (since 2010), scouts NBA prospects, and is growing his analytical knowledge. Larry has a goal to be a coach collegiately or in the NBA. Outside of his love for basketball you can catch him tweeting about his love-hate relationship with the Chicago Bears. Don’t hesitate to reach out via his Twitter DM.

Co-Host of the Swish Theory Podcast

Kris Amundsen

@klahoops

Kris grew up in Southern California and currently lives there with his wife and two boys. He first discovered his love of basketball while attending law school and has been looking for continued opportunities to learn and engage in it since. Kris especially loves team-building, trades (even fake ones), and underappreciated players (currently serving a second term as president of Wendell Carter Jr. island). He wants to use his speaking, writing, and critical thinking to help himself and others better understand basketball as well as change the culture of fandom and analysis, with a focus on always treating athletes like people first regardless of the on-court critique. Kris is available for any inquiries, or if you know where he could get his hands on a Jimmer Fredette Chicago Bulls jersey. 

Web/SEO

Ross Pinsler

@chisportsross

Ross grew up in the suburbs of Chicago watching the Chicago Bulls in the aftermath of the Jordan era. It was not always pretty! But in 2008, the fortunes of the Bulls changed, and so did the trajectory of Ross’s life. Basketball became an everyday facet of his life, along with interests in journalism, graphic design, web development, and social media picked up along the way. Ross has merged these interests and skills into a successful career in brand creation and management. It’s not all memes and jokes on Twitter. He really does actual work sometimes!

Glue Guy

Chip Jones

@ChipJNBA

Chip was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois where he still resides today with his girlfriend and puppy. He has always been obsessed with sports from a young age. Chip first made a living in esports before shifting focus to basketball in the summer of 2021. First writing for a Chicago Bulls news site before shifting focus to the NBA draft through posting videos on his YouTube channel. He has since worked with Ben Taylor’s Thinking Basketball as a video scout.

Contributor & Editor

Oscar K

@Oscar_Hoops

Oscar is a childhood Knicks fan who turned his favorite team’s annual visits to the lottery into a passion for the NBA Draft and player development. When he’s not writing about the draft, he can be found stressing over the latest heartbreaking New York sports loss, pushing his Sharife Cooper to the Hall of Fame agenda, or spending an unreasonable amount of time hunting for shiny Pokémon.

Contributor

Will Morris

@w_a_morris

Will Morris is a 19-year old from Newburyport, Massachusetts. He’s currently a Freshman at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. Will has enjoyed watching basketball for as long as he can remember, growing up a die hard Celtics fan. He will always stand by the fact that Grant Williams’ game 7 performance in Milwaukee was one of the greatest events to ever take place upon a hardwood floor. He started writing and tweeting about the draft in 2020. Outside of basketball, Will enjoys running along the wooded trails of New England and paddle-boarding on the Merrimack River.

Graphic Design

Mike Staff

@mikestaff22

Mike grew up in western Illinois and has been a sports fan his whole life. He fell in love with sports at an early age, especially basketball, and has been attached ever since. He is an avid Chicago Bulls fan and tries to never miss watching a game. Mike is a freshman at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and is majoring in graphic design. He hopes to work in the sports industry as a graphic designer after he graduates college.

Contributor

AJ Carter

@NBA_Jeremy1

AJ, also known as Jeremy, was raised in California but currently lives and goes to college in Central Texas. As a huge fan of both the NBA and college basketball growing up, that eventually led into a deep interest in the NBA Draft and scouting process. He is a heavy film watcher and is looking to expand on his knowledge and application of analytics. Outside of sports, AJ enjoys spending time outside and enjoying nature. Feel free to reach out to him if you ever have any questions!

Contributor

Danny Johnson

@dannyjohnson_23

Danny grew in Minnesota where he still lives today. He’s been a passionate sports fan for as long as he can remember (tough for those living in, and cheering for Minnesota sports teams). His interest in statistics fuels his desire to share his thoughts and findings with others. Outside of his work here at Swish Theory, he also makes a footprint in the college basketball landscape as an advanced scout. Feel free to reach out to Danny at any time to discuss your favorite teams!

Contributor

Tyler Wilson

@ProspectingNBA

Tyler was raised in San Antonio, Texas and is an alumnus of Baylor University. He now lives in the sauna of the south, also known as Houston, Texas with his wife and one-year-old son (who shares a name with an undisclosed Spurs legend). Tyler fell in love with the game as a child, watching his hometown Spurs compete for titles year after year.

He began writing the Prospecting Leads substack during the 2021-22 season after years of lurking within the online NBA draft community where he wrote about prospect analysis, potential team fit and draft philosophy. When he isn’t internally debating the nature of team building Tyler can be found teaching his son how to play through contact on their Little Tikes basketball hoop or watching reality television with his wife (the cost of love).

Contributor

Nick Nelson

@nicktharula

Nick grew up with hoops all around him in the suburbs of Atlanta, GA and has been infatuated with the game since a kid. He’s currently a junior at Georgia State University and a diehard Laker fan. He prides himself on being on top of player evaluation and player development, whether it be HS, college, or in the pros. He has taken dabbles in coaching and has gone on personal scouting missions across the metro Atlanta area checking out top prospects. Nick also takes a liking to the X’s and O’s of the game and figuring out the everlasting “how?” and “why?” questions of basketball. Feel free to reach out any time.. well except when he is live tweeting Laker games.

Contributor

Josh Abercrombie

@joshaber_sports

Josh was born in Toledo, Ohio, and has lived there for his whole life. He is currently a freshman at Syracuse University and is majoring in Sports Analytics. Josh has been a fan of sports for his entire life, but has taken a big focus on basketball over the last 5-10 years. He is fascinated with nearly every facet of basketball, more specifically Xs and Os, analytics, player development, player evaluation, and roster construction. Josh is an avid fan of the Detroit Pistons, and his fandom of the Pistons was one of the reasons that he started getting into NBA draft scouting. In his free time, you can find Josh spending quality time with friends or family, or playing basketball at one of the local gyms.

Contributor

Ryan Kaminski

@BeyondTheRK

I’ve loved basketball since the days of Shaq and T Mac putting Orlando on the map. I do NBA scouting and data analytics, specializing in data visualization with Tableau and Python. In the past I’ve made data viz for The BBall Index and currently I write scouting reports for Swish Theory, while covering the Orlando Magic, NBA, and NBA Draft on my channels, find me under the handle
@BeyondTheRK on Twitter/Substack/YouTube/Medium. I enjoy thinking and writing about team building front office strategy; matchup advantages; lineup combinations; along with scouting grassroots prospects; watching film to learn about players, plays, and teams; and telling players’ development stories with articles, videos, and data viz. I stay looking for work in the field of basketball scouting and data analytics.