Mirin Fader

Before every game, Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco takes a moment to himself, bowing his head and saying a quick prayer for his late siblings, Celeste Cannon and Travoise Cannon. They are always with him. Before the game. During the game. After the game. In his heart, his mind. He thinks about them often—and if they could see him now. See how far he’s come since he lost them. Pacheco was just a high schooler trying to find his way when Travoise was killed in January 2016, the victi…

There’s an urgency about Kara Lawson. You can hear it in the way she speaks, you can see it in the way she moves. Her eyes expand, her shoulders stiffen. When the Duke women’s basketball coach leans forward, you feel the power of her undivided attention. Each word has weight, a hidden parable. “There’s three things that can never drop,” Lawson says, “and that’s your work ethic and your focus and your discipline. Those have to stay high.” Her cadence begins to quicken. “There’s different things t…

Austin Reaves stood off to the side as cameras flashed brightly in the distance. He was just out of frame, watching his teammates pose during the Los Angeles Lakers’ media day earlier this month. LeBron James and Anthony Davis, with 27 All-Star appearances combined, walked in front of a white backdrop, getting ready to take a photo together. Then a cameraman called upon Reaves, a third-year guard who went undrafted out of Oklahoma two summers ago, and signaled for him to join in. Reaves tried no…

The Los Angeles Rams’ fifth-round pick seemingly came out of nowhere to become this season’s breakout star receiver, but he won’t stop working to prove he belongs

A trade to Las Vegas last year gave the All-Pro receiver the fresh start and individual validation he needed. But now he’s 30 and trying to chase a championship without the only quarterbacks he’s ever known.

Purdue’s 7-foot-4 center might be college basketball’s biggest lightning rod, but he’s learned how to harness the hate, turning him into arguably the best big man in the country. “I play better when I’m pissed off,” he says.

Basketball gave Greg Oden everything. Then took it all away. No one would blame the former no. 1 pick for walking away from a game that brought him so much pain, but Oden simply can’t quit basketball. He still, miraculously, loves it. Now he’s back home again in Indiana, searching for purpose on the sidelines at Butler.

The 17-year-old with the familiar last name and silky shooting stroke is out to prove he’s much more than just a famous hooper’s son. “Proving to them that I can make it as Andrej—and not Peja’s son.”

How does a future lottery pick fly under the radar for so long? It’s taken a long time for Iowa’s star sophomore to make a name for himself, but he learned patience early on, waiting for the right spurt and spot to lead him to the NBA.

No. 1 South Carolina’s biggest X factor shows up when it matters most, largely because the big moments she stares down on the hardwood pale in comparison to what she’s endured in real life

Mirin talks about converting her feature story into a book, how Giannis’s free agency affected the timeline, and publishing a book as Giannis dominates the NBA Finals