Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Thursday, December 4, 2025
The Print Edition Print Subscription
Donate | About | Join Us
Advertise | Submit a Tip
Subscribe to our newsletters

Jonah Cowan

The Intangibles Graphic
Columns

The Intangibles: Selling the Integrity of the Sport

By Jonah Cowan | November 21

In 2014, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver advocated for the legalization of sports betting in a New York Times op-ed. His main argument was one similar to one made for cannabis legalization: “Sports betting should be brought out of the underground and into the sunlight where it can be appropriately monitored and regulated.” In that same op-ed, Silver stated, “one of my biggest responsibilities [as commissioner] is to protect the integrity of professional basketball.” It is clear Silver views his role as juggling the ideals of maximum profit and total sporting integrity.  

The Intangibles Graphic
Columns

The Intangibles: LaVar Ball and a parent’s ambition

By Jonah Cowan | October 23

LaVar Ball deserves credit for painstakingly molding his three sons, Lonzo, LiAngelo and LaMelo, into elite basketball players and celebrities from their earliest years. The three brothers became a sensation in 2016 at Chino Hills High School, and now two of them are established NBA players. The middle child is a rapper. But what happens when the manufacturing of children into elite athletes fails?

The Intangibles Graphic
Column

The Intangibles: Kyrie Irving, rightfully misunderstood

By Jonah Cowan | October 8

Who is Kyrie Irving? My intention here is not to absolve Irving of responsibility, but rather to understand what led him towards anti-vaxxing and conspiratorial ideologies, and how he has evolved since then. I would like understand him as a person first, then analyze him specifically as a person desiring influence.

The Intangibles Graphic
News

The Intangibles: What Ben Simmons can teach us

By Jonah Cowan | September 12

Ben Simmons was one of the most talented basketball players of his generation. He was so talented that he sleepwalked to the first pick in the 2016 NBA draft off raw talent alone. He was so talented that he was an All-NBA Third Team Player in 2020. He was a genuinely elite NBA player.

The Intangibles Graphic
Columns

The Intangibles: Disaster in Denver

By Jonah Cowan | April 15

Last Tuesday, the Denver Nuggets informed their championship coach Mike Malone and general manager Calvin Booth that they were both fired. Let me repeat that again, the Nuggets gutted the two most important decision-makers in their organization — the week before the playoffs. What is going on in Denver?

The Intangibles Graphic
Columns

The Intangibles: Distortions of March Madness

By Jonah Cowan | March 31

March Madness asks each and every player: In the most important games you will ever play, who are you? What are you made of when your name and future are on the line? Often, the tournament is an indicator of success at the next level, and the bright lights singularly reveal the deepest psychology of these talented players.

The Intangibles Graphic
Basketball

The Intangibles: The visceral experience of rivalry

By Jonah Cowan | March 25

On the eve of the Lakers-Celtics game, I decided to go to TD Garden even though I had no tickets. I wore a yellow Lakers beanie and an army jacket with a private’s patch long since removed. As tip off approached, I decided to interact with some fans outside the arena, as I resisted intrusive thoughts to sneak into the game and watch. I wanted to experience the famed rivalry firsthand through the crowd — to witness the best rivalry in basketball.

The Intangibles Graphic
Columns

The Intangibles: On Victor Wembanyama’s health

By Jonah Cowan | February 24

We know that Victor Wembanyama will be one of the greatest basketball players of all time — if he stays healthy. This is the statement that defines his career. Now, Wembanyama is out for the rest of the season with a deep vein thrombosis and a blood clot in his shoulder which, according to Dr. Brian Sutterer, “could have traveled to his lungs and killed him.”

More articles »

Trending
The Tufts Daily Crossword with an image of a crossword puzzle
The Print Edition
Tufts Daily front page