Marc Stein goes deep on James Harden's rough start with the Clippers, Dallas' surprising 7-2 record, other early season surprises and disappointments and the state of the inaugural In-Season Tournament on the latest edition of The Saturday Stein Line. Special guest: D Magazine correspondent Iztok Franko all the way from Slovenia.

This week The Saturday Stein Line dissects the latest dose of Luka Magic ... features interviews with the Dallas Mavericks' Josh Green and the Detroit Pistons' Cade Cunningham ... and closes with a deep World Series dive furnished by our special Rangers correspondent Chris Henderson.

On this jam-packed edition of The Saturday Stein Line, Marc Stein provides a number of updates on various Mavericks issues (Kyrie Irving's return from injury, lineup options, Josh Green's contract situation and the latest with Luka Dončić's calf strain) heading into Wednesday's season opener at San Antonio and also has interviews with Hall of Fame George Gervin about his new book and Mavericks forward Grant Williams.

Special episode of "The Saturday Stein Line" prior to Tipoff of Dallas Mavericks vs Minnesota Timberwolves live from Abu Dhabi. Marc recaps the preseason game from Thursday (10/5) between the two teams and speaks with Wolves head coach Chris Finch

The Mavericks' season is underway and we've got some insider whispers from training camp as well as an interview with longtime Mavs center Dwight Powell. All that, furthermore, is sandwiched by an in-depth breakdown of the Damian Lillard-to-Milwaukee blockbuster trade along with a bonus detour to Hollywood to check in with Rolling Stone's Alan Sepinwall for all the ins and outs of the demise of HBO's "Winning Time" series on the Showtime Lakers of the 1980s.

Mavericks coach Jason Kidd joins Marc Stein to preview Wednesday’s start of training camp and shares his thoughts on stars Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving, Dallas’ center situation and his plans for rookies Dereck Lively II and Olivier-Maxence Prosper.

The start of NBA training camps is drawing near and this jam-packed show helps get you ready with a lengthy look at the Mavericks' challenging October travel schedule (and the reasons behind it) as well as interviews with longtime NBA scribe Howard Beck about all the latest league developments and a visit with 97.1 The Freak's own Skin Wade.

Germany stunned the United States in the semifinals of the FIBA World Cup soon after Serbia ousted Canada. With Luka Dončić's Slovenia also losing in the quarterfinals earlier this week, this naturally became a World Cup-heavy show, with Mavericks radio play-by-play voice Chuck Cooperstein and Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vučević joining Marc as this week's special guests.

Marc Stein is back in studio after his US Open escape to New York and has a jam-packed return show talking FIBA World Cup with former Aussie Maverick Chris Anstey and D Magazine's Iztok Franko, diving deep on summer league with Mavericks assistant coach Jared Dudley and breaking down Mark Cuban's recent appearance on Patrick Beverley's podcast.

Where else can you get a full FIBA World Cup preview and a US Open tennis preview in the same show? Only here on the latest edition of The Saturday Stein Line, which features host Marc Stein interviewing reigning French Open doubles champion Austin Krajicek and his coach Philip Farmer as well as Stein visiting with his 97.1 The Freak teammates Ben Rogers and Skin Wade.

Marc Stein hosts an hour of live coverage of Basketball Hall of Fame induction weekend from Springfield, Mass., and is joined for two segments by 97.1 The Freak All-Stars Ben and Skin ... who can't believe they've sneaked their way into Dirk's VIP traveling party to attend the festivities.

Hours before Dirk Nowitzki gives his Hall of Fame induction speech in Springfield , Mass., Marc Stein reflects on his 25 years of covering Nowitzki from close range with a flurry of Nowitzki stories.

After years of guesting on their show, Stein finally achieves some role reversal by bringing Ben and Skin on as HIS guests. All three were in Springfield together to attend the weekend ceremonies are share their behind-the-scenes tales

Will Ben Rogers ever move past Dirk Nowitzki's once-frosty relationship with Dwyane Wade like Dirk says he has? Is Dirk the greatest athlete Dallas has ever seen? The guys tackle these topics and also share a compilation of congratulatory messages assembled by the Mavericks from Nowitzki's former teammates and Mavs luminaries.

Closing in on Dirk Nowitzki's official induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame, Marc Stein previews the week ahead with lots of buildup to Springfield ... including a one-on-one conversation with Nowitzki himself. Marc also covers all the latest with Luka Dončić and the Slovenian national team and Kyrie Irving's bold proclamations for next season.

Dirk Nowitzki to the Hall of Fame? Lionel Messi playing soccer in Frisco? A week of non-stop Dirk coverage on 97.1 The Freak? Marc Stein discusses it all to lead off the latest edition of his new show.

Marc Stein has covered Dirk Nowitzki for a quarter-century ... dating all the way back to Nowitzki's very first dribbles as a Dallas Maverick. As he prepares for his Hall of Fame induction next Saturday, Dirk joins Marc for a candid conversation.

The show shifts to focus on more current events, with in-depth coverage of Luka Dončić and his return to the Slovenian national team team amid the numerous challenges that the team already faces. Kyrie Irving has been in the news all week as well, so we discuss some of Kyrie's most recent comments and how they might impact the Mavericks.

Host Marc Stein sets the table for a more promising August than usual for NBA fans, interviews USA Basketball managing director Grant Hill about the FIBA World Cup, Jalen Brunson's rise and the USAB's ongoing pursuit of Joel Embiid for the 2024 Olympics AND answers a slew of audience questions about the Mavericks' offseason ... with an extended Luka Dončić update included.

Marc Stein explains the show's new name, introduces the first contest giveaway in show history and shares all the reasons why August is going to more exciting for NBA fans than usual.

This week's special interview guest is Hall of Famer Grant Hill, who discusses assembling USA Basketball's roster for the upcoming FIBA World Cup, why USAB wanted Jalen Brunson on the team so badly and its chances of convincing Joel Embiid to represent the United States rather than France at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

A little bit of soccer talk with Real Madrid and Barcelona bringing El Clasico to Dallas and lots of Mavericks talk with texter questions taken from the audience. Also discussed: The latest on Luka Dončić as he prepares for his first game action in nearly four months.

On top of the usual NBA talk, featuring a Damian Lillard trade update and a review of some Mavericks news items, we also spend considerable time this week discussing Lionel Messi's MLS debut with Inter Miami and previewing Cowboys training camp with special guests Tim Reynolds (The Associated Press) and Calvin Watkins (The Dallas Morning News).

The Associated Press' Tim Reynolds joins us to provide a first-person account from Lionel Messi's debut in MLS with Inter Miami and an update on the Damian Lillard trade saga.

Calvin Watkins of The Dallas Morning News gets us ready for Cowboys training camp and explains the differences between covering the NFL and the NBA.