Yardbarker

Zac Wassink

Zac Wassink is a longtime sports news writer and PFWA member who began his career in 2006 and has had his work featured on Yardbarker, MSN, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. He is also a football and futbol aficionado who is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment and who chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. You can find him on X at @ZacWassink

EXPERTISE:

NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, Premier League, MLS, US Soccer, UFC

The best active NBA player from every country

While the league's best player was born and raised in Northeast Ohio, the 2020s could be dominated by a handful of stars who first touched a basketball across the pond.

Best current NBA players at every age

Age is only a number. The NBA is a young man's game. Both adages and mantras ring true throughout the list of the best current players at every age in the Association ahead of the halfway point of the 2018-19 campaign.

NBA coaches, players and GMs already on the hot seat

The Cleveland Cavaliers officially tipped off their 2018-19 campaign, the first of the franchise's second post-LeBron James era, on Oct. 17 with a loss to the Toronto Raptors.

Most disappointing teams of the NBA season so far

Per Thomas King of Hardwood Houdini , only one team in NBA history started a campaign at 10-10 or worse and went on to win a championship. That's a bad sign for a handful of clubs — including one expected to reign atop its conference come springtime — following the Thanksgiving holiday.

Most surprising developments thus far in the NBA season

If you're one of those NBA fans who believes the season doesn't actually begin until Christmas Day, you may have missed some surprising developments and interesting turns and twists over the first month of the 2018-19 campaign.

Breakout players for every NFL team

The halfway point of the 2018 NFL regular season has come and gone, and, as is always the case, the campaign has provided fans with numerous surprises and breakout players.

Ranking the best dunkers in the NBA

Ranking the best dunkers in the NBA for any given season or period is subjective and based largely, if not entirely, on personal preference. Your favorite dunker may simply be your favorite player.

Each NFL team's most impressive rookie

The best overall rookie, as it pertains to physical gifts and talents, starts for arguably the worst team in the league and an organization responsible for a small October fire sale. 

15 best NBA players in their 30s

A famous adage says that one cannot teach an old dog new tricks. The supposed top old dogs of the NBA heading into the 2018-19 campaign need no such pointers.

25 best NBA players under 25

The future of the Association is, indeed, bright. A plethora of stars under the age of 25, some of whom are cornerstones of the league, are ready to ascend the mountain and claim the throne from the likes of LeBron James and Kevin Durant.

NBA coaches ranked for 2018-19

Coaching in the NBA is as much about man-management as it is about strategies and specific schemes. The perception exists, fair or not, that the most powerful players in the Association can easily get coaches fired for just about any given reason.

20 people around the NBA facing make-or-break seasons

Money isn't everything. Remember that before speculating on which NBA players may be facing make-or-break seasons ahead of the 2018-19 campaign. A veteran

Five contenders for each NBA award

 For the first time since the 2011 NBA Finals, LeBron James won't feature for the Eastern Conference champions. A new could face could emerge as league MVP.

The top 20 centers in the NBA

NBA center is an endangered species among professional athletes. One can't go a full year anymore without hearing or seeing this take offered by analysts, observers and fans.

The top 25 forwards in the NBA

Positions are becoming more difficult to pinpoint seemingly with each NBA season. Guards play forward. Forwards feature at center. LeBron James can literally play anywhere from the one to the five, depending on the lineup the Los Angeles Lakers want to run on any given night.

The top 25 guards in the NBA

If the 1980s and 1990s were the golden age of the NBA, then we are living in a golden age of guard play in the Association. Guards earned regular-season

NBA players who may retire after this season

Father Time is undefeated in battles vs. all athletes, and that will forever be the case. Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi won't dominate world football through 2030.

Players with most to prove heading into NBA season

Fans and observers often joke that NBA offseasons are as entertaining and fun as some regular seasons because of free agency and other transactions that occur during the summer months.

Memorable NASCAR feuds throughout the years

Unlike in competitions in leagues such as the NFL and NHL, NASCAR feuds, more often than not, come down to mano-a-mano showdowns. Truth be told, we've seen drivers who are teammates begin rivalries with each other after trading paint on tracks.

The 50 greatest defensive NFL players of all time

Defense wins championships. Football fans hear the famous adage literally every year. Examples such as the 2000-01 Baltimore Ravens, 2007-08 New York Giants and 2013-14 Seattle Seahawks seemingly prove the saying true.

The 50 greatest WRs of all time

Some sports debates are destined to continue forever, or at least as long as that particular game and/or league exists. That's not the case regarding the greatest wide receiver in NFL history.

The 50 greatest QBs of all time

In April 2018, Adam Steele of TheGridFe.com offered a formula for determining the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history. If only the process was so easy.

The top 25 left-handed hitters of all time

The greatest left-handed hitters in Major League Baseball history generated nightmares for both righty and southpaw pitchers. Who among the 25 men spotlighted in this piece you believe to be the best of the bunch likely depends on preferred traits among batters.

Biggest winners and losers from the 2018 Men's World Cup

The greatest World Cup of our lifetimes (allegedly) didn't disappoint from the opening match all the way through an entertaining Final won by a France side propelled by a non-stop attack and a phenomenal back line playing in front of the tournament's top goalkeeper who, humorously, had one howler in him that he saved for July 15.

Position-by-position breakdown of Men's World Cup Final teams

Bet against Croatia at your own risk.  That is the significant talking point among those backing the underdogs heading into the 2018 World Cup Final. France are the better team that bossed a harsher bracket en route to the Final.