THE CHAT With Hali, Maxey, and Drew

…Please stand up. Metaphorically, of course, because the real inspiration for the already acclaimed film passed years ago. Defector tells the story of Marty Reisman and how the US used to run the table, tennis style. 

If you’ve ever watched your favorite team and jokingly said, “They should put me in,” maybe it’s time you start taking yourself a little more seriously. It really happened for this father-son duo at Compton College.   

All my friends are like, “Rome is fine, Paris is cool, London is whatever, Berlin is the place to be!” and I’m always like, “prove it!” Matthew Roberson of GQ Sports went to the Colts-Falcons game, and I must admit, he makes a strong case. See you at a rave, I guess! 

Sneaker culture is in a…stagnant…place. By that, I mean it’s hard to understand if anyone even cares about drops in the same way they used to. With so many sneaker franchises existing at each brand, silhouettes have become overplayed, says writer Jay Smith. What say you?

I’m a simple woman. Someone writes a profile on Flau’jae Johnson? I read it. Especially if that someone is my friend at Women’s Health, Isabel McMahon. Here’s what they got into. 

Tyrese Haliburton, Tyrese Maxey, and their (and many others’) trainer Drew Hanlen spent the first half of the Lakers-Thunder game last night hanging out on WhatsApp with each other, us, and whoever was lucky enough to get into the exclusive group chat. 

And as these chats always go, there was a lot of trash talk. Particularly about each other’s hair, for some reason. Which was honestly funny enough if that was all the chat was. 

Lucky for us, they kept going for the entire first half. 

We even got an exclusive look at Hali’s “Love & Basketball” colorway.

Drew asked the important questions, and Hali had the perfect retorts.  

And Tyrese Maxey learned new stuff about geography and technology. 

Sadly, nothing lasts forever. The fellas sent goodbye videos (which you could have watched if you were there) and went on their way. 

But they’re always with us…No matter what. 

Special thanks to WhatsApp, and the Tyreses and Drew!   

This is your weekly reminder from me that this is Jordan Chiles's world and we’re all just livin’ in it. Perhaps it’s the Aries in her, as Keke Palmer said of her (if you’re the podcast listenin’ type, their episode is very worth consuming). Whatever it is, you could argue there’s no one doing it like her. She has such a strong and fierce sweetness about her — no one else even seems to compare. There’s a reason everyone wants her associated with their brand or show or social accounts. And if you haven’t been following what she’s up to right now, here’s the truncated list: 

She’s still going strong on Dancing with the Stars — a show I felt like few were watching previously, but is now top of mind for so many, even among TV’s white whale, Gen Z. And she’s taking her dance moves from boob tube (why do we say that) to the hardwood, aka performing at UCLA’s basketball games. 

She’s put her coach hat on with Julianne Hough and Normani and a little dance team called the Laker Girls. And her social advocate hat on in calling out the difficulties she faced as a Black woman during the Paris Olympics. 

I’d say she’s the moment, but she’s more than a moment.