Introducing Myself and My Substack
Hello all,
My name is Michael Neff. Welcome to my Substack!
Back in high school, I made a Twitter account in the hopes of learning more about basketball. Through Twitter, I quickly discovered a website called The Stepien. The Stepien cohort took a hyper-intellectual approach to basketball, especially the NBA Draft, which I found utterly fascinating. I started engaging with the NBA Draft Twitter community to advance my basketball knowledge, build my philosophy for winning basketball, and identify players who fit the mold. Eventually, I felt comfortable enough to start writing long-form articles and publishing personal rankings.
In a few years, that led me to a halfway decent Twitter following, conversations with industry professionals, and working alongside the smartest basketball analysts in the public sphere at Swish Theory. I appeared on multiple podcasts and wrote tens of thousands of words about the NBA Draft, and I loved every minute of it. Yet, shortly after the 2023 Draft, I stepped away.
Long story short, all I wanted was to work for an NBA team, work my way to become a general manager, and build a winning roster. Lofty, I know. That pursuit consumed me, and it changed scouting from a rewarding hobby into the lynchpin of my happiness and self-worth. I spent so much time studying basketball that I believed turning it into a career was the only way I could be happy. The more doors slammed in my face, the more self-doubt creeped in, and a career in the NBA seemed hopeless. I won’t get too in the weeds here, but suffice it to say: I was not doing well. I wasn’t having fun anymore, and at times scouting was counterproductive for my mental well-being.
So, I took an indefinite break from scouting and writing. Over the past couple years, I’ve gained some much-needed perspective. My motivations and interests extend far beyond basketball, and I’ve realized a happy life is possible without a career in the NBA.
With that said, I’ve got the itch to scout again. I’m coming back with renewed enthusiasm and ZERO pressure on myself. I simply want to enjoy basketball and share my thoughts with you all. I’ll use this Substack page to write about the NBA, NBA Draft prospects, team-building philosophy, scouting philosophy, and whatever else I want to write about related to basketball. You may see my writing elsewhere too, but this will act as home base for a lot of my work. I hope you’ll follow along!