Best of 2019: Sports Writing

A beautifully written, wrenching story from one of the best feature writers in America. It’s about football, sure, but it’s actually about a son and the mother who raised him — a mother who was blinded in her late 20s by a bucket of bleach mixed with lye. DeAndre Hopkins was 10 years old at the time. Mina Kimes’ brilliant prose tells an incredible story of resilience and love. It’ll stick with you for quite some time after: If her son scores, she explains, her daughter will help her stand up and lean over the barrier so she can accept the football from Hopkins. This ritual serves as a remin…

Louisa Thomas interviews the acclaimed N.B.A. writer on her days as the only woman in the locker room, and the evolving challenge of reporting on sports.

Playing the world’s game, on the world’s stage, under attack by a world leader, she dominated. And in doing so without fear, she became a voice for so many across the world. Megan Rapinoe is SI's 2019 Sportsperson of the Year.

Katie Barnes’ writing is always a treat, and this story is a great example of why. With this profile, Barnes shines a light on Diamond DeShields, a player poised to break out in the WNBA, and elevates her apart from famous athlete father and famous athlete brother, allowing her to shine on her own terms.

As another college football season fades into a sea of confetti and celebration, we owe it to ourselves, the institutions we cheer for, and the hideous history of players dying while playing college football to remember the tragedy that occurred at Maryland last year and to demand change

"Women need the opportunity. They deserve the opportunity."

Through just one conversation with the 19-year-old New York Liberty rookie (via a translator), Everett Cook dives far beneath the simple quirk of Han Xu’s existence as both the tallest active player in the WNBA and its first Chinese draft pick since 1997. Instead of wondering what everyone else wonders when they first see Han — when will she fulfill her destiny as the female Yao? — readers will finish the piece simply hoping that she’ll soon feel less alone. As captured in the profile, Han ducks to avoid ceiling fans, scrapes pickled chiles off her pizza after ordering from a menu she can’t…

Opinion: I’m not proud of this country’s curtailment of human rights, but I am proud of Megan Rapinoe and her team for demanding better.

Gun violence, high school football and what coaches are doing to keep players safe

Before bike messenger Robyn Hightman was killed in New York City, life was was defined by perseverance and promise. In an instant, it was over.

NFL teams are in search of the next offensive mastermind, but where are they looking? For many black coaches, this year’s coaching cycle felt like another instance of the league moving the goalposts.

It's been one year since she became the most famous figure skater in the world. How do you move on from being the best?

Hurricanes, erosion, and hot, windless doldrums threaten to upend one of Hawaii’s most revered athletic events

The 1948 game between the Globetrotters and Minneapolis Lakers that changed basketball forever