‘Hot Takedown’ Wonders: Do Stars Matter?


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After Chris Paul and Alex Ovechkin were knocked out of their playoffs this month, there were a lot of hot takes about how neither was a big enough star to carry his team to a championship. On this week’s “Hot Takedown,” Kate Fagan, Neil Paine and Chadwick Matlin look at some of the research on whether you need a star to win a title, or whether winning a title makes you a star. According to Neil’s analysis, the sport that relies on star players the most is basketball — then come baseball, football and hockey.



Here are the notes Neil worked from for the conversation:

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This video is an excerpt from our sports podcast “Hot Takedown.” Find the full episode by subscribing on iTunes or through one of the podcasting clients below.

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