Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective - SPECIAL EDITION: What The Knicks Mean To NYC & This Epic NBA Finals Run

Episode Date: June 10, 2026

Brian Windhorst is joined by ESPN's Tim Bontemps and Tim MacMahon from Gotham Comedy Club in NYC to talk about the importance of the Knicks to the city and break down this epic NBA Finals battle with the Spurs with some special guests. First, legendary Knicks’ PA announcer Mike Walczewski joins us with his famous voice to talk what this run has meant to him and how he got into his role. Then, former Knick, NBA Champion and current ESPNer Iman Shumpert joins us to talk about his time with the Knicks, Linsanity, this series and what basketball is like in NYC. Finally, we are joined by Michael C. Wright and Vince Goodwill to get special insight behind the curtain for both of these teams in the NBA Finals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, mid-sized business. We see your big ambitions, but how do you achieve the wins you want when your technology is holding you back? SAP Grow is built to grow with your business, no matter its size, with AI embedded at its core, working across every system, all ready to go from day one so you can hit the ground running. Bring it with SAP Grow. AI Cloud ERP for any size business. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the host of the HOOC collective. Ryan. He was a voice for the last 38 years at Madison Square Garden.

One of our most appreciated fans, Mike Walschuski. Introduce him. Mike, you come up here for a shame. I've been to a lot of games at the Garden, and I've wanted to do a show in New York City for a long time, and it's pretty cool to be in New York City. It's pretty cool to be in New York City. City doing a live show at the Gotham Comedy Club and having Mike Walschuski introduce us.

That is a pretty awesome thing. So thank you, sir. Thank you. It's instinctive. I do that in the morning and the shower and stuff. It just translates down here. My wife is sick of it, so I got a new new people to practice on. I know that last night was a big night because you were in a suit. That's right, and I heard about that, and I was told never. to wear a suit for the rest of the playoffs because I jinked the ninks. Hold on, hold on, hold it. Was it orange like champs? It was, I had the bright orange tie and I had the blue jacket, so I was patriotic and they

said, we don't care how you come, just don't wear the jacket and tie. So that's it. This has been a very, very special couple of months at the garden. One of the things that we've noticed, we've been going to the garden for years, as I'm sure many of you have, this crowd, this city is in love with this team. And I just want you to tell us how it's been for you to experience this season. This season has been wonderful, and it's been a sneaky season because the team started out, good team, but then it just a couple of months ago

went into a different year. The connectivity was great. The ball movement was great. the players were just meshing very, very well. And once we got into the playoffs, especially once we got past those first game or two, I said it was shining. I mean, it was great. It was beautiful.

And I think everybody will say it's just been beautiful basketball to watch for the last month and a half. And I'm sure right now some of the best memories that we possibly could have of the Knicks are happening right now. but let me ask you. I mean, there's not that much competition

from like the last two decades. You're already doing your job. Good job, buddy. What of your 38 years, what are your favorite memories? Oh, gosh. My favorite memory, or one of my favorite memories, was really the first time we went to the finals in 94, and we had a very, very good team.

But unfortunately, game three at the Garden. some people probably don't remember this. If you're old enough, you do. We had split the first two games with Houston, and Sam Cassell hit the heartbreaker. Game three. I think a few people remember while here. That one hurt, but the rest of the series was great,

and it was my first taste of the NBA finals. Was he doing the big balls dance yet? No, I don't believe so. That was rookie Cassell, wasn't it? Yeah. I think it might have been rookie. Yes. Now, I don't want you to feel any pressure, because I know that this is your, you're not used to this,

but you know that the broadcast this year has begun to feature the introductions. Right. And I just want you to know that last night's game in China had 50 million viewers alone. Really? Whoa. Not to mention the probably 20 million we had in the United States

and who knows what else across the world. So now that you are being featured on the broadcast, is this an extra layer that is affecting you? Yeah, and nobody in China was in my family. So that's all legit stuff. So that's awesome. That's awesome. Obviously, everybody who's here has had you as the voice of the Knicks basically their whole lives. But how did you get into this job in the first place?

Okay, I'll take a two-hour story and condensing into less than a minute. minute. Basically, went to Fordham University. You might have heard of it, Mike Green, all that. And I was sports director there for a couple of years. And after that, I did a little bit of everything in basketball on the game night crew. And so I've done the clock, the stats, the whole bit. But I had a little bit of a voice, and I had done PA. And then, as it turned out, after that, I had done some gigs for the United States Basketball League, so that was Manute Bowl and Spud Webb. I was thinking of that coming down here.

The difference between Jalen Brunson and Victor Wambaynama is like one foot two inches, at least listed. The difference between Spud Webb and Manute Bowl was two feet two inches. And Spud Wed wasn't exactly built, you know, but I did those games for a year. did a little Seton Hall, did a little bit of this. And then my predecessor, John Condon, who started in 1946,

that was the first year of the Knicks. He unfortunately became ill, so they auditioned for a backup. So in the history of the Knicks, there's been two PA guys. In 80 years, yes. Wow. Yeah. Pretty good. Yeah.

Pretty good. Yeah, I mean. That's what we call an icon. All right, so I thought maybe you would help us. You may know and may remember a little bit our special guest. So if you could help tell everybody who we have here, I think you may know how to pronounce his name. Our special guest?

Yeah, who is coming out right now. Oh, that guy. Ladies and gentlemen. I just go into the mode, you know. And I haven't had anything to drink. Yeah. Yeah. I'll change in a couple of minutes.

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Iman Schumpard! Mike Walschuski, let me tell you something, you have not lived until you've driven across Manhattan at 1.30 in the morning in a car with Amman Shumper and Jeremy Lynn, and listening to them negotiate where they're going out to dinner. excuse not to come out. Probably wisely. Yeah, yeah, he got up out of there, man. But we had a nice dinner at Say Les. Told y'all y'all should care.

Yeah, it was the thing. It was like, Who's on First was happening? You know, Jay Lynn was like, where are you going? Jeremy, say less. Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm like, no, Jeremy, we go in to say less. It's a restaurant. That literally went down.

Oh, my God. Yeah, but it's cool, man. And we got to shoot the cold open with Jeremy. Malika made sure to keep us both involved, and then we got to be on set together. But we had a lot of banter going back and forth, just talking about old games, talking about his signature game in Toronto,

the Kobe game, the Mavericks game. He kind of like, it's all a blur to him. And it was just cool to see him live in that moment again. What was that run light? I mean, I covered it as a media person. but I mean you were living it. What was that whole thing like back then? What?

Shum's hair was this high. You guys remember that? No, no, no, no. During this Saturday, I had a high time. Oh, you already got me. Yeah, yeah, I had to fade back then. All right, I apologize. You were in a row, baby.

You were in there? You were the around, baby. But it was, for me, I found out a lot about myself because if you remember, like, for most of the year, I had to, you know, take the point guard low on where my body was still adjusting to the league. You know what I'm saying? I didn't really know what it was like to play this many games. And then it was also done at a time during the lockout.

So we had a game every day, sometimes four games, five nights, and my body had never been to that. Or five games at six nights that. Yeah, it was out of control. Yeah, it was out of control. People were dropping like flies. But I just remember going through that and being so exhausting in that Nets game. And I had to guard D. Rose, then Rondo, then Darren Williams.

So I was like, my body just, I remember that game, me and Darren Williams looking at each other. And I'm like almost talking to him, like, with me. my eyes like, hey dog, get off the ball. Pass it. I don't got nothing left. But Mello was like short on every shot. I just remember us, like, both teams just exhausted. The NBA season just was, it was a tough one. And Jay Lynn checked in that game. And he was running so fast. It was so obvious. He didn't have nothing going on with his.

He was so healthy. Oh, man. Oh, God. My knees was shot. My hips was hurting. And Jay Lynn was so fresh. He was doing spit moves, everything. And then everybody thought it was fluff.

And they didn't realize I had a MCL sprain early that season. And Jay Lynn is how I got back in shape and got back right. Me and him were playing one-on-one full court. We were doing a lot of stuff, drilling stuff in a half court. but me and Jay Lynn almost could predict each other's moves. So I kind of knew, like, though he's got energy, surely he got game. I'm like, nobody knows he got game and a little bit of swagger with it. So reminding him of, you know, the Kobe game, you know, those atmospheres.

That Kobe game, I mean, I was at that game. That was one of the craziest games I've ever been out. Because Kobe did the whole straight face, cold killer face. Like, who is he? Who are you talking about? They're like, you're not worried about J. Lynn? Who? Like, who's J. Lynn?

38, J. Lynn. That's who? That's who? 38 on y'all, yeah. It's tough to play in the guard. So when I see all the energy from this finals, you remember when Jeremy's in the car, he said, he's like, yeah, this is crazy, man.

They're like, you ever seen something like this? He's like, no, no, I've never seen nothing like that. Jay Lynn. You remember all that Asia media coverage. I used to be by my locker. I'm still butt-necked, barely got a towel on. They crowned around to the point where it was like, Jay Lynn, you got to go over there with Mello.

Man, yesterday we did the NBA Today Show at this bar near the garden, and we wanted some fans to be there. So I don't know who put it out that Jay Lynn was going to be there. Like we did. Well, there was jam full of 30 to 40 year old Asian guys. It was awesome. Jaylen couldn't move. It was awesome.

You saw Jaylen Jersey's, but that's what I love about New York, man. Like, y'all get a hold of one guy. Real talk, though. Seriously, man. My rookie year, y'all don't know what that was like. I don't know who was all in the garden for that Charlotte Bobcat game. when I came back from my sprained MCL, and y'all started yelling,

we wore, shumper, because I was on a minute restriction. I wasn't supposed to go back in, and the garden yelled it so much that Dan Tony looked like, you want to do it? Like, get in there, man. But y'all roared, and it's like, y'all get a hold of, you know, a person that could embody the city,

embody what y'all are going through, and I just want y'all to know that relationship, especially to anybody that, you know, ever wore a Nick's uniform. It means something, man, because not all cities can embrace that way where they say, hey, man, we want the young kid over there. Or, you know what, we like the power forward over here that don't nobody else like. We love him. Like, I love to hear y'all cheer Mitchell Robinson on when he can't make a... It's just like... Where else can you see that? And right now, the relationship between this city and Brunson,

right? Oh, this here. Seeing all y'all run around like this. Let me ask you this. In the one square mile around this Gotham comedy club, how many dogs are named Brunson? Right. How many number 11 jerseys did you see walking around the city today? Unbelievable. Everywhere.

I'll say, last, yesterday, so Shump and I do this show at the restaurant right there. Shump's wearing a beautiful, is Shump one of the best dressed guys on TV? I appreciate so, man. All right, so he's wearing this very nice green and black ensemble. And look, security, ESPN security, is ready for battle, all right? There's seven-foot barricades up. There's thousands of people in the streets.

We go rushing through this and get rushed into the building. Shump is wearing this beautiful green and black suit. And like half hour, 45 minutes later, I see Shump head to toe in a bright orange. As orange as the sun. Yeah, man. Yeah, man. Double-breasted, too, double-breasted. Blue tie.

I don't know who's going to win, though. Listen, I was sitting in the second level, and I looked down at the court, and I literally saw a court side. I said, oh, there's Shump. Right there. I can see him from half a mile away. Not only that. I was watching Dumb and Dumber, right?

And Harry and Lloyd walked in with that orange and blue ensemble, and I thought, you know what? Your show was a bit nicer than Harris. What's crazy is. I actually work with Dumb and Dumber. That's right. Who that? That's right.

Harp had on a all blue Nick's suit. So it was great. You know what I'm saying? It worked out great, man. Dumb and dumber. Here's what I'm telling you. I'm watching during the game, and Shump's sit in front row. Once and Nick always a Nick.

He's with the Nick greats there. The game's going on. There's a half-court possession. And Shump's standing up yelling to the Knicks saying, Cat, they're in zone. What were you saying? You're in a deep. I saw a cat wrestling.

And I'm like, why are you wrestling? He's not guarding you. It's his own. You're going to get a bad foul. I would just try to look out. I didn't see if they recognized what was going on. But a lot of times, you know, y'all, y'all know, that was my job. You know what I mean?

I could have shot more, but mellow. and Jay Lynn for a little bit. Jay Lynn. But it was one of those things. It mean a lot to me to understand and recognize what the team is doing, what the scheme is, because my relationship with Mike Woodson grew more and more as he gave me more responsibility with that.

I didn't want to lean into it, but he's like, what shot do you think I could get you, my dog? You got mellow, you got a mom, like Raymond dribbling it like what do you want me to do you want me to not give shots to Steve Novak so it was a mental battle for me to say I always want to watch film and be on my toes to understand the scheme or understand what's being thrown at us so that I could do it on the other end so when I recognize it I'm like oh this is what we used to do like I would do something like this to Caleb where he think it's a mismatch oh let me battle

mind in the post like, stupid. I'm not guarding you. I'm really guarding the perimeter. I'm going to spin and get out there. Like, whatever. I don't know if you guys are aware of this, but Mr. Shumpert is an NBA champion. And you went to three straight finals,

and I know that you, what you put your body through. So what right now, game, three games of the NBA finals has happened, three rounds before that. I don't know if you want to tell any stories about what you put your body through, but one day off between game three and four, what are these guys going through right now? I'll tell you what. We did just ask them to.

People underestimate in the NBA, everybody's hurt. Especially now. Especially right now. You can't play these finals games. I mean, y'all saw it. Y'all saw Jay LaBrunsen get thrown. You know what I'm saying? Then he got...

Y'all saw it. Y'all saw it. Y'all saw him flop. I saw him flop. Listen, listen, this guy. Texas guy. I'm going to pause for a second. I grew up on a farm in the middle of nowhere, all right?

This guy grew up in Dallas, Texas, in the Metroplex, right? One of the biggest cities in the country. The last two days, all this guy has done is wander around the city and go, oh, God, I got to get out of here. I got to get out of here. I can't be in this city. There's so many people. I don't know what to do. I'm like, bro, what are you talking about?

What are we doing here? Part of it's because the IT department came in. My wife's here. And she comes in like a tornado. I love New York. I'm just like, Lord, have mercy. So anyways, that's what these guys are going to. But as rough as the games become because of what's on the line,

you'd be surprised. Guys are getting shots before. games to numb certain pains. Guys are taping stuff up and putting a sleeve over it so nobody knows and nobody attacks that. Whatever that hurt is on them. I mean, you got Deering Fox playing on a high ankle

spraying. That is a month long as a It's ridiculous. That's something that could nag you for a whole season. Last year, Jalen Williams knew going into the playoffs, that he's got a ligament tear in his shooting wrist. He took 33 shots. The guy had pain-killing injections

just to play. and then he has 40 in game five of the finals. So those are just a couple of examples. But it's cool to know that at some point, you know, there's times in the season that you want a little sympathy. You know what I mean? We're still human. Like, yeah, everybody, everybody want to go crazy.

Everybody, you know, we got aliens now. That's cool. We're all human, you know what I mean? So every once in a while you want everybody to understand, like, hey, man, I'm hurt. I just need, give me three. weeks and then I got y'all go back to scoring 30 or whatever but you have these moments in these playoff moments that you know a guy is hurt but you also know

the guy that's in your locker room you know I mean and you know he's gonna play and though you sometimes look at your locker room and say hey man we all hurt but does that matter you know I mean did we get here to complain about what what Mitchell Rob got, Pinky, when it got that surgery, like, do I care? No. Cut it off if you got to. You know what I mean?

But it's like to have that emotion behind you. That's why I understand the passion that's behind the fans when we go out there every night. But yeah, man, I don't think in any finals, I was ever feeling like, ooh, my body feels good. Like, I can't wait to play tonight, because I know I'm gonna kill him. It was like, can I play tonight?

Especially when you had stuff. Yeah. So that series, the first time we played, so the 2015 series, I got hit with a screen from Draybar Green and separated my shoulder. Yeah, don't let Dreybaugh hear that. They give him a microphone on TV, man. But he separated my shoulder, which he's a great guy.

He's actually a big teddy bear off the court. He was there last night. Yeah, I gave a hug. He's a great guy. It's good to not have to hate him. The shoulders heal enough where you can extend on the hug now. Yeah, but it's like, even the Boston guys, like it's great to see KG and not have to get like technical fouls.

What's up, KG? I used to be a fan of you when I was a kid. But you see these moments and you see guys fight through that. And I think that that's what these finals moments are made for. Because when I had that separated shoulder, I'm telling y'all, I got a needle about that long. They put that through my shoulder. And they pulled out one that long.

Got to get that with your ass. But if you ever go back and look, you can see me run with my arm, literally like this. While I'm running down the court, I don't know if it was game three or game four, but it was in Cleveland. And I remember running. And somebody threw a pass or something,

and they was like, what are you doing? I'm like, bro, I see it. I got to wait till he get over here. I see it. I think it was broad because he thought he was to turn it over. And I'm like, no, I got you, bro. I just, I don't have no control over this one right now. Let it wear off a little bit.

But yeah, you're willing to do that for the goal ahead. So I want y'all to know, even though y'all players down, I know Jalen hit the ground over and over and over. I know his knee got hobbled. I know he got stepped on, but to not play in a game that you've been dreaming. about your whole life. I don't think anybody in the NBA is willing to do that.

Sure. All right, so I don't want to put me pressure on you, Nick fans, but tomorrow is important. Very. Like, this, tomorrow could decide the series, all right? So, Sean Pitt's a big game. It's a big game tomorrow. Last night the Garden was excited.

You know, nobody had lost in six weeks. tomorrow the garden might be a little tight. Might be? I think you, no, I think y'all are mistaken. Oh, yeah? Yeah, it's going to be a zoo. All right. Y'all shouldn't be chasing Spurs fans.

Relax. You know what I mean? That we can't do. You know what I mean? We got to, let's have some honor out here. But aside from that, they want to be passionate about their team. And I think that losing a game is going to be the Mitchell Robinson effect. Like, we're going to cheer louder now.

because they need the energy. It's hard to win in MSG. Like, give the Spurs credit. Give De Aaron Fox a lot of credit for when they made the... It got tight in there. Like, you know what I'm saying? They was nervous. Like, oh, they're going to continue to make shots.

And De Aaron came hit that pull-up and settled there but everything down again. Give them credit for that because it's a hard place to win, man. This environment, like, height that we lost game six against Indiana because we brought that back to the house. Swetty. Once a Nick, always a Nick. So, okay, what do you think is going to happen tomorrow night?

Yeah, I think we'll get the ball back to Cadigan. Get the ball to Brunson on the second side. They have to understand that Brunson's ability to get it on the second side is directly correlated to Deuce McBride getting off, Landry Schammett getting off, Josh Hart getting off, Mike Hill Bridges. People were, you know, kind of frustrated with Mike Hill Bridges, and it's like, y'all reverted back to 2024,

where Brunson beats the ball up. He could still score it, but what rhythm can you give everybody else? And I think they went away from that. I'm not surprised. Brunson's been waiting to do a signature game. He felt like he really needed to bring it for his team. Totally get it. But you're going to watch the same film that we watched.

And I got a feeling he's going to watch it with his dad. I would. I would. Like, if y'all watched the game, Rick Brunson was not happy. He wasn't pleased with some of the decisions that was made. And I got to see that father and son dynamic happened live on the court. That's why I love being on the court. But I got to see it happen live on the court because he's going to hold him accountable. It's underestimated that one thing, like being able to be held accountable and just say, you're right. You know what I'm saying? I think Jalen Brunson took that challenge. all year. People don't realize he's done he doesn't have to sacrifice some of himself

for a cat to be able to do what he's doing and for him to be able to have the freedom that he has in the fourth quarter and I think they're going to get back to that we'll see the happy marriage we'll know as soon as Landry shamans start hitting threes Josh Hart start getting offensive rebounds he had one offensive rebound but it's because the ball stayed on one side move the ball move the people change sides of the floor mistake happens rebound in lanes open up Well, it all comes back to Cat, too. The Cat's got to get back to where he was the first six quarters of the series, and he was the best he's ever played.

Shumpert has trademarked what he calls the Cat Scan. That's right. I love it. I love it. Shump's got a little more style with it than Cat does, but he's got the manner. I love what he does it, because I always think, somebody's going to deflect that. Nope.

I wish I could probably. What he's been doing? last six quarters is just floating around in a blimp and not doing the CAT scan. So he needs to get back to doing that tomorrow from the start. For sure. And that's another thing about holding people accountable. Take the challenge. Like, if y'all ever see me on TV and I'm going hard on somebody, it's because I love him. That's all. I don't, I don't. Nothing with Victor last time. Yeah. We don't, I still love Victor, but I need, this, this the camera that's going, right? Yeah. That's it. Hey, Knicks. I need. y'all to take care of that because Victor Winbingyama walked up on me after the game. What do you have to say?

Oh boy. ESPN security. So he was tall and walking. You don't say? He was so tall. But he left his media, his little media session and kind of like bolted at me. I realized he wasn't like trying to walk to his locker room. It was directed at me.

You saw what you were in the bright orange suit. You weren't hiding. That's one. That's one. But darted, right at me, came over and said, yeah, sure, yeah. And then, you know, when he gave me to dab, give me a little depth, his hand. Like that, when he did it, and I was, you'll see me, if you see the video, I posted it on my Instagram. I take a step back

because I feel like a child. So I back up so I've got to look up so high. And all I could buster up was yeah, y'all got us at the end there. You play a good game. But game four. And I walk away.

So Nix, y'all got to avenge me in my orange suit. All right. Well. Shump has been with us for the last year. He's been terrific on the Hoop Collective during the NBA Finals. We're so glad to have him at ESPN.

He's going to be a bigger star in the media than he was as a player. He's an NBA champion. So we're so happy you joined us tonight, took some time out. Thank you so much. We look forward to some great podcasts, maybe after a Knicks championship.

Ain't no baby. Ain't no baby. Nick's in five, baby. Shumper. We just call him Shump. Well, thanks to Shump for coming by. That was great as expected. We got a brief thing we're going to do right now.

Special presentation. This spring, Denim gets a softer, lighter update. Introducing Old Navy's drapey denim wide leg, a new fit that moves with you. It's everything you want denim to feel like for summer. Easy, breathable, and effortlessly cool. With a fit that creates natural movement and a wide leg that feels modern, not overwhelming.

Plus that signature, wait, for this price, moment. Old Navy's drapeed denim wide leg. Somebody who has been a teammate and a partner to us and is also a super fan of the pod. So we wanted him. Ty Bowsick from Good Karma, partners with us. Want a special award from the company. And we have the honor to present it to him tonight in person. So congratulations to Ty.

I won the Carmi Award for Disruptor of the Year and Home Office teammate of the year. and thank you for being a super fan of the pot. Where is Ty? By the way, producer Jackson Agello right here. Newly engaged Jackson Agello. Sorry, no cash. Grab the mic for a second. So Ty's boss, Craig Carmesan, who isn't here,

every time Ty comes up, he immediately says, oh, I've got to tell you about Khan Kanuple and Ty. So since you got this award, we're going to give Craig the half. happiness of you telling your con canuple story. Yeah, so every podcast, Khan's ever been on. He has talked about how his dad has run. The leagues in Milwaukee is called closed gym leagues.

So growing up, I've seen Khan and all of his brothers coming up. And two years ago, three years ago in the summer, you know, Khan, we're going to play a championship game. There's this Duke commit. It's going to be a senior in high school. I just got done working a 10-hour day. You know, I'm 32 at the time. He's 17.

Go out there. and I'm just like, okay, I'm playing with a couple D1 guys. And I go, hey, you're in the best shape. Guard him. I played the greatest defense. I've ever played in my life. I held him the 44. He was nine for 12 from three.

The next night he had 72. So I did held him under it. So yeah, and he went on to Duke and now the second in the rookie of the year. And that's my claim to vet. And by the way, because people might not know this. So Khan obviously had just, like you said, a great year with Charlotte.

How many brothers does he have? He has four brothers. brothers. The one who's going to be a senior is 610, and I believe just got an offer from Duke. Yes, he's a top 50 recruit. I think we can all agree to bleep Duke, right? We are allowed to curse, you know. You could have just said it. Listen, if you have to guard him again, I got one piece of advice. Tell him it's a playing game. All right, Ty, congratulations and thank you so much. Appreciate you. All right, our next guest is a resident with San Antonio, Texas.

He refereed last night's game, in fact. No, I'm just kidding. To give you the other side of what you're, I'm sure you're all reading for, is our Spurs reporter, Michael Corleone Wright. His middle name, his middle name is really Corleone. These are two Texans, so I don't know what they can say. And Mike Wright played college football. A long time ago.

But safety, or linebacker? Outside linebacker, but slash safety, like, rover type guy. All right. What was the Spurs locker room like today? Well, it was interesting. Those guys are... Oh, by the way, real quick. The other day, Mike sees me in the hallway before game two.

And he goes, man, I think the Spurs are going to win this game. And I go, why? He goes, because I was just in the locker room and they were listening to Scarface. Yeah, I forgot about that. And I was like, the movie? Scarface is like the Tupac of Texas. I don't know what that means. Listen, you got to understand.

Win Horse knows two rappers. He knows two chains. He knows Jada Kim. I don't even really know. That's just because they've had audiences with window. That's it. You don't know anybody else. He knows Fat Joe.

And he knows Fat Joe. Another guy who's had an audience with him. I talked to Fat Joe last night. He was like, we're going to win. We're going to win game four. He said that. So what was the Spurs like today? Confident.

Sort of on just a, I guess, the mind, the mindset of we can do this. But that's how they've been the whole time. When they got down on two, those guys were like, it's not like they're kicking our butts. Like, if a couple things go our way, it could easily be two old spurs. And I know, I love New York, by the way. He's lying.

He's texting, too. Trust me, he's had the same complaints. I need some elbow room, man. I need some fresh air. He has enjoyed this time in New York, unlike the miserable guy who has just been complaining the whole time. Absolutely. Neither of those things are true.

Okay. But anyway, yeah, like, so they just, felt like they just needed to settle into the series like just figure out what's going on and I think they've found a pretty good groove here but they're young you know how it is like these guys are 19 20 22 a bunch of young guys still figuring it out but there also is like a sense of gratitude with these guys like man we are here right now and they can't believe it but they realize that they have to be in the moment so like I think the feeling is that hey we're going to be here a lot of times moving forward.

So we'll see how that goes for them. Listen, you get the privilege of getting to see Victor up close every day for us as our Spurs guy. And obviously, everybody here is seeing him in the finals, is watch him in this playoff run. But what is it like being around that guy on a daily basis and seeing sort of what the whole show is up close on a regular basis? Well, you know, the cool parts of it are all the parts whenever he ain't around. like that's always but the Mavericks that Mavericks opener

that was that was a sight that's when Wimby came in and it's Wimby against AD and Nico Harrison might as well gotten fired at half time that's the game Wimby so absolutely humiliated him he had like 40 points 15 rebounds five blocks I mean AD is hacking him on on one block

Wimby's going underneath the back basket, dunking it over his head. That was, there was, so the thing I love about watching Wimby play is Stomake's question. I'm getting back to him. And you would know about, you would know about interrupt. You would know about interrupting. You would know about interrupting. You're interrupting my interruption.

When you watch Wimby play, you're probably going to see something you've never seen before. Absolutely. I mean, and that game, there was seven or eight things we've never seen before. Right, right. But even his bloopers are something you know. ever seen before. I watched this dude one time catch a rebounds. He was kind of behind

the backboard and he tried to go right back up with it and hit his arm on the backboard and then knocked the ball out of hand. You don't see that kind of thing. Yeah. Like so no Victor, you know what? The fun is, I have the

most fun talking to Vic about like pop culture stuff. Like so one time he was in the locker room and he had some all black Air Force ones. New York, y'all, y'all know all about the Black Air Force One. We saw those in some of those viral videos, people ripping the wimby jerseys all. So I'm like, so, Vic, I'm like, Vic, what do you know about all Black Air Force One injury? I mean, energy.

I said, you know about that? Of course. I'm just like, wow. Like, he knows. And, like, so I'll ask him sometimes, like, so what's the latest slang that you've learned, like American slang? He'll be like, I just learned low-key. You know, it ain't low-key, Victor Weniam.

He ain't low-key. No, no, nothing low-key about that, dude, man. But he's a fun guy to be around. He's an introspective, thoughtful guy. Like, today, like, and I wish he would have talked after he elbowed Niz-Reed in the face. But today, he was talking about, like, things he's learned in the playoffs, and he was like,

I learned that if you're going to elbow somebody, don't go for the head. He also said Brace with your hands, not with your chin When you fall Yeah, like so like that's Vic though I wish like today he was so engaged And like that's the Vic I like to see

But sometimes like Vic gets into those modes Where like okay I'm ultra focused I don't have time for the media I'm all about you know trying to help the spurs Get to the next step And sometimes that's boring to me You know what's not boring though Vic the villain

How many people in this room hate Victor Women Mnayama right now. I mean, and seriously, like, less than I thought. How many people like Victor Wemba? How is everybody here not booing Victor Mianma? That's not bad in New York during the final. In OKC, it's the same way. And the guy wants to be the face of the league.

He understands the town he has, but he has no problem walking into an enemy arena as public enemy number one. Oh, he loves it. I mean, I was here, I was sad, too, guys. I didn't get a chance to confide in you guys about how sad I was. I was here at Christmas. away from my family. It was sad.

Yeah, where everyone was here, a sob story. It was sad. No, but Vic goes for like 41 in Madison Square Garden. But the crazy thing is I think McKell Bridges went for like 40-something at night, too.

Tyler Colick had like three shots over him in that game. Yeah, it was crazy. It was crazy, but... Did Bontem invite you for Christmas dinner? He did not? I wasn't here. He would have been invited

if I was home. I was in California. We sure about that? Come on, bro. No, yeah. No, Bontem's much nicer than you. I mean, everyone is nicer. Yes, everyone is nicer than him.

If you learn one thing from me, it's this. Friends are overrated. Okay? I'm serious. Friends just means responsibilities. Friends come to your wedding, man. Go on. We were all at his wedding.

What does that say about us? We're pretty stupid. Not all. Somebody went on a European. in vacation. That is true. He should have consulted maybe before you set the date. He was discovering Vig. Oh, that's right.

He was looking for the next great player in London. He still hasn't found him. He has to go back a few more times. Well, there are no good players in London. That's why you don't know what you're talking about. That was good. That's a good line, buddy. O.G. NOB is from London. God, was O.G.O.N.O.N.O.B. great last night. Oh, my God.

Maybe they should get him the ball a couple times as well. Sorry, Mike, I didn't mean to interrupt you. No, I wasn't. Mike, what, we've talked, obviously we've spent a lot of time talking about Victor, but the two young guards for the Spurs, Define Castle and Dylan Harper, have obviously been awesome. Dahls. Yes, they are.

You obviously seen them the last couple years up close. What has it been like to watch them, you know, especially Dylan as a rookie. I mean, at times have been their second best player, immediately be able to perform on the stage like this the way they are? Dog, as I said before. Let me tell you a little story. So when Dylan was about to go do the All-Star thing,

there's some people hook me up with his dad, Ron. And so I interview him about the whole thing or whatever. And I go into the locker. And Ron is like, when you see Dylan, slap you upside the head with that. And so I walk in the locker room. I said, hey, man, Ron told me to slap you upside your head. And he's like, you better not. But like Dylan is what, he came into league in 19 and he's just got that mentality.

And like you know that he grew up around the game, his dad and everything. Like you know that like nothing is going to shake him. And you see the way he's been playing so far in the finals. Like, I mean, the physicality. He's a kid. And he's playing against grown men with families that need to bring them checks on. And he's playing just like those guys, and I think a lot of that comes from his father.

It comes from his brother Ron, just playing at home. Like the dad, he was telling me, he was like, back in the day they would be playing in the backyard, and Ron was kicking Dylan's butt all the time. But Ron Sr. was like, one day, man, I'm telling you, Dylan's going to be kicking your butt. And he said it came true. So that's been great, but Stefan Castle, oh my gosh.

He is Samuel L. Jackson's wallet on Pulpiction. I can't say it on the Disney show. You said it to his mom. He was cussing earlier. I did. I said it to his mom, and that was kind of unfortunate. I just was excited. I was like, hey, your son is a bad...

And, yeah, but anyway, but Steph's just steady. And one of the things Mitch Johnson talked about with Stefan Castle is just the way he expends his energy, it's like the whole tank is empty. It's because he's going hard on both ends of the floor. He's going to guard the other team's best guy, and he's going to guard them in a physical way that just wears them out. And handle the ball.

They didn't handle the ball. The turnovers have been an issue for him. When they drafted Castle two years ago, so you remember this draft two years ago, it was the draft in between Wembeyanama and Cooper Flagg. Uh-huh. I mean, they're good players, but, you know, Zachary Rishishie went number one to Atlanta.

Alex Saar went number two to Washington, two French guys. Number three, Reed Shepherd to Houston. That's going to haunt the rockets, for sure. I mayudoka, I think he'd like stuff on. It's not a good match. And who, they had a chance to take. Don McClinging went after that. I don't remember.

Anyway, the Spurs take, the Spurs take Castle. I was talking to one of their front office guys, like, two weeks later, they're like, we got him. I'm like, what do you got? We got Victor's running mate. And I'm like, he's been here for two weeks. Because, you know, people are like, yeah, he can't handle the, you know, he can't shoot. You know, he's like, he's not really a point guard. They're like, nope, we got him.

We got our guy. We got Victor's guy. Bro, they were on him from, like, jump. And they fell in love with him immediately. Yes, you guys know R.C. Buford, like, he's the CEO now. He ain't supposed to be scouting dudes and stuff like that. And I just happened to be talking to him one day, and he was just like, yeah, you know, I got to go. I think he had to go talk at Sloan or something like that.

And he was going to, he was like, yeah, I'm going to scout Steph at, you know, at Yukon or whatever. I'm like, no, aren't you the CEO? You should be thinking about, like, ticket sales and, like, all that stuff. But no, he personally went to the scout, Stephcastle. That's how much they liked him. All right. So tomorrow night's big. Huge.

What do you think they are health-wise? And what do you think is going to go down tomorrow? Well, the latest injury report says no injuries. Unless there's an amputation, that's going to be the way it is. But you know what, though? How many needles are getting used? I take it almost as San Antonio's way of saying, no excuse. And I respect it.

Like, that's cool. But it's going to be a... Like, what I'm curious about, and Montemps and I talked about this downstairs earlier, like, how are they going to play Cat? Like, with Shea Gilgis Alexander in the Western Conference Finals,

they threw a bunch of different looks at Shea. And, like, he could really never get comfortable just because of the diversity of the looks. And I wonder, okay, will they do something similar with Kat? Because it's last game he trapped him a lot, doubled him, made him get off the ball, and they played Brunson straight up. Okay, well, he'd do it again? I'm not sure they'll actually show him that same look

again. Yeah, well, I mean, Victor is going to be tough because I thought Victor didn't have great energy in game one, two, and I thought yesterday he really did. He's in New York, that's what it is, bro. Do you think it was going? Do you feel my energy right now? Do you think it was going to Gramercy Park? the Zen that he got there? Drawing pictures. Yeah. And he said it was a good picture, too.

I wish I could have seen it. But no, Victor is a... Can I say Farsi? He's an artsy fartsy dude. He's French. He's very, very proud to be French, too. Yes, yes. Oh, I even talk to him about French rap.

Okay. Because my wife... You're really getting him an education now. You know, American rap, so... I don't. No, so my wife... was like, ask Vic what he thinks, like, does he prefer

American rap or French rap? And I asked him about it. He was like, well, you know, like in France, like we are like a few years behind. You know, so I prefer American rap because French, you know, they're about three years behind. I was like, so y'all just now wearing them tight-ass fans?

He got a good laugh out of it. Well, you know, he partially taught himself English by watching Game of Thrones. Really? Yeah. That's a great. That's what you find out when you discover him. You learn that. Right? That's right.

Thank you. You know. I mean, when I met Victor, he was like only this high. He was only seven foot. He shot up another six inches. I need to ask him about like the spin-off, the new spin-off game of Thrones. I tried to watch him, but I fall asleep every time. Well, he, yeah, I mean, his, you know, he went to when he was a teenager, he went to Spain.

He was like, okay, I know I want to try the best to be the best player I can. I can. And in Europe, some of the best players play in Spain. So he spent a summer. He went to Spain. And he's like, yeah, I don't want to be in Spain. He didn't like it. But he learned, he's like, I got to speak English. The language of basketball is English. So he taught me, I'm sure he took some classes and stuff, but he basically taught himself English when he was mostly in his teens. I sometimes think that, like. Oh, when he wanted to make it, he didn't want to speak with an accent because he knew he played. I mean, obviously he has some accent, but he didn't want to, he wanted to work as hard as he could to not talk accented English to the American ear.

That's why he worked really hard on watching American television and stuff, because even though I know Game of Thrones is not, because he knew he was going to be a star in the NBA, and he wanted to be able to be very clearly understood. I sometimes think that people that where English is their second language, in some ways they're more articulate because of that. And sometimes they're not. Yes, no, for sure, for sure.

No doubt about it. Some of these guys learn how to speak. I just left that alone. Well, sometimes they like... What are you doing? Well, sometimes they, like, learn from, like, you know, teammates who are not who don't have their best interests at heart. This is true.

That was a McMahon-level move. But, no, like, I was thinking of... Are you also growing up in Wichita Falls? They don't even know where Wichita Falls is. None of these people know where that is. It's in the most redneck part of Texas. It is, it is, and you can hear... We should ask them who's drawn.

who takes his draw as worth, I think is yours. Who's got a thicker Texas accent? Howdy, partner? I know who's better, I know who's better cooking barbecue. Although he's on a

barbecue boycott right now. No, I'm on barbecue restriction right now because I'm working. I'm busy, baby. And you know what? Busy is good, though. This has been, I've covered a bunch of finals, but none in New York City.

and that's what's made it also. I will say this. Out of all the finals games I've ever been to last night will be definitely one of the most memorable. That one will be up. And tomorrow? Ooh, boy. I'm getting goose, but I'm thinking about tomorrow

because tomorrow it's about who's going to win the series. All right, well, Mike Wright, thank you so much for coming. Really appreciate it. Before we have our next guest, I just want to say thank you, everybody, to come out tonight, because we know that there's nothing

more entertaining in New York City tonight than our show. The 2006 Chevrolet Equinox awarded the most dependable compact SUV in the U.S. by J.D. Power is designed for your everyday, and with available all-wheel drive you can handle your to-do list with total confidence. Start your build at Chevrolet.ca.

Details at JD.power.com. This episode is brought to you by Activia. You might already be eating yogurt, but not all yogurts are created equal. Activia contains over one billion probiotics per serving to survive and reach the gut alive. When it comes to gut health, Activia is the number one family doctor recommended probiotic yogurt brand. Choose Activia, feel good from the inside out. Visit Activia.ca for more details.

Risa's knows a thing or two about great combinations. Chocolate and peanut butter, obviously, but there's more than one way to Reese's. From indulgent Reese's big cups with caramel to crunchy Reese's pieces and Reese's miniatures. There's a delicious Reese for every mood. It's the same combo you love, just with more ways to enjoy it. So whether you're snacking, sharing, or just treating yourself,

nothing else is Reese's. We really appreciate that. And your passion for what we do has helped us grow, and you guys want to come out like that means a lot to us. We've talked about doing a show in New York literally for four years, and talking about doing it the draft, different times, has it worked out, and for this to all happen now. The middle of the craziest basketball week here in decades has been super awesome.

And I was trying to make an emotional speech in Bontemst started talking about. I thought we're done. And I just want to say I'm really appreciative to have Bontemson McMahon, who've helped me grow this over the last years. McMahon and I've been doing for almost 10 years or something together. Bont-Emp's has been so important to our growth, even if it doesn't always feel that way. And he's vitally important. And so you never know how long we'll be able to go.

And so we really appreciate these moments. We really appreciate this opportunity. So thank you so much for coming. All right. Our final guest lives in New York City and covers the New York Knicks for us at ESPN. people at ESPN call him, now he can't come bringing Stephen A in here. He must be crazy. I don't know.

We had him on the other night, and we were like, do you think he'll do it for five minutes? And we're like, we're having it, like, Jackson and I'm like, what do you think? Do you think he'll do it for five? Like, well, we let him go. He'll start going for 15. And he's all wound up. He's just clearing his throat at five minutes. Like, what do you think? What do you think? We could

do it? We had a little debate. We had a little vote. What do you think? Should we have Stephen A on? I guess we should have Stephen A on. And he's like, he's all excited. He's all, you know, That was after he got done talking to cat. He looked like he gave cat a 10-minute pep talk after. No, I love Stephen. I wouldn't bring Stephen out here for all you people.

You crazy? I wouldn't do it to you. No, if you've known him at ESPN, you call him Vince. But if you've known him, for many years, you call him Vinnie. But we're just happy to have Vince Goodwill joining us at the room. He wore the Hennessy glasses. Vince is a fancy lad. You surprised me with the Hennessy glasses.

He's a fancy lad. He's got his glasses. No, no, no. The glasses are because he is a Detroit transplant. That's damn straight. Boomerang. That's New York, right? Boomerate was set in New York.

Eddie Murphy, right? Vince. We don't call them Vinny for years. Vince and Goodwill Esquire. Since he got to ESPN, we call him Vince. Hey, man, last night was quite a night at the garden. For a number of reasons. I was a little surprised, honestly.

I thought, Perks said it earlier. I thought Madison Square Garden was going to be a little more rowdy. And it was kind of like a nervous. It was a different type of energy. I think tomorrow's going to be crazy. The existential feeling of doom. It's always hanging there. Everybody here knows it.

Everybody here's waiting for your other shoe to drop. Y'all not waiting for other shoe to drop all, y'all. No. I know y'all want the Knicks to win. I also know y'all have seen a lot of heartbreak. That's right. You've seen it. Bon Tim says y'all are scared.

Yes, you do have PTSD. Whoever said that. That's what happens. No, that's what it was. Y'all got priced out. The real Nick fans. I saw a Bob Kraft. I never seen Bob Craft at Madison Square Card.

He's from Boston. Y'all going to let him in your building? I thought it was, it felt like a, in all honesty, it felt like a Super Bowl, because there was all kinds of security, perimeter around the building. There was all kinds of celebrities there. and Bob Kraft was there.

It was like a Super Bowl. It didn't feel like an NBA finals game at all, to be honest. It felt more like an event, and I think the players got, it's real easy to get wrapped up in that when everything in New York is NBA finals, 1973. We haven't been here. We got a chance to go up 3-0. Not that they came out tight,

but the game felt like an afterthought. It felt more like a celebration of New York basketball, a celebration of everything. And y'all forgot that the San Antonio Spurs wasn't just going to, lay down for y'all, and that's what happened yesterday. And how you think the Knicks, you know, you were with the Nix

today, what did you think their mood was today? I think they needed this, Wendy. They needed to be reminded. When you haven't lost the game in a month and a half, you start to, you start to smell yourself a little bit. You start to believe yourself, so I think they needed to get knocked on their behind. Like,

the Spurs punked them yesterday. Like, we can say that, right? They got punked yesterday. The Nix got pumped yesterday. For a pit. Lads don't care who tell it. I don't care if y'all booed me, booed him, all right? You ain't gonna scare Vinny, I can tell you that. No, from a physical standpoint,

the Knicks have been the most physical team in the series against Atlanta. Philly. So he's trying about rats. We got whining over here. You're saying the reps? That's what we're going? That's what we doing?

No, we're blaming the rest. The Knicks consistently fouled and they blew the whistle. Excuses are for those who need them. And I don't think the Knicks fans or the Knicks need excuses. Yeah, I'm going to tell you, I know what Mike Brown said that, but I don't think in the locker room the Knicks were saying that. No, they weren't. The rest weren't throwing the ball to nobody out of bounds,

like 12 different times in the game. Hey, I'm sorry, did y'all realize that you have a... Hold on. Did y'all realize you have an All-Star Center on your team yesterday? Because Carl Thompson is on the milk, no, Carl Thompson is on the Mill Carten, and he honestly has been your best player. No, once again, don't be mad at me for saying it'd be mad at them for letting it happen.

He looked a lot like Jaylen Duren in game seven. He looked a lot like Jaylen Duren in game seven. Once again, that would hurt if I was a Piston fan. I'm sorry, that don't really work around here. But Carl Towns is your all-star center.

He's arguably been your best player since you started turning things around, right? It turned it to the Jaylen Brunton show, dribbling the ball 25, 30 times against these guys who want to guard him. Step Castle was in his chest. Right? Yep.

Harper was in his chest. Your advantage is Carl Anthony Towns. And when Carl Towns disappeared, guess who else disappeared? The dude you traded five first round picks for. I don't think that's a coincidence. Well, him getting two fouls in the first minute and a half of the game, took him right out of the game. He never got back in it either.

And I'm with you. Like, he's been, I mean, he's shooting what 65% of feels like the last month like him and Carl Towns, the way they've been playing has been the thing that's lifted the next up and those guys have to get back to normal. Something crazy happened in this game yesterday, guys. Something crazy happened. I still can't really compute it. And that was San Antonio Spurs said,

our defensive player of the year, unanimous defensive player of the year, seven foot, he's actually seven. Seven, six. Yeah, and you know what they did? So every like two or three years, the NBA makes everybody get remeasured, and then they fix it.

Then this was a year where they said, everybody's got to get remeasured. And then all of a sudden, Victor last year was listed at seven foot three, and all of a sudden the visions came out and said 7 foot 5. We're like, oh, damn. And that's in bare feet. I'm like, oh, damn, he grew two inches.

And he did not like that. And they walked it back. Does she like that? I can't speak to that. They walked it back. They walked it back. And they were like, no, no, no, we made a mistake. We made a mistake.

There was a clerical air. I said, wait a minute. You made a clerical air. on the tallest player in the NBA, like the thing? No, he just didn't want people to know he's so tall. I think he's legit 7-6. Anyway, forget about all that. They have this guy who was the best defensive player in the league,

and they got together, and they were like, listen, man, he can't guard Carl Towns. We'd better take him off. Carl Towns forced them to take Wembaughamah off him. He should have been, the way he was beating his chest at the end of the midway through game two, when he came out and saw that alignment on defense, he should have been like,

I'll be goddamn. They took him off me. But instead, he didn't take advantage of the advantages he had. And I'm sure he's thinking about that today. And that's what we'll be focused on tomorrow. I just think the Knicks need a reality check sometimes. Brunson said it himself. Sometimes a reset's a good thing.

They'd been, what, 46 days since they'd lost? This is not supposed to look like this. The playoffs are supposed to be a struggle. The Knicks have made everything from whatever that day was in April where C.J. McCullum was lighting you guys up. That seemed like two years ago. The only day the playoffs it was so damn long.

But that was so long ago and you blew through Philly who was toothless. You blew through Cleveland who was heartless. And I think... Is this New York, y'all? Like, tough and up. Good, glee. But I think sometimes it got it a little too easy.

Then you steal two games on the road. The natural thought is, we're going to come home and close this thing out. And the finals are hard. Like, it's a good team on the other side. It could have been Oklahoma City. It's a good team on the other side. So they needed the reality check to remind them what makes us great.

Ball movement, defense, depth. They have like eight starters. Landy Shamet would start for teams in the league. Mitchell Robinson would start for teams in the league. Play 15 minutes to go sit down, but he starts for teams in the league. They got a bunch of starts. This team is deep. And honestly, it's, you know, the guy who's not coaching this team no more.

I wonder how he feels right now. Well, listen, I've known Mike Brown for 20 years. And Mike Brown is humble and he's self-deprecating and sometimes he's goofy. But the guy has won a lot. And one thing that Mike Brown has done throughout his career is in playoff series, he makes adjustments that work. And we've seen it so far in this playoffs. He makes adjustments at work.

So he was in the lab last night. he was up all night, I'm sure, and when they had their film session today, and when they have their walk through tomorrow, he'll have something. I don't know if it'll work, because sometimes it's hard, and the spurs are good,

but he'll have something tomorrow that'll be put them in a better position. I really do believe that. I'm not as agent. That's a great speech, Wendy. Again, I'm going to go back to what I said before. You just said a statement of fact, and everybody clapped.

That's the PTSD. That's right. That's right. Windy preaching hope. That's right. You're up to one. You don't have to preach that much hope. Yeah, the sky ain't falling.

Like, here's the thing, y'all. Again, if I'm an exasential feeling of doom. It's hanging over. No, no, no, no. I'm going to give y'all some hope. I'm going to give you all. I ain't hating on, y'all. Jalen Brunton hasn't had a game yet this series.

He had a quarter, right? Now, I think the Spurs. Area 51's got a little bit to do with. No, no, I'm with you. I'm with you. I'm with you. Let me cook. I wouldn't want

Steff Castle Garden me, because, you know, what? You said he had Shea in hell. He got Jalen Brunton in the gate to hell. Like, that's real. But I do think Carl is the lever. And there's no way in hell that OG and Anobie has 28 points last night on 13 shots. He's the guy that you have to unlock. You have so many different weapons.

You can take Jalen Brunton off the ball and still use him as a weapon. Like, that's the thing. You guys have answers to every single question, the Spurs, pose of you. If you lose this series. Yeah, oh, yeah, yeah, go ahead, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, that's like sweet way. He got that Knicks hat on right there, brother in the back,

right behind Lightskin, brother, the other brother. No, there's no way in hell y'all should lose this series. I know y'all have not been in this position before. Like, the Knicks fans have never been in the position. Y'all been in the position of hope, not expectation. The expectation should be we win this series. And if you don't, more than Stephen, they're gonna be on y'all ass.

A lot of people gonna be on the next ass. You should win tomorrow. Bottom line. You discover Carl Town. You discover Jalen Brunson. You should win tomorrow. But baby, if you don't, ooh. We're going back to Texas.

Yeah, well, we're going to know it. Probably what's gonna happen. I can count. Relax. Relax. Probably what's going to happen, okay? I'm going to have to unplug Vinny's mic soon the way this is going. Probably what's going to happen is they're going to split the next two games.

I don't know, because nobody wins at home anymore in the NBA. I don't know. And then... You don't want that. And then Six is going to be here next week for all the marbles. That's what's going to happen. You ever sucked on a lemon before? Yes.

You ever sucked on a lemon? Tight cheeks. You don't want. You don't want that. There'll be some... tight cheeks. Game six, at home, a close-out game. If you lose, you go to San Antonio.

The World Cup happening here, they shutting down the transit and all that shit. Y'all going to be angry as hell getting to the garden. And, you know how many French people are going to be here next week? The French are coming to New York. Yeah, American exceptionalism, y'all doing a great job. They better not wear their France jerseys around.

Not around these people. In DeVinny's point, I do agree that if the Knicks If the Knicks do what they're supposed to, they really should win the series. Like we talked about it earlier. Carl Towns. That's what Jim Dolan said six months ago. I don't know why you're just coming around. Truth.

True. How long did it take? I can't believe it took this long. I didn't even have to say it. I didn't even have to say it. I mean, again, I have no problem saying when I get a prediction wrong. I'm the only person who has the balls to make a prediction that's sitting up here. That's not true.

That's not true. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. I predicted Spurs in seven. I'm going to tell you all this, because people don't remember this. No, no, no, no, you're a line. You have no problem. For Nick fans who don't remember, I predicted the Knicks to sweep the 76ers and to sweep the calves.

All right? Don't forget that. I predicted y'all losing seven here, but, you know, let's forget that. I didn't think I had to clarify after the last 15 minutes that my buddy up here, who I've known for a very long time, has no problem speaking his mind and giving predictions and opinions all the time. He's very comfortable to it. Outspoken black man. Go ahead and give the trophy.

Keep digging. Keep the hits going, Timmy. Wendy has no idea how to follow that. I just want you to know, the Secret Service yesterday kept a very close eye on Vinny. Because what was I going to do, Wendy? Hey, he came up on the stage, Vince. This is the full Vinny experience now.

That's right. That's right. So, all right. So tomorrow night, Vince. since you're touting your predictive skills tomorrow night. It's a close game in the fourth quarter. He's going out on a limb. He's going out on a limb.

He's building suspense. Have ye of little faith? Good. I think the Knicks pull it out tomorrow. But that don't mean I think the series is over. 3-1. The Knicks go in tomorrow. You can start to plan the parade. I would not do it yet. I absolutely disagreed with my colleague, Stephen A, who declared that the series was not going back to Texas.

Of course, it's easy to say that now. But I did not think this was a series. It was headed for a sweep. But they went tomorrow. You can plan the parade. That's a window of prediction. I still think, I honestly think, by game, and when you're covering enough playoffs, and I'm going to be real with y'all. By game four, game four tells you, by and large, who the better team is.

It doesn't mean that better team is going to. to win the series, but game four tells you who the better team is. I think the Knicks, by and large, are the better team. They have more answers to the questions. I wonder, my fear for Nick fans is that will the Knicks match San Antonio's physicality? Because the spurs don't scare. Did y'all see the way they were putting Carl on his ass yesterday?

Jalen on his ass. A couple flops, but they put Jalen on his ass yesterday. Like, they have brought a level of physicality that's only going to ramp up as the series goes on. So if I'm the Knicks, that's what I'm concerned about is do you have the requisite physicality to match what the spurs are going to bring you? And they got a 7'4-6 dude

over there, too. Hey, they might not match physicality, but they've been lobbying for the whistle since game three ended. What are you trying to say, Mr. Nickman? I'm just saying, you know, they're begging for help. They're out here begging for help. Nick fans begging for help? Nick coach begging for help. Oh, not a good look.

Well, hey, listen, the whole NBA is this type of situation. You want this stress. This is what you want. You don't want a simple playoff series. You want a playoff series to remember. And you guys are all going to remember these two months. These two months are going to be some...

You're going to be talking about them in 10 or 15 years. And I just want you to know that I'm so happy that this week that you're going to remember for the next 15 or 20 years, that we could be a little part of it and that you could come out and enjoy it with us. Thank you so much. To Vinnie Goodwill.

Thank you so much to everybody here at the Gotham Comedy Club, who was good enough to have us on Tuesday night, which I'm sure is a very big night for entertainment in New York City. Thank you very much to Mr. McMahon. Thank you very much to Mr. Bontems. A lot bigger cheer for Bontems. Thank you to Jackson, putting it together. Yes, that's right.

That's the right amount of chair. Congratulations to Jackson who just got engaged and his fiancee Nina's in here. Big cheers for that. What a catch that Jackson is. He has to stay up until 4 or 5 in the morning, editing our bleep for months on end. Thank you so much for coming out. We really appreciate it. Thank you wherever you are, DeMond Schumpert.

Trust me, his night was young. You'll be ready tomorrow night. I'm like Shump, I don't want to. I don't want to cramp your style. You know, if you can come out at 7, 3, 8 o'clock, he's like, don't worry, you won't. He's like, I'm in New York, baby. So thank you so much New York City. We really loved coming out here.

It's a dream come true for all of us. Thank you for your support of the HOOP Collective Podcast. And... Adios amigos. Thank you. Have a good night. Hey, y'all. It's Kelly Clarkson with Wayfair.

Ever order furniture online and wonder, what if? Like, what if it doesn't hold up? That sofa was four days old. You should have ordered from Wayfair. With Wayfair, there's no what if. Just style you love and quality you can trust. Visit Wayfair.ca. Wayfair, every style, every home.