Club Shay Shay - Nightcap - Hour 1: Taylor Swift, Lillard returns to Portland, Kevin Durant vs. Larry Bird

Episode Date: February 1, 2024

Shannon Sharpe and Gilbert Arenas react to Unc’s previous comments about Taylor Swift, Damian Lillard losing in his return to Portland, and debate who is a better all-time player: Larry Bird or Kevin Durant. #Club #VolumeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Welcome to another episode of Nightcap Basketball Style. I'm your favorite, Shannon Sharp. He's your favorite number zero, Wildcat legend, agent zero, Hibachi, Gilbert Arenas. I'm good. That's what we got. I'm good. I'm good. Hey, Unc, before we get into it, yes. I heard your Taylor Swift

comments and Beyonce comments. Yes. Okay. Hold up. Let me get through the reverse. Okay. Please make sure y'all like, hit the subscribe button. Thank you ladies ladies and gentlemen, for helping us get to 947,000 subscribers. We're 53,000 away from 1 million. Our goal is to reach 1 million by next Thursday.

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Ladies, if you grab your man one, he would greatly, greatly appreciate it. Okay, Gil. Ocho and I were discussing the needle, talking about the NFL, Taylor Swift. I think she's been about 12 of the Chiefs game. They're 9-3, and

it seems a lot of the NFL fans are getting upset when they pander her, even though the longest time that the camera has been on her, I think it's been about 24 seconds. No, it's less than a minute altogether.

All the time that the camera has panned on her, Gil, if you add the time up, I think it might be less than a minute. She's been to 12 games. If you add all the time cumulative, it's been less than a minute.

But fans are upset, realizing that you only ask, I think someone said there was a stat that they only show about 18 minutes because they're paying on the coaches and they're paying on everything else what's going on on the sideline. So I was explaining why they do that for the NFL. It's about getting a new revenue stream, a new demographic. Young girls that don't even like football don't know anything about football,

but they know Taylor Swift is at the game. And if she likes football, I like football. Like Michael Jordan, he wears Hanes. Mom, give me some Hanes drawers. He drinks Gatorade. I want to drink Gatorade too. Them shoes, they got him jumping out the gym. Hey, I'm going to need those Air Jordans.

So I don't know what you need to do, Mom, but I need to get those. And so that's what Ochoa and I was trying to equate it to saying why they're doing it and moving of the needle. And your response, you don't believe that Taylor Swift... I don't know. Go ahead. What did you want?

Oh, nah. I don't care about no Taylor Swift. I don't watch pancakes move, okay. I don't care about no trailer. I don't watch pancakes move, okay? I don't watch pancakes move. Like, most of us don't really know any of her songs as... I could name one. But you're right. She moves the needle.

One thing she don't do is she don't get male followers to fall in love with her from her performance. See, I was in a Beyonce fan and I'm watching her perform and she got the Freak'Em dress. Oh, she did the Freak'Em dress? When she did the Freak'Em dress right there in the moment,

I downloaded all her songs. I was so excited when she was out there popping it, because I know Taylor Swift can't pop it, because she wasn't born with the backside Beyonce got. So when Beyonce was popping it, no lie, I had this made on the spot. Not gonna lie, listen, listen. I had to get the autograph.

I'm B-Hive. I'm straight male B-Hive. Oh, you team, so you'll be. Yeah, I'll be the male version of it. I don't know what that sounds like, but that one, yeah. Listen, listen to that. version of it. I don't know what that sounds like, but that one, yeah. Oh, this is... Look, I've never been to a Taylor Swift concert

and the likelihood of me going, my kids are grown now. My daughters are grown. I know my son's not gonna, that's not something he would want to attend. But I've been to, I've been to a Beyonce concert. Not this one. I think it was Lemonade or the Renaissance Tour or something like that.

The last one in 2016. And I end up playing $12,000 for those tickets. It was two tickets. I paid $12,000 for it. So back in 2016. And she was amazing. It was two hours of nonstop entertainment. And I know she has an unbelievable voice because I've seen her in situations where she's not trying to entertain and she's just singing and she's letting you hear a vocal.

So can she sing? Absolutely. But she's a entertainer because she's moving and she's dancing and she's singing and everybody is into it. And so I don't know how the people took it as I'm trying to disrespect her. And I'm saying to say Taylor Swift is better than her. That's not what I was trying to say. And if y'all took it as that, y'all y'all trying to read and trying to make more out of it than what it was. I was just merely talking about why the NFL keeps showing her because of the index is saying that she's bringing eyeballs that we didn't previously have. That's all I would say. And you say, well, if Beyonce was dating an NFL player, I have to use the variables that I have.

That's like saying, well, what if there was an earthquake in Georgia? Well, Georgia don't really have earthquakes. So what if there are hurricanes in California? I've got to deal with the weather and the variables and the elements that I have. So it was a great conversation. I didn't know, but I guess I'm going to have to know, Nigel, you're on the same thing.

Kind of like when we say things, people are going to take it and it's going to go viral. I didn't expect it. I didn't expect it to be on the Shade Room and Worldstar and all these other stars I thought I did a great job but people say well Shannon says

that she's as big as Michael Jackson I said no I didn't I said I think she's the closest thing to Mike that we've seen as far as clicks, as far as albums as far as buzz that she generates that's just me, I could be wrong now maybe bring me somebody

and I'm not talking about the Beatles because we know what the Beatles were buzz that she generates. That's just me. I could be wrong. Now maybe bring me somebody, and obviously I'm not talking about the Beatles because we know what the Beatles were, but bring me somebody that you believe generates the buzz like Taylor. In the football world, they got something

that they wasn't expecting. They didn't realize they were going to get these followers from... No. So the fact that she's there, because what happened expecting. They didn't realize they were going to get these followers from this. So the fact that she's there, what happened is, it didn't happen with Ciara and Russell Wilson. Right? No. Two different types of people in this world.

You know what I mean? They didn't get it when Kim Kardashian was showing up with Miles Austin or something like that. And we know Kim Kardashian is a draw. She's a brand. There's only a few people. There's only a few women that can do that in just this,

in this sport. Like when we thought she was dating Austin Reeves, Lakers, right. You know, it's been to the Laker game. You know what I mean? It's, it's just different.

You know, it's all male sports. So that to have, you know, a woman of her caliber just supporting it, obviously her fans are going to support her. Her fans are going to be automatic Chiefs fans, even though they don't know nobody. To them, she plays. She's going to the game tonight, and that's like an open concert for her. So I understood what you were saying. You know, I get it.

I'm not so sure. Taylor Swift knows the difference between a screenplay and a screen porch. She knows that the man that she loves or she's dating plays football. Probably didn't know what position he played before she met him. No facts. I'm not so sure she had ever been to a football game. I don't know. Has she ever been to a football game?

Ash, you know, that's Ash. That's Ash of the Taylor Swift. Has she ever been to a football game? She was an Eagles fan? Ash says she's an Eagles fan. I'm not so sure if she's been to a game, how many games she's been to. But after doing something and you get the hang of it, you

get when to cheer, when not to cheer. You might not know what's going on, but hey, hell, everybody else cheered and they got the same gear on that I got on. So something good must have happened. She's about to win her first Super Bowl. Here we go.

She's going to be down there like she Patrick Mahomes. So if I say Patrick Mahomes is the closest thing to Tom Brady. She ought to say Patrick Mahomes better than Tom Brady. Yeah, they always do that better. Damn. I just said he's the closest thing to him. I mean, if we say a football player, you know, well, this player, well, Aaron Donald is the closest thing to him. I mean, if we say a football player, you know, this player, well, Aaron Donald is

the closest thing to LT. Shannon said Aaron Donald better than LT. Damn, I could have swore I said Aaron Donald is the closest thing that I've seen to LT. I didn't say he was LT or better than LT. I say the closest thing to.

They need to click, so they got to change the title to fit them. So they can use. You know how it works. The game is a game. Yeah. Okay, let's get to this basketball game. Dame Lillard in his return. He goes back with the Bucs to where he spent the previous decade plus

to Portland. Portland wins the game, spoils his return. 119 to 116. Dame had 25 points. He was 9 of 23. 3 of 13 from the three-point line and they lose Anthony Simons

hit a jumper and ends up winning the game by three. They foul. They miss the three-point. Brooke Lopez missed the three-point shot. They make both free throws. They're down by three. They foul Giannis. He missed the first one,

so now he has to miss the second one. And they end up losing the game. What do you make of Dave's return? You know, just as a player, right? You're going back to where you started your career, where all your all stars, where your all NBAs, where your family is, where you really had your ties. The game for Dame was won when he landed and he got to pick his kids up. It was his kids' birthdays.

He got to be with them for their birthday. He got to see all his family he left behind. So just for him personally, that was a big thing. For the Bucks as a team, right? Like you're in- Yeah. Like, you, you, you,

like what do you do? Like this is my thing with this, with this team. Forget that you lost the game. You lost the game to a team that got 15 wins. No superstar on the team. No game changer on the team. And the funny part about this, the last 20 minutes of the game, starting in the third quarter, The last 20 minutes of the game, starting in the third quarter,

the only free throws Portland shot was the last four seconds. So that means that they didn't shoot a free throw throughout the nine-minute mark all the way to basically the four-second mark. So that means they was getting nothing but buckets on your ass. Yeah, because I saw what you call him. What's his name? Hold on your ass. Yeah. Because I saw what you call him. What's his name? Hold on. Let me see. Jeremy Grant.

Jeremy Grant. He got going in the fourth and seemed like everything that he put up, he was getting to his spot, elevating, boom, knocking it down. Simons did the Euro step over Beasley. Got it. But I thought, what you you call him played well. DeAndre Aydin played well tonight. He got big buckets when he absolutely had to have them.

Yeah, but I was surprised. I was expecting Milwaukee to win this game considering everybody was a go tonight. Giannis was a go. Obviously, Dane was going to play because he's going in his return. Obviously, it's emotional going back. Like you said, you spent the lion's share of your career there. You're probably going to be known for being in Portland. Some of your best years, not unless you win a championship,

your best years are going to come in Portland. It's hard to see me. I don't think he's going to play, match the number of years that he played in Portland and match that playing in Milwaukee. Now, the only thing that you can do, because he's been all NBA, he's been an all-star, all that other stuff.

Now, the only thing that he can do in Milwaukee is win a title. And that's why he got out of Portland, was to give himself an opportunity to win a title. But I thought the crowd was great towards him because he's been great as a player. He's been great in the community. He's been nothing but a model citizen.

But the Blazers played really well tonight, and I think they wanted to because they had what? DeAndre Ayton was 10 of 17. Anthony Simon was 10 of 19. They got Scoot Henderson was 6 of 11, got 15 off the bench. They got another guy got 10 off the bench. They played well. Milwaukee really didn't get a whole lot off their bench. Crowder gave them

6. Bobby Portis, who's their main scoring option off the bench, he normally gives them somewhere around 12 and 8, 12 to 10, but he's been known to give them 20 plus. They got 17 points off the bench. Portland got 14, 20, got 35 off the bench. So you're plus 18 off the bench. And Portland got 14, 20, got 35 off the bench.

So you're plus 18 off the bench. Nine of nine. I mean, the free throws of Portland only shot nine free throws, but they were 100%. Milwaukee shot 18. They're 13 of 15, 13 of 18, 72%. Milwaukee was terrible from the three-point line. They got up 45, only made 13.

And Portland was 12 of 28. They were 42%. But Portland shot 53% from the floor. So that tells me, as you said, okay, they only shot nine free throws. They're a jump shooting team. And you let them shoot 53%? Damn! That's what I'm saying. It's like, your

problem with Doc, I mean, your problem with Adrian was no defense. But Doc's history is he doesn't have defense. He don't have defensive schemes. Every team he went to had a great defensive team. And then over the years, they slipped under Doc. That is his history, right? Yeah, he had Boston for that great year where they came in and Kevin Gardner, defensive player, came in. You got Ray Allen, they had a great group of defensive players. And then from there, you slid defensively, who you were in Orlando, Horobu defensively.

When you finish with the Clippers, when Clippers got great at defense, who did they bring in? Paul George, defensive players, Kawhi a defensive player. So those two players automatically made the team a better defensive team. Youi a defensive player So those two players automatically made the team A better defensive team You as a coach don't have defensive schemes You're not a defensive coach Right When you went to

Philly I'm sorry But your point guard that was 6'11 Was all first team defense Right And B beat was a defensive player so you didn't you inherited defense right so you going there with this defense there's nothing in your history that says you're very great at defense i'm sorry to point it out there's nothing in your history that says that yeah this doesn't look well because I think

there were what 30 and 13 30 and 12 30 and 13 and you fire Adrian Griffin and this is what I know and I could be totally off base you tell me what you want Jason Kidd was the coach he's gone Boone Hoser was there for five, six

years. Won a title. He's gone. Adrian Griffin lasted 43 games. He's gone. Now Doc's in. That's four coaches in about, what, six years? Yep. So we're not going to say anything

about Yannis. I mean, Yannis is above reproach. No, no, no. We're going to say anything about y'all. I mean, Giannis is above reproach. No, no, no. We're going to say exactly what most stars do. When they feel they are bigger than the coach and them and the coach is bumping about something, they use their power to get rid of the coach. And that is the instance in this, right? And they don't realize that they're going to have to adjust. Like Dame, what he has to adjust to is this. He was used to playing under Adrian Griffin the whole 12 minutes, right?

He's used to playing the whole 12 minutes, right? And then he comes out at the top of the second, right? That's right. Well, Doc ain't like that, right? Doc going to sub you out at the three-minute mark. And then he's going to hold you all the way to the nine-minute mark, which for a score, it's the dumbest thing in the world. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

He's going to get a rhythm. He's got to play. No, no. Here's why. The last three minutes, most of the time you're in a penalty, right? This is like being in a red zone. You're in a penalty. And then imagine taking out your best running back and your best.

Wide receiver. Wide receiver while you're in the red zone, right? That's what this is. When coaches take their best player out in those three minutes, right? That is the most important time in the game because one, you're in a penalty. Most of the time, other teams are subbing in, right? Which means those players is cold.

So you can really push the tempo to try to get to the free throw line. So this is a chance where your best player can take free throws because they don't have to foul anymore. But when you take your best player out take free throws because they don't play foul anymore. But when you take your best player out, put some cold players in, they use that three minutes

to get warm. So they don't take advantage of the three minutes anyway. Right? So what's the best case scenario for the Bucs? I mean, anything less than a championship,

is this season a disappointment? Yeah, no, the best thing for the Bucks right now is like to go into the locker room and say, hey, Doc, listen, we changed our mind. Right? We're going to go with that guy that gave us the win. When you wasn't here, we

fired the other dude. The dude that hadn't, he wasn't really a coach, but we got a win. Right? Remember, one of the wins is when they didn't have a coach. but we got a win. Remember, one of the wins is when they didn't have a coach. Wow. So, Doc, pack your shit, and then we're going to go ahead and finish the season without you because at the end of the day, we were good before you got here. So they're 0-2 now with Doc, right?

Yeah. Mm-hmm. And they're 2- a without a coach so how surprised are you that a team makes a move 43 games into the season and it's not somebody that's on the staff that takes over they go completely outside yeah this is crazy this this is this is called this is called can't even be mad at doc for this this This is called connection. You really have some pull because it doesn't happen like this, right? As a coach, you don't want to be a coach that come in on some, this is too much pressure for Doc.

He can't even handle the pressure when he got the team for the whole year. Now you got to try to put in plays and learn they plays right here in real time. You go down 0-3, oh, you best believe you're getting killed in the media. That's why I said this wasn't a win-win for Doc. Because, you know, if you win the championship, it was like, well, they were

30-13 before they got there, you dude. If you lose, it's your fault. Because it was 30-13 before they got there. But help me understand this, Gil. I'm watching the game. Why the hell y'all just run and get the ball? You know damn well you can't shoot no free throws. You're the last person that should get the ball.

Everybody should go to the end and Dame, got to get that basketball. Dame and Lillard got to get that basketball. But you down, I get get it you down a bucket no you down three at this point because they had just gone to the free throw line and made two shots so you down you down 116 119 what the hell you thought about Giannis

because sometimes players can't get it out of their own way right and I said it I was crucial on Giannis and say, you need to learn how to really play the game, get into the post, dominate from short distance. You dribble the ball up court trying to do the same right to left year roll. We can see it coming from a mile away, like most of your buckets are you're trying to come downhill, right? When you are slowing up, when your game slows up, what do you have?

You haven't learned how to play back to the basket to really be dominant. So like MJ, MJ learned back to the basket when he's still at all his. Yes. He understood evolution, right? He understood that I must slow up at all his... Yes. He's understood evolution. He understood that I'm going to slow up at some point in time. When I do, I won't be affected by it. He's so used to grabbing a ball, going full

court, he doesn't realize, sir, this is not your time of the game now. People who make free throws who can get it done. This is like Shaq getting the ball and say, hey, you know, I'm going to try to do it myself. And we're going to foul.

You go to the free throw. Like, you have to understand this game, right? You have to understand who's on your team. You got to understand the sacrifice. Yeah, it was tough. It was tough to watch because I'm looking at him like, well, why did he? And first of all, why are you passing it to him?

I'm not going to pay? I'm not finna give you the ball because of all the players that were on the court, Giannis would be the last guy for the Bucs that I would actually think would make both of those free throws. Now they foul and make him go down to make two more, and then we

gotta throw the ball to Lynn for the court and try to get it in. But I'm not throwing... Giannis is the last guy that's out there that I actually think is going to make both of these free throws. Yeah, he is. I mean, to be honest, he is the last guy, right? That's not your first option. Your first option is a guy who shoots, what, 92% from the free throw line.

It's the guy that you want to the ball. But the problem with the Bucs is really there's nobody else you can throw the ball to because they don't shoot free throws. So most of the team, right, didn't shoot free throws this game. And they don't want those two to be the most exciting. Well, like Middleton can't get his ass to the free throw line no more, right? Easily just shoot jump shots all day. So for the most part, only Dame.

They only had four guys shoot free throws. Jay Crowder was one for two. Yeah. Jay Crowder was one for two. Yeah. Jay Crowder was one for two. Dane was four for four. Brooke Lopez was one for one. And Giannis was seven for 11. Yeah, they're a jump shooting team.

They don't have nobody to get to the basket when they need free throws. So they don't understand. Hey, listen, if Giannis want to drive and get us in a penalty, once he gets into the penalty, that's when you become Shane. Ah! Ah! Get you and steal you some free throws. Yeah, they don't really have anybody that, I mean, Brooke Lopez, Sam won, but he doesn't play with his back to the basket. He's hovering around the three-point line.

Yep. Dame, obviously, Dame is a guard. He's not playing with his back to the basket. That's not Beasley's game. Giannis, that's not playing with his back to the basket. That's not Beasley's game. Giannis, that's not his game. As you said, he's looking to get ahead of steam and come down here. I'm going to Eurostep you. I'm going to sidestep you. I'm going to lay it up. I'm going to dunk on you.

That's what I'm going to do. But as far as getting the block, ball on the block, and turning around over his shoulder, that's not what he does. And he hasn't developed that aspect of his game. And I'm thinking that's why he went down to Houston to try to work with Elijah Juan to get his footwork right, because he's working.

Elijah Juan has worked with some of the greats as far as footwork. And I don't know how much of it connected with, with Giannis, but it doesn't seem like he's comfortable with it because he's still doing. I don't see anything that would the, some of the cut-ups that I saw that Elijah Juan was showing him. I mean, you see

Kobe. You see in Kobe's game. You see LeBron shooting that fall away. But I mean, Giannis, I mean, I don't know if he paid him. Maybe he was like, okay. But at the end of the day, you're going to have to trust that what you learn, you're going to have to put it into effect.

If you don't use it, what good did you learn to trade if you don't use it? See, I called that out early. $50,000, I said $50,000, that's a ripoff, right? It's a ripoff. You're paying that much for a weekend. You're not going to learn anything on a weekend. It takes you months to learn a skill for it to be natural for you.

I said, listen, Hakeem is great at footwork. The problem with Hakeem's footwork is he learned it playing soccer at 10 years old. So that means he wasn't a basketball player. He just used what he had in his

brain and he already knew basketball. So when he does the move, it's instinct to him. He don't know how to give it to them. So I said, first, before you go to Hakeem, you need footwork. He can give you the move to match your footwork. And I said, with Ocho Cinco's footwork, I'd rather you pay $50,000 to go learn the ladder drill and the footwork drill from football players or soccer players. Then once you have independent foot and you know how it works, then take your happy ass down

to Hakeem and learn the moves that go with this footwork. But he's giving you a move with your footwork and it doesn't work. So what ends up happening is you tried this shit the first of the game, you traveled, I called it out on you, and then the rest of the season you went right back to what you know. Because that is not part of your game. You want to learn

footwork, as soon as the season is ending, you go learn, you start working on that today. That's before you get to the basketball court. Or if you go learn for you start working on that today. That's before you get to the basketball court. Or if you go down to Elijah Juan to work on footwork, okay, let's just say you're going for the weekend.

Now you have to implement that deal. So the whole summer while you're doing it, I'm doing this. I'm working on it. It's a situation where sometimes we learn something and then we think, well, OK, that's what I learned. I'm going to the game.

No, you got to practice it before you get to the game, because if you don't, it's kind of like the thing with Tebow. If you go if you look at Tebow when he was going to Tom House and he's throwing gurus, he was fine until he got in a stressful situation because the muscle, the memory will revert back to what I feel most comfortable doing. And so he felt as long as he was not under stress, he had a nice,

compact throwing motion. But the moment he got stressed, he had that elongated throwing motion. So Giannis, as long as he's comfortable, okay, he might try to footwork. But if he get in a stressful situation, he's going to go back to I got to get down here damn my feet

let me Euro step or a lot of times he charge because he got a charging file late in the ball game but you have to whatever you learn you have to implement it away from the situation in which you learned it that's the only way it's going to stick, Gil.

Yeah. And I don't know if people understand that. The Celtics now lead the East by five games. This is their largest conference lead since 2008. The Bucs are five games back. The Knicks are six games back.

The Cavs got a monster night from Donovan Mitchell, or six and a half. And Philly is fading slowly but surely with seven games back. And with Joel Embiid being out, we're going to get to him a little later, they're going to probably be, whoo, might be later than that. The Suns, there was another return. Kevin Durant and the Suns travel back to Brooklyn and beat them 136 to 120

KD's return to Brooklyn was his first since the trade hold on let me find this game right up where is this game at let me get the full scoreboard you know I got me a new toy up here Gil nah I won't.

Where is this game at, Ash? What? I don't see it. Oh, here it is. Okay. Yeah, but, yeah, you know, it's real fancy, Gil. It's real fancy. You know, I'm up here hitting stuff.

Man, come on. I don't need that. Hold on. You know, I'm up here hitting stuff. Man, come on. I don't need that. Hold on. You're showing your age, y'all. Yeah, man. You can't do that online, huh? Hey, you see, I'm up here squinting. Okay, I got it. Brooklyn, Brooklyn. There it is.

There it is. There it is, Gil. There it is. Box score right. There it is, Gil. There it is. Box score right there. Kevin Durant scores 33 in his return. He was 10 of 16, 11 of 12 from the free throw line. He was 10 of 16 in 38 minutes. Nurkic had an outstanding game. He was 11 of 15, 6 of 9 from the free throw line.

Bradley Beal was 3 of 8, 5 of 6 from the free throw line. He had 12, Devin Booker 9 of 17, 4 of 6 from 3, and did the Mikael Bridges. If you're paid, buddy, it has 22 points. I'm not surprised that they got Kevin Durant, and Kevin Durant played extremely well in his return. That's normally what happens when guys go back. And I meant to ask you, and we'll get it in this segment, about going back to your former team.

You know, you get traded or you leave via free agency and you go back to the team where you started your career or you spent some time. But what did you like about what you saw from the Suns and what you saw from KD? I mean, the Suns is clicking, right? You know, they're clicking. They're finding their way.

Every other night, every night, someone new is performing. They do have a big three, and it seems like Bradley Beal is really sacrificing his scoring for the betterment of the team. He realizes they don't really need him to try to be dominant right now so he can just get a feel for this game make sure his body's working so the fact that you know briley bill hasn't went there trying to be dominant right just getting a feel for the game get everybody involved and let the two guys who's been holding it down do their thing they've been clicking very well i mean 136 points right you play brooklyn obviously no one thought you was going to lose to them. Right.

You know, you go back to Brooklyn and you do your thing. I mean, you know. Yeah. No one thought Kevin Durant was going to go there and not play well. Yeah. They got at least 30 points every single quarter. First quarter, they got 30. Second quarter, they got 34.

Third quarter, they got 42. Fourth quarter, they got 30. And I don't know who Brooklyn thought they was going to going to be letting the team shoot 62 from the floor 50 from the three-point line i'm just surprised how poorly they shot from the uh the free throw line uh uh the suns they were 24 uh 32 from the free throw line they shot worse they shot 75 from the uh three uh the free throw line and shot 62% from the field. Well, I mean, that's the big man. You know what I mean?

That ain't really the... Yeah, you know, Nurkic is going to bring that down. Other than that, you know, the best players, what they do at 16 for 8. Well, Eubanks was 0 for 2. Okoge was 2 for 3. We don't count them. Nurkic,

Bradley Beal was 5 of 6. Kogi was two for three. We don't count them. Bradley Bill was five of six. KD was 11 of 12. And Nerkich was six of nine. But they all go plus 20, plus 16, plus 17. Bradley Bill was plus one. Devin Booker was plus 19. They've already played

more games together. The big three, Bradley Bill, Kevin Durant, and Devin Booker's played more games together. The big three, Bradley Beal, Kevin Durant, and Devin Booker have played more games together than KD, James Harden, and Kyrie played. Wow, that's crazy because for the most part, Beal just came back. Right. But, you know, and that's really the downfall

of the Brooklyn experiment. It wasn't that they failed. We never actually got to see how powerful they are. When we did get a glimpse of them, they were unstoppable. Yeah, James Harden having a triple-double. Yeah, that championship bug team. What they did to them game one, they made Bucs look like baby basketball. They didn't even belong in the playoffs.

But obviously they got hurt. So we can talk about how it was a big failure. It wasn't a big failure because they didn't play well together. They just didn't play. That was it. And they didn't have the together. They just didn't play. That was it. And they didn't have

the patience. I remember when Giannis lost his first game with Doc Rivers and said, we got to have patience. It's going to take time. I said, it's funny that you say that. Something that you were unwilling to give Adrian Griffin was time. And say, now, all of a sudden, it's going to take time now that you have Doc. And you said, but it seems like,

well, it seems like James Harden was unwilling to wait or take time because seemingly he wanted out. It's funny how they brought all this thing together and none of those guys are there now. James got out first and then Kyrie and not Kevin Durant and what could have been or what we thought was going to be really never came to fruition. Yeah, sometimes visions, your visions that you have sounds good. I mean, the plan is here. You just didn't execute. And executing the main goal, being healthy, them playing and getting out there, learning each other,

that was going to happen because for the most part, they practiced together in the summer. They played together in the summer. I watched Kevin Durant the first year they got together. Kevin Durant brought the whole Brooklyn team here in Los Angeles. They were working out with Mamba. So Kevin Durant and the Nets, DeAndre Jordan and them, they were here playing against John Wall and the Wizard team. So the Wizards and Brooklyn Nets was practicing against each other, going up and down seven, eight games. And them two, Kyrie and Kevin, when I say they were unstoppable, they're going to 11.

Katie got eight, one game. Kyrie got eight the next game. They were really just torching. And I was like, yo, these two dudes is just unstoppable, unreal, right? So it's not like they didn't put the work in together. Just when it was time to really perform in that game, they just wasn't healthy, right? It just happens. Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast

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Monday through Friday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, everyone. Jake Storielli here from John Boy Media. I want to tell you about my podcast, Wake and Jake. It's your go-to spot for anything and everything sports. Baseball, football, basketball, hockey, golf, college, whatever's hot in the street, we're talking about it on Wake and Jake.

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You will not regret it. So, new episodes Monday and Wednesday. You can watch along on the Wake and Jake YouTube channel or listen to Wake and Jake on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's it like here? I wanted to ask you this in the first segment. Obviously, Dane went back. We had two guys going back into return, two big guns.

Dane went back to Portland. KD went back to Brooklyn. What was it like for you? What were your emotions like? What were you expecting the crowd to be like? Did you get a video tribute? I think I read something where Cameron Durant says he didn't want

it, didn't think he deserved it. But what was your return like when you went back to teams that you formerly played for? Okay, so when I went back to, like, you know, I played two years with Golden State, so you know, that was short stint, right? So when I went back, I just bust their ass, game winners.

I own that city, right? Now, Washington, right? How I left, right? The gun thing, got treated, didn't say bye to nobody. When we came back to Orlando, I'm not even going to lie to you. I was trying to get a DNP that whole time. What? Because I didn't leave. I was a hero.

I was a hero, right? So I felt embarrassed. I felt like I shamed everything I stood for. Right. So, you know, I felt embarrassed. I felt like I shamed everything I stood for. Right. I went back. It was more of that. I'm the scarlet motherfucking letter out there. Right. Right. I got a no tree on here. Yeah. Stupid. Yeah. You got that. You got that G. Yeah, you know, like. So I was scared. I'm not even going to lie. I was scared, like, oh, shit, I'm going to get booed. Like, oh, man, I don't want to play.

It was one of those times where I was on. I just went back last summer for Legends Night. You know how many times they had to call me for me to okay? Because I'm like, I don't want to go there and get booed. Right. You know what I mean? Getting booed for being a he, me coming in your city, you booing me because I'm busting your ass, understandable.

You booing me for the home I built and stuff, that means I really disappointed you. Right, right. Because you really were disappointed in my behavior, and I was like, yeah, I'm good. So when I got there and they gave me a cheer, not even going to lie, man, that was like the best feelings.

Like, I hit game winners all over again. Wow. You know, mine was different, because I didn't want to go back. I was scared because I didn't want to go I didn't want to go back I was scared I think for me Gil I played for my

teammates respect my coaches trust and the fans appreciation and I played for them in that order my coaches trust and the fans appreciation. And I played for him in that order. And I think the thing is that I played 14 years. I played 12 in Denver.

I played two in Baltimore. I don't think any of the fans think I shortchanged them. I don't think a lot of the fans know what exactly what I did in order to make sure I play from, you know, taking the, taking the injections and having the fluid drone 40 CC, 60 CCs of fluid drone up my knee just to get out there and play. Not being able to play practice the whole week and taking those shots in my butt and in ankles in order to get out there to play. But that was my choice because I understood that

I wasn't going to, this is not a 20 year career for me. This is not a 30 year career for me. And when I'm done with it, I didn't want to have any regrets. I'll take the double repaired hips. I would take the broken collarbone. I would take the weakened immune system because of some of the things

that I did. But at the end of the day, I never wanted to look back and have any regrets. That's why I ate the way I ate. That's the way I trained the way I trained. That's the way I live the way I live. So football doesn't owe Shannon Sharp anything. Shannon Sharp doesn't know the game of football anything. And so I think for me, I don't know.

The Ravens fans might not feel the same way about me now, but the Broncos. But I tell you what, that organization and the way I prepared and what I did while I was there, they hold me in the very in the utmost regard. The Broncos and the fans and the coaches, none of the coaches are still there. But a lot of people are in that building. Now, they don't have something, you know, like the training staff is probably turned over. Equipment staff is still pretty much still there. It's new ownership. So I'm not so sure that I know any other.

I've met the new owners. I've met the Walton Penner group that owns the Broncos now. But that's what I did. I wanted my teammates respect. I wanted my coaches trust. And I wanted the fans to appreciate what I did every Sunday. And so I think I got that. I don't, people who, when he said 60 cc's, right?

Just so you can understand what that looked like. This is about 40 to 60 cc's of fluid in the knee. Which means if this is in your knee, right? You can't bend it. Because it's swelling, it's taking away the muscle in your thigh, right? Yeah. You got to get it injected

out. And I'm getting sometimes I'm getting drawn off both knees. So I might have 80 cc's total. Gil, I remember I told him, I was telling Ocho this other night, a guy clipped me in a game in high school. I got 225 cc's drawn off my knee.

What? That was a balloon. Man, that thing hurt so bad. But you're right, Gil. And basically, when you have fluid on your knee, your body's trying to tell you something hey bro you're not right now now I'm trying to give you a warning

you need to have A it's to check in your life zone but I'm not heeding that warning someone asked me and I was like yeah you know you have a limp you're walking with a limp you know you can't Bing and Lee you can't flex your knee would you do it all over again I said hell yeah you have a limp, you're walking with a limp, you can't bang and lean, you can't flex your knee. Would you do it all over again?

I said, hell yeah. Yeah. Hell yeah. I mean, there's not a lot of athletes that wouldn't do it again. Right. When Kevin Durant tore his Achilles, and I said, do not blame the coaching staff, do not blame anybody for the Achilles. And I said, do not blame the culture staff, do not blame anybody for the Achilles. There was no medical staff in the world that was gonna convince you not to play in the biggest stage of your life, in the championship. You know what I mean? And I said, if we erase your mind a hundred times, you will go out there a hundred times.

And he said, you damn right. Right. For sure. You know what I mean? Like it's, you know, we put ourselves through the body. We put ourselves through these situations because that's what makes you great. Yeah. We know.

Let me ask you this. Does KD need to win a title outside of Golden State to crack the top 10? You got him in the top 10 now? I mean, by the time he's done, I mean, is Larry Bird in the top 10? Hell yeah. Then he better than Larry Bird I mean all I know is Larry Bird got three consecutive MVPs with three titles

and two finals MVPs I mean you know in the year where your team is dominant and hold on he got him in the era where Magic Kareem and Jordan now you told me Jordan ran the 80s but I know a white guy that could not run a snail and could not jump Ash. Yeah.

And Ash got four left feet. But it's the team. The team was dominant, right? You remember he has three. He was dominant. He had three championships, two finals MVPs because someone got another MVP because he choked in that final, but they won. Yes. Yes, he scored eight points, but people forget that. But see, they're. Yes, yes, he scored eight points. But people forget that.

But see, they're too young to remember that he scored eight points twice. Cornbread Maxwell in 81 won the finals MVP. I'm old enough to remember because Larry Bird was my favorite player. So when I talk, listen to me now. Go ahead. You know, so Larry Bird was dominant in his right,

but you got to remember, let's not forget that the 80s wasn't, the 80s was drugged up, right? Them players, you see, I can burn past a crackhead. Right? And a crackhead was not hard to get by. Half those dudes were trying to hurry up and get to the next fix, right?

So he out there having a good old time with them boys out there. So I do value his greatness. Trust me, you know, just being a white boy, being like, it reminds me of Luca. You out here doing work. You out here letting Black History Month know, hey, hey, hey. I got some for y'all asses, too.

But KD is a whole nother beast, right? Well, you got him in the top ten right now. I got him as the second best small forward ever. I got one. I'm going to put you to the test. How many people you think got him ranked ahead of Steph Curry at this moment as you and I sit in and have this conversation?

It depends. Are we talking fans? I don't know what the pins are. The pins are an adult garment. That's what the pins are. The pins are an adult garment. That's what the pins are. So I need you to give me something more than the pins. I think the NBA players and ex-NBA players

will have Kevin Durant in front of Curry. Because you got... I don't think he is. You remember Curry's first four or five years, right? His accolades you got to do right now because i don't think he is you remember you remember curry's first first four or five years right his accolades ain't there like people don't realize that that three point uh record he has trey young is blowing that out at the same time right now at the same time frame

that they're playing out trey young is surpassed because he had the ankle injury. So he don't have the stats that Kevin Durant had at that same age. So accolades, if you're going to acculate it or point it, whatever, Kevin Durant is still going to be in front. We're looking at Kevin Durant like you joined him to win. But you have to

do this too. Two of Steph Curry's championship came because of Kevin Durant too. And two of them came without him. Yeah. KD don't got any without him. He got two without KD. And he has two final, and he has two MVPs. One of them are unanimous. I don't know how, I don't know how, I don't know how you put KD in front of him at this present time. Because of the totality of it, right? I mean, that's what I'm saying. Depending on who you're asking, right? You know, we're going to,

when we talk about Kevin Durant, we're talking with like a, like... Put the poll up. Who we got? Oh, you got KD? Oh, you got KD? I thought you were going to put KD instead. Right, you look at...

We're going to put KD. We're going to put KD. We're going to let the chat decide. Okay. You look, when you think when you say Kevin Durant you already snarl at it the idea because of he left OKC I ain't got no problem but I'm just saying but that's but that's why the the most part like he was down three when you went to the team and we kind of you're frowned upon when you say his name. So he won't get the best review, period.

That's why I said, if you ask Hoopers and say, who would you take? This is a true story. Through the grapevine, when Curry and Kevin Durant was up at the same time, they only had one Max to give out. They offered it to Kevin Durant, not Curry. They offered it to Kevin Durant, not Curry. They offered it to Kevin Durant. We're maxing you. And he said, no, this is not my team.

You give it to Curry. I'll take whatever's left over. Most likely that let them know that he was going to leave. But he turned down the max and gave it to Curry and said, this is your team. I'm just here passing through, basically. Well, I think the thing is, what hurts your and his argument is that KD was on a team that was up 3-1 and Curry came back. Curry has four titles and two of them without him. And he out-MVP'd him.

So I'm just trying to figure the argument. Even if you say, well, he's a better player, what's your argument? He can do things that Curry can't? Mm-hmm. Everything. Except win titles without Curry. Yeah, but I mean, I mean, listen, I get the titles thing. But, you know, when you're just talking about a player and you say, are we going to draft? You're drafting Kevin Durant first every single time.

You're not even going to think twice about it. Well, I mean, because here's the thing. I mean, when did we start counting titles? Ain't nobody was counting titles until Jordan got a bunch of them. Yeah, I mean. Ain't nobody counting no titles. Well, nobody counting MVPs until Jordan got a bunch of them. Ain't nobody counting no titles, ain't nobody counting MVPs until Jordan got a bunch of them. And then all of a sudden

they matter. Yeah, because that was the standard of greatness. So, you know what I mean? But, you know, for the most part, for the most part, we just think about like if, you know, we say, all right, we're going to draft somebody, right? Even though Curry is as great as he is, you're going to go with the guy who can

play multiple positions, so you're going to go with KD. What KD does, it can't be replaced, right? He is a dominant force. He is that dude, right? You might not like him because he's emotional. You might not like him because

he's quick to leave to go try to win. You can't knock him for that because if you're going to quick to leave to go try to win. You can't knock him for that because if you're going to throw chances. But I thought he liked to grind. He said that he didn't want to leave Phoenix because he loved to grind. No, when he said he loved to grind, that's him personally. Oh, okay. Well, there was a grind in OKC.

There was a grind in Brooklyn. But the only grind that he didn't have was to go to state. But the problem is this, too. You have to really think OKC, right? They go to the championship as a young team, right? Yes. They go to the championship. Yeah. What happened after that?

Oh, James Harden left. James Harden left. They wouldn't pay the extra $4 million or extra $14 a year, right? They paid Obaka. They misplaced their money in a sense, right? And paid Obaka. They misplaced their money in a sense, right? And then from there, your team got worse.

So when you were free agent and you're looking like, damn, yeah, we was up 3-1. Yeah, we was up 3-1. You know, but we didn't win it, right? So since we didn't win it, are we that good? Okay.

Who are we trying to get? Nobody? You're not trying to get nobody? Like all the free agents out there, you're not trying to get nobody? Let me ask you a question. Who are you going to get? It's kind of like some of these teams. Who are you going to get to go to Portland? Who are you getting to go to

OKC? Who are you getting to go to Cleveland? LeBron James, as great as he was, couldn't attract anybody to Cleveland. So he had to go. And I got no problem. I've never had a problem. I mean, I'm looking at it like, well, damn, they were 73-9. Damn. Maybe you go to New York,

go somewhere else. But OK, he left and went to Golden State. I don't got no... I have no problem with a guy leaving because in those times, Cleveland, OKC, really, bro? Man, you think I want to go to OKC? I would break if I got a family. Bro, I ain't trying to raise my family in Oklahoma.

And that ain't no knock on Oklahoma. I ain't trying to raise my family in Cleveland. That ain't it. Now, if I can get to Miami, if I can get to L.A., and that seemingly, you know, a team that I know. I'll go to Boston. Boston ain't my first choice given their history and how they treat their players.

Now, maybe it's a little better now, but I'm not so sure if they were to lose in the finals again. You might hear some of the things that they said to Russell and some of the things they said to some of their own Boston Red Sox players.

But that's not, we'll talk about that another day in time. But I don't have a problem with Kx players. But that's not, we'll talk about that another day and time. But I don't have a problem with KD leaving. But my thing is, it's like, I just, like I said, I just need people, like you said, the basketball players,

because it seems like the criteria change if I like a player. Because if I like the player, rings don't matter. And if I don't, they matter. But that's how it is. We're going to always look at the negative on somebody's like, you know, we're going to look on the negative if we don't like them, right?

We can say LeBron couldn't get anybody to Cleveland, but then knock him for not winning so many championships with the roster he had. Like he couldn't get nobody to Cleveland. It's easy to get people to Chicago. It's easy to get people in LA. It's easy to get people when you are in a top 10 city. And I think people need to understand this. When you look at the

top 50 greatest of all time, 37 of 33 to 37 of those players are from big city teams, Boston, New York, LA,

Philly, Chicago. It's the same group. Golden state is it's going to be a top six city. So what ends up happening is if I'm a free agent, right? If I'm a free agent and you in LA and you say, yo Gil, come down.

I'm getting 150 here and y'all can offer me 120. That means 30 million. How can I make that up? My shoe contract doubles because I'm in a bigger city. Right. The market goes up. You know, everything goes in heightens in certain cities. So I'm going to make the money back.

So I'm going to go. If I if I'm going to claim, you know. So I'm going to go. If I'm going to Cleveland, there ain't no goddamn double in my Nike contract. There's nothing in those cities. You might need to try to get a Tim contract. Yeah, even like Shea, right?

I'm sorry, people. If you're an OKC fan, Shea, for him to touch his greatness, he's going to have to leave. We don't know who he is. As great as he is right now, no one knows him. The poll is KD ranked higher than

Steph. 29% says yes, 71% say no. I'm not going to say nothing about your chat, but they're football fans. Shaq said KD would join the GOAT discussion if he wins the title as the bus driver. Do you

agree with that? He's a bus driver. What? He flipped the bus. What you talking about? He was the bus driver. Sit down. I got y'all. 2017-2018 season wasn't Kevin Durant. Right?

Steph Curry only played 51 regular season games that year. Buzz driver. Come on, follow me, y'all. In the playoffs, remember, first round. Curry wasn't there first round. He wasn't there first round. He came in against

New Orleans. Kevin Durant dominated every series when they played Houston. Kevin Durant averaged 35 in that series. Oh, hold on, hold on. Didn't Kevin Durant miss two series? Didn't he miss the series? Hold on, hold on, Gil.

You do realize when Kevin Durant had that Achilles injury now, he missed two series too. That's the next year. They didn't win that year. Yeah, but I'm saying they got to the finals without Kevin Durant in that Achilles injury now, he missed two series too. That's the next year. They didn't win that year. Yeah, but I'm saying they got to the finals without Kevin Durant in the playoffs, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. But we talking about

driving the bus. He drove the bus that 2017-2018. He was the bus driver. I don't think he's the look. He was the bus driver. He's never going to get the credit that he deserves because that's Steph's team. That's Steph's team. That's Steph's team. That's Johnny Gill.

Hey, no, that's Bobby Brown. That's Ralph, Ronnie, Ricky. That's them. Now, in order for you, hey, you got to go somewhere else and start your own group. And Phoenix might be the – now, Brooklyn would have been great because that would have been something that he assembled. He brought this together. He was supposed to be the leader of the team.

And I think Phoenix works out great for him. Kevin Durant works best when all he can do is play basketball. He doesn't have to be a leader. He couldn't do that in Brooklyn, Gil. But if he went to Brooklyn and he added all those, what's the difference? No, I'm saying he wants to just play. He let Clay, he let Steph, he let Draymond be the leaders. He just hooped.

Now he's in a situation that's book. He's still in the background, and he gets to hoop. When you put something together, I put this together at night camp. I put club station together. I can't just sit back. Now, if I go somewhere else, I can sit back and say, I just get to do me. We put that together. So he has to be at the forefront.

And I don't know if he's comfortable being at the forefront. He said, I don't want to lead. I don't need to lead. I want to hoop. I want to play basketball. Okay, but I don't want to lead. I don't need to lead. I want to hoop. I want to play basketball. Let's just look at it from this standpoint. If Curry played 51

games in a regular season, someone has to lead them while he's done, right? Yes. Right? Okay. First round, Curry's not there. Kevin Durant averages 27 in that series. Curry comes back second round.

He averages 24. Kevin Durant averages 27. In the Western Conference Final, Curry averages 25. Kevin Durant going against James Harden averages 35 in that series, right? Chip, Curry averages 27. Kevin Durant averages 28. Who is driving the bus in this playoff race? No matter whose team it is, when you say he don't get no respect for driving the bus in this playoff series, in this season, we're not talking about the Achilles.

We're talking about that second championship where he won the final. He carried from the beginning of the season. I don't know. I mean, the guy averaging, I mean, you got Steph averaging 28 and you got Clay averaging 22. It's hard to see somebody carrying them now. I can see if Steph averaging

16 and Clay averaging 14, but damn, 28 games? 28 and 51 games. No, but I'm saying, the'm saying the series in which they won and rightfully so, I believe Kevin Durant deserved

both finals MVP. But if you look at Steph Curry numbers, I ain't looking at it like, oh, okay, he carried these guys. Steph averaging 27, 28 for the series. Wait, okay.

First series, zero versus 27.8. Second zero, Curry averaged 24. Kevin Durant averaged 27. Western Conference Finals, Curry averaged 25. Kevin Durant averaged 35. The chip, Curry averaged 27. Kevin Durant averaged 28.

Yes, that's what I'm saying. 27-28, that ain't carrying, Gil. What I'm saying is carrying is that you averaged 10 more points to you, the series before. What I'm saying is when you're talking about totality of body of work, he is the bus driver in this sense, right? He is, and we can't say that he didn't lead. He didn't lead. Every round he led the team in in dominance and i said that that championship ring was was held by him he can say well that 2017 2018 season throughout that whole season that y'all had to really ride on my back a little bit because you know curry didn't play.

Curry wasn't there. Most of the, most of the season. And then he missed the first round and y'all really had, like, he can say he won that. He can, at least out of the two championship results,

if we're going to, if we're going to challenge one, I'm pretty sure he can sit back and say, nah, one of those is one of those. I can say, I really put in that work. Right.

Let me ask you a question. Let me ask you a question. Let me ask you a question. Let's just say for the sake of argument, we take Christian McCaffrey and we put him on Kansas City and they win the title. How much credit do you think he's going to get when they got Patrick Mahomes already and they're already going to the Super Bowl?

Not a lot. Kevin Durant. He joins Steph Curry. They had already gone to two NBA finals. He had won one. They had lost one. And he had joined a team that was 73-9. And I think that's the problem that people have.

People say, hold on. Hello, KD. We ain't got no problem with you leaving. But you had a 3-1 lead. And everybody keeps saying that, oh, they wanted him. They begged him to come. But you had a 3-1 lead on everybody keeps saying that, oh, they wanted him, they begged him to come, but you had a 3-1 lead on the team that you joined and they were 73-9.

And so this team was already successful before you joined. Okay, now Christian McCaffrey go joins Kansas City, he's not going to get nearly the credit because even though the 49ers went to the Super Bowl

a couple years ago, he put them over the top, so he gets a lot more credit like Kevin Durant would have done had he won in Brooklyn. But when you go to a team and they already have major success before you got there, it's hard for

people to see you getting the credit that you believe you rightfully deserve. No, no, no. First, listen, the first championship, he's going to a 73-9 team, right? They're favored to win it, right? Boom. They win it. He wins finals MVP, right? I'm talking about that

very next year, right? The very next year, Curry playing 51 games. If Kevin Durant's not there, what does that team really look like? Someone has to hold it up. Patrick Mahomes, you got there 16 weeks, 18 weeks? 18. And you're missing

eight of those? No, they're not going. Yes. That means there was someone there that held it up while you were gone. That's what he did so that's what i'm saying as a player i'm like well the first one okay i rolled y'all back the second one y'all rolled my back a little bit and that's what i'm saying the second one he can he can say that okay i had to carry us to the playoffs i I had to carry us to that Houston series that I'm going against James Harden

and I dominated averaging 35 a game. I averaged 35 a game. That means this is me. I'm unstoppable. Right. To get us- Go ahead, go ahead, Freda. That's what I'm saying.

As a Hooper looking back, it's one of those, I got two, but I really earned one. Right. You know, I, I,

and the thing is, is that it's not as like Shaq averaging 35 and 16, even though I think Kobe's last, the last championship, Kobe averaged what, like 27, 28. If that Shaq was just so dominant.

Yeah. I mean, he give me a 36 and 16? What the? I'm like, bro, come on now. And that was, Kobe was, every year you saw Kobe like, damn. He was like 21, 22,

and then he went like 24, and now he averaged, what did Kobe average the last year they won the championship? Because Shaq averaged like for the championships, he averaged like 35 and 15, 35 and 16 through the three-year run. Where did Kobe have?

Was that a 27-year? Wait, the last... Yeah, I think it was that last year in what? They won what? 2001-2? So it would have been 28-01? Is it 0-1? 0-2.

He averaged 25 maybe that year? What did he average, Ash? 25.2. 25.2? Yeah. Because he's a 3P. But he averaged 29 in the playoffs. Yeah. Kobe averaged 29 in the playoffs. Yeah. Kobe averaged 29 in the playoffs. Right. And when you remember Shaq

filed out with that one series he filed when Shaq filed out against Indiana. And Kobe was like, I got you, big fella. I think that was the moment that he it really darned like, man, hey, I really could do this thing by myself. Hey,

hey, that'd be the problem. hey, I really could do this thing by myself. Yeah, I don't need to. Hey, I ain't scared. Hey, you know, hey, hey, hey. That's definitely the problem. There'll be moments in games and things that happen, and you feel like you can do this without the other. And I think that's what happened with Kevin Durant and Westbrook. When Kevin Durant went down and Westbrook had to hold the team and he's really dominating, I know he's looking like,

yeah, I can see myself doing this for a while. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's your thing. I ain't be going to lie. Gil, we put a poll up. Who wins another ring first?

KD, 74%. Cowboys, 26%. Damn. Ain't got no faith in the Cowboys. Then what's wrong with the boys, man? Like, y'all got so much money, y'all just don't know who to buy, man. Go down to Tampa, Florida. Go ahead, whatever Michael Irvin was on,

but go ahead and lace them up, baby. You know? Bring it back to the early 90s. Bring it back to the early 90s. single game every single week, but I can't do it alone. So I'm bringing in all the big guns from NFL media like Colleen Wolf. Subscribe today and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Michael Rapoport, and I've been professionally podcasting for 10 years. The podcast game has changed so much. And if you're looking for the most disruptive podcast in the world, then subscribe to the I Am Rappaport Stereo Podcast today.

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