Mind the Game - Styles Make Fights: Breaking Down Lakers vs. Wolves

Episode Date: May 8, 2025

Welcome back to a brand new episode of Mind the Game with LeBron James and Steve Nash. In this episode, LeBron takes us through the series between The Los Angeles Lakers and the Minnesota Timberwolves. They talk through the different play styles between the two teams, in-depth defensive strategies and the evolution of Anthony Edwards as a playmaker. LeBron also talks through his MCL injury and what it felt like playing an entire half in the playoffs at age 40. Finally, Steve and LeBron share their thoughts on Gregg Popovich retiring as head coach of the San Antonio Spurs.As always, thanks for watching and listening to Mind the Game. Please subscribe and follow wherever you get your pods!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jason, anything you want us to hit or you go back over or do you want us to close it out? No, I don't have anything. I guess the only question I have is who decided to go with the boy band look first? Was a year or was a jerk? The old black, the back street boys look, the old in sync look. Welcome back to Mind the Game. Today we got an opportunity to sit down and talk to LeBron virtually. He's away with his family.

I'm here at home. Some of our subsequent conversations this summer will be virtually. So bear with us if there's any technical issues that we iron out along the way. But hopefully we'll be in person some, but also definitely virtual as we are today. We got a great opportunity to sit with LeBron, talk to him about the series he just played versus the Minnesota Timberwolves, what he experienced, what he faced, what he thinks of the T-Wolves. I thought they were very impressive throughout the series. We've seen a team here mature. They made a big trade last summer, a cat going to New York and Devin Chenzo and Julius Randall going to the T-Wolves.

And I think they've done an amazing job this year, finding an identity with those new pieces. Not easy to do. So a big shout out to their coaching staff and players for how they're doing. they've been able to kind of matriculate through the season, find this identity and be an incredible team when it counts the most. And we'll also talk a little bit about Anthony Edwards and the leap he's made recently from, you know, primarily a score to a playmaker. And Lakers did a lot of things in this series to try to slow him down and try to take away his impact to keep him off their rim. And he showed, I think, some incredible growth and maturity,

moving the ball, making simple passes, playing with different paces, changing gears, a growth and maturity that, you know, I think we'd love to see in all of our young stars in this league. So great conversation with LeBron today. Looking back on the series of the T-Wolves, hope you guys enjoy. Mind the game. Yes, sir. Back again, baby. Back at it.

Hey, first of all, condolences. You know, obviously, sad to see you guys go out of the playoffs. Yeah, man. Before we dig into that, though, I think it's probably appropriate that we send a major congrats shout out to Coach Pop. Oh, wow. Yeah, for sure. There's no way we even start this conversation without even talking about Popping.

What he means for the game, what he meant, obviously for just the NBA, San Antonio, West Point. I mean, all the stops that he had, I mean, you know, to be able to cross paths. I mean, we've crossed paths with Coach Pop so many times, you know, and I have. had one opportunity to actually play for him in the Olympics in 2004 and obviously going against him three times in the NBA finals and I mean what can you say I mean you can say I mean so he has you talk about the superlatives when it comes to Coach Popman he has this list is you know out of his world but I think what a lot of people have found out if you ever got an opportunity to encounter a one-on-one with him or even just in crossing how

grade of a fucking guy that guy is man um and it makes sense of why how unbelievable coach he was yeah because of this person he was that that's right yeah i mean you look at the the superlatives as you say winning his coach in NBA history five titles um 18 50 win seasons that's insane insane 170 playoffs wins 170 right so uh over two NBA seasons in wins in the playoffs what about playing for him. Coach Pop had you at Team USA. Tell us a little bit about that experience. Yeah, you know, it's

just, you know, the admiration. Like for me, I was an 18-year-old kid, you know, and, you know, I got an opportunity to see it, you know, when they won a championship in 99, and then when they won it again, I believe, in 2003, maybe.

So, so I kind of, I had already had admiration, you know, for Pop and in his San Antonio teams. And, you know, I was on a team. I was a young guy alongside, you know, Carmel and Anthony, we were young guys. Dwayne Way, we were super young. And, you know, to be a part of, you know, that team, you know, obviously we didn't succeed, like we wanted to succeed, but to be on a team with like Allen Irish and and Tim Duncan, you know,

and Coach Pop, you know, Larry Brown, like that was a, that was just like another welcome to, you know, to what greatness is all about, you know, and, you know, to, to see where Coach Pop have left this game, you know, as far as him patrolling the sidelines for as long as he did. And, you know, the amount of wins that you just mentioned, the amount of championships, the amount of great players that he's seen come through the San Antonio franchise, it's just been a complete honor, man. And for me to have, like, a real personal relationship with him

that every time I see him, it's like, you know, just so much respect and so much honor and you know definitely will be missed you know definitely will be missed but obviously we know most important his health is most important but you know we can't we cannot shy away from the fact that what he was able to accomplish on those side lines man yeah i mean just greatness you know organizational greatness you know his role as a coach but also as a GM or president or all the different roles he's taken on there you know the type of program organization they built. A big part of that DNA is him and his personality, his standards, not just what he demands from players on the court, but also the type of people he tries to recruit or develop

or, you know, influence. And you look at that family tree over there, how many coaches around the league, you know, Steve Kerr obviously played for him. He may, he may played and coached with him for him. You know, it goes, it goes on and on and on, dozens of them. You know, but I think your point about him being a great man, you know, and he, and look, he's still with us and hopefully he's going to have a big impact going forward and his health can continue to improve. But we just want to take this time to talk about, you know, his success and who he has. One little story that I always loved is we played them in the playoffs. I can't remember conference finals, semi-finals. And me and Tony Parker bumped heads.

was it I can't remember I had but I'm sure I was bleeding as usual it was leaking blood and it was my nose right it was my nose and it was right down the stretch of the game you know last five six minutes of the game I believe and trying to get the blood to stop it's like right on the crease of my nose and you know this is like really thin skin through there so blood's flying out so I can come in the game like I made a three it's bleeding the refs get him out come back in the games bleeding again I think Papa was over there like just let him play right just let him play you know and so they obviously not going to let me play until you get up but like I believed him that he

wanted me to play he's like I want to beat them with their full compliment you know we're here to win against them with their best punch and so I always admired the type of human being he is the way he stood up for what he believes in you know human rights yeah for people for for people that are underserved or, you know, under-advantaged. And so I agree with you. I think you make a great point. It's not just the accolades as a coach and an organizational leader. It's the type of human being the way he did it.

I think he did such a service to our community, but also to our league, you know, as an example for how we want to, you know, behave. We're all different. We're all going to have different ways of doing things. But he said a hell of an example for what success looks like in the way you approach Yeah, and you always hear this, you always hear this term culture, you know, in our league. Does they have a good culture? Does this franchise have a great culture?

I think, you know, when you look at it, if you can think of one franchise that the culture has always been, you know, the stability of that culture, or this is how the culture is going to be ran, you automatically think about the San Antonio Spurs. And the one common, you know, denominator has been pop. You know, you can look at all the players. come through there, you know, when Pop became a head coach from, you know, Vinnie Del Negro to, you know, Avery Johnson to, you know, David Robertson to, you know, obviously then Tim Duncan, then Manu, then Tony, then all these guys, you know, all the way down to, you know, DeMarra Rosen and, you know, all these guys, Whimby, you know, all these guys towards, you know,

but the one common denominator has always been Pop, you know. And you think about culture and what everybody's, you know, trying to build now. You hear a heat culture. You hear, you know, all these other franchises building a culture. And, you know, I think it started, man. And, you know, like you said, the early, you know, 1990s, you know, when Pop took over. And it's been there to two, it's 2025, man. Right. Right. It's 2025. And I think, you know, people try to, you know, in all sports, you know, in all sports. You used to hear about the New England Patriots, you know, with Belich. But I think it's true. But I think it's, you know, you know, started with Pop as well, you know, and having that influence, just being able, this is how

things are going to be ran. No single person is bigger than this culture and what we're trying to build here. And I think that has a lot to do with success. Obviously, we've seen it. Yeah, well, coming from the both of us, you know, we hope we see and hear a lot more from Coach Pop. No, absolutely. Congrats on an incredible career, but hopefully his influence will continue to take an impact on our league in our communities for a long time. Absolutely. Shout out Coach Pop, man.

We miss you. We miss you, brother. Yes, sir. This episode is sponsored being parted by American Express. American Express knows that for an obsessive basketball fan like a week, the playoffs mean a lot of travel time. Between broadcasting games and catching up the full teammates,

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On prepaid hotels and flights, go through Amnets Travel.com. On up to $500,000 on flight purchases per year. Plus, you get access to the Centurion Lounge, which makes travel that much more enjoy. First, how's the knee is the knee? Oh, man. This is my first in my 22-year career. It's my first knee injury. Right.

You know, I've had, you know, the regular tendonitis and the Patella. all that stuff, but this is the first time I've ever had a, like, a sustained knee injury where I had to like, okay, you got to get off your feet, you know, you got to kind of be shells for a minute. And, you know, I knew as soon as when the impact happened with me and DiVenzo, you know, I felt it right away. My knee locked up, and that's why I kind of stayed on the ground for quite a minute to see, you know, if the knee will kind of release a little bit, you know, but I knew right in

and there was a pain that I hadn't felt before. And I think, obviously, when I was running back to close out, and he collided into me, you know, my knee bent inward, and that's the MCL injury that I had. So, you know, four to six weeks, the docs told me, I have four, six weeks now. That's the benefit. That's the benefit of not, you know, going on in the postseason. Obviously, I wish I was still gone. But, you know, unfortunately, even if we were to one game, you know, at five, at five. home, you know, I would have probably missed six and seven, you know, and, uh, and even,

even further. But, um, you know, I have some time, though. I have some time to get it right and, um, you know, and get back to full strength as far as my need. But it's definitely, it was a pain that I, uh, that next morning, man, after, you know, after I had told the docs, I was like, listen, um, you know, it feels, it's sore right now, yes. And, you know, this is Wednesday night after the game. And I said, you know, if I wake up Thursday morning and it's feeling, and it didn't feeling me better than, you know, Friday morning, let's get an MRI Friday morning. Well, when I woke up Thursday morning and tried to get out of bed, I was like, holy shit. And I called Doc right away.

I said, I can't wait till Friday. We need, I need to go today. So, I mean, that really was it for your season. Yeah, yeah. I mean, pretty much, yeah, yeah, unfortunately. Well, at least it's, you know, it's containable. You know, it's a non-surgical, four to six weeks. you get yourself right in this wheelhouse of trying to get some time off.

And in that respect, like, what is your mindset right now? Like, it's always weird. Like, when I play, you know, you add a new variable to it getting healthy now. Right, right, right. So you have a forced variable. Right, right. But, like, when I was in your shoes, you lose a series, like, you'd have these different kind of thoughts. One, sometimes you'd be, you know, devastated.

Other times, you'd be over-analytical. other times you just want space you know my bandwidth is done I need to get away like where are you right now with the way this kind of season I was a lot of big season for you guys right like a big trade

trying to ram this team together as quickly as possible had a hell of a run getting into the playoffs and you know styles make fights and it's a tough matchup for you guys but where's your mindset before we talk about the series like you just

you know like you just said Steve I think it's you unravel all All of those emotions, you know, and, you know, I've unraveled all of them in a sense of, like, giving me space, you know, going back, you know, analytically seeing if there was ways I could have, what could I have done better, what we could have done better, thinking about the individual matchups, thinking about their team versus our team, things where we could have did better, you know, and it all, it all has interested in my mind since Wednesday night when it was over with. you know, I've had a few days that kind of just, you know, each day has been something different, you know, and obviously I've come to grips with it now, you know, with it being, you know, quite a few days after the fact and watching a lot of the other series now and seeing how they unfold, but yeah, you said it, man, I've, I've had all those emotions, you know, to the point where it's like, shit, we, you know, we entered the season well, but like you said, you know, when it comes to the postseason, man, match-ups sometimes doesn't determine. determine how well of a regular season you had, you know, it's the matchups. And we ran into a damn good matchup, a team that's been battle tested, a team that's hungry, a team that a lot of youth, but also experienced at the same time.

And another team that's trying to make the next step. And, you know, they were a worthy opponent, that's for sure. How does kind of these, like, media narratives enter your frame of mind at this time of year? example, because it's the Lakers, because it's you and Luca, it's like, it's all about how did the Lakers lose this series? Really, what, like, what happened here is Minnesota is a hell of a team and they won the series. Like, how do you deal with some of that when you try to process all this? Yeah, yeah.

For me, I've definitely learned over the years that teams win championships. And, you know, it's never, you know, always, always. Always. Always. teams always win championships and yes individuals get a lot of the accolades and the praise but a collective group you know wins championships now you know you have your big guys that make big plays at the end of games throughout the game or whatever the case may be but ultimately you know teams win championships and and I understand that and it's never just about me

and Luca it was never just about you know Anthony Edwards and Julius Randall you know it was always Minnesota versus the Lakers. And I understand that. And I am at a point in my career now where I, you know, I don't lose sleep over that. Like, how did me and Luca Loo? Like, well, yeah, well, there's eight other guys on the floor, you know, so. Of course.

Yeah, yeah. So, it's always, you know, it's the nature of the business. Yeah, yeah. When you've played 22 years, you've heard that, you know, you've seen that before. Oh, man, I've seen it. But it's, it's, it is a, it is a. interesting talking point in general is that like, you know, you guys are a developing roster. You know, you trade it for a big generational piece, but that doesn't mean the roster is balanced

as fully formed. And you don't have time once getting Luca to make moves necessarily that are going to allow you to kind of fulfill that roster. Like a way Minnesota is. Like Minnesota could trade pieces out, but essentially they're a balanced roster. Yeah, yeah. You could say I'd rather this guy than that guy, but they have the positions come. Yeah. And the only thing they change, you know, in the off-season, they brought in two guys. They kind of lost a big piece. They lost, you know, obviously, cat, but brought in Julius and Devinchenzo.

You know, and the other guys came back, you know, so the experience of being in the Western Conference Finals last year, you know, Devinzenzo was played in big games, you know, and those guys just learn and continue to build. Their regular season, I don't think their regular season gave them

it didn't give any of us or the narrative that how good of a team they were actually were you know um they were dealing with a lot of injuries they were dealing with trying to learn each other but you know when the when the postseason when the postseason comes and you have that team of collective group they have a strong they have a strong eight to nine guys you know from their starting lineup to nazree to be vincenzo to to kill alexander walker and those guys just they come in and they just play extremely hard you know so yeah from my

perspective two things i think that they had that you guys um are looking for uh one is an identity they formed one this year you guys are just trying to figure yours out right um and those collective experiences of being there looking at each other when you're down 15 in game three or whatever it is and say we've been here before we know what to do instead you're looking at each other like i've never been here with you how are you feeling how am i you know that stuff those scars those lessons so I think they built an identity this year. You know, I think the other part of this was just speed. They have foot speed to defend, to attack.

You guys had positional size. Even though you'd play small for the most part in the playoffs, you guys are 6-6-6-10 across the board other than Gabe. So, you know, you have the size. You tried, obviously, as you did in the regular season to a lot of success, kind of zone up, get up in the gaps, trying to take the primary ball handler out of the game. You know, when they have that quickness, and, and, and, I mean, he's so explosive.

And he's improved the playmaking. Exactly. He's improved so much with his playmaking. And you've seen him make the jump, you know, just from last year's playoff run, all the way to just one playoff, you know, series right there. You know, he was super patient, you know, even when we were getting up in the gaps. And, you know, sometimes we were double them. Sometimes we would smoke.

Sometimes we would just be up in the gaps just trying to make him think, you know. And we did. you know there was a you know he had one quote we was like you know their defense is confusing and making me think and he figured it out you know you know and um you know so i commend him man he just um he grew throughout our series that i think it's going to benefit him throughout you know the rest of this run but 100 percent and your guys strategy uh felt like for me um whether you are in a soft blitz or just in the gaps you were leaving guys in the corner coming high loading to the ball trying to bait him into those passes that maybe he's not sure the guy's going to get a look

or he's got to throw it over hands trying to confuse him and I think to your point he did a lot of things better this year than he has in the past he slowed down he changed paces he would drive and he would hesitate slightly instead of just all one speed to give him a chance to see is he coming is he not coming where's this pass where's my window do I have a lap or do I need to get off it he also I think sometimes got into a crowd and instead of making a difficult pass he made simple passes which in the

past I don't think he was as willing to make you know that's a huge step right just the simple one get off in and allow your teammate to have a close out you know or a two on one right like that's the way to bust the way you guys were trying to load to him yeah yeah tricky because the foot speed piece so for me I'd love to hear

you know how you guys approached it but you know even when you tried to double him a little bit guys were reluctant to run out and double him because he's so explosive So then he has the time to look around and pick his spots. Yeah, and that's why we kind of change pitches. We wanted to try to change pitches on them as much as possible because you don't never get one player,

no great players, one steady diet of the same thing. But even when you try to double him, his ability to race double teams, to split double teams, to get creative. And he's still strong too. So it's not like he's a frail guy where you can double. them and be more, be super aggressive with him and get him on. He's, he's definitely, he's learned over the time, but he's strong.

He has low center of gravity. He has a great handle. He can shoot the ball extremely well. And, you know, to add on to what we said a couple times before in some of our older episodes about believing in your teammates, making them feel even better than what they are as well. And he's trusting his teammates to make plays. I think, you know, that's a, man, listen, we got to give Minnesota their flight.

That's a damn good team, man. Very good team. You know, I'm looking forward to seeing their next matchup, you know, either between, you know, Golden State or Houston. Yeah, for sure. There's a clip of you telling that after the game. Take the next step. Yeah.

Tell me, like, in your words, as somebody that you have played with on the USAB stuff from the Olympics gold medal together, obviously there's a mentorship. Like, well, what did that moment mean? to you when you say that to a young player that you've shared the floor with? You know, I think that moment for me is like, you know, understanding and recognizing the next generation and someone who can do it and be great and be great for a long time in our league.

I think that's what our game is all about is being able to pass it down to the next generation and they can continue to do great things. And for me, you know, being out there, you know, in my 22nd season, playing against a young up-and-coming, you know, superstar in the flesh, you know, and Anthony. Edwards and watching him in the postseason last year make those steps to get to the Western Conference Finals and fall short to Dallas, you know, and then have a full summer with him in an Olympic team and seeing how great he was, just listening and just soaking in everything from myself, from myself to Katie to Steph. You know, he was just, you could just see he was

just like a little kid in the candy. Enthusiasm for him. Yeah, like super energetic and happy and just like super like he was just grateful that he was in that opportunity to be. there and for me to just like you know telling to take the next step like you know it doesn't always me okay well west the conference finals and now you got to be in the finals it's like take the next step and just you as a person you as a player continue to get better better and better you know your time's going to come whenever i am not i can't decide when that's going to be sometimes we have no control over when that next step as far as being you know going to the finals and

winning you know we're not always have the opportunity to do that but like we do have control over making a next step in our own individual journey, you know, and I think that's, that's what it was about because I love seeing that, man. I love seeing, you know, I love seeing, you know, I love seeing Jason Tatum take that next step, you know, I love seeing, you know, and, you know, now I see Ant, you know, taking that next step, I, it's just, it's a proud feeling for me, you know, as a player, been in the league for so long. Yeah, you admire it when you see someone's putting the time in and they're improving.

Like you, like you said, for Aunt to have that type of openness and attitude around USAB, you know, coming in with like this is a great opportunity like immediately it's going to give you excitement for his journey because he wants to learn you can tell but i think that you know that buy in of continually improving you know someone like he can rely on his athleticism but to take the next step you know he's got to be a great teammate he's got to be coachable he's got to make his teammates believe he's bought in i think you could see that you know there's always been a little chatter around rudy or around um randall and i thought They both were laser-focused, simplified their games, were efficient.

And that's a lot of it comes from the head of the snake. Is he willing to make the simple play, pass, make his teammates better? I mean, Rudy had a great game, and he deserves, you know, all the credit in the world. But that his opportunities came from the pressure and puts on the defense. Yeah, absolutely. Everything that Rudy did in that game five came because Ant approached the game the way he did those first four games now all the eyes was on aunt you know and and everything was was was game planned around aunt and and rudy was the beneficiary area of that moment and you know

and also like you know when you have a guy like anne who's who's growing and making that change and you can see him develop it more and more it makes guys want to come there too that's like you know you have to think long term too when it comes to like free agency and things to that nature how do how do you continue to get better too as a team is being able to get small pieces. When you're a good team that's trying to become a great team, it's literally one or two pieces like in offseason that if you acquire, that makes the jump for you. And, you know, Ant has that, he has that bravada and that, that, that flair and that it factor,

you know, that guys, you know, want to play alongside that because it's energetic is fun and he competes. Yeah, for sure. And we've got to give some credit to their coaching staff. You know, they've done a great job. Oh, for sure. yeah for sure they've developed those guys and as well uh it's a it's a symbiotic relationship right like coaches develop players got to buy in and they've both done that and i could kind of read between

the lines you know rudy was asked you know aunt didn't shoot the ball well you know and his comment was he made the right plays we don't care if he makes or misses you know to me that's an organizational language that's the stuff they're hearing in film sessions yeah in meetings like aunt make the right plays make the right decision his growth from last year to this year in that way so i i i give credit to the whole organization, especially that coaching staff from helping that team matriculate. How far do you think they can go? Well, I personally think, I mean, I'm looking at the competition in the rest of the field, which is a lot of great teams left.

But I could see them, you know, for sure getting into the Western Conference finals, if not the finals. I think obviously health is wealth. Sure. Health is wealth in the postseason, you know. But I think if they have all the makeups, they have shooting, they have toughness, they have size, They have foot speed, they have playmaking. They have defensive versatility, which you need in the postseason. And those guys, they play extremely hard, you know.

And they have a, like you said, I give credit to the coaches staff, too. They are putting those guys in the right position to be successful. So, you know, I think they have an opportunity. If at least, Western Conference finals, if not then the finals, I mean, they have the makeup for that. Yeah. Yeah, it's going to be some exciting series. You know, I obviously think O'KC's been outstanding this year. Oh, absolutely.

That's a great series. We've got a game seven. Oh, man. Taping today on a Sunday, Warriors Rockets, which has been a fascinating series. Yeah. And the next round's even going to be, you know, more incredible. You know what I love more than the perfect assist? The Perfect Story.

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I've got to ask the big fix. I got to ask this 20 second season playing an entire half in a playoff game. How to feel? I mean, you've done that before. Yeah, I've done it before. Yeah, yeah. How did you feel? I felt in the moment.

Yeah. You know, I wasn't tired. You know, I wasn't looking for a sub. wasn't, if it came, cool, I would accept it, but we had an opportunity to tie the series at two to two, you know, on the role versus a great team. And the coaches rode the dice and we roll with it, you know, and we just didn't, we didn't make enough, we didn't make enough plays. But I mean, I didn't, what I didn't leave, I left that game extremely tired and extremely like, who shit, because it was a postseason game.

not because I played the whole second half. You know, I was tired as hell because I gave my whole money, my body, my mind, my soul to the game for 48 minutes. I was extremely tired. But it wasn't because, oh, well, I played, you know, 24 straight minutes in the second half. No, you know, we had an opportunity

and we didn't, we didn't counter it. Yeah, and I totally agree. I mean, I think, aside from like anyone's critique of shorting the bench, to zero in the second half. Like, you've got to push buttons. You've got to try things, right? Like, you can lose, or the coaches have a feeling about what's going on, where the team's at, where the desperation is.

The reality is there are more complete roster at this stage of the story. So for you guys to win, you have to play above your level, always, right? You have to make shots at a high clip. You have to be taken care of the basketball, not giving up up. It just didn't happen. Yeah. Yeah. And that's what we talked about. Like, you see, you're right, Steve.

We just talked about that. They're like the possession game. We lost the possession game in a series. And the possession game came down to officer rebounds, turnovers, you know, loose balls. Like, we, they're a more complete team than we were. You know, we had our opportunities. And when you have your opportunities,

you can't have a high turnover game and allowing them to get fast break points. You can't guard as hell as hard as we was guarding and then give up two or three straight offensive rebounds. You know, you just can't do that. Which happened multiple times, right? happen multiple times, you know. So you have to be able to control the controllables.

And for the series, we didn't do that, you know, and that resulted even more of a reason while we weren't able to extend a series. Yeah, it's always funny, you know, the narratives. And, yeah, I mean, would it have made a big difference to put Gabe in for a minute here or there or whatever? Like, but, you know, we overreact. Yeah, we overreact.

Coaches, they make it, they make it in the moment decision. And we always, like to say, well, punish people when it didn't work at the same time. You know, you lose that game and there's another problem, right? So at the same time, coach, that's part of being a coach is you got to be brave. You got to make decisions on the fly. Sometimes they're right. Yeah, and none of us, and by way, none of us question. None of us question, question, JJ and the coaching staff of what happened. Obviously, you know, Gabe and Van Doe, guys that come, you know, have given us so many great minutes, you know, they definitely felt the way.

And, you know, because they're competitors. We all feel like we could get in and a moment happened. But it wasn't, it wasn't a decision which JJ told us. It wasn't a decision that was based on guys not being able to do the job. It was his decision based on the feeling of the game and the momentum of the game. And none of us, none of us looked at him or the coached staff anyway for the decision that he made. And shit, it was our fault that we didn't, we didn't come through. And that's part of making that decision is knowing that your guys have the maturity and the team first attitude to be upset because they're competitors. But at the same time to be like, I'll be ready for the next game.

Yep, yeah. You know, that's, that's a, that's a part of a winning mentality in a group. Absolutely. Absolutely. So what's, what, what's, how are you going to fill this gap of, you know, taking care of this knee? You got, you know, little space, little rest and recovery. Yeah, yeah.

I know you, I know you don't like to sit still. No, no, I don't like to sit still. How are you going to feel your time here? Well, I'm, obviously, number one is to get back healthy. You know, I'll be able to do some small stuff within the next week or two just to kind of get the mobility back into the knee and things of that nature. You know, my youngest son is headed off to college soon, so, you know, that's another bird out the nest, a very emotional moment coming up for Bryce going off

to Tucson to be an Arizona Wildcat. But my daughter is heavily in volleyball, so I'll be in a lot of gyms this summer as she's with her travel league team out in California. She, you know, they go all over. They've been to, they've been to Reno, Nevada. They're going to Las Vegas. They play all over, California. So I just spend a lot of time with her.

And then, you know, take some vacation times with the family. Some of the times that you lose, you know, obviously when you're in the eight, nine-month season. And see what this next, you know, what the next journey looks like. You know, I haven't had the conversation with the family yet as far as me going forward or whatever the case may be. But we'll see what happens. Yeah, no, it's good for you to get some space. I've done the volleyball thing, by the way. My wife played in college and I have a daughter or daughter playing D3,

so I've been in all those gyms, all those tournaments in Vegas and all that stuff. Those are fun times, man. Yeah, yeah, I'm looking forward to, you know, which I heard, listen, I heard you got a new thing. You want to speak about that. Oh, you know, congratulations to you. Well, this is, you know, you got me rolling here in this media space. So I'm going to be on prime video doing NBA games next.

year and studio work. Thank you. Appreciate it. Excited. Great, great team over there. Taylor Rucks, Dirk, my buddy, BG, U.D., a few others. It's going to be an exciting project, you know, to create a new show and a new way of covering the game, hopefully, with new voices. So, definitely excited. So you're getting me the early reps here. Listen, I got you, man. I got you, man. I cracked a smile and laughed a little bit. But when the news broke and I've seen Dirk tweet out, now I've got to carry this guy. Now I've got to carry this guy again,

like I did all those years and died. I stayed quiet about that I paid for every breakfast, lunch, and dinner for six years. But, you know, that's just a part of the gig. That's a part of the gig, right? You got to take the youngster, you know, let him become a man under your tutelage, and then what does he do?

He shits on you. Oh, man, that's funny. Jason, anything you want us to hit or you go back over or do you want us to close it out? No, I don't have anything. I guess the only question I have is who decided to go with the boy band look first? Was it you or was a jerk? The old black street boys look, though, in sync look.

My brother and I, right? Before I got traded to Dallas, we, for whatever reason, bleached our whole head, like, blonde. So, of course, when we went, when I got traded, it was like a month or two in and whatever, six weeks later, so it had almost grown out. So I had, like, the frosted tips. And, you know, sometimes you don't recognize how bad that's going to look one day. You know what I mean? You're just like, what's the big deal?

I just rock up there like this. You know, then Dirk had, like, the bull cut with the Jordan one hoop. I had the frosted tips. Man, just history is a... History always reminds us. Mind a game. Mind the game. Thanks for watching Mind the game.

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