Nightcap - 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 Kevi...n Durant. #Club #VolumeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 The Volume. Shannon. New customers can bet just five bucks and get 200 instantly in bonus bets. Only on DraftKings Sportsbook with the code Shannon. The crown is yours. You're listening to an iHeart podcast. I'm Michael Kassin, founder and CEO of 3C Ventures and your guide on good company. The podcast where I sit down with the boldest innovators shaping what's next. In this episode, I'm joined by Anjali Sood, CEO of Tubi. We dive into the competitive world of streaming. What others dismiss as niche, we embrace as core. There are so many stories out there. And if you can find a way to curate and help the right person discover the right content,
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Starting point is 00:01:55 Hello, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to another episode of Nightcap Basketball Style. I'm your favorite thunk, 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. Hey, Unk, before we get into it, Unk.
Starting point is 00:02:16 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 and hit the subscribe button. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for helping us get to 947,000 subscribers.
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Starting point is 00:02:53 to the Nightcap podcast feed. You can get it through Club Shea Shea, but Nightcap has its own podcast feed. We'd also like for you to subscribe and like Gil's Arena channel on YouTube. The show airs Monday through Thursday live at 1130 a.m. Pacific. That's 230 Eastern. Again, Gil's Arena.
Starting point is 00:03:14 His channel is on YouTube. His show airs Monday through Thursday live at 1130 a.m. Pacific. That's 230 p.m. Pacific. That's 2.30 p.m. That's 2.30 p.m. Eastern time. We've also pinned Chez Balaportier, the link at the top of the chat. Hey, Super Bowl parties, you got Valentine's Day, you got St. Patrick's Day.
Starting point is 00:03:34 Who knows? You might even have a birthday or just celebrating something. So go out, make sure you get yourself a bottle or someone special in your life a bottle. Ladies, if you grab your man one,
Starting point is 00:03:44 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 nine and three. And it seems a lot of the NFL fans are getting upset when they pander her,
Starting point is 00:04:05 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. Maybe 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. So 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,
Starting point is 00:04:35 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 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
Starting point is 00:04:53 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, get me some Hanes drawers. He drinks Gatorade. I won't drink Gatorade too. Them shoes, they got him jumping out the gym.
Starting point is 00:05:10 Hey, I'm going to need those there, Jordan. So I don't know what you need to do, Mom, but I need to get those. And so that's what Ocho 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 go ahead what did you want oh nah i don't give i don't care about no trailer so i 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'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
Starting point is 00:05:52 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' dress. She did the Freakum dress. When she did the Freakum dress right there in the moment, I downloaded all her songs. I was so excited when she was out there popping it cuz I know Taylor Swift
Starting point is 00:06:16 came pop because she wasn't born with the backside Beyonce got. So when Beyonce was popping it up, no lie, I had this made on the spot. Listen, listen, I had to get the autograph. I'm Beehive, I'm straight male Beehive. You team, so you'll be- Yeah, I'll be the male version of it. I don't know Beehive. Oh, you're a team. So you're Beehive. Yeah, I'm the male version of it.
Starting point is 00:06:47 I don't know what that sounds like, but that one, yeah. Yeah, 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 going to,
Starting point is 00:07:02 that's not something he would want to attend. But I've been to a Beyonce concert. Not this one. My daughters are grown. I know my son's not going to. That's not something he would want to attend. But 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 paying $12,000 for those tickets. It was two tickets. I paid $12,000 for it.
Starting point is 00:07:20 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 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.
Starting point is 00:08:20 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,
Starting point is 00:08:45 people are going to take it and it's going to go viral. 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
Starting point is 00:09:01 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 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. Yes, in the football world, they got something that they wasn't expecting.
Starting point is 00:09:28 They didn't realize they were going to get these followers from... No. So the fact that she's there, because what happened is, it didn't happen with Ciara and Russell Wilson, right? No. Two different types of people in this world, right? Correct.
Starting point is 00:09:42 You know what I mean? So, you know, there's only a few... They didn't get it with Kim Kardashian, we'd show it up with Miles Austin or something like that either. And we know Kim Kardashian is a drug. She's a brand. There's only a few
Starting point is 00:09:54 women that can do that in just this sport. Like when we thought she was dating Austin Reeves, Lakers' memonium, right? She Austin Reeves, Lakers were ceremonium. She's been to the Lakers game. It's just different. It's an all-male sport, so to have a woman of her caliber just
Starting point is 00:10:14 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. I understood
Starting point is 00:10:30 what you were saying. I get it. Gil, 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.
Starting point is 00:10:47 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?
Starting point is 00:11:02 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 you get the hang of it you get when to cheer when not to cheer
Starting point is 00:11:17 you might not know what's going on but hey, 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's Patrick Mahomes. So if I say Patrick Mahomes is the closest thing to Tom Brady,
Starting point is 00:11:40 she ought to say Patrick Mahomes better than Tom Brady. Yeah, they always do that better. 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 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.
Starting point is 00:12:05 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.
Starting point is 00:12:20 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.
Starting point is 00:12:40 And they lose uh Anthony Simons uh hit a jumper and ends up winning the game by three they file they miss the three-point Brooke Lopez missed the three-point shot uh they make both free throws they're down by three they file Giannis he missed the first one so now he has to miss the second one and they end up losing the game uh what What do you make of Dave's return? 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.
Starting point is 00:13:26 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 Bucs as a team, right? Right? Like you're in, like, you, you, you, like what do you do, like this is my thing 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 point is 00:14:09 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.
Starting point is 00:14:32 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,
Starting point is 00:14:41 he was getting to his five, elevating, boom, knocking it down. Simons did the Euro step over Beasley. Got it. But I thought what you call him played well. DeAndre
Starting point is 00:14:54 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,
Starting point is 00:15:10 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, now 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 match the best years are going to come in Portland. It's hard to see me.
Starting point is 00:15:25 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.
Starting point is 00:15:50 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.
Starting point is 00:16:13 Milwaukee really didn't get a whole lot off their bench. Crowder gave them six. 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. And Portland got 14, 20, got 35 off the bench. So you're plus 18 off the bench.
Starting point is 00:16:34 Nine to nine, I mean, the free throws, 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.
Starting point is 00:16:57 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 Griffin was no defense. But Doc's
Starting point is 00:17:14 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, the defensive player, came in. You got Ray Allen. They had a great group of defensive players. And then from there,
Starting point is 00:17:37 you slid defensively. Who you were in Orlando, Horobu defensively. When you finished 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. You, as a coach, don't have defensive schemes. You're not a defensive coach. Right? When you went to um philly philly i'm sorry but your point guard that was 611
Starting point is 00:18:08 was all first team defense right right and 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,
Starting point is 00:18:39 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.
Starting point is 00:18:54 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 y'all. I mean, y'all
Starting point is 00:19:09 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.
Starting point is 00:19:25 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? He's just playing the whole 12 minutes, right?
Starting point is 00:19:46 And then he comes out at the top of the second, right? That's right. Well, Doc ain't like that, right? Doc gonna sub you out at the three-minute mark, and then he's gonna hold you all the way to the nine-minute mark, which for a scorer, it's the dumbest thing in the world. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's getting to get a rhythm, it's the dumbest thing in the world. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Starting point is 00:20:07 He didn't get a rhythm. He 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.
Starting point is 00:20:19 And then imagine taking out your best running back and your best 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 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 file anymore. But when you take your best player out, put some cold players in, they use that three minutes to get warm.
Starting point is 00:20:58 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 Bucs right now is to go into the locker room
Starting point is 00:21:15 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. Wow.
Starting point is 00:21:34 Yeah, 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. And they 2-0 without a coach. So how surprised are you that a team makes a move 43 games into the season
Starting point is 00:21:58 and it's not somebody that's on the staff that takes over. They go completely outside. Yeah, this is crazy. This is called connections. Can't even be mad at Doc for this. This is called connection. You really
Starting point is 00:22:12 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, 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.
Starting point is 00:22:33 You go down 0-3, you best believe you're getting killed in the media. That's why I said this wasn't a win-win for Doc. Because if you win the championship, it was like, well, they were 30-13 before they got to you, dude. If you lose, it's your fault because it was 30-13 before you got there. Help me understand this, Gil. I'm watching the game. Why the hell y'all
Starting point is 00:22:55 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, gotta get that basketball. Dame and Lillard, gotta get the ball. Everybody should go to the end and Dame, gotta get that basketball. Dame and Lillard, gotta get that basketball. You down a bucket.
Starting point is 00:23:12 No, you down three at this point because they had just gone to the free throw line and made two shots. So you're down 116, 119. Why the hell you throw the ball to Giannis? Because sometimes players can't get it out of their own way, right? Right, and I said it.
Starting point is 00:23:30 I was crucial on Giannis and say, right, you need to learn how to really play the game, get into the post, dominate from short distance, right? You dribble the ball up court trying to do the same right to left year roll, right? 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.
Starting point is 00:24:03 So like MJ, MJ learned back to the basket when he's still at all his athleticism. He's understood evolution. He understood that I must slow up at some point in time. When I do, I won't be affected by it. So he's so used to grabbing a ball, going full court, doesn't realize, sir, this is not your time of the game now. That's what they do. People who make free throws who can get it done, right? going full court doesn't realize, sir, this is not your time of the game now.
Starting point is 00:24:27 People have to make free throws who can get it done, right? This is like Shaq getting the ball and saying, hey, I'm going to try to do it myself. And we're going to foul, and you go to the free throw. You have to understand this game, right? You have to understand who's on your team. You've got to understand the sacrifice.
Starting point is 00:24:43 Yeah, 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 finna pay. I'm not finna give you the ball because I mean, of all the players that were on the court, Giannis would be the last guy
Starting point is 00:25:00 for the Bucs that I would actually think would make both of those free throws. Now they foul and make them go down to make two more, and then we got to 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.
Starting point is 00:25:15 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,
Starting point is 00:25:41 right? Easily just shoot jump shots all day. So for the most part, only Dane... They only had four guys shoot free throws the other night. Jay Crowder was one for two. 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
Starting point is 00:25:59 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 shade. Ah, ah, get you and steal you some free throws. Yeah, they don't really have anybody that, I mean,
Starting point is 00:26:19 Brooke Lopez said one, but he doesn't play with his back to the basket. He's hovering around the three-point line. Dame, obviously, Dame is a guard. He's not playing with his back to the basket. He's hovering around the three point line. 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 his game. As you said, he's looking to get ahead of steam and come downhill. I'm a Euro
Starting point is 00:26:37 step you. I'm a side step you. I'm a lay it up. I'm a 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 Olajuwon
Starting point is 00:26:54 to get his footwork right because Olajuwon has worked with some of the greats as far as footwork. And I don't know how much of it connected with Giannis, but it doesn't seem like he's comfortable with it because he's still doing. I don't see anything that with some of the cut-ups that I saw that Elijah Juan was showing him.
Starting point is 00:27:15 I mean, you see Kobe. You see it 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 it was like, okay. But at the end of the day, you're going to have to trust that what you learn,
Starting point is 00:27:33 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.
Starting point is 00:27:46 You're paying that much for a weekend. You're not going to learn anything on a weekend. Like, 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.
Starting point is 00:28:15 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
Starting point is 00:28:53 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. Soon as the season is ending, you go learn. You start working on that today.
Starting point is 00:29:11 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, Gil. So the whole summer, while you're doing it, I'm doing this. I'm working on it. It's a situation where sometimes, you know, we learn
Starting point is 00:29:31 something and then we think, well, okay, 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 look at Tebow when he was going to Tom House and he's throwing gurus, he was fine until he got in a stressful
Starting point is 00:29:48 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.
Starting point is 00:30:04 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. And a lot of times he charged because he got a charging foul late in the ball game. But you have to, whatever you learn, you have to
Starting point is 00:30:28 implement it away from the situation in which you learned it. That's the only way it's going to stick, Gil. 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.
Starting point is 00:30:45 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
Starting point is 00:31:00 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
Starting point is 00:31:16 to Brooklyn was his first since the trade. Hold on, let me find this game right up. Where's this game at? Let me get the full scoreboard. You know, I got me a little new toy up here, Gil. It's 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. No, I won't.
Starting point is 00:31:34 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.
Starting point is 00:31:52 Man, come on. I don't need that. Hold on. You're showing your age, y'all. Yeah, man. And my eyesight. You can't do that online, huh? Hey, you see, I'm up here squinting.
Starting point is 00:32:06 Okay, I got it. Brooklyn, Brooklyn. There it is. There it is. There it is, Gil. There it is. Box score right there. Kevin Durant scores 33 in his return.
Starting point is 00:32:20 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, 69 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
Starting point is 00:32:38 Mikael Bridges. If you're crazy, buddy, 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.
Starting point is 00:32:55 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.
Starting point is 00:33:11 Every other night, every night, someone new is performing. You know, they do have a big three, and it seems like Bradley Beal is really, like, 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 Bradley Bill hasn't went there trying to be dominant, just getting a feel for the game, get everybody involved,
Starting point is 00:33:43 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. You know, you go back to Brooklyn and you do your thing. I mean, you know, no one thought Kevin Durant was going to go
Starting point is 00:34:00 there and not play well. Yeah. They got at least 30 points every single quarter. First quarter, they got 30. Second points in 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 beat, letting the team shoot 62% from
Starting point is 00:34:16 the floor, 50% from the three-point line. I'm just surprised how poorly they shot from the free-throw line. The Suns, they were 24-32 from the free throw line. They shot 75% from the free throw line and shot 62% from the field. Well, I mean, that's the big man.
Starting point is 00:34:36 You know what I mean? That ain't really the... That's a... Nerkich. Yeah, you know, Nerkich 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.
Starting point is 00:34:47 Okoge was 2 for 3. We don't count them. Nurkic, Bradley Beal was 5 of 6. KD was 11 of 12. And Nurkic was 6 of 9. But they all go plus 20, plus 16, plus 17. Bradley Beal was plus 1. Devin Booker was plus 19.
Starting point is 00:35:07 They've already 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, right? Yes. It wasn't that they failed, right?
Starting point is 00:35:36 We never actually got to see how powerful they are. When we did get a glimpse of them, they were unstoppable. What they did- Yeah, James Harden having a triple-double. Yeah, that championship Bucs team, what they did to them game one, they made Bucs look like baby basketball.
Starting point is 00:35:54 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 patience and we hear i remember when yannis lost his first game with doc rivers said we got to have patient
Starting point is 00:36:18 it's going to take time i say it's funny that you say that something that you was 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 give or take time because seemingly he wanted out it's funny how
Starting point is 00:36:38 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.
Starting point is 00:37:06 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
Starting point is 00:37:21 Brooklyn team here in Los Angeles. They was 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, KD got eight, one game, Kyrie got eight the next game. They were really just torturing. And I was like, yo, these two dudes is just unstoppable, they're 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.
Starting point is 00:38:08 It just happens. next. In this episode, I'm joined by Anjali Sood, CEO of Tubi, for a conversation that's anything but ordinary. We dive into the competitive world of streaming, how she's turning so-called niche into mainstream gold, connecting audiences with stories that truly make them feel seen. What others dismiss as niche, we embrace as core. It's this idea that there are so many stories out there. And if you can find a way to curate and help the right person discover the right content, the term that we always hear from our audience is that they feel seen. Get a front row seat to where media, marketing, technology, entertainment, and sports collide. And hear how leaders like Anjali are carving out space
Starting point is 00:39:05 and shaking things up a bit in the most crowded of markets. Listen to Good Company on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. In the fall of 1986, Ronald Reagan found himself at the center of a massive scandal that looked like it might bring down his presidency. Did you make a mistake in sending arms to Tehran, sir? No. It became known as the Iran-Contra affair. And I'm not taking any more questions in just a second.
Starting point is 00:39:43 I'm going to ask... I'm Leon Nafok, co-creator of Slow Burn. In my podcast, Fiasco, Iran Contra, you'll hear all the unbelievable details of a scandal that captivated the nation nearly 40 years ago, but which few of us still remember today. The things that happened were so bizarre and insane, I can't begin to tell you. Please do.
Starting point is 00:40:14 To hear the whole story, listen to Fiasco, Iran Contra on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's it like here? You like, I wanted to ask you this in the first segment, obviously Dane went back. We had two guys going back into return to big guns. Dane went back to Portland.
Starting point is 00:40:34 Katie 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 Kevin Durant says he didn't want it, didn't think he deserved it. But what was your return like when you went
Starting point is 00:40:49 back to teams that you formerly played for? Okay, so when I went back to... I played two years with Golden State, so that was short stint, right? When I went back, it was... I just bust their ass. Game winners. I own that, it was, I just bust their ass, that game winners.
Starting point is 00:41:05 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 gonna lie to you. I was trying to get a DNP that whole time. What?
Starting point is 00:41:29 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. If I went back, It was more of that. I'm the Scarlet motherfucking letter out there.
Starting point is 00:41:48 Right, right. Hey, I got adultery on here. Yeah. Stupid. Yeah. You got that G. You got that G. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:41:56 You know, like. So I was, I was scared. I'm not even gonna lie. I was scared. Like, oh shit, I'm gonna get booed. Like, oh man, I don't want to play. It was one of those times where 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.
Starting point is 00:42:18 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 like 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 because you really were disappointed in my behavior and I was like yeah I'm good so when I got there and they gave
Starting point is 00:42:49 me a cheer not even gonna lie man that was like the best feelings like I hit game winners all over again you know mine was different because I didn't want to go I didn't want to go back I was scared I think that for me
Starting point is 00:43:03 Gil I I was scared. I think that for me, Gil, I played for my teammates' respect, my coaches' trust, and the fans' appreciation. And I played for them 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 exactly what I did
Starting point is 00:43:35 in order to make sure I played from, you know, taking the injections and having the fluid drawn, 40 cc, 60 ccc 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,
Starting point is 00:44:00 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.
Starting point is 00:44:24 That's the way I trained the way I trained. That's the way I trained the way I trained. That's the way I lived the way I lived. So football doesn't owe Shannon Sharp anything. Shannon Sharp doesn't know the game of football anything. And so I think for me, now, the Ravens fans might not feel the same way about me now,
Starting point is 00:44:40 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 utmost regard. The Broncos and the fans and the coaches, none of the coaches are still there
Starting point is 00:44:57 but a lot of people are in that building. 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.
Starting point is 00:45:10 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. People who, when he said 60 cc's, right?
Starting point is 00:45:28 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 bend it. You know, because it's swelling, it's taking away the muscle in your thigh,
Starting point is 00:45:46 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,
Starting point is 00:46:01 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,
Starting point is 00:46:20 your body is 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, hey, 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
Starting point is 00:46:35 with a limp, you know, you can't bend your knee, you can't flex your knee. Would you do it all over again? I said, hell yeah. I mean, there's not a lot of athletes that wouldn't do it again. Right. Like when Kevin Durant tore his Achilles, and I said, do not blame the coaching staff.
Starting point is 00:46:59 Do not blame anybody for the Achilles. There was no medical staff in the world that was going to 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 100 times, you will go out there 100 times. And he said, you damn right. Right? Oh, for sure.
Starting point is 00:47:24 You know what I mean? Like it's, you know, we, we put ourselves through the body. We put ourselves through these situations because that's what makes you great. Yeah. We know. Um, let me ask you this. Does Katie need to win? Does Katie need to win a title
Starting point is 00:47:45 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
Starting point is 00:48:04 got three consecutive MVPs with three titles and two finals MVPs. I mean, 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
Starting point is 00:48:19 and could not jump Ash and Ash got four left feet but it's the team the team was dominant right you remember he has 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.
Starting point is 00:48:35 But they won. 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
Starting point is 00:48:50 me now. Go ahead. You know, so Larry Bird dominated 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.
Starting point is 00:49:06 Half those dudes were trying to hurry up and get to the next fix. So he out there having a good old time with them boys out there. So I do value his greatness. Trust me, just being a white boy, it reminds me of Luca. You out here doing work. You out here letting black history money know, hey, hey, hey. I got some for y'all asses too, but KD is a whole nother beast.
Starting point is 00:49:30 Right? 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.
Starting point is 00:49:52 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. So I need you to give me something more than the pins. I think the NBA players and ex-NBA players will have Kevin
Starting point is 00:50:10 Durant in front of Curry. Because you got to call him Curry. I don't think he is. You remember Curry's first four or five years, right? His accolades ain't there. Like, people don't realize that
Starting point is 00:50:25 three-point 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.
Starting point is 00:50:42 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.
Starting point is 00:51:02 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 came without him. Yeah. So 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.
Starting point is 00:51:16 Because of the totality of it. Right. I mean, that's what I'm saying. Depending on who you 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?
Starting point is 00:51:28 Oh, you got KD? I thought you were gonna put KD in still. Right, you look at, you look at We gonna let the chat decide. Okay. You look, you look at, you look, when you think, when you say Kevin Durant, you already snow at it. The idea
Starting point is 00:51:43 because of because he left OKC. I ain't got no problem with leaving OKC. But that's why the most part, he was down 3-1, you went to the team, and we kind of frowned upon when you say his name, so he won't get the
Starting point is 00:51:59 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. That's why I said, if you ask Hoopers and say, who would you take? This is a true story. Through the grapevine. When him and Kevin Durant, when Curry and Kevin Durant was up at the same time,
Starting point is 00:52:13 they only had one max to give out. 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.
Starting point is 00:52:33 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.
Starting point is 00:52:54 And he out-MVP'd it. 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
Starting point is 00:53:10 without Curry. Yeah, but I mean, listen, I get the titles thing, but, you know, when you're just talking about a player and you say, who are we going to draft? You're drafting Kevin Durant first every single time.
Starting point is 00:53:25 You're not even going to think twice about it. 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 when nobody counting MVPs until Jordan
Starting point is 00:53:41 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,
Starting point is 00:53:58 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
Starting point is 00:54:15 he's 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.
Starting point is 00:54:31 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.
Starting point is 00:54:47 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 then from there, your team got worse. So when you were free agent and you're
Starting point is 00:55:04 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? Who are we trying to get? Nobody?
Starting point is 00:55:22 You're not trying to get nobody? Like all the free agents out there, you're not trying to get nobody? But let me free agents out there, you're not trying to get nobody? But 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?
Starting point is 00:55:36 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 and 9. Damn. Maybe you go to New York, go somewhere else. But okay,
Starting point is 00:55:51 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 I got a family. Bro, I ain't trying to raise my family in Oklahoma. And that ain't no knock on Oklahoma.
Starting point is 00:56:08 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.
Starting point is 00:56:30 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 KD leaving. But my thing is, 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.
Starting point is 00:56:59 We're going to always look at the negative on somebody. 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. 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
Starting point is 00:57:25 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,
Starting point is 00:57:43 LA, Philly, Chicago. it's the same group. Golden State, 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,
Starting point is 00:57:59 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 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. Everything goes and heightens in certain cities.
Starting point is 00:58:18 So I'm going to make the money back. So I'm going to go. If I'm going to Cleveland, there ain't no goddamn doubling my Nike contract. There's nothing in those cities. So you might need to try to get a Tim contract. Yeah, like even like Shea, right? I'm sorry, people. If you're OKC fan, Shea,
Starting point is 00:58:34 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
Starting point is 00:58:50 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 you agree with that he as the bus driver. Do you agree with that? He's a bus driver.
Starting point is 00:59:08 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?
Starting point is 00:59:25 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.
Starting point is 00:59:44 Kevin Durant dominated every series when they played Houston. Kevin Durant averaged 35 in that series. Hold on. Didn't Kevin Durant miss two series? 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
Starting point is 01:00:00 they got to the finals without Kevin Durant in the playoffs, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. But we're talking about driving the bus. Randy in the playoffs, right? Yeah. We're talking about driving the bus. He drove the bus in 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
Starting point is 01:00:17 because that's Steph's team. That's Steph's team. That's Johnny Gill. That's Bobby Brown. That's Ralph, Ronnie, Ricky. That's them. Now, in order for you, you got to go somewhere else and start your own group. And Phoenix
Starting point is 01:00:33 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 he brought this together he was supposed to be the leader of the team and i think 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 gill but that's yeah but if he
Starting point is 01:00:55 went to brooklyn and he added all those but what's the difference because he's no i'm saying he wants to just play he let he let clay he let Steph, he let Draymond be the leaders. He just hoot. Now he's in a situation that's book. He's still in the background, and he gets to hoot. When you put something together, I put this together at night camp. I put club station together. I can't just sit back.
Starting point is 01:01:22 Now, if I go somewhere else, I can sit back and say, my joint, 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.
Starting point is 01:01:38 I want to play basketball. Okay, but let's just look at it. Just look at it from this standpoint, right? If Curry played 51 games in a regular season, right? Yeah. Someone has to lead them while he's done, right? Yes. Right?
Starting point is 01:01:52 Okay. Right? First round, Kevin Durant. I mean, Curry's not there. Kevin Durant averages 27 in that series. Curry comes back second round. He averages 24. Kevin Durant averages 27.
Starting point is 01:02:05 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 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
Starting point is 01:02:32 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. The guy averaging, you got Steph averaging 28 and you got Clay averaging 22. It's hard to see somebody carrying them now.
Starting point is 01:02:54 I can see if Steph averaging 16 and Klay averaging 14, but damn, 28, Gale? 28 and 51 games. No, but I'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, oh, KD,
Starting point is 01:03:15 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.
Starting point is 01:03:39 27 to 28, that ain't carrying, Gil. What I'm saying is that I averaged 10 more points than 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. He is. And we can't say that he didn't lead. He didn't lead. Every round, he led the team in dominance. And I said that championship ring was held by him.
Starting point is 01:04:08 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 Curry didn't play. Curry wasn't there 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 championships,
Starting point is 01:04:28 if we're going to challenge one, I'm pretty sure he can sit back and say, no, one of those I can say I really put in that work. Right. So 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.
Starting point is 01:04:48 How much credit do you think he's going to get when they got Patrick Holmes already and they're already going to the Super Bowl? Not a lot. Kevin Durant. He joined Steph Curry. They had already gone to two NBA finals. He had won one.
Starting point is 01:05:02 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
Starting point is 01:05:12 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 the team that you joined and they were 73-9.
Starting point is 01:05:24 And so this team was 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
Starting point is 01:05:39 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
Starting point is 01:05:56 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 and 9 team, right? Yes. They favored to win it, right, no. That first was in the first championship. He's going to a 73 and 19. Right. They favored to win it. Right.
Starting point is 01:06:07 Boom. They win it. He wins finals MVP. Right. Yep. I'm talking about that very next year. Right. The very next year.
Starting point is 01:06:16 Curry playing 51 games. If Kevin Durant's not there, what does that team really look like? Right. Right. Right. So someone has to hold it up. Patrick Mahomes. Right.
Starting point is 01:06:28 You got there 16 or 16 weeks, 18 weeks, 18. And you're missing eight of those. Right. No, they're not going. Yes. So that means there was someone there that held it up while you were gone. Right. That's what he did. So that's what I'm saying. As a player, I'm like, well. The first one, OK, 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 say that, okay, I had to carry us to the playoffs.
Starting point is 01:07:04 I had to carry us through that Houston series that, you know, I'm going against James Harden and I dominated averaging 35 a game. Like I averaged 35 a game. Like that means this is me. I'm going against James Harden, and I dominated averaging 35 a game. Like, I averaged 35 a game. Like, that means this is me. I'm unstoppable. Right. To get us. Go ahead. Go ahead, Freda.
Starting point is 01:07:15 That's what I'm saying. So, you know, as a Hooper looking back, it's one of those, you know, I got two, but I really earned one. Right. You know. 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,
Starting point is 01:07:34 like 27, 28? Is that Shaq was just so dominant. Yeah. I mean, he give you 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
Starting point is 01:07:49 22 and then he went like 24 and now he averaged what did Kobe average the last year they won the championship cause Shaq averaged like for the championships he averaged like 35 and 15 35 and 16 through the 3 year run where did Kobe average averaged like 35 and 15, 35 and 16 through the three-year run. Where did Kobe at?
Starting point is 01:08:11 Was that a 27-year? I think it was that last year and, oh, 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?
Starting point is 01:08:30 25.2. 25.2. Yeah. Because he 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
Starting point is 01:08:44 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. Yeah, I don't need to. Hey, you know,
Starting point is 01:08:59 hey, hey, hey. That'd be the problem. There'd be moments in games and things that happen and you feel like you can do this without the other. 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.
Starting point is 01:09:23 Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's it. I ain't going to lie. I can see myself doing this for a while yeah yeah that shit not even gonna lie Gil we put a poll up poll up who wins another ring first KD
Starting point is 01:09:33 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 in was on, boy, go ahead and lace them up, baby.
Starting point is 01:09:53 You know? Bring it back to the early 90s. I'm Michael Kasson, founder and CEO of 3C Ventures and your guide on good company, the podcast where I sit down with the boldest innovators shaping what's next. In this episode, I'm joined by Anjali Sood, CEO of Tubi. We dive into the competitive world of streaming. What others dismiss as niche, we embrace as core. There are so many stories out there.
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