Show Me Something - Sophie Gets Real About The Sydney Sweeney Ad

Episode Date: September 17, 2026

Sophie Cunningham and Drew Hanlen are back with plenty to talk about on No Hesitation. The duo dives into Team USA’s gold and Caitlin Clark’s return to the Indiana Fever, the differences between WNBA and NBA practices, and what makes Sonia Citron’s game stand out. Plus, Sophie weighs in on Sydney Sweeney’s ad and the rest of the latest conversations surrounding women’s basketball. Watch and listen to new episodes of No Hesitation every Thursday during the WNBA and NBA season and follow us on social media for all the best moments from the show. You can also listen to new episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube: @NoHesitationShow Twitter: @NoHesiShow This episode is brought to you by: POLYMARKET 18+ Only. Restrictions and eligibility requirements apply. Not available in all jurisdictions. Trading is risky. 100% loss can occur. See polymarket.com/tos for more information. The Polymarket US App serves as an independent software provider and affiliate of Polymarket US and Polymarket Clearing, the CFTC-regulated exchange and clearing organization. Get a $50 bonus when you deposit just $10. Sign up right now with promo code NO HES. That's Polymarket dot U.S. and use promo code NO HES to get a $50 bonus when you deposit just $10. https://app.polymarket.us/S8ac/NOHES HULU Watch the new season of Chad Powers now streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ For bundle subscribers. Terms apply. https://www.hulu.com/series/7117a15d-128c-4c2b-a5b9-98adfa0f4505 FACTOR Let’s eat real. Head to factormeals.com/nohes50off and use code nohes50of to get 50 percent off and 1 free breakfast item per box for 1 year, while supplies last until 10/31/2026. See website for more details.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. The hard rock bet casino app is here, Ontario. It's safe, secure, and crystal clear with fast payouts and 24-7 local support. You can play over 3,000 games right here, including hard rock bet casino exclusives. The hard rock bet casino app is here, Ontario. Roll with us. Must be 19 years of age or older to play.

Ontario only. Please play responsibly. Concerned about your gambling or that of someone close to you? visit connectsonterio.ca. The amount of text messages, DMs, comments wanting me to talk about the Sydney Sydney ad, like,

I feel like we got a hit on it. Everyone's talking about it and they want to know. No hesitation. I am Sophie Cunningham. Here's Drew Handling with me. And this is only week two, Drew, and I feel like we are already getting in trouble with some fans. Listen, I have only only. only been in the W Media slash podcast space for a week. And let me tell you, my DMs and mentions have

been off the charts. People were so mad at you that you were propping up your teammate. Propping up your teammate. You gave a lot of love last week to both Kelsey and Caitlin, but there was a clip of, you know, you talking very highly about Kelsey. And somehow people thought that meant you were talking down on Caitlin. So I just wanted you to clear the air because I know they're both your teammates you were showing them both love. We literally said, Caitlin was the reason why the entire WMBA changed, but if you didn't watch a full episode, you didn't see that. So, so the floor is yours. Yeah, I just think it's crazy because I have two great, great players on my team, and I'm going to hype both of them up. Like, I could make an argument that Kelsey should be MVP. I can make a

big argument that Cici should be MVP. And we totally hype both of them up, but you know how the internet works, so they just wanted to clip whatever. But yeah, that was actually psychotic. But that gives you a little bit of taste of what the WMBA media is like. And so that's why we're starting this so people can get some good media from the W. You fail me? Not only that because I saw that the media tried to trap Caitlin asking her like, oh, so now are you friends with Angel Reese after they had won the gold medal? And then the media asked you five straight questions about your NASCAR appearance that you had on Sunday,

which looked amazing. But then they followed it up with did you watch the gold medal game, which they clearly knew you didn't. They just asked five questions. So I'm starting to learn what you were talking about and why you were so kind of hype about this show actually covering the good things that are going on in the W. Dude, it was insane.

Like, I definitely saw the stats. I knew they won gold. I do stuff with USA Sports where the basketball, like I'm in analysis. I do all that type of stuff. But then they wanted some crossover with NASCAR. And it was in St. Louis, is in really Illinois. And so I brought the family down.

had a great, great day with NASCAR. And like you said, the media asked me, I'm not, I probably talked about NASCAR for like a good five to eight minutes. And then right when I got done with that, some guy was like, so did you watch the game? And I was like, no. And they're like, well, they won gold. And I'm like, duh, they won gold. Like, you don't think that I'm like not invested in, first of all, like, USA on any sport, like I'm going to be tracking. And then like if my coach is there and my two teammates, like, I'm dialed in.

But people are just dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, so. I agree. And you know what the crazy thing is? It actually brought back flashbacks to when the Team USA men's team was in Paris for the Olympics. I was over there with them. And, you know, I saw so many angry fans that were so mad at Team USA, you know, for winning the, you know, the game on Sunday because they didn't do it in the way that they wanted to. Meaning a lot of, you know, Caitlin supporters were very disappointed because she is one of the top players in the WMBA. She did lead the team in assist. She was, one of the better players throughout the tournament. And she didn't play as much as I thought she should have. I think that if you're one of the best players, you should be starting. You should be playing more. But I always say that it's hard because for the coach, they went undefeated and won the gold. And people were still pissed.

It never happens like that in any other sport. No, it's insane. Like people are just, just be happy that USA went in there and got it done and they got the gold. And now they're back here. But I think anyone can make an argument like, yes, I'm biased probably because I love her. and she's my teammate. But I definitely think that C should have been starting. But again, like, I'm not the coach.

I don't know what they have going on. We got the dub. That's all that matters. We got the goal. Now they're back. It's four more games and playoffs. But you're never going to win with this crowd. I'm telling you, you're going to get hated.

You're going to get loved on. So that's why you just kind of do what you want around here. I get it a little bit, though, because when I was over there, I remember when Team USA men's team was playing against South Sudan. And, you know, Joel does the normal warm up. He's getting ready to play. And sure enough, he got to, DNP coach's decision.

And the reason after the game, they asked Steve Kerr, what was the reason? And they were like, oh, we just thought that we matched up better without Joelle out there. The crazy thing about it was when they had previously played South Sudan, the exact same team, just a couple weeks before, Joel actually had the best plus minus, had dominated them. So Joel was like, wait a second. Like, this doesn't make sense. And again, sometimes it doesn't make sense. Jason had just won, you know, he had led his team in points, rebounds, and assists,

helped the Celtics win a championship, was first team all NBA. And then he was getting D&Ps too. So I think it is hard if you're a USA basketball coach because there are so many talented players. As fans, especially if we're partial to certain players, we want them to have their fair share or what we deem as fair. But it is one of those things that, you know, it is funny because you think about when it's swimming or when it's volleyball or when it's any other sport, we're just like,

go team USA. But when it's in basketball, it's like, go team USA. But you have to be perfect. you have to win every game and you have to do it in the way that we want you to. Wait, I'm going to throw a screwball at you because I know we didn't even talk about this or discuss this. But I think a lot of people don't know that you actually do, yes, on court workouts, but you have a lot of, you do the mental side of sport too, which is like even more important.

I think I hit on it on our first episode. But why don't you think that more players kind of have the mindset that like book had, how he's like, I'll do it. And then like even Tyrese, like I know that was really hard for him to like go in there and really not play at all. And, like, he kind of made it, you know, a joke of like, hey, I was like the student who didn't show up or anything, but still got the A plus.

Like, I get they are the most elite at their craft. And on the women's side, too, like, everyone wants to start. Everyone wants to play. But what do you tell your guys when they're in those situations, when they're in the Olympics or they're at worlds, that like, hey, you might not get in, even though you're one of the world's best, but this is what you should be thinking.

It's hard, because part of becoming, one of the best basketball players in the world is you have to almost build up your ego. You have to build up this killer mentality. You have to build up this kind of chip on your shoulder that says, like, I can do anything. I can help my team win and I can, you know, lead my team to wins. And so like, it is hard. Trust me, I had some conversations with like, Joelle. Joel's like, you're telling me I can't play against South Sudan.

Like, what are you talking about? Like, there's no team. And everyone knows he can. Everyone knows he can play and probably dominate. Like, he's like, there's like there's nobody in this world that can guard me one on one. So they're going to have to double. and definitely nobody on South Sudan can guard me one-on-one. I'll tell you that, I promise you.

And so it doesn't make sense, to be honest with you. It's honestly the hardest time for me because during the season, we can make mechanical adjustments if something's going wrong with their shots, like we talked about with your shot last time. If there's a scheme or a coverage that's disrupting their flow or rhythm, then we can make adjustments to that as well. But when you're just not getting the opportunities that you're accustomed to having, it's hard because sometimes it is out of your control.

And so what you try to say is focus on things you can control and how can you impact winning in other ways. The typical. I'll tell you what, the best players in the world do not want to hear that. They're like, listen. Like Jason, great example. Jason was getting some DnPs after coming off a championship. And he said, hey, by the way, the last Olympics, I was our second leading score. Yes.

And we won gold medal. We didn't need all these other guys. We didn't need all these vets that came and they want to have a, I know that they loved playing with Steph and LeBron and KD and all those guys. but Jason's like, me and Kev, we won the last one on our own. You know, so it's fun to be a part of around greatness and a part of that special team. But at the same time, you're like, come on, I know I could be out there contributing to winning. But it does mess with your head. You see like how Jason didn't make a three-pointer, I don't think, in the Olympics.

Like, it messes with your head even the best players in the world. So are they actually mentally weak? It's not a mental weakness. It's like literally like them in a situation that they've never been before. You know what I mean? So I do. It's hard. It's hard.

Like, no joke, being a role player or being someone that's like in and out of the lineup is freaking hard. Because you have to prepare like you are going to go out there and play the max, like, to do your best and like play. But if the coach isn't giving you that opportunity, then like you're hyping yourself up and then you just don't, you don't get the opportunity. That's hard. I was going to tell you one of the things that I was curious about was you guys just got back to practice. And you guys have four games left and then you guys have a playoff run that. that's super important and you guys want to do good things. You know, when you look at the USA basketball situation that just happened on the women's side,

you know, Caitlin's used to being the lead guard, the one that, you know, averages, you know, what is she top 10 in the league in scoring also? I think she's number one in assist. Like she always has the ball in her hands and then she didn't get that opportunity for Team USA. Are there things that you guys did in practice to kind of like to coach say, hey, I need you to snap back into like, you know, it's your team mode like like go get your buckets again is there anything that you guys have done to try to boost her up to get ready to shoot a lot more field goal attempts than she did when she was over at the world cup no and and honestly they um they've given them a break so they they were at

practice today for the first time uh but they did not practice and granted they shouldn't like let them rest a little bit uh but i do think like when you are the best in the world you don't have to tell like when you get that opportunity you don't have to tell these great people to go out there and go try and get a bucket like that is what they are literally, that is their whole goal in the beginning. Like, that is what they were made to do. And so, I don't think so. I think we definitely want to make sure that they're confident because also Leah Boston, right? Like, she didn't get the minutes that she would have normally got with our team or maybe the opportunities. And so it's hyping up both of them. But I also think, like, they're happy

to be home. Like, we are their family and they're more comfortable around us. And they had a great time and they had a great experience. And there's nothing like playing with the great's what they said. You know what I mean? I don't know. I've never been on a team like that. But that's, but that's, but that's what they said, you know, like, there's nothing like that environment. But you don't have to tell those people to be aggressive. But I do want to kind of get in. You know, you've had a lot to say about Joelle. Why have you not said anything about Max Kellerman's comments? Listen, it's funny because I pick and choose my battles. Be honest. Be honest. Since you asked, it's crazy because you don't understand how many people set me the tweet that are, I know he had

said it on his podcast, and then it came out. I don't watch his podcast. And I got the tweets, though. And it was like 20 people sent it and were like, oh, my God, I cannot wait to see what Drew says. Because for those of you guys that don't know, I always stick up for my clients. It's basically like I'm the one going to war for my clients. I'm always kind of setting the record straight. So, so since this is called No Hesitation, I wasn't going to do it. But I'll say this.

So the Kellerman clip, Max Kellerman basically said, Joelle Embed is lazy. He said it in a long form, but he said, Joelle Embed is lazy. Embed when he was on the Olympic team. I thought this was super interesting. Scal was talking about when the best players get together, everyone's got the cars and the watches and the money. The way they really compete.

The way they really compete and impress each other is like who works the hardest. And that was not Embed at all. It was the opposite for Embed, according to Scal, what he was hearing. Isn't that a problem for the Sixers? And I was sitting there and I thought about tweeting it out, but I was like, let's just, let's just ask like a dumb question. If somebody starts playing basketball at 15 years old, and then they're a JV basketball player, and then they average 13 points a game on Varsie as a senior.

And then they average 11 points a game in their one year at Kansas. And by the way, at Kansas, he only made one three-pointer at Kansas. He was one for five from the field. He shot 68% from the free throw line. This doesn't say that like, oh, this guy's. definitely going to become an MVP, a two-time, you know, leading score in the NBA and one of the most dominant players ever. I understand that there's an asterisk button. People talk about Dewell, and they always say when he's healthy, if he's healthy, etc. I was literally about to

talk my shit and be like, dude, he's never healthy. But listen, a lot of that is not because of choice. Like, if you think about like his playoff injuries, you know, two times he broke his face, elbows, Pascal Seyakum, one time, Markle Fultz hit him in the face. You can't jog your way into protecting your face from brakes. Yeah. You know what I mean? Then there's other random things that happen and you're going appendicitis. Again, lifting more weights does not help you with appendicitis.

You know, there's things like that that are literally not preventable. And while I do understand and I do agree, trust me, I'm the one that always, you know, tells you well, hey, let's be more serious with your diet. Let's be more serious with your weight room. must be more serious with your conditioning. As a basketball player, Joelle watches more film than anybody. Joel also has put in more work than anybody.

Wait, out of your clients, out of your clients, he's the one who watches the most film? By far. Like, I joke around, I tell people all the time. Wait, but is it because he's injured? Is it because he's injured, though? No, it's because he loves basketball. Like, you don't understand.

It'll be like a random Tuesday night and two bad teams are playing, and he'll FaceTime me and be like, yo, did you just see the inbound play that so-and-so ran at 2-37? mark in the third quarter and I'm like, no, he's like, I think that'd be really good. Clipped that and send it to coach. I'm like, he's a sicko in a great way.

And then from a basketball standpoint, like, think about what I just said. He averaged 11 points at Kansas. And then he went to the NBA. He had one year he averaged 35. Wait, pause. Pause, pause, pause, pause. I know you are going to go on. But can you please explain to me why?

And this is in the girls too, because I do not, I don't have that recruiting mind yet. I hope to get there one day. How can you tell when a college player is going to be better in the pros? And why are some players better in the pros than they were in college? Basketball is back, folks, and you need to change the way that you invest in the NBA and the WMBA this season. It's finally time to ditch your old sportsbooks apps because Polly Market is here. Polymarket is a legal prediction market now available in all 50 states. And those old sports books, they're a thing of the past.

On Polly Market, you can trade on all things hoops. From who wins the WMBA finals to who is named. this season's WMBA MVP, or if SGA is going to somehow find a way to three Pete on the men's side. Polymarket has you covered. Polymarket gives you the freedom to cash out instantly. If the momentum swings, you can sell it off in real time. You are always in control. No one can lock you out, and you can also buy in any time.

So when the market dips, like if your favorite team drops in the standings after a slow start, that's not a loss. That's when you can buy in. At Polymarket, you can buy cheap and ride the momentum back up. Polymarket is so confident you'll never go back to the old way that they're issuing a challenge. They're given a $50 bonus when you deposit just $10. So sign up right now using the promo code, no-h-h-h-h-h-that's polymarket.com slash N-O-H-E-S, and you can use the promo code to get a $50 bonus when you deposit just $10.

This episode is brought to you by the Hulu original series, Chad Powers, with an all-new season now streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney Plus. Glenn Powell is back as the eyeball athletic superstar Chad Powers, but he's got a secret. Chad's actually the disgrace quarterback Russ Holiday, and the only people who know his true identity are his best friend Danny and coach Ricky, who happens to be the head coach's daughter. This season, the catfish is out of the bag, and Chad's going to need all the help he can get to stay on top of his game

and get Coach Ricky back on his side. But as the pressure builds and the truth gets harder to hide, How long can this secret stay safe? Watch a new season of Chad Powers from Glenn Powell and the creator Loki. Now streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney Plus for bundle subscribers. Terms Apply. Big thanks to Factor for sponsoring this episode. Okay, real talk.

The last couple months have been absolute chaos. My travel schedule has been nuts. And I finally hit a wall where I was like, okay, I need to get back to eating actual food again. Trust me, I hear you. I am on the road 24-7. And that's exactly where Factor comes in. Chef crafted, dietitian designed, ready-to-eat-eat-meals. So you're not choosing between real food and convenience.

Factor really levels up. They have banned over 175 ingredients, so you know everything in there is built around actually supporting a healthier lifestyle. Nothing sketchy sneaking in. Plus two minutes and you're eating, no prep, no cleanup. And on the days that your schedule is completely off the rails, this is a difference between eating and eating well. And they offer 100 menu options every week.

They've got new stuff like the salmon burgers, shredded pork, and collard greens. And please do not sleep on the add-ons. And my personal favorite, the pumpkin-flavored cheesecakes and protein shake. That sounds like some good home-cooking meal, which I know us Midwesterners love. Let's eat real. Head to factorneals.com slash no-haz-50 off and use code no-haz-50 off to get 50% off and one free breakfast item per box for one year. while supplies last until October 31st, 2026. That's code no has 50 off at factor meals.com.

No has 50 off at factor meals.com. See website for details. I'll give you my answer that I always say, because people always ask me, like, how do I decide my clients? And they're always like, all your guys get good. And I'm like, well, part of the reason is because I think I know what I'm doing training-wise.

I also can help them mentality-wise. But another segment of this is, I know which guys I think I can help. and that's a big piece of it. What I look for is, one, do you have good size for your position? I think that's important. Like, you can normally be like, okay, that guy has good size for the position. Another thing is, do they absolutely love the game of basketball?

Because once you get the big contract, once you get the role that you want, once you get the status, once you get the fame, there's a lot of guys and girls, I'm assuming, in the W, that as soon as they get those things, they feel like they've arrived, and they start coasting. They stop doing the things that they did to get themselves to where they, wanted to be eventually. Like, think about it. When you're younger, a lot of players are like, I want to get to the NBA. Or as you said, like, there were a few girls back in the day.

They were like, I want to get to the W. But it was never like, I want to do this in the W. And so you have to constantly, you know, you climb a mountain and then you keep climbing. And you say, where's the next mountain you have to climb? So they have to love the game. Second thing is they have to crave improvement, which means they have to be open to criticism. They have to be open to feedback. They have to almost, and I said crave. I didn't say they're like, okay, like if you give it to me, I'll handle it. No, no, no, they crave it. They're asking for it. They're watching film. And then the last thing, I think the biggest thing is the purposeful practice that they put in. Purposeful is a key word there because there's a lot of people that they work hard for an hour.

They sweat, but they don't work hard on the right thing so it doesn't translate. Or they work hard on the things that they want to work hard on instead of the things that are actually going to help them get better. So when you ask me, how do you project who's going to be good and who's not? I try to get in the gym with them. I see, can they handle the coaching? Do they crave it? Are they asking questions? How quickly are they picking things up?

Are they willing to stay after and make sure they figure things out? Or do they just leave the gym with things that aren't figured out? All those things go into a player becoming the, you know, kind of maximizing their potential, if you will. Dude, that's just weird to me because, like, we didn't, us women, it's getting better now. don't get me wrong. But like even when I was in college and even like I would say the first three, four years I've been in the league, we didn't, we don't have trainers like you, right? Like we, they just, it just wasn't truly a thing. And so when you're talking about like craving being in the gym and like, I don't even think it's criticism. Like I think like you

always, it's that growth mindset. Like you want to know how to improve your game on every little level, the little details. Right. But we, we, we, we. all wanted that. Like, we were in the gym staying after. Like, you never had to ask us to, like, get in extra shots or go get your weights in, go get extra conditioning. Like, we wanted to do that because we wanted championships. That's why we won four high school championships in a row. I think in college, we all had that mentality. We just didn't have the talent, truly. Like, we just didn't have the pieces we needed to compete for a title. We won some really big games. We just didn't have it to get farther than we did. Still made to the NCAA tournament all four

years, which was great. But I think you're right. Like, it's, the goal was to always, hey, I wanted state championships. Okay, I want to be SEC freshman in the year. Great. Okay, what's the next? Like, da-da-da-da. And then the goal was always to get to the W. But then once you get to the W, it was like, okay, how can I be one of the best three-point shooters in the league? I want to be the best three-point shooter in the league. How could I get six-man? How could I get most improved? I want a championship. Like, I do not think I have arrived. And again, like, I'm not going to put my whole identity and all of that into a championship. If I don't ever get it, then, like, I failed. I don't, I don't truly believe in that. But inside of me, that competitiveness,

like, I want that fucking shit right there. Like, I want that. And I know I can get it. And so, that's why I've been loving, like, talking to you and how can you help me improve to get to these things? Because I do think you're right. Like, I think that is what I'm waiting on is the championship. I think that's what it is, though. I think that when you, love basketball. Like I touched on this a little bit in episode one where I said like, I don't think people realize how much you love basketball. Like when we were talking, you know, texting back and forth and I'm sending you film edits and stuff like that. I'm saying, yo, now that I'm watching even more W film because I'm trying to break down so that our audience can kind of get these

insights, I'm like, I'm seeing things and I'm sending them to you and you're like, I am so excited for this offseason so that I can grow as a player. Like you know your role now is to be a floor spacer that knocks down threes. And as you promised us at the end of last episode you're going to be locking up defensively the rest of the season and in the playoffs. But this summer, you're like, I want to expand so that, you know, teams can't take me out of the game by just putting a longer, taller defender on me that just kind of presses up. And now I'm kind of just standing in the corner at times. And so I think that is something that all the best players have in common. They all want to get better. And we talked a lot

about Joelle, but like it is. I mean, each year, every one of my guys, they add one thing to their game, two things of their game. So they come back. and they're a completely different player. And while they're changing their game, they're also changing their mindset. And I think that's another thing is Tyrese Halliburn was a great example where, you know, when we first started working out, he was averaging like 12 and a half points a game for the Kings.

And we went to dinner that night and he was telling me about all the... I'm an idiot. I did not know. Was he drafted to the Kings? Yeah, he was drafted by the Kings. Oh, I thought he was been with the Pacers the whole time. No, they literally chose Deeran Fox over Tyrese and traded him to the Pacers for Sabonis. I like Fox too.

Yeah, no, he's a great player, great player. But so we had this first dinner, and he was trying to ask me if I would work him out. And I flipped around the computer and I showed him all of the film and all of the statistics and all the analytics. And I basically said, listen, you're not even giving yourself a chance to be great because you're not being aggressive enough. And I showed him all the times where he had a driving lane and didn't. Or he had a shot and didn't take it or whatever. And so afterwards, they were playing against the Sixers the next night. I said, if you want to work with me this summer, you have to shoot at least 14 shots to tomorrow night. And he was like 14 shots. He thought we needed to get in the gym and change all these different skills to make them better. And that night, he shot 19 shots. He was 11 for 19 and he had a career high 38 points. Remember, he's averaging 12 and a half points a game at that time. And so he thought he needed to improve his skills, but really he needed to improve his mindset. And again, since then, we've worked on a lot of skills and he's got stronger this year. He's going to come back and have different aspects of his game. But I do think that that's something important is like, can you change your mindset and can you change your game? And if those things,

happen, then you have a chance to be really, really good. Wait, let's talk about practice because we keep hitting on, like, training and practice. And I think there is going to be a lot of similarities in the WMBA versus MBA. And I don't want to make it an NBA versus WMBA thing, but I think it's fun because you have the perspective of theirs. I have our perspective. So do you want to go first on it or do you want me to? I will tell you this.

You said there might be a lot of common themes. I think they're so different. In the NBA, in the NBA, in the NBA, they practice really, really hard during training camp. And then after that, they're just doing like film sessions. And then basically what they call vitamins where each guy, they do their walkthrough, they do their scout report. And then each guy breaks off to their own baskets and works on whatever they need to work on.

It's so individualized. But I would guess that teams practice maybe like 10 to 20 times during the regular season after training camp, like action team practices. Other than that, it's all individual work and then walk through, talk through scout reports. But yeah, but when do they, when do they like, and I know they don't have a lot of plays? Like, it's pretty much just fucking go. But, like, when do they work on that? They don't.

It's training camp and then, like, walk through, talk through. They'll do film study. And then they'll normally go to the court. And then when they're on the court, they're basically walking through offensively, these are the things we want to do. These are the plays we're installing for this game. Defensively, here's the concept. Here's the coverages.

Here's how we're going to try to slow down and limit the superstar that they're playing the next game. And then after that, it's like huddle up, bring it. break it down, go get your work in, go get your recovery tables. During the walkthrough is kind of like, hey, this seems bad at this. We might go more at this or this is what we're doing defensively. That's the schemes. So like it's really during the walkthrough is when they're talking maybe, hey, offensively.

Concepts. Yeah, concepts. But it's not like hard practices. Like you think like high school practices, college practices where you're like an hour and a half like in the mud, like those don't happen except for training camp usually. Now, if a team is really struggling or if there's a gap in their schedule, then you might get a couple days. But there's not many days because the ultimate goal is to have them be their best when they need to be at their best, which is during the playoffs. I don't even know where to start.

Come on. Floor is yours. Talk to me about the W practice. Because I've never seen a W practice. I've only seen W workouts. I've never seen a W practice. So give us some insight on the WMBA practice culture. Okay.

So I've only been with two teams. teams. And so in Phoenix, I had five coaches in seven years. That's a lot. That's crazy, by the way. Maybe four, four, kind of four or five. So that's actually insane. So all of their practices were quite different, but I will say like training camp was kind of our hard, you know, this is our plays. This is kind of like our baseline, our standard, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, both offensively and defensively. We also had a more veteran team out in Arizona. We had DT, BG. And so our coaches knew that, like, we were not going to be running and gunning and having

hard practices. And so they were very chill during season. I bet our practices were like, we'd go in, you'd get treatment, you would do weights. You would get either before or after practice, you would get in your individual shots. You know what I mean? Like, go get what you need. So kind of like our vitamins. And then we would maybe have team film that day, maybe not.

And then we had practiced for maybe like 45 minutes to an hour 15 max, but very light, very easy. I loved it, but I will say, but throughout the coaching out there, I don't feel like we, like, did enough. Or maybe me personally looking back, like looking in the mirror, maybe I didn't do enough off the court because our practices were not doing anything for me. Does that make sense? So like, maybe that was like a learning curve for me of like, okay, like, we're not really doing anything at practice and we aren't really practicing at all because in that 45 minutes, we really wouldn't do anything. So maybe I needed to do a more. more individual workout to make me sweat and be better.

But I will say, being traded up here to Indiana, we practice, man. Like, we practice, practice. Like, we are still practicing for probably like two hours against guys, full court, hard. And yeah, and we have four more games left. And so, like, teach their own. Everyone has a different style. We have a very rookie team, too, who maybe they can't, they don't, they're learning.

how to be a pro and so I can see both sides of it, but we're still practicing like two, two and a half hours hard. All right. So I want to throw some stats out there real quick, just because I think this will help kind of, you know, people understand the difference of the W and the NBA when it comes to load management. So in the W, 28 out of the top 30 scores play at least 90% of their games. So the top players are almost always available, whereas in the NBA, only six out of the top 30 scores have played at least 90% of their games. So you can tell right there that, you know, there's a different culture. In the NBA, it's all about let's get you healthy in the playoffs so that you can be healthy and at your best when we need you to be at your

best. Whereas in the W, I think seating matters so much more because in the W, one and two seed almost wins every single time. I think Chicago a couple years ago was like one of the, you know, kind of rare teams that won not as a one or two seed. I know that, you know, that brings back bad memories. But like, that was a real thing. Like it was a random occurrence. Whereas in the The NBA, while the top seeds do, you know, normally do better, you can kind of win from any of the top seats. It doesn't have to be just the, you know, the one or two seeds. So I think there's just a different mentality when it comes to the top guys playing in the NBA versus the W. Well, those are like significant differences and percentages.

Do you, and I get it. Like, I think we have a shorter season and we do play a lot of games in that time period. but the guys also play double what we do. You know what I mean? So like, do you think that has any type of, I know, I know it has a factor in it. Like, do people purposely rest people? You know what I mean?

Like, that's, that has to be a mindset. Sure. The crazy thing, and I know that fans will not like this, but there's already rest days, scheduled rest days for players that are before the season starts. They already know a couple games that they're sitting out because they're trying to manage their load so that they can be at their best.

So before the season starts, They don't know if they're going to be healthy, not healthy. There are certain games that are literally managing their load throughout the season, which is so different. Wait, do you think that's, do you think that's, I know you're going to say it's smart, because the end goal is to get the championship, but like, is that fair? Well, I mean, to me, I don't like the necessarily pre-planning. I'm cool with like, okay, you feel your body breaking down.

And so we see that we've got five games in the next eight days. And so let's strategically pick one or two so that we can make sure that, you know, you're not breaking down and getting yourself injured. I don't like the pre-planning and like the load management being a full season long kind of goal of maintaining health. Just because I don't know,

I think that sometimes when you play really, really hard, then your body gets accustomed to playing hard. And when you play through some stuff, then your body gets used to playing through some stuff. That has to be our coach's mentality. Because, holy shit. Like, I love her to death. Trust me.

And, like, I, I think we are prepared. We are in shape. We are in rhythm. Our chemistry is great right now. And so, like, I get where she's coming from. But, like, I think there's something to be said that if that's how you practice how you play. But I also think there's something to be said, too, of, like, load management. Because as a player, you also want to feel healthy and, like, refreshed and ready to go when it matters.

You know what I mean? And I think that that's kind of what I'm struggling with, truthfully, is, like, I love to practice. And I, like, truly, I love to practice. to practice. I love working hard and I love what we do in practice. I just think like the time, it's like for me, like, why can't we do that in an hour 20 or an hour 30? Why does it have to be two hours, you know? Again, I think the goal is it's not to do more, it's to do better. Like, the goal should be when you show up to practice, it's like, what are we trying to accomplish? As soon as we accomplish that, let's get out. Like it shouldn't be like, okay, we're going to keep

doing the drill because there's eight minutes on the clock. It should be okay, we accomplish that, check. Let's move on to the next thing. And the last thing I'll say about low, management because I think it's important. I believe that teams do it different ways. Some teams will rest guys and sit them out. Some guys, some teams will play them less minutes. You know, you saw that with Wemby this year where he played a lot less minutes during the regular season. And then the spurs go to the finals and people are like, okay, like maybe it worked. But then in the finals, you saw Wemby fatigue a little bit. So then other people are like, well, maybe if you would have played more minutes, then that spike wouldn't have heard him in the, so I don't think there's a right or wrong answer.

I think that you kind of have your beliefs on what you think works for your team or certain players. And then ultimately you kind of decide what you think will give you the best chance to win the championship. So I do think that the goal of practice is to ultimately have your team confident going into games and have solutions for problems that they're going to see in games so that when you're out there, you're like, oh, I've seen this before. I've done this before so that you do feel really good. So saying that, one of the things I wanted to switch up a little bit was this. week's film breakdown is somebody that you guys are getting ready to play against.

You know what I mean? She's been balling this season. Wait, can I talk about her too? You've heard the chaos. Now you can see it. Hello. My gosh. Watch all your favorite podcasts from start to finish right inside the free IHard Radio app. Gets the blood going up. Catch every laugh and eye roll on shows like the Tom Green Farmcast and park the bus.

Now with full video. We're building a ramp for Tony Hawk. It's the same hosts and the same chemistry with all the hilarious moments you've been missing right on your screen. Cheers. Open the free IHR radio app. Search video podcasts and tap watch. Yes, for sure.

No, because we kind of talk about who we want to talk about. Like, you're becoming a fan of girls in our league. You're becoming a fan in general. And when you're doing these breakdowns, you're like, okay, like, who's next? And I, like, kind of gave you a list. The first one I put was Sonia because she is, like, an absolute badass, truly. And, like, she, I don't know. I think at Notre Dame, she was, like, kind of like the quiet assassin.

But, like, she helped them win, win. And now, like, this is kind of her team along with a couple others. And she is freaking hard to guard, man. Like, she is just, she uses her body well. She, I mean, you're going to talk about, you're going to do the breakdown and I'll have my comments. But I truly love the way she plays. I love her personality, the way she approaches the game, kind of who she is off the court.

And so I have nothing but, like, great things to say about her. And listen, you gave me three names. She was at the top of the list. And I looked and I said, okay, the second game back, you guys play against her. And earlier this season, she had a 30-point game against you guys. So I was like, okay, let me see what she does. Damn it. Well, and then let's give the fever fan something that maybe you guys can do a little bit better

so that you guys can contain her. And you guys did do a better job on her the second time around. So let's just run the clip and see this. So one of the things she does so well is any time that the dropping big does not show a jersey, meaning squared up, take away a lane to the basket. She gets downhill and finishes. And she is so good at finding little angles. Like right here, you can see little angle just turns a corner, gets downhill.

And it's something that I don't think a lot of players do. They kind of see a big dropping. And so they're like, you know what? Okay, it's not there. Her, not so much. If she does not see a jersey in front of the path to the basket, she is getting around them, getting to the rim, and she is a great finisher.

Wait, I'm going to break this down a little bit too, just for people who don't really know what we're talking about. So when she's coming off a ball screen, the post player setting the screen, we're talking about their defender. Like, their defender needs to be, like, up at the screen so she doesn't see a wide open lane. All of their defenders are dropped and giving her that space that allows her.

And I don't know if, you know, she has a clip. She can shoot the hell out of the ball, man. Like, she is a hard guard. And so you see all these post players right there. They're just not up to touch. And that gives her, she's like, licking her chawls when she sees that. Up to touch just means that basically the screener's offender is literally touching the screener

instead of in a drop coverage where there's like a yard of separation where they can, you know, get downhill. And so all of these, you see the exact same thing over and over again where she's able to see a little edge, attack the outside hip, and then get to the basket. Another thing that she does great is when she comes off and maybe there isn't a clear path to the basket, she just hesitates for a second and right when the big and the guard exchange. So a lot of times the Big's goal is to basically stay in containment until the guard, the primary defender gets through and gets back in front. But there's a split second where a lot of times there's miscommunication and the Big leaves

a little early and the guard that's guarding arrives a little bit late. And she is so good at just hesitating and then again getting downhill. And so over and over again, you see the exact same thing. Little hesitation. Big starts to get back. And the Big's thinking, I got to get back to mine. Whereas the guards thinking, just hold off a second so I can get back in front. that miscommunication or no communication

that a lot of times lets her have that path to the basket. And I think you hit a key right there that it really is kind of on when you're playing defense because I've never been on her team. I'm always on the defensive end that you are trying to get back in front

because you should never go under on her. She has a clip. She can shoot that thing. So you're always trying to go over that screen. But sometimes those post players they think you're squared up and back in front of her, but you're not.

Like your post players have got to listen to the guard to make sure you're fully in front because she does have that little hezzy And right when she sees that post player go back, you can't get back in front of her. So I think that the post need to wait on the guards communication to wait and say, like, I'm back. You know what I mean? A lot of times what we always say is the person that is moving onto the ball should be the one communicating.

Because if the big is guarding the ball and they're leaving too early, there's nobody containing the ball. And the ball is the most important thing. And so if you are chasing over top or if you are sliding under, once you say, I'm good, I'm back. At that point, the big should get back. And again, if the big's helping, you know, the player that's going over top of the screen or sliding through, then the other players are the ones that are responsible for their player for that little short time. So now we get into the coverage that I think is the best coverage against her because I was watching over and over again, her turn to corner or her hezzie and get downhill.

And I was going, okay, let's see if any team has made an adjustment to stop her because she is really, really good at those things. And so sure enough, there's one coverage, three to the ball, that really has caused her problems this year. And so look right here. When I stop this clip, you can see there are three on the ball. And what that does is it puts a lot of pressure on the other two defenders, because those other two defenders are going to have to kind of cover up for a second.

But for whatever reason, making her a passer instead of a score has worked out really well. Here again, you can see, three on the ball. So again, it's just basically the big stays home, the guard gets back, and then the next defender over slides over in a position where they're not giving up a straight pass to the wing, but they're also not allowing a turn to corner. So it just kind of really keeps her in containment. Same exact thing right here. You can see three to the ball.

And so I think this is a great coverage. I'm obviously showing all of the turnovers that I saw when I was breaking down film. But, I mean, it is something that has given her trouble this year. And so I think that that's something that, you know, now fever fans can look forward to when they're watching. in that second game back and they can say, okay, is our containment good? Is our communication good? Are we doing a good job of keeping our jersey in front? Are we doing a good job of recovering and get back in front? And then finally, are we doing a good job of helping out from the perimeter side?

Our fans are going to be like, three people on the ball, three people on the ball. They're going to be listening. And I will say that Washington has been stunning this year. They are a very young team, a very inexperienced team. But they have done very well. And they kind of embrace that kind of mentality of just like going out there and just, you know, doing the dirty work. And I think that their next step, especially with the players that they have, really Sonia and everything that she can do for that program, they need to get some shooters around here. And that will allow her to kind of even, you know, expand her game even more. But if they got some knockdown shooters, I think that'd be key for them. A hundred percent. And one last

clip, because I know that there's going to be some basketball folks watching and saying, well, if she just comes off the screen and just fires it to the, you know, the perimeter player across, then there's going to be dominoes and advantages and they're going to be able to take advantage of that. well, this is another thing you can do. You can pull in and then you can stunt back. So it's not like you just have to stay at home all the time. And obviously on the backside defenders have to be ready. If there's a slip, you know, when she throws it over top to the short roller or something like that.

But this is a coverage that I thought really worked well. And so I was like, you know what? Not only are we going to highlight all the good things that she does, but also I want to show how you kind of counter those things because that's what practice and that's what scouting a lot of times is. It's finding these weaknesses. And now if I'm her team, and if I'm her, then I'm going, okay, let's look at how we can beat that. You know, can we start slot cutting and eliminating that next defender over? And then if that doesn't work, can we rotate and slide on the drive? So that's the chess that good teams are playing is they're constantly going back and forth of if they do this, then we're going to do this.

And we're going to counter this way. And it's just a game that you're playing within the game. And ultimately, whoever plays those games better is usually a team that comes out on top. So I think it's fun, though, for people to actually start seeing. the differences in the game. So instead of just seeing her turn to corner and saying, we got to stop her, well, why aren't we stopping her? What should we be doing?

And now I think fans know a little bit more. And I think as one of the opposing teams that has to play against them, you also realize, like, she has the ball in her hands a lot. And like, she is one of their main threats. So get in the gaps and like make her get rid of it and make someone else, like make a shot and make a play. You know what I mean? Like it's like you might give up a couple, but I think you'd be okay with giving

up a couple than rather her go off and getting that confidence. And then once she has that confidence, then she's able to make those passes and get her teammates involved. And then it's just downhill from there for the opposing team. So I like it. And last time you guys did a lot better job container and you guys beat them last time. So I think that shows that when you guys do make others beat you, which is a lot of times the case when you can slow down the superstar, then it obviously, you know, a lot of times, you know, raises your level of chances of winning. And so I think that's important. And so, you know, so if I wanted to bridge this because we've been talking a lot about practice. And this weekend at the NASCAR event, you had a chance to show off

all the practice in high school when you were a field goal kicker. And you kicked it and almost knock somebody out in the crowd. And so let me talk you through this. Let me talk you through this. Everyone knows that was a very shitty kick. I walked off my dad goes, that was horrible. And he goes, maybe next time, like my own father said that. But I did not know I was going to be kicking. And I was wearing like boots, but they had heels to them. So I'm going to blame the shoes. But I have not kicked a ball. I can kick the shit out of football. Don't get me wrong. But if I nailed a mic, like I kicked it. It was horrible. I nailed a mic. And if it did not hit that mic, I promise you, I would have killed someone in the front row. Like it was. It didn't look good. It did not look

good. As soon as I saw, yeah, as soon as I saw the kick, I loved your reaction, though. You were like, oh my God. Oh, shit. What did I just do? That was horrible. Okay, look at my heel. Wait, go back. whoever's playing this, go back. Because I want you guys to see from the very get-go, see the heel right there, it throws you off as a kicker, trust me. The levels were different. So maybe when you were back in the day in high school, you were using, you know, kicking shoes and soccer shoes, I'm guessing.

So it was a little bit better. I had a 45-yard field goal in high school. But honestly, speaking of women in sport or like women not in sport, the amount of text messages, DMs, comments of people wanting to know, maybe not know, but wanting me to talk about the Sydney Sweeney ad, like, I feel like we got a hit on it. Everyone's talking about it and they want to know.

Now, let me ask you this. You've met her before, correct? Actually, at a NASCAR event last year, and I spent like five minutes with her. So met her, but like, do I know her? No. What's your, what's your take? I know that you love giving takes.

So what is your take on the ad? I have so many takes, but like, it's just, first of all, like, does she, is she even, like, does she even gamble on sports? Like, it's just so unauthentic. You know what I mean? Like, am I surprised of how she represented the brand? No. Like, that's what she's made her whole career off is.

And, hey, don't get me wrong. Like, I like her. Like she, everyone knows she is beautiful. She is hot. She clearly has my chest. Sorry, just have to fix my seat real quick. And so, like, I really like her. You know what? She sticks to her guns and she does her thing. And she's her. So like, props to her. Do I like it? Like, that particular ad, not really. Like, I think it's like, I mean, like, what, like, what are we doing? But again, I'm not surprised. Like, that's what she's known for. So she's going to do that. She's making her money. Go do your thing, sis. Now here's my hot take. What, what? I was just going to say, she's just running her playbook. She literally did the exact same thing with the gene campaign. And to be honest with you, the crazy thing is all the people that were outraged were women.

And the ad was clearly targeting men because the majority of gamblers, I think they said 75% of gamblers are men between the ages of whatever and whatever, like younger men. So I think they knew what they were doing. They knew that they were going to spike up a lot of traffic from women. being disappointed with the ad and putting her down. And men weren't going to say anything. And they were going to get all the eyeballs on the ad, which they clearly did. So I understand they just ran the same playbook that they did with last time they were pissed at the gene ad. Now they just did it for a sports gambling company. And I'm sure we'll do it again. But why are girls mad? Like that she is, that is literally what she does. Why is anyone mad?

Like that is she is a gambling ad. Men, sports, pretty much naked women. Like, of course that's going to draw attention. Again, do I agree with it? morally, I think it's kind of weird, but like, teach their own. Go do your thing, sis. But at the other day, I'm really loving seeing all these girls who are powerful, strong, showing young girls what it looks like to actually be an athlete. I don't think the ad was coming for women in sport. But I will say, I think I will take this time, a little bit of time to, you know, talk about, I think it has been so cool to see girls who, you know what, they're mussely,

their thighs touch, they have broad shoulders, they might be taller than the average, average girl and probably the average boy. But you know what? I think that's what it, that's what it is. Like, you got to embrace your power. And I was tall growing up. I was taller than all the girls, all the guys. And my mom is 5-11. My aunt is 6-2, 6-3. My grandma was tall at the time. And, you know, every time they kind of saw a shrinking in photos, they're trying to be like smaller than the guys. They're like, no, you better stand straight up because that's going to be your biggest superpower one day. Your strength, your athletic ability, how tall you are. Like, God made you that way for a reason. And so you better use it. And I just want girls to know that like,

don't shrink. Don't shrink to make other people feel better about themselves when you're born to stick out. I do think that it's important for people to have that dialogue. You have that conversation. You know what I mean? It was crazy because even before we jumped on this, I was like, so this is a tough situation because people are so opposites, polarized. And I think that that's the thing that I've learned so far about being in the W more than I was before as like an outsider. I feel like I'm starting to become a little bit more of an insider is it is always black and white right now. There's a lot of topics that are gray. There are some that are black and white, but I feel like a lot of times people, instead of having conversations like you just did where you said, hey, listen,

this is who she is. This is who she's always showing she is. It's okay. But instead of, you know, talking down on her and having women hate on women, let's talk about celebrating women in sport and showing that these differences can be a positive thing so that we give confidence to these younger, you know, student athletes that don't feel like they fit in and feel like because they look different or they have differences that they can't, you know, be bold and stand out and do all those amazing things that you just talked about. I will say, though, like, I can understand when you first see that ad that like it could kind of deflate women because it's like, we've worked so hard to get a little bit of respect around here. But then when you really think about it,

it's like, screw it. Let that girl go do her thing. We can still, this has nothing to do with us. So, you know, it's nothing like everyone trying to hate on each other and figure out life. So that's great. All right. So if I think that's a perfect place to wrap up, you told me before we started this show, there were two reasons why you wanted to do this show with me. Number one, you wanted to give insights and information and details about the game of basketball. You wanted to break down the W and all the good things in it.

I think that you had a chance to kind of do some of that. And then second thing is you told me how important it was for you to continue to be the role model that you are for so many young athletes. And I know that the W, as it keeps expanding, there are so many young athletes that are looking up to you guys. And so I think that that last segment where you were able to kind of talk directly to those people that might feel like you did at sometimes, where you felt like an outcast, I think that was perfect. So you guys, the good thing is next episode, next week, you guys are going to be back in action. You guys got games coming up. So we'll be able to talk, you know, all games and talk about the end of the season and then even start to kind of hint at

playoff seating and what that's going to look like. So make sure you guys are subscribing. Make sure you guys are liking and commenting. We also look at all the DMs and all the comments that you guys leave. That's why some of these segments were on the show. So make sure you guys keep firing those off and hopefully we can cover as many of those moving forward. So we appreciate you guys and we'll see you next week. Hi. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.