The Brilliant Idiots - N.B.A. National Bot Association

Episode Date: June 12, 2026

This week on Brilliant idiots, Charlamagne The God and Andrew Schulz break down Trump showing up to Game 3 at MSG, why James Dolan should never have let it happen, and whether Victor Wembanyama can actually be the NBA's next face of the league. Plus Tom Brady's new nut water brand, the "dead internet" clipper economy, and a deep dive into why French fries are the most universal food on Earth. ************************************ Sponsor Brilliant Idiots: ⁠⁠https://public.liveread.io/media-kit/brilliant-idiots⁠⁠ Jess Hilarious - Til Death Do We Parent - ⁠Pre Order⁠ 2Chainz - The Voice in my head is God - ⁠⁠Pre Order⁠⁠ The Black Family Who Built America - Cheryl McKissack Daniel -⁠⁠Order Link⁠⁠ Uncommon Favor - Dawn Staley - ⁠⁠Order Link⁠⁠ Get Honest or Die Lying Why Small Talk Sucks- By Charlamagne Tha God - ⁠⁠Order Link⁠⁠ Check out Andrew Schulz - ⁠⁠www.theandrewschulz.com⁠⁠ Check out all the podcast on Charlamagne's "Black Effect Network" - ⁠⁠https://blackeffect.com⁠⁠ Checks out AlexxMedia ⁠AM Mornings⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Have the Kyle Walker. What's up, my boy? How are you, sir? Man, listen, we got a big game tonight. We're recording this on Wednesday. I told you Nixon 6, man. Nixon 5. Go back and listen to the pod last week.

I told you y'all that they was going to win game 2. They're going to lose game 3 and 5. They're going to win game 6 in the garden, baby. And I don't know why the Knicks started pandemonium so early. Not yet, Nick's fans. Because we got trauma, bro. I got long, I got long armpit hair, but we got trauma. That's crazy.

My arm's hair got bangs. is fucking crazy. What the fuck is going on with you, bro? Look like you got Caitlin in a headlock. Which part of her? She has Harry Bottom. Harry Bottum. No, man.

Yeah, we got trauma, bro. We got 50 fucking years of trauma. No, I think that, honestly, I think that... 53 years. I think everything was fine. I think the reason that you had to... so many fights outside of game three was because of Donald Trump, bro.

Yo, let me just tell you something. Like, why is it when Americans fight outside of games it's not culture? Oh, no, this is nothing. When Europeans fight outside of stadiums, it's culture.

These are the hooligans. These are the fans. These people really love the sport. No. A couple people are in their jersey taking off outside of the Knicks. Listen, Times Square, is so safe. Think about it. If that is the craziest thing

to happen in Times Square, look how far New York has come. I mean, listen, since the- They shot a health care CEO in Times Square. We're just taking off a jersey. Yeah, don't do that. Don't have to get the light. You're not just taking off the street.

Since last year, they were doing this to fan. We got so much better, man. They've been doing this to fan since last year. Doing what? Just caring about your team? That's out of control. Listen. Also, we don't know.

what those Spurs fans said. Would they be disrespectful? No, they just they literally see a video of them chasing. Exactly. But what did they do? But you know why? You don't know. They was probably talking crazy disrespectful talking shit about our women. Talking shit about

our women. I mean, it's crazy. They were disrespecting you. They were disrespecting all the different women in New York. It was perfectly fine until Donald joy killer Trump came and sucked all the joy out of it. I'm not one of these people that say things like Trump caused them to lose,

but I think it was very stupid for James Dolan to invite him to the game simply because it inconvenienced the everyday working class people of new. So that I was absolutely, it was inconvenient to go to, like we went to the game. It was inconvenient to go there. But what I will say, though, is I thought that it was going to be like a focal point throughout the game. Once the game started, nobody even gave a fuck. It was locked in energy.

Yeah, I don't think nobody cared, but I just, it's literally just way. They try to protect him from a boo too. Oh, no, he got booed. No, but they tried. He didn't have booed as bad as his furrows, though. Let me tell you something. So I was like, what are they going to do? Because they got to show him.

They only show him once. I know, I know. During the national. Which was dumb. No, can I get there? Yeah. God damn. So I was like, how are they going to show him?

because I know they're going to try to protect them from the boo, right? National Anthem starts. This guy's voice is unbelievable. This guy is saying on the National Anthem. Oh, my God. It plays a scarecrow in, uh... I mean, it's out of you, the Wizard of Oz and a Whiz. The Wiz, wicked.

I don't know which one of it is. One of the odds adaptions. Anyway, during the National Anthrum, they cut to him quick. That's the only time they cut to him. So naturally, I'm sure they're thinking, like, all right, nobody's going to boo the National Anthem, right? They cut to him. It's booze and cheers, though. I ain't going to fight.

I know everybody wants to be like, oh, it was booze and cheers. That's what I said on TV you couldn't tell. Now, here's the thing. Here's the thing. Here's the thing. The guy singing the national anthem doesn't know that they cut the truck. You think you bomb it.

So you're singing your heart out. You're at the garden. Game three. First home game in 53 years. He's, killing it and people are into it. All of a sudden you hit one note. You're digging your brain.

You know, by the fact. His name is Avery Wilson. Avery Wilson. So I think they must have told him ahead of time because he didn't even flinch. So naturally, as soon as I knew that he would be there, I had an idea in New York. Crowds and audiences are very, very honest, sometimes maybe too honest to a point, energy that you cannot contain. So I knew that there would be something.

And because I had any ears in, I really didn't hear it from honestly speaking. So I was just like, okay, you know, moving on. He kept moving. Well, a good singer would. A good singer would be like, you know it ain't booing me. Let me. But imagine you're killing it. I mean, he was killing it.

Everybody's into it. And then out of nowhere, boom. Now, I wonder if maybe he thought maybe they paned to a spurs player. Maybe they pan to Wembe or some shit like that. Maybe somebody they told them, like, we're going to pan. They had to. Because that would have shocked the shit on anybody. You're singing the nation song in the garden.

And all of a sudden, you just get hit with the book. Somebody probably prepped them, though. They let them know, like, yo, Trump's in the building. So just be prepared for anything that may happen. But I just think the thing that pissed me off the most, not even, is Dolan and Trump. Okay. Even if Dolan invites you, you got to say, nah, that wouldn't be a good look for New York. You're from New York.

You know better than anybody. We're not doing no Dolan slander while we're in up to one in the finals right now. We're not doing no Dolan slander. I'm a company man now. Up to one? No. You're from South Carolina and you live in New Jersey. It's got nothing to do with you.

That's true. It's like me talking about the lady gamecocks. You don't care about the working class people in New York City. Say what? You don't care about the working class people in New York City. The people reselling a town. Tickets don't care about them. They need to come up.

They need to- I am happy for them. Shout out to all of people. How dare you. Shout out. How dare you? Do I sell the tickets? Do I control the ticket prices?

The watch party was canceled outside of New York City. Thousands of people who can't get tickets, who sit outside of New York, who patron the bar and the restaurant. You can't have it both ways. Oh, my God. You can't have it both ways. How disrespected. And selfish of James Doverton and Donald Trump. New York Knicks fans are violent.

Oh, you can't do it? But then all of a sudden, so can we have a watch party? Can we not? You know who's not violent enough? Who? The actual New York Knicks. How dare y'all let Wimby just get munched and shoved to the ground? Y'all let Wimby get that off in the york.

Miss Robinson, you're supposed to run through his fucking check. Can I tell you? Can I tell you? This is, and I mean this sincerely, the one criticism that I had from the game was when the spurs went up early the garden was silent and the advantage you have as a home game is that you got your fans that

are there dying for you and I think the ticket prices are so expensive I'm not saying that they're not Nick fans you know what I mean but there was 6.8 seconds left on the clock and we were down four and I got video of people walking out

you don't leave a fucking playoff game with 6.4 Eight seconds down for with the ball. No, no, no, no. Different circumstances. You know that everything's blocked the fuck off. So you got to walk five or six blocks. You couldn't even park near the fucking garden.

Six point eight seconds left on a clock. They're doing that tonight, too. I live here now. Damn. That's where I live. And you guys got to figure it out because I'm blocked up. I'm not leaving the garden until that game is over. Damn.

A parking attendant told me some real shit today, man. He was like, yo, they got everything. Oh, you're missing working class. That's right. That's right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Talk to the working craft. When I was at the soup kitchen earlier.

This is. Hey, it is. Some guy told me something. He said that because everything... I was driving the subway here. Listen, he said because everything is blocked off. And he said between stops, the guy told me something. But think about this.

He said because everything is blocked off for five or six blocks. He said, it's actually scary. Because now when you leave the garden, you've got to walk and people are out there fucking wild. No, that was crazy. You know all there. That's what he said. He said people out there wildly. It was crazy.

We walked through the projects to get away. Why don't have no secure it? That's how scary that shit was. Why you don't have security? I'm like, yo, we got to go that way. And she's like, through the projects, I'm like, it's safe. What are the projects by the garden? It's not that far.

There's projects down like 24th Street or whatever. That's where the Wayans brothers grew up. Oh, I thought they grew up in Brooklyn. Oh, Chelsea. Okay, okay, got you got you. What do you mean they've got the inspiration for them gay characters? characters. White chicks, all that's right down a block, man.

By the time y'all hear this game four have already happened, Wimby got to get it tonight, Wimby got his chest ran. We got, we got Wemby all locked. We're not worried about it. No, no, but you can't let him do what he did to Brunson, bro. You can't. You can't let him do what the fuck you did the Brunson.

You got to send a message. I don't care if Brunton was grabbing his jersey. Bring one of them guys off the fucking bench. What's that big ass seven-footed they got on the bench? That's all with an H. Hucking, huck it or some shit like that. He came up from the G League. Have him run through, just put him in the run through Wimby's chest.

That's it. Knock Wimby on his ass, boy. Send the fucking message, man. Charles Oakley can't be in the garden, but the spirit of Charles Oakley needs. You know, that'd be the most fire shit. Come on, man. Charles Oakley walks in tonight, man. Tell me that one and set the roof.

That's what James Dolar needs to do to get back in New York's good graces. You let Charles Lively. To Monday. You do Charles Oakley. Chill with this later. We do Charles Oakley coming back into the garden. And you have it delayed. Man.

And then all of a sudden he walks out first before the team. Oh, the garden. That's it'll go crazy. That's it'll go crazy. But yeah, it was super inconvenient and everybody was super annoyed by it. And actually it was corny as fuck from Trump, to be honest with you. Because it's like, what do we even think? Like, what is the point of this?

Like, everything is working out. Are you there? Don't change nothing. I felt scared to go to the game myself. This is how superstitious I am. I wasn't at the two games where we won in San Antonio. So I'm like, should we just keep that going? I get stopped all the time for people on the street that are like,

hey, can you make my TikTok about the Knicks? I'm like, I don't want to talk about this. I feel uncomfortable even talking about it. The greatest thing about the Knicks. What game you go to now we lose. Don't do that. Don't do that. The greatest thing about the Knicks run is the fans.

That is the funnest. I have been in New York for 20 years. I've never seen the energy in the city. Now you like that. Now you like the energy. Not for the Yankees. Not for the... I've never felt it.

You never felt it. The fuck is you talking about. You never felt. I felt it one time. We made it to the finals. You don't remember that. Of course I remember that. You were born.

I wasn't born when we won. 99. You're right. We were there. Yeah, you're right, right. You're right. I mean, you're a kid, so everything's magnified, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

The world is just insane in your eyes. Also when the Rangers made the Stanley Cup finals. I don't know. Nobody got to talk about that. Yeah, they did. Chris. Yeah, they did. Here's the reality.

New York is a baseball city. Is it? Sorry, basketball city. I'm about the same. No, New York is a basketball city. We didn't have funding in the public school. Like, my public school had a basketball team only, right? And we didn't even have a basketball court in our school.

We had to go to basketball city to play our home games. We're away. Yeah, yeah. It was a court everywhere. It's a court everywhere. So this is a basketball city. Baseball, we're not. known the Yankees, but like no one really grows up playing baseball. You play little league until

you're like 11 and then you never touch a baseball again. Maybe the Puerto Ricans, Dominicans keep playing. But outside of that, nobody else. They play with a big ball. They play stickball. When the Yankees went on that run, the city was a lot. Not like this. I've seen the Yankees runs. I've seen meds runs. I've seen Giants to football. Nothing like this. This is a basketball city and basketball rules. And if the Knicks are good, the whole, like, listen, the price of admission to a Knicks playoff game is a lot different than the Yankees. I understand there's more tickets, whatever, available to. I get it.

I get it. The fucking stadium is bigger. But it's just a testament to how much people love the game and how much people love the Knicks. Norie said he had on a Knicks jersey. Yeah. And he was walking. He got caught in the Israel Day parade. And he was walking and the officers was like,

Knicks! And he was like, Knicks and four. And they opened the gate for him. They let him walk through. And you know how safe the Israel Day parade was. Okay? Yeah. They just let him walk through because he had a Nick's journey on, yo.

I've never seen no shit like this in New York, never felt anything like it. I don't think anything is comparable. Nothing. I don't think there's no. I'm not even joking. I don't think it means everything. I don't think there's anything. The only other sporting event are sports energy that would compare.

9-11. No, I'm talking about just sports. I mean, the Cowboys go back to the Super Bowl. Oh, you're saying like the energy of the excitement. Nah, because it's a go back. You guys are used to success. No, not since the 90s, bro. We haven't been since 96.

Yeah, but you won. Like, our whole childhood was dominated by you guys winning. So you remember winning. Yeah, yeah, yeah. None of us have a memory of us winning. Yeah, yeah. Bill Jackson was playing basketball when we won. Damn, damn, damn.

Can you just imagine that first second? Man. The announcer of the Knicks was on the team the last time we won. Dang, you talk about Clyde Frasian? Yeah. Like this is a different situation. It is, man. I've never seen anything like it.

I've never seen anything like it. Never felt anything like it. New York feels amazing when the Knicks are winning it. Oh my God. Like I want them to win. I mean, they're going to win the series. Knicks and six. The zebras, though, are acting a little crazy.

Come on. No, because I'm not one to bitch about the rap. Not they are. It was egregious. Not they are. It was a greed. They miss two flagrants, bro. And after review, because you know, they review shit after.

the game, that push, the Castle push on Brunson was insane. That wasn't a push. That wasn't a fucking push. That was a flop. You're talking about the rebound? You're talking about the rebound? I wasn't talking about a rebound. That's another play we're talking about. I'm talking about what it looks like somebody handed him to

and he was running for a fucking first down. Look at the, no, it was that's one. That's the Wimby one. The Wemby push. Wimby shit is crazy. Yeah, the Wemby push. All of these shit. The Castle ran through him. Yeah, he went through with the forum and they called it a foul so they knew it was a foul and then they went and said after review they're like no it wasn't a flagrant it's like come on god there was another bad call i don't know if it was game one or games i think it was game it was game it was game too because they won by one when they rescinded the technical the game when they recended the tech on wemmy because if they called a tec on him he's out of the game because he he got a flagrant earlier over the elbow like in earlier the playoffs or something

shit. Like, he, Wemby's kind of in a position where, like, they fear if they call another one on it. We should look this up to make sure I'm accurate. I think he has enough points yet to be ejected. I thought he was at that point. I'm pretty sure now. I think they would reset it in the playoffs anyway.

I don't think anything from the. No, that was the playoff. No, this is during the play. During the playoffs. I don't think. And I also don't know why the Knicks are scared of Wemby. I hate when they take the ball. We're not.

No, no, no. We got, we got Wemby on lock. No, but I'm talking about when they take the ball down low and he's standing there. Oh, no, you... They run back out? We are scared of him defense. Why? I mean, he's going to block it.

And you might get a block, but you might get a goal to and you might get a foul. Yo, OG backed him down and dumped on him with two hands, bro. O. Take it to the whip. Take it right to him. O.G. is the only one. O.G. is a bad. Man.

Second best player. Say what? I think he's the next second best player, really. No, no. Cat is. Cat is. Guys, the cat slander. O.G's more consistent.

First of all, just hold on a second. It's kidding. Cat Slander is crazy. I didn't think Cat could play defense like this. And I think that is what has transformed this next team. Also having Cat up at the top of the key and running the pick and roll through him so he feels involved. They should make him the focal point at often. Now, what the Spurs did was really smart is they put like some, they put Castle or somebody else on Cat up at the key.

And they were kind of like denying him the ball. And now you have Wembe can kind of float. He like floats off of Josh Hart. Now, thank God. Josh hit like four three's last game. which was amazing. That's what we need to do to punish them for that. But like, now Wemby's flowing by the rim.

If we can pull Wemby out to a three-point line with Kat, Cat will do Wemby dirty. There's nothing Wembe can do to stop Kat when he's going downhill. Nothing at all. And then Kat's D on Wembe, whenever they're one-on-one, that's a guaranteed lockdown from Kat. Man, Kat's beating them off the dribble. Oh, that's it.

That's it. There's no person on the Spurs, one-on-one that can get in front of Cat and stop. Why does he win it so fast? Wemby? Yeah. French? Just the, what you mean? It's French.

What does that mean? They built different out than Europe. Like, he, why does he always got, it's like five minutes he got to go sit down? Why? I don't get that. You know what, Taley, you're probably right, but I mean, I'm probably, like, analytical. You probably tired. You know what I mean?

You're right. You're running up and down a lot. But it's probably just that, you know what I mean? Yeah. Like, his legs probably just his legs hurting. Yeah, and his body, like, look it's just tall. I just, this probably. I think we got to get cat going early.

We didn't do that. And also, McKell Bridges got 2,000, like the first few minutes they had to yank him out. That kind of threw this place. If Cap scores 20 and McCell scores 18,

the Knicks won this game. We're also going to have... And Jalen hasn't had a great shooting game either, the whole series. Yeah, and he's averaging 25, which is crazy. Jayland just gets you a bucket whenever you need.

But OG's playing fucking absolutely phenomenally. We're locking down defensively. We've got to stop giving up open threes to Champany. Like, you know, he's a New Yorker, so my heart kind of goes out from a little bit, but like you're not going to lose to Champany. You'll lose to Wembe. You'll lose to, that's pretty much it.

But you're not going to let Champany beat you. I'm going to say something, but Castle's a beast. And Harper's kid is nasty. Those three, like, they are going to be fun to watch for years to come, bro. They are going to be fun to watch for years to come, but not this year. We need the Knicks to win this, bro. Yeah, yeah. It's just good for the league, man.

You know what I'm saying? It's good for culture, man. Good for culture. By the way, can we talk coach? I was having a conversation with somebody that pissed me off this week so far. You know how we keep having the conversation about Wimby and how it's hard for a foreigner to be the face of the league? But if anybody has a chance to do it, it's Wimby.

I'm not sure anymore, bro. He will one day potentially have that, but like this series exposed him. I'm going to say why I don't see how. Number one, you have to be phenomenally great. He's good. He's good. And we've seen glimpsies. is of greatness, but he's good.

He has good games. Still got a win, right? He's in the finals. Cool. But you still have to impact culture. What is Wimby doing to connect with culture? Y'all know what I mean when I say culture. Like, Michael

Jordan was culture. Number one, think about those Jordan ones when they first came out and how phenomenal they were. They just looked good. But you know, there's one thing people forget about those Jordan ones. They got banned by the Indian. Everybody forgets that. Because they didn't comply with the, I think, the uniform colors and some shit like that.

And so Nike said, fuck it, let's run a campaign talking about how they were, how this shoe was bad. It was a simple ad. Yes, rebellious. So now the hood already was on it, but now everybody got to have them. That helps connect with culture. Then you get to, then Michael was just, first of all, Michael was otherworldly. That's the other thing, too. He was otherworldly on the court.

So all of that happens. Then you get to Spike Lee commercials and all of that. You're connected with culture in ways that you still feel it. What is Wimby doing to connect with culture? He's seven foot five so you can't aspire to be like. I don't think bigs can ever do it. He's dangly, right? His voice is foreign.

He's walking around barefoot. I want to get a feel of my first win in the gut. You get the fuck out of here, yo. I'm as thin as it gets, but ain't no grass in there. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just only called the garden. Got a fucking garden for real. Get you, yeah.

What the, why are we falling for this type of shit? I want to take my shoes off and walk around the garden and get a feel of my first finals. When, man, shut the fuck up in the park drawing. That ain't coach him, bro. That ain't coached. Yeah.

He was a little to Europe in the art? Yes. Is he a good artist? What is? Taylor, Taylor asks all the right questions. He does. I mean, these are the right questions.

I don't know if he's a good artist in now. Okay? I just don't know a big that's ever been the face of the league. Yes, you do. No, Shaq. Shaquilla O'Neill.

Yeah, but Shaq was so transformative in terms of like his agility, his movement. He was culture. He was dominant. First of all, he was dominant. First of all, you've got to be dominant. That's what people, you have to be dominant on the court.

Yeah, Shaq is dominant. No doubt who the man is on the court. When to lose, that was Shaq. But also, he was culture in every sense of the word. Shaq rapped. He braked dance. He was amazing in interviews. When you go back and watch Shaq interviews,

Now, it was almost like watching the rock, bro. Stone Coast, Devon. He just knew what to say when it was a microphone in his face. Oh, so he was in that movie. Shazam. No. Which ones? Blue chips. But also, too, it's another good point.

Van always says this. He talks about how when we watch you in college, we connect with you in a different way. We didn't see what Wimby was doing over there in France. Not so much anymore, though. You don't watch his guys. I mean, not anymore, but back then, back then you watched Shaq. I think that would be his culture. I think he's just a different culture.

So I think he's appealing to a different demographic. What demographic is that? My kids love him. My daughter's obsessed with him. I don't believe. I don't believe. I don't believe. I don't believe.

I was with Asian. I mean, I'm telling you. The stuff he's doing does relate to the kids. True story. My daughter, I took my daughter to dinner on Saturday night, her and to her friends, Asian American and a Brazilian. And Dylan went to school like near there.

I forgot to school in Jersey, but he went to school near it. So they used to always see each other at the games and everything. And my daughter cheerleads with his sister. Dylan? Dylan Harper's sister, yes. So one of the friends in the back seat is like, that the real tall guy on the Spurs is terrible. Like, you know the real, real tall one?

He can't play. And I'm sitting there thinking, gosh, he's actually the best player on the team. But being that they don't watch basketball and they've only watched the finals for the first two games. They think he sucks. Imagine being the tallest person on the team and you don't know nothing about basketball, but you just think if you're tall, you're supposed to be good and you think he's terrible.

My point is, they didn't even know his name, Chris. They just said the tallest person on the team is terrible. This is a 17-year-old Asian-American. All right. I mean, look, my daughter, 16, she watches a ton of NBA. She knows it inside out. She loves him.

Her dad, though. Yeah, I mean, we watch together. And she likes, she thinks Wimby's good? She thinks she's more fascinated by his personality More than anything What personality? He's got a lot of... No, he's got personality

It's just not culture What is the person? I'm trying to wait I'm trying to see it to all me He's Euro He's Euro He's friends He Joseph's French

Yeah Yeah he's Euro He's Euro What kind of hip hop, bro Like I didn't say hip hop He's not He's not hip hop

He's Euro What's that gay? Yes Is that what y'all is saying To me? It's not It's not It doesn't mean like you say

Nighter you should come out with Jersey dresses. Forex. Bring back to 4X jersey dress for

Wimby, yo. That's what y'all want to wear y'all want to he wore like a dress to the

to game one or something like that. Well, no. I was like a religious thing. Oh, it was religious thing.

Oh, oh, I saw that shit, man. I saw that shit. I saw that shit. He was out there looking like a Shalin punk. He was dressed

like a Shalin punk. I saw that shit Listen, all I'm saying is this man I need one me to be more dominant, yo If y'all gonna give him this face of the league shit Already if y'all already Found him where's the dominance They're not giving him face of the league

Now here's the real question Yes If the Knicks win Do you give Jalen the league? I think Jalen gets it by I think he gets it Because here's the thing That's the other thing about face of the league You don't, you got to, people give you that.

Like, that's something that naturally, organically happens. I can look at Jailin and aspire to be like Jailin. Just like stuff. The little guys, you know, when little guys win, it's different, bro. It inspires a nation. But Hart had a quote about that because someone asked him about that the other day. What he said? He said one of the reasons that Jalen's so great is he doesn't want any of that.

Well, he doesn't court it. That's the best way to get it, Chris. And that's, yeah. Jordan never called himself to go? Well, I'm saying that's how he's become a great place. player because he's focused on what's happening on the court. He leaves it all alone. Now, what do you do when this mantle is handed to you?

It was another question. But, like, part of being the best is also wanting that kind of acknowledgement. He doesn't seem to give a shit. To his credit. Yeah. I mean, yeah. I mean, Jordan never wants to be called the goat. He said that.

He wanted the commercials. He wanted the Mars Black Man. He wanted all that sort of shit. Yeah. I mean, Jordan said, you know, there's no eye on team, but there's an eye and win. That's real, though. Yeah. But that's what after this comes down and wanting to take

the final shot. Like wanting to, in those moments, which is Jalen, by the way. Jalen. Man, when the last time we've seen that, yo. We got a real superstar. But Bronn used to give, Brian gives it up in the clutch for a lot of, in a lot of moments. If I was to defend LeBron, I would say LeBron makes the right basketball play.

So the right basketball play might be in that final moment to dish it to the open shooter that's on the corner. Maybe. But. Except in the last two minutes. All that shit goes. My point is he is making the right basketball play, but when it's the final shot of the game,

the right basketball play is to have the best player on the floor, shoot the shot. And to LeBron's credit, late in his career, he has gone down as one of the most clutch players ever. Early in his career, there's questions about it, and then something shifted,

and then the back half of his career, he's been absolutely on fire. I give LeBron a lot of credit, man, especially now because being the face of the league is hard, bro. Like being the face of the league is hard. And the last time I saw this was after Michael Jordan retired, but the difference was you had so many great players that felt like faces of the league. You still had she told you.

Still had Kobe. AI was still around. Like you still had all of these cultural figures that felt like faces of the league. Right now, everything is so fragmented, bro. The NBA does not have a face of the league. That's why it's so important that the Knicks are in the NBA finals right now, yo. This shit feels like the NBA. Now, for to be the face of the league, do you need charisma as well?

Yes. You need charisma, personality. You got to be dominant on the court. You got to connect with culture. Yes. So that's an interesting thing. Like, aren't a good for Jalen. He don't really give you much.

Yeah, I don't believe it. No. When it comes to that. Jailen gives me Mamba mentality, bro. No, no, no. He's a killer. He took the right things in the interviews, but he's a killer. Don't get me wrong.

But, like, Charles Barkley. had charisma out the ass when he was in the league. Very rare, though. He's very rare. LeBron has charisma. Jordan had charisma too. Kobe. Kobe, absolutely.

I think they were killers. It was because they was killer. Like when I hear jail and say, he won't even go, he hadn't even took a picture with the Larry O'Brien trophy. But he's not commenting on it. Kobe would comment on it. He's saying no comment.

The Larry O'Brien trophy is, is everywhere. It's ever present. It's on the set. It's next to the court. It's in rooms that you're asked to go and shoot promotional videos with, but you wouldn't go in. You didn't want to be near the trophy. Why? How did you hear about that?

I know. I know what's happening. It's no comment. Comment after maybe the Larry O'Brien trophy's in reach? No comment. Kobe would be like, I'll take a picture when it's mine. Like, they would talk like that. So, like, again, Jalen not wanting it.

probably what makes us want to give it to him so much. Yeah. But I wonder if in order to be the face of the league, you need to carry personality-wise, like, aunt, for example, Aunt got the baby mama issues, but like, aunt has undeniable charisma,

and the league would love to just hand it over to him, but he's got some familial shit. There's a problem when you got little kids wanting to come watch the games. Yeah. And he's got to make it to the finals. I mean, you got to win, man.

You don't got you don't got to You got to win show No no you have to win for sure eventually But like AI never won And AI had faith in the league AI had culture AI had us He never had the league

Never wanted to give it to AI I'm not even show Kobe had it bro So that's the argument I'm not even show Kobe had it Wait for it so that's the argument People in LA thought that Kobe was like The League and everything like that

But then he had his stuff with the cakes or whatever. And then L.A. still loved him and support him. Obviously, he's a phenomenal player. But, like, New York never looked at it like, yo, that guy's the face of the league. And the NBA backed off. We forget. Oh, absolutely. He lost a lot of endorsements.

He lost big endorsements like McDonald's and shit. Nike never dropped him, but Nike couldn't make him the face of a lot of campaigns. They had to wait a little second. They had to wait a second. And then Braun comes in and all of a sudden, Braun's cooking. And they start putting Ron on the level of Kobe when they probably shouldn't have so fast. I think Afro-Cobie had the league.

I think Afro-Cobby had the league. No, because he's battling with Shacks on his team for that time. Are you talking about when they won the championship? No, no, you're talking about it. No, yeah, with Powell. He went to the finals three years. That, by the way, he was so dominant you couldn't deny him. But even in that, it's like, why wasn't he on the face of the Dollability League at that moment?

I don't know if he was. I couldn't be wrong. It didn't feel like it. I think of somebody else who had the. I agree. I agree. Charlemann in terms of sentiment. I don't think Kobe's

Kobe didn't cross over to New York. Everybody acknowledged him as a great player. But after his death and as we remember him and what he achieved, there's this admiration and respect. It is. While it was happening in the league, there were New Yorkers even during

Jordan's heyday. They fucking hated the Bulls because they were beating our ass, but we're still like, nah, that's the nicest ever. I don't think New York, In New York had a lot of bandwagon Laker fans because they wanted to be on the winning team and Kobe was their guy. There was a there was a thing with Kobe that was that felt sort of disrespectful because if you say that co if you say he's the second if he's the closest thing to Michael Jordan we've ever seen then he should be the second greatest player of all time on everybody's list. It felt like that didn't happen until after he passed when he was alive. It didn't feel like they was giving it up to him like that.

That's that's great. He passes. I mean, if Bob Marley was alive today, he might be playing Mohican son this weekend and nobody would give a shit. Right? Damn. That's real. But what about Jordan? Explain Jordan.

You know, like. But explain Jordan. Jordan was something we never seen before, man. Jordan gives all his props and then something. Jordan was something. It's very rare that you get to be the king and it's acknowledged while you're in your prime. And Jordan was that guy, bro. And that's why, I guess that's why the wimby thing.

Yo, can I actually say one thing? It's just too early. No, hold on. Hold on. Hold on. Did Jordan really get it after he came back? No. Let me clarify the argument.

The first three, I remember they're being crazy like beef and like the Nix. And obviously after he goes away, we go to the finals against the rockets. Like something switched when he came back. One, we saw him lose, right? Because he loses the first year that he comes back. And then we saw him win three straight. and I think there was this moment where

you go he could really do whatever he wants to do like the guy fucking tried to play baseball came back we saw him get humbled and then goes and runs three again and hits the game winning shot in the finals to cement it I think there was this moment of submission

from all of us where we're like that's him that's fucking him right there I think he was faced at the league by his third year Yeah. I think he was king when he beat Magic Johnson in his first finals. He was God after winning, after three peter in the first time. When he came back, he became something that we do.

I don't even, I don't even know what you call that after that. But it was that, it was like, it was like seeing, it was like seeing him be humbled by trying to come back. There was that when he was wearing a 45 and like you saw him like dribbling. and sometimes getting the ball turned over. It was a little shocking. But it was the fact that you got to watch him lock in and then run three straight. You know what it really felt like?

Now that you say that, you went three straight. The only thing that could stop Michael Jordan was life. He had to lose his father. He had to take a step back. And then when he came back wearing the four or five, the four five was good because it's Jordan, but it's not quite Jordan. And so when he lost,

You're like, yeah, but he's going through a lot. It wasn't, he didn't feel like he lost because of him. It felt because he was just trying to get back in the groove with life. Once he came back to that next year, oh my God. And then you win three more. You never lost in the NBA finals. When people never see you lose on a big stage, it's a different level of immortality, bro. Because the casuals are watching.

Going back to what my daughter's friend said, all she knows of win beat as far as those two games she saw. So she's, he's easy. Yeah, now you're right. The casuals are watching them when they're seeing only greatness at the highest stage of the game. I'm telling you there's something about seeing seeing the great's vulnerable. There's something about seeing someone you admire go through a rough patch and then have the resilience to come back and run the same thing you just did. Because I remember even my sentiment towards Jordan on that second three being different.

I was rooting for him. I would never root for the Bulls as a Knicks fan. And there was this version, like, I think I remember a series between Chicago and Indiana. Do you remember that that went to seven or something like that? Yeah. And I found, obviously, I hate the Pacers, but I found myself kind of like hoping NJ avenged a Nick loss to Indiana or something. Like, I was starting to put my hope in this guy that I hated as a Knicks fan, you know, earlier in my life. I have two what is that I'd love to see in sports.

What if Michael Jordan never retires? His pops never gets killed. He never retires. Yeah. Does he run eight in a row? that would have been incredible to watch. Not only does he run eight in a row, does he come back for the shortened season

of the year after he retires and gets nine in a row. I don't know if he does, but could you imagine if we got the witness that, and what if Tom Brady never lost the Super Bowl? And he's 10 in O in Super Bowl. Jesus Christ. So the Jordan thing is tricky, right?

Because I don't know how it affected the team him being away. Like, were they able to get certain people? pieces. It might have read the little life into the situation. They made it to the Eastern Conference Finals. No, I know they were good. It was exhausting to win every year.

Yeah. And in some ways, maybe that just shaking it up a little bit, kind of got everybody else back engaged. And also, like, you put some respect on him, right? It's like, okay, he went away. We got far, so we're nice. He's got to respect us. But also, we know that there is a difference maker when it comes to...

That's why I don't like this conversation about Scotty now. And salute to Scottie. But I don't like... the conversation that they'd be having about Scotty like Michael Jordan couldn't ever do it without Scottie. Well, I think MJ even says that. But he does, but we saw what Scottie did with a full squad, right? Because all they did was come back and add MJ, right? I mean, well, yeah, they came back and had MJ, but then they got Robin. But I'm saying that year that Michael wasn't there, MJ takes that squad to the finals and probably wins, bro. I mean, Scottie was almost, should have been

the MVP that year. He was phenomenal. Phenomenal. I don't remember now. But yeah, it all came down to he. He missed that final. No, no, he sat out. He wouldn't check in because they didn't run the final play for him.

They ran it for Kukos. Yeah. And that kind of stained his legacy. But the fact is he had an MVP caliber year. He was amazing without Jordan. Damn. I mean, Scotty was a fantastic player, though.

Very good.