The Daily Zeitgeist - MJGMB #94: Best of the Best Compilation 2023

Episode Date: January 3, 2024

Miles and Jack will be back in action next week and ready to break down all the 2024 action as teams start to position themselves for a postseason run, so please enjoy this compilation episode featuring some of our BEST moments with a lot of great 2023 guests! In loving memory of Kenny DeForestSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'm Keri Champion, and this is Season 4 of Naked Sports. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry. Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. Every great player needs a foil. I know I'll go down in history. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports. Listen to the making of a rivalry.

Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports. I'm Keri Champion, and this is Season 4 of Naked Sports. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry. Kaitlyn Clark vs. Angel Reese. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's basketball.

And on this new season, we'll cover all things sports and culture. Listen to Naked Sports on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio apps, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Black Effect Podcast Network is sponsored by Diet Coke. Do you ever wonder where your favorite foods come from? Like what's the history behind bacon-wrapped hot dogs? Hi, I'm Eva Longoria. Hi, I'm Maite Gomez-Rejon.

Our podcast, Hungry for History, is back. And this season, we're taking in a bigger bite out of the most delicious food and its history. Seeing that the most popular cocktail is the margarita, followed by the mojito from Cuba, and the piña colada from Puerto Rico. Listen to Hungry for History on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or

wherever you get your podcasts. Hey everybody, it's Brian, the editor. Now I know what you guys are thinking. This guy again? Where's Miles? Where's Jack? Where's my boosties? Well, if you just calm down

for a second, I will tell you okay so what had happened was that Miles Jack and Jabari did so good at basketball camp that they got invited to LeBron James's birthday slash New Year's party and I'm gonna be honest they're still recovering so in the meantime i compiled the greatest hits if you will from the past year and uh don't you dare call it a clip show okay these are treasured memories that we all share um enjoy watching his workouts like you really do get to get a feeling that you're like getting to watch him build his game like

brick by brick and watching his workouts I mean that's something that people like show up hours early for the game to watch but like that was something I could have used more workout footage like just like watching him like do that thing where he like bounces off one foot and does does a step

back that covers five feet and then nails a three. That was so fun. I could watch that for hours. I could have used more just him casually making three-quarter court shots just because that's

a unique superpower that he has. Did you notice at one point, he was just casually shooting the half-court left-handed three-pointers? Like, just to do it and sink in them. Like, during that workout, at one point in the footage, he's just like, okay, let me just shoot a couple lefties. Just ridiculous.

Yeah, I think part of the trick of the movie is covering up the fact that this this man has an actual superpower and has since he was a child like yeah being able to make threes with your left is no joke have you seen his golf swing like it's just the most perfect like it's better looking than any golf swing that you've seen on the pga tour it's so beautiful well i mean that's that's just until chuck comes up sorry what's really crazy too and i was talking to this i was talking to my boy about this and to be clear before i say this i'm not a lebron hater but there's a lot of lebron haters out there i am not a lebron but you could argue that steph changed the game in a way that lebron did not bron is amazing but it's not like he's the first tall point guard.

We've seen magic before. He's an elite athlete to the level that we've never seen. But when LeBron started playing, I wasn't like, oh, I've never seen this. He reminded me of Scottie Pippen. You know what I mean? It was like, okay, big point forward, athlete, two-way player, elite defender. But I've seen that, not on LeBron's level, but I've seen it. Steph, there's a reason the NBA has played the way it is now.

And it was because the Warriors showed teams what spacing can do. And that's when now everybody has to shoot threes. Everybody has to clear out. To me, that's traced back to Steph. And like, oh, we have to guard this guy as soon as he crosses half court and then the space that creates everybody else and yeah it's insane that he started off as this like could he even make a team right yeah exactly it's yeah he i feel like he changed the game more than anyone since like Luau Cinder,

like whoever, like, like everything changed. And then, you know, cream comes in. Everybody is like being center oriented. And then for like decades, that's the,

that's the plan. You got to do that. And like, he's completely reoriented everything. I will say as, as a LeBron lover, when he went against Detroit early on, I forget what year it was in his

career. I think it was like second or third year. It was just getting to the rim on the best defensive team in the league every single time. That to me felt like, oh, we are witnessing something that is different than I've seen

anyone do at this level. I've seen people go to the rim and dunk. I've not seen it be like this consistently, just he can get to the rim and dunk with both hands every time was one of the craziest things. But it didn't reorient how people played the game and game plan for the next season, right? And that's all I mean. Yeah, totally. i'm tired of the lebron hot takes the guy has earned our respect if you're a hoop head yeah you can critique him all you want that's what it comes with the territory of being an all-time great but yeah enough the guy the guy's unbelievable but again i just and

you already said it i just think step Steph changed the way the game is played. It's remarkable. It really is. Yeah. If you think about it, I mean, we can look at LeBron as much as we want. We can't duplicate that. The belief that comes with, you know, like if you're a kid watching the game, you might think LeBron is incredible.

You might think the big guys are incredible, but all of a sudden you see this little guy, whether he's 6'2 or not, 6'2 and three quarters or whatever the case may be. You see this little guy out there just flinging it up and dipping in and somehow finding his way all over the court. And it's like, hey, I could probably do that or I could possibly do that even if I can't. So I totally understand that. And also the idea that you can add to your game. Like just because you come into the league because of your one skill, which is shooting.

I mean, I remember early in his career, they were like, Steph's not a point guard. He's a shooting guard. And you watch him now breaking ankles, no look passes. I mean,

he's not going to lead the league and assist, but he doesn't have to. Yeah. But he's a legitimate point guard. He's a legitimate three level score. And he came into the league as a three point specialist. That a legitimate three-level scorer and he came into the league as a three-point specialist that's it you know you you can add to your game and it also makes you wonder like some of these guys that come in with more talent it's like is it a work ethic

thing because you have access to the same shooting coaches like to me working on your jumper like guys that come to the nba and never get better at shooting i'm like what have you been doing or like your free throw percentage doesn't increase at all throughout your career i'm like how is that even possible like yeah yeah at the end of practice you just you know shoot 100 free throws or whatever it's like it's inconceivable honestly but i think there is a piece of steph that is missing from this that is like you know kd there's a good scene where kd comes to his the celebration party they throw after like he breaks the all-time you know it opens with him breaking the all-time three-point shooting record you know halfway through his career um and then there's a party afterwards kd shows up and he's like i thought you were this little white kid when

i met you like 10 years ago i walked into a gym and there's this little white kid, like, but he's making threes from half court at that point. So like, I really think that there is a, like, it's not, it's like having touch from 60 feet is like a weird thing that we're just

like, man, he must've practiced that a lot, but it, it does feel like that is something that we don't necessarily think about as like a inherent ability but it is like something that he

has and has had like from early on he's gotta have like the most elite depth perception and hand-eye coordination and people don't talk about that hand-eye coordination in the league. People don't talk about that.

Hand-eye coordination is a big one. You can be an elite athlete and not have that. Well, that one workout that they showed right before the shooting where he's doing the two tennis balls, he's crossing over, catching a tennis ball, throwing it with the other hand, all of that type of stuff where, while I get it, there are people that can do that, he's doing it. He's doing it with such ease. It, it,

it, it makes sense that he can do these things. It really does. And those are the, those are the skills that I think, you know, your average fan doesn't notice, right?

It's the same thing with LeBron. It's like, you look at LeBron, you see this elite athlete, you know, the quickness, the jumping, the strength,

but it's the mental process. Like everyone who's ever played with LeBron, it's like the guy just sees the game differently. I think Steph, Steph is, it's the mental processing like everyone who's ever played with lebron it's like the guy just sees the game differently i think steph is steph is it's it's one thing to be able to stretch the floor like that it's another to be able to say okay guys have to guard me at half court so here's what that does to the defense so i'm thinking two steps ahead i'm gonna whip it to draymond and i'm gonna cut and i going to come out the other side because they're so spaced out. I'm going to get a shot on this wing. He sees the game and that LeBron

level. I'm a couple steps ahead of all of you and I'm aware of what me being on the floor does. I know how to use it. That's the next step, right? Yeah, it's cool. Basically, no notes for this documentary, though.

I think people should go check it out, especially if you're a Steph skeptic. Or even another example, if you'll indulge me with another example, it's like when Shaq added passing. It's like once Shaq became aware, every time I touch the ball, three guys are going to come running at me. And Shaq started being able to hit those no-look passes. Our Vitas was like that. It's just like a different...

It's like being aware of your impact on the defense and then what to do about that I think is a different evolution. Yes, I agree. This documentary is unreal. So good. Hey, speaking of things that people should go watch, that's wild that the Suns vs Spurs

is one of the big matchups we were looking forward to but i know i was checking for it of course we want to see wemby we want to see katie we want to see just some we just want to see what it looks like what these sort of matchups begin to look like uh and it did not disappoint uh i mean at least in like there were some great moments it was a thrilling end to the game. I think the neutrals definitely won that one watching along. Yeah. Jameson, I do want to just note

because one of the other things I pointed out or I put out there was Wemby Yama for Depoy as a possibility deep in the summer when he was in the 20s. He was the 20th best odds for that uh he is now seventh uh for defensive player of the year um even though it doesn't

like his numbers haven't been gaudy but it does feel like there is a gravitational force and teams are having to um play you know do drills with a person who has stilts on and broomsticks on their arms uh in order to just like get get their mind around what it's like to play basketball when he's on the court um so i am excited about that i'm excited first of all just all around about wimping yama but second of all uh about him potentially making me look smart and his name starting to get involved in the deep boy race i mean it's not necessarily stopped with him it was gonna be impact that's why we have to watch the basketball games that's why i'm impressed that you know everyone watched the suns first last night because suns were like 20 plus at the time i think in the third quarter

if i'm not mistaken and then the first guy we came back and ended up stealing the game, their party should have been a foul call, but it wasn't. But it is what it is. Who cares at this point? That being said, though, you have to watch Wimby. And the reason why is because there are certain things he makes players do that normal people

cannot, don't have the same effect. He will make guys either pass it early or try to make plays they normally don't make. So when that happens, it's usually an error of some sort. So that's where it's like, man, he may not get the block or the steal, but he's causing players to do things they're not comfortable in doing,

or he's causing guys to rush and get out of their own pace. And there's a lot to that. And when they get better players, and when they get a better defensive system, he's going to win different teams to play every year because the stats will come. But he's amazing.

Like, he's really amazing. He's nowhere close to scratching the surface. That's the beautiful part. Like, he's so far away. But defensively, I remember we talked about it in the summer. I think it was like 40-1 or 38, somewhere in that range, which is really high. I think now it's like, what, 10 to one or 14 to one?

So yeah, it's in that range. So yeah, you just having equity in your bet from two months ago is huge. And there's a legit possibility if you play 65 games that he'd win the award. There's an honest pathway that's happening. Not saying it's going to happen, but there is a way of it happening.

Yeah, it's good value. And I'm glad that I did not take that bet um but i i know people who did so i'm happy if if anybody makes money off of uh my lucky guess um some of weeping yama's stats though like that so he has 29 points on 12 of 15 shooting. So we, we've talked a lot about as a defense and you know, his, there are these flashes of brilliance on offense, but I didn't realize like he was really closing game strong. He's 29 points on 12 of 15 shooting in the fourth quarter through the first

four games of his NBA career. Um, which makes him the most efficient scorer of 84 players who have at least 10 field goal attempts in the final frame this season. It's very impressive. And they're going to him. The only thing I don't like is that at times it feels like his teammates are freezing him out,

which is wild because he's the best player on the team already. But they should be featuring him every time down the fourth quarter, every time he should get in the ball, wherever he wants to because he is the best player on the team already. But they should be featuring him every time down the fourth quarter, like every time he should get in the ball, wherever he wants to, because he is the best option. Whether it's a jumper, whether it's a dunk or a layup, whatever it is, he should at least touch the ball before anyone else gets a touch. But with that being said, he's delivered this first week,

been very impressive outside the Clipper game, because they got blown out. Every other game, he's been very impressive. And again, he's not even close to being what he's going to be which is very scary because right now he's a huge problem yeah i mean kevin durant said the same thing basically he was like it's like this guy's just getting started and it's only going it's gonna going straight up from here yeah the point you made about like looking like he's getting like frozen out or something i don't think it's like getting frozen out but like it just feels like people aren't ready to defer to him at all on that team and mate where maybe they should be and i it's hard

for me to determine is it because i just want to see him have the ball every time right like it like i'm a parent watching their kid and be like get get him the ball give it to victor yeah yeah but it does i don't know it does feel like they could be looking for him a little bit more um i mean like there's plenty of game i'm sure maybe on some level psychologically it's like you can slowly increase the burden but yeah i mean every time you see him with the bar like i think it's gonna. The jump shot is wet. Okay. Could also be conspicuous decision on the Spurs part to be like, if you're not putting

him in any of, but the best of positions to score in crunch time, like then he's going to shoot 12 to 15. And so they're, you know're trying to build his confidence and create ease for him where he can kind of step in and feel the flow as opposed to... So maybe that's a conscious decision by Pop and

their staff there. It's another monitoring of minutes. I'm just glad they're not just playing him in the first and third quarter and letting him sit the bench in the fourth. I'm glad they're actually letting him play in the last six to eight minutes in the first and third quarter and letting them sit the bench in the fourth. I'm glad they're actually letting them play in the last six to eight minutes in the fourth quarter where the big game actually matters. Because a lot of times you'll see guys on minutes restriction

and they'll play in the third quarter and they'll just sit out the whole fourth. And they're like, what is good good at that? But obviously it's Poppins first. They know what they're doing. This is, I don't know, the whole, the last, what, day? Three days? There's just been obscene amounts of scoring. This is, I don't know, the whole, the last, what, day? Three days?

There's just been obscene amounts of scoring. We were talking about the amounts of high scoring, or, you know, individual performance there have been. I just want to read a stat, just to kind of set the backdrop to, you know, on top of everything we've seen, like with Luka or Donovan, LeBron, you know, Joker. Okay, so in the 2000s, the entirety of the 2000s, there were only nine 60-point games from players.

Wow. In the 2010s, there were 11 60-point-plus games from players. So far, we've already had nine 60-point games in the 2020s, and we're in 2022, just entering 2023 and we've had nine already. What is that from? Is that just from the three point shot becoming such a

so much more relevant? My take on this is so dumb it's just like yeah they're really good at making shots. You hear like NBA like Zach Lowe people be like the shot making is really off the charts. It's like, yeah, they're good at shooting. They're good at making the ball in the basket.

They're getting more points. Turns out, when you add them up, the numbers are a lot higher than last time. Higher than that. Yeah, I don't know if it's like... I think also, too, we were talking with Jabari, our super producer. You know, as the game evolves and the refereeing tends to benefit, higher scoring,

I think we're just kind of seeing the byproduct of those sort of small tweaks. Well, more threes and then more people being able to draw that extra free throw. I mean, not that that just maybe has a cumulative effect, but that's been one of the harder things to officiate to get cleaned up is just that foul on the three the way that they like steph curry for it like that the way that he's always able to draw that um those three free throws i mean that's adds up you know yeah you know how it is the three's been around since the 80s i mean they're they're just they figured out oh that's that's a lot of points

we should we should do that and the efficiency that people are doing it. Donovan Mitchell's 71 came on low 30s field goal attempts, and it was the least of anyone in the top 35. And didn't he assist on 94 of the points? Yeah, 99 of the points. He was directly responsible for that. I mean, that is absolutely... Who's had a better game than that? 99 of the points, he was directly responsible for. Who's had a better game than that?

Will Chamberlain? Kobe? 81, yeah right. This was the highest scoring game since Kobe. I remember when the Kobe game happened. I didn't watch it, but I was at the gym, Bally's, Humblebrag, the following

day. Things were good. It was the 70s. Things were fine. I was going to say, how many Bally's are left? There's not many. That's how long ago this was. I remember I heard a guy say it, and I was like, you have something

wrong. There's a detail you have wrong in how many points you scored. Right. Yeah, yeah. It seems like an error. Same yesterday. 99. Then what? Luka? 60? 50? Another 50 on the last 10 days as of this recording?

Sure. Luka was historic because he had 20-something boards. we keep seeing that like in the donovan mitchell game also there was like an intentionally missed free throw that like saved the game for them like it it does feel like there's a glitch in the matrix like so that whatever video game we're watching them play it's just stuck on like yeah yeah on demo elite mode or whatever yeah yeah someone's putting in the code that before at the loading screen before the game starts and they figured out how to make it uh constantly on fire but yeah i mean i think it also you know

goes to your point jack like jabari's in the chat saying like it is a you know a confluence of things just like the game's progressive people's skill sets are just getting more and more like next level. And people are just so multifaceted now. And shooting is just like, I remember a few weeks ago, we're like, why is everyone shooting so well this year already?

Yeah, I still have the same question. It's wild. I think they've been practicing. I don't like i will not allow it yeah and then what when it didn't the warriors went to double overtime and clay put up 50 and 50 and what was the final was like 150 to whatever yeah it was yeah 143 to 141 i mean that is absolutely crazy yeah by the way the wilt chamberlain because we were talking before we started like are we gonna see another 100 point

game like it it feels possible now it just feels like the shooting is so next level of the shot making trademark uh is just so next level and i don't know like Luka feels like a good candidate for it but Wilt Chamberlain's 100 point game his team put up 169 points so that's you know not a lot of teams doing that these days but and here's a dumb question I have no clue

but was that game in overtime at all? No I don't think so I mean that is that just what do you I mean, that is... That just... What are you... I mean, you can't go to another game if you go to that one. I'm done. I'm retiring. Put my jacket up in the round. I'm out of here.

I'm not doing this again. Why? I tried to take my wife to another game. She said, I think I didn't score 100 points again. 130, 120. Let's get our money back. This is terrible. Oh, yeah. Also, 120. Let's get our money back. This is terrible. Oh, yeah. Also, too, like the other

thing before we take a break, the Nets also have been on an absolute tear since December 4th. 12 straight. Yeah. And they're 16-1 going back to late November. And I just said, man, the highlights of last night were also

oh, man. I don't know. I didn't have as much faith. I don't know. We'll have to go back to the predictions episode. Maybe I did predict this one. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We should go back to the predictions episode. Yeah. We did a predictions episode and then we revised it every week, Gareth. You have to do that.

That's how you stay accurate. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, that's the only stay accurate. Yeah, exactly. That's the only other option. For all you listening, go back to the episodes. We actually change every single episode if you go back. That is what Skip Bayless does. Skip Bayless has said everything once, and so he's always like, I've been telling you forever.

Now he's like a LeBron fan. I'm like, how have you pivoted? How have you been able to pull this off? Pull the tape up from 2002. For non-stop. Can't win. But the league's definitely more fun when the Nets are good and the Nets are absolutely on a tear.

I was wondering, because this does feel like, are we seeing the same thing that we saw with the Celtics last year where they were kind of subpar for a little bit of the season and then put it together. But I was like, what was the most the Celtics won last year? And nine was the most they won in a row. So 12 is pretty, I mean, that's pretty crazy. I know the Suns did it at one point, 17, I think, last year.

But the Nets are just fun. I don't know. KD is so fun to watch. Yeah. I mean, even Kylian Mbappe was in the house watching being like oh he is very magnificent at the basketball

there's this one shot where like KD just you know hitting the easy jump shot or whatever and like the way Kylian Mbappe the soccer players on the sidelines he was like rubbing his mitts he's like woohoo maybe he just just doesn't know that scoring's much more common.

You know? This is crazy! Every time someone puts up... No! Qu'est-ce que c'est? Qu'est-ce que c'est? He had 30 hat tricks! You tell him the Will Chamberlain stat, his head just pops into confetti. It popped! It went to poppy.

All right. Let's take a quick break. We'll come back right after this to talk about some other outstanding performances right after this. I'm Carrie Champion, and this is season four of Naked Sports, where we live at the intersection of sports and culture. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry, Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. I know I'll go down in history. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Every great player needs a foil. I ain't really near them boys. I just come here to play basketball every single day, and that's what I focus on.

From college to the pros, Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports. Angel Reese is a joy to watch. She is unapologetically black. I love her. What exactly ignited this fire? Why has it been so good for the game? And can the fanfare surrounding these two supernovas be sustained? This game is only going to get better because the talent is getting better.

This new season will cover all things sports and culture. Listen to Naked Sports on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Black Effect Podcast Network is sponsored by Diet Coke. Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast, NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal. Five days a week, you'll get all the latest news, previews, recaps, Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast, NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal. Five days a week, you'll get all the latest news, previews, recaps, and analysis delivered straight to your podcast feed by the time you get your coffee.

No dumb hot takes here, just smart hot takes. We'll talk every single game, every single week, but I can't do it alone, so I'm bringing in the big guns from NFL media. That's Patrick Claiborne, Steve Weiss, Nick Shook, Jordan Rodrigue from The Athletic, and of course, Colleen Wolfe. This is their window right now. This is their Super Bowl window. Why would they trade him away? Because he would be a pivotal part of them winning that Super Bowl. I don't know why, Colleen. Catch the podcast, the NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal every day. Subscribe today and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends. And who doesn't want that?

Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, here we go. It's Cam Jordan from New Orleans Saints here to tell you it's going down on season two of my podcast, Off the Edge with me, Cam Jordan. Can't stop it. You know what's going to happen. Can't stop it. That's right. Catch new episodes every Wednesday, all season long.

That's what you look for in year 14 to do more. No days off. And I'll have my friends who happen to be some of the NFL's biggest stars join me on the pod. We'll give you a player's perspective of the biggest storylines, trends, and did that really just happen moments from around the league. And you know we'll have fun doing it. Oh, and I'll have a special guest each month join me to mix it up a little bit. Who is it?

None other than... Psych! You'll have to tune in to find out. So tap in to Off the Edge with Cam Jordan's podcast, your ultimate playbook for all things football and not football. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your

podcasts. And we're back. We're back. Does everybody just want to take a turn saying it as trump miles i think you had the best one before we started recording well we love him don't we folks victor wambanyama uh that felt all right i think i did a better one in the warm-up i was better in the warm-up but hey it is it is what it is. So this Miami game, every preseason game feels like an event. Unlike anything I've ever... I'm typically kind of a don't-get-too-excited-by-the-preseason person just because my team for the past few years has been the 76ers and so it's just like

I can only take so much you know I can only invest so much of myself into that team um but this is like I I can't think of a time when I've ever been this excited about every preseason game um and so the the Miami Heat like I don't know i feel like i know all of these highlights now like by heart like i all the all the blocks like some like where you can test with one hand from the like basically the three points the ball on the floor as a seven to five guy like on the right come on man what yeah that one was wild he's not shooting great from three. He is blocking. I really think he's, whether they give him defensive player of the year or not,

I think he is going to affect more shots than any. And this is crazy. Like I've gone from being like, I've got this crazy idea that he could be defensive player of the year to be like, it's a given this guy's going to be defensive player of the year. And I was saying like, even without maybe the stats, I have like like it looks like what everyone's been saying even when we first saw him

and at summer league it's like he's just gonna change the subconscious of offensive players you could just see it every time the other team has the ball and he's in there like they're just like you can see that they're worried about where he is and like not taking shots they normally would take. And like, even in that first preseason game when he only had one block, it was like the one, the one time that somebody was willing to shoot with him around was when they thought they had beat him by like five steps and they had him by five steps

and he still blocked them. Yes. That Jalen Williams blocking is okay. See, I never saw anything like Jalen literally put him in a spin cycle. Like there was, there was a point when Wimpy's back is turned to a driving Jalen Williams and he takes like two strides and punches.

And it seems like, it seems like Miami and in a couple of ways, we're like, all right guys, like don't, don't let it get in your head. Like he's not going to block everything. You're just like,

and they were taking shots that they normally would have taken if there was a seven footer on the court and he was blocking them at like like one of them was kind of like a floater that he blocked at the peak of the balls like arc in the air right i was like is that goaltending i don't know like never seen someone block it at that point yeah it's he how what's his wingspan eight feet his wingspan is eight feet like i guess i i guess i had heard that but like to see it in motion is a whole other thing. Yes. And straight up,

it looks like he's like got a nine, seven, nine, eight reach when you measure it that way. Or it looks like when someone's working with like a shooting coach and they have to, they use like a broom to simulate like a, like a defender, except he's like holding two brooms.

Like that's what the length looks like. I'm like, is that serious? Like, I feel like he's going to, first of all, the Cornette contest is now a legitimate like you know the thing we always talked about last year the luke cornet from the celdics would like stand in the lane and just jump while someone was taking a three right and it would be distracting and like people you know it's the same like shane battier used to cover people's eyes as they were shooting and

like it affected their shooting percentage more than you might expect. I feel like Wemby might accidentally block some of those shots just from the lane. It doesn't make sense, but that's the feeling you get. Yeah, completely.

I'm guessing you seem excited, Dragonfly. I know a lot of people, again, other people are doing this with Wemby. It's preseason, man! That's the preseason man guy right there. Come on, preseason man guy. This is real. A lot of people don't know that, but

his cousin is the defense guy. Yeah, exactly. You can tell they spend a lot of time talking to each other they joined the hater kingdoms yeah what about defense and it's only pre-season man guy to create i am super excited about this dude because um the one play that made me literally drop my phone in disbelief like what i was watching on my bed yes and i got my phone and just like what did i just watch when he dunked on thomas bryant from outside the restricted area and i want to be clear to the listeners he didn't jump from outside the restricted area his entire body yeah is outside

the restricted area when he dunked when he dunked on somebody who is also standing outside of the restricted area like thomas bryant's feet are like right at the edge of the restricted area. And he dunks on him. Like, so he's what? And, and Thomas Bryant, this NBA player is like,

what just happened? What, what do y'all expect me to do with that? And we're with you. What can you do with that? Here's Massey. It's a cell rocketing down the way. y'all expect me to do with that and bro we're with you what can you do with that here's bashy with the shell rocketing down the way and handing the win jack harrison

he's showing us everything with the left hand the right- right over the shoulder of Thomas Bryant now thank you it was like an old Looney Tunes cartoon it is one of the best it was the space jam dunk the dunk that MJ won the game with the space jam with the super extendo

Thomas Bryant's performance in this moment is one of my favorite performances if you could give an academy award to somebody like not that he's acting, but just like everything about his what he's doing with his body and face is so perfect. And he didn't even have like the opportunity to act like, you know, have his ego be like, okay, let's just shake it off. Shake it off.

You know, like most players and they get absolutely posterized. They're like, okay, keep it moving. Don't don't acknowledge the L. He is so sincerely confused. It's almost like it's half looking at his teammates like, hey, why'd y'all let him do that to me? Kind of thing. And then also him fully just like...

A human should not be able to do this. There's that element of it too. It's like the best breaking of the fourth wall since um andrew bynum laughed at us laughed with us when blake dunked on pal y'all remember that yeah yeah he's he's gonna like he's taking notes from the office he spikes the camera like jim in the office like uh it's really amazing he's shell-shocked like it's like it's remind me like tom tom hanks in the beginning of private ryan where he's like what yeah he's not even hearing the crowd it's like yeah yeah yeah that like high-pitched wine i do like i think we need to think uh seriously about making thomas bryant our patron saint of uh the business decision because not

not that he like really had an option there like yeah he didn't have a chance to make a business decision but his reaction to being posterized was like he he was martyred so that others could live so that others could learn maybe this ain't this might not be the guy to try it with but what do you do like i don't know block him out he stopped them outside the guy to try it with. But what do you do? I don't know. He stopped them outside the restricted area. It was supposed to be jump hook time, not slay them dunk time. He's like, oh, watch this, young man.

Let me just put that in over your head. Let me get right by you. Thank you. Yeah. Going the other way. It's truly, yeah. His confusion, I think, embodies everyone. That's why I'm like,

when people are trying to throw cold water on, I'm like, y'all, he's leaving players on the court confused and disoriented by his size and what he's doing. That, to me, is the greatest indicator of everyone being like, okay, so this is a problem. Yeah, this is not good. What do we do now?

Because I don't even know. Where is this going? But yeah, not everyone, when they get those, it's time to decide do I get out the way or maybe jump up with somebody and gonna contest this dunk I think there there could be a plenty of poor business decisions this season the mid-range game is super producer Jabari was calling out the mid-range game is like really crazy right now like and by the way he can dunk from the mid-range game is like really crazy right now like and by the way he can dunk from the mid range so i'm including that but that's in the mid truly like his mid-range jumpers and like just his beautiful footwork it really is beautiful and like it's like like we haven't seen a seven

foot guy you know move the way like that with the in the mid-range with the with the mid-range you know jumpers and all that says like kd like that's what he reminds me of when i see that yeah for real except seven five right fake unbelievable bro it's on yeah i can't i mean i just can't wait to just see every single game now because i'm just feel like i'm seeing new kinds i'm we're seeing the sport evolve in like it's minor ways but we're we're definitely at the dawn of something very new and that's that's all we want as fans you know what i mean just keep it exciting and keep elevating and oh no here we are the ant-man came with 44 six and four versus the rockets and this brings us us to our best and worst business decision

of the week. Yeah, some real business decisions were made. We also have to go back in December to analyze another poor business decision or great business decision. But who would you like to start with? Mr. Anthony Edwards? Yeah, let's talk about Anthony Edwards.

From ER? He dunked on Al Shingun in a way that seemed premeditated um i think i think it would qualify as a first degree i gotta say shengers my man you gotta jump a little bit more than that yeah just a little bit more you're going you're trying to you're trying to rise up with anthony edwards you gotta give me a little more than like a very light like volleyball block type elevation but i get it yeah well you know what i like i like his attempt at verticality yeah exactly it was that and he got used anthony i was used him to like you know he was like it was like a pommel horse a little bit,

you know, and just pushed up a little bit. Cause when you see like the start of his jump, he's jumping from like inside the circle, like under the free throw line. And then just like kind of grabs him and like pushes a little bit. And then violence ensues. Yeah.

It's just, Oh yeah. When you slow it down like that, no, just that, like right when it's about to go in you're like shengers my man yeah poor business decision there it's not caught twice right it was twice yeah yeah yeah and then uh the second one was with both hands and it just seemed um

yeah it was just like he was like oh i I now recognize that this man is not functionally. This man is not here. So I can just do this. I can just go through him with the ball and dunk on him. Right. And sure enough, not as sharp as it needs to be defensively. Oh, Schengen. Big Schengen, my man yeah sir you got you got to look out below you know this man is it was

though he floated on that yeah yeah two hands look at that it's body and yeah shangers you got to get up my man and he's looking back like yeah i just run the way did he make that did it go in ah man that's that's gonna be oh man a good highlight for him and look at anthony edwards body position on the rim with his leg all up he's like he he just had a party in your in your house right there yeah yeah but you know again but you love to see it like you know he wasn't shying away uh yeah i do love to see it miles i i also we're still looking for nominations for the person who could be known as business decision the way that like you know some people call it ad street clothes with this is somebody we want to call

business decision because they're very smart about the way they get out of the way when someone's about to dunk on them. Um, who, who has the best moves when it comes to making a smart business decision. Uh, we have the opposite of that in, in a, from last month. Yeah.

With Landry Shammer Landry, like it was a tough go. He, he goes for a game winner. It's not to be. And then Aaron Gordon, he's coming, he's coming for you sir and you gotta decide

you gotta make a business decision do you wanna be on a poster do you go up possibly injure yourself terribly we'll just see how this one played out didn't make the shot here he does Aaron Gordon's coming in oh Shamit

Shamit. Oh, Shamit. You could have got real hurt there. And are they calling that an offensive? There's no, but they didn't. It ended up counting. Yeah,

they, they, it got challenged and reversed. My man, he got dunked on, then landed on twice. That was like a wrestling move, like off the top roof

like Hulk Hogan leg dropped him that was wow he tries to absorb this he's like you know what this is a screen but the way his spine curves when it makes contact with Aaron Gordon I thought he was high jumping right here the way he's arching that back

Aaron Gordon is mad angular you're right he is horizontal to the court then on the way he's arching that back. Aaron Gordon is mad angular. You're right. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. 100%. He is horizontal to the court. Then on the way down, his head is right underneath Aaron Gordon's feet. We're like,

he could have errantly just landed. And I use that pun very intentionally, uh, like straight on man's skull. But he like, luckily it was like, Oh gosh, he's like young man.

You gotta be careful, man. When I go up like that, I could like young man you got to be careful man when i go up like that i could have really hurt you it's a poor business decision he had to do it right so the context of the game is there's less than a minute left uh in overtime there's mere seconds chamit had just missed a shot down one then he comes down and it's a breakaway. You have to put your body on the line. What we are looking for from our candidate for, uh, the NBA award of business decision, uh, nickname award winner is somebody who in a moment like that was like,

nah, it's not worth it. Like, you know, that would have been the ultimate business decision games on the line. And he's like, I mean, he's going to dunk on me.

I don't, I don't want that. So do you want them to run away? Or is it when they jump and they're like, no, and they kind of just turn. Yeah. And just do this.

What is more, what would be more like, I guess, uh, the beholder, you know, you'll know when you see the, the ultimate business decision,

like the Supreme court says, Warren, what do you think? think is it is it just a back turn to be like no i never i never wanted part of this yeah yeah or is it a full-on vacating the premises it's a sprint it's a theatricality like if they build an excuse in where they like go down to tie their shoe you know oh wow they're like oh no i've slipped uh or something like that nah i'm i think you're gonna get somebody who's gonna full-on forrest gump out of that point and out of the pain like nah yeah just keep running right into the uh right into the tunnel yeah right right right or someone's gonna pretend to like you know when you see sprinters and like uh qualifying heats and stuff like sometimes they pull up lame when they know they're not going to have a good race.

They're just ahead of me like, no, I'm not going to get cooked right now. Someone just goes, ah, actually, no, no, no, no, no. It's just like limps away to be like, oh, did I clear the frame? Like have a two second hamstring pull. Yeah, 100%. But again, let us know if you have a famous business decision from years past, please put that on our radar because these are the kinds of things, these are kinds of issues we tackle on this show. Important issues. To your point about adrenaline, my dad was an NBA coach. And one time I had a friend come with me to a game and he came back to the locker room after it was a win and uh tony batty was on my dad's team and uh he went by batman and my friend was wearing a batman shirt and he was like

oh hi ryan i see you my my dad and my friend was like uh look i wore the batman shirt like you know tony batty batman what do you think? My dad said, I hate it. I think it stinks. He'd never really met this guy before. I don't think he meant it. I don't know what he meant, I guess. It's something that my friend and I still talk about. I just don't think you're in your right mind after a game.

I think about that often. The fact like players have to go out there and like just yeah answer questions that are then analyzed like the zapruder film um exactly yeah it's tough it's tough i mean like the last thing i'll say is like if the most cynical reading of it is like it was spot on it was that simple and spoh's answer is like you got caught serving like a store-bought cake at a dinner. Like as if you baked it. Wait, is this a store-bought? Oh, my gosh. You think this is a store-bought cake?

Wow. That's something who doesn't know anything about baking would say. Yeah. Because no, this is just 100% me. That's obviously the funniest possibility there. But sadly, the most likely is probably just like he was agitated and he went a little... I mean, he went a little too...

A little harsh. It was a little too much. You know how things are. I worked for Bleacher where you watch those press conferences, you take clips out. Not that... In my job, I purposely make sure I'm not taking things out of context but like

you can't just get embarrassed in press conferences anymore and like no one hears about it you know it's like yeah i don't know you know it's kind of embarrassing someone like that and then making its rounds online when like you know that it's not the best but i mean it's nothing to like it's not judgment on this character i mean like we've said it's a weird a weird situation she opened up saying this is probably oversimplifying it oh gosh maybe maybe that made him feel comfortable to just be like yeah it is oversimplifying it and we we did talk about a clip earlier in the playoffs where somebody asked spo like so how do you plan on like covering randall and he had kind of a similar response but like with you

know probably 30 degrees less stress and anxiety and adrenaline um where he was just like first of all like he he is an incredible player and like you can't just figure him out right second of all if i had a solution i definitely wouldn't tell you that answer so i mean taken in that context like i don't know yeah maybe he should have said that yeah but you know that's why like your point about your dad and the story and everything like that's why i personally have never been someone who like is mad when a player skips press availability. That being said, if they're doing it every single game, like at that point, it's, you know, a problem or even frequently, but like after like a high intensity or high stress

like situation, it is okay. In my opinion to be like, I, I can't do this right now. I don't want to do this right now like right fine i mean who like does that really affect me i wouldn't want to sit up there and answer questions after being embarrassed um yeah especially when the questions are sometimes like so that bad thing that happened where you like did your job bad like yeah yeah that was bad, right? What was going through your mind and like, you know, this is how you feed your family. A lot of people saw that, man.

What were your thoughts? Does that make you panic? They could all be messing it up. No. Alright, should we take a break? Yeah, let's take a break. We'll come back, finish up talking about just strategy in this series and then talk about Wemba Yama.

Wemba Yama. Wow. We need those French commentators. The French commentators, for sure. I'm Kerry Champion, and this is season four of Naked Sports, where we live at the intersection of sports and culture. Up first, I explore the intersection of sports and culture. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry, Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese.

I know I'll go down in history. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Every great player needs a foil. I ain't really near them boys. I just come here to play basketball every single day, and that's what I focus on. From college to the pros, Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports. Angel Reese is a joy to watch. She is unapologetically Black. I love her.

What exactly ignited this fire? Why has it been so good for the game? And can the fanfare surrounding these two supernovas be sustained? This game is only going to get better because the talent is getting better. This new season will cover all things sports and culture. Listen to Naked Sports on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Catch the podcast at NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal every day. Subscribe today and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends. And who doesn't want that? Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, here we go. It's Cam Jordan from New Orleans Saints here to tell you it's going down. On season two of my podcast, Off the Edge with me, Cam Jordan.

Can't stop it. You know what's going to happen. Can't stop it. That's right. Catch new episodes every Wednesday all season long. That's what you look for in year 14 to do more. No days off. And I'll have my friends who happen to be some of the NFL's biggest stars

join me on the pod. We'll give you a player's perspective of the biggest storylines, trends, and did that really just happen moments from around the league. And you know we'll have fun doing it. Ha! Yeah! Oh, and I'll have a special guest each month join me to mix it up a little bit. Who is it? None other than...

Psyche! You'll have to tune in to find out. So tap in to Off the Edge with Cam Jordan's podcast, your ultimate playbook for all things football and not football. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And we're back, and it is time for the fastest segment in podcasting. This is the rapid fire segment of miles and Jack got mad boosties with Jabari Davis.

Uh, who got the most boosties of the crew before we get to this rapid fire? And what, what is that cumulative boost? Is it over 40 inches combined? Combined? Maybe. Okay.

45. What do we got? I could get net the last time i tried which was like 10 years ago so i'm gonna add my 15 to it i'm gonna add my 15 there we go to whatever y'all got will get us over the hook i think i can still get the back wow okay it's sad my 67 year old dad is gonna do his birthday dunk next week um and uh he could jump higher than me so wow y'all shouldn't feel bad hey you know pop still got it though i i i actually look forward to those birthday dunk posts each year so every year it's the same thing around this time it's like oh man this year i talked to him a couple weeks ago like look you're gonna do it all my hips are janky i don't i can't do it i've been i've been working with the buck staff though the medical team to try and get them right then i saw him on his birthday last week he's like yeah we're doing the dunk like i'm ready i'm locked in i'm

like we're gonna see like you know be humble all right just be humble get it in i do have to admit that the net that i could reach was extremely long it was it was one of the longest nets yeah but you know i made sure of it. I'm banging out on the eight-foot, though. I don't even know. I can tippy-toe that one. Yeah. At my kids' school, they have a low basket that I just go there.

I'm goaltending. Dunking on kids. Yeah, absolutely. All right, Josiah, you've been here before. It's the fastest moment in podcasting. No thought whatsoever given to these. Just your instinct. We're going off instinct here.

Y'all trying to get me packed up, but I'm ready. Let's go. What do you mean? It's like, dude. Okay, I didn't have time to think about all that. Let's just get it. All right. Jabari, you start off.

All right. Josiah, if you... Wait, are you sure you want me to go first? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, I desperately want me to go first yeah yeah yeah i i desperately want you to go first joe who would you like to go for i we just have to make sure hey you know you got it jabari go ahead okay all right let's do it let's do josiah if you could bet on any fan base to make the in arena challenge shots you know the layup the free throw the three pointer and a half court which fan base or fan bases would you bet on i'm gonna go with the

lakers because i've seen it happen several times now. Why is that? Yeah, they're so good. Every time you can see Jeannie's face, it's like, oh, we don't have this bag to give y'all. These bags are tied up. Every time it happens, though, he's like, oh, damn, Matt Ryan going to get booted. Or every time somebody on that roster.

Oh, no. He's smiling, but he's like, damn like damn all right there's my walking papers but i think the lakers fan base i've probably seen the most hit the half quarters and i forget what team it was but they had the janky one where like they hit a half quarter and won like 500 bucks those are the indiana pacers that's what made us come up with this question for 500 that was that was our question is like is it so commonplace is everybody just so pure born with a basketball in their hand in indiana that like it's they're just like yeah we'll give you 500 bucks whatever that's fair though it is the hoosier state it is um all right dream scripted

basketball movie to commit you know we just found out about air uh the the movie starring matt damon and ben affleck somehow about the invention of the air jordan shoe uh that they didn't even cast anyone as michael jordan he's just like a presence a gravitational black hole in the middle of the movie yeah back of a fort like a back of the head at least back of the head yeah like there's a shot in the trailer of the back of the head with him walking into the nike offices and then i so i was like who'd they get to play jordan because you that that seems impossible right he's just like so iconic you can't get anybody you can't cast anybody to play him and they said they

specifically didn't cast anyone he's just this presence that they should have got kevin hard to play larry jordan it's gonna be flex alexander there you go hey the michael jordan lifetime movie was one of the greatest things no no names on the journey i mean come on how do you how do you not appreciate that beautifulness do you have a dream scripted basketball movie you want you want to pitch i would love to see a movie on uh he's my favorite basketball player in the league right now uh representing the south sudan uh a man who has gone through trial tribulations walking in the shadow of his father who was another great baller uh none other than bobo love to see a bobo movie yo this is a great idea or the i mean the manute ball store like you could use the perspective like stuff that they use for Lord of the Rings.

That would be very cinematic. Very amazing. Flashbacks to Bull Bull. Like that latest Scream movie, but obviously done in a tasteful way. Right. Alright. Jabari, you're up. Alright, keeping it going. We're going to play

Getting In or Headed Home in mid-April. The Brooklyn Nets. The team is still nine games over.500. They hold a seven-game lead in the loss column over the current 10 seed with under 25 games left. Are they getting in or are they going home? Yeah, they're in the East. They're getting in.

Yeah, they're getting in. Fair enough. All right, here's one. The Pelicans. Because many of us, you know, we anticipated a big year for New Orleans. Some were a little bit higher on them than others. But the team finds itself currently just a game and a half up on the 11th seed out west. And reports are that Zion could miss a good chunk of their remaining schedule due to re-aggravating his hamstring.

Are they getting in or are they going home? They might be at the crib. But I love Zion. I love B.I. I love that crew. I love C.J. McCollum. And even what they did last year, sneaking into the the plan but I think I might be at the crib because the Lakers are getting in so somebody's gotta go someone's gotta go someone's gotta you know look around look to your left look to your

right one of one of them can't be there maybe both of them so they gotta they gotta leapfrog the Thunder the Blazers the Jazz which I think the jazz are probably on their way out. The warriors, the wolves, new Orleans. I mean, who, who's gone.

I can't figure it out. Like, this is going to be tough. Um, Hey, speaking of the wolves, Anthony Edwards recently acknowledged a three bag per day habit of hot Cheetos fries.

What was your wildest eating habit when you were a young athlete like myself so i think about this often and uh and just what we were able to accomplish back in those days but a bag of chili cheese fritos and this is a regional thing they do it like in the south they do it but they turn the bag the wrong way we like the bag straight up but you can do it with doritos too but take the fritos you actually put some cheddar cheese some chili in there if it's a nice snack snack check throw some onions in there too but you can do it with Doritos too, but take the Fritos. You actually put some cheddar cheese, some chili in there. If it's a nice snack, snack shack,

throw some onions in there too, but you could eat, you could eat one of those in a tiki punch and have enough energy to play like four or five games. You were doing that before tournaments. Yeah. The amount of basketball I played with just hot dogs and my sister, just nothing but like,

you know, those concession stand hot dogs, like the no water, final janky you know you get like the 100 box of hot dogs yeah five bucks like yeah no water drinking soda all day yeah water chips what was the wildest thing you witnessed diet wise did you ever like play with someone who was just like you know an amazing athlete despite the fact that they were surviving off of gummy candies so my college teammate tj cummings uh son of terry cummings but tj could eat like a whole bj's pizza and i'm talking about like the

bigger like you know big whole pizza like two two big pizookies you know i mean within like the pizookie with like the big you know we used to finesse bjs and westwood back in the day it was my birthday today like you know my birthday probably about 65 times. Every time you go to BJ's because they had to give you a free bouzouki, then he would put a bouzouki on top of that. But he could take that down and still, you know, go out and drop 20 like it was nothing. Wow. Amazing.

I'm impressed by that alone. Two bouzoukis beyond. Even without the pizza, the two bouzoukis would have me done. Yeah. Like, you know, I've never seen him be able to eat like that. Like, if I ateookies would have me done yeah like you know i've never seen him being able to eat like that like if i ate those two pizookies you know i mean if i looked at those two pizookies i was gaining five pounds so yeah all right josiah we ask everybody i think i believe you've been here for one of these questions in the past but

jack or jabari well one-on-one you gotta got to pick. It's up to your interpretation. Jack got the NBA Lin as Jabari, so I'm going to be real. Wow. Yes. Yes. Ah. A bird of a feather. Great answer. A bird of a feather. I see this. Great answer. I see. Okay. He was reading the

almanacs back in the day, recalling colleges, looking at play sheets, making corrections. What if you slide him over here? You know i mean so it'd be your own both from cali but oh my bad i forgot i forgot we were taping this thing i forgot what month we were taping this thing oh wow i gotta give it to jabari i gotta i'm sorry that's fair i can't you know i gotta i gotta be able to keep the car you already know but march 1st you asked me again 1st, and the answer may be different. There we go. All right.

We'll have to have you back on. I appreciate the reparations. Also, I was, as a kid, I skipped Dr. J's last game playing against my grandfather, Jack Ramsey. I skipped his last game because Jaws 2 was on TV. So you had me wrong, by the way. That was Stolen Valor.

When I was like six or seven years old. That's what I was about. I was just I was not a basketball head when I was a kid. Jaws 2. Jaws 2 on cable. I skipped Dr. J's last game. This is back in the day though when we didn't really have access like that.

We didn't have streaming and all that so we had to get it when we could get it. They electrocute the dang shark. It's pretty cool. Keep it quick. Keep it right. Keep it tight. Are you ready?

Brian, start the clock. Brian, I'm sorry he yelled at you. Me too. Brian's okay. He played in a lot of bands, so his hearing isn't great. That's why I do it. It's not anger. It's a volume thing.

Okay. For a rapid round, you sure are wading into this slowly. Wait a second. Whoa, whoa. What is happening right now? You know what? Okay. No, you know what?

I appreciate that. I respect your game. I was not familiar with your game. I'm sorry about that. Okay. Here we go. Question number the first. Jabari, you go.

Actually, Jabari, you go. All right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Blake, are you ready? I just want to make sure. I'm ready. Thank you for asking. Brian, you go. Actually, Jabari, you go. All right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Blake, are you ready? I just want to make sure. I'm ready. Thank you for asking. Brian, you're ready?

Brian, everybody's ready? Let's hold. Let's get a confirmation. Are you with us? Can you just put it in the chat? Sorry. Sorry. Sorry.

Sorry. Okay. Blake, coming up first. I don't know if Brian's ready. Hold on. Oh, my bad. My bad. My bad.

Please keep this. Okay. This is the whole show. This has always been the show. All right. So we're good. We're good. We're good. Let's go. All right. Blake. Yeah. Give us your best hot take for this NBA season. I know it's already started and you can kind of get away with cheating

and acting like you made it at the beginning. Yeah. Give it to us now. Fire it off. The Wemby will not win Rookie of the Year. I like that. I don't think that body's going to hold up. I think he's going to miss some games. I hope he doesn't. I hope he's healthy the whole season.

I just think who's winning? I'm not going to be Chet. I can't say. Because a lot of people are picking... I guess Chet Holmgren is probably the second most favored. But the kid... Not Bart.

Brandon Miller? Yeah. I got you. Brandon Miller is winning. Okay. Fine. Blake, you know Philadelphia pretty well pretty well don't you i do i do how why why i'm from i'm from i'm also living here currently okay yeah fine fine i guess i'll take that as a i guess i'll take that as evidence that you know something about philadelphia about this? One of these gotta go.

The Philly cheesesteak, Tasty Cakes, Burrito's Water Ice. You stuck the landing on the water too. I want Tasty Cakes out. Oh, wow. Which guy are just overhyped? You just don't like the Tasty Cakes?

For me, I just think it's just what, they almost killed Bill Clinton, and that's why, and I don't like the taste for me I just think it's just what they almost killed Bill Clinton and that's why and I don't want to elaborate but I will he had I think he would have them flown into DC and that's obviously not why I just like the other things a lot more for me it's cheesesteaks Rita's and then tasty cakes I was gonna say like I didn't know what else to put to be honest if I was if I just can be tasty cakes. I was going to say, like, I didn't know what else to put, to be honest, if I just can be transparent about how I was forming this question. I didn't know if to put, like, a hoagie also, because obviously that's a staple thing,

or, like, a roast pork. You know, I know that's another thing you guys like out there. But I, okay, I'm glad. Unwarranted aggression. That could be one. Do I want it to go or stay? Or hostility towards the members of your sports teams. One of the,

one of these Philadelphia stables has to go. Okay. Okay. Like, I really appreciate your thorough answer there, but I gotta be honest with you. This is the rapid. Yeah,

that's right. Yes. You're right. I'm sorry. It's weird. It's supposed to be fast. It's not Blake's breakdown. I'm sorry.

Okay. It's not the breakdown, even though that, you know what? Let's pitch that.'s not Blake's breakdown. I'm sorry. It's not the breakdown, even though that's... You know what? Let's pitch that. That's happening off mic. I'm around. You can go back in time. You can permit either...

There's one right answer here, okay? Yeah. You can permit either AI or Philly Chuck to make a run with this particular squad. Which one are you choosing to take that ride? And don't get this wrong. It has to be AI. It has to be AI.

Brian, cut his mic. Let's get the hell out of here. You're going with Barkley? I'm a Barkley stan. Look, I'm telling you, I'm with you, Blake. I'm a Barkley stan, too. No one can touch ai also bubba chuck is one of ai's many nicknames so i thought i'm like wait it's philly chuck do you want to call him philly chuck or ai yeah no you got it of chuck when he was in the round bound to rebound

if you will yes yes yes yes yes and i will, yes. And I will. And why AI? Why this? I believe his name is Allen Iverson? Sure, sure, sure. He's been in the news a lot. He's now the vice president of Reebok Basketball, Allen Iverson. Congratulations to him. Which, that is a cool story.

I really like that a lot. But AI is one of the most, I would say it's hard to find a more interesting athlete, not even just in basketball, than he is. Where what he did bringing to the culture in the NBA and how people hold him on a pedestal where I've never seen, when you see him wandering. Yeah, right, right. Okay, more on that later. We got to really keep this moving, Blake.

So the next question. So if you go back in history. Nope, nope. I believe the genesis of this was. We have to keep this moving because you are putting, you're putting this, the lawyers are calling you right now.

They're like, this is not rapid. I don't want to get you in trouble yeah okay okay okay next one next one if an alien came down right up to your door knock knock guess who you open the door and the alien is like you need to prove you are a sixers fan i don't know how you prove this to me but prove to me you are a sixers fan Or I am taking you away in this Here spaceship what do you do Or say to show them prove to Them that you are in fact a Philadelphia Sixers fan and they go okay

I Shavari's like you flip them off I would open my robe to reveal the fact That I'm wearing an Eric Snow jersey And then I'd say good day sir And I'd shut the door. Honestly, the alien would say, all right, you got it.

The alien wasn't there. I have a trip to go on. Second thought, it's the Philly freezer. Second thought, you want my spaceship? I realize I'm not built for any of this anymore. He shook to my core. He tosses me the keys. They have keys.

Yeah. It's the Mazda. Wait, what? All right. Keep it going. You can take two players from all of history to create your special edition Mad Boosties NBA Jam team. Which two players are you taking?

Beyond, you know, Charles Barkley, of course. Beyond Barkley. I'm taking the glove, Gary Payton, because he will get you the ball back. The swipe, his ability to get steals. You can swipe from half court. They called him the glove. I called him the swipe.

I would go Iverson and then... Wait. Is there i'm sorry i'm sorry i meant i meant gary payton gary payton and you know what i'm going camp too i'm gonna keep it in the family i'm gonna keep it on the 90s they were so much fun right play with what if i was like a bet left shrimp and dirk novitsky i to be too german i would say oh i see what type but i see what time it is uh rick smith and mark this whole yeah yes one of the goodness oh man okay and last question yeah this is important man i want you to look us dead in our eyes when you answer this pick one jabari or miles go right now go miles what does that mean i'm going uh i'm going jabari because he books this hey here it is i mean it makes sense to me i don't i don't know jack still catches strays out here

look look how replaceable this show is. Like, people on this show, Jack... You can just have anyone come in, you know, whereas Jabari's permanent. Wow! Jabari catches strays, everybody's catching strays. No one's safe when the street sweeper is out here. Miles was just available.

Yeah. Wow. And I think i saw you say that what the detail of you know your character and white man can't jump raymond sticking people up but being you know so somebody who hangs around there and is like six eight uh seven feet he was he's seven foot full step right yeah and he was seven and they're like come on reggie not again man not again you're the only seven foot person i know right he's like no this ain't me this ain't me this ain't me so you really did pull that scene directly from his life yes they pulled that directly that was one of the first folklore tales that they would tell you back in the 70s when you got to the league it tell you the story about reggie harding and and the ski mask robbing the liquor store at seven feet and the you know this ain't me and so that was one of the first things that you heard and it was funny back in the day it's a funny story but when you look at the background and

do a little bit more digging in terms of his history it's actually a sad story he wound up getting shot on the streets of det, I think at about 30 years old in 1972. And so the same streets that he couldn't get away from that derailed his career wound up leading to his undoing. Spent time in prison, Jackson Prison in Michigan for two or

three years for armed robbery. He was robbing a bunch of dope houses where he would buy dope. And they got to the point where they got so pissed off at him, because they knew it was was him seven feet with a ski mask that uh he came up to a dope house to rob it and uh two shotgun blasts hit him in both legs and he was hospitalized just a crazy crazy life that uh wow colorful crazy life that uh crossed paths with a lot of great great nba all-timers So it's really a fascinating story. Yeah, it sounds amazing.

Somebody needs to buy that screenplay post-haste. I agree. Yeah. I mean, it's appropriate that you're on our anniversary episode. You are somebody who still can dunk. Mad boost. So you still have the mad boosties that you had in your career i still have the same ability to dunk that i had in my career uh which is which is none um i was not but i can still i think touch the bottom of the net uh so we in that way we are similar um can you talk

about that like you you dunk is is it every year on your birthday? You get out there? My son Josiah, king of NBA Twitter. Yes, we should say that. King Josiah. He brought the idea to me the year that Blake Griffin jumped over the kiosk. Oh, yeah. I was about 54, 55 years old at the time.

And, you know, could dunk really easily back then. And so we could but we got some matchbox cars or something um you know i jumped over one you know i'm doing the same thing blake i'm gonna jump over a car yeah and that kind of that created a monsters every year after that i'm 67 now so it's for the last 13 years every year he's like come on dad we got to do it got to do it i'm like joe joe i don't know i mean i'm only i only dunk once a year on my birthday around my birthday i never tried any other time so i don't know if i could do it or not and i got some hip issues so this year was a

little you know a little challenging but uh i was able to pull it off and uh we got it done so uh but that next year i'm not sure i may have a hip replacement done by that time. So this may, this may have been the last one, but it's been fun. What it does is man, it keeps me in shape, keeps me working out, gives me something to shoot for a goal to shoot for to stay in, stay in reasonably good shape at 67 years old. So I work out six times a week, six days a week. And I mean, nothing,

you know, like an hour and 10 minutes, nothing crazy, but just enough to stay in reasonably good shape. So it's been the impetus for that. So that's been a good thing, good positive behind it. Hey, well, I give you credit because you're doing something that's 66. I wasn't able to do it 36. So I appreciate that. Yeah.

So, I mean, let's talk about the current NBA, the purported subject of this podcast. You get an up-close and personal look at the Bucs. And I feel like they are a lot of smart people's pick for the title this year. There's actually an interesting conversation happening around yannis and with uh isaiah this week i'm not sure if you if you saw this no i haven't tell me about it well actually it's from earlier in the year it was basically so it was surrounding the conversation with yannis where people were saying he might struggle in the 80s he would come off the bench in the 80s or 90s whatnot charles oakley in particular charles oakley in particular and and zeke you know to his credit i'll paraphrase it he basically was saying hey

guys you guys need to be quiet because he would dominate in the 80s we've never seen anything like him come into our league uh you know and and and basically he's one of he's one of the quote-unquote old heads that definitely shows love so i'm interested in how do where do you you see him up close and personal. You've seen him for the bulk of his career. Definitely the great moments. How do you think Giannis would fare? Oh, man.

I mean, greatness transcends eras. And traits will figure out how to excel in different eras. And that goes both ways. And so people talk about how we couldn't have played in today's nba from the 80s and 90s and then guys from even 70s i mean but the great players would figure things out would be they'd like to point to my three-point field goal percentage well that's why i like cleaning the glass because they they don't count heaves and in the quarter shots and all that most of my stuff was in the shot clock, in the quarters,

those types of threes. And so, you know, but if I'd have worked on a three-point shot, I'd shoot 37%, 38%. I know that hands down. But with Giannis, yeah, that bugs me. Now, people are coming around. Charles Barkley calls him the greatest player on the planet. So that's a definite feather in Gianis's cap to have that happen i mean i remember james hard coming out and saying it was just he was seven feet and all he had to do was

don't yannis is an acquired taste yeah and and um you know watching him when i first got to the bucks eight years ago he was coming off a season where he averaged about 16 a game but seven eight rebounds i didn't know if he would be a solid solid NBA player for the next 10 years at that time, 18, 19, topping out at that, or would he be an all-star? I certainly didn't think he would be this transcendent player who would be a two-time MVP that would drop a 50-piece in a closeout finals game. I didn't think that. It just didn't look like he was on that trajectory in terms of his,

his skill package and just, just didn't look like he was going to be that kind of a guy, but that's where his background, his motivation,

his inspiration, his diligence, the working out, his, his, his desire to be the best. That's where all that

comes into play. And I saw that early. I saw him have great games and I'd see a shadowy figure after he had a great game, and we won, running through a crowd of people right after the game in 10-degree-below weather in Milwaukee. And I'm thinking to myself, who is that crazy brother right there with the T-shirt and the cutoff sweats? What is he doing? Then I look closer. Man, that's the cutoff sweats. What is he doing?

Then I look closer. Man, that's Giannis. Where the hell is he going? Watching him. He's going to the practice facility across the street to work on his free throws. And it's genuine. That's just who he is. 40-plus point games.

We have a flight to another city that night on a team plane. He's sitting in the back of the plane with Sean Sweeney, the assistant coach at the time for the Bucs, going over film and video in terms of what he could have done better, even though he just dropped 40 points on that opponent that night, Deshaunas. I mean, and so he could have played in any era. He is such a unicorn is the popular way of describing a guy like him. Think about it. He's seven feet, 250.

So he's strong enough to kind of with handle uh withstand the pounding uh back in the day but he's also got this his his separator is this handle he's able to get to where he wants to go with this ball handling like no other seven footer i'm trying to run my mind through the course of history to think if there's been a seven footer that could handle like he could. Now that's also, he's been a product of his era because it's been encouraged for, and it's the European kind of influence in the NBA and the American game. Big men shooting outside shots. Back in the day, if you were a Jim McDaniels from Western Kentucky, who averaged 30 a game in college, you get to the pros, you're soft because you shoot jumpers at seven feet. My at ucla richard washington the most outstanding player in the ncaa tournament 1975 28 against

louisville 28 against kentucky great jump shooter 611 he got to the league you're soft get your big inside pound pound it inside that's that's for the small boards and guards to shoot the jump shots so it's a different era and so there's there's more of a premium put on big men, the stretch forward that can knock down jumpers. So that helps him. But, you know, he just knows how to play, how to score. His finishing is so much better than I've ever seen it before this year. But his ability to handle the ball, to get to his spots.

And he studied defenders and knows how to attack angles and body position to draw fouls. Even though he's shooting 65-66% from the free throw line, a lot of guys would back off and get to the free throw line because of that. He embraces the challenge and gets to the free throw line even more.

Probably shooting more free throws this season than he's ever shot. That's his mindset. It's just different which I think would transcend any era and lead to success. All right. That has been our Mad Boosties Best of 2023 wrapped. Yeah. And we'll be back next week with all new episodes. And happy 2024.

I'm Keri Champion and this is season four of Naked Sports. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry. Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. People are talking

about women's basketball just because of one single game. Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's basketball. And on this new season, we'll cover all things sports and culture. Listen to Naked Sports on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio apps, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Black Effect Podcast Network is sponsored by Diet Coke.

I'm Keri Champion, and this is season four of Naked Sports. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry. Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. Every great player needs a foil. I know I'll go down in history. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports. Listen to the making of a rivalry.

Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports. There's so much beauty in Mexican culture, like mariachis, delicious cuisine, and even lucha libre. Join us for the new podcast, Lucha Libre Behind the Mask, a 12-episode podcast in both English and Spanish about the history and cultural richness of Lucha Libre. And I'm your host, Santos Escobar, emperor of Lucha Libre and a WWE superstar.

Santos! Listen to Lucha Libre Behind the Mask on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you stream podcasts.