The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hoops Tonight - Olympics Reaction: LeBron is the GOAT, Steph takes over, Team USA in DANGER in 2028? | Hoops Tonight

Episode Date: August 11, 2024

Jason Timpf answers listener questions during an Olympic mailbag. Jason discusses why LeBron James' GOAT case is now better than Michael Jordan's, how Steph Curry got hot at the perfect time, and whether Team USA is in trouble for the 2028 Olympic Games with LeBron, Steph, and Kevin Durant no longer in the picture.   Timeline: 3:30 - Introduction 7:00- Have Lakers & Warriors front offices blown it? 9:30 - Will USA ever dominate Olympic basketball again? 15:15 - How can Team USA build chemistry before 2028 Olympics? 17:30 - Expectations for Anthony Davis next year 18:45 - Why LeBron & Steph work so well 24:30 - Best Olympic player for NBA team to sign 28:30 - LeBron is the greatest player of all time 34:00 - Should LeBron or Curry have won MVP? 35:45 - Should LeBron be Lakers PG next year? 36:15 - Issue if Jokic won Olympic MVP? (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.) #Volume #Herd   Follow Jason Timpf on social: https://twitter.com/_JasonLT https://www.instagram.com/jtimpf15/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Hope all of you guys are having a great day. I've got a dozen Team USA basketball questions for us to go through mailbag questions for us to hit today. You guys know the drill before we get started. Subscribe to the Hoops Tonight YouTube channel so you don't miss any more of our videos. Follow me on Twitter at underscore Jason LT so you guys don't miss any show announcements. Don't forget about our podcast fee wherever you get your podcast under Hoops tonight. And then keep dropping mailbag questions in those YouTube comments so we can keep hitting them throughout the remainder of the summer. Last little programming note before we start the show, I am recording this on Saturday.

Saturday the 10th, but I go out of town tomorrow morning, and I'm gone until the 18th. We're going up to the Pacific Northwest to kind of get away from the heat a little bit and relax, which I'm very much looking forward to. I do have new content coming out while I'm gone. I've recorded three, I've recorded the first three videos in our player ranking series, so those will all be releasing while I'm out of town next week. Don't forget that in those videos, I want you guys to comment if you disagree about a ranking and provide a basketball case for why you disagree, preferably as in as,

short a format as possible, because what I'm going to do is on that fourth player rankings video when I get back in town, I'm going to actually add a segment at the end where we kind of debate. I'm going to read your guys as mailbag responses where you guys tell me why you disagree. We get into the basketball. We'll have like a little debate segment at the tail end of those shows. So make sure you guys get that in there. But yeah, quick trip out of town when I get back, we'll finish the player ranking series. And then we'll be heading into the season.

had a little bit of a funny slash sad story in Vegas. I don't ever book a flight that is an afternoon flight on the same night that you have concert tickets because I had on Thursday a five and a half hour delay getting out of Tucson, which caused me to have to fire sale my dead and company tickets from a dingy bar in the Tucson airport, which was a huge bummer. As you can imagine, I wasn't in a great mood. But a valuable lesson, like, monsoon season. here in Tucson. We just get these like crazy storms that come through in the afternoon. And I,

uh, uh, I played with fire and ended up losing some money on it, is what it is. But thankfully, the very next day I had tickets again. And so my wife and I had a really nice day. Yesterday was actually my birthday. We had a really nice day in, in Vegas and celebrated and then went to go see dead and company that night. So thankfully I had two nights worth of tickets and, uh, just was unbelievable. John Mayer played the whole show without his left index finger. And like, you could barely tell the difference. And he's obviously my favorite musician, but I also think he's the best guitar player to ever play. And it was just a really cool experience to get to see him in a situation where, like, a primary physical, like, digit that he needs to play was out of commission. And yet he

still provided, like, the same type of experience that you've grown accustomed to getting when you go see him and dead and company in concert. It was really, really cool. It was a great birthday. It was great celebration. But very excited to get out of the heat for a little bit. But yeah, valuable lesson learned. If you live in an area where they have storms that come through a rainy season, don't don't be an idiot like Jason and buy concert tickets the same night as your flight or you could end up very upset in a Tucson International Airport bar. Anyway, let's get into that mailbag. First question,

is it fair to say when we look back on the final years of Curry and LeBron that we will strongly question what in the world these front-office are doing for Golden State in Los Angeles. My hope is that you guys have already kind of seen that. Golden State started trying to run this two timelines thing all the way back in 2022, and they've never gotten any sort of championship level contribution out of any of the young players. And in the meantime, Steph Curry and Draymond Green have both aged a certain amount.

Clay Thompson has aged a substantial amount, and now their title window is precariously close to being closed. And that was a move that they probably should have looked to make. years ago. And they would be in a situation now where, like, had they look to make those more aggressive moves in that 2022 campaign, they might have had a larger margin for victory in the Celtic series. They might have had a better chance to repeat in 2023. Just in general, the entire aura around the team might have been more positive. Not to mention the fact that Jonathan Kaminga, at that point in time, had multiple years left on his rookie contract. Now it's like

you trade for Jonathan Cominga, you have to max him. And we saw a report the other day that he's looking for over $200 million. And so that's the type of, you know, we're actually now on the other side of this where it's barely even a two timelines plan anymore. They don't really have a lot of options in where they can go. And I won't get into it right now in the mailback because I could just, you know, bitch and moan for an hour. But the stuff that the Lakers have done over the course of the last half decade is it's been a miserable waste of what LeBron James and Anthony Davis bring to the table. And so, like, I hope everyone already kind of knows that. But I think that Curry and LeBron being the two obvious best players on this team USA, I think are a strong indicator of just the top

end talent that they still present to both Golden State and the Lakers. And I'm hoping that that drives some amount of aggression from those two front offices, quite frankly, because I want to see them play in other big games. I really hope that today against France is not the last. time I get to watch Steph Curry and LeBron James playing a big basketball game. Wouldn't that be a huge bummer? And like they're both right now. I mean, I think the Lakers, if they stay really healthy, could potentially be in that, you know, four, five, six range, but they could be a playing team. I think the Warriors team is like right around that same area, if not a certain playing team. So like that, they're both of those rosters are not good enough to win a championship right now.

And that's just a real bummer. And I'm hoping that they can address that before the deadline. Next question. Is it possible that this is the last time the United States. dominates in the Olympics. With the talent level of the world rising and many of our greatest players being most likely to retire, how do we fare moving forward? What's the potential team? First of all, I mean, we didn't dominate this year. And that is a reminder of just how close these teams are. The reality is, like, Team USA is still a sizable margin better than everyone else. But any single game sample size, there's variance. And that gap is closed to the point where now it's like, you know, USA plays a bad defensive half. Serbia shoots really well. And

suddenly it's like neck and neck and anything can happen, right? And so I think the days of Team USA dominating are over just simply because of the fact that single elimination, the gap is too small now. There's enough variance that there's going to be a close game in there. I mean, hell, France was within three with three minutes left before Team USA pulled away. As for 2028, I am concerned, though, mainly just because the young guys weren't really able to flex their muscles on this stage the way the old guys are and like have been. And Steve Kerr gave these guys plenty of burn. Like, I've seen so much talk like, like, uh, Steve Kerr has made this Olympics about Steph LeBron and KD or that the old guys are just like getting all the shine. It's like,

no, no, no, they're taking the damn shine. Like, they're, yeah, you're right. Like, Tatum got some DMPs here in the Olympics. You know what else, though? He was subbed in in line shifts for all the exhibitions and he wasn't playing very well. Like, all of these guys got extended burn, extended opportunities to show how they fit. And certain guys played well, certain guys didn't. You know who are the three guys who played the best that deserved to float to the top were KD, Stefan LeBron. They earned the burn that they got.

They earned the opportunities that they got. It's their consistent impact winning in ways that extend beyond even shot making that allowed them to be on the floor as consistently as they had. And they made shots. And so again, like I think I think the concerning part is that when we got into these high-stakes basketball environments, we just didn't get a lot of consistent contributions. from some of the younger guys. Now, the potential team, it really just depends on, like, the health of some key guys.

Like, if Anthony Davis at age 34 is, like, healthy and ready to go, that'd be big. Because the front line is where I get concerned. Like, it's the losing of a big, strong forward like LeBron James, could be detrimental for a team that has a lot of thin guys on the horizon, a lot of guards on the horizon, right? If Anthony Davis can come back and play, and you can have something like Jason Tatum, Anthony Davis, bam out of bio, Jalen Brown.

That's still a pretty formidable front court. But like, is John Morant going to be on this team? That would be interesting, right? Like, is Devin Booker still going to be on this team or is he going to be too old at that point? We'll see.

Anthony Edwards, is he competing for the best player in the world at that point? The main thing is, will Team USA have the physicality to hang against these bigger European teams? And a lot of these American players are not as physically imposing, and the older group is starting to phase out. And so that's the main piece.

I think a lot of key guys, like Jason Tatum suddenly becomes vitally important. I've seen all this talk about, like, oh, is Tatum going to boycott the Olympics because he didn't play? I love, God, I hope not, they're going to need him. Like, Jason Tatum, here's the thing. Jason Tatum wanted a good fit on this team because he couldn't shoot. You went 0 for 16 on jump shots in all the exhibitions combined with the actual Olympic tournament games.

as a result of that, he kind of had to function more as a big, and Bam and AD are better at being bigs than Jason Tatum is at being a big. When Jason Tatum has his jump shot, and he's like actually a normal functioning perimeter player, he becomes a very useful player. And I do believe that this Tatum stretch is just a glitch. I think it's just a random extended slump that he's in. I do think he's going to fix it. And I think that he's going to be fine in the long run.

And if he is in 2028, he suddenly becomes a vice. vitally important player. But I really thought it was just a simple decision from Kerr from the standpoint of like, this guy can't shoot right now. I'm better off going with BAM and AD. And I really think that's all it was. I think if Tatum had shot the ball better, I think he would have gotten a considerable larger opportunity to play in the actual rotation. But he's going to be vitally important. Jalen Brown becomes vitally important because he's one of the more physically imposing wings. And really it's going to be about decision making. Like the way that Steph and LeBron KD were able to out-execute teams in the half-court at the end of games, whether it was

spamming a LeBron-Stef two-man game against France or it's, you know, the the given take that LeBron, Steph and KD demonstrated at the end of the game against Serbia, timely transition attacks, good off-ball action for Steph, like trusting KD in key situations. As long as the Anthony Edwards, Tatum, Jean-Morant trio can kind of like figure that out, then they should be fine. But I would say, it's hard to tell too because what are the other Fibah team's going to look like? Is Yokic still playing at that point? Is Rudy Gobert still playing at that? There's so many different

angles that make that complicated that Germany team could be really, really good at that point when Franz is in the heart of his prime, right? Like Victor Wenamah could be a world beater at that point. There's so many different variables at play. So it's too early for me to

project what's going to happen in 2028. But like, I do think that the team USA team that we feel in 2028 will be substantially more vulnerable than this year's was. I think that goes without saying. Next question. What can Team USA do in the future to get consistency and allow for guys to have chemistry before Feeba play?

I'm worried about 2028. So it's just impossible because of the various commitments that these guys have. These guys are all their own business in and of themselves. And so it's hard to get them to play in the three off years, right? There are a couple of different things. You could try doing a camp. That might be something worth looking into. I think they actually do something like that already.

But the main thing is, and the reason why I pulled this question, I actually think the answer is pretty simple. The Team USA decision makers have to be very, very particular about who they bring from now on. It was the stars that dragged it home for Team USA this year. It was Steph KD. and LeBron, right? But you don't have that type of star power in 2028. So I do think at that point it becomes vitally important to have star role players involved. I'd be extremely picky about lineup construction and be willing to bring guys that aren't necessarily big names,

but that are like professional role players, guys that make their living doing the dirty work. Because when it comes to that chemistry piece, and we're going to talk about this a little bit more with LeBron and Steph here in a minute, because I had a specific question about it. but there is a like a earned chemistry or like a that's like the continuity piece. But then there's also like a natural organic chemistry that can happen between basketball players. And so when you don't have the continuity from year over year consistency, then you have to have that natural and organic chemistry. So you need to get, you need to have it streamlined to where you have some stars who like playing without the basketball.

You have guys that specialize in playing roles. You have a clear hierarchy so guys aren't fighting over the basketball. You have to try to craft a situation, a basketball situation. And we'll kind of take a closer look at that when we get to 2028, because that'll be a much more fun roster to try to put together in the summer leading up to it. But I think they're just going to have to be way more picky about who they include on that team and try to make sure they bake in as much natural chemistry as possible. What are your expectations for Anthony Davis coming into the 2024-2020-2015-MBA regular season?

top 10 player, defensive player of the year, MVP. So I have super high expectations for Anthony Davis. I will just warn you guys right now, I have him super high in my player rankings. And I am just a huge belief. I think he's been playing at a borderline MVP level, basically this entire calendar year. I thought he played Yokic to a standstill in the first round series, which is not hard. That's the best player in the world, in my opinion, that Anthony Davis went punch for punch, blow for blow with. and arguably outplayed in the first round series.

Like that was, that's how good I think Anthony Davis is capable of playing. So top 10 player, yes. Defensive player of the year, media is never going to give it to him because they don't like the Lakers. MVP? I don't think that's something that he has a real chance to get, but I'd love to see Anthony Davis get a top five MVP finish. That would be something that I think would be a strong indicator of just him putting 70 plus games in at the level that he's been in at 2024. I think that's something that he can do. And if he does, if AD plays 70 to 75 games and plays the way he did in this calendar year,

the Lakers will be a top four seed. And it will be a team that's good enough to put Anthony Davis in MVP contention. I don't think he can win MVP, but I do think he can get a top five finish. And I do think that's something that's on the table for him. Next question. What does this Olympic finals performance mean for Steph Curry in top 10 all-time conversation? Also, why do you think Steph and LeBron have such a great understanding of each other on the floor when they've always been rivals for much of their careers. So that last part,

I want to hit that first. The reason why LeBron and Steph so naturally played together, it's two things in my opinion. The first piece I talked about extensively in the instant reaction to the gold medal game. It's all about the fact that LeBron and Steph both do very different things. So when you deploy LeBron and you deploy Steph, they accomplish different goals, which then piece together to make even easier roles for all of your teammates, right? So that piece of it is the first part. They're just very complimentary in their skill sets. The second piece of it is that organic and natural chemistry that I was talking about.

One of the things I've noticed, when I play with people that I haven't played with before, when they are smart basketball players, it's easy. When they're guys who don't know how to play, it's hard even if I have a long time to play with them. A huge portion of it is that natural chemistry. LeBron and Steph are two of the smartest basketball players of this era. So of course they figured out how to do it immediately. That type of chemistry is the type of chemistry Team EOSA needs to hunt down

in order to increase their margin for error in 2028. What do you rank Tatum in the NBA after this Olympic run? Guess you'll have to watch the player rankings videos which are going to come out starting next week. Preparing for your upcoming fantasy football draft, do you wish that you could wave a magic wand and somehow know who exactly your league mates are going to take? Well, with draft Intel from fantasy pros,

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Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano and our podcast Point Game is about defining the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what.

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And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He run up the court, licking his fingers while he got the ball. Like, after you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Oh, yeah. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hey, everyone. It's Ryder Strong and Wilfredel from PodMeets World. And now the PodMeets Twirled podcast. We're two men who were completely clueless to reality TV, who now have covered Dancing with the Stars, traitors, and we're gearing up for the season finale of Survivor. So yeah, now we're experts. I know we annoyed a lot of our listeners by our severe lack of survivor knowledge. That is the point of the show. I'm just going to remind you.

I have watched some Survivor. I obviously haven't watched enough. Did people not like it? Like what was just because we? Yeah. We'll be recapping the big conclusion in the 50th season from the final attempts at gameplay to the desperate pleas of finalists to a bunch of ha, hoo. Ha ha, ooh.

Again, we are experts. So make sure to tune into PodMeets Twirled for all our Survivor 50 takes. Listen to PodMeets Twirled on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, I'm Jared Adano. You might know me as that loud guy who yells out, help on the internet. Help! Somebody!

Please! But there's so much more to me than that. I'm an actor. I'm a comedian. And recently, I've become quite the helper myself. And on my new podcast, Hope from a Hypocrite, I'll be changing lives,

helping people in need with my sage advice and thoughtful solutions. Sike! I'm a comedian. I'm not qualified to give good advice. Join me and my comedian. and friends as we riff rant and recommend some of the most legally dubious advice known to man. If I'm calling you, even if you're on your phone, let it ring twice.

One ring is too scary. Oh, cream a chicken suit. Hey, cream. Cream a chicken suit. This is Help from a Hypocrite, the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from Hypocrite as part of the MyCultura podcast network available on the I-Hart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, it's Edwin Castro, also known as Castro 1021. And I'm Kunky, his best friend, and business manager.

And we've got a new show called The 1021 podcast. I'm taking you behind the scenes on how I became one of Twitch's most popular streamers. We also love sports. And with the World Cup right around the corner, we'll be breaking down the biggest storylines ahead of the big tournament here in the USA. Listen to the 1021 podcast on the IHeart Radio. app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to the Pacific Northwest, Mr. T.

Who is the best current non-MBA player who played in the Olympics that NBA teams can sign? Maybe someone from the South Sudan team or Yabuselli. I think, by the way, I love the Pacific Northwest. I cannot wait to get back up there. I am doing an Alaskan cruise next year, too, the couple of my friends. So that'll be three of the last four years that I've spent up in the Pacific Northwest. in the summertime. I absolutely love it up there. So Gwreshañabuselli, I think, is a guy that absolutely can play in the NBA. The big thing I think about with him is like every backup

center that you see in the NBA kind of looks vaguely like Gwarshan Yabouseli, where it's like, yeah, if you have him defending in a drop coverage, he's going to struggle. Like, he's going to bring a ton of defensive limitations, but the dude just play super damn hard and has a lot of positive impact in the, in just his motor and his size and his strength and his athleticism. So I look at him as like two potential things. Like do I think he could play backup center for a really athletic bench group? Yeah. The other thing too is he kind of plays that big forward position. Like he'd be an interesting guy to add to a team just to have a body, a big strong body to bang with a Nicole Yokic so you can put your center behind him or something

along those lines. Like I think he just brings a lot of really valuable basketball skill, especially in big games. And so I think he could be a guy that could play. Wenian Gabriel was a guy from South Sudan, who, by the way, has played in the NBA, who, like, is just a, uh, the opposite version of Gorshanya Abu Selle. The Gorshan Yabouseli is more of the offensive-minded backup big, but I look at the, that waning Gabriel is the exact same thing as more the defensive-minded kind of guy. Um, and like, he just brings a ton of energy on the glass and runs the floor in transition. He's another guy that, like, I've seen him play next to Anthony Davis at the four, and there's a lot of layered athleticism benefit there.

Mary Al-Sheach shot the ball extremely well. There's always an appetite for shooting in the NBA. I think there are a bunch of guys like that. The reality is, though, and this is something that I've seen a lot. I've seen a lot of people say things like, oh, how did Team USA barely win the gold when they have all this NBA talent, blah, blah, blah. The gap between NBA players and the lower-level pros is smaller than ever. It just is.

The entire basketball world is getting better. the gap between all levels is shrinking as just we as we just get better at playing basketball. And so like, I think that there are a lot of guys that played in that tournament that are 80, 90% of what an NBA player is and they're just not quite good enough to be part of that 420, for that 450 players, right? And like, that's to me is what makes it so, like, I always talk about on this show, like, I have a certain responsibility to be critical because that's just authentic. Like I can't only compliment people without being critical or vice versa. At that point, I'm just a propagandist, right? But I always feel a little bit uncomfortable when I'm criticizing

NBA players because they've accomplished something that is something that every basketball player dreams of accomplishing. Like every one of you guys played in high school, played in college, like there was always at least a small part of you that was like, man, it would be really cool if something went differently and I made it to the NBA, right? Like, we all have that aspiration. And yet only 450 people get to do it. And so when you get to put that jersey on and you check into an NBA game and you actually get to play, it is such a remarkable accomplishment. And I think that seeing how many really truly great players are not playing in the NBA is just another reminder of that. It's something I've been aware for a long time. Obviously, I am friends with and work out

with a ton of people who play overseas and guys who play at the high major college level. Like, that's the amount of talent that exists in the basketball world is incomprehensible. And it's just a reminder of what makes the NBA so special. And that's why we're fans. And that's why we love watching the games. And that's why I love talking about it on the show. People always say peak over longevity for LeBron and MJ. When they explain peak, it always goes back to Jordan winning six rings.

In terms of level of play, 2018, LeBron reached the highest command of the game ever. Does that not make his individual peak higher? LeBron is the goat. So a couple things. First of all, I agree that 2018, LeBron, is the best basketball player that I've ever watched in any individual moment in time. The main reason why for that, too,

is I just tend to think that players are always getting better. So I think there will be a version of Victor Wenbinauma that we see in, you know, potentially in 2030 or something like that, or maybe some other player in the future where we're going to look back and be like, this is the best basketball player. that has ever taken the floor in an NBA game. I don't think LeBron is like some random peak in player history, and then we're going to dip back down,

and LeBron will always be the goat. I think we're always getting better. 2018 LeBron was one of the best athletes in the league. Remember, that was the year that he had that dunk on Nurkitch. Like, he was still, like, at his peak athletically. He was the best passer in the league. He was a deadly jump shooter, had incredible footwork in the mid-post. He had just ridiculous scoring moves.

And what do you have, eight, 40-point games in the, playoffs, dominant defensive player, dominant rebound. That was the best basketball player that I've ever seen. The reason why I had MJ as my goat before then, I should say before this particular show, is you can't judge a player based on what the future holds. That doesn't make any sense. Like, it doesn't make sense to judge LeBron up against 30 years from now what that, what the technology would look like in terms of health and in body management and a surgery for injuries and all the different things in the future. Just the way the game is played. We'll just be better at playing basketball in the future, right? Like, it doesn't make sense to judge that. M.J. was so

ahead of his time. He was so ahead of the curve that he was so dominant that no player was even considered in the same tier as him. And they won six titles and eight tries. So like, I still think that that's the most dominant stretch that we will ever see from a an NBA player. I don't think we'll see, I think the league is too deep now. I think the teams are too good. I don't think we'll see a player truly separate himself. And maybe that'll happen. And it's very possible that when the dust settles on the NBA, if it ever settles, that MJ will still be considered the most dominant player, right? But that dominance for me for a long time superseded any of the LeBron longevity stuff. But here we are in 2024. And Grant Hill was able to

to call 39-year-old LeBron James and ask him to bring it in the summertime and not just bring it, but to play a massive role. And LeBron came in and crushed that massive role in one MVP of the tournament at age 39, damn near about to turn 40. It's insane to me that the same player that was drafted over 21 years ago.

That as soon as 2006, he was taking that Detroit Pistons team. Mind you, the same Pistons team that won the title in 2004 and came close to doing it again in 05. He took them to 7. One year later, you beat them and went to the finals. Then 17 years after that, Grant Hill was able to call on him to lead a basketball team, and he did.

on the biggest stage in world hoops. I can't argue that anymore. If you were starting a franchise tomorrow and you could pick any basketball player in the history of the game from their rookie year to lead your team, you take LeBron 10 times out of 10, and at that point, that just makes him the greatest basketball player to ever play the game.

The longevity is extended too far. The reliably great basketball that he consistently brings every time there's a big game, it's still going. It's still going. I can't argue it anymore. Is MJ the most dominant basketball player compared to his peers in his era? Yes. I don't think, as I mentioned earlier, I don't actually think that's even a situation we could recreate without depth, with how much depth of talent there is in the league. but the greatest basketball player

to ever play the game, the guy that you would pick every single time to start a franchise with from day one is LeBron James. And, you know, if this ends up being the cherry on top of his career, I hope it's not. I hope he gets to play in more big games.

But if he gets to put a cherry, if this is the cherry on top of his career, it's a pretty damn good one. Age 39, most stacked Olympic field ever, over 60 NBA players playing for other teams. and he was MVP of the team. I will also say just even as a fan,

I've rooted for LeBron through a lot of games, a lot of wins, and this was top three or four for me in terms of LeBron moments. Like, I just, I loved watching him play with this team. It was so much fun for me. Who should have won MVP, LeBron or Curry? So I talked a little bit about this yesterday. I thought LeBron had the best case to win MVP, but I also thought Steph Curry had a case to win MVP.

LeBron impacted winning more than any other player on Team USA during the Olympics. Curry hit most of the big shots towards the end. Those are the two cases. You don't win the tournament without either of them. You need them. So, like, I don't really care. I thought LeBron deserved it, but if Curry had gotten it, I would have thought that was completely acceptable.

Warriors fans who think Curry should have won it, they're not wrong necessarily. That said, I know LeBron and Steph don't care. all they care about is winning. That is why Curry allowed or asked Kevin Durant to join him in Golden State. That is why LeBron is the kind of guy who, like, in a big moment, will let Kyrie take the big shot or let Steph Curry go when he has it going. It's a big part of ego.

In order to win, you have to let go of that. What if LeBron had tried to co-opt possessions away from Steph at the end of the game when he was on his heater? That would have been bad for the team, but he doesn't care. He just wants to win, right? Curry could have earned more in the court of public opinion if he ran it back against LeBron in 2017 without Kevin Durant. But he didn't care. He just wanted to win.

That's what has allowed those guys to win eight of the last 13 NBA championships. So like, yeah, LeBron should have won, in my opinion. Curry also had a really good case. As I said yesterday, let the kids argue about it on Twitter. That's an argument for other people. I'm not really interested in it. Do you think LeBron should try to be the full-time point guard on the Lakers again, like 2020?

Yes, but it requires a certain level of offensive talent. In order for LeBron to operate the way he did for Team USA, you need to have high-level players flying off of screens. And so that's where it gets tricky. Like if adding Dalton Connect to the situation as a movement shooter can help, if DeLo is willing to work more off the ball, I think there's a lot of benefit that can come from that, but it requires high-level offensive players. again, I'm not really worried about the Lakers on the offensive end at all. They just don't really have a player that can play both ends of the floor other than LeBron and AD.

That's the main issue. Would you have had an issue with Yokic winning Olympic MVP? Yes. For the same reason, I would have an issue if LeBron won MVP in the 2015 finals. I think it's okay for us to talk about how great Yokich was, and I do think he's the best player in the world still, and I thought he was the best player in this tournament. But MVP goes to the winner and Team USA won. I don't think LeBron should have won MVP in 2015.

I think Steph should have. So, like, yeah, I'm a huge Yokic fan, but yeah, like, I think giving him MVP would have, again, winning has to mean something. And it's a prerequisite, in my opinion, when it comes to MVP. All right, guys, that is all I have for today. Very much looking forward to a little bit of a break. I hope you guys enjoy the beginning of the player ranking series. I'm excited to argue about it with you guys when I get home.

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