The Herd with Colin Cowherd - What's Wright - Best Of - Lakers BIG MISTAKE with LeBron James, Jalen Hurts DISRESPECTED + Nick's Top 10 NFL QBs

Episode Date: July 19, 2025

Nick Wright reacts to a recent article detailing the ongoing saga between LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers. Nick breaks down why he believes the Lakers are making a massive mistake with their approach to LeBron this offseason as well as its impact on Luka Doncic. Later, Nick reacts to Jalen Hurts being ranked the 9th best QB according to NFL executives, coaches, and scouts. Is Hurts being disrespected after winning the Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles? Nick then ranks his top 10 QBs in the NFL including the Kansas City Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes, Baltimore Ravens' Lamar Jackson, and Buffalo Bills' Josh Allen. Lastly, Nick shares his thoughts on Kevin Durant's comments regarding Michael Jordan on LeBron's 'Mind the Game' podcast... and tells you why KD is right. #VolumeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas.

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you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the ice. Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Winning on Clay is an art. The rallies are relentless. And at the French Open, only the toughest survive. I'd know. I competed there for decades. Join me, Renee Stubbs, on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast for no-nonsense breakdowns of the biggest matches, the toughest players, and the moments that define Roland Garris. She can win.

She's an outsider to win the French fame. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lina Rubakina is arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on any service. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days I'd put on 10 pounds, I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to the best of the week for What's Right with Nick Wright. The best takes and moments from this week on the show. Enjoy.

The summer of LeBron continues a bit. And there was a very seemingly interesting. article written by Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst. That kind of set off a lot of conversation over the weekend. And it dropped, I think, Friday? Friday morning, yeah, we weren't on TV. And then there was a Dave McMiniman report, and then there was an article edit that I find the whole thing fascinating. So I'm not going to go through every single

stanza of this article, but I am going to go through it considerably because I actually, in credit to Chris Broussard, who on our first thing's first morning meeting just a moment ago when we were talking about doing this topic, he was like, how much of the audience do things actually read the article? I was like, oh, that's a good point, bro. So the beginning of this article is incredibly detailed about a May 3rd meeting at Craig's restaurant on Melrose in West Hollywood, a place I have been to, I think once in my life with my buddy Colin Cowherd, and where Ramona and Wendy, and this feels like Ramona's side of it, they're just because of the LA-based reporting, but I don't know, detail a meeting between

between Luca, Polenka, Reddick, and Luca's manager, Laura Beth Seeger, where we find out what doors they went in, what wine they drank, all of this. And it's incredibly detailed, and it talks about that meeting. But that is not what people are, people's takeaway, or the thrust of the article is. because the article's headline even, LeBron James Luca Donchich, inside the most delicate superstar transition in NBA history. So the reason for that scene setting it would appear is that Luca was at this meeting and LeBron was not, which I don't find odd at all personally.

because the Lakers first order of business this summer, and they treated it as such, was to cement and secure their relationship with Luca because they desperately need him to sign a contract extension this summer. Now, whether that's a four-year deal or a three-year deal, he can do four for two-thirty, two-twenty-three or three-for-160. The reason for doing the three-for-one-60s the article lays out is it might set up more money long-term and future deals.

But regardless, they need to make sure Luca's locked in and they need to do everything possible to get Luca locked in. And if I were running the Lakers, I certainly wouldn't be like, well, anytime we're meeting with Luca, LeBron has to be there. Because these are, the Lakers' attempt to compete this season is in one bucket. the Lakers playing over the next three, five, ten years is in another bucket, and both of those buckets necessitate a locked in, dialed in, committed Luca Donchich. So that is priority number one.

And I think LeBron understands that the single most important thing for the Lakers this summer is to get Luca re-signed. So I wouldn't have viewed that as scandalous. Oh, the Lakers had a meeting with Luca without LeBron there. But it was treated like it was in this article like it was a fork in the road where the Lakers are going down the Luca path rather than the LeBron path. And again, that is, it is incredibly logical. And anybody that thinks LeBron is put off or, yeah,

is bothered by the fact that the Lakers priority number one is making sure Luca is a Laker long term, doesn't know LeBron James and doesn't understand the way he views Luca and what he understands about the NBA. Now, it is absolutely fair to say, and then I'll get back to the article. that LeBron feels like, all right, while trying to get Luca locked up long term, we should try to win right now because we were the three seed last year, because I'm still playing at a undeniable top 10 level. Luca is going to go into next year as one of the three biggest favorites to win league MVP.

That's a team that if you make the right moves, can compete for a championship. but those two things, not only are they not mutually exclusive, they are not in conflict at all. There is nothing better for Luca's long-term future with the Lakers than him stacking awesome seasons with the Lakers starting immediately. So then the article goes on to discuss, you know, it talks about that LeBron released the statement. And again, I think the statement is worth, even though it's now a few weeks old, worth reminding people exactly what it said. We understand the difficulty in winning now while preparing for the future, is from Rich Paul.

We do want to evaluate what's best for LeBron at this stage in his life and career. He wants to make every decision he has left count, and the Lakers understand that, are supportive and want what's best for him. I looked at that statement as very clearly saying, listen, it would seem what's best for all parties is continuing this partnership and trying to win a title right now. But if you guys, for some reason or another, think that you either can't win a title right now or making moves to try to win a title right now while you still have LeBron James, at an all-N-B-A level is actually going to hurt your chances of winning multiple titles down the road with Luca.

Well, if that's how you feel and that's the road you're going to take, then we should discuss whether or not you want me to be a, I want to be a part of this and you want to be a part of this. That to me was very, very straightforward. And again, not scandalous. and I think the way most people, if they were advising LeBron James, would see it as well. And then the article gets a little confusing because it then just quotes anonymous Western Conference executives on their opinions. one Western Conference Executive chalked it up to an elaborate pout

because the Lakers hadn't offered James a new contract extension. More on that in a moment. Another Western Conference executive felt it was an attempt to pressure the Lakers front office to go all in on building the team this season and away from its strategy to keep the cap sheet as clean as possible for the summers of 26 and 27 after James's salary comes off the books. So I care less about the Western Government's

feelings and more about if that is the Lakers strategy that we are certainly out of the LeBron business after this year and we think we are going to

be better positioned to win titles by getting out of the LeBron business and using his $52 million on free agents, X, Y, and Z. That's an interesting opinion. I'm very curious what free agents they think they are going to get, and this is an important point here, because I don't know if you guys have noticed, but free agency isn't

what it once was in the NBA. And I'm not talking about second apron stuff. I'm talking about the fact that guys over the last decade have transitioned from letting contracts expire and hitting free agency to signing extensions as early as possible. And then if they want to leave simply demanding a trade. and the Lakers plan of, well, we're just going to sign. I'm curious again, who it is they think they're going to sign. Now, they're the Lakers. LeBron chose to save them after six years in the desert.

LeBron then greatly helped them get Anthony Davis. And then Nico Harrison gifted him Luka Danchich, that they were only able to get because they had Anthony Davis. But they don't have this cupboard of, when they traded for AD, they had multiple former number two overall picks and the number four pick of that draft they were able to include in that trade. That's not there. And I just don't see this, oh, my goodness, Janus is a free agent.

in a year, and if you have your cap sheet open, he'll pick L.A. So it's curious to me, but a lot of the moves the Lakers have made are curious to me. And then there's this. The Lakers had made their statement in not offering James a contract beyond this season. It was abundantly clear that the 21-time All-Stars time as face of the Lakers had for the first time a planned end date. even if James's record-setting NBA career did not. And this is where the reporting gets interesting to me. Because this, to me, feels Ramona's incredibly plugged in with the Lakers.

And for reasons I don't totally understand, and we've talked about, me not understanding it, Wendy and LeBron, if had something of a falling out, it would appear. and so I think it's safe to say the info on this is Lakers info. And then Dave McMinneman, who is pretty plugged in with LeBron and said he's, you know, was not, it was not quoting anonymous people close to him, was quoting Rich Paul directly. Dave McMinneman then reports during Summer League two days later, Oh, by the way, we didn't ask for nor want a contract extension. And then there is the other reporting, which is to me, interesting because the article initially said that when the bus family agreed to sell a majority stake in the franchise Mark Walter on June 18th, Donchich was given a heads up and notice.

notably posted congratulations on social media, LeBron James was given no heads up. The article was then edited, and it writes now, after the publication of this article, sources said James was notified of the sale via his representation, but he did not post any public acknowledgement. And then it has the part, then of course the coup de grace, the Lakers, by not offering James' extension, indicated they were comfortable having them on the rosters. expiring contract, a rare position for a superstar player of his caliber. So I don't, there is, there are pretty clearly at this point, it is a less than happy marriage.

And it's for reasons, and this is the part that I've spent a good deal of time thinking about, but I just can't totally understand why. And you might say, ah, LeBron is, LeBron's doing this. But here is, to me, a, like, a fair, and LeBron is obviously doing a lot of this, but is there reason for it? And are there reasons for the Lakers doing what they're doing? So let's just go through the blow by blow of it.

Is there a reason to believe that LeBron is not okay taking on a secondary role within the organization? Not that I've seen. What I saw was for four years, LeBron all but begging Anthony Davis to take the car keys, an AD, God love and future Hall of Famer, great player. couldn't quite do it and wasn't willing to do it. They then trade for Luca. LeBron correctly does not ask Luca to change his game at all. LeBron changes his game massively,

and all of a sudden turns into maybe the Lakers' best defensive player is far and away their best defensive player and arguably their best overall player in the postseason and greatly changes the way he's playing. While doing nothing but support Luca, who famously, LeBron's on the record that the only guy he ever tried or wanted to get to be a LeBron athlete wearing like the way Jordan has Jordan athletes at Nike, a LeBron spinoff sneaker was Luca,

a guy who, Luca, who modeled his game after LeBron, and was his childhood idol. So the idea that, well, these guys just won't fit, that has not been the case at all. And then there is the, well, we just don't think we can compete with these guys. I think that is a loser mentality. And I think it is beyond optimistic that again, if you simply remove the name and the age when talking about LeBron and say, hey, what is the likelihood over the next four years?

if the Lakers were to move LeBron, move on from LeBron, and they don't, they, this article talks about they don't want to trade him. They want him to just leave in the offseason, either into retirement or free agency for nothing. Who is the guy? How are they replacing second team all-MBA production? Where is that coming from? And why would they not say, right now this moment, we have something, an asset we're not going to have,

we're not guaranteed to have it all three years from now, which is two top 10 players. So maximize this window. I think that's foolish. But I also, if I were running, the Lakers wouldn't go three straight off seasons without making a single trade. If I were running the Lakers, there are a lot of things I would, not have done that Rob Belinka and the bus and rambus family have done, but that's what they've done.

And so I do, and I know this for a lot of you guys, not going to be surprising coming from me, but I do understand LeBron's side of the frustration. I don't understand the Lakers side of the frustration. and if it's that and if it's that well you know LeBron's a lot to a lot to deal with

yeah man every all time great athlete ever is a lot to deal with in one way, shape or form and people keep saying nothing tougher

than dealing with an all time great who's not great anymore and that's that's the part of this that I find so puzzling. It's almost as if the Lakers are frustrated that LeBron hasn't fallen off. LeBron, the Lakers post-Westbrook debacle, which obviously LeBron had influence on, have treated every year as if, well, LeBron's not going to be that good. and therefore it wouldn't make sense for us to leverage everything to try to win at this moment.

And then each year, LeBron shows up on the all-MBA team. Each year LeBron comes to work and gives you 25, 7 and 7, it's like, okay, what do you need? And now, like, I understand why LeBron might say, you know, I don't want to sign an extension because maybe I do want to hit free agency and then in my final year go back home to Cleveland or find a way to play with staff and under the new CBA,

me making $50 million doesn't make a lot of sense. And next year, there could be teams with some cap space more than the minimum that I wouldn't mind going to play for. I understand why LeBron might say, I don't want the extension. I don't understand why the Lakers wouldn't say, hey, you want to tack one more year on this?

So a lot of this is just, to me, more evidence that when the Walter family does come and take over and they do a true audit of the decisions and decision makers that the people in charge of the Lakers should be anxious. And I understand that all the reporting is Jeannie Busk and run the team for the next five years. Let's check back in four or in three and see who's running the Los Angeles Lakers.

And let's also check back in four or three and see if this cap space of 2027 played out the way they hoped it would. But I cannot imagine this article landed softly on LeBron's desk, where it is a lot of innuendo and a lot of, of Lakers, pretty naked Lakers personnel whispering in the ears of Ramona and Wendy about essentially how eager they are to get out of the LeBron James business. Me personally, if I'm trying to win NBA championships, I'd love having two top 10 guys on my team. It doesn't seem like the Lakers necessarily feel that same way. All right, folks, something special is about to happen in the Big Easy. UFC 318 is coming to New Orleans, and it's absolutely stacked.

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Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But, but. This one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band. Before Jonas Brothers was...

This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, people could call in and say, hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, hey Jonas. and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys.

Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier.

This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between, songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis. And I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs. And on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris. Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on clay.

Jenchian went. I mean, she went down to three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lena Rubakina is arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open.

Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of I Heart Women's Sports. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo.

Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs. the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls,

we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more,

follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. So the yearly top tens have come out. First off, we've got the quarter So executive coaches and scouts all vote on this. Patrick Mahomes, your guy was at number one. Weirdly enough, Jalen Hertz was number nine. Nick Seriano was asked about this and if Philly carried Jalen Hertz to the Super Bowl,

Siriani called BS. So what is this? Is this disrespectful? Obviously, Hertz has two Super Bowl appearances in the last three years. It's 37 and 10 in the last three seasons. What's going on with that? Justin Huron was phone? Yeah, so I do think it's disrespectful.

And I think that people have to be willing to move their opinion based on things that happen after you have formed your opinion. Like, it is totally fine, and this is maybe self-serving of me to say because I'm going to describe kind of my opinion evolution on Jalen Hertz. I think it is totally fine to be like, listen, there were times last season that I thought the weak link of the Philadelphia Eagles offense was their quarterback. And that can be, that was actually the exact, that exact opinion of mine, it was the subject of the, animated more than a little awkward conversation. I had the night before the Super Bowl, or two nights for the Super Bowl, one of them, with Jalen's mother.

When she confronted probably too strong, approached me. And I at first didn't, if you guys didn't hear the story, we were at a Super Bowl party. I'm standing there. a woman walks up and she's like, may I ask you a question? I said, yeah. And she was like, why do you talk so bad about Jalen Hertz? And then I'm like, well, I don't know that I talk bad about him.

And she's like, no, you do. And then, you know, I give my defense of my take. She comes back. And then about six, seven minutes into it. I say, miss, may I, may I ask you a question? She said, yes. I said, are you Jalen's mother? And she said, yes. And I was like, oh, boy, we're in a, we're in a trickier spot than I had thought. And one of the things that I said to her, I was like, listen, I just, I want you to know the things I have said and the things I haven't said, right? For good or for bad. I was like, and something I have said that I'm sure you would think is totally unfair,

as I did call him the weak link of the Philly offense. I was like, now, contextually, you should know. I did say that within the framework of they have a top three offensive line, a top three receiving core, and a top one, but top three running back. So if he just simply is not a top three quarterback, in that framework, he would be the weak link because everyone else is. But it, so it wasn't that I was calling the weak link of a bad team. However, I was saying last year that I thought.

they were going to get in a spot de Monzae when they had to throw the football and they weren't going to be able to throw the football like those that was and so that and I would have last year had Jalen Hertz pretty firmly outside of my quarterback top 10. I absolutely would have. I don't think it is at all contradictory to then say but then I why the NFC championship game and the Super Bowl and his performance in those two games by itself made me totally reevaluate and his consistent ability to play his best in the biggest spots, which is the most valuable trait a quarterback can have, made me reevaluate. And so I think people far too often get tied and married to their prior opinions.

Coward's the best at not doing this. And, you know, shamelessly is the wrong word. but almost like he he will have a adamant, strong vociferous opinion. And a week later, be like, change my mind. Like, and so. New information. Right. And that's what he said.

He's like, I got new information. And so, and I think that. So again, we've got to be careful about what we. said and whether so if I said and I did not but if someone has said I'm telling you this player will never be a top five quarterback then it is a little tougher you can still come back and be like I was wrong you know but it's a it's a little tougher I don't think people at this point are fairly evaluating Jalen Hertz based on his ability to play his best in the biggest spots.

And I think that that should, whatever credit that people want to take away from him, I think fairly because he is not a guy that over the course of a season, if you built the offense around Jalen Hertz passing game, I don't think you'd have an elite offense. And I do think that's fair to ding him for. I don't think that the negative credit he gets for that, what I believe is a fact, should outweigh the positive credit for the fact

that we've seen him now on two deep playoff runs. And you can't point to a single game on those two deep playoff runs. where you're like, ah, Hertz wasn't good enough for them to win. Hertz didn't do enough. Like, you just can't. And he had to go two years ago, toe to toe to with Patrick in a Super Bowl. He had the one fumble, which is why I thought Patrick outplayed him. But still, he played an A minus level game.

The offense scored 35 points. He accounted for four touchdowns. And then last year, He had to go toe to toe with Jaden Daniels in a playoff game when Daniels was the hottest quarterback in the league. Phillies offense scores 55 points. And then in the Super Bowl, he has the fourth and five pass down the sideline. Wait, I think it's the NFC championship game. He had the fourth and five pass down the sideline.

The Super Bowl was the kill shot start of the second half. He was great. And so go ahead, pal. So where would you have him? Like you, because you said you had them from the outside of the top 10 last year. With the information that you have now, where would you have them? So I have a, I've developed a new opinion on how we have to rank the quarterbacks. I don't think that it is fair anymore to say it's a big four and then we can debate after that.

that because so here's to me where I'm at going into and it can obviously change when a new season comes like the new season has to matter I believe the top three has to be in this order Patrick Josh Lamar I think that is the only because What is the knock on Lamar? And at this point, there's only one left. He does not play his best in the postseason. And I'm not going to harp on that. I think that is, you know, two years ago, folks were mad at me.

I was making too big of a deal of it. Last year, folks were annoyed with me. I was making too big of a deal with it. Going into this year, folks, begrudgingly without saying it's like, okay, yeah, Nick clocked this the whole time. that it was and he showed some different i was just about to say lamar didn't play badly though lamar played pretty well he might have had a rough first half but yeah rough first half the cost in the game but it was still i mean you're right it wasn't it wasn't as bad as some of the other

but again i this is what i'm what i'm about to say here is actually a defensive lamar my the point i'm making is this de montzae i do not think it is fair to penalize lamar so much for bad plus playoffs performances, that he drops beneath the player who has not been in the playoffs the last two years in Joe Burrow. Like, for all we know, Joe Kuhl had his Emperor as No Clothes moment with the playoff loss to Patrick Mahomes. And from now on in the playoffs, Burroughs just going to be a shaking shell of himself. But we haven't seen it.

because he hasn't been in the playoffs since then. Now, to be clear, I think the odds of that are almost zero percent that Burrow all of a sudden is going to freak out in the playoffs. My point is, you can't say Lamar playing poorly in the playoffs is worse than a guy not even getting to the playoffs. You just can't. And one of the other reasons that two years ago, I had Burrow ahead of Lamar firmly, was Lamar's injury risk. Lamar the last two years, aside from his annual bout with the flu. A little cold.

Lamar's been incredibly durable, and Joe's mistime and been banged up. So I think it has to, and the, I don't think I need to defend Mahomes being number one, but the argument against him is he hasn't had the last two years, gaudy regular season numbers.

The problem is anyone you want to put up against him, he then has played in the playoffs and thoroughly outplayed and beaten him. So it's not just his team is won. He has played better than Josh in both the playoff games the last two years.

He has played better than Lamar. So it's just not it's, Mahomes has to be one. I think Josh right now, do you, DeManzi, you're the Lamar guy. Do you think it's fair to have Josh too. Yeah.

Yeah, I do. I think it's fair. I think it's pretty close, but yeah, and then Lamar after it's, it's fine. And then Lamar three. And we just beat, be in the playoffs. Right. And last, you know, Josh won MVP, Lamar put of, you know, the, so I, that's where. So here's my point.

And the reason I said all of that. I think it is fair. if somebody says Joe Burroughs 4, by the way, I probably agree with them for the record. But if somebody says DeMonsei, Jalen Hertz is 4. And what you're losing in the prolific stats Joe Burrow gives you, you're adding in toughness, availability, the tush push, and huge playoff moments, and Joe's biggest accomplishment ever is being one-in-one against Patrick in AFC championship games, and Jalen's one-and-one against Patrick in Super Bowls.

So the point I'm trying to make is when you say it's a big four, you're saying you can't argue anyone outside of that top four is better than anyone in it. And I don't think you can make a credible argument. even with all the flowers I've given to Jalen Hertz right now, that Jalen's better than Lamar, Josh, or Patrick. I do think you can make an argument over Joe. And I love Joe, but he starts here slowly. He does have, now Jalen has this as well, obviously,

embarrassment of riches on the outside catching the ball. And I do think that there is a, he, probably has a... The fact that Josh, Patrick and Lamar are three of the most dynamic and successful rushing threats the position has ever seen has to count. And people might say, Nick, Patrick's not in that class. Not in the regular season. But if you look at quarterback career yards per carry, playoff yard, rushing, yards, playoff rushing touchdowns.

If you remove kneel downs, Patrick's right there. And he's had iconic, you know, so that he's kind of more tactical with it. Choosing. Yeah. Say it again. He's more tactical with when he chooses to run. Yes. Well, and I just don't, he's not as fast as Lamar.

No. And he's not as bruising and big as Josh. So he has to be more. So if you're, here is what my rankings would look like. if I were doing it. I would go one Patrick, two Josh,

three Lamar, four Joe, five Stafford, six Jalen Hertz, seven with an asterisk of it's probably too early, but I give it to him, Jaden Daniels,

eight Baker, and then it gets trickier. Did you say golf already? Did you say golf? You didn't say golf. I didn't say golf. I didn't say Harvard. This is a message that applies to 99% of you listening right now, because that's how many of you can be covered by fast and reliable service on the Boost Mobile Network with 99% nationwide coverage. And if you don't think you deserve a deal, listen up. You got another thing coming right now. When you switch to Boost Mobile, you can get iPhone 15 with Dynamic Island and a eight megapixel main camera for 99.99. That's $99 and 99 cents for iPhone 15 on a nationwide 5G network.

This may only apply to 99% of you, but I'm 100% positive. Boost Mobile just gave all of us a really freaking great deal. In store offer $35 device setup fee may apply requires credit qualification ID verification and activation on $60 plan. taxes extra 5G speeds not available in all areas. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, name? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas.

We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to a podcast. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about,

what we should call it. Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, people could call in and say, hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys.

Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL, late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform?

We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis, and I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs Tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris,

every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on clay. Jen Chinchin win. I mean, she went down in three, two, Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lerna Rubakina is arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on any surface.

Because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where SportsSlice comes in.

I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial people, calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered.

SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. This I meant to talk about last week and I screwed up and I forgot. But Kevin Durant was on mind the game with Steve Nash and LeBron. and he was talking about longevity and while we can just play it for you courtesy of our friends at mine the game

10, 12 years in I got four NVPs and four championships like but do I still want to do this shit you know what I'm saying because you know how it is some people say I'm going to go play baseball right and then I want to come back or some people say I'm going to go 22 straight

one of the lines in there is some people say i want to go play baseball and some want to play 22 straight and i i don't think this is a controversial or hot take guys and yet somehow and this is this is one of my and if you think about this it really will maybe reframe how you view some of the LeBron Jordan stuff which is

so of the myths that exist in NBA history the vast majority of them serve one or two purposes

either tearing down LeBron or building up Michael. So like in no particular order I think here's a myth that just

everyone believes, man the 1980s were just the peak of NBA physicality and tough defense. When in reality up until the 2020s,

the 1980s were the highest scoring decade of post-60s NBA basketball. Now, there were more flagrant-type fouls, but it was running gun high-scoring era. Another one, you know, on the flip side of that is, like one of the most just, up is down, black is white myths, is LeBron, great player, not that clutch.

When he has more playoff game winners, regular season game winners, all of that at a higher efficiency than any other superstar ever. Just on its face, incorrect facts. And the Michael Jordan quit the sport because of the tragic murder of his father, and therefore it's almost a third rail to discuss him walking away,

is just a myth. And the reason I know that, and the reason you guys know that, is because Michael and Ahmad Rashad told us in the last dance, if there was ever any question that, I don't know, know which episode of the last dance, but where Ahmad said, you know, Michael was telling me essentially for months that he was going to walk away. And now, if you believe, as I think is a totally legitimate belief, that Michael looked at it as, I beat the game. I did something no one's done

since Russell's Celtics. I have nothing left to do here. I'm not enjoying this scrutiny and this and all of it. And then if he was on the edge, the tragic murder of his father was like, all right, I need a fresh start on everything. And then it is even like so wildly impressive that he came back. And after half a season where they couldn't get it. done, he then rips off another three-peat, and that is part of his absolute legend. That's totally fair.

I shouldn't even just say it's fair. That's my opinion. I think that is a remarkable feat. But the number of people that think what Durant said was a hot take rather than an objective fact that is how we would evaluate literally anyone in any field ever, which is you certainly don't get extra credit for quitting the thing that we are grading you on. And Kevin Durant's point, not only was it not a hot take, it is damn near a tautology, which is if we are discussing the greatest career or greatest player in the history of the NBA,

and we say, well, one guy after a little more than 10 seasons, after a dozen seasons, said, okay, this is not even a dozen seasons. my apologies. I'm going to step away now after 10 seasons, pardon me, and then quit the game and then came back a year and a half later that that year and a half certainly doesn't help his basketball career because there was no basketball career. And that if at least in the consistent year after year after year excellence, the guy who never stepped away and played at a top one level as long as any player in the history of the league has,

a top three level longer than any player in the history of the league has, and a top five level twice as long as any player in the history of the league has, that that's at least a checkmark in that guy's column. Now, is that the whole column? No. Is that the only thing that matters? Of course not. But is that obviously true? Yes. And people saw it and were like, oh, my God. LeBron's brainwashed another one as opposed to,

what are you guys talking about? If Patrick Mahomes quit this off season to go play baseball and two years later came back and was awesome again, we certainly wouldn't say that time off helped his quest to catch Brady. And that's all Katie was saying. But because there's been so much mythology. associated with this person and this career, things that are just obvious in literally any other Madlib style,

remove the proper nouns and say, in Nick Wright's quest to be an all-time broadcaster, did the two years he took off to go try, to be a professional poker player before returning to his broadcast career, those two years, did that help or hurt his quest to be an all-time broadcaster? We'd be like, well, they certainly didn't help, probably hurt. And so it's just, it was very informative to me the way people got angry at that take when it's the most obvious take anyone's ever had.

That being excellent at something for a span of time with no break and no years you weren't excellent, that is a different type of accomplishment than being excellent, taking a year and a half off from it, being excellent, taking three years off from it, than being okay. Like, that's just obvious. So another take of KDs I agree with. How about that? Unbelievable. Hey, guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers.

I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it.

We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. but, you know, tired and sick, tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it.

Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform?

We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Winning on Clay is an art. The rallies are relentless. And at the French Open, only the toughest survive.

I'd know. I competed there for decades. Join me, Renee Stubbs, on the Renee Stubbs' tennis podcast for no-nonsense breakdowns of the biggest matches, the toughest players, and the moments that define Roland Garris. Jen, she's an outsider to win the French friend. And she likes Clay. Listen, Leonard Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now and actually can win on any surface.

Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documentation.

it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.