The Matt Thomas Show with Ross - ESPN NBA Analyst Tim Legler Joins the Show

Episode Date: February 20, 2026

ESPN NBA Analyst Tim Legler Joins the Show

This is 1231 on Sports Talk 790, the Matt Thomas show with Ross. I'm here in New York City. Ross back in Houston, Rockets and Knicks tomorrow night. You can catch the game right here on 790, beginning at 730. If you are watching on television, you will see the game on Channel 13 ABC, where the man will be calling the game alongside Mike Breen. He'll be with us now. A first-time guest to the show, and I mean an absolute no-brainer when ESPN decided to make a change in their booth to have Tim Legler as a number one game caller.

Tim, it's Matt and Ross. Thank you so much for coming on. Legs, how are you this morning? And thanks for joining us. Hey, I'm great. How are you guys doing? I'm doing very well. I'm looking forward to tomorrow night, man. Madison Square Garden, Saturday night, ABC primetime, Rockets, Knicks, doesn't get much better than that. I'm looking forward to it. Yeah, for sure. I want to say, first of all, I'm so happy that ESPN made the decision.

I thought you and Scott on the Sports Center at night really had a terrific chemistry. Take us through that show because, look, your parent network is so good at so many things, But some things people go, I can give it or take. But that dichotomy of the sports center with Van Pelt yourself and you were doing it was kind of almost like must-see television after any big NBA sporting event. Well, I think, you know, we really hit our stride because Scott and I have known each other a long time. We have a great friendship. So our chemistry is pretty natural.

And what we were able to kind of provide was that breakdown. That breakdown with touchscreen, illustrations, is trying to make people smarter what they just watched, became very, very popular. A lot of people connected with that because, you know, the game ends, you want to find out. And I think what I try to do every night and sitting there watching the games with Scott

and then knowing I'm going to go on the air was I was always trying to find, you know, that nugget, hidden nugget within the game that I knew was, like, really important to why the outcome happened the way that it did. And maybe people watching didn't know it was that important. And that's what I was always trying to look for. Scott was the perfect person to, to sort of find that with because he loves basketball.

I mean, he's an incredible studio host that has to cover all sports, but that guy loves basketball. And so those segments, I think, kind of brought that out. Two guys that love hoops, that love talking about the game, and we're able to sit down and break it down afterwards and make you smarter. Tim, I love basketball. I'm the proud voice of the team. You have been in the league as an analyst as a longtime NBA player yourself,

and we were talking about this very early in our show today. for as wonderful as the sport is, and this could go for a major league baseball, go for the NFL, there are so many extra things outside of the sport itself that gets a lot of attention, primarily on the social media streets. And I mentioned this last night

as I was in Charlotte calling the Rockets Hornets game. When you get in the arena and you watch Kevin Durant and you watch Concanipal and you watch Brandon Miller and any other Rockets, when you sit down and don't focus on labor or resting, or tanking, it's still a wonderful game. Do you still find yourself having to battle the separation between the 94 feet and then stuff outside the business of the NBA?

Yeah, look, those topics are always coming up, so you're always kind of forced to address them and talk about them. But the bottom line is you're right. And sitting courtside, you still see it every night. Like when you're sitting there calling a game, you can still see every night how hard these guys are playing, how much they care. there are other problems, like larger picture problems sometimes with maybe load management or player availability. You know, star players being hurt.

There's a lot of injuries to star players. And that really dramatically affects our product because those are the guys that you're dying to see. Those are the guys that really kind of change in the game. And when they're not there, it is a different product. So, and then the tanking, obviously, has been a lot of talk here recently about that. Adam Silver's trying to get control of that, figure out new measures to control it. So all that stuff is always kind of going. going around in the air and in the surface and you're trying to kind of work your way around it.

But when you get to the game and you're watching these guys play and you're watching the talent and the skill and how hard they play, if you love basketball, that is a basketball fan's dream. And I still think this time of year now, after the All-Star break, when everybody is just sitting there battling and trying to play as hard as they can for seating and, you know, play in situations. and you're trying to make your mark. There's a sprint to the finish. When you come out of the break, this is when the most intense basketball on the planet takes place. And that's what the area we're about to enter into right now.

There is no better time for basketball fan. Tim Legler from ESPN and ABC with us here on the Matt Thomas show with Ross, Rockets and Knicks tomorrow night on ABC. I have the last 10 years called James Hardin, and I've called Chris Paul Russell Westbrook. I'm just talking about the Houston players that I've had the pleasure of calling. But there's something different legs about. about Kevin Durant, 37 years old plus.

Last night, he's taking 20 shots. He's making 13 of them. He's 35 points for them against the Hornets. He's carrying this team offensively on his back. I know you're not supposed to be amazed by players because, hell, LeBron's been doing it for 20-plus years. But tell me about your particular thoughts about watching Kevin Durant, even in just the last five years.

He's a machine. And look, and I was watching the game against the Hornets, And I'm sitting there going during his time in the league, the number of years he's been in the league, which is approaching 20 years, there has been no more shot to me that is more automatic as a result than Kevin Durant going to his right hand for a pull-up jump shot. And you think how hard it is to be efficient when you shoot a lot of contested jump shots and you're basically a perimeter-based player, which he is, how hard it is to be efficient and get up into that 50% field goal range. The guy's done it for, I believe, 13 consecutive years. I mean, you go look at the best mid-range jump shooters in the history of the league.

You look at guys like Michael Jordan. You look at guys at Kauai Leonard. Their longest streaks of their career are like five, six years in a row. Kevin Rance is like 13 years, straight. And to be doing it at his age and to be that automatic, particularly going to his right hands, pull up 15, 18 feet with his length, the natural lean back, you know, the perfect shooting mechanics. you still marvel at it. And on those nights when he does it in the fourth quarter like he did against Charlotte last night,

it's still, you're still just, you know, it's awesome to watch. You really are kind of just watching this guy. You're going, this is one of the all-time great generational talents, and he can still do it at that level. And when he's able to put together a stretch like that in the fourth quarter, there's nothing you can do defensively to be able to stop that, because that shot is almost impossible to deter because of the area of the floor in which you're taking. taking the shot. You can't run out and take it out of his hands at the free point line.

He doesn't have to get all the way to the rim. 12 to 18 feet pull up. In a one-on-one situation, it's as automatic as it comes, and he did it again last night. So, you know, appreciate these guys. You know, Steph Curry, LeBron, James, Kevin Durant. You know, these guys, you don't know how much longer you're going to get to see him, but I think you need to just appreciate what you're taking in every night because they're one-offs, each of those guys in what they do. For Kevin Durant. That means contested, mid-range jump shots. Very few guys, handful of guys. In the history of this league, has done it as good as he does. Ross, with you here as well, Tim, in Houston. And on Kevin Durant,

we love him here in Houston. I'm a Longhorn fan. I love Kevin Durant. But I'm just curious your perspective, because there are some reasons to be a Kevin Durant detractor because of the burner stuff, joining a ready-made Golden State team, and now this even more recent burner stuff. How do you weigh all of that with somebody who is an all-time great? And right now, as we speak, chasing down Michael Jordan on the all-time scoring list. Yeah, look, I think for me, it's easy. I'm a basketball analyst. So some of the stuff that, with the burner accounts, some of the stuff you're going to see on social media, I kind of stay away from that. My job is to break down Kevin Durant to player.

And look, sometimes that does bleed over into locker room stuff or leadership or decisions that guys make in their careers when they change teams. And it's obviously part of my job. to comment on that. But when push comes a shove, I'm sitting down and I'm about to watch these guys play, I'm going to focus on what this guy is as a player and how unique he is and how talented he

is. And when it's all said and done, you know, there will be a time and place when all these things get put into perspective. Where do they rank historically when you're starting to put together these list top 10, top 20 players of all time? All of this stuff will factor into it.

But for me, in the moment, trying to appreciate Kevin Durant to player and all that stuff kind of keep to the side. I'm looking at him and what he does and the unique challenge that he represents for defenses. Continuing with Tim Legler here on a Sports Talk 790. I want to get your thoughts on him in Thompson, especially, you know, first team all defense, great defender and a blur in transition. But the thing that has been holding him back has been his jump shot. And I'm just curious you as a great jump shooter, your perspective on how,

How do you find or get somebody to find their ceiling as a jump shooter, especially young in their career? Because it's something we've said about Janice and maybe Russell Westbrook and other guys we can point to to say if that jump shot would get there. And sometimes that just doesn't come to pass. Yeah, I think, look, one of the things that Almond Thompson is going to be dealing with is the fact that he's so successful in other areas of the game. And really, still a very effective offensive player without how.

having to do that. Sometimes it requires guys being forced into it because their weaknesses are exposed to such an extent that now they're not even as effective offensively as they need to be to help their team win. It's not really the case with him. And I was watching it last night. He had situations where they clearly were determined not to rotate to him when they were trying to run extra traffic at Duran or Shangoon. And they're saying they're going to live with Amin Thompson catching the ball with 15, 20 feet of space at the three-point line and live at the results. and a couple of those he shot missed, they weren't particularly close,

but then there's other plays he catches it, and regardless of all the space, he still drives it down the gut, and he's so athletic that he can come to a jumpstop in the paint, you know, hang in the air longer than other guys, and still make a play at the rim, or make a pass from that position or put pressure on the defense.

So he's still able to be effective and put up actually pretty respectable stat lines offensively, even though that shot right now is a win for, the defense if he takes it. Very few guys have been able to pull that off. Normally, if you're exposed to that extent, it becomes a real problem and it becomes a dilemma for the coach to keep you on the floor. It's not the case with Amin Thompson because clearly you want his defense, but there's a lot of great defenders in this league that couldn't shoot that eventually they're taken off the floor because the weakness starts to overshadow what they are doing well offensively.

It's not really the case with Amman Thompson. He's still able to walk that line as a playmaker and a finisher around the rim and a rebounder and like the push he has up the floor in transition. There's so many things he can do well offensively without that. Now, if he ever figures that out and, you know, he just gets confidence and he continues to work on, you know, tightening up his mechanics and there's some things mechanically that he can work on, if he gets to that place, man, now you have an all-league caliber player. So we'll see.

He's very, very young. He's still having success, which hasn't forced him into addressing this, probably to the extent that he needs to. By all accounts, he's a grinder. He's in the gym. He works. So if that's the case, I think it will get there. And certainly he's already shown great dramatic improvement from the foul line. That's really important for him. But now the three-point shot would be the next thing. And maybe over time, next couple of seasons, you might see, you know, a pretty dramatic improvement there as well. Legs for a let you run. The West is a hot mess like it was. Last year, we found out that

being the number two seed was not going to give you guaranteed success with that seven-game series against Golden State. This is a long-winded question for you with a long answer. How do you size up the West? What can the Rockets do? I know that the Fred Van Fleet injury has been talked about a lot.

Stephen Adams being out for the year has hurt the rebounding. From a Houston perspective, what has to happen for the Rockets to really go after the OKCs and the Denver's and maybe not even San Antonio for supremacy in the West coming up in the playoffs?

Yeah, look, you know, you mentioned those teams, OKC, Denver, San Antonio, Houston's in the United States. mix. You're always going to have the Lakers sort of looming. You've got to Minnesota Timberwolves hanging there as well. It's been to last two conference finals. The West is loaded. It's a juggernaut full of landmines. All of these teams have had different stretches of the season where you start to look at their vulnerability. Oklahoma City has gone through that. They're 24 and 1. You're thinking,

oh, well, let's just play in the parade route. They're going to win another championship. Who's beating this team? And then all of a sudden, San Antonio shows up beats the three times in 10 days. and now everybody in the league goes, hey, wait a second, maybe they can be had. Maybe there is a way to get OKC. Denver's going through it right now. I mean,

and I think for me, the common theme with a lot of these teams is the lack of continuity with their top 10 rotation. And you look at what Denver's dealt with, even OKC, like how many nights I've watched OKC this year, and they're still like really good defensively

and I look over, and Alex Caruso and Luke Dortner's street clothes, and you're like, wait a second, these two of best perimeter defenders in the NBA, they're not playing tonight, and they still held some teams. until 102 points. But their depth hasn't really come to the surface because they're always missing people.

Denver is still going through it right now without Aaron Gordon. Peyton Watson goes out, just get Christian Brown back. You know, this is, Sam Johnson just goes back. So everybody has dealt with this lack of continuity. And as a result, they're still shuffling the deck to me in the Western Conference. I would still say OKC is the favorite. I think San Antonio and Denver are probably toe to toe as the next best challenger to OKC. And then I would put Houston just behind them because I need to see a consistent stretch out of the rockets where they run off eight, nine in a row.

And they're so consistent on both ends of the floor. And when you have this great answer in Kevin Durant offensively now that they didn't have a year ago, you take them much more serious. But the inconsistency and some of the stretches I've watched them play this year, you go, okay, maybe they're not quite there yet. So I would still say Oklahoma City is the betting favorite. San Antonio, Denver would be on the next shelf. Houston's just behind them. And now I think the Lakers of Minnesota probably hovering as well. Legs, great to visit with you.

Thank you so much for the time. You're a good luck charm because I think you've seen the Rockets once on Christmas Day, and that was a fun night in Los Angeles. So hopefully, history repeats itself for the local team. Thank you for the time. Safe travels to the city, and we will visit with you tomorrow. Thanks again for the time. We really appreciate it.

Yeah, my pleasure. Looking forward tomorrow night. Take care, guys.