The Right Time with Bomani Jones - Danny Parkins on Knicks beating Spurs in game 1 of NBA Finals, Russell Wilson's Hall of Fame case | 06.04

Episode Date: June 4, 2026

In this episode of The Right Time, Bomani Jones and Danny Parkins break down why Karl-Anthony Towns might be the real key to a New York Knicks title run. Bomani argues that KAT has been the Knicks' best player in the postseason and explains why New York looks its most dangerous when the offense runs through Towns instead of falling into heavy Jalen Brunson isolation ball. They also get into how Towns' aggressiveness has changed the way people see him, why his effort level has been the biggest difference, and what this kind of playoff run could mean for his long-term legacy if the Knicks finish the job. Later in the episode, Bomani and Danny debate Russell Wilson's Hall of Fame case, including how much his Pro Bowls matter, how his resume compares to Matthew Stafford, and whether public opinion has swung too far against him after the Denver years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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One less thing on your plate. Actually, a lot less. Visit staples.ca slash preferred. That was easy. Wave. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the right time, a Wave Original. My name is Beaumani Jones. Thanks for listening wherever you get your podcast.

Thanks for watching us on. YouTube. Subscribe, like, rate us, review us, give us five stars. You only give us four stars. I'm inclined to believe you are a hater. It is Thursdays with Danny Parkins. Check out first things first on FS1. Brother, what's going on? Joe and Bo. Good morning. Carl Anthony Towns is three games away from being an NBA champion. Oh, okay. So we could get like straight to this. We can do pleasantries too, but like come on. Let's not bury. No, no, no, no, no. Like that's, it's not just that we're three games away from being a champion.

We're three games away from him not just being on the champion, but being the reason that they would be champions. So, Joel, I don't know why it is that Joel always come up with he ain't here, but this happened in a group chat with Joel. And, you know, Joel has this weird, protective thing about Carl because he felt like people would be a mean to him. Oh, right. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Probably were. Yeah, yeah, but they weren't wrong. But anyway. Anyway, he pops up with this thing about Towns, and he says something to me about how I have been offering Towns faint praise this postseason. And that's not true, right? I started the postseason saying that if the Knicks are going to win a championship, he had to be their best player. That that was their only chance. And they have gotten here because he has been their best player.

He's been their best player also weirdly enough on 20% usage. Like, it's not like he's been their best player because he's out here knocking down every buck. he's been their best player because once things run through him, you have this reminder. There's literally nobody in the league that can guard him except for number 32 on the Knicks. And the Spurs don't have anybody who can really guard him. Like Victor can guard him in the way that Victor can guard everybody

because you never know when the block's going to come. But Carl is so much bigger than him that if he gets by him by just a little bit, right? The shoulders are past him. There's nothing really he can do. And the Spurs, every other big man on the Spurs is as old as me. All of them, right? They're unplayably old, except for Luke Cornyett. Get the fuck out of here, right?

Like, like, this is not, you know, this is where they are. Carl last night, and he's out here, like, he ain't making all them stupid fouls, though he'll get you with a couple every now and then. He is calm under pressure, which is not something that I would have expected. So Brunson hit the shots last night or on Wednesday night. But I thought it was no question, man. The guy for them has been Carl. Undeniably, there was, this is a old reference, you'll get the point.

In the post-Jordan era Bulls, when they drafted Eddie Curry and Tyson Chandler, they were like, they're going to be our two bigs. And it's going to be the next era of Rape Bulls basketball. Scott Skiles was a real hard ass. He was their coach a couple years into Eddie Curry's career. And there was a question asked, like, why this big old seven-footer Eddie Curry was averaging like four rebounds a game? And the question was like, why, what could Eddie Curry do to be a better rebounder? and Scott Schuyall said, jump. And it was just like, like Carl Anthony Towns,

it honestly feels like, and he's been doing it for months, to be clear. It's just like he's playing with effort. He's playing hard. He's playing aggressive. Like his aggressiveness is now meeting his obvious skill level. And he just took it to Victor Wenbinoa last night from jump. Because Brunson was got obviously had the knee, get hurt, got dinged up, whatever,

was missing shot. Castle is a menace. Wembe backing him up. The whole thing. It's going to be tough for Brunson to have efficiency, even though the dude's fearless. And I'm sure we'll talk more about him. But Carly Anthony Towns just was getting around Victor Wembeyanamo with relative ease.

I'm sure it wasn't easy, but it looked easy because he is so crazy talented. And so much of the criticism of Kat has been effort. You know the story. Yeah. I love the 2018, you know, Jimmy Butler was like ultimately kind of his undoing in Minnesota. He calls out towns at practice.

He calls out Wiggins at practice. And he's like, give me the five, the four worst players on the team. And Jimmy Butler just talked trash to him the whole time and beat him, meet the starters with the backups. And basically clown towns in front of the whole front office. And then left to do an interview with Rachel Nichols. It was unbelievable. It was unbelievable. That's why Joel hates Jimmy and why Joel puts his cape off for Carl, which is the most backward logic of all time.

It's the most, of course. At the time, Butler was correct. Yes. But I'm seriously impressed by towns, and I can't even pretend like it's like a hot streak because he's been great for basically all season. Good for him, right? Yeah.

Look, I still contend that Minnesota traded Carl Tiles or Julius Randall. Yes, there were other pieces, but that was fundamentally what it was. Because both of them felt like you can't win with that guy. And the other team was like, yeah, we'll give it a try. We can't win with this guy. in Minnesota is stuck with Eeyore and towns wild up in a situation where they're not asking him to do that much. And when I say that, I don't mean with the ball. It's not some expectation that

he's supposed to be the guy that carries the franchise. He is one of many. Jalen Brunson, face of franchise. It's a bunch of nice kids, right, on that team. He fits very well within the dynamic that they have. They've got the right players to kind of mask some of his shortcomings. and his defense has gotten better, though that is like primary shortcoming and always has been. And so you mentioned the dumb fouls, right? Like he's always been a dumb foul guy. That did not happen in game one. I'm sure that will happen at some point.

Like he's not going to get defensive player of the year votes. But again, like if you're a good athlete at seven feet tall and you try, like there's a fairly high floor for what you can be as a defensive player. And he's a really good rebounder. Yes. When he tries. And that is how you close defensive possessions. So it's not like he has no utility as a defensive player.

He just needs to give a damn and he has been, man. It's a, I don't think he'll win finals MVP if they win it. But it's at least it's like, it's on the board. Well, the thing that I noticed when he got to the Knicks that I don't think I realized quite was that how good a passer he was. Yeah, he's skilled. Like when he first got, got to the Knicks and he was incredible at the beginning of year one. It tailed off by the end of the year.

But he was incredible. And I was watching that. And I was like, oh, this is what happens to everybody. You get your, like, you get a different exposure to him. And you're like, this guy could be the best player in the NBA, right? Now, if you dial back from that and just be like, you know what, this guy could be the best player. Look, if he ends up being the best player on a championship team,

that is rare air that you are in at that point. Well, and talk about a championship that is going to age well. Yes. Like if he is the best player or the second best player and the best big on a championship team that beat Victor Wampinyama, like my guess is in 2050, we will look back on Carl Anthony Towns and hold him in even higher esteem because of what he did. And then like you factor in. How about the Knicks winning their first championship in 53 years? Right, right, right.

Yeah, right. the historical significance of it. He'll be court-sided MSG for the rest of his life. Yes. Hall of Fame? Yeah. I mean, I think that might have gotten solidified just by them making the finals. I agree.

And I'm saying regardless of whether you think he's a Hall of Fame player, what are we talking about like six-time All-Star? I don't. And you make it to the final. That, that, it's kind of there. Right. Number one pick. Yeah.

Yeah. It's a remarkable career transformation. Like when he said he was the greatest shooting big man of all time, everyone mocked him. Yeah, but we mocked him not because it was and wasn't true. Why would you say that? Right, right. It's just like inviting criticism, inviting attention to a career that has felt largely like you were a huge underachiever.

So I really don't feel bad for the arrows that this guy has taken over the course of his career. But it is really a, it's a testament to like your narrative is never written in stone until you die. No, and also, like we got an episode coming up with me and Vinny talk about Dirt Novitsky. You win, all you got to do is win one. No doubt. Unless you're in the LeBron James Wilk Chamberlain. Sure. Rarified air.

Dr. J. Well, Dr. Jay only had to win one. She only got to win one. Right. We're not talking about Carl Anthony Towns as a top 10 player of all time when we are parsing greatness between like Hakeem O'Igian and Tim Duncan and Kobe Bryant. Right. Yeah. If you get the one and it's in New York and you rewrote your history and the basketball Hall of Fame is easy to get into, you're just going to be a Hall of Famer.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I'll tell you this, though, as it relates to the Spurs, they've got a problem. And that problem is they don't have a. playable big man. As of now, Victor is still tall man. And he has points at which he can get the

ball to the basket, but he's still tall man. Like I think the evolution of him is being an excellent high post player, but I'm not sure when it's going to get to the point where he can just get close to the basket whenever he wants to. And that's where they wind up with real issues there. This is a terrible matchup for San Antonio. That being said, A just couldn't buy a bucket at the end. I thought they took bad shots. I thought when they had decent shots, they missed them.

I want to say they shot something like, was around 30% from three or something crazy like that. Like this was not, this was, to me, game one was a game one in a lot of ways. And I think both teams go back feeling, can go back feel pretty good about themselves and their ability to kind of tweak this out. But San Antonio was not ready in the sense that nobody that you can

put on the floor is beat. Nobody. Yeah, they shot 36% from the floor, 26% from three. And Wemagnamil was 6 of 21 from the floor and 2 of 9 from 3. And this is overly simplistic. And I know he has hit absolutely monster 3s, the most famous being the end of game 1 of the Western Conference finals obviously. Like, he can do it. But you don't want him taking nine threes, not because he can't hit him because to me it's a fatigue sign. Like it is like he is settling a bit and playing, you know, three point line to three point line. And I thought he looked tired.

Yeah. And I know it's weird for someone like me to say about someone like him. But I, no, no, no, it was clear. I thought it, I thought it was abundantly clear that he was tired. And I think it's a product of his size, the Knicks physicality, the length of the series against Oklahoma City. the fact that he played 29 minutes a game in the regular season, so he's not built up for it.

There's a million factors. And now he's, I thought he was not going to be able to survive two overtimes of game one of the Western Conference finals. And he did and proved this wrong. And he was amazing in game seven on the road defensively in Oklahoma City. So like he'll find another wind, but he did not have it last night.

I would also make this point and I think it's important. No matter what the experience level is on the floor, And I bring that up to say the Knicks don't have anybody that's played on this particular stage. The Spurs have Harrison Barnes, right, as guys who have played on this level of stage. But still, it's a big difference between being 22 and 29. Every starter for the Knicks is between 28 and 31. All these guys out here for the Spurs, Champ Pipple is 24, Victor is 22. I want to say Vessel is 25. Castle is 21. Deerrin Fox, the old man of the bunch,

is 28. The Knicks have a bunch of grown men. The Spurs, not so much. So I think about that in the context of Victor and stamina where the stakes get up there, right? Like, he does a good job. He out there fucking around with the monks and everything else, right? Like, I think that he does have a certain calm composition to him. His post-game quotes sounded very mature at all of these things. but in the end, man, stakes ain't never been higher than they had been. Never been an arena that had been louder than the one that he had been in. All of those things. And that goes to, that gets into a fatigue place because you're so ramped up trying to play

this game. And the Knicks did not seem that. There was never a point to me where this felt like it was big. I'm not even saying too big because I don't think the moment was too big for the spurs, but the moment was very big for the spurs. Maybe there's something to the fact that they got all those guys that won, one or two national championships, right? Like they've played games that had states.

I was just thinking about the national championships. And listen, they've played in a lot of playoff games. Yeah. Like Jalen Brunson, I was looking at it yesterday before game one, Jalen Brunson has the most points in the playoffs, like in total and aggregate over the last four post seasons. Yeah. They've played in a lot of playoff games.

Now, they haven't hung a banner, which is why they've been disappointing. but these guys largely together have played in a ton of these games. I did think the idea that they had like, the Spurs had over-celebrated the Western Conference. I thought that was silly. Yeah. Because they beat the champs. They were going to the finals.

How many athletes have we heard like, hey, if they're giving out a trophy, I want to win it. Like that was the first trophy they had won together as a team. So I didn't think that their celebration of that was indicative of anything. And they were up 14 points in the third quarter. So I don't think that at all that the moment was too big. I don't think that they're going to panic after losing home court advantage or anything like that.

Like I expect them to come back and have a much better game two shooting from the floor. They easily could have won game one. But the Knicks didn't fold, man. Like I did think that there was a real chance that just these step up in competition for the Knicks to the Spurs and how much better the West was than the East. I had a lot more concerns about the Knicks ability than the Spurs going in. and obviously I was dead ass wrong. Yeah.

So one thing I would say, like, I would argue that the Nix actually have not been disappointing. They've had a climb, right, get to the second round, get to the conference finals. Like this collection of guys, even though this is the second year for towns, but he's still, I think, involved in this. This collection of guys has been making the climb, right, that we typically talk about with teams going to getting this far where they get to this point, they hit their head. Like that first year of Brunson was there, and I want to say they lost in the second round. They got a standing ovation.

and Madison Square Guard. I don't recall a standing ovation after they lost to the Pacers necessarily, but this one, these are the steps. This is where it is they're supposed to be. The Spurs skip some steps. And I think that the discussion around their celebration after the game, I agree with you, was silly. But it was interesting because in my mind,

I compared it to the Utah Jazz in 97 after Stockton hit that shot against the Rockets. And all those years, now they have been trying to do this for eight or nine years at that point. And all of those years just came out in that moment. It's Stockton, it's jumping up and down, and they come out there. But nobody was feeling like, oh, wow, they already won their championship. No, that's not what happened. Maybe it feels different because the spurs were so young under that scenario,

but it was game seven against a bunch of dudes they despise. Like, absolutely loathe in one of the most intimidating environments that there is. And it was a close game, for the most part, going all the way. Yeah, the guys were happy about when it. There's a goddamn trophy presentation, man. Correct. Right? The Knicks weren't going to act like that because the Knicks were winning by 67 points for the entirety of the game.

In a sweep. Like it was just completely. And listen, and Brunson is, you know, a different kind of crazy. Like, after game one, when he hits that shot, he just starts yelling at Scott Foster. Yes. Like, the game ends. They've won game one. And obviously, you're not expecting a huge celebration.

but he just, like, poor Lisa Sultors is like, when is this interview going to have? He's just like berating Scott Foster. I'm like, I know you didn't, you know, shoot a free throw until like late in the third quarter and you had gotten the knee injury and then Luke Cornet stepped on your ankle, which was clearly totally accidental. Yes. But like I was just, he's just berating. I don't know. If that was Luca, we would have been killing. Right.

All he was doing with pitching of the rest all might. Did you see where Mike Brown said about the complaint of the. reps he's in post game he was like no our problem was we were all just talking too much to the refs he said rick brunson told everybody to shut the hell up including mike brown oh i did not see that but i i love that because i i found it to be distracting how much they were complaining of the refs in an NBA finals game when they weren't hitting the broad side of a forum hit a shot you're not you're not getting fouled like i don't understand what was happening well oh good no no i just but like, Brunson is just like this like stoic figure almost like to his personality.

And Wembe clearly, I mean, the guy I talked after that one, he's like, I want to win 15 or 20 of these. Yeah. And like no one's like killing him like LeBron's not six, not seven, not eight. But like they're just, they're crazy people. Right. Now, I want to put a pin in what you just said about Brunson. I want to make this point about Mike Brown right fast. And I think this matters.

Okay. That Mike, this is the fourth franchise. with which Mike Brown has been to an NBA finals in some capacity. Went there with the smear. He's a pop guy, right? Went there with the Spurs, went there with the Cavs,

went there with the Warriors. And now he's back to this. Mitch Johnson, of whom I had never heard two years ago. Well, I remember now that he played at Stanford, but I didn't have to connect those things. Anyway, this is a bit brand new to him. Mike Brown has done this from a bunch of different angles

with a bunch of different guys with a bunch of different types of teams. And so I do think there's something to be said about him knowing what this moment requires. Not to say that Johnson can't figure it out or whatever, but in game one, Mike Brown's walking in with a different level of institutional knowledge, I would argue. And I think there's something to that in terms of, you know,

how that game went. The thing with Jalen Brunson, if I were coaching the Spurs, here's what I would do. I would find somebody who had been around the 2004 NBA finals, and I would bring up this point. We have had David Aldridge on this show, and he has talked about this,

and it's a crazy story to go back on him. Most people notice. If you don't, this is pretty amazing. Larry Brown, I don't think this is on the record. I think it was off the record, but still, he told any reporter who would listen what their strategy was for beating the Lakers in 2004. And you got to remember, that was the chaos year, right?

That was the year where Kobe was going to court all the time. Gary Payton and Carl Malone had been brought in all of these things. Shack not getting his money, all of this. Larry Brown said, look, those two guys over there hate each other. And their strategy was less of a basketball strategy than more of a people strategy. And the idea was to create a circumstance that goaded Kobe Bryant into taking more and more and more and more shots. right. Let's shack. If I remember this right, I wish Vinny was here because he knows it better than I do. But part of it was to let Shaq get his situation going and then let Kobe shoot you out to game.

But the plan was to use the interpersonal dynamics of the team to get those two guys to actually play against each other. And then that would leave, I mean, the infamous five game sweep that they had in that series. Jalen Brunson shot 31 shots in this game. This team has been at its most successful when the team runs through Carl Anthony Towns. When they have bogged down, granted Brunson hit those shots late, but I don't think this was a good game from Jalen Brunson, right?

When they have bogged down, it's when Jalen Brunson goes back to running an isolation brand of Jalen Brunson ball that depending on who you talk to was kind of fraying things with this team last year and at points going through this year. So if you're the Spurs, how do you get Jalen Brunson to do that? Right? It sounds counterintuitive, the idea of we want Jailen Brunson to take a bunch of shots,

just like it would seem counterintuitive to say, we want to get Kobe Bryant to take a bunch of shots. But if things are running through their best player, things are not going to be that good for the Spurs. If you let Jailer Brunson run ISO, your size problems don't matter. anymore, right? All these other things don't really matter if you can trick Jalen Brunson into thinking he needs to get out here and keep shooting 31 shots. Listen, it's a great point. The thing is to say to a Knicks fan that Jalen Brunson isn't their best player. I know. Is it is it in the kind of saying that

your child doesn't love you? I know. They can't, they can't like nobody wants to hear me when I say this. But it's it's like I said. I listen, man. Yeah. Towns is a more like singular talent, but I will say what Brunson has is like, like Chet Holmgren should pay Jalen Brunson $5 million in the offseason to just like try to get inside his head because like Jalen Brunson would have gone, what do you went, 12 for 31? Yeah. He would have gone 12 for 70. That's what it took.

Like if that, if that's what it took. Like there was no world where he wasn't shooting down the stretch. And there is something. like everyone on that team has signed up for maybe they want more shots early and you want to big the touches early but they have signed up for this guy has won this weird clutch player the year quarter is his time all that oh yeah yeah yeah i think there's something to that right yeah but you can you can get this going early he didn't he didn't he didn't take 31 shots because he shot 20 of them in the last two minutes no right right yeah let him rack those shots

up, that is your time. I want to make another point right quick before we go into a break about Jalen Brunson and part of the affection that I think exists for him in New York and it's big. We can do a whole pot on this. Go ahead. We could. We could. But

I have been meaning to make this point for a while. And we can make a social video out of this, right, if you want. I'm kind of proud of myself here. A lot of pushback against Becky Hammond. For her saying that Jalen Brunson is too small to be the best. player on a championship team and I'd love for her to say go prove me wrong still have your opportunity but it's been amazing to be how many people have pushed back against that point

given that is conventional NBA wisdom and NBA wisdom that is borne out by fact right like we've seen this and I've realized something that we need to start doing which is every time somebody gets mad and you question whether Jalen Brunson is big enough to be your best player on a championship team you should not be allowed to answer that question without saying how tall you are. Like all you five, eight motherfuckers out here, and they don't told you when by they, I mean she, that you ain't tall enough to ride to ride, I understand that you want to put on your cape for what is the five eight of basketball, which is six to, right? Like, I get you. And you're like, yeah, I know, I know.

You average height for an American male. I hear you. But I feel like what has happened here is all those guys, right? All them cats wearing that size medium Jalen Brunson jersey that they went and bought from the NBA store. They're the ones that push back. And you know what? It's a lot more 5-8 in this world than 6-2. You know what I'm saying?

And New York got a lot of 5-8. I'd be out here in these streets. Y'all there, right? It ain't like when I was in some of these countries where I'm like, I think I'm the tallest person here. It's not that in New York. But 5-8s, they got a disproportionate amount of power. And I think that they, they're the ones that really, they love this for Jalen Brunson. and they push back on any criticism that has to do with the fact that he's simply not very tall.

That is a good social media video. That'll do numbers for you. Let me tell you something. I don't like when we use those videos to antagonize most people. But the little homies? Yeah, you like that. I live for that. Yeah, yeah, you do.

I live for that. I'll take all you little. I'll take y'all all to the post after this. It is a unique combination of he's a little guy. he's fearless and he took less money for the team. He did. He did. People love he took less money for the team.

How much did he take? He's like, well, it was still like $170 million. Yeah, but he took less money. He's a little guy who took less money. And he balls out of the fourth quarter. Dirk giving Mark Cuban all that money for no goddamn reason. Right. He got no ROI on his give money back.

Yeah. We eat that shit up, man. And I mean, and I guess it might win him a title. It might end up winning him a title. So it's like it just, it checks all of the boxes of the beloved. Like I live in suburban New York. There's a lot of kids at my kids' school with like size small Jalen Brunson. Oh, yeah.

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. You're out there like near the facility. Yeah. Oh, yeah. I mean, dude. Jalen Brunson moved to my town. Jalen Brunson, very popular at the local bagel store.

He is very popular. Mom teaching a workout class with all the other moms down here. Yeah, it is a, it is a, I am in the, but again, I go on it. I was curious. It's like LeBron James, Steph Curry, Jalen Brunson for like national jersey sales. Like he is a wildly popular figure in the arena. I mean, like think about what it would have been for. Mello if he had shown up and this is what it started being.

You know what I'm saying? Like, he has fulfilled the promise. All these free agents, they always wanted that they were never actually going to get. Yeah. And they got the realistic one was this one. Now, never by the fact that they made his dad and assistant coach. I still think that shit is weird. Oh, well, I mean, the whole thing that Leon Rose and World Wide West and Rick Munson

and it's just CAA running the nickname. Yeah, dude. It is a singular. None of their starters were drafted by the Knicks. That's true. It is a very oddly constructed organization top to bottom. But hey, man. I will also say this.

Worldwide West NBA champ would be the completion of the Forrest Gump story of all of them. Like we're beyond the point where William Wesley is like this internet legend, right? Henry Abbott's great white whale or anything. This dude has been a little bit of everything. for a zillion different reasons, and now they, they may be putting together a champion. Wow. I can't believe it. And I mean, I doubted them every step.

I mean, listen, man, we don't have to go all through it again. We've discussed by James Hardin mistakes. Like, I picks the calves over the Knicks. I picked the Hawks over the Knicks. That was also reposterous. I thought it was insane to fire Tibbs for Mike Brown. I said you cannot win with Brunson and Kat on the floor at the same time. I did that.

I did that. Liabilities. Like, I am just, it is, if they win this title, I think it will be the most wrong I've ever been start to finish about a team in any sport. Well,

to be fair, Carl Childs is no longer a defensive liability. No, I know. That's an important part. Like, like, I don't know,

it's like when Josh Allen got good. Like, don't blame me. If you had been doing this shit the whole time, I'd have been singing a completely. different too. I agree, but you've been on the internet. I know. I know. It doesn't work that way. It works. I can't just be like, I got new information. He's trying now. They don't care. It does. Wow. What a time, man. But coming up next, I want to ask Danny one last question about the Knicks.

Before I ask, I think the kind of question that he lives for, whether or not Russell Wilson is a Hall of Fame. Oh, boy. New York, the weight is over. The Knicks are back in the finals. And with Fanduil, you can cash in on a championship run that's years in the making. Because for a limited time, new Fandual customers in New York get 50 to one odds on the Knicks to win it all. That's right. All you have to do is bet $5 on the Knicks to win the NBA championship, and you'll get $250 in cash if they win it all. The Knicks in the finals is a big deal. And that's why Fandual is celebrating with a big deal of their own.

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It's like therapy for your career. All right, we are back with Danny Parkes. Check out first things first on FS1. I've been in New York for nine years. You've been here, what now? Two. Two, yeah. Two in August. My good buddy, Peter.

Peter does the music for this show. I've known Peter since he was a junior in high school. That's now 21 years that I know Peter. Peter is the biggest Knicks fan I know. And I have to read to you guys a couple of texts that I got for Sneaky Pete during the game. One of my favorites, this is maybe one of my favorite texts anybody has ever sent me. And this was an hour into, or about an hour out of the first half. you know, I never had this level of stress when I was waiting on the pig paup balls to go our way.

But I will also send you the last text that he sent me at 1223 a.m. that said, and I quote, give my boy cat his flowers. He had Winby looking like Chet. Knicks fans, ladies and gentlemen, Knicks fans. I've watched them be so cool about this and just be happy with everything they have and every step of the way. like the Knicks really battered them into submission. I watched them, you know, and I think they've been good about this. And I really just can't explain to people how happy they are here, right? Like, I kind of, I avoid watch party stuff for a couple of reasons. One, after what I've done for a living for the last 15 or 20 years, watching games with the general population, you kind of have to opt out of it.

Parkins, I imagine that you could also bounce for me on this one. I love my basement, dude. Yeah, that's why we have to go to Nick's house if we want to go watch games around. We meet it next for football. Yeah, yeah. We can't do this around. gin pop. It's not a great idea, right? That's number one. Number two, the same reason I'm not going to these JZ concerts. I feel like this is for people who love this, right? And I simply am happy for you

guys. But man, they had a watch party at Central Park on Wednesday night. And I'm kind of, and look, the news was interviewing some people there. And I'll just tell you, the talent wasn't just on the basketball court, brother. I'm kind of, I'm kind of tempted to go check it out because everybody is so happy here. Yeah, it's a, you know, New York is an amazing play. I was walking, I was walking to work yesterday. I was taping an interview with our buddy Carrington Harrison in Kansas City. And Tarashi B. Henson walked right past me and we brushed shoulders.

Like it is just like, you never really know what you're going to see. Yeah, I want past Michael Operioli on Broadway on the Upper West Side the other day. Just walking to the, I was walking to the trade station. Yeah, it's just, just New York. Like like the World Cup is coming here. it's like you don't really a president can be in town I walk through the theater district and it's like

oh George Clooney has a show there Denzel is a show there it's like you don't really notice anything because it's so big there's so many people it's kind of like Vegas where the cab drivers like so what's the event this week right exactly NBA Summer League oh okay yeah great you're in town or it could have been a convention for arms dealers

and there's no difference not this it's the because like I mean think of the things I've been here for a Yankees World Series, the World Cup, Trump being around, president, like I've been here

for some things. It's New York. You're always here for some things. Dude, you notice when the Knicks are good, whether it's the flags at the bars, the specials at the bars, the gear that people are wearing.

Yeah. It's a unifying thing because like Yankees and Mets split the town, Giants and Jets split the town. The Nets don't split anything. No, they don't. No, they don't.

I was at a charity poker thing the other night. The guy was like, I do events for Barclay. I'm like, I haven't been. I hear it's awesome. I would love this. But like, you know what I mean? It's just it's not the same draw.

And so it's a cool thing to see a city so unified behind the NBA, even if no Knicks fan wants me at any watch party based on my mention. And it's so interesting. Like the vibe around Madison Square Garden where there is a playoff game going on. And, you know, for so long they weren't playing any of those. And I don't want to insult any of the hockey fans. But like when the Rangers are in the playoffs and you go down by Madison Square Garden. They're all there, right? And they all got on their Rangers gear. It's obvious that it's a thing.

But have you ever been to a club that, like, on Friday night was college night, but then you pull up on Saturday night and it's gay night? That's what it feels like when the Rangers are playing in Madison Square Garden. It's like, wow, something feels different about this. And the difference is everything, right? Like, it's like, oh, this is what we're doing. It just doesn't, like, heteronormativity in New York City is the Nix. Right? Like that's the normal state of affairs. Otherwise, you're over there like, wow,

why are they wearing long sleeve shirts? I don't really understand. That's incredible. And the other thing, too, Knicks fans take a certain amount of pride in the price point to get into the garden. And I'm like, you're happy that it's $4,500 to sit up top? There's just so many, like,

But they're like, yeah, I mean, it's the next. What do you mean? That's not an explanation for, well, yeah, no, because they do like these man on the street pieces on every local. How much did you pay for tickets? And people are just proud to be like nine grand. Like that is, that is completely insane. And it's just, it's in there, it's in their marrow.

Yes. It's a different thing. I'll give Nick's fans this too. And this is the one thing about their famous fans. They act like regular people. Oh, dude, Ben Stiller has sent me. like four different, five different tweets during these playoffs

clowning me for my takes to the point that if Nick's win this title, I have to spend a literal night in the museum. Yo, it's so funny, he follows me, but he's never hit me up. Like, the guys that just send text and tweets to the random media members, I always feel so offended.

Like, what am I doing wrong? Like, Kevin Durant has never berated me in my DMs, right? Ben Stiller, he doesn't send me any of the stuff. This was probably, dude, and like, I am a huge Ben Stiller fan So I was like this is the cool Nick was like where does it rank for you That one of your comedy heroes

Responded to you because he clowned one of your awful takes I'm like it's probably a little too high I enjoyed it probably a little too much But yeah I don't know what I was doing right Or in this case very very wrong about the Knicks But like Sneaky Top X fan base in all of sports

not because of the celebrity thing, but like, they just take over road arenas. And again, that goes back to money. Well, no, well, I think it goes back less to money than a couple of things. One, a bunch of New Yorkers everywhere, right? Like, they turn up. Yeah. Number two, it's not so much the money that they have as much as it is the money it costs to go to Madison Square Garden.

Therefore, you can save money by jumping on the Acela and going to Philadelphia and watching this game. right from different parts of the city it is easier like it is easier for me to get to philadelphia from my house than i feel like it is to get to like deep brooklyn for example yeah no no doubt i mean step wants to go to world cup games and i'm like we should probably drive to philly because you literally can't drive to met life that's the only world cup venue they're not selling parking for she's like what i'm like yeah we would need to go into the city and take go to Penn Station, which is not the train station that we come into from Westchester.

Like it would be a logistical nightmare. But yeah, man, these, but, but I saw John Totoro last night, you know, Nash from Rounders is just in like the 10th row in San Antonio. He clearly just bought those tickets. Yes. They're just, they're great fans, man. They are. And they just, what's going to happen if they win, though?

Because I found they haven't been annoying lately. I have found them to be charming. used to find them to be annoying. I found that hasn't been the case. I don't know what happens if they have a ring. Listen, they'll probably be annoying, but it's, I, while I have picked against them every step of the way, I am, I'm, I love sports, man, like 50, 52, 53 years without a ring and an awesome fan base in a huge city that reps like this and to your point, like clearly gives a damn. Like, they're not like it's not like a Dodger fan. They're not like showing up late and leaving early.

Like they're they're real fans. So yeah, I'm happy for them. We're going to see. Game two is going to be something. Like all the adjustments will come. I think by the time, yeah, the next show we'll do here will be right before game three. So this is going to be something. You're going to have to listen to that one early because game three.

I mean, dude, what do you think that atmosphere is going to be like? Dude, I hate that you live so far. Because otherwise, I'd be like, yo, let's just go hang out around the arena from like. It's on a Monday. I'm in the city. Yeah. I feel like from like, okay, because you got off working like six. Yeah.

I feel like it like from like six to seven or seven 30. We should just go post up around 33rd Street on 7th Avenue and just see the people. I'm down. Yeah. I'm available. Yeah. And then listen, I got listen, man. I got I don't work until I'm not on here until 5 p.m.

So I'll come, I'll come people watch with you and then watch game three somewhere. Let's do it. Yeah, yeah, I'm figuring out. Now, you know where we're not watching game three amongst the populace, right? No, no. We'll go to your place, go to Knicks, wherever. Yeah, I am, it's a social experiment. Yes.

What's going to be happening in this city. I am not terribly interested in going outside of Madison Square Garden after the games, though. No, no. I hope so. That I am not. Before the games, I'm fine. After the games, that's for the young people. Yo, let me tell you what I saw on the news last night after game one.

So I kept it all on Channel 7, right? And, you know, they got to people. Sometimes it's interesting to remember that New York is just like everybody else, which is to say something like this happens. The local news sends people to locations just to get shots of fans. Hey, make noise when the camera comes on or whatever, right? So they do that. And it's a middle-aged black dude, gray hair.

I think he's probably in his early 50. these, if I had to guess. And he's down there and he's got his shot with his Knicks fans. It's like a couple of cats at Yama because, you know what I'm saying? Like it's the, it's a full gamut of Knicks fans who would go to San Antonio for this game. But it's two Spurs fans who are drunk and refused to get out of the shot. They're just standing there being jerks. They're on TV.

Yeah, right. Not even TV that they're going to watch, right? It's TV in New York City. And so one of them, the guys like, hey, man, come on. man, don't do that, man. Like, the reporter is hitting up with the real old black man. Hey, play, come on, man. Get out of, get out of way, man.

Another one gets out there. He's flipping the bird while he's on the screen. And the reporter's like, hey, hey, what's you doing that for, man? What's you doing that for? I'm just trying to work. Right. Yeah, and try to push them off. And then they have to, like, cut it and they go back because it was just,

it had just gotten to be so ridiculous out there. But I was just like, oh, yeah. Like, these are the things that happen. And it's funny because you live in New York long enough. You don't put up with nothing. I had to cut somebody out at a taco spot on a Tuesday night. What happened? The details aren't that important.

Well, I will tell you the details after the show. Okay. But the bottom line was the dude was accusing me of doing something that I wasn't doing. Right. And he was asking me to do something. He felt like something was happening that was making his ambiance uncomfortable, which I understood. And so he was asking me to do something that I was actually in the process of doing. And he says, hey, could you da-da-da? And I say to him, yeah, that's what I'm working all right now.

And as I'm trying to tell him, this is what I'm working all right now, he keeps trying to argue with me. And I'm like, brother, we're on the same team. I'm trying to, you know. And then he's like, well, you must have been doing one or two things. I was like, actually, I didn't do either of those things. and these people sitting here will vouch for that. Oh, boy. Right? And he keeps going, and he's there with his woman, and he keeps saying, you know, talking back to me,

I'm like, my man, I told you, I'm working on this, and I didn't do what you said. You got that wrong. It's cool. Just own it. How did I get that? My man. Yeah, people don't like own it being wrong.

Yeah, but I mean, I'm calling him my man over and over again. Like, that is a sign. If I got to keep calling you, my man, that's me self-regulating, right? Yeah, no doubt. And I keep going with it, and his woman, now she's interjecting. Oh, boy. And I'm like, hey, I can talk to you, okay?

And she says what it is. I'm like, hey, I get you. My frustration here is that I was working on what he was talking about. And he just couldn't I give me time to even tell him that I was working on it versus, you know, any of these things. And it turned out I was doing exactly what he wanted me to do. and I looked dead at the dude and I said, and if you'd have just shut the fuck up, there it is.

There it is. It would have gotten done. I don't know if I have ever talked to a stranger like that under those circumstances. I'm at a table with three. I was waiting for the custom out part and I was like, there it is. Yeah, I'm at a table with three women, by the way, none of which I am dating or involved with in any sort of way, right? Wow.

But I'm there with, and they realize, that I'm not wrong here. Of course. But I had to hit him with if you would just shut the fuck up then this would have been taken care of. Then I look back at his woman and I was like, hey, enjoy your tacos.

Hope you guys have a really nice day. And then go back and then he ain't have nothing else to say because when he got to shut the fuck up up. You know what he did? The fuck was up shut. That's what happened. You know, it's, you're not a,

you're a non-confrontational individual. No, I'm a nice guy. Yeah. It's healthy to have one of the, those every so often. Yeah. Maybe not the shut the fuck up level, but like a little bit like sometimes people just need to be checked. Yes. Well, you know, just, hey, hey, hey, you're, you're over that line step back over the side of the line. So New York has an interesting balance to me, right? And

an interesting balance in the sense that part of living in New York is putting up with inconsiderate people is just kind of what it is, right? Like you remember when that white man killed that Michael Jackson impersonator or the dude? Yeah. Yeah. that was on the train. Yeah. This city's not for you, man. Like, and I'm talking about the dude that killed him. Like, if you can't, if you can't handle a Michael Jackson impersonator,

this is just not the city for you. Any other city, I would get it if you called a manager. We don't call to manager over stuff like this, right? Like, we get it. But the second it feels like someone rather than simply being inconsiderate is being disrespectful to you, that's what it flips. Yeah.

We will tolerate a great deal off of you. You can play your music. on the subway with no headphones. You can get up with your pot and ass. Start breakdancing. We'll live with it all. But if you lean on me too much, hey, man, get the fuck off of me, dog.

And I've seen New Yorkers also come to the defense of people. Like, if the break dancer was, like, bumping into an old woman. Like, three people will come over and be like, hey, man. Like, you know what I mean? Like, they are inconsiderate until there is someone to be considerate on the behalf of. And they'll normally do a pretty good job. The city regulates itself, I would say. And the threshold for this becoming a fight is very high.

Oh, yeah. Like the threshold for becoming a fight is much lower in other places. No, no. No, New Yorkers have a high tolerance for nonsense and then a willingness to rally to a cause. Yes. I would say. No, Voltron is always this close.

Yeah, absolutely. Well, because everyone's, everyone's doing their own thing while simultaneously aware of everything. Yes. Because you're, because it's like, people are comparing themselves to other people. How nice is your watch? How much money do you have? Is this person going to potentially bite me or stab me or say, or try to sell me something? So like you're in your own thing, but then you're aware of everything.

So yeah, the hive can move pretty quickly. It's a, it's an ecosystem of a place. It really is. Okay. Right fast, because I know you got a hard out. No, I got a few minutes. Go out a few minutes. Okay.

Russell Wilson just retired. He's going to be on CBS. None of us have any idea how that's going to go. Anything is on the board with that guy. I agree. Is Russell Wilson a Hall of Famer to you? He is not. And I know, I think I remember

you are on the other side of that. I am on the other side of things. Let me ask this question before I ask why is he not a Hall of Fame. I can give you the case, but go ahead. Do you have Matthew Stafford as a Hall of Famer? I do. I'm just trying to figure out all those years when Matthew Stafford was not being voted to pro bowls and Russell Wilson was, what was happening that all that matters is the last five years.

I think that that is totally fair. I do think the counting stats for Stafford outweigh it. I don't have Stafford's in front of me. I don't give a shit about Pro Bowls. Like Russell Wilson made a Pro Bowl two years ago when he had 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Yes. but even with the bar being on the floor, they've only sent Matthew Stafford there three times.

I feel, I feel, fair, fair enough. I just, like, when I hear Russell Wilson's Hall of Fame case, too often I hear 10-time pro bowler and Walter Payton Man of the Year. Yeah, anybody saying that. And I just, I'm like, I don't, I don't care about, like, the Walter Payton Man of the Year, like, listen, I'm a Chicagoan. I obviously respect the Walter Payton story, whatever. But I don't care about that for the Hall of Fame.

Right. And then he, you know, he was, he is what, one second team all pro. And I just, so I just, I never looked at him as the, and in his Super Bowl, he had I believe three passing touchdowns in three games and one rushing touchdown. Like it wasn't because he was some sort of otherworldly playoff performer. Like I don't even know that you could really make like an Eli Manningish case for him. I just look at him as being a consistently good to very good player who won early. And I can't really explain the total number of Pro Bowl thing.

But I just feel like I saw Matt Castle and Mitch Trubisky make a Pro Bowl. And I saw Russell Wilson do it with 16 touchdowns and 11 picks. So I don't particularly care that he made double digit of them. And so that's the thing with me is I don't care that he made double digit of them necessarily, although 10 is a really high number. And there's a real high number. Like the pro balls ain't getting Jason Witten in the Hall of Fame with me. So I understand it.

It is interesting that you're like, Russell Wilson did it very early. And the thing with Stafford is it's kind of the same, except he's doing it very late. Right. Like, so another example or point to make on this, Matthew Stafford has, and this would shock people, four seasons with 30 or more touchdowns.

Russell Wilson has five. Like the counting stats for Stafford are overwhelming in large part because of having a butload of attempts. But somewhere along the way, we just decided Matthew Stafford was a Hall of Famer, and then it went back for Wilson, and we decided he's not. Like, what Russell reminds me of to a degree, though they're not analogous players completely, is Andrew Jones fell off the cliff at about 31 or 32 in baseball, and he finally made it in, but then being the greatest center fielder of all time

and having 400 home runs somehow didn't matter, because what we saw at the end is what marred it. And I think that's what's happened to Russell Wilson. and I don't believe you can play your way out of a Hall of Fame. And I think that I think that's a demerit that he has received from a lot of people. Now, I don't think he's an inner circle Hall of Famer. I think that even if he got in, he'd be a guy that's going to need to wait and we get some votes. Like Stafford's going to have to wait for some votes.

Although I think people have just decided that they're going to do this shit. I just can't. So you say attempts, like, isn't there something to trusting the talent to throw that? I mean, Stafford has 64. 1,000 career yards and 423 career touchdowns. Yes. Compared to 47,000 for Russ and 353. I mean, that is a significant,

call them counting stats, call them they're on the lines and it's garbage time yards. Like that's 17,000 yards. It's significant. I think there is something. Also, let's not forget Stafford play three years longer. Yeah. I do think that there is something to that. I think the most interesting thing by comparison,

if you're looking statistically, is that Matthew Stafford with that big arm and everything else, 7.4 yards per attempt for a career. Russell Wilson, 7.7. Like, the part where I think that Russell does not get enough credit is that I greatly value quarterbacks who get the ball down the field, right? Stafford can do all the trick throws and everything else. Russell get the ball down the field.

The other problem of Russell obviously is the sacks. But Matthew Stafford was also a guy at points that took a gazillion. Yes, I'm bringing everything back to Stafford forever for those of you who listen to this show. I get it. I've been doing this for a very long time. But I wonder if I think that there a day will come where Russell Wilson makes the Hall of Fame. I do think a pile on began that first year that he got to Denver and he never recovered from.

And what do you put into the fact that, and again, I only have a couple more, but like, some of his teammates openly say that you shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame. You know, it's the wildest thing. It's the wildest thing, man. I also wonder this too, man. I just wonder if they hate him because he got, he pulled that bad one and none of us ever thought he would. I, I, that is on the board of possibilities. I have, I don't have a better theory than that.

But it is wild to see like Richard Sherman out there talking about him. I was like, I don't know. You, he was your quarterback when you won. Yeah, yeah, they are, they are being ridiculously unbiased. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, I don't think he's going to be that unbiased about Camp Chancellor's Hall of Fame case. No. Right.

So, like, what is, that would be an amazing thing. Because I am very skeptical of him as an analyst, but that would be incredible if he just was like vengeful. Yeah. This came out and started talking bad about everyone that had talked bad about him. That would be compelling theater. Man, what a time, man. But hey, Danny Park, let's check him out.

First things, first, FS1. And again, congratulations to Danny Park. He's raised $800,000. Was it Cubs for the Cure? Yep, Cubs for a Cure. $805,000. Thank you for your, uh, financial support. Thank you for connecting me with your buddy Mike Smith, who has become a buddy of

mine who was fantastic during the broadcast. Thank you for amplifying it. Really appreciate you, Beau. And yeah, man, super successful. 750 last year, 540 the year before, 805 this year. So, you know, we're growing this thing year by year. I tell you this. I need to prepare an advance for it, too, because like now I understand how things go with rich people. Like, I had planned to make my donation and then I look up and Nick Wright is giving you $5,000. And I'm like, shit, I got to keep up next year. I'm not really prepared to do anything like that. You know, now granted, no matter where, no matter where we go,

Nick's going to spend more money than me. No doubt. Even still, like, but a charity is like, shit, okay. Yeah. Nick throws it around. He's very generous and he knows he's also paying a little bit of a best friend tax there. Hey, brother, I appreciate you. Appreciate you, Bo.

All right, man, ladies and gentlemen, thanks so much for joining us here on the right time. We do this four days a week. Ryan Brumley handles everything behind the scenes. Thank you, sir. Hit the voicemail line. 32, 3, 3, 5, 9, 67767. Remember, follow the right time.

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