Nightcap Hour 1: Day 1 of March Madness, Penny Hardaway joins the show, & Puka has LeBron as his GOAT

Summary

Club Shay Shay Episode Summary Nightcap Hour 1: Day 1 of March Madness, Penny Hardaway Joins the Show, & Puka Has LeBron as His GOAT
Release Date: March 21, 2025
Hosts: Shannon Sharpe, Chad Ochocinco Johnson, Ryan Seacrest
Guest: Penny Hardaway, Puka "Ocho" Nakua

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Introduction and Episode Overview

In this inaugural episode of the Nightcap Hour, NFL legend Shannon Sharpe welcomes basketball icon Penny Hardaway and influencer Puka “Ocho” Nakua to discuss the unfolding excitement of March Madness. The hosts delve into the day's significant upsets, share personal anecdotes, and explore deeper themes around coaching philosophies and athlete development.

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March Madness Day 1: Early Upsets and Surprises

[09:51] Shannon Sharpe kicks off the discussion by highlighting early tournament upsets, notably McNeese State's historic win over Clemson: “Mac Neese became the 47th number 12 seed to win a first-round game since 1979” ([10:25]). Penny Hardaway reflects on the impact of coach Will Wade’s impending departure, suggesting that transparency about his future may have galvanized the team’s performance:

“Maybe there might have been some type of motivation behind coach. Them knowing coach is leaving and you want to send him out the right way” ([10:00]).

[12:22] Sharpe emphasizes the unpredictable nature of March Madness, comparing perfect bracket chances to winning the lottery:

“You got a better chance of winning the lottery than picking a perfect bracket all the way through and getting the national champion” ([15:14]).

Key Team Performances and Predictions

The conversation shifts to standout teams:

• Gonzaga vs. Georgia Bulldogs: Sharpe praises Gonzaga’s consistency, noting their 26 straight NCAA tournament games and key players like Jalen Suggs and Rui Hachimura:

  “Gonzaga has now played 26 straight NCAA tournament games” ([12:22]).

• Arkansas Razorbacks vs. Kansas Jayhawks: Penny defends Arkansas’ coach John Calipari, highlighting the collective effort over individual star power:

  “The team that they lost to played together collectively as better than them as a two-headed monster sophomore” ([19:45]).

• Houston Cougars: With a strong second-round win, Sharpe anticipates Houston advancing deep into the tournament, possibly reaching the Elite or Final Four:

  “Houston has been haunted by injuries in the NCAA tournament the last three years, but Cruz into the second round with his entire rotation intact” ([21:17]).

Coaching Philosophies and Player Development

A significant portion of the episode focuses on Penny Hardaway’s transition from NBA star to college coach at Memphis. Discussing his coaching approach, Penny emphasizes truth and transparency, fostering partnerships with players, and understanding individual strengths:

“I put them in positions to win offensively and I put them in positions to win as a group defensively” ([39:25]).

[40:10] Sharpe probes Penny on managing player expectations in the era of NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) deals, to which Penny responds by advocating for mutual respect and partnership:

“When I give the guys the money... you got to give me something as well” ([41:10]).

Reflections on NBA Career and Overcoming Injuries

Penny shares personal stories from his NBA career, candidly discussing the challenges posed by injuries, specifically a microfracture in his left knee:

“The microfracture that took me out because I still had bounce and spring. Even though I was feeling some pain, I still had my quickness” ([46:09]).

Shannon Sharpe adds context by referencing other athletes who successfully returned from similar injuries, contrasting their recoveries with Penny’s ongoing struggles:

“Normally, if you had an Achilles that was a death sentence... now anymore guys come back stronger, better than ever” ([53:20]).

GOAT Debate: LeBron James vs. Legends

Towards the episode’s close, Puka "Ocho" Nakua sparks a light-hearted debate on the Saint Brown podcast regarding who is the greatest of all time (GOAT) in basketball. Puka defends LeBron James, highlighting his versatility and championship successes:

“He's gone to three different organizations and won everywhere he go. He's had a new coach that he's taken to the NBA Finals” ([56:15]).

Penny Hardaway and Shannon Sharpe engage in playful banter, discussing LeBron’s physical attributes and comparing his impact to legends like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. The discussion underscores the subjective nature of the GOAT debate, emphasizing personal preference over definitive metrics.

T. Higgins’ Contract with the Bengals

The episode transitions to a discussion about T. Higgins’ contract with the Cincinnati Bengals. Shannon Sharpe breaks down the complexities of the deal, explaining the nuances of roster bonuses and guaranteed money:

“He likely owe him nothing if they were to cut him after one year, since he likely make more elsewhere” ([58:36]).

Penny Hardaway expresses discontent with the business side of sports, lamenting the nature of contract negotiations and their impact on player loyalty and team dynamics:

“I don't like that side of things. I like the fact that the band is back together” ([60:42]).

Concluding Thoughts and Future Predictions

Shannon Sharpe wraps up the episode by reflecting on the unpredictable journey of March Madness, the resilience of underestimated teams, and the personal growth of athletes transitioning into coaching roles. The hosts and guests reiterate the excitement surrounding the tournament and express optimism for upcoming games.

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Notable Quotes

• Penny Hardaway on March Madness Motivation:

  “Maybe there might have been some type of motivation behind coach... sending him out the right way” ([10:00]).

• Shannon Sharpe on Perfect Brackets:

  “You got a better chance of winning the lottery than picking a perfect bracket...” ([15:14]).

• Penny Hardaway on Coaching Philosophy:

  “I put them in positions to win offensively and I put them in positions to win as a group defensively” ([39:25]).

• Penny Hardaway on Overcoming Injuries:

  “The microfracture that took me out because I still had bounce and spring...” ([46:09]).

• Puka "Ocho" Nakua on LeBron as GOAT:

  “He's gone to three different organizations and won everywhere he go...” ([56:15]).

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Conclusion

This episode of Club Shay Shay offers a comprehensive and engaging exploration of March Madness' unpredictability, the intricacies of coaching in modern collegiate sports, and the enduring debates surrounding basketball greatness. With insightful discussions and personal anecdotes from Penny Hardaway and Puka “Ocho” Nakua, listeners gain a deeper understanding of both the athletic and strategic elements that define today's sports landscape.

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Note: Advertisements and non-content segments were excluded to focus solely on the substantive discussions and insights provided by the hosts and guests.

Transcript

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Hello ladies and gentlemen and thank you for joining us for another episode of Nightcap, brought to you by Boost Mobile. Visit your nearest Boost Mobile store or boost mobile.com to join their nationwide 5G network today. Thank you again. Please make sure you hit that subscribe button. Please make sure you hit that like button and go subscribe to the Nightcap podcast feed. Wherever you get your podcast from, y'all know me. Your favorite unc, Shannon Sharpe, number 85, a route runner extraordinaire, a Bingo Ring of Fame honoree, a pro bowler, an All Pro. That's Chad Ochocinko Johnson. Thank you guys for joining us. Thank you guys for your continued support and loyalty. Please make sure you check out Shay by La Portier. We do have it in stock and if you can't find it in a city or state near you, order it online. We'll ship it directly to your door. Please drink responsibly and please stay safe. Thank you for everyone that showed up in Charleston today. Hey. Both Total Wines sold out of products. You guys went. They sold out of one store, came to the other store, came out. Unfortunately, I had to leave as they were bringing more in. So hopefully I'll get a chance to spend the block and get back over there and see you guys again. But I wanted to personally thank you for showing up and supporting. I greatly, greatly appreciate your support. Please go follow my media company page on all of his platforms. Shay, Shay Media and my clothing company, 84. With everything being restocked, the link is pinned at the top of the chat. Supplies are very limited and once they're gone, they're gone. So please grab yours while supplies last. We got a couple of special guests lined up for you. We got one cent that is Anthony, Penny Hardaway and y'all know the mayor of Houston, Bun B. Joins us a little later in the show. But Ocho. Yeah, we will go. We're gonna get into March Madness. I'm gonna show you this a little later. Day one of March Madness in the books. Hey, got an upset already, Ocho. The biggest subset of the tournament thus far, Mac Neese number 12, McNeese State over number 5, Clemson 69, 67. Mac Niece became the 47th number 12 seed to win a first round game since 1979 and in the process won his first NCAA tournament game in school history. The performance comes in wake of coach Will Wade's agreement. He's leaving McNiece at the end of the tourney run to to become the head coach of the Wolfpack of NC State. But Wade's transparency with his players and admission that he had contact with NC State did not become a distraction, he said. Ocho, do you think him leaving propelled his team to spring this upset?

[Penny Hardaway]

I think maybe. Maybe, maybe, maybe so. But listen, you know, when it comes to basketball, it's one game. It's not a seven game series. It's not a five or six game series.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Correct.

[Penny Hardaway]

You go out there and what team shows up that specific day? Your ranking don't matter. It don't matter what you've done during the regular season. Once it comes to March Madness, you got one shot. One shot to get it right, and they got it right. Maybe there might have been some type of motivation behind coach. Them knowing coach is leaving and you want to send him out the right way. And if this is any testament to that, kudos to them.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah, they play really well. Oo. The thing is, is that there's a difference between truth and transparency.

[Penny Hardaway]

Talk to me.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You see the difference? See, truth is, you ask me a question, I tell you the truth. Transparency is you telling me something that I didn't even ask you to tell me. I ain't gonna do that, Ocho. Now, don't you get that book. Don't you get that. Hold on, hold on, hold on.

[Penny Hardaway]

We just started the show.

[Coach]

Hey.

[Shannon Sharpe]

We don't get into the show, Ocho. No.

[Penny Hardaway]

Yeah. How are we going to get into the show? You coming out with hot fire already. Give me that. Come on, now.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Come on.

[Penny Hardaway]

Don't do me like that. Give me that one more time. I got to write that down. I'm telling you truth. That transparency line was unbelievable.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Truth is telling you. You ask me a question, I tell you the truth. Transparency is telling you something you didn't even ask me. I'm being transparent. You don't even know. See, in fact, you ask, if you tell me, say, well, Shannon, blah, blah, blah, so forth and so on. Yeah, this is what I did. But let me tell you something else that you didn't know. That's being transparent. And there's a difference between the two. And so I think him, even before, right, they found out, he was like, look, guys, I've had contact. There's a possibility I could be leaving you guys and going somewhere else. And I think that plays a large part. That's what transparency is. People say transparent. I want you to be transparent. Now, I think that's a good definition of good. Understanding is telling someone something they didn't even ask. Now you're being transparent. And so I think this definitely helped. But like you said, Ocho, in a game of this magnitude, when one shot is. And that's one shining moment, I just got to be better than you for this day. I got to be better. I got to be a better team. I just got to be better than you today.

[Penny Hardaway]

Yeah, for two hours. That's it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

That's it. And they were. But I think that's. And I think that's why people love March Madness so much, Ocho. Because realistically, yes, sir. Anything can happen on that Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. And people like that. Cause the underdog, like, man, my team really got a chance to beat a Duke, to beat a North Carolina, to beat a Clemson, to beat a UCLA or one of these blue blood programs. Kentucky, Kansas, my team. You could, man, you know what? My team did that. My team really, truly have the chance to do that. So. And listen, go ahead.

[Penny Hardaway]

There's a reason. There's a reason they call it March. And the last, last word is madness. Because ain't no telling what's going to happen. Regardless of seating, regardless of the conference, regardless of how smooth, how small your program may be. All the tickets, what team is showing up that day for two hours.

[Shannon Sharpe]

A team get a lot, Ocho. I think for me, a team get hot and you know, yeah, team get hot, they make. They make 10, 11, 12 threes in a college game. That's huge. They go on the run, all of a sudden, they can't miss. We've seen it before. We've seen Villanova pull the upset over Georgetown. We've seen NC State take down Flop by Slammer Jammer in 1984. No, that was 83. 83. Excuse me, 83. The Wolf Pack took him down because in 84, Georgetown 1. Georgetown beat Houston that year because that was the year Akeem ended up turning pro. But yeah, so. Oh, got another one. Ocho Drake. Yeah. Is headed to the second round. The Bulldog just upset Missouri 67, 57. Golly, that's a number 11. Took down a number 6. Earlier we had a number 12, took down a number 5. I think the thing is, we're waiting for that. We're waiting for that 1 16, 2 15, 3 14. Because like, and the note said earlier, 47 times of 12 is taken down number five. So we've gotten kind of like, we expect. We expect 112 to take down a five seed in the first round. I mean, we go into the thing. I mean, so when we get this, even though it is an upset because you're ranked 5, the other team is ranked 12, 11 versus a 6. We're expecting this now because we've seen it happen so much over the years, so we're not nearly as shocked. But now when we get a 116, we get a 215, we get a 314. Now we're like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. What's really going on? What's really going on? But through upsets early, I wonder how many perfect brackets that we still have.

[Penny Hardaway]

Listen, honestly. Honestly, you would have to make multiple brackets.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah, for sure.

[Penny Hardaway]

Make multiple brackets with multiple scenarios for your bracket to be right. There's no way in hell People are guessing the bracket on one shot with some of the upsets and getting it right. Because if you are and if you're able to do it and you out there and your bracket is still intact today, you need to give me the numbers to make a millions in the lotto and Powerball. And pick. And pick five. Please, please do.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I mean, you. The. The first round is really not that hard because I think Warren Buffett had a. Had a thing that if you compete a perfect bracket and pick the national champ, you'll get a billion dollars. But I ain't gonna happen. No, you've got a better chance of winning the lottery than picking a perfect bracket all the way through and getting the national champion. Right? You got a better chance. I mean, think about Ocho. Every single round from 64 to 32 to 16 to 8 to 4 and to get it, listen, that ain't happening.

[Penny Hardaway]

But you get that right. That ain't nothing but God's grace.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah.

[Penny Hardaway]

And favor.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Well, you better let God. You better not pick it. You better let him pick it. You better let him feel like. Yeah, you better let it fill out your. Your bracket. Ocho. The number 8 Gonzaga. The Zags beat number 9 Georgia Bulldogs 89 68. The Zags look to be drastically underseated as the number eight made easy work over the Georgia Bulldogs. Gonzaga has now played 26 straight NCA tournament games. Georgia was playing for the first time since 2015. One team looked very, very comfortable on this stage. The other team did not. The Jag jumped out to a 27.3lead and never looked back. Georgia had 13 turnovers, shot just 5 of 26 from the 3, including back to back airballs at one point in the first half. They trailed by 25 points on multiple occasions. Look, I think didn't Ganzaka just play for the national championship a couple of years ago? And you know, they have really good players. They had Jalen Suggs come out of there, Timmy Chet Holgren. So they've had Rui Hachimura, they've had some guys, some really good players come out of Gonzaga. So I'm not surprised. I definitely would. Even though they were a higher seed, I would have put. I would have picked the Zags to beat the Bulldog. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, you've been there that many times. I don't think anybody's surprised at the Zags. Probably the only people that picked them were Bulldog fans. On Saturday, get ready to see how good the Zags are. They'll try to beat the top seeded Houston Cougars to make the 10th straight sweet 16.

[Penny Hardaway]

Hey, now that's going to be a good one. Now that's going to be a good one.

[Shannon Sharpe]

We got to be able to handle that pressure.

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[Shannon Sharpe]

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[Penny Hardaway]

What?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Number 10 Arkansas Razorbacks took down the number 7 Kansas Jayhawks 7972 in a game of runs between two championship coaches. 7 seed Kansas escaped the win with 8 ties and 10 different lead changes. The number 10 Arkansas Razorback used a 70 run to give coach John Calipari a 7972 victory over the Jayhawks and build self in the Providence Rhode Island. What you think? I mean Coach K left, he got the criticisms became a little bit unbearable because. Hold up bro. Every year think about all the first round draft picks that you've had, all the number one overall draft picks that you've had and you've only got one national championship to show. And Kentucky is about championships. Coach R. Toby Smith, Rick Patino, even Calum Stack one. But you got number one overall and pick Anthony Davis, you got Carl Anthony Towns, you got Boogie Cub, you got number all. John Wall, you got Shay Gil, you got Tyler Hero, you got Jamal Murray, you got Devin Booker, you got Vanderbilt.

[Penny Hardaway]

Come on coach, listen, listen. It's been a farm system for them. Yeah, it's been a farm system for them. In and out with number one pick. Some of the greatest not only to play collegiate football, but some of the greatest also in the NBA. But also uncle, you got to think about it. Think about the, think about who they were losing to. They weren't losing to no scrub. They're also losing to other players that play well collectively as a group.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah.

[Penny Hardaway]

Now you just. We, we name and one offs of great players that happen to be on the team.

[Shannon Sharpe]

But you do realize that John Wall and Boogie cousin was on the same team, right?

[Penny Hardaway]

Oh yeah, they was on the same team. But that's why, that's why that's the key word that you heard me say. The team that they lost to played together collectively as better than them as a two headed monster sophomore.

[Shannon Sharpe]

They are the teams that's beating them are sophomores, juniors and seniors sprinkled in where they're just one and done and look, try to learn how to play together because all these guys, Murray was the guy, Mook was the guy, Hero was the guy. All these guys were the guy. Now you're asking all these five stars to come together and say okay bro, for the common good, hey, this is what we need. It's hard, it's really Hard. Cause everybody have the same ambition is to go play in the NBA. But in order to get there, you're gonna have to have sacrifices. And it's hard. I mean, you look at the teams that win. They got juniors and seniors sprinkled in there. Look at UConn. Yeah.

[Penny Hardaway]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

They're not as, they're not as deep as far as far as juniors and seniors, and they're struggling. They obviously don't have the same talent. You know, you lose Clingan and you lose Castle, you lose some of these other guys, and so you're going to struggle. But Coach Cal pulled it. Coach Cal got it done in Arkansas's first win in the tournament. As head coach of Arkansas, we know he was at a lot of different places. Where was he at UMass. He ended up going to, he was in the NBA. Then he goes to Memphis, then he goes to Kentucky. Stays in Kentucky for a number of years. He did win a national championship, but he moves on and he gets his win there. The number one seeds, Auburn and Houston, both take care of business. Auburn beat Alabama State 83 63. Auburn. Cruz behind 23 points from Miles Kelly and 14 points 11 rebound from player of the year candidate Johnny Brome, setting up Saturday date with the number nine Creighton. Houston will play SIU Edwardsville. Oh, they beat SIU Edwardsville 78, 40. Damn. Kevin Sampson was able to rest his starter for much of the second half after building a 28 point lead in the first half. No starter played more than 23 minutes. Houston has been haunted by injuries in the NCAA tournament the last three years, but Cruz into the second round with his entire rotation intact. So no surprise. I mean, I think some people, a lot of people probably got Houston going all the way through, at least advancing to the Elite Eight, if not the Final Four.

[Penny Hardaway]

Now, now listen, who did you say Houston has coming up? They played the Zag on Saturday, right?

[Coach]

Yes.

[Penny Hardaway]

In his ag.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yep.

[Penny Hardaway]

Okay. Yeah, I, I, I don't think I'm. Listen, I, I, I ain't no telling what's going to happen on it is one day. But Houston is good. Houston is very, very good. But again, it's called March Madness for a reason.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah.

[Chad Ochocinco Johnson]

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[Ryan Seacrest]

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[Hypnotic Brand Representative]

When it's Tip off time at my house, there are a few things that are must haves on my checklist. My fellow friends and fans. Check My favorite jersey. Check an iconic drink that's a fan favorite. Check. Hypnotic can turn any cocktail into an iconic creation. With its game changing color and tropical flavor, Hypnotic should be in everyone's starting.

[Shannon Sharpe]

5.

[Hypnotic Brand Representative]

I consider hypnotic the point guard of my game day roster because not only is it versatile like having it on the rocks or as a base for cocktails, it also finishes smooth and just like the banners in my stadium, letting people know that we take championships seriously. Having Hypnotic at my watch parties lets people know that I also take quality seriously since it's crafted with high quality ingredients for a championship level drinking experience. So the next time you need a break from the action with a distinctive timeout, look no further. Grab a bottle of Hypnotic and make your next basketball watch party iconic. Enjoy the vibrant taste with friends and turn every game into a memorable celebration. Hypnotic where every sip is a slam dunk. Hypnotic Liqueur Bardstown, Kentucky 17% alcohol by volume Hypnotic reminds you to think wisely, drink wisely.

[Shannon Sharpe]

The Boston Celtics has been sold for $6.1 billion, the highest price ever paid for a North American sports franchise in history. The Boston Celtics will have a new owner for the first time in more than two decades. Bill Chisholm the managing partner of Symphony Technology Group STG, will buy the Franchise. Franchise at a price of 6.1 billion. The sale price is the largest for a North American franchise, topping the 6.05 billion the group led by Josh Harris paid for the Washington commanders in 2023 and far surpassing the 4 billion that Phoenix Suns got from Matt Ishba when he brought the team. The same year the gross bank group brought the Boston Celtics OJo for 360 million. Doll sells it for almost 20 times.

[Penny Hardaway]

So in other words, what they call.

[Shannon Sharpe]

In business 20x as much?

[Penny Hardaway]

Yeah, yeah, most definitely. You know, Bill Chish. Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

If you had, if you had, let's say 10 billion.

[Penny Hardaway]

Oh, talk to me.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You got $10 billion. Would you buy a sports franchise?

[Penny Hardaway]

Not only would I buy a sports franchise, I'm buying three sports franchises.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Why? Which one? Where?

[Penny Hardaway]

I'm gonna tell you where I'm gonna go. First of all, you listen to it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I'm listening.

[Penny Hardaway]

Stay with me. Now, if I had $10 billion for one, I'm going to talk to Mike Brown and Katie and Duke, Toby.

[Shannon Sharpe]

They didn't have to go somewhere else. That family, mom and pop, they ain't selling that.

[Penny Hardaway]

They said, okay, boom. So if I can't get that, I'm going to Naples, Italy.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay?

[Penny Hardaway]

I'm going to buy Napoli. You know, my love, enthusiastic passion for the game of soccer and the beautiful game.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes.

[Penny Hardaway]

I want to own, I want to own a franchise. I don't want to be a minority owner. I'm talking about majority owner. I want to own Napoli.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay?

[Penny Hardaway]

Do everything I went, do everything in my power, bringing in all type of players, you know, because I'm going to have the money. I'm going to have the money to get the kind of team I want. Bring in superstars. Second thing I'm going to do, I'm going to buy the Miami Heat.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You think, hold on, you just saw what the Celtics went for. How much money you think you'll have to spend to get Napoli?

[Penny Hardaway]

Well, listen. Oh, to get Napoli. Oh, that's a good one. I'm not sure how much that franchise and the NDC would cost me, but again, I'm going to get the Miami Heat. I'm going to, I'm going to have to remove Pat Riley because Pat Riley's way of doing things isn't, isn't, isn't conducive for business with today's era of players. And this is Miami. Yes, this is Miami. And players don't want to come play in Miami. Miami is a melting pot for. For ethnicities and culture. How does nobody want to come play here? No superstars. Listen, we got bam. We got Tyler heroes.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You drafted them again.

[Penny Hardaway]

I understand that, but we can't get any superstars here. We need one more Jimmy Left. True. So boom. That's two Napoli in the Miami Heat. Now I'm not sure how much I'm gonna have left over because I don't know how much Napoli would cost me. Chad, you would probably know better than I can because you can do your homework for me. Real quick while we talking about it. And the rest of that I'm gonna sit on and I'm opening up a cigar lounge.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Oh, my goodness.

[Penny Hardaway]

Oh, that's it. Nine hundred and eighty million.

[Coach]

So you got.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So you gotta. So basically they go. They go. Probably upcharge, so 10%. So they gonna charge you a billion. So you get a charge. They're gonna charge you a bit. A billion. 1.1.

[Penny Hardaway]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay, so now you got 8.9. Okay. Yeah. NFL. You want to get an NFL team? I mean, you told, you told me.

[Penny Hardaway]

I can't. You can't. What about the Dolphins? You think Steven Ross will sell me the Dolphins?

[Shannon Sharpe]

He might. He might be willing to sell you a majority share.

[Penny Hardaway]

How much we talking about? With a majority share of the Dolphins, what you think?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Probably somewhere between two and a half and three and a half. Oh, that's done.

[Penny Hardaway]

That's done.

[Albertsons/Safeway Representative]

That.

[Penny Hardaway]

That is done. And listen, I'm manifesting this. I'm manifesting this. I hope from my mouth to God's ears, maybe it can happen, maybe it won't. I can. Let me dream big. I can dream big. If I shoot for the moon and I fall short, ain't no telling what's going to happen.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Normally. Ocho. Yeah. If. If like a family owned business, there need to be internal. Internal chaos, right? We saw that with the Bolands. They ended up selling. They ended up selling the franchise. But if there's not chaos, like, I don't believe the Cowboys will ever go for sale. Jerry Jones gonna have that in his trust that the Cowboys are never to be sold, no matter what once he's gone. I mean, hey, I'm just saying. But like Mike Brown, that's his dad, his dad started that franchise after he got. After he got out of the Cleveland. Cause he started. That's where the Browns get their name from. And now he went to, you know, Art Modell fired him and so forth and so on. Mr. Modell bought the team and then he started the Bing, Me personally, Ocho, I don't believe they'll sell it.

[Penny Hardaway]

Nah, they wouldn't. But it's just a thought. It's just a thought. Listen, where I was drafted, where I created, I left my footprint, my stamp. And just knowing that I could, just being an owner of the place where I played at would be it just.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Maybe they tell you a minority share, maybe they sell you 10, 20% because it's just hard for me to see, like, even though I think she just passed Virginia McCaskey, who's the daughter of George Hallis, who founded the Bears. Bears. They've only had one owner, the Steelers and the Rooneys. The Steelers have since 1933. Now, there was one year, I think the McClatchys owned it and they ended up getting it back. So the Rooneys have been so basically since 1933. Okay, you got the Maras and the Tissues. They co own the Giants now. It looked like they're willing to sell a minority stake but no controlling aspect. So basically you'll get some money, but you don't get no say in the day to day operations or coaches and hiring and firing, things like that. So I'm looking at, as a matter of fact. Go ahead.

[Penny Hardaway]

I like that. I don't need no say in day to day operations. I want to be in the war room. I want to be in the war room. Listen, I also, I have an eye for talent. Talent. I have an eye for talent. I know what things need to look like. Listen, I just want to get my suggestions, okay? I want to put on my suit and tie. I want to have my bangles pinned. I want to be on the. I want to be on the golf court with Mike Brown. When we go to training camp, we watching the players. You know what you call it? What you call it?

[Shannon Sharpe]

An owner's meeting.

[Penny Hardaway]

Yeah, owner's meeting. I'm at the owner's meeting, you know. Nice. In my suit. In my suit, in my tie. What else? NFL combine. Me and Duke Tobin. I'm sitting there with my pen and pad, you know, I got my stopwatch.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I mean, mostly the only owners there is Jerry. And I don't even know that Jerry showed up this year. Did Jerry go to the combine this year? Normally owners don't go. They send the general manager. They send everybody, you know, general managers, your scout, personnel, things of that nature.

[Penny Hardaway]

But that's me. I want to be hands on. I want to be hands on if I get any type of minority share of the Bengals, you know, God willing, if God wants To bless me with some type of fortune that comes out of nowhere. Listen. I know. Listen, Mike Brown, Katie Troy, if this happens, please allow me to put in and be a part of where it all started. I think that would be a great thing. The fans would love that.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah.

[Penny Hardaway]

Huh?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah.

[Penny Hardaway]

Can you imagine me being minority owner of the Bengals also? Owning Napoli takes a lot, bro.

[Shannon Sharpe]

It takes a lot of bread.

[Penny Hardaway]

And then. And then having some. Some. Some. A piece of the mighty heat, too. Hey. And then. You know what? You know, the good thing about it is?

[Shannon Sharpe]

What's that?

[Penny Hardaway]

Someone like me. If I was able to attain that type of wealth, I'm willing. I'm one of the few people in the world that wouldn't change. Wouldn't change a thing. I'll still be the same. The same. Same old Ocho. You need to find me. I'm at McDonald's. You want to find me, you can find me at the Cuban spot. You know, just doing. Just doing the same thing I always do. I like that.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah.

[Penny Hardaway]

I like that.

[Shannon Sharpe]

From.

[Penny Hardaway]

From my mouth to God's ears.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah. You might better hope, maybe buy the Vegas franchise for an NBA team or hope they get another team. You know, have somebody. Yeah. Get a. Want to start another franchise, but it's hard, Right. You're more apt to get somebody to move. Then they make an odd number 33, because you got 32 teams, and you got 814 divisions. So that seems to be. NFL kind of seem to be set. But it looks like, if anything, the NBA will add two franchises, one in Vegas. And it seems like Seattle is kind of the favorite since they lost the supersonics. And you got Vegas. They got a football team. They got a soccer team. I mean, excuse me. They got a hockey team. Baseball is coming in a couple of years. They got a WNBA squad, so they'll have the four major sports. They'll. Now they get a basketball team, and it looks like that thing gonna go for five, six billion dollars, U.S. yeah. Hey, guys, I got coach on the way.

[Coach]

Can y'all hear me?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yep. We got you, Coach. You got us?

[Penny Hardaway]

Yeah, I got you.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yep. I got y'all. Okay. He's about to jump on. Okay.

[Penny Hardaway]

Hey, excuse me, sir. What's your name? Kirk. I love you.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes, sir. I love you. Love you, too. Appreciate it. Guys, we're getting ready to get joined by. Had injuries not robbed him. He was one of the great players in NBA history. He's well on his way to being the guy that talked about he was the second coming of Magic Johnson, a big Point guard not only could score, but he could facilitate. Here he is $0.01 himself, Mr. Penny Hardaway. Penny, you got us.

[Coach]

Yeah, Kirk's trying to get it right. My man Kirk was just on. There it is. What's up? What's up? What's up, man?

[Shannon Sharpe]

We good, we good.

[Coach]

What's up with y'all, man?

[Penny Hardaway]

Hey, you still. I pity you. You still owe me a one on one, man. What's good?

[Coach]

Hey, Ocho, you can get that right now.

[Penny Hardaway]

Okay, let me know. Hey, listen, I'm. I'm gonna tell you what I'm gonna do for you. I'm gonna tell you what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna spot you five, you hear me?

[Coach]

I appreciate that. Yeah, I appreciate. I'm gonna take them five.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Penny was a four time all star, three time all NBA selection, and he's the head coach of the Memphis Tigers. Penny, you match up tomorrow against csu, Colorado State, you feel comfortable with what you've been able to your team going into this game because you know it's one and done. Not Penny, it ain't no. Hey, hey. We get ready and we. Hey, we gotta go back to work the next day. You lose this game, your season's over.

[Coach]

Yeah, we understand the magnitude of this, man, but this is what you want when you, you know, this is what you live for when you're an athlete. You live for these days. So we understand the magnitude of what's going on. We understand that they're a really good team, but we are also, you know, and at the end of the day, we got to come and compete. They have a great offense and they play physical on defense. All of that, you know, goes along with March Madness, man. We're ready for it.

[Penny Hardaway]

Yeah. Hey, I want to talk about your NBA career real quick. When looking back at your NBA days, what are some moments on the court that still inspire your approach to the game today as a coach?

[Coach]

Looking back at my game and how. What inspired me is. I'm sorry, say that again with your.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah.

[Penny Hardaway]

Looking back at your NBA days, what are some moments on the court back then that inspired your approach to the game as a coach out there in Memphis?

[Coach]

Well, it's just kill mode, you know, for me, everything I did on the floor was kill mode. So I coach the same way. I put that battery in the back of my guy's back. And I'm their biggest fans. I push them out there and give them the confidence and say, hey, man, be in kill mode and attack mode the entire game, y'all. Y'all both are the same way, man. You just gotta. And when y'all were on the field and I was on the court, every possession was to kill the dude that was in front of me.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You're right. Yes, sir. Penny. Let me ask you this, Penny. Cause I asked a lot of great players, you know, had Isaiah on, and I have Coach prime, who's a regular contributor. Penny, how do you do it when you're such a great player and the game seemingly came easy to you, even though you worked, you could see things before they develop? How do you have the patience to realize that you know what these guys probably not gonna be. Penny. Harder. When. How do you have the patience? Because you tell a kid something and then he eff it up. You go over this in practice and he eff it up. You do it in film study and you're like, son, we went over this. How do you have the patience to do what you do? Penny?

[Coach]

Man, it's just one of those situations that we say back home was already understood, doesn't have to be explained. I understand that they won't be on the level mentally as me, so it doesn't have to be explained. So what I do is I put them in positions to win offensively and I put them in positions to win as a group defensively. So it's all about team and then their individual gifts that they have. I put them in those positions to be. To be great. And that's the best. That's the best thing to do for me. I know when I played, I was God gifted. I could play all over the court, coaches gave me the ball. But this guy might need a spot up, he might need a pin down, he might need to play out of closeout. This guy might need an ISO. So to me, the gift that God gave me was realizing the strengths and putting those guys in their strengths the entire game. And then that patience comes along with that because I'm putting them in a position to win?

[Penny Hardaway]

See, I like that. Did you hear what he just said? Understanding your players weaknesses and your strengths. Now, I'm not sure if it's easy to do as a basketball coach, but I wish from a football standpoint, especially at the highest level, if players or not players, if coaches, offensive coordinators understood what their players did, well, I think it would make things much easier, you know, being able to manipulate what you like to do based on your player strength so everyone could play. So offensively, everything could be a little bit better. I love that mentality as a coach.

[Coach]

Yeah. For sure, man. You know, because all these scouting reports are going to put them in their weaknesses. So we got to figure out a way to escape those weaknesses and put them in their strengths.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Let me ask you this. The nil, or whatever the case may be, Actives or whatever the case may be, it's made it a lot different, more difficult. Because, Penny, you can't get on a coach and coach a kid there like they coach you or like you would want to coach. Because if you get too hard on them, Penny, they're going to jump in the portal on you. Kenny, how do you make sure you're trying to, like, make a kid understand or get a kid to understand? Son, I'm trying to put you in the best position that I possibly can to help you succeed without them taking offense to it and going somewhere like, well, hey, I'm not getting the minutes that I need. I'm going here, or somebody coming in and say, son, hey, I see you, and I can give you 250. I can give you $300,000. How do you deal with that now, Penny? Cause it's a lot different than when you played.

[Coach]

I think that, you know, what I try to do is make it a partnership and not be all 100% about me. And when I give the guys the money, right, when they come in, as a basketball player, I'm going to try to make you as comfortable as possible, but then you got to give me something as well. You know, the worst coaches to play for are the coaches that. All right, they're going to come in and change everything that you've ever done in your life and make you somebody that they didn't recruit or somebody that they didn't get out of free agency, Right? So I'm not that coach. When I get you and come and get Shannon Sharp and Ojo, I know who y'all are already. I'm gonna put you in this situation, and we're gonna have a partnership. It ain't gonna just be all about me. And when you do that and you stand on the truth of everything that you. That you tell this young man, then they respect that man. And the respect factor goes a long way. You know, when you respect your coach, you're right to a wall. Yeah, you don't want no butthole coach. You don't want no coach that's gonna be, you know, all about being anal all the time, being negative all the time, and not really trying to see your side of things. Because in today's game, you got to see the other Kid, you got to see his side. In our, in our era, the coach said what he said and we just did it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

That was it. Yeah, yeah. Let me, let me ask you that. Let me ask you this. What happens when a, when a player comes to usa, coach, I need more minutes. I ain't getting the minutes where I'm gonna have to leave.

[Coach]

If he's not getting the minutes, that means he doesn't deserve the minutes.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Wow.

[Coach]

So I'll stand on the truth. If you ain't getting the minutes you want, that means you ain't stepping up to the plate and doing and putting the work in. We need to work on the unrequired hours as well. Not just coming to practice and think you're gonna get shots up. But what are you doing to affect winning positively? Not negatively. You're affecting the winning negatively because you're not coming to the gym, you're not watching film, you're not getting extra work and waiting on your moment and being ready, staying ready so you don't have to get ready. A lot of these guys come to the gym during practice. They might make a couple bucks, but they don't sprint the lane, they don't get a stick hand up, they don't take charges, they're not playing tough, multiple efforts. And that's what's going to get you on the floor with me. If you're not on the floor, then you're not stepping up to the plate to what we're needing you to do, and we give it to them in black and white. We have non negotiables. These are non negotiables. If you're not doing these non negotiables at a high level, you can't get many minutes. And if you're getting minutes, it's going to be small until you get to the level of where you can do those. At a high level.

[Penny Hardaway]

Now, with coaching that way, with that type of transparency, do the players react well like that as opposed to, you know, you got to think about this today. Today's era, everybody is getting participation trophies. They're patting you on the back just for simply being a part of. Even when you're not doing things the right way, do they, do they react well to that type of honesty and transparency?

[Coach]

They react well to the truth. Because I love on them as well. Well, you know, I'm gonna be getting in the gym with you. If you're ready to get in the gym, I'm ready. If you're ready to watch film, I'm ready. I'll take them out to lunch. Whatever it needs to happen for us to get that connection to understand. I need you. But you got to do your part too. You're just not going to be given this. And I know what, what Shannon said that they'll transfer. But when you have that bond and you give them an opportunity, you meet me halfway, I'll meet you halfway. And you stand on the truth. That truth is everything. They respect that more. I've had the guys respect that more.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Let me. You've been at Memphis now for seven seasons. At any point in time in your NBA playing career, did you ever think you'd be a college coach or any coach?

[Coach]

Nah, not really. I was going to be in tv. I was going to go to espn, TNT and do that thing. I wasn't even thinking about coaching at all. Obviously I had the background being a point guard, understanding the game, and I've always loved teaching and developing players, but never thought I was going to be a college coach.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Like when you. Hey, go ahead, Ocho.

[Penny Hardaway]

Now, I was gonna say that I like the fact that you transition into coaching and obviously you might, you might have wanted to do TV with as much knowledge of the game that you do have, playing it at a very high level, being very successful at it, and now coaching, like, are there any unexpected challenges you have being that you know the game so well at the collegiate level?

[Coach]

Yeah, because they don't see it like you. You want them to see it like you. But it's also a challenge to me to develop and teach until I get it. That's the drive for me. Right, right. That's the drive for me to get this young man when he comes in in June to be ready by the time the season starts and as the season goes on to keep teaching him and see him develop into a really good player. Because every kid that comes to my team that's been a good player somewhere else, they become a great player here. Because I'm so invested in each young man on their skill set, their mental, off the court things. It's a full time job. It's not just being a coach.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Penny, when you shot blue trips, did you know much about Shaq and what did you expect to come out of that movie? Did you ever think like, damn, man, I sure wish I could play with this fella?

[Coach]

You know, when I, we did a. We had an Olympic festival. It was like north, south, east, west teams in the summertime. It was held in Minnesota and Shaq and on the same team for like a half or some or maybe a month, month and a half or whatever. And we got to know each other, you know, a little bit.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Coach]

But blue chips, I used that platform to show Shaq who I was. The whole being about that movie was to get Shaq to understand that he needed me. I auditioned for him, not the movie to make it. I like that. I did that. I did that every day.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Peter, have you ever thought about, man, if my knee. Cause I think you had a knee issue. You tried to come back, you end up having. Did you end up having micro fracture on that knee?

[Coach]

I did. The micro fracture took me out. I had 70 surgeries all together, but the last one was microfracture. That was it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Same knee, left knee, if I'm not mistaken. I think that's where they drain into the bone. They drill into the bone, try to let it drain and try to make it. Let it heal on its own. And some people have had microfacture, and it worked. I think Rod Woodson, he had micro fracture. I think Bruce Smith had micro fracture. And they've had eight, ten plus years of great play. You. It kind of robbed you of your lift, and now you got chronic knee problems. Did you ever think in your wildest dream when you first had this injury that this was the beginning of the end?

[Coach]

You know, I didn't. But the thing that was so crazy is, was I was playing in Phoenix, and we were playing the Lakers. You did a Laker Quantum Championship in 02, and I was playing with a torn meniscus. I tore my meniscus in the first round against San Antonio, and I kept playing, and I got a quarter zone shot every other day just to make it through the playoffs.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Seeds. Okay. Yeah.

[Coach]

Y'all know how that. How that is, right? So I do. And I was playing with a tournamentiscus, and Tim Duncan, who was much smarter than me, he set out that series and didn't play anymore and just kind of rested. And you know what happened after that? His greatness or whatever.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Coach]

But it did rob me because after I got done with the Lakers series, I still was. I had spring, I had quickness. If you looked at that series, I averaged about 20 a game. We took those guys to six games and obviously lost. After that, I didn't need the micro fracture. I just needed that. That meniscus area prepared. And, man, I got that micro fraction that took me out because I still had bounce and spring. Even though I was feeling some pain, I still had my quickness. I still had my power. After that micro fracture, man, my quad Depleted. And I never got my quad strength back, like, ever.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah, that's the biggest thing, Penny, when you have those surgeries, it's the surrounding muscles, is that to get that strength back. And people realize that, oh, my knee feel good. But if that quad, if that hamstring, if that calf, if those attached muscles, if they're not repaired, it's not gonna fire and it's not gonna be able to. It's your stability. That's your stability to be able to be able to sustain that up, down. Because you doing this every night back then, penny, y'all played 75, at least 75 games. It wasn't no low management where you take 15 games out. You missed 15, 20 games. You missed 15, 20 games. You was injured. It wasn't no. Oh, yeah. Penny got the night off. Cause, you know, he done played back to back. He gonna play three games in a week. So we will get Penny the next game off. There was none of that.

[Coach]

No, there was none of that at all. But the biggest thing about me, I was gonna play for my fans. I knew people would come to the game to see me, so I wasn't missing no games, right. Unless I was really, really hard hurt.

[Penny Hardaway]

I like it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I like it.

[Penny Hardaway]

Hey, I didn't ask all good juicy questions, but I'm glad I'm just ready for this. One on one.

[Shannon Sharpe]

That's it, Peter. That's your. You grew up in Memphis. You played at Memphis. You coach at Memphis. Is there a scenario where you could see yourself leaving Memphis?

[Coach]

Man, that'd be tough. That would be tough. I mean, everybody know I bleed blue, man. And it got kind of rocky last year, so I didn't know where it was gonna go. But honestly, I wanna win a championship for my city. I really do. You know, if something else comes about, you know, we'll cross that road. But everybody that knows me knows that that blue is in my heart, man.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right, Peter, tell the story how you got the name. Because I think you told the name. Your grandmother was calling you pretty, and they thought you said penny. And so tell the story how you got the name.

[Coach]

Well, I was living with my mother until I was five, and then my mom left me with my grandmother. So when I moved to my mom's area of the neighborhood, she used to call me pretty. And with her Southern accent, it sounded like Penny, honestly.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay.

[Coach]

And one day somebody called my house and was like, can I speak to Penny? Because they thought she was saying, you know, Penny. And she was like, there's no Penny that lives here. And I was like, grandmother. That's me. And that's how it just stuck. From that point, I just started letting everybody call me Penny.

[Shannon Sharpe]

See, now we understand. Now y'all understand why. Glorilla, how she sound? She from the same glow?

[Coach]

Yeah, glow.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You from the same area. Penny. Penny, thank you for joining us, bro. Good luck. Good luck tomorrow night. Good luck throughout the tournament. And when you cut down the nets, come back and join you. Come back and join your boy. I will.

[Coach]

And we gonna get that one on one. Oh, I got you, baby.

[Penny Hardaway]

Man, I salute you, baby.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Before you go, I need them Galaxy phone posits. I know you got a pair.

[Coach]

What size?

[Shannon Sharpe]

12. No, 13.

[Coach]

13.

[Shannon Sharpe]

13. 13.

[Coach]

You got that coming. You got that coming. They're gonna be there soon as I get back home. I got.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Appreciate it, Benny. Take care.

[Coach]

No doubt. All right, peace.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Mr. One sent himself Penny Hardaway. Great dude, man. Ocho, I don't know like this chat how many people remember watching Penny play. But he was a wizard with the basketball. He was supposed to be the next Magic Johnson. A guy that was six, seven and a half, that could score. He could score the difference between he and Magic. Magic. Magic couldn't score like Penny. Penny could really score the basketball and. And could play with his back. But he was a big guard like magic. Magic 69, penny 67. We hadn't seen point guards like that back at. Handle the ball, handling the ball, handle it. And then think about him and Shaq. Him and Shaq in the pick and roll, the lob. Penny getting downhill, can finish at the rim. Everything he had every. He had the mid range, had a nice float game and that injury, like he said. He said he just needed his meniscus cleaned up. They ended up doing microfacture and he never recovered. He never recovered, Ocho.

[Penny Hardaway]

God, man.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You know, sometimes guys get surgeries and you're like, damn, guys have back surgery. Look at Gronk. Gronk had a back surgery in college, went on, had a Hall of Fame career. Like I said, Rod had microfacture. Bruce Smith, if I'm not mistaken, had microfacture. They played another eight, nine years. Penny, it was downhill after that. Go ahead, Ocho.

[Penny Hardaway]

Yeah, I think about some of the injuries, man, to. Some of. Some are great. Some are greats where me where they weren't able to finish their story. Penny Hardaways, the Peter Wars.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Brandon Roy, Greg Oden. There we go.

[Penny Hardaway]

Yeah, like, like, like so many dudes. And I. I wish, I wish technology was a little bit more advanced when.

[Shannon Sharpe]

They Were playing better every year they.

[Penny Hardaway]

Could finish so they could finish their careers the way they should have because injuries have robbed us. There's some great stories, some great unfinished stories.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Because, you know, back then, Ocho, they did that big surgery. They split. You had everybody. You remember. I remember when I first got into the league, the big scar, that big scar right down the middle. That big zipper. Yeah. But now to take the incision is so small, they don't got the way they could. They take part of your patellar tendon and repair. They do cadavers. They do man. Technology, medical. Modern medicine has improved so much. I mean, normally, if you had an Achilles that was a death sentence. You had an acl, that was a death sentence. Now anymore guys come back stronger, better than ever. Like, hold on, just look at Thomas Davis. Thomas Davis had three ACL surgeries and came back and played 15, 16 years. Went to the Pro bowl with I think a first or second team. All probably. Oh, man, it was. You know. When you look at it though, Joe, it's but to watch him because I'm old enough to remember. I remember him at Memphis. I remember him going to Orlando because they made the swap. They traded Chris Weber because Orlando got back to back number one overall picks and they ended up trading Chris C. Webb. He ends up going to go, if I'm not mistaken. Thank good. Goes to Golden State and then Orlando swaps out and they get Penny. That thing was something of beauty. Beauty. That was a thing of beauty. What? What could have been? What could have been?

[Chad Ochocinco Johnson]

Some people just know they could save hundreds on car insurance by checking Allstate first. Like, you know, to check for the nearest bathroom first before the game starts. Now you're heading in the wrong direction and it sounds like your team's taking the lead. Checking first is smart, so check Allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds. You're in good hands with Allstate Savings. Vary subject to terms, conditions and availability. Allstate Fire and Casualty Insurance company and affiliates, Northbrook, Illinois.

[Ryan Seacrest]

You can count on T mobile to help keep you connected from big cities to small towns on America's largest 5G network. Switch the T Mobile. Keep your phone and they'll pay it off up to 800 bucks per line via prepaid card. Learn more@t mobile.com Keep and switch up to four lines via virtual prepaid card. Allow 15 days qualifying unlock device credit service port in 90 plus days with device and eligible carrier and timely redemption required. Card has no cash access and expires in six months.

[Albertsons/Safeway Representative]

Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway. It's stock up savings time now through March 25th. Spring in for storewide deals and earn four times the points. Look for in store tags to earn on eligible snacks like Pepperidge Farms, Goldfish and Kettle Chips or sweet treats like Keebler Cookies, Hostess Snack Cakes, M M's and Ben and Jerry's, plus many more. Then clip the offer in our app for automatic event long savings. Stack up those rewards to save even more restrictions apply. Visit Albertsons or Safeway.com for more details.

[Hypnotic Brand Representative]

When it's tip off time at my house, there are a few things that are must haves on my checklist. My fellow friends and fans. Check My favorite jersey. Check an iconic drink that's a fan favorite? Check. Hypnotic can turn any cocktail into an iconic creation. With its game changing color and tropical flavor, Hypnotic should be in everyone's starting five. I consider Hypnotic the point guard of my game day roster because not only is it versatile, like having it on the rocks or as a base for cocktails, it also finishes smooth and just like the banners in my stadium. Letting people know that we take championships seriously. Having Hypnotic at my watch parties lets people know that I also take quality seriously since it's crafted with high quality ingredients for a championship level drinking experience. So the next time you need a break from the action with a distinctive timeout, look no further. Grab a bottle of Hypnotic and make your next basketball watch party iconic. Enjoy the vibrant taste with friends and turn every game into a memorable celebration. Hypnotic where every sip is a slam dunk. Hypnotic Liqueur Bardstown, Kentucky 17 alcohol by volume Hypnotic reminds you to think wisely, Drink wisely.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Ocho Puka Nakua Was asked who the goat is on the Monroe St. Brown podcast? Oh, it's the Saint Brown podcast, but let's take a listen to what he had to say.

[Coach]

Okay, so LeBron's a goatee.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah. Yeah. So can you tell my brother why he's better than Kobe and Jordan? He's six eight. Okay.

[Penny Hardaway]

He's 260.

[Shannon Sharpe]

That's fine. He plays the one through five.

[Penny Hardaway]

He's not playing the five.

[Coach]

He's not guarding a center, but I'll go ahead.

[Penny Hardaway]

He's gone to three three different organizations and won everywhere he go. He's had a new coach that he's taken to the NBA Finals.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Coaches don't matter that much in basketball. Keep going. Who is the only coach Michael Jordan won NBA championships with? Yeah, one coach, Phil Jackson. Coaches don't Matter.

[Penny Hardaway]

He played other.

[Shannon Sharpe]

He played with other guys.

[Penny Hardaway]

He wasn't always six years in 91.

[Shannon Sharpe]

To 98 in the NBA. He played years, bro. Like, there's a point where he was.

[Penny Hardaway]

Getting bounced in the, in the first round record in the Finals when he.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Was 21 and college LeBron was carrying his team to the NBA Finals year.

[Penny Hardaway]

Four, carrying Zagowskis to the NBA Finals, bruh.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Like.

[Coach]

This is for another time, bro. Like, no conversations.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Jordan. Jordan's the.

[Penny Hardaway]

No, it's not, bro.

[Coach]

Anyways, we'll move on, bro.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Just. You can't talk basketball.

[Coach]

You guys that don't know basketball.

[Penny Hardaway]

Hey, listen, listen. When it comes to stuff like that, when it comes to topics and conversations about who the goat is in different sports, I think it also comes down to preference. Because then obviously talk to people like you, Unk, who can get very detailed and bring up numbers and use statistics and opinions, and not opinions, but actually facts and support your claims on who the goat is. Now when you do that, obviously LeBron runs away with it. But then I hate the comparison. And you know, comparison is the thief of joy.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes.

[Penny Hardaway]

When you talk about your Kobe Bryant, you talk about your Michael Jordan, you talk about your LeBron James, we talk about some of the greatest to ever play the game. And at that point it becomes preference. Regardless of what they've done. Regards to accolades, regards to how many rings you have, it comes down to preference. When people talk about Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi, you know, who's the best, it comes down to preference because you can nitpick and bring up numbers and bring up trophies and all this other stuff, but. But when you look at the greatness of what they've been able to accomplish, and they're so far ahead of everybody else that played the sport, there have been thousands and thousands of basketball players, there've been thousands and thousands of soccer players, but these two are the Mount Rushmore that have played the game in the history of the game in general. I mean, I just, I hate the comparison. You know, how about we just enjoy what they. What they were during their time?

[Shannon Sharpe]

That's too easy. Yeah. Oh, Joe. Details have emerged of T. Higgins deal with the Bengals. Nothing. Yeah, is nothing in 2025 is guaranteed. However, a $20 million roster bonus is earned five days after Higgins put pen to paper. The only true full guarantee at signing is a $10 million 2026 off season roster bonus. The Bengals have a practical matter, a year to year option that can pay him 35.9 million for the 2025. If, if he dresses for every game and earns $2 million per game roster bonus. And they can move on before the 2026 base salary become fully guaranteed. It's not guaranteed for injury because the $10 million guaranteed 2026 roster bonus has offset language. They likely owe him nothing if they were to cut him after one year, since he likely make more elsewhere.

[Penny Hardaway]

Yeah, man, listen, one thing about it, that language, that language always gets tricky, boy. That language that they put in there, it always gets tricky. And the way you just said it, Listen, I'm, I'm. Oh, man, I, I, I don't even know what to say. I don't even know what to say.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I'll help you out. He wanted to be there because this is a bull job contract. You know it. That's why you speechless?

[Penny Hardaway]

Yeah, that's. Listen, listen, man. He wanted to be there.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah, listen, I'm happy to feel I can't be mad at him, Ocho, because that's his decision. He wanted to be there. He wanted to play with Joe, he wanted to play alongside Chase. That's the only team. That's the team that drafted him. And he felt some sort of loyalty. But everybody that heard what I just read, y'all know that contract is bull job. Yeah, but that's what he wanted, so I can't, I can't. Ocho, we can't be mad. That's not us. Right? I don't know who your attorney was, but my agent would have never let me sign this contract.

[Hypnotic Brand Representative]

Right?

[Penny Hardaway]

Oh, my. Oh, I had Drew. I had the Shark.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay?

[Coach]

I had Drew.

[Penny Hardaway]

I had Drew. I had Drew. But listen, I'mma be happy for him regardless of what's in that language. The band is back together.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah.

[Penny Hardaway]

I don't like the business side of things. Huh? That's why I was so passionate about it from, you know, when we were talking about it, when I was on espn, when we on here, you know, we talking about it, I was upset. I didn't like the first time they tagged them. I told you. Because to me, it was a slap in the face. Now, for the people that are part of the Bengals organization, the people that are fans of it, I understand the business side of things, that's the side I don't like. Because when you tag me, they let me know you don't value me long term.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right?

[Penny Hardaway]

You know what? Normally when the team tags you, you know what? We betting against you. Even though you're a part of us, I'm betting against you. That's what it tells me, again, I love my Bengals. I love the fans. But the nature of the business is the one part I do not like, which is why I played the game like a little K, because I want to make sure I kept it fun for me so I didn't have to worry about that side of it. Because at that side of it, it gets nasty. Read what you just wrote, Chat. You just heard it. I don't like that side of things. I like the fact that the band is back together. I like the fact that he got his money. Now, with the language that I just heard, ain't no telling what's going to happen. Ain't no telling what their plans are after this season.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yep.

[Penny Hardaway]

So I'm. I'mma leave it at that. I ain't gonna say no more. I'm just happy my dog got his money. You hear me?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Got some money. He got some money. Yeah. But like I said, oh, I, I. For me, I can't be mad. Yes, sir. Because that's his. That's his decision. And at the end of the day, the agent can put forth. It's like, okay, this is what they're offering. This is what we're going to counter back at. Hopefully, you know, this is here. They're here, we're here. Hopefully we land here. Cause, you know, you want to try to pull somewhere to the middle, Ocho. But at the end of the day, this is T's decision. Because at the end of the day, the agent works at the behest of the player. Yeah. Team has their negotiator. Player has their negotiator. You get in, I don't want to hear anything. Cause, you know, a lot of times the agents shield you from all the negative stuff they're playing. I promise you. They're saying a lot of what people saying, he's a number two, he's not a number one. Blah, blah, blah. Rock is shielding him for that. But, hey, right, hey, they said, look, they want to pay you. We're just trying to get to a number that they can digest and it fits under the cap while giving you the money that they feel you deserve while being able to go out and get other players also. So I get it. Like I said, I believe T wanted to beat there. He gave them a discount, Chat. Like I said, Ocho. And I don't really, really need to add anything else about that, because at the end of the day, this was T's decision. And at the end of the day, Ocho, it comes down to T. And.

[Penny Hardaway]

Yeah, listen, Listen, he got to get it done. Long. He's happy. I talk to him, he's happy. You know what you get? You got one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. Top three right now. You know what? You get it. But we gotta, we gotta get it done.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah, I, I, we, we.

[Penny Hardaway]

I'm talking about we gotta get it done.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I mean, look, you played there. There's a sense of loyalty, cuz, you played there. You played there for a better part of a decade. And so a lot of your roots, people associate you with being a. Bingo. Yeah, you had the one year in, in, in, in, in. In New England and other things. That's not where they associate you. No, they're not. They're not. You didn't have a career. It's, it's funny. It's like, like I ain't never seen anything like this. But people associate Peyton Manning with the Broncos, even though he played the largest part of his career. Oh, in indy. He played 14 years, if I'm not mistaken, in Indy. He played four years in Denver and more people. He lives in Denver?

[Penny Hardaway]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

His home base is in Denver. Yeah. You see him talking about Denver? You see him at the Denver games? The only time I've seen him go back, Back to an indie game. And Chad, y'all can correct me if I'm wrong, is when they put the statue outside of him in front of Lucas Oil. Other than that, Peyton's at the Bronco game.

[Penny Hardaway]

Hey, whoa. Hey, man, speaking of. Hey, I got, I got a question. Yes, I want me a statue right there in front of Paycor Stadium.

[Shannon Sharpe]

They ain't got nothing to do with me.

[Penny Hardaway]

I know it don't got nothing to do with you. How much you think it cost for me to put it out there?

[Shannon Sharpe]

They ain't gonna put it out there. I mean, we.

[Penny Hardaway]

No, I'm gonna put it.

[Coach]

I'mma.

[Penny Hardaway]

Hold on. I'm gonna put it out there. I'm gonna pay for it and just put it out there.

[Shannon Sharpe]

That's private property.

[Penny Hardaway]

Huh?

[Shannon Sharpe]

That's private property.

[Penny Hardaway]

Who property belong to?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Mike Brown?

[Penny Hardaway]

Man, I am part of the family. Let me tell you something. If I had a knife right now, and I was a cut. If I was to cut my wrist right now. You know what color I believe? Black and orange.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Chocolate. Black ass.

[Penny Hardaway]

Matter of fact. Hey, Mike Brown. Troy Katie. Duke Tobin. I'm going. I'm gonna wait till everybody's going in the middle of the night. I'm gonna put my own statue out there. About 8 foot tall. 8 foot tall with Me toe tapping on the sidelines, right? I think the people of Cincinnati would love it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Denver, we got a Monument park where all the guys that have their numbers, like, not numbers retired, but have their name up in, you know, in the ring of fame. You're in the park, okay?

[Penny Hardaway]

I don't wanna be in the park. I wanna be right outside the stadium. Like, you could come by, you could rub, you could rub, rub, rub, rub my head or something for good luck before you go into the game.

[Shannon Sharpe]

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[Chad Ochocinco Johnson]

Some people just know they could save hundreds on car insurance by checking Allstate first. Like you know to check for the nearest bathroom first before the game starts. Now you're heading in the wrong direction and it sounds like your team's taking the lead. Checking first is smart, so check Allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds. You're in good hands with Allstate. Savings vary subject to terms, conditions and availability. Allstate Fire and Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates, Northbrook, IL when it's tip off.

[Hypnotic Brand Representative]

Time at my house, there are a few things that are must haves on my checklist. My fellow friends and fans. Check my favorite jersey. It is good luck. Check an iconic drink that's a fan favorite.

[Penny Hardaway]

Check.

[Hypnotic Brand Representative]

Hypnotic can turn any cocktail into an iconic creation. With its game changing color and tropical flavor, Hypnotic should be in everyone's starting five. I consider Hypnotic the point guard of my game day roster because not only is it versatile, like having it on the rocks or as a base for cocktails, it also finishes smooth. So grab a bottle of Hypnotic and make your next basketball watch party iconic. Enjoy the vibrant taste with friends and turn every game into a memorable celebration. Hypnotic where every sip is a slam dunk. Hypnotic Liqueur Bardstown, Kentucky 17% alcohol by volume. Hypnotic reminds you to think wisely. Drink wisely.

[Albertsons/Safeway Representative]

Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway. It's stock up savings time now through March 25th spring in for store wide deals and earn four times the points. Look for in store tax to earn on eligible household items like Ziploc freezer bags and dinner essentials like Hunt's Diced Tomatoes and Tillamook Shredded Cheese, plus many more. Then clip the offer in our app for automatic event long savings stack up those rewards to save even more restrictions apply. Visit Albertsons or Safeway.com for more details.