Hour 1: Knicks Win NBA Cup

Summary

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Don, Hahn & Rosenberg — Hour 1: Knicks Win NBA Cup

Date: December 17, 2025
Hosts: Don La Greca, Alan Hahn, Peter Rosenberg

Overview

The first hour of this lively ESPN New York show centers on the New York Knicks’ victory in the NBA Cup—a new midseason tournament in the NBA designed to energize players and fans. The hosts dive into the meaning and perception of the win: debating whether and how it should be celebrated, what the Cup means historically, and how New York fans, players, and the wider NBA audience are reacting. There is a mix of pride, skepticism, and humor as they push back against national media narratives mocking the achievement, and muse about what makes any title, trophy, or win meaningful.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. How Should Knicks Fans Celebrate the NBA Cup? (01:11–04:55)

• Rosenberg: “The drought’s over. Finally, New York has a champion. … Not allowed to have fun, not allowed to be happy, not allowed to enjoy it.”
• Discussion kicks off by mocking the outrage at Knicks fans celebrating the Cup, clarifying that no one is taking to the streets, but fans should be allowed to enjoy a fun moment in a long season.
• Quote: “The team won a game they played. Well, if you say that you were not entertained by the game. It was a very compelling ending and fun to watch.” (Rosenberg, 02:16)

2. The Importance (and Limits) of the Cup (03:23–07:21)

• Hahn: Draws parallels with other leagues and their reluctance to overly celebrate intermediate trophies, but also says it shouldn’t be treated as “nothing.”
• Both hosts agree it’s not the “end-all” but push back on the idea that it’s meaningless: “Why not celebrate the something? Just say, ‘Hey, that's cool.’”
• Hahn: “But also, don’t say it’s not nothing. It's still something. So why not celebrate the something?” (04:26)

3. Should the Knicks Hang an NBA Cup Banner? (05:57–11:27)

• Debate over whether acknowledgment is needed: Would a banner legitimize the win or just feel performative?
• Hahn: “If you’re really gonna sell that something was won last night, then you hang a banner, you celebrate it. … But by not hanging the banner, you’re kind of admitting to everybody this is glorified extortion.” (06:33)
• The predicted reality: minimal in-arena acknowledgment but no banner for now. Reference to Jalen Brunson’s leadership and team mentality: “We checked the box … we got more to do. So we leave it behind.” (Rosenberg, 07:09)

4. Why Are People (Especially Outside NY) Upset the Knicks Won? (02:40–04:55, 21:16–22:34)

• The hosts see much of the mockery and negativity as performative and often rooted in anti-New York feelings.
• Quote: “The only time the rest of the country cares is when they can mock you. … That’s all that happens. But fumbles, that’s what the rest of the country wants.” (Rosenberg, 02:40)
• Hahn: “Is everybody outside of New York hates New York because they got New York envy.” (21:16)

5. Money, Motivation, and the “Legitimacy” of the Cup (06:32–17:41)

• Is the Cup just about the $500K prize? Both agree this is a factor but say the win means more than just money—the team played hard and fans were treated to high-level basketball.
• Arguments refute the take that the Cup was designed only to make players and fans care, not to fix the “load management” issue in December.
• Rosenberg: “It’s not to get the players to want to play. … This is to get you to care. That’s what this is.” (16:51–17:41)
• Hahn: “Because the reason fans don’t care about the regular season is because the players don’t care about it.” (17:56)
• Differing views on Adam Silver’s intent — is it fan-focused or player-focused? Tensions between “manufactured” competition and genuine fan interest.

6. Social Media & NY Media: Overreactions and Joy-Stealing (09:44, 32:23–33:38)

• The hosts deride overreactions online about either celebrating too much or too little, warning about letting social media “steal your joy.”
• Quote: “There are people that don’t want the Knicks to win anything ever. So what they’re going to do is call you a loser for liking it. And their victory is going to be to take the joy away that you have. … Just do whatever the heck you want to do.” (Don, 33:10/34:14)

7. Listener Calls: Mixed Emotions and ‘What Should the NBA Do Next?’ (28:01–46:38)

• Fans call in, some expressing indifference, others saying the Cup should matter or at least be acknowledged with a banner.
• Proposals from hosts/callers:
  • Cup game should count as two wins, or serve as a playoff tiebreaker.
  • Why not make it automatic playoff berth? (Hahn, 46:41)
• Reality: NBA and its sponsors are happy; unless that changes, no major structural changes imminent. But stats might eventually count, and some kind of fan incentive could increase interest.
• Quote: “This might be a big deal. And the Knicks being one of the early winners of it might be something… Do you, man. Do you.” (Don, 34:47)

8. Legacy & Authenticity: Will the Cup Ever ‘Mean’ Something? (44:27–49:15)

• History is unclear: In 50 years, being among first winners may mean something—or nothing.
• Continues to weigh fan and player perceptions and the role of media, both old-school and new.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “If you can’t find enjoyment in that game last night, you don’t really like basketball.” — Rosenberg (07:08)
• “All I’m saying is something to signify that something happened. … If you make it seem like nothing happened, then what did I get? Why did I watch that game for?” — Don (08:28)
• “Guess what pro sports is — a contrived money-making scheme.” — Don (13:26)
• “Pro sports is manufactured. All of it is.” — Rosenberg (19:19)
• “You don’t like everybody, right? Why would you think everybody would like you?” — Rosenberg (33:10)
• “If you enjoy it, enjoy it! If you don’t, don’t. But don’t let anyone else tell you what it should mean to you.” — Paraphrased theme (throughout)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 01:11: Knicks win the NBA Cup — should fans celebrate?
• 05:57: Should there be a banner?
• 09:42: Social media & national reaction (NY “parade” joke)
• 15:53: What does the Cup mean if the stats don’t even count?
• 16:51: Rosenberg: The Cup is about engaging fans, not just motivating players
• 22:34: New York vs. the rest, and how to respond to outside mockery
• 28:01: Listeners call in — real fan perspectives on the Cup
• 35:41: How should the Cup “count”? Should winning benefit standings?
• 38:16: Should Cup stats count?
• 44:27: What the NBA should do to acknowledge the Cup

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Tone & Style

The episode is characterized by spirited debate, humor, and classic NY bravado. There’s both playful mockery and genuine wrangling with what it means to be a fan, how much to care about manufactured milestones, and a strong defense of “just having fun,” no matter what the rest of the world (or Twitter) thinks. The hosts blend sports nostalgia with modern media skepticism and fan-first honesty.

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This summary excludes all ads and commercial breaks to focus exclusively on the sports conversation and key listener calls.

Transcript

[Don Hahn]

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[Rosenberg]

Todd.

[Don Hahn]

A lot of virgins working in one room together. A lot can be accomplished.

[Rosenberg]

Han, I just got excited.

[Don Hahn]

And Rosenberg, Alan just expressed theoretical arousal about the Dolly Parton puppet. This isn't North Dakota. This is New York.

[Rosenberg]

This is Don Hahn and Rosenberg.

[Don Hahn]

The best threesome I've ever heard on.

[Rosenberg]

ESPN New York and streaming live on.

[Don Hahn]

YouTube 300 one of the big city. Don Hahn and Rosenberg with you till seven. Full frontal today. We've got a list at four. Don't forget at four o' clock we're gonna be talking to Booker McFarland as we get ready for week 16 in the NFL and ENN at six. How are you, man?

[Rosenberg]

The drought's over. Finally, New York has a champion.

[Don Hahn]

I don't want to mock it because.

[Rosenberg]

I, I'm, I'm, I don't want to mock it either. But you know what I'm being told today?

[Don Hahn]

No, I'm really aggravated.

[Rosenberg]

Not allowed to have fun, not allowed to be happy, not allowed to enjoy it. They, the Knicks should have just walked off the court with their heads down, shook hands with the spurs. Although some people would have said, you know, I supposed to like the opponent. And they should have just left the, they should have left Adam Silver and the dopey trophy and they should have just walked away. They should have just went to the locker room and then just go to Indiana because that game matters more than that. The game last night. That's what they should have done. And after that, right? All the, all the reporters should have just said the Knicks won the game, but it doesn't count. That's all they should have said, nothing more. Don't have fun, don't enjoy it. Nothing. Fans shouldn't care. Like I don't understand this thinking well and I also not it's not the be all, end all.

[Don Hahn]

It's not we know what it is, what it is waiting for.

[Rosenberg]

It's not any of that you know what it was? You know what it was? It was fun.

[Don Hahn]

It was fun. What's the matter with having fun?

[Rosenberg]

The team won a game they played. Well, if you say that you were not entertained by the game. It was a very compelling ending and fun to watch. And. And then we move on. But what happens? You know, here's the thing. Outside of New York, everybody's saying this stuff in New York, everybody's like, yeah, no, it's fine. Like, I don't know anyone in New York that's going crazy. 7th Avenue wasn't flooded with fans.

[Don Hahn]

Not asking you to go crazy outside of New York.

[Rosenberg]

It's like we're a bunch of morons celebrated. We want to hang about. Stop it. That's not what's happening here. But this is all performative. This is what we need to do. And anytime New York does something where they want to feel good, God forbid anybody that's a fan of a New York team is allowed to feel good. The only time the rest of the country cares is when they can mock you. Like when the Yankees lost in the World Series and Aaron Judge got mocked and that whole Yankee team got mocked. That's all that happens. But fumbles, that's what the rest of the country wants. They don't want to see New York teams win because for some reason, when we're happy here, they're miserable. So, no, you're not allowed to enjoy that game last night, Nick fan. Sorry. Not allowed. Nobody's letting you.

[Don Hahn]

And nobody is comparing it to the championship. Oh, my God. And all the analogies that I hear, I'm guilty of it, too, because I brought up to you about. Oh, when Duke would play North Carolina for the ACC championship, and they're both ranked 1 and 2 in the nation, they kind of went through the motions in the championship game because they knew that they had an NCAA tournament to win, but they had a tournament that was going to start in a few days. Okay. When the Eastern and Western Conference champions in the NHL get handed their trophy by Bill Daley, the deputy commissioner, the Wales Conference trophy, they don't want to touch it. Some touch it, some don't. The Clarence Campbell bowl in the Western Conference because in two days, they're going to play in the Stanley cup final to win the Cup.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Don Hahn]

The Knicks are not playing in the final or even in the playoffs in two days. You know where they are. Tomorrow they're gonna be in Indiana to take on the Pacers.

[Rosenberg]

You talk about regular season, the rest.

[Don Hahn]

Of December, January, February, March, and Then April, five months from now, they're gonna start the playoffs. So we have a little fun thing in the middle of a season to award a cup. Big deal. All right. Nobody is saying it's a big deal. But also, don't say it's not nothing. It's still something. So why not celebrate the something? Just say, hey, that's cool. No, no, but it's got to represent everything that's wrong with the world.

[Rosenberg]

Not allowed.

[Don Hahn]

And the problem I have with the people that have defended it, and the reason I'm going to bring up Michael is because I was listening to his opening monologue, as always. He was in on the game last night. He's in on the NBA Cup. But his defense of it is all the reasons why people hate it. Michael's defense of it was, well, if that was a Dec. 16 game in San Antonio between the Knicks and the spurs, then nobody would care. It's a regular season game. The players wouldn't try, and it would just be an average nothing game. We got excitement because these guys are killing themselves to win half a million dollars. Don't bring up the half a million dollars. Yeah, that's what the Joe Plummer out there wants to care about, making $60,000 a year. I'm supposed to get excited about guys killing themselves to win a half a million dollars? Don't bring the money into it. No, don't bring. Oh, that game was exciting because they were playing for money, and it was accentuated by the fact that it sounds like the Knicks are not gonna raise a banner.

[Rosenberg]

No, no, it doesn't sound like it. They're not raising a banner.

[Don Hahn]

And that bothers me because then it feeds into the whole narrative of this means nothing. You were duped. All right? No, it's supposed to mean something. Now, should the banner be as big as the banners that already hang up there? Like, should the banner be treated the same as a banner if they won the 20, 26 championship? No, of course not. But by not hanging the banner, then what Michael was saying in his opening monologue, that it was all about the money we had to extort the players to care about a regular season game in December.

[Rosenberg]

That is not.

[Don Hahn]

That's not selling it. If you're really gonna sell that something was won last night, then you hang a banner, you celebrate it. Well, they'll put. But if you're not gonna celebrate it, then you're kind of admitting to everybody this is glorified extortion.

[Rosenberg]

Well, it's. It's not even about that, because no.

[Don Hahn]

It is to me.

[Rosenberg]

Okay, for you. I get what you're saying, that you want some representation of it, which, from what I understand, Friday, they'll do. They'll have some type of celebration. I don't know if a celebration is the right word. They'll acknowledge on Friday, the first home game that, you know, that happened, and there's a little excitement about it, and then we move on. The whole idea for the team is they just want to move on. Like, okay, this was like Jalen Rudgeon said, we checked the box. They. This was a goal for this season. They checked the box. Okay, we got more to do. So we leave it behind.

[Don Hahn]

All right?

[Rosenberg]

We. We were happy, and now we're getting back to work. That's what it's about. So Friday, they'll acknowledge, but they got bigger fish to fry. They got more things they want to do, and that's five months. That's the message that the T. But they want to keep going. Like, you're not. You don't get a week off. Like, they got to play right away.

[Don Hahn]

No.

[Rosenberg]

So point is this. They're also getting criticized for that now. Can you believe it? Now it's like, you can't win. It's unreal. I said this. Yes, you damned if you do, damn, if you don't see my damned for winning. And that's all that was about for me last night. The satisfaction. And I will call last night that game, for me to watch especially the end, was incredibly satisfying. There was a lot of things that you watched and you saw the team battle and want the win and all that stuff. And it's cool in the moment. It was nice. And if you did not, if you can't find enjoyment in that game last night, you don't really like basketball or.

[Don Hahn]

You don't like the Knicks, but that could happen in any given moment.

[Rosenberg]

But the banner could go up in the summer if they win the championship. They might change their mind and go, you know what? Let's throw it up. It acknowledges the whole season, but right now, they're not doing it right now.

[Don Hahn]

But both. Both could happen. Alan. I'm not asking there to be a huge ceremony. I'm not saying there should be a parade down the Canyon of Heroes. All I'm saying is something to signify that something happened. Well, again, but to make it seem like nothing happened. Then what? What did I get? Why did I watch that game for?

[Rosenberg]

Done. It was.

[Don Hahn]

I watched the game so a bunch of guys could battle each other for half a million dollars. No, that's what it was. So this is some glorified NBA game.

[Rosenberg]

Show just because they put up a sign. You just want a sign that says, hey, we won this. No, because you already know they won. You saw it, this video. There's lots of stuff that shows you that they won. There's a trophy. Everybody saw it. Jalen Brunson had a trophy, too, for mvp. Everybody saw that, too. They saw the confetti they have that they. It was. They treated it last night like it was something. Because Amazon prime put a lot into that.

[Don Hahn]

All right, why not? You have a banner for everything else. Why wouldn't you put a banner up for that?

[Rosenberg]

They're not going to do it right now. If they don't. If they go on to win the NBA title this year.

[Don Hahn]

Let's say they don't.

[Rosenberg]

Well, I'm saying if they do, okay, and now you get the Eastern Conference champions. You get the NBA Finals. You know, you get the NBA champions. Maybe somewhere else you'll throw that up because now you'll want to acknowledge the. The whole season. What you don't want to do is put it up now as if we're done. Well, you can do it later.

[Don Hahn]

What moron would think that? And why do I.

[Rosenberg]

Have you read social media?

[Don Hahn]

How do you go about your life? Every time I see something on social media, what do you say to me? Oh, oh, what do you worry about the trolls for? All of a sudden? We care about what other people think. You're the Knicks. You won.

[Rosenberg]

You put up a banner.

[Don Hahn]

They win the Eastern Conference. If they win the Eastern Conference this year, all right? And they don't play the Thunder, all right? They. For some reason, the Suns make a run. Everybody on Denver, okc, San Antonio, they all get hurt. And the Phoenix Suns, for some reason, make it out of the west, okay? And the Knicks blow it and lose four straight. They're still going to hang up that Eastern Conference banner. That's the one that would make you sick. Like, we won the Eastern Conference. We should have won the NBA title. We didn't. That one would bother you. But they'll still put that up there. But all of a sudden, some kind of. Just a fun cup that was won five months earlier. No, that disrespects the journey. That disrespects everything we're trying to do. Meanwhile, they'll still stick up there, the Atlantic Division championship. They'll still stick up there, the Eastern Conference championship, if they don't win. Those are okay, but one little. Just some kind of some kind of signification that, hey, something happened here, we want it, we're proud of it. We're going to put a banner up.

[Rosenberg]

Why? Why now? Again, when the season's over and everything's done, maybe you could.

[Don Hahn]

Are they going to do that?

[Rosenberg]

I don't know. But right now they're not. And I can tell you it was split. There was. Mike Brown wanted to do it. No, put it up. Let's. He thinks like, you think we accomplished something, put it up there. And everybody else sort of felt like. But I don't want to signify like this is. That's part of it. When we're done, then you put all the stuff up. But for now, let's just like, we're not going to put the. This cup on display. We're going to put it away.

[Don Hahn]

All right?

[Rosenberg]

It goes in. Okay. Everything else goes in with it when we're all done. But I just showed you the mindset of this team led by Jalen Brunson, and by the way, led by Jalen Brunson are the words that matter most. Because his. What he wants matters most right now with this franchise. He's as locked in as I think I've seen him in his years here. This is. He's dead serious about this year. He wants to win this thing, and they're taking it day by day, and it sounds boring, but that's real. And he talks about it all the time, and that's kind of what the mentality is. Let's like, let's not do that now. All right? Let's just get on to the next thing and keep it going and keep checking.

[Don Hahn]

But. But I was under the impression they're not going to put anything up.

[Rosenberg]

Well, no. Right. Right now that's not happening.

[Don Hahn]

But if you came. When's their next home game?

[Rosenberg]

Friday.

[Don Hahn]

All right. So Friday it just happened to be up there. No ceremony, no alum coming in, no big song. We are the champions. I wouldn't raise the banner with the spotlight. No, I would stick it up there.

[Rosenberg]

I would expect pre game to be some acknowledgment. Maybe Brunson say something to the crowd, whatever it is, and then that's.

[Don Hahn]

Apparently everything could be considered a distraction to task at hand.

[Rosenberg]

It's amazing.

[Don Hahn]

Like, why do you care what other people think? You accomplish something.

[Rosenberg]

They don't care about what other people think. This is what they think.

[Don Hahn]

Well, you said. But Mike Brown didn't. Mike Brown said put it up.

[Rosenberg]

No, he wanted to, but after everybody discussed and the census Was, let's not do this.

[Don Hahn]

It just.

[Rosenberg]

They had it on the floor, they had it up on the wall. The very next game the Lakers did.

[Don Hahn]

I'm not saying, by the way, the.

[Rosenberg]

Last two teams to win it lost in the first round. So you want to like kind of break away from that and do your own thing. And your own thing is, well, they put up banners, they did all this stuff. No, we're not, we're not going to do that right now.

[Don Hahn]

We're just going to keep. It's odd because it's the middle of the.

[Rosenberg]

I just don't forget the banner. To me, it's. I don't understand the vitriol. I don't like. I love Mad Dog, but my God, inauthentic. First of all, everybody that says it's contrived money making scheme.

[Don Hahn]

Oh, let's hear him.

[Rosenberg]

Guess what pro sports is.

[Don Hahn]

Let's, let's hear all of it. Let's hear my Mad Dog.

[Rosenberg]

Somewhere Walt Frazier and Willis Reed and Red Holtzman are saying, really, we're going to celebrate this stupid, this inauthentic creation to jazz up the regular season, which means absolutely nothing in the big picture. And by the way, last year the winner of the Challenge cup were the Bucs, who crashed and burned in Indianapolis in the first round, and then the year before, the Lakers who got mauled by Denver. So the idea that this leads to something is a bunch of nonsense. And we're going to celebrate this with hats and banners. A challenge. This is like the World Baseball Classic, which I've always killed, by the way. This is stupid. All right, couple of things. Number one, the Hats and Banners league. That's the league. This is what they do again. Did you want the Knicks to be like, nah, like, no, no, I don't want it. Is that what you like? What are you supposed to do in this moment but say no? No, we're all set. Run off the court. We don't want to be part of this. No, you're in it. You have to do what you have to do. Did Leon Rose grab the mic and start waxing poetic about how great his team is? No, he stayed off to the side. Was James Dolan even there?

[Don Hahn]

No, no, it's.

[Rosenberg]

Owners were there in the past.

[Don Hahn]

Not it was no.

[Rosenberg]

Give gentle troph. Let the players have some fun. And we got to get.

[Don Hahn]

Why does everything have to be 100% or zero? Why can't it just be. It's a mid thing. Nobody's telling you to take the 7th Avenue. Nobody's expecting a parade. No, they did, but. And what I would tell Mad Dog is, listen, the players, they negotiated this in the cba. They could have said, no, this is stupid. We're not doing it.

[Rosenberg]

No, they like it.

[Don Hahn]

They. They like it. They're, they're, they're so. And there's some that might not like it, there's some teams that may not like it. Then you know what? Don't make it. But if you're going to work hard to get there and you're going to go all the way to Vegas and you're going to play on these silly floors, you might as well win the damn thing. And all I'm saying is, is that it could be 50%, it could be 25%, it could be 75%. Whatever it is to you, it's still something. But to sit here and try to convince people to like it because of how good the basketball was, because of all the money that they were going to be making. Listen, if you love basketball, I love sports, okay? I'm not the biggest basketball fan, all right? And I go through this with hockey. I love hockey. I could sit there and watch hockey last night. And I know it's only December, and I know most of these teams, you're going to. We're going to forget about the game two weeks ago, two weeks from now. But I still enjoy watching the sport because I'm a fan of the sport. All right? And you're a fan of basketball. You're a fan of basketball.

[Rosenberg]

I got better.

[Don Hahn]

And there was something on the line last night. And because otherwise, you. If you don't put a banner up and you don't acknowledge, then what exactly happened. Because as you said yesterday, none of the stats from the game count.

[Rosenberg]

No.

[Don Hahn]

Their record, the spurs and the Knicks is exactly the same today as it was yesterday before the game because the game didn't count to the standings. None of these stats count towards any of the stats. It's as if the game didn't happen. And now we're not going to put banners up. We're not going to celebrate them. What exactly are we doing it for? Then? Don't do it. But if you're going to do it, then treat it the way it should be treated, as kind of a cool thing in December, five months before they're going to be competing for a championship. And it is sad that the NBA has to do this to get the players to care. Because if that game was a regular season game last night, maybe Wemby Load Management, I'M not going to play. Maybe the Knicks would have not played to people because they're playing on Thursday against Indiana.

[Rosenberg]

You got it wrong. You got it wrong. I love you. You got it wrong.

[Don Hahn]

What's that?

[Rosenberg]

This is not to get the. This is the other thing that everybody's saying. It's to make the players want to play. No, that's a bunch of. That's. It's bs. This is to get you to care. That's what this is. But no, no, it is.

[Don Hahn]

No, listen.

[Rosenberg]

It's what Adam Silver said. This is the time of year everybody's about football. Our season starts, we get a little bump. October 1st, couple games. Then we get into December. What happens? We fall off. No one's really watching. We lose a little bit of our audience. We lose a bit of mojo into the season, and we're trying to get ourselves to the other side of the new year, when then it's like it gets hot right before the trade deadline. So what do you got to do? Soccer does this. They took it and they thought, well, maybe we do that in early part of the season. And it gives us a little juice, gives a little extra something. People start watching. People care. Will they make the fans care? Because now their teams are playing for something.

[Don Hahn]

This is.

[Rosenberg]

That's the genesis of this. Not, we need. The players want to play.

[Don Hahn]

I just. Well, this is where I disagree.

[Rosenberg]

You can't disagree with a fact. No, that's literally what the commissioner said.

[Don Hahn]

I don't care what the commissioner said because they'll listen.

[Rosenberg]

That's the reason why they disregard it.

[Don Hahn]

Because the reason the fans don't care about the regular season because the players don't care about it.

[Rosenberg]

No, no, no, no.

[Don Hahn]

Come on. They do listen. I'm not saying it's the same level. I'm not saying it's. No, I'm not saying it's the same level. All right? Hockey is. Is a hot dog stand compared to the NBA, but this isn't a problem in the NHL. Their fans still watch the regular season because the players care. There's no load management. The guys play. They try. They. There's effort every single night, and the fans appreciate that. Not nearly as many fans as basketball has, but their fans care. They don't have a problem. The NBA's got a problem because the fans, like, yeah, I'm going to get all excited about this game and then find out, you know, who's not playing because of load management or who's only going to play five minutes or not going to Care because they know they're going to make the playoffs anyway. That's why the commissioner had to try to win the fans back to get the players motivated to play. Because last night, if that was a regular season game between the spurs and the Knicks, there's a chance Wemby doesn't play. He's on a minutes limit. Maybe he doesn't play. And all of a sudden I'm supposed to get excited about Nick spurs and the best player on both teams isn't playing. I understand now, now you're not going to worry about that if they're playing for something last night. So I understand it's trying to get the fans back into it. The reason the fans aren't into it is because the players aren't all in in the regular season because of load management.

[Rosenberg]

Load management.

[Don Hahn]

One month in, you haven't seen it. The Knicks said load management of opening night with Robinson not playing because he.

[Rosenberg]

Was coming off an injury.

[Don Hahn]

I'm just.

[Rosenberg]

I'm just saying it wasn't like he was tired. It was literally they were managing something from the off season for him. But that's a totally different argument. You have to understand that the league has seen that early in the season it kind of like plateaus and they don't want that. So how do we change it? And they had this idea and the only way it would work because players wouldn't. Players be like, what's the difference? It's a game. No, let's. Let's put some incentive into winning it so that maybe a little extra juice for you as a player. And now fans will react to it and that's what they want. Is it manufactured? Yes. But guess what? Pro sports is manufactured. All of it is. So that's all they were trying to do. It works in Europe and they wanted to try it. That's it. I'm not talking about any of this because I'm the one that rolls my eyes at this thing. I always do. It's like, yeah, it's the NBA cup, let's see where it goes. It's because I do think the courts are kind of goofy and there's a lot of extra stuff to it. What I'm trying to say is last night, just in a vacuum, it was fun. It was a good game. It was a really competitive good game and it was compelling to watch. And especially if you're a Knicks fan, the ending of the game and the way that team played in a game that had this sort of feel of win it and you get to Celebrate a little extra. They wanted that, and they played hard. That fourth quarter was insane. 35 to 19, Don 23 to 6. Rebounding. They completely looked like a team that if they ever needed to lock it down and win, they could do it. And so that opened my eyes, and I'm like, damn, that was fun. And I just. I'm serious. My reaction wasn't. I wasn't pumping my fist going crazy. I just went, wow. Like, all right, that showed me.

[Don Hahn]

That was pretty cool. And then let's walk away. And that's all I'm saying.

[Rosenberg]

But why are people acting like New York is having parades and jumping up and down over something? Nobody's doing that.

[Don Hahn]

Nobody's doing that.

[Rosenberg]

But yet the national reaction is that, right? Because, well, we want to tamp it down. We're not going to hang a banner. Oh, my God. How dare you not hang a banner?

[Don Hahn]

And that's why I'm saying, do whatever the hell you want to do, because it doesn't matter what other people think. Is everybody outside of New York hates New York because they got New York envy.

[Rosenberg]

Believe me, that's my fault.

[Don Hahn]

I travel around. I travel around the country. So does Alan.

[Rosenberg]

They hate us.

[Don Hahn]

And even if they like us, there's that feeling of when you guys. They say it to me, man, you're so lucky in New York because you got so much. So much going. Because they'll be in. I'm not going to mention a city, but all they got is, like, one or two teams, you know, and they don't really care about the other teams, and they're envious that we. Our buildings are always sold out, and our game still means something because we've got. We've got teams that have a history, passionate fans, and we're passionate and all that. Listen, and our football teams are down and all that, but we know those teams are good. You know, we don't have to worry. The big. The big four, you know, the Yankees, the Knicks, the Rangers, the Giants, they don't have to worry about, you know, nobody caring about their team anymore. Maybe the Giants, if it continues the way it's going. But my point is, is that it comes from an envy of. There's so much excitement. They love to be able to try to knock us down. They're always going to go after us. There's always that New York bias. So who cares what you think? Don't care. And I'm not telling you to go over the top and take the 7th Avenue and have a parade. Just saying what's so wrong with just thinking, hey, cool, we won the NBA cup and now we move on.

[Rosenberg]

That's it. But that's everybody's choice.

[Don Hahn]

But this obligation to feel like, oh, it was nothing. It didn't exist, it didn't happen. Why, why deprive yourself of a kind of cool thing?

[Rosenberg]

You don't want to have fun. You're happy being miserable. That's it. You're happy being miserable. That's all that was last night it was, you know what? It was fun.

[Don Hahn]

And now it's over tomorrow. Tomorrow in Indiana. Now it's over. Right?

[Rosenberg]

It's over.

[Don Hahn]

But I don't think there's anything wrong with just acknowledging that, hey, yeah, we won the NBA cup, great. And if you want to signify with a banner, nobody and their mother is going to think that that banner has anywhere close to the same value, right, as an NBA title. Nobody. But if you went through the process, you saw it, you saw the way the players celebrated to just ignore that it happened because really, in every sense, it's ignored because the game isn't going to show up on in the standings. None of the records. If somebody scored a thousand points last night, it wouldn't have been in the record books. So why not just acknowledge that they won?

[Rosenberg]

Derek McGuire's not going to roll over in his grave because you put up a sign. And if they, like Carl Braun, they don't care, right? Like, they act like it's some kind of, like now it to be this, this black mark on the history of the franchise just because they won this thing. Like, oh, well, what are you going to do to show? We might throw it out. Throw it out because the ghost of.

[Don Hahn]

Will, the screen will come back and haunt you then. The thing is, you have this stupid.

[Rosenberg]

Trophy in the case.

[Don Hahn]

Come on, then, then, you know, just say, acknowledge, we don't want to play in it.

[Rosenberg]

Are you going to ForFeit?

[Don Hahn]

Throw the 1. The 1 game with the stupid court, then you're done. You're going to have to worry about it.

[Rosenberg]

You're going to tell me that Clyde Frazier, if he, if he were playing on this, the Clyde Frazier, like, I don't want to win this. Clyde Frazier wanted to win every game. It's all he cared about is winning, right? All he wants to do is win. Is there something at stake? Okay, I'm winning. Like, that's all he want. I can't wait for Clyde to get back on the air when we start doing it. We haven't done a game in a week, but I Can't wait till we do. So I can hear Clyde say that, like, you know what, you play to win things and we won something great and that's it.

[Don Hahn]

And then you move on.

[Rosenberg]

Like, don't tell me about the ghosts of the past. Like Mad Dog starts ripping off all these names from the past as if, like they're all going to be appalled up in heaven going, oh my God, we're embarrassed we won this thing.

[Don Hahn]

No. Okay, is LeBron James embarrassing?

[Rosenberg]

I mean, I mean, how does Bill Sharman feel about the Lakers winning the NBA?

[Don Hahn]

Forget about those guys back then. Because you know what? The NBA didn't need these back then because people still cared about the regular season. But LeBron James has won this. Giannis has won this. So we don't know how it's going to age 20 years from now.

[Rosenberg]

You'd rather them lose. You'd rather them lose. That's what you want. You want to lose. Don't even get to the quarterfinal. Lose so that they don't have to deal with this. It doesn't make sense if you couldn't enjoy last night. You have a hard time having fun.

[Don Hahn]

We've got Booger McFarland coming up before we got a list at 4:30. Joe Burrow spoke again.

[Rosenberg]

Oh boy.

[Don Hahn]

And it's, it's aging well for us.

[Rosenberg]

I'll just say that.

[Don Hahn]

Ian at 6. Lot of your calls to get to next at 1-800-919-3776. Don Hannah Rosenberg on ESPN New York There's a lot of reasons why people buy at Ramsey Mazda selection. It's their customer service and it's their savings during the more to move you sales event. Lease a new 2025 Mazda CX 32.5s all wheel drive for 159 for 36 months. Start shopping now at Ramsey Mazda dot com. Choose wisely. Choose Ramsey Mazda. Call 833-853-2970 for lease details Vin SM 839072 MSRP. $26,690, zero security deposit and 1226.

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[Rosenberg]

Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[Don Hahn]

I didn't listen to anything you just said.

[Rosenberg]

Catch the show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts.

[Don Hahn]

Little boss Skaggs, I didn't see his birthday, so this is just something you're feeling.

[Rosenberg]

This is a good song, by the way.

[Don Hahn]

It is good.

[Rosenberg]

A dirty lowdown.

[Don Hahn]

1-800-919-3776. A lot of people want to chime in on this. We had some fun opening up the show. So at least if nothing else, it accomplished that.

[Rosenberg]

Just wanted to bring some heat because.

[Don Hahn]

Who knows if that game is even the open today, if it's a regular season game. But it certainly was an open today. Let's go to the phones. Let's start off with Joey. He's at Staten Island. You're on ESPN New York. What's up, Joey?

[Caller/Guest]

Yeah.

[Caller]

How you guys doing? Thank you for taking my call. Yeah, I just want to New Yorkers because there are New Yorkers out there that are going crazy over this cup.

[Rosenberg]

Well, that's where.

[Don Hahn]

Oh yeah.

[Rosenberg]

I really haven't not seen it.

[Caller]

No, no, they're out there, trust me.

[Rosenberg]

But where? Where are they doing it at home? They could do it at home. Where are they doing it?

[Caller]

The Internet exists. You don't see it on the Internet.

[Rosenberg]

No, I, I have not.

[Don Hahn]

Honestly, I haven't seen people going crazy. I've seen people happy. They won't, but I haven't seen crazy. You know, craziness is when they were taking a seventh Avenue after one playoff win.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah, we didn't see anything like that after beating the Hawks and chanting F Trey Young like that. Yeah, I agree. That's a little extra, but remember, it's been. It was eight years.

[Caller]

This, this tournament is pointless. And the reason why it's pointless is because give me at least a three game series. Something that's what makes the playoffs great in the NBA.

[Rosenberg]

All right, so do you. All right, real quick, real quick, real quick. Hang on. Three game series in the middle of a season, you know, is not doable. But let me ask you this. Do you like. Do you hate. Do you hate March Madness?

[Caller]

Do I hate March? To be honest, I don't watch college.

[Rosenberg]

All right, so it's.

[Don Hahn]

All right.

[Rosenberg]

So that's. It's not for you. Because that's all this really is. It's just sort of a little. A little bit of a little something like that.

[Caller]

And I do agree with the Knicks, like, do not hang that. Do not hang a banner. It means nothing.

[Don Hahn]

But.

[Caller]

Well, where I will give the Knicks their flowers is they, they shut down Wemby Mitchell. Robinson did his thing, fourth quarter, but again, that's one game.

[Rosenberg]

He was cooking, man. He looked. I'm not a minute there.

[Don Hahn]

I guess my argument, the whole game over. My argument with you, Joey, is I don't think it's a big deal, but I also don't think it's nothing. They negotiated into the cba. The players wanted to do this. And I want it to be more than just, oh, I happen to watch a bunch of guys on December 16th care because they're going to make a half a million dollars apiece.

[Caller]

One question before you let me go. Nick's Knicks ended up getting knocked out in the first round of the playoffs like every other cup winner has.

[Rosenberg]

Well, there's only been two.

[Caller]

Well, at least you won the cup.

[Rosenberg]

No, nobody's ever going to say that.

[Don Hahn]

You know, nobody was saying.

[Rosenberg]

No one's going to say no. Who's. Again, Joey? Please enlighten me. Who's going to say that? Who have significance when they. If they lose. Now, remember, the Bucks lost because Lillard got hurt and Giannis got hurt. All right? You don't want that to happen. So let's just say that happens. God forbid who of significance when this is over. Well, you know, we did get the NBA cup, though. Who?

[Caller]

There's people out.

[Rosenberg]

No, I didn't say. I don't know who of significance.

[Don Hahn]

Somebody that you. Somebody's opinion.

[Rosenberg]

You value some of that. You're like, wow, I can't believe you said that.

[Don Hahn]

That hurt me.

[Rosenberg]

Not, not some yo yo on some radio station divination. I, you know, he's not going to do that, you know. Yeah, he was.

[Don Hahn]

I. Joey, I.

[Rosenberg]

He was. He was.

[Don Hahn]

I'm not going to sit there and argue with you that you should care about something you don't care about.

[Rosenberg]

But Stephen A. Stephen. Stephen A. Opened this. That's why Mad Dog did what he did. Because Stephen A. Open the show doing the orange and blue skies. Well, that's silly, too, because it's all this. It's all a performance. We want to have fun. And that's. That show is a lot of fun. He did that and Mad Dog did that to balance it. And it was all a lot of fun. But there's no way anyone's going to say, well, we did get the NBA. No one's going to say that. Jalen Brunson made it clear, and I'm telling you guys, his word is bond. It's the only one that matters in the organization. His quote was, this is great. We're going to enjoy this. But once we leave tomorrow, meaning today, we're moving on, and that's fine.

[Don Hahn]

So. But it's so. Not to play Freud, but it's so typical of people. You're going to have people that are going to be over the top with it, which is wrong to be over the top. So your compensation for it is now to go the other way and not care. And just so we can't find a happy medium, you're embarrassed to be associated.

[Rosenberg]

With them, so you'll go the opposite.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah. So if you're not going to take to the streets, then why bother?

[Rosenberg]

Maybe we need a Freud Friday.

[Don Hahn]

There you go.

[Rosenberg]

You know what I mean? Where we kind of analyze, like, fans.

[Don Hahn]

But isn't that it? It's like, well, look at these people. And again, those people, there's always. Here's my advice. We're both in the public eye, myself and Alan, so we get compliments, we get ripped. There are people that want us dead and there are people that want to have parades for us. Okay? That's social media. You can't react to what social media says because all social media is trying to do is get a reaction out of you. And the only way to get a reaction out of you is to go over the top. And it's also not even that that's necessarily their opinion, but whatever's gonna get a reaction. Whatever gonna get clicks. So don't worry about that. Not everybody is gonna like you. Not everybody is gonna agree with you. And the second that somebody doesn't like you or disagrees to go over the topic, oh, my God, forget I'm out. You can't.

[Rosenberg]

You know what I always say? I always say this. You don't like everybody, right?

[Don Hahn]

No.

[Rosenberg]

Why would you think everybody would like you?

[Don Hahn]

Exactly right. But on social media, it's usually not a lot of love. It's always gonna come from a place.

[Rosenberg]

Of hate, the sarcasm.

[Don Hahn]

To have your feelings impacted by what some yo yo thinks on Twitter and only thinks that to get that kind of reaction from you, they're trying to own you. They're trying to get in your head.

[Rosenberg]

Or this fugazi tough guy thing about how, like, we should only celebrate. It's like, that was fun last night. If you like ball last night.

[Don Hahn]

Well, think about. Think about the objective, because again, he admitted, you know, social media.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Don Hahn]

What they're trying to do is there might be Nick fans that thought yesterday was cool and wanted to win the cup. There are people that don't want the. With the Knicks to win anything ever. So what they're going to do is call you a loser for liking it. And their victory is going to be to take the joy away that you have. They're trying to steal your joy.

[Rosenberg]

So true.

[Don Hahn]

And so when you sit there and go, it's fugazi.

[Rosenberg]

Nobody cares about.

[Don Hahn]

They're stealing your joy. Just do whatever the heck you want to do.

[Rosenberg]

It's a really good job done.

[Caller/Guest]

All right.

[Don Hahn]

Hey, Brunson doesn't want it, then you don't do it, because he's the leader of the team. But if Brunson wanted it, then hang the banner. I'm only saying is that for the fans that enjoyed yesterday, have it signified someplace that you did win it, because we don't know how this thing's gonna age 50 years from now. This might be a big deal. And the Knicks being one of the early winners of it might be something. A sense of pride that you have. Maybe they decide to do away with it in two years. Who the heck? No.

[Rosenberg]

I don't know how long this is.

[Don Hahn]

Do you, man? Do you?

[Rosenberg]

I don't.

[Don Hahn]

I don't care what Other people have to say, al and I get paid for our opinion. If you listen to us, then you must value our opinion. But as far as social media, let them do what they do, you do what you do, and never the two should meet. How about that?

[Rosenberg]

How about that?

[Don Hahn]

All right, what else we got? Brian in Middle Island. You're on espn, New York.

[Rosenberg]

You must be convinced, though.

[Don Hahn]

Yes.

[Caller]

Hey, good afternoon, guys. Well, first of all, I want to say I'm really happy that the Knicks actually won that game. I was on the edge of my seat. It was a fun, entertaining game. I don't really see why people want to make an argument for whether you should be happy or not about it. It was pretty cool. I think what the NBA should do is to get us a little more hyped up as the fans, let the players get the half a million dollars if they win. But if they win the final, that game should count as two wins in the win column.

[Rosenberg]

Wow.

[Caller]

Because that can cause ruckus. Right? And the fact now you're playing for. Maybe, you know, this can help with load management. You know, you pocketed those two extra wins on your record. Maybe you can sit. You can afford to sit your stars for a game or two, or you can cover your butt for an injury or whatever may happen. But I think it should be where, you know, it doesn't count as a loss if you lose. But if you win, you should count as two wins.

[Rosenberg]

You know, I like this, but I don't. They can't do the two wins thing because then records would be kind of messed up. But I like where your head's at. So how about I'll propose this. What do you think?

[Don Hahn]

Document? Okay.

[Rosenberg]

What if I said that the winning. This is the ultimate tiebreaker. You win every tiebreaker no matter what. So if you're tied for third, even if the other team swept you in the regular season, you still get third. They don't.

[Don Hahn]

Right.

[Rosenberg]

Like, whatever it is, it's the ultimate tiebreaker. It's the ultimate. You'll get the better chance to have home court advantage all the way through the playoffs. Just because you won this, does that change it?

[Don Hahn]

Maybe a little bit.

[Rosenberg]

You know what I mean? Like all we thought. I still think Don. Don and I did this the other day. We had fun exercise about what can you do so the fans feel like they got something out of it. They feel invested too, because players are getting money. And you saw the. By the way, the biggest part of the celebration was the five guys at the bottom at the end of the bench, three of them on two way contracts that are making nothing. And the they were like I just got a half million dollars. So of course they're going to run out on the floor and surround Kat and dance with him.

[Don Hahn]

Right.

[Rosenberg]

They were fired up. That's the camera caught the end of the bench. The camera didn't see the guy. The rotation players just being like that's cool. Like there was not an insane celebration. But those guys at the end of the bench that are making $75,000 this year playing in the G League, that's.

[Don Hahn]

A big deal for them.

[Rosenberg]

They're like, oh my God, that's just life changing. So. But there should be some type of fan incentive of discounts or something or something for free that you and I talked about that I think needs to be added here. And in fact I really do want to when I get a chance, you know to A lot of times the league you can talk with people and they want ideas from you. That's something I'm going to propose for next year.

[Don Hahn]

And the one thing I think they can do, not that this move doesn't need a lot. I understand how it doesn't can't in the standings because you can't have one more game than everybody else.

[Rosenberg]

Can't do that.

[Don Hahn]

You, you could count the stats though because if Major League Baseball's got a play in game a tiebreaker, you know, game 163, those stats still count to the regular season. It's considered an extension to the regular season. I get it. So you could if you wanted to make those stats.

[Rosenberg]

I think you're right. I do agree with you. I think you're right. It is weird that this was a win that is not a win. And that needs to be fixed too because think about this. The his hypothetical before we get back to the calls. The Knicks won that game last night, but it's not their 19th win of the season. No, it's still 18 and 7. They now had to fly today, right now in fact to Indiana. They got to play the Pacers tomorrow night. They have a back to back Friday at home against the Sixers. That's kind of unfair. Like you know, you're in Vegas, you play this game, you play your heart out. Next day you got to fly to India, play, play a game, then go home, play a game. So do you kind of got a feel you're going to hate this but I know if I'm running the Knicks, all right, playing the Patriots, they're not very good. It's on the road. I want my guys playing Friday. I don't want to tax my guys. Right. I'm probably going to do some load management tomorrow. My opinion, I don't know this to be fact. I'm saying if it's me, I'm considering this. So what if you lose that game? Schedule loss and now Instead of having 19 wins, you have one more loss because of the after effects. The spurs have been on the road forever. They had the rodeo tour, right. So they had to go on the road because the rodeo comes to town and it puts them on the road for a long time. They've been on the road for like two, three weeks. Yeah, they're going to have a game probably where they're going to have to like shut some guys down and relax and now they're going to take that's.

[Don Hahn]

So this could age even worse.

[Rosenberg]

Right. So for people, it's why they got to find a way to make the game count.

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[Rosenberg]

So good. So good, so good. Score.

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[Rosenberg]

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[Rosenberg]

Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[Don Hahn]

I didn't listen to anything you just said.

[Rosenberg]

Catch this show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts. So what, like I'm trying to connect the dots now.

[Don Hahn]

So boss Skaggs and the Beatles. It's just a B day.

[Rosenberg]

Just feeling like it, you know, not bad. I mean, you know, once I see your head, your guys heads moving, I know I'm on the right track.

[Don Hahn]

There you go. That's what it's about, man. It's all about the vibing with the hosts. 1-800-919-3776. Let's go to Ben. He's in Springfield. You're on ESPN New York. Hi, Ben, guys.

[Caller/Guest]

Yep. Hey, how's it going?

[Rosenberg]

Good.

[Caller/Guest]

I'm in favor of the banner. You know what, first off, Don, I agree with that. Like if we're not gonna why have the Atlantic Division titles? Why have the Eastern Conference if we don't win the title that that year? Let's just take down the 20, 2012, 2013 banner. Because I didn't win the championship that year and I had a very high aspirations that year, even though the Heat were there. But hon, I also think you're kind of contradicting yourself in a sense where it's like you've said that like people aren't say I'm confused. Like they're not going to end the year if the Knicks don't win the championship. No one's going to be like, oh well, we won the NBA cup. Then what's the, what's the problem with having the banner up there? Well, it's going to get confused.

[Rosenberg]

I think what I was saying was, is that banners you don't put up during the season. Banners are when everything's done. So I still follow up with that. I'm just, all I'm going to say is that so my explanation is, is like they're not putting one up now. It doesn't mean they never will. I just don't think right now is something they, they don't want to do that right now. Then that's could happen in this, maybe next October. They it's there when the season starts. We don't know.

[Caller/Guest]

Would you agree that fans might be more angry if let's say we lose a tough final seer like and that's in the hypothetical world. I hope that happens. Well, I hope we win. But let's say we lose seven games in the finals to Oklahoma.

[Rosenberg]

Right.

[Caller/Guest]

And then next year we don't have a banner raise, but then we see the cup, the cup banner raised during the offseason.

[Rosenberg]

Well, if you get to, if you.

[Caller/Guest]

Get what did Knicks fans get more upset?

[Rosenberg]

Well, if you get to the NBA Finals, that means you won the Eastern Conference, which means that banner goes up. Yeah, but they won't have a serial.

[Caller/Guest]

What if NBA cup titles up there. I think people would be more upset if like we lose a tough seven game series, but then they come in the next year.

[Rosenberg]

You're going to already have banners up, though, because you're going to put up these. Forget that finals banner.

[Don Hahn]

What if for some reason, God forbid, you're losing the first round? Yeah, that's happened. You think people are going to want to come into the Garden on opening nights. But that's why I just, I just don't get why. What is putting it up on Friday and not with, not with ceremony. You just, you go to the game of the Garden, you look up and it just happens to be there. No spotlight.

[Rosenberg]

Here's why.

[Don Hahn]

How does it affect.

[Rosenberg]

Here's why. Because in three years of the NBA cup, it was never an issue until this year. And it wasn't an issue after the game. It was an issue before the game. It was a conversation and a debate before the game. Because only here, but by the hand, only here does it matter. And so it just became like, this is. No, forget it. Like, just, we're not doing this.

[Don Hahn]

You know, what the NBA should do is just the NBA make them. And that way you say, listen, we only we have a banner up because the NBA.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah, it's like, it's like retiring. Retiring a number.

[Don Hahn]

But again, you're pandering to the people who told you you're wrong for caring. And if for some reason you cared about winning that game, it devalues the journey that if you put an ounce of effort into winning that game, then clearly your mind isn't on winning the champion. Come on, that's fugue. That's made up. That's made up by people who don't care about the cup. And it's cool not to care about the cup. I understand you not caring about the cop.

[Rosenberg]

You're tough.

[Don Hahn]

But I don't know why you're so upset about the people that do care. And I don't know why the people that care seem to care so much about the people that don't.

[Rosenberg]

Can I, can I say I do know what you're saying?

[Don Hahn]

Living someone else's life. Think about that. You are now embodying your enemy.

[Rosenberg]

Do you understand? That's our society today. So with that in mind, as much as like I cringed at Mad Dog and what he did and that whole. That the show he put on this morning on First Day, what it was. And it was a show, and it was hilariously entertaining.

[Don Hahn]

That's him.

[Rosenberg]

But I can say he's also not wrong, because how do you authentic. How do you make this thing authentic if it's inauthentic? Right?

[Don Hahn]

Mm.

[Rosenberg]

How do we make it authentic? How do you make it something that. Winning it. All right, you know what? That's significant, but. And it's beyond money for the players. What could. What could the league say? You know, what if Adam Silver really, really wanted to double down on this thing and he's like, all right, you know what? We're three years in and people still aren't taking seriously because they're calling inauthentic, and they say it's meaningless. Let's put some serious meaning into it.

[Don Hahn]

What can it be?

[Rosenberg]

What can you do?

[Don Hahn]

Well, I mean, I know what I can do. What's that?

[Rosenberg]

Put a playoff berth on it. Automatic.

[Don Hahn]

All right?

[Rosenberg]

You win this thing, no matter what happens the rest of the year, you're.

[Don Hahn]

In now, it probably won't matter, because I think if you're going to navigate through there, you're a playoff.

[Rosenberg]

You probably could be here, where a.

[Don Hahn]

Team just happens to go on a nice little route.

[Rosenberg]

That's a big deal. It is. Now, you knock out a team, right, that, you know is fighting for that 10th spot. Or they know now I can't get that 10th spot.

[Don Hahn]

Or you're the Brooklyn Nets, who are like, you know, we're not a playoff team. We might not even win 20 games this year. But I'm going to bring it the nights that it's a Cup night, because maybe this could be a backdoor way getting into the playoffs.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah, but now there's only nine.

[Don Hahn]

Here's the thing.

[Rosenberg]

Not 10. Here's the thing, okay?

[Don Hahn]

If you're the NBA and you see the money's coming in on this and Amazon's happy with their number, you don't do anything.

[Rosenberg]

I'm curious about the number, but you.

[Don Hahn]

Know what I'm saying? You only do things if it's not working. You don't do this to gratify the few people that went on Twitter saying it's meaningless.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Don Hahn]

Like, you only do these ideas if it's not working. The players don't care. The ratings aren't there. You know, the buildings, forget about. I don't even. Did we get an attendance figure in Vegas last night?

[Rosenberg]

I had one. I got it. I'll find it for you. Right now, but it was, it was still not full though. Right.

[Don Hahn]

And that's probably more venue than lack of interest.

[Rosenberg]

There's a lot of Nick, because the.

[Don Hahn]

Games that are played on home court, you know, they're selling out. That's the only time they're going to change it. You're not going to change it for the people that you're going to change it if it doesn't.

[Rosenberg]

18,609. Okay, now what does T Mobile, what's the capacity of t mobile?

[Don Hahn]

Maybe 20. I mean, I can't. It wasn't empty, but I don't know if that's capacity for basketball. Might be capacity for hockey, but I'm sure It's north of 19,000. It's a brand new.

[Rosenberg]

So it's 20,000 for basketball.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah. So they were like less than 2,000. But it's a neutral site and neither of the teams play close to Vegas. I don't know if people are going to be traveling to Vegas to see it. Just, hey, are people that happen to be in Vegas interested in going to this game? I don't think that necessarily tells you the interest level of the event, but the only way they would make any changes is if it wasn't fiscally working and people flat out didn't care. So.

[Rosenberg]

Well, Amazon paid for the rights to.

[Don Hahn]

Have the full exclusive. I don't think they have an appetite of making those types of changes unless they start to think if we don't get the numbers we're looking for, we're going to get rid of it. So I think this is all kind of reindeer games in the sense. I don't think they have an appetite to make any changes. I think they're very happy with the way it's working out. I think it's making money. They got a major sponsor, so I think they're cool with it.

[Rosenberg]

Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast. I don't want to know how the sausage is made, man. I just want to know. It's good. Hear more of Don Allen and Peter weekday afternoon starting at 3 on 8 80, ESPN, the ESPN New York app and your smart speakers.

[Don Hahn]

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[Rosenberg]

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[Don Hahn]

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[Rosenberg]

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[Don Hahn]

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