Wemby's Warning, Becky Hammon Stands By Brunson Take & Is NBA's New TV Deal Working?

Summary

No Dunks Podcast Summary

Episode: Wemby's Warning, Becky Hammon Stands By Brunson Take & Is NBA's New TV Deal Working?
Date: May 28, 2026
Hosts: J.E. Skeets, Tas Melas, Trey Kirby, JD

Episode Overview

This rich, debate-packed episode of No Dunks dives deep into several of the week’s hottest NBA storylines as the hosts tackle Victor Wembanyama’s recent warning from the NBA, debate classic “small guard” narratives with Becky Hammon’s Jalen Brunson take, discuss the viral SGA “Operation” game and ensuing legal drama, and critically assess the impact and quality of the NBA’s new national broadcast partners—especially NBC and Amazon. The “up/down report” format fosters lively exchanges on the league’s culture, media, and fan engagement.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Wemby’s Media Warning

• (03:12–08:02)
  • Topic: Wembanyama received an official warning—not a fine—for skipping out on media duties after the Spurs’ Game 5 loss.
  • Trey Kirby (TK): Down on “just a slap on the wrist,” arguing the league is protecting Wemby too much and that “fines don’t affect the games.”

    “If there’s a chance to fine Victor Wembanyama, do it. Because fines don’t affect the games.” — Trey, (04:00)

  • Tas Melas: More understanding, noting Wemby “has been incredible with the media,” and similar first-offense warnings have happened before. He expects it won’t happen again.
  • Skeets: Wonders if the rationale (personal issues, illness) would change their opinion, and emphasizes the league’s kid-gloves approach for its possible new face.

---

2. $5M Wemby Rookie Card Sale

• (08:02–14:42)
  • Topic: A 1/1 Wemby Panini rookie card sold for $5.11 million—highest for any non-autographed NBA card.
  • Tas: Up (“I’m buying in”), comparing the price to legendary cards of Jordan, Kobe, LeBron.
  • Trey: Down (“Too much for a card”). Points out Wemby sees none of that money and questions the card’s rumored alterations.

    “This is $5.11 million. Wemby gets none of it. This is just between the guy and the seller. I’m down on this.” — Trey, (10:58)

  • Debate: The psychology of high-end card collectors, authenticity rumors, and whether this is a “sports team for rich guys lite,” as Trey jokes.

---

3. Becky Hammon Doubles Down on Small Guard Take

• (16:15–20:36)
  • Topic: Becky Hammon — in the wake of Jalen Brunson and the Knicks making the Finals — stands by her old take: “If your best player is small, you’re not winning.”
  • Trey: Up on Becky’s consistency: “I love it. I’m not wrong yet.” Notes historically only Isaiah Thomas and arguably Steph Curry have led teams to titles as the “smallest best player,” with the caveat Brunson’s usage rate dropped as the Knicks added big names.
  • Tas & Skeets: See the argument’s evolution as the NBA changes, but emphasize that even now, Brunson is still “the best player on the team.”

    “Let’s be honest here. If the Knicks win, I mean, this is Jalen Brunson’s team.” — Skeets, (17:52)

  • Further debate: Definition of “small,” the rare exceptions, and defensive considerations.

---

4. SGA, Underdog Sports & Satire Lawsuit

• (23:38–32:33)
  • Topic: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s lawyers sent a cease-and-desist to Underdog Sports, over a viral “Operation”-style board game satirizing SGA’s foul-drawing skills.
  • Tas: Down on the lawsuit, jokes about the buzzer/whistle. Points out both sides won: the company got viral attention; SGA gets to protect his likeness.
  • Trey: Up on the suit, recalling Michael Jordan’s litigiousness over name/image rights. Notes Underdog used actual SGA photos and full name, likely crossing a line.

    “Just put him in a jersey with number two on it. Everybody’s gonna get who it is.” — Trey, (28:51)

  • Hosts discuss: If satire is different when it’s used for clear commercial gain, and if it’s really that different from other pop culture spoofs (Game of Zones, etc).
  • Discourse on officiating, flopping, and social media hysteria
    • Excessive focus on SGA's free throw stats (120 FTs to 114 FGs, playoffs)
    • Adam Silver’s comments downplaying flopping as a current issue, conjecture on “Hawkeye AI” technologies for replays, and the virtues/pitfalls of tech in basketball officiating.
    • Classic quote:

      “If you fall, you get the call.” — Tas, (39:40)

---

5. NBA Draft Lottery: Should It Be Televised Live?

• (42:53–50:13)
  • Bontemps reports NBA is considering televising the full lottery draw.
  • Tas: Thumbs up. Wants more transparency; sees an opportunity for fan engagement and “hardcore numbers geekery.”
  • Trey: Down. Sees the televised draw as potentially boring; prefers theorizing conspiracy to watching balls spin.

    “There ain’t no way they can make this fun.” — Trey, (44:35)

  • Debate over how to make the event watchable — do you start from the top or bottom, and how can production add drama?

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6. 2026–27 NBA Title Odds Drop Early

• (50:22–52:53)
  • Key early odds: OKC +230, Spurs +260, Celtics +340, Knicks & Cavs trailing.
  • Trey: Down (“Too early. We haven’t even seen the regular NBA Finals”). Questions why Celtics over Knicks—does it mean Giannis coming to Boston?

    “Celtics lost in the first round this year. Knicks are in the Finals…” — Trey, (51:18)

  • Tas & Skeets: Note the oddities (Wolves below Nuggets despite recent dominance), speculate on how betting lines reflect rumor/money, not just basketball logic.

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7. Is the NBA’s New TV Deal Working? NBC & Amazon

• (60:44–74:38)
  • Prompted by listener email: Is NBC/Prime/ESPN making the product better or worse than before?
  • NBC Positives (Tas’ running notes):
    • Enhanced stat graphics, granular data presentation (minutes, offensive rebounds, quarter-by-quarter lines).
    • Honest tipoff times (“8:36 PM Eastern”) displayed, not just rounded start windows.
    • Willingness to show behind-the-scenes or “imperfect” footage, e.g., Wemby missing 80-footers pregame.
    • Sophisticated in-game camera work, including unique bench/arena shots and slow-mo features.

    “They’re not afraid to tell you the actual time a game is going to tip off.” — Tas, (62:33)

  • NBC Critiques: Studio Show (Maria Taylor, Melo, Vince, Tracy McGrady)
    • Trey: “NBC is boring… their pregame, halftime and postgame, total snooze. Amazon smashes it from a studio perspective.” (67:39)
    • Hosts agree: Lack of structure, over-reliance on similar personalities, and few genuinely fun or insightful moments.
    • Amazon’s “The Half”: Lauded for innovation, chemistry (Taylor, Haslem, Dirk, Nash, Blake Griffin), segments, and evident fun.
    • Inside the NBA (TNT): Still the gold standard, but increasingly rare in the new landscape.
  • Tech & Platform Notes
    • Amazon Prime: Multiple broadcasts, useful “catch up” features, but can’t flip channels.
    • Peacock: Drawbacks on rewinding/starting from the beginning, especially for viewers who miss tip-off.
    • League Pass: Host satisfaction, especially with “Premium”; some spoiler issues persist.

---

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Wemby & fines:

  “If there’s a chance to fine Victor Wembanyama, do it. Because fines don’t affect the games.” — Trey (04:00)

• On the $5M card:

  “This is $5.11 million. Wemby gets none of it. This is just between the guy and the seller. I’m down on this.” — Trey (10:58)

• On Becky Hammon/Brunson:

  “I love it. I’m not wrong yet… Knicks could go to game seven of the finals, lose…and still Becky Hammon can be like, see, I told you.” — Trey (16:30)

• On SGA/flopping/league discourse:

  “If you fall, you get the call.” — Tas (39:40)

• NBC vs Amazon Studios:

  “NBC is boring. Their pregame, halftime and postgame, total snooze. Amazon smashes it from a studio perspective.” — Trey (67:39)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Wemby’s Media Warning: 03:12–08:02
• $5M Wemby Card: 08:02–14:42
• Hammon/Brunson Small Guard Debate: 16:15–20:36
• SGA/Underdog Lawsuit: 23:38–32:33
• Draft Lottery TV Debate: 42:53–50:13
• 2026–27 Title Odds: 50:22–52:53
• New TV Deals — NBC & Amazon Review: 60:44–74:38

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Tone & Style

• Playful, witty, opinionated: Signature No Dunks chemistry with hosts quick to rib one another, digress into nostalgic tangents, but always returning to smart hoops analysis.
• Data-driven, but not overly stat-heavy: Frequent references to stats, NBA history, and fan feelings.
• Candid critiques: Willingness to call out both NBA and media missteps; full transparency on personal likes/dislikes.

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For First-Time Listeners

If you missed this episode:

• You’ll get a multifaceted view of NBA culture: both on-court controversies and how TV deals and new platforms shape fandom.
• Lively and authentic debates dominate, especially on topics like fairness (Wemby), evolution of the game (small guard legends), and what makes for great basketball TV.
• The hosts blend humor, deep basketball knowledge, nostalgic references, and a critical eye for all things NBA, both on and off the hardwood.

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Perfect for basketball fans seeking in-depth debate, entertainment, and a pulse on the NBA’s latest storylines—on the court, in the media, and at the heart of fan culture.

Transcript

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[A]

Good morning, sweet world, and welcome to the no Dunks podcast. Presented by FanDuel. It's Thursday, May 28, 2026. I'm J. Skeets here in the classic factory and alongside me as always, Tas Melis.

[B]

Lovers of basketball. This is for you.

[A]

Next to him, it's my top shot, hot boy Trey Kirby. L A yo. And over yonder, making the magic happen, super producer jd. Hello. There he is. Here we are.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Hello to everybody on YouTube. Hit the like button. Subscribe podcast listeners, five star ratings and reviews. No NBA playoffs on last night. No problem. Cause we got a super sized edition of the up down report. Let's do it. Thumbs up, thumbs down. Play along in the stream team live on YouTube. Just get right into it because we got a lot here. The NBA has warned Victor Wembanyama for violating media access rules after he did not speak to reporters following the spurs game five loss. We thought he might get a fine for not facing the music, but nope, Just a warning, buddy. Don't do that again. Up or down. TK on Wemby. Getting off with just the warning here for violating the media access rules.

[C]

I'm down. Oh, just a slap on the wrist. Come on. This is protecting him too much. The reason he makes the big bucks is because of these media deals. And part of the media deals is speaking to the media after you have a good game and after you have a bad game. How are we gonna get Victor Wembanyama's equivalent of LeBron James telling his haters they have to go on living their sad lives after a bad game? We'll never get that if he keeps skipping out when he has bad games. I think you throw in the no fine for elbowing Nas Reed in the throat. You can even throw in the keeping the NBA cup game as qualification for his postseason awards. They're treating this guy with kid gloves. And really they should be over indexing on fines. If there's a chance to find Victor Wembanyama, do it. Because fines don't affect the games. You can under index on punishments if something else happens. If you find him, you're like, yeah, we just find him $25,000. We're not going to suspend him for this game. I think it's smarter to come down and ask for $25,000 as a donation rather than suspending him for a game or something like that. But this is part of being a superstar, answering questions from people when things go poorly.

[B]

I'm both up and down. I'm up in that they didn't find him because number one, he's good with the media. Number two, this has happened in playoffs past where guys like Devin Booker eliminated from the playoffs just doesn't go and do it with. When he got eliminated by the Nuggets, he, he goes out, he gets warning. He gets a warning. If it happens again, like if it happens with Wemby, I think he will be fine. I think this is the absolute last time that he does it because NBA officials have come out and said, look, a warning is first given when players don't participate in post game media availability. They do it again, you're fine. And again, Wemby has been incredible this season. He has given us as fans so many soundbites because he has been good at the other. At the other side of things. I am kind of down because I wanted him as mad as possible here for game six if this was going to ignite him at all, if he really cares at all. Instead of pulling the Victor Wenb Yama gonna sneak out of here. You know that he did at the end of game five. So he snuck out the back. That's unfortunate. But this will be a one time thing. I don't think he's ever going to do it again. As far as he goes with his team. Like, I think that it's. That sets a bad example for his teammates. So I think he will never do this again. In all honesty.

[A]

Yeah. In 2023, I think a lot of people were citing these examples. It was Jimmy Butler, it was Dylan brooks, they got $25,000 fines for doing something similar. Just not speaking to reporters now, I don't know for sure. Was there a warning for both those guys the first time they did it and then they did it again. And that's when you get hit with the $25,000 fine. If that's the case, then okay, great. Yeah. If Wemby is to not speak to the reporters after game six tonight or game seven or into the finals, if he does it again, like you said tas, then of course you have to find them then.

[B]

Right.

[A]

But a lot of people, when you accumulate all these things that maybe they are sort of like trying to take care of their potential face of their league here, that they're. They do have the kids gloves on, as you said, TK I think that's also fair. So I mean, in the end, who knows why he did it too? And that's the part of the problem, like why he did skip out. Would that change your opinion at all if you were to learn, I don't know, something heaven forbid, with family related Or I guess it could be an ill, an illness or something. Does it change your opinion at all?

[C]

I mean, it would give him a valid reason. Yeah, but you'd have to be able to ask him to know.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It doesn't seem like it was illness after watching the game and him playing even harder, playing closer to the bucket in the second half doesn't feel like it was something that he couldn't play with. And so, yeah, we all wanted to ask the questions. But again, he won that award for being great with the media because he has been good. So I weigh it all. And then those guys that you said got fined, they have definitely skipped it before. I mean, Jimmy Butler doesn't go to all star games at times. He just won't show up. So I think that's part of it. If he, if he had a bad rep, then yeah. Find him.

[A]

Okay, let's move on. Sticking with the alien, Wemby's one of one numbered card has sold for $5.11 million in a private sale. Look at this thing here on YouTube. That's a 2023, 24 panini prism black parallel. Again, one of one. You can see the 101 on the back. It's by far the most ever spent on a Wemby card and the fourth highest publicly known sale of an NBA card. It's also the most expensive known sale of a non autographed NBA card. Up or down on this Wemby rookie card selling for $5.11 million. Tassel start with you here.

[B]

I'm gonna go up. I don't think this is recency bias. If, if he doesn't end up having an incredible career, then obviously that's a lot of money for somebody. That being said, yeah, I'm buying in. The fourth most for an NBA card ever. Only Jordan, Kobe and LeBron having more than that. I mean, so really we're talking about getting into that realm of player.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So I'm fine with it because I do, I do buy it. It was like basically like five times the most he had for his previous high of a sold card, which was $860,000. So is that recency bias in that? Did you see him in game one? This all happened after game one of the Western Conference final.

[A]

That's where the seller. No doubt. Oh, no doubt.

[B]

But I'm, I'm buying it. I'm buying in. And what is going to be really, really, really, really, really, really good. I do like it.

[A]

Okay. I do like you like the black Curtain behind them.

[B]

Yeah,

[C]

I thought that was a black background, but that is just a black curtain.

[A]

No, it was shot, you know, at their photo. You know, rookie photo shoot.

[C]

Photo shoot, for sure.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's. Some people like the card. Some people are like, are you kidding me? That is an absolutely atrocious looking card. Anyway, that's a part of, I guess, the eye appeal. Simple look to a card. The. The. The new owner of the card, the buyer, he said that he thinks this is wembanyama's best card. TK that's what I would say, too,

[C]

if I spent 5 million.

[A]

Yeah, probably. Probably. But let me add to that. When Minyama has no officially. Officially licensed autographed rookie cards because he is under an exclusive contract with fanatics. And the rival card maker at the time, the maker of this card, Panini, held the exclusive rights to the NBA trading card license. So he was. He came in at a weird time here between the transfer of the license to the NBA. So that's why maybe this one, despite it not being autographed to the buyer here. TK this is his best card. His rookie deal.

[C]

Yeah, sure.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Like I said, if I spent $5 million, I would be telling everybody it's the best. And the guy is, like, trying to compare this to owning a sports team. This ain't the same as owning a sports team. Down. Down on this. Too much for a card.

[A]

Too much.

[C]

Simply too much for a card.

[A]

Right.

[C]

This is $5.11 million. WEMBY gets none of it. Like, this is just between the guy and the seller. I'm down on this. And apparently the card may have been altered as well.

[A]

Oh, yeah. Some controversy.

[C]

It's got some controversy surrounding it. Did it get cleaned? Did it get re. Waxed?

[A]

I don't know. We're not sure.

[C]

But this is silly. This is a silly amount of money to spend on.

[A]

It's insane.

[B]

But he could be good. He could be worth it. If he's. If he's the best, he's one of

[C]

the five best players ever.

[A]

Yeah, exactly. Pretty much.

[C]

And look, I think he could be. I think it's in the realm of possibility.

[B]

As long as it's not one of those situations like when Wemby had a jersey swap with that kid. He swapped a jersey with a child and the child's father. It sure feels like some older person took that jersey and sold it immediately. Then I'm good with this. It's a lot of money. That's. There's no doubt about that. When you look at, like, Jordan, Kobe, and LeBron sold for way more double and more double, nearly triple. So.

[A]

Yeah, but that makes sense.

[B]

Yeah, exactly.

[A]

They are established in the pantheon of greatest players of all time. This is. This is somebody obviously betting on that, that Wemby will be either the goat or at least in the conversation.

[B]

And as we sat at this desk a mere week ago, when he did it in Game one, we talked about him being one of the best ever. The man has, I assume, a lot of money to spend, and he's making that purchase.

[A]

I think that's a fair assumption. I don't feel like this guy has just. He only has $5.25 million in his bank account, and he's like, I'm putting it all into Wemby. He probably has billions, if not hundreds of millions.

[C]

Well, he doesn't have enough to buy a part of a team. No, that's what I gained from reading that.

[A]

It's a good point.

[C]

He's like, I'm rich, but I'm not that rich. Yeah, you tell people you own 10% of the Lakers, and they say, you don't own the Lakers, but you can own 100% of this card. So he spend his money on that.

[B]

Well, how much do minority owners have to spend? The Lakers is too much. Like, you go get a cheap team.

[C]

That's who he brought up. I don't know.

[B]

Oh, Lakers. Oh, that's too much. You go, like we said, Justin Timberlake's an owner of the Memphis Grizzlies, or Nelly is an owner. They didn't spend that much. They probably spent like, exactly.

[C]

Like Jay Z, I think, bought in for a million dollars with the Nets back in the day. And he was known, but he was also famous. This guy's clearly not famous to get famous by buying a card.

[B]

What's his name?

[A]

Trying to get famous? No, but he doesn't want to share.

[B]

Oh, yeah, he didn't show.

[A]

He wants to remain anonymous.

[C]

Now.

[A]

He says maybe a part of it is, like, security of the card. I guess you could argue.

[C]

Yeah, I'm sure.

[A]

Sure. But yeah, you're right. He, like, on one hand, he's like, he wants to show all his other rich friends, hey, look at this. I've got the best Wemby card. That's part of the game here, right?

[C]

Absolutely.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But then he wants to stay anonymous to everybody else. And the private sale of it, also interesting. I do wonder, would it have sold for more if it had gone to an auction site? You know, like, there are big auction Sites where then, of course, everybody that wants this thing could bid on it and try and get it. Would it have increased it with the timing of Game one? Maybe. I mean, I don't know. There's a lot of other rich guys that, you know, want expensive things, so who knows? But anyway, good on the seller making $5.11 million. It's credible.

[C]

It's a lot of money.

[A]

There's a big comparison in the sports card world. Like. Like Ohtani stuff is going to the moon, of course. And then now Wemby stuff is, too, and it's interesting. It's like on one hand, you can sort of see the comparisons, I guess, like, sort of like the potential goats maybe in their respective leagues. But like, then you step back, you're like, whoa. Ohtani has won like four MVPs. World Series. You know, he's already. Two World Series. Thank you. He's already accomplished a lot where Wemby were projecting, you know? You know, where a lot of things can obviously go wrong.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

I mean, I hope Joel McMillan isn't listening, but you can make a case that Ohtani is already the Goat. The way he's being able to play like this in the modern day. I think he's got an ERA under one right now, 0.82. He's trying to win the Cy Young, because why not? I've already won literally every other award that's out there. He might be the goat.

[A]

Yeah. I mean, he's struggling at the plate, isn't he?

[B]

He just let off the game yesterday with the Ding dong with the home run.

[C]

He's done that through six no hit innings and was complaining that he didn't have good control.

[B]

Well, he'd walked a lot of guys.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And he was upset with himself over that. But, yeah, under one. He's hit a Ding dong, I think, to start his last two games.

[A]

Okay, he's back, baby. He's so back at the place.

[B]

0.82.

[A]

That's amazing.

[B]

Yeah, it is pretty incredible. So that's a good investment. As long as you're not investing with the guy who stole money from him, Right? Yeah. This translator.

[A]

All right, thumbs up or thumbs down on that Wemby card. Next one here. Las Vegas Aces Coach Becky Hammond said in 2023 that the Knicks were missing a 1A dude and that if your best player is small, you're not winning. Well, in the wake of Jalen Brunson's recent accomplishments, obviously helping lead the Knicks to the finals, here Hammond was asked about her years old Comments and the hall of Famer. And Becky Hammond. She didn't back down. No, she didn't. She said, quote, I stand by it, is what she told reporters Tuesday. I said what I said. If he proves me wrong, he proves me wrong. Good for him. But I do think the two best teams are in the West. And you know who I'm cheering for. Oh, I like how she slid that in there, being a Spurs fan under the tutelage of Greg Popovich. But I'll start with you here. TK up or down on Becky Hammond. Doubling down on her, I guess you can call it controversial Jalen Brunson take.

[C]

I love it. I'm not wrong yet.

[B]

True.

[C]

I got. I got seven games to maybe still not be wrong. Knicks could go to game seven of the finals, lose on a last second shot by Shane Gilgis Alexander, and still Becky Hammond can be. I see, I told you. And she can be like, look, even if they do win the championship, maybe my case was right because the Knicks took off as a team when it became less Brunson centric. As soon as Karl Anthony Towns got elevated in the hierarchy, that kind of empowered Mikhail Bridges, Empowered OG Anobi. I noticed that Brunson. Brunson's usage rate is the lowest it's been in the past three seasons during this playoffs. The Knicks look incredibly formidable now that they are not a heliocentric Brunson team. So maybe she's right in that standpoint as well. But basically she's saying, look, it's NBA history. I'm not just saying that. I don't like Jalen Brunson. Go back and look. There's basically one small guard who's ever led his team to a championship.

[B]

It is the argument as old as time. But I'm down in terms of that. It's all dependent on Jalen Brunson. As you said, it's a different team. She said it a few years ago and she went back as everybody was going back on that clip. That was before Carl Anthony Towns was on the team. That was before OG Anunoby was on the team. That was before Miguel Bridges was on the team. So it was a totally different team.

[A]

Yes, but let's be honest here. If the Knicks win, I mean, this is Jalen Brunson's team.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

As great as Kat's playing, as great as OG's playing, as great as Josh Hart is playing great as Mikhail Bridges as well, everybody, it's his team. He's the best player on the team.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. So I. It Is. It's an argument that's evolving. It has to change. With guys being able to shoot from 30ft, I think it is a little different than the old days. I. She definitely said, other than Steph, there hasn't been another one that's been able to do it. But I think the game is changing in that this could happen more often. That being said, I'm probably taking the west when it comes to the NBA Finals. So she might be right. She. Yeah, she might be right. It all just depends on the team. So she said it again before this team evolved, changed, got way better. That was a long time ago. So somebody comes up to her and says, hey, see these Knicks in the Finals, you dumbass.

[A]

Basically.

[B]

I mean, that's. Basically, that's what.

[C]

Yeah, she's like, I said this two years ago. Why do people still care?

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

I mean, she said at the time, her. It was her philosophy. My favorite part about this, she's a five foot six, like, legend in the WNBA game, but never won a title. She actually could never get over the hump. Anyway, she said her philosophy is like, yeah, if you're the best player. Sorry, if your best player is small, you're not winning. And she went through John Stockton, Allen Iverson, Steve Nash now. And she's like, you can go down the list now. Then Steph Curry does come up here and it's like, well, was Steph Curry small enough to count or not? And there was like a bit of a debate. I remember when she was saying this on whatever show she was on espn. It's like he's sort of, yes, he's the smallest guy on said team, but he's a lot bigger than a lot of these other guys. It's really Isaiah Thomas, for the most part, it's Isaiah Thomas. And then again, depends on whether you think Steph Curry is small enough with these other guys like Jalen Brunson. So that's it. I mean, that was her point. It's like this almost never happens.

[B]

Yeah, they also, the part you can insert into there is, is he picked on on defense too? Right? Like, Steph could be picked on. Jalen Brunson could be picked on. I mean, you can go down the list of you, do you have an incredible player that's not a good defender and win the championship like Dirk or Jokic, and, you know, you can shape the argument however you want. This team could be good enough. This team could very well be good enough. Because other guys are really, really, really, really, really, really, really good.

[A]

Yeah, Isaiah Thomas had a really, really, really, really good team, but he was the leader of the Pistons. Yeah, I don't see like it's like Steve Nash, Allen Iverson, Stockton, all these other guys. I mean, Stockton wasn't even best player on his team. So as much as we hate Carl Malone, it's definitely Carl Malone and then even Nash on some of these. Anyway, her whole thing is I'm small, I was awesome. It's very tough in these leagues to be the smallest person to lead the team, to be the number one person. And I don't think Jalen Brunson is going to be the guy do it and we're going to see if he can prove it wrong.

[B]

Yeah, it's such a different game than when Isaiah Thomas played because you can use so much of the floor to score. And like Carlton Town's OG and they're all chipping in to help out Jaylen Brunson. It's a different team. There's no doubt

[C]

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[A]

Oh

[C]

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[B]

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[A]

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[B]

Well, I'm down because they could have made the game better, I think. I. I think when you're going into those little holes and you're playing Operation, as soon as they hit the side, there should be a whistle instead of a buzz.

[C]

That's good.

[A]

That is pretty good. That's good. T. They could do it.

[B]

I'm sure they could pull it off. So I'm down on that. But the company got what they want. As you said, Dylan Brooks was literally playing the game. So they're doing this in modern day. Like this is exactly what they want. It went viral. They'll close it down at some point because you can't mess with a guy's likeness in the NBA.

[C]

You can't.

[B]

So both parts did well. But again, switch it up. I like those little hands that Come in. They're tiny, tiny little hands that actually grab the ball. Looks kind of cool, but I want to. Not a. That's weird.

[A]

Yeah. The letter from his lawyers asked that all board games be destroyed. That made me laugh. And that Underdog not use SGA's name, image, or likeness without his permission. I think this is the thing here. It's like, you know, there's a satire, obviously, element to this, but then they were using Shay's name in tweets, like his full name, to obviously promote their company and try and get more people to sign up. And maybe that they just went a little too far with. This is obviously what his lawyers think, but what do you think, tk? Oh, yeah.

[C]

I mean, I think I'm up on this ultimately, because I think it's funny that they did it, but I also think, of course, his business team is going to sue him here. I recall Michael Jordan, when he went into the hall of Fame, eventually had to sue Jewel, Osco and Dominick's to, like, Chicago area food chains because they thanked Michael Jordan and honored him, but they put his name in and they're like, you can't use my name. Yeah, I'm Michael Jordan. He's suing Dominick's for $9 million because they said, thank you, Michael. So this happens, and this is even more that, like, just put him in a jersey with number two on it. Everybody's going to get who it is.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

But instead they slop it and make it look exactly like sga. So there's no question about who we're even talking about here. They kind of got around.

[A]

They used, like, actual photos of SGA's name again. I think they just. They went right up to the line, and then they crossed over it, and then that probably warranted these cease and desist letters.

[C]

Absolutely.

[A]

That's sort of my opinion on it, too, because some people are like, what's the big deal? This is harmless again. It's satire. You know, every second tweet is about SGA in the flopping. So what are you going to do? Start sending cease and desist letters to every, you know, Tom, Dick, and Harry on Twitter. And then people are like, oh, you know, how's this any different than Game of Zones? Right? Like, you know, that was, like, poking fun of a lot of players in. In that cartoon. But, yeah, it's. It's the using the likeness and the name and the image to then sell a product here. That's. They just. I think they just went too far with it.

[B]

Yeah. It's like you could have Jordan mission accomplishment in video games. You know the name Michael Jordan. So that's very similar.

[A]

Yep. What do you think of the discourse right now around this series and SGA and the flopping and. And I bring that up because Silver was on, I guess Pat McAfee had like a primetime show last night talking to all the commissioners. Flopping came up. Silver's like, well, it's not really an issue.

[C]

The officiating is incredible.

[A]

Right. So it's incredible. Then he went in this whole thing. We're going to have like, you know, Hawkeye cameras to help with like out of bounds things and all that. That's a whole other issue. But just right now, the discourse around this sport deflating to you. Whatever. Like we've done that before. What's your take?

[C]

I think we just have too much time off in between games because you open up any app and it's just a compilation of SGA flops, if you want to call them, selling the contact, whatever it is. Then you look at Reddit and It's just like 18 different threads on foul discrepancies. Of course, you're seeing a lot of things going around today. SGA so far in the playoffs, more free throws made than shots made. 120 free throws to 114 made shots this far. So then the OKC people have to go and defend their guy. And then it's like, no, we're going to see how many times he falls down per shot. It's just like, oh, my goodness, this is too much.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

For a team that is on the precipice of being a dynasty that will at least be competitive. They won last year, they might win this year. Even if the spurs jump over them, they're still going to be in the mix for the next three seasons. You have to think this is a dynastic sort of team and they're despised. Like, that's pretty crazy. That doesn't happen usually. Dynasties are beloved, at least at the beginning. And then people turn on them when they've had a long term turn of success.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

This has been one year. And they're like, nope, we hate these guys.

[A]

They hate the way they play is what they say. Yes. I think what they hate more than anything is that they are they, again, these are like the haters that the Oklahoma City Thunder are allowed to play. So physical on one end, but then on the other end embellish and flop and try and sell calls and try and game the system and they think they do it more than other teams. And I think that's debatable. I mean, you see the tweets and it's like they try and lead you to believe that he falls down on every play and that's all they do. And it's like, no, that's. They don't. He doesn't. But it's just, it's just packaged that way online and it just like catches fire because people have an opinion about it. And like, if you actually watch the game, then you still feel that way. Sure. But I am convinced that a half these people and like half the people on Twitter aren't even real anyway. They're just bots. That's you're just in the end arguing with like robots. But anyway, what do you think of what Silver said last night and the whole flopping issue?

[B]

Well, there's two things as far as social media goes. It's just hard to listen to, hard to read. So get off the for you tab and get onto the following tab of the people you're following rather than the. We're just going to spit out things, you know, throughout the world, not just in basketball, but stuff you just get hit with. So it is difficult. It's definitely difficult to, to read and listen to because then you start getting into arguments about numbers and all that. It's just, it's just tough to read.

[A]

So you think the best thing is just to ignore it?

[B]

Well, sure. It. Listen, OKC's guys, they are trying to max out the amount of, of calls that they can get. Like anybody does, like any as sports team does. You get bumped, they're going to take it. I, I love. Okay, the one now I'm getting sucked in. The one Twitter conversation that I didn't mind was seeing, oh, this is the difference between Steph and how Steph used to do it. Steph tried to sell it in his own way and get his whistles too, by throwing his legs out, throwing his body around. SJ is being a different, doing it a different way in that he gets calls if he hits the floor. If you fall, you get the call. And I think that's the rule that Adam Silver is going to talk about the point of emphasis this offseason with, with the officials and all that. So I think they're just doing what they're supposed to be doing. OKC is just trying to get calls. Simple as that. As far as the, oh, the Hawkeye AI, as Adam Silver called it, that's not going to work. As far as, as far as he's Referring to tennis and how we have the. The cameras be able to tell if a ball bounces out of bounds. He was referring to specifically about balls going off guys out of bounds, and that cameras will be able to determine that instantly. How are you going to be able to tell if the ball goes off somebody's foot? All you have to do is go to Secaucus. Don't even go to. I shouldn't say go to Chicago because the NBA referees don't have to do that. The. The league office, the replay center. All they have to do is call and say, that was off Chet Holmgren's foot. Done and done. Like, cameras aren't Hawkeye. Cameras are not good.

[A]

That they're like.

[C]

It's.

[A]

I. I sort of picture him saying, like, they're working together in that regard. These cameras and the AI abilities instantly detect who it's off of, along with officials in Secaucus or wherever they are to just make it faster.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

You've been saying, like, for years you've been wanting that.

[B]

Yeah, Skakis can call. They're watching all these replays come in. So this is specifically about just balls that go out of bounds and off of people's body parts. It's pretty tough to tell with a camera, I would say if we touch. If we touch a ball together and. Yeah, that was nice, actually.

[C]

I can't believe you got just my fingers doing that.

[A]

That.

[C]

Yeah, See, I think they're going to be able to do it. Technology is good enough that they'll be able to tell. They've been doing it in tennis for a decade.

[B]

Yeah, but that's just on a line.

[C]

That's just on a finger, you know.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's a static element where it's. That doesn't happen in basketball with athletes. Like, that's so different. Or they do it in soccer. If a ball is crossing a line. I don't even know if they do it in hockey if it crosses the goal line. But that's. That's way different. Anyways, I. Obviously you use it if you can use it, but I don't think that's going to be the case immediately. Monument Cutchen. Just be on the phone at all times.

[C]

We need to go to Secaucus less. No, yeah. It speeds up reviews at all. It's good.

[B]

Yeah, totally. I totally want it to speed up. But the call has to come from the video center directly to the scorers table or directly into the ear of the referee. Do that. It comes from there.

[A]

But we have to also see Said thing. I can't just now. I mean, especially people already think it's like fixed. Now you're just going to be telling me every, you know, major call, whatever call is just like somebody from the NBA control center just saying their ball. Everyone's gonna like what? Hold on. What? You gotta see it. As a consumer of the product, you

[B]

could definitely just replay one angle. The production. The production truck can be able to just say go for replay. Show you in four seconds as they're inbounding the ball of what happened. That's it. But the replay center has to make the call and make the call from there, I think. But anyway, I support. Totally supportive of AI totally supportive of AI can it be implemented with clip that 17. 17. The size 17 foot of somebody nearing the sideline and who it hit off of. I doubt that. Is it used in any other sport when it comes to not just a line. That's different. That's different to me. They use hawkeyes in NBA arenas now at all times. But it's not implemented as far as.

[A]

Oh, it's a lot of. It's a lot of like you're saying foot on the three point line. Is it a two? Is it a three?

[B]

You know that part.

[A]

Yeah, they already do that, which is fine. And that seems they've gotten pretty good at it. It doesn't seem to ruin the flow of a game too much.

[B]

But I think Adam was taking the question about flopping and just, you know, segue into this is what we're trying to do with stuff.

[A]

Well, you know, he's doing the whole thing, like. And he's right. I'm not like, I'm rolling my eyes at it, but it's like. It's like there's contact when you play professional basketball. Then there is selling said contact and then there is flopping. And it's like some people don't see a difference between any of what I just said. They all look at it as one thing. But can you sell and is that different than an actual flop? What is the difference? Well, one for sure is like, I didn't even touch you. And you tried to game the system by firing your head back and doing all that.

[B]

Now that's what stuff was doing.

[A]

That's very difficult still to call in real time. It is. I do not want to offend officials. I hate these guys.

[B]

Do you think AI cameras can do it?

[A]

Just throw it? Yeah, I mean, I guess they can, but no. I also think it's silly because then what are we? Like, it's not going to be a sport. We're just gonna be stopping every second play. This is so silly. Like, I would get rid of all of this until maybe the last minute of a game. Balls out on you at the 8 minute mark of the second. And it was like actually off of me. Who gives a shit? Honestly, that's how I feel about it. I think it all comes out in the wash in the end a little bit. Now we need big, big, like replays, reviews, when it does matter, in the final couple possessions. Yes, I get that. But we're trying to make it an enjoyable, entertaining sport to watch too. Yeah, I don't want to watch more.

[B]

No.

[A]

No shots of people looking at monitors.

[B]

AI is not going to be able to interpret whether a flop is selling or not. That's not possible. It's super subjective. Yep, that's it.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

I think they should not tell us the score of the game until the last minute. And then we'll like add up all the. Step on a free on a line. Was he out of bounds? We'll just keep all of that under wraps. In the last. We'll play 47 minutes. At the end, they're like, guess what? It's three point game and you got the ball. Can you make a shot? We'll find out. What do you make though of SGA having more free throws than made shots?

[A]

What do I make of it? He missed a lot of shots. Great defense.

[C]

He's missed a lot of shots.

[A]

I mean, that's what I mean of it.

[C]

Mj, Kobe, Wade, Curry. Never once. Curry had a season where he had more threes than free throws made in postseason. That's pretty amazing.

[A]

Wow, that's incredible.

[C]

James Harden, six times after leading okc, including this year, did he have more free throws made than shots made?

[A]

Right? Yeah. So it's. Look, there are a couple guys that are very, very good at creating contact and then embellishing contact. And because they're so good, they're such talented players offensively, that means defenses need to play them closer, get under them, which then opens up a whole much, many more opportunities for subjective calls. You know, there are people saying that he actually falls down because it's a smart thing to do in terms of like not rolling your ankle and stuff like that. You know, Beads talked about this. Siakam is like a guy that's talked about this. This idea of like, it's almost like beneficial for me to fall over. I think it goes back to what you said though. Tas, you call, you get the fall Cut that out. That's the thing. Sorry, I said it backwards. If you fall, you get the call. Try and cut that out as much as possible because it's an actual disadvantage. It is like soccer and flopping when that was a pandemic.

[B]

Adam Silver must love it. He must love watching guys flop.

[A]

Soccer.

[C]

Soccer.

[B]

He loves soccer.

[A]

But they cleaned it up a bit because they're like, hey, just because you went down first off, you can penalize them if you do think it was a flop. Again, it's subjective, but maybe it makes the guy stop doing it the next time as much if it's going to be like hurting your team. Yellow card potentially obviously adding up to being pulled off the pitch. But like, so maybe you just have to penalize it and they'll get some wrong, but it will like in the end weed out some of the more egregious floppers, so to speak, or people that are really trying to draw this stuff because nobody likes it. Like, no, I haven't. Besides, maybe Adam Silver, nobody is sitting going, I want to see more flopping and more free throws and stuff like that.

[B]

Yeah. Again, it. The word flopping is harsh.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Because it's. They're selling it. There's no doubt. But the referees have to go into this off season and say a guy falling on the floor does not mean it's a foul.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

I mean, they have to figure it. I mean, it's difficult to obviously to assess. There's no doubt about that. What they also have to get rid of, which seems to be happening more over the last few months than at the beginning of the season, was guys being able to sell a non natural shooting motion ball fake. There's a guy who jumps in the air and then suddenly the shooter is a, A missile is a projectile and goes like horizontal, parallel to the floor. A non natural shooting motion gets a whistle that's wrong, that shouldn't happen. And they sort of got rid of that. We sat here and complained about it. They sort of got rid of that.

[A]

Gotten better for sure.

[B]

And now it seems to be happening way more. So, yeah, it's up to the referees. It's. It's a little unfortunate. Shay is getting a ton of calls, so there is no doubt about that. He's also the whole fricking team. That guy is the whole team. He's also leading the NBA in assists this postseason. So he's doing a lot. He is doing a lot. You check all the stats. He is doing everything. And if he's going to continue to miss Then the Spurs are going to beat him, and then it'll be a whole new conversation. So, I mean, his teammates are coming through. He's coming through with the assists anyway. Enough, enough.

[A]

Next one. According to our guy, Tim Bontemps, the NBA is considering televising the actual draft lottery live, baby. Finally, instead of only announcing the results afterwards, how the new lottery would work is still being determined. But here you go, Melis. You might get your wish. Let's start with you. We know your thumbs up on the NBA televising the draft lottery, the drawing live.

[B]

Of course, this is a very important day for fans of each franchise. They need to see it. I'm sure they're going to start to come wherever they're filming this, whether it's in Brooklyn or New York, start pitching tents on the road, start making this a whole event for them. I mean, guys leave their wives, leave their families to go to draft days for. For days on end. Like they. They say, I'm leaving, I'm leaving. I'm out of here. I'm going. I'm going with my friends to camp out at said draft day for four days. The draft lottery is a little different. It's not, as you know, it doesn't impact a team as much as who they draft. Okay. That being said, I think this should be more important. It should be televised extremely. Well. That is the important part, I think. I think, you know, you got to geekify it. You got to go hardcore on the numbers, hardcore on the stats, get Hollinger involved, get everybody involved who know the stats to make it not just a fun TV production. But it's got to be. It's got to be about numbers, really, you know, and that kind of thing, and about lottery balls. So we got to go hardcore. It needs to be televised.

[C]

Well, I'm down. Yeah, this sounds like not a lot of fun to me. I would much rather theorize about conspiracies than see balls come out of a lottery machine. There ain't no way they can make this fun.

[B]

They can, you're telling me, bring in

[C]

John Hollinger to break down the odds of the percentages.

[A]

How about Kornacki, something?

[C]

I mean, they need to fix the draft lottery show. It's super boring as it is.

[A]

Yeah, exactly.

[C]

But this. This is not a way to make it more exciting. This is more transparency. Absolutely. Yeah, but I don't think that makes it any more fun.

[A]

They'd have to change how they do it because, you know, you and I got into this debate because you kept telling Me, this should be live. And then I was like, watch it. Because they do put it up as we talked about. They put it up on NBA.com youm can actually watch the live draft lottery polling where only secret, you know, a number of people are allowed into the secret room. Anyway, I watch.

[B]

That's like a locked off camera. Yeah. There's no hosts. There's nobody talking on camera. That's just a. Here's a wide shot of this weird ass room.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

It's really like a. Yeah, it's a. It's a glorified. It's not fun. It's not fun. No, it's just a lock camera.

[A]

But they would have to change it because the NBA's current method, the first ping pong ball selected determines the first pick and so on, is, I guess, a possibility, as Bon Temps wrote. But that would eliminate a lot of the drama. So you got to maybe like work at 16 and go backwards. So picking the 16th team first and going all the way and leading up to the number one makes more of a interesting television product.

[B]

That's true.

[A]

So there's ways. There is ways.

[B]

But Hollinger can have. Kornaki can have Bobby Marks.

[A]

Oh, my God, you're building the. You're making the worst television.

[B]

The guys have. Okay, okay. Yeah, yeah, okay. These guys who have the ability to talk on camera have to coincide with people who know the numbers. That's all I'm saying. We're having a meeting here. We're talking it out. We're doing some casting here. Jonathan Givney, you're in.

[A]

Look, I hear what you're saying. There is a huge potential for tremendous theater. This is very big to fan bases in terms of whether you can jump up and get a number one pick. Can you package it and sell it, you know, live, Having to do it live? Yeah.

[B]

Brian Windhorst, you're an ep, you're the executive producer. You said he did his full column on it was basically him saying it was enthralling being in that room.

[C]

That's what everybody says when they're in the room. I think actually they should keep it the same way. If they televise it, the most exciting moment is seeing who gets the number one pick. I don't care about two through four after that point. I understand that you're peaking at the beginning.

[A]

Who cares?

[C]

You're peaking. I don't think it's a peak. If you're like drawn 16th and, you know, the Wizards ball comes up like, oh, you don't Want to see a Wizard's ball here? They only have two remaining in the. In the jug. We'll see when they come up and we're updating, like, how many balls are left for each team. That sounds even worse. Give me the one moment of like, pop. It's the Wizards. Oh, that's cool.

[B]

Yeah. You're speaking to media production and how people want to see things now. Right. They just want the good thing at the beginning, and then you're just sort of locked in. It's. You're just kind of watching that for the rest of the broadcast anyways. You're just lazy. You're not changing it anyways. You know, I'm not saying in a negative way. I'm just saying that's how people want to see. That's. That's Modern Medium.

[A]

That's fine.

[C]

You know.

[A]

Yeah. I'm not going to be happy if I have one of the commercial slots in the 18 minute mark or 23 minute mark, because you're telling me it's basically over and everybody's tuned up.

[C]

Also true.

[A]

Which it is true. And then if they're going to make this into a television product, they, guess what, they're going to try and make a bunch of money off it.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So I think. Yeah, I mean, I hear you, TK But I think if they do this, they almost. You got to build to it in some way. Yeah. I mean. Yes. I mean, it'd be funny if it's just over in the first minute. All right, Congrats. Congrats to the Wizards. Yeah.

[C]

Who knows? Is it. Is it a good product now? No. And the most exciting moment is in the last five minutes of a 30 minute show that you're snoozing through for 25 minutes until the end. Unless your team is lucky enough to jump up.

[A]

That's the thing.

[C]

Or is it more exciting for the five minutes at the beginning and then you're bored for 25 minutes? Who knows? This is why I don't think they should do it, because it's boring.

[B]

Fair.

[A]

Yeah, they do.

[C]

They do lottery drawings on TV for the real lottery. Like for money lottery.

[B]

Right.

[C]

And Those are like 30 seconds.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[C]

That would be perfect for this.

[A]

Okay. Okay.

[C]

So, yeah, it doesn't need to be 30 minutes.

[A]

You're on board. If it's like a five minute thing. Yeah.

[C]

Or make it a real show. And they're like, okay, the Bulls jumped up to number four. Right. Like, give me Jamal Collier talking about what it means for the Bulls to suddenly jump up into top four and who they could be expecting. Right. Like, give me somebody who covers the Pacers when they lose their pick. I want to know what these guys are feeling like.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

You know, rather than get through the end of it. Yeah. Just like, we're just waiting.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

To have experts from each team, as much as I love Mia Kornacki and a John Hollinger and a Bobby Marks, you need experts from each team to come on, Even if it's 10 minutes in, to say, oh, this sucks for us. Essentially, we drop from 5 to 6 or 5 to 8. And that's why I think fan bases will stick around. And people are too lazy to change the channel anyways, but fan bases will stick around to just see what the experts have to say and to see where they're falling and to see if there's trade possibilities. Even. So you got to have a lot of experts. This. This has to be a village. I mean, it can't just be a two people. Again. It's a locked off camera. It's boring now, but as soon as you bring in 100 people to help.

[A]

Now.

[B]

Now we're getting big.

[C]

Let James Cameron direct it.

[B]

Okay. So it'll be.

[C]

It'll be locked off camera.

[B]

It'll be aired five years later.

[A]

Final one here. We're not even done this NBA season, but the 20, 26, 27 NBA championship odds have arrived. These are by way of Matt Moore on the old Twitter machine. I saw this yesterday. Here are your top 16 favorites. There are odds for every team, but here are the top 16. So it goes OKC at plus 230, spurs plus 260, Celtics plus 340. And then a drop off to the Knicks and Cavs. But again, these are odds to win the title for next season. 26, 27. Tk up or down on what you're seeing here in next season's NBA title odds?

[C]

Down. I don't want to be seeing this yet.

[A]

No, too early.

[C]

Too early. We haven't even seen the regular NBA Finals, the 25 20. But if I'm looking at this, first thing that sticks out to me, Celtics over Knicks. I don't know about that. Celtics lost in the first round this year. Knicks are in the finals for the first time in 27 years. Just makes you think, is Giannis priced in?

[A]

That's what people are wondering.

[C]

That's the only question I could possibly come up with because there's no way that the Celtics should be ahead of the Knicks.

[B]

To me, and it's a pretty drastic

[C]

number 340 to 1100.

[B]

Yeah. That is pretty big. Yeah. Does this speak to where the bets are coming in for the 27 championship? Does it speak more to betting lines? Because people aren't betting on the Knicks versus they're betting on the Celtics. The Knicks fans are too busy betting on this calendar year. And so I think that may factor in. I think it's pretty accurate. I also don't want to see them. That's why I've muted Matt Moore. I'm just kidding. I'll never mute Matt more. He's. He's great. I think the only weird one in addition to that is the Nuggets more likely to win than the Wolves. The Wolves just eliminated their ass. It's tough. I mean, again, that could be who teams are or who people are betting on. But still, a 500 odd different is strange. Like the Wolves haven't got any worse. Anthony Edwards also was hurt during this postseason. It's a little strange.

[A]

The Pacers at +3000. It's interesting. Obviously, just had a complete down year because of the Halliburton injury, but the odds are saying, hey, they'll be back in the mix. Why wouldn't they be there? Despite losing their pick to the Clippers and then the Heat sort of jumped out to me, they're plus 6,000 again. Is that. Is that a potential Giannis landing spot or John Moran or another big name? Because, you know, of all these teams on this top 16, there's a couple others, but, like, they're one that is very, very low in terms of how they finish their season. So that's next year looking too far ahead. That's the up down report. Man, some spicy topics there. Thanks for playing along. We'll take a quick break and then talk about the good things NBC has done for the NBA broadcasts. Support from this show comes from Quince. I'm way overdue for a wardrobe refresh. I'm a podcast host. That is very important. I drive a Chevy Trax. I'm a man. I'm 45. Clothes shopping in person is simply not a priority for me. So I usually wear the same stuff till my wife calls me out. For these reasons, I'm pumped to say that Quint has been my new go to. I asked Nora to help me pick out a couple of items, and it turns out she already had a cart ready of things she was planning on getting me from Quints. So I picked up two of the 100% European linen shirts. One striped, one solid. The material feels light and breathable and the stitching looks really well done. They're the perfect type of pieces that feel easy and comfortable but still look put together. And the best part is I didn't break the bank. In fact, everything I purchased was priced 50 to 80% less than what you'd find at similar brands. Why? Because Quints works directly with the ethical factories and cuts out the middlemen. So you're getting premium materials without the markup. Refresh your everyday with luxury you'll actually use. Head to quince.com nodunks for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada too. That's Q-U-I-N-C-E.com nodunks for free shipping and 365 day returns. Quint.com no dunks the first thing I

[B]

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[A]

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[C]

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[A]

Okay, dear.

[C]

And Fox first basket.

[A]

Oh, we're doing that again, are we?

[C]

He's a risky, isn't it?

[A]

Don't mind it.

[B]

Trying to make up for the last game. That's right.

[C]

Fox. First basket. Fox. 10 or more points.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Gotta do it.

[C]

Fox. Two or more threes.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

Six or more assists.

[A]

This is the Fox box. Wow.

[B]

Okay, Great name.

[C]

That would be a plus 17 24. If all four of those hit, you take out the first basket. You just want to play. 10 points, two threes. Six assists plus 273.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

It's all about that first.

[A]

That first basket. Man. That is very, very risky.

[C]

Get a jumper up. You want to do a quick layup off the tip from Victor Wembanyama.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

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[A]

Play your game indeed. Game six of the Western Conference Finals tonight. Very exciting. If you're joining us on YouTube, hit the like button. Subscribe. That's what I was going to say. Had a bit of a brain fart there. Just blacked out for a second.

[B]

All right.

[A]

We got an email though that we didn't quite address in beach step in the other day. So let's tackle it right now because it opens up a fun conversation here. Aloha, no dunks crew. When we found out that Turner Sports lost the broadcast rights to the NBA last season, I was super bummed because I thought they did an amazing job. But now that the season is nearly finished, I found myself not missing TNT broadcast too much. So my question is, how do you think these new media deals did and do you think it improved watchability? Turn up. Aloha Shaka brah. That's from Logan in Hawaii. Gotta love to see an email from Hawaii. So yeah, this idea of like the new broadcasts coming in, did it increase or improve your overall enjoyment of the sport and watchability and all this good stuff?

[B]

I've been taking notes. I've been collecting elements to determine whether or not NBC has helped the TV experience of watching an NBA game. And it has. Here's a list of several things of how they've helped improve the experience. First one, I like their stat lines that they're showing on the bottom of the screen, especially during post game interviews. They want to tell the story. They want to give you the entire story of Victor Wembanyama. After game one, you'd probably see conventionally points and rebounds, but they go deeper. They show you the minutes he played in an overtime game. 48 minutes and 42 seconds. Wow. Wemby plays hard. Not only just the 24 rebounds he got, but also nine offensive rebounds. I like that specification. Different columns. Yeah. During the third quarter of that game. A stat line came up during the game while he's playing. It showed Victor Emanyama. Third quarter, seven minutes, two points, two rebounds, one block, one steal. They're just telling you the story. They're painting the entire picture of how a guy was playing. Round two, game one, Wolves, Spurs. Dylan Harper was interviewed at half. The Dylan Harper line comes at the bottom. Here are the threes he's made. Here are the twos he's made. I think they're just doing a very good job of painting the entire picture because, you know, as nerds, we want to see stats. And again, I think they just get far more into the details. So that's item number one, but we got tons here. Item number two, they're not afraid to tell you the actual time a game is going to tip off. And not just this. Oh, 8:30. On the sidebar here of an upcoming schedule of the Spurs OKC game, it shows game five tips, 8:36 Eastern. They're not afraid.

[A]

That is nice.

[B]

They're not afraid. They don't need to suck you in at 8:30 and say, oh, we gotta watch these ads before we get to our tip. Respect.

[C]

Respect.

[B]

Respect. As basketball watchers who've always wondered, is this game starting at 44, you know, 14 minutes after this projected time of

[C]

8:30, I care so little about the start time. I'm glad they put it on there for people that do. But I'm like, have you ever been to a movie or a concert? They don't start at the time it says on the tickets.

[B]

No, they don't. No. I'd love to know if there's 25 minutes of previews versus 5 minutes of previews. I feel like they started to do

[A]

that with movie theaters. Yeah.

[C]

But literally, like on the AMC app, it says movie starts 25 to 30 minutes after start time. But the best thing that the NHL has going is when they go to their several breaks because these guys get so much time to rest. It always tells you when they're coming back. That's what I need from halftime. 12 minutes until start of third quarter. I love that.

[B]

It's interesting you bring up halftime because this is my, my third item is that coming back from halftime, they showed Victor Wembanyama of game four. I should say specifically in the Western Conference final, they showed Victor Wembanyama missing shots before the game. They're not afraid to show Wemby missing in warm ups because at the end of his warmups.

[A]

Hold on. He's shooting 80 footers.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah. But. But then he stepped in at the end of the second quarter and banged home a 50 footer. It wasn't quite 80, but they basically showed you, hey, this is how that guy gets there. They showed the warm ups. They're not afraid. That's all. I appreciate. I appreciate that. Yeah, I know we all talk about, oh, are there they. Are they holding Wemby's hand here? Nah, ain't afraid.

[C]

I'll show his warm ups.

[B]

They showed him missing by a ton anyway. I just like practicing.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

His full court, it's also just showing. So, yeah, he hit a bomb going into halftime. It was awesome. Then they come back and they show, look at this guy. He missed a lot of shots. He missed pretty badly, but this is how he warms up.

[A]

Well, there that goes to your telling the story though, is how I interpret it. He hit a bomb at the end of the first half and like somebody's like, you know, we have footage of him actually practicing full court shots or bombs. Does he hit any? No. Well, who cares? Roll it anyways. Practicing it is the point, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's good.

[B]

Good job, NBC. This is something else. They did pretty well. They. They also realized that they grabbed an incredible shot which wasn't anywhere close to what was happening on the floor. Game three of the Western Conference final, there's an altercation at one side of the floor. AJ Mitchell hits Stefan Castle. There's a big fight. And Isaiah Joe at the other end on OKC's bench, way far away, faked like he was going into the fight. I'm going. And so the assistant coaches, I'd say, no, don't go. But that was a shot that they grabbed from earlier that they just had a locked off camera, just show showing every part of the arena that they went back to and used. You don't usually see a shot like that. So NBC, just good production, good production right there.

[C]

They do have great in game production. I feel like just in general, random note taking has been revolutionized by the NBA. When we were getting going with the starters, we had to watch these games and write down every single play we wanted to see. Not like Isaiah Joe faking like he's getting on. I'm talking about like a Costas Nika Papa Nicolau shooting a layup. But if there's three of them that are similar, we need all three of those now. Anything interesting that happens, it's on the Internet immediately. So it's a lot easier to find.

[B]

Yeah, that's true. I Would like even in our random notes for every single show. Quite often in the past there haven't been enough. So we kind of, you know, say the same stuff and we just kind of step on each other's toes a little bit. Now there's just more. They do a good job. Really.

[C]

A lot of random notes.

[B]

A lot of random notes out there. Last thing, this is a reach by me, but I don't care. This is Joel Embiid with airborne droplets of sweat coming from his hair. I think any broadcast can get this. I don't think it's NBC necessarily that has to be able to get it. But yeah, it's flying from his hair. It is flying from his hair. So just awesome camera work. Do you have better cameras than Amazon? Do you have better cameras than espn? Probably not, but NBC has done a great job of just giving us the whole story of what's going on. The basketball game. They've done a really good job, period.

[A]

How do you feel about their broadcast team? Not their broadcast team like their, their studio team, I should say. And their pregame work, whether they're in arena or back in the studio. I'm talking Maria, Taylor, Mello, Vince and Tracy McGrady. How do you think they've done in year one? Is there room for improvements? How do you compare them to the. To the prime team led by Taylor and them?

[B]

Yeah, I would say with Maria Mello, Vince and Tracy. I would say to Vince, you don't need to take notes like that. If I'm coaching Vince, I don't want to see you writing notes. I just want. I just want the heart events. Just give it to us. That's. I'm here with you. I don't have to look at my computer, but I do. I need a coach too. Here we go. Done.

[C]

NBC is boring. NBC is.

[A]

I was gonna say, you can say

[C]

their studio stuff is very, very boring. Their game production is awesome. But their pre game, halftime and post game, total snooze. I think Amazon smashes it from a studio perspective and their in game stuff is just totally fine. I don't think they're revolutionizing anything, but I think NBC needs to take a look at what they're doing around the game because there's nothing interesting about it.

[B]

Yes. What you're saying is it's boring. They should. Well, the pre. But you're saying the mid. Middle of the game is very similar. Like the.

[C]

I think, I think it's. I think they completely phone it in. I don't think they do anything. They have no segments set up. They just come on and they take turns talking. And then we're back to the game

[B]

at halftime at 3.

[C]

Halftime.

[A]

Any.

[C]

Any studio position.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. He's not wrong. I've watched one of these prime laps them. Yeah. Lap them this year. In terms of that.

[B]

They do way more. There's no doubt.

[A]

Yeah, exactly. That's what Trey is saying. Like, we're not even saying. It's maybe on the talent, but they are not put in a position to succeed because they're literally just like, hey, what do you think of this? Hey, what do you think of that, Tracy? Hey, what do you think of that, Vince? They end up saying the same thing half the time. It's. It's not entertaining. It's not where obviously they've got something going there with that prime crew. And maybe it is a town, maybe it is Haslam and Dirk and Blake along with Taylor and they just. The chemistry is there. And Nash in there. I don't know, but they just do a lot more. I couldn't believe how much I was. Found myself watching pregame, halftime, post game with the nightcap and all that of prime NBC. It's. I avoid it. I basically avoided at this point.

[B]

Now, of course, I hear what you're saying. Yeah, yeah. As far as they use a floor, I mean, they use an actual floor where they go out and do things.

[A]

They.

[B]

They do way more. There's that part. But yes, as far as just those guys being on camera, they could do better in general.

[A]

Well, yeah, I mean, I think we're giving them some grace. It is their first year doing this, and it. It takes time and, you know, reps and all this stuff to build a chemistry and. And get comfortable and all that.

[B]

This is Amazon, and maybe they won't have it.

[A]

I don't know. Not every former player is good on television. That's just the fact.

[B]

Yeah. This is Amazon's first run, too, and they're doing a great job.

[A]

Yes. Yeah.

[B]

So simple as that.

[A]

But it's not. But we're saying it's not just the talent. It's obviously the production.

[B]

Yeah, exactly.

[A]

They have what they're coming up with.

[B]

Yeah. They're putting work into that. I mean, as much it was as we were talking about the NBA draft lottery and having a village to. To use to actually try to make it fun. It feels like Amazon's doing that. Well, NBC isn't so much. It's pretty traditional and it's similar to the TNT guys in that it's just go on the desk and do your thing. But the TNT guys in Barkley have so much personality that they carry it to another level. But it feels like the production meetings, as we've been in many production meetings would be very similar to a TNT versus an NBC. Those would be similar. While the Amazon would be 600 people.

[A]

There's a lot more moving.

[B]

There's more, there's more that they do. Way more. So that's what I was looking at as like, let's get to the, the brass tacks of how Vince can be better. I mean, because I, I don't know if the whole, the whole situation can be better, but should be better. Like they should be doing more of what Amazon is doing. Like getting guys involved. Talk about this. But also you. Donna says was just awesome. Yeah, you know, he's just really, really.

[A]

I think both can be true. I think the Amazon team has done a better job of putting them in a position to succeed and I also think they're just better at it. Who they've picked and selected as their on air talent for the studio show then at least NBC. I have not been impressed. I also think there's a real problem with Mello, Vince and Tracy together. It's like a little bit all the same to me. And their sort of takes and their opinions, it just, it's all sort of. It's almost like one guy. They're sort of all similar.

[B]

I hear what you're saying. I think they probably watch the TNT broadcasts and are like, okay, we'll kind of do it like them. You know, it is pretty similar like that. Do you really care about the halftime for tnt? As much as we love Barkley, we love Ernie. Is that, is that a thing you need to watch?

[A]

No, no, I think that's not a thing I need to watch. Yeah.

[B]

I mean they're, they're too similar in that regard. So when you're saying like all three are all three guys in Mellovents and Tracy are similar. I think, yeah, they are similar to that, that halftime show. Rather than having a little more analysis of the actual game, which Amazon does way more.

[A]

I don't see how you're comparing what we've seen from NBC and their studio team to the greatest studio show we've ever seen. They're like not even comparable.

[B]

Yeah, that's person. But it's the personality that carries Barkley and.

[A]

Well, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[C]

And Vince, Mello and TMAC are just, they have similar energies. Like they're all, they're all kind of like downbeat in general, chill guys in general. And I think that on the other two shows, whether it be inside the NBA or what they just call it, the half for prime or something like that, whatever it is, there are different personalities. Like Kenny's analytical, Chuck is cantankerous, and Shaq is jokey. You can tell the three very distinct personalities between the three. And I don't think that Melo, Vince and T. Mac have found their voices to differentiate them from each other.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. They need more reps on Cousins, the podcast, I guess. But yeah, it ain't clicking. Maria Taylor's great.

[C]

I think she's really good.

[A]

So, yeah, yeah, I think they're. I think the three people in charge of all these things in terms of running point, Maria Taylor and of course, Ernie Johnson, the goat. Like, that's not. There's no issue there. I don't think that's the concern. But in terms of talking about the game or whatever fun they have, this is the other thing. I mean, prime, they're just having way more fun than what you get translated through the screen from the NBC studio show. Whether they're in a studio or whether they put them on the floor there of these games in the playoffs. Just like, it doesn't scream fun. No, it's just like, all right, we're just gonna sort of go through the reps here and share an opinion.

[C]

I think prime is much more in the vein of inside the NBA, like, they are the progenitor. And the NBC studio offerings are way more similar to ESPN where it's like, you're here for the game. We got to do this studio programming as well. We'll try something, but we're not putting a ton of effort into it. But you're here for the game and that's how NBC handles things and how ESPN handles things when it's not inside. Because, like, I mean, nobody's really caring about Perkins, though. He is a huge personality. At least they got that going for him. Same with Stephen A. But you know, their halftime show was always a work in progress compared to when TNT had it.

[B]

The thing that Amazon does better than The TNT/ESPN guys, they get into the game though. They, they care, yes, they care about everything on the floor. The modern day game. And so they're by far and away the one that stands out with given a poop about basketball.

[A]

And there's no doubt and then final thought on all of this after a year of it, because there was concern, okay, all these new broadcasters and new ways to watch these games. And find them. Like, how do you feel it's been after the entire season of this, of NBC, of Amazon and still ESPN in general?

[C]

I think it's good. The thing that drives me the most crazy is having to look at my apps to know where the game is going to be. That's frustrating. But, you know, if you have. As long as it's not on Amazon, if you have YouTube TV, you can find it for the most part, but it's pretty much the same, if we're being quite honest. It's almost all the same voices on the broadcasts. Yeah, I actually think it was good the way they handled inside the NBA. Like, there was a lot of complaints heading into the season. Like, look at how light their schedule is. They're never on. So they kind of fell by the wayside, I thought, during the regular season. And now they're hilarious during the postseason when the eyeballs are really focused on the sport. So I think that actually worked out pretty well. But it feels very similar to me with a couple of spicy things thrown in here. Most mostly on the Amazon side.

[B]

Yeah, that's very similar.

[A]

Let's hear from you guys out there. I know everybody's got opinions on the actual broadcasts when it comes to their production work and the studio shows and. Yeah. Watching these games all season long and firing up these different apps and. Yeah. What's the one that people are upset? Is it. Is it.

[C]

Amazon's the worst. Because you can't flip. You have to stick with Amazon.

[A]

Oh, I was going to say, I thought people are not the biggest fans of the Peacock, though, because you can't. When you go to it, if you're like, 30 minutes late to the game, there's some issue in starting that at the beginning, isn't it? That one? So that, to me, I mean, like, we watch a lot of basketball, so it's nice to be like, okay, I don't need to catch it live. I'll catch up through commercials and all that. But that's the one that causes some people problems, where it's like you go to it and it's like, well, I can't start it at the beginning, even though the game started 30 minutes. You know what I mean?

[B]

I hear you.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, I know people have written about that. You can get there. I think you got to, like, sort of rewind and all that. But there's not an easy. Just start from beginning is what I'm trying to say.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. On Amazon, they keep talking about if you have the Amazon remote, you can click the bottom arrow. And it'll go to some other thing that they're broadcasting on Amazon prime or something.

[C]

Oh, yeah, they do have. Whatever. It's not called Baller Vision, but whatever. They're. Maybe it's called Prime Vision with all the extra stats and stuff, right? Oh, for sure.

[B]

But isn't they. Can't you go to, like, something else different on the Amazon app? Or is it just a. Yeah, you're probably right.

[C]

Multiple broadcasts for every game on Prime.

[B]

Yeah, for sure.

[A]

And we've talked about the key plays. Sometimes, like, if you want to catch up, they just. Whatever. Give you a little quick. Here's an update on some of the big plays from the game. Sometimes convenient. I mean, it's very. They're very simple for me.

[C]

But I do like when I open up Peacock and it's like, shake Elders. Alexander is heating up. He's got 14 points. Like, that's somebody's job to put in that little description of things that are happening during the first quarter of a game. I enjoy that.

[B]

And that's why NBA League Pass Premium is really, really good as far as not having to miss a thing, because you don't need to worry about fast forward missing stuff. Like you're bringing up the peacock, which I'm not familiar with. If you tune in 30 minutes late, you can't rewind. Yeah, that's not fun. No, you got to be able to do that. So that's just the Peacock app. But if you're tuning in on YouTube

[A]

TV, you're fine there.

[B]

You're fine. Yeah, right, right.

[C]

That's just NBC standard broadcast League Pass Premium.

[B]

But it's good for that.

[C]

Don't we have an upgraded League Pass Premium? I don't think that most people who are watching League Pass Premium have access to the national broadcasts.

[B]

They can. Some can. Some send us messages and they say, I'm with tasks. I've watched every single halftime show. Method man was the business, you know, he was. Some people. I don't know.

[A]

I thought it was more international, but maybe not.

[B]

No, there's definitely some Americans. I don't know. You definitely got to pay for it, but yeah, I don't know. I'm not in the NBA League office.

[A]

So you had no real issues with NBA League Pass this year?

[B]

Yeah. And it's not. Yes. Not perfect, but it was really good.

[A]

Yeah. Okay. Did you get spoiled by any games like Chess wizard, what's his name?

[C]

Magnus something or other?

[B]

So you can hide scores now?

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[C]

But sometimes it doesn't work.

[A]

Sometimes he still gets spoiled. He was very upset.

[C]

Magnus Carlson.

[A]

Magnus Carlson. Carlson. Yeah, that's. Yeah. You didn't see this test?

[B]

Yeah, yeah, I saw, I saw.

[A]

Just happened. He's pissed. He was legit angry.

[C]

He just brought it up out of nowhere. Yeah, I just gotta get it off my chest.

[A]

Good for him. Okay. They'll call it there. Wow. We talked about a whole lot on today's show. Coming up at 1pm Eastern we got a new no Buffs episode. Survivor's done. We're talking about the summer house reunion. Nor will we here to break it all down. She's the expert. This show is batshit crazy. We will have some fun. If you are a reality television fan. Join us at 1pm Eastern. Link is in the show notes. Come on over to no Buffs. And then tonight plan is game six of the Western Conference finals watch party. Your second screen experience. Come join us there. 8:30pm Well I guess 8:36, what is it? 8:37. 8:38. We're not sure. I'll be around 8:30. I want to go play some hoops tonight. Our runs like seven to nine. So I'll be leaving hoops early but I gotta get home and I got a shower. So hopefully I'll be live by 8:30. But you be there, okay? You be there. I'll get that link up very soon so you can come hang out. And as we watch game six tonight, hopefully we get a good one.

[C]

Hopefully.

[A]

So come on, we need a classic. We need a classic tonight. We've had a game one classic and then we've, you know, obviously had a nice series here. But we're due for an overtime or a huge play or whatever, something like that. Big performance.

[C]

I mean I'm just happy with any spurs win because game seven, baby.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

Game seven would be Saturday night. Okay, that's it for us today until well later either on no Buffs or tonight here on YouTube. Clever bros. You heard it here first. Have a great time. Turn up. Love you guys.

[C]

Awesome.

[B]

Thanks for joining us. And remember, a 3:1 deficit in hockey is winnable. Habs are down 3:1.

[A]

I'm looking good.

[B]

Man. I can't cheer for the Habs. I never have been able to. I'm cheering for Tom Dundon's team, the Carolina Hurricanes. Who are you guys cheering for? For?

[A]

I'm training for the Habs.

[B]

Yeah, just cuz it's Canada.

[A]

Yeah, they're not coming back. From what I've seen, that defense is too elite on the Hurricanes. Nothing survives a hurricane.

[B]

Yeah. The Habs are frustrated. They're so frustrated. They're hitting guys with sticks going into the penalty box. Yeah, man.

[C]

Come on.

[A]

Lost their composure out there.

[B]

Good luck to everybody involved.

[A]

What's happening on the other side? Is that done or what? Oh, wow.

[B]

Damn.

[A]

So we're looking at a good friend. We're looking at a Vegas, Carolina, Stanley Cup. Yep, we are. Okay.

[B]

Oh, Gary Bettman doesn't like that. Probably not, but Vegas is a dynasty. I mean, they're really good.

[C]

Their third finals appearance in nine years. It's pretty damn good, what they said. Yeah, they're good.

[A]

Hurricanes haven't been there since, like, 06. Or won the cup since 06. All right. I couldn't believe that. It feels like they did. Aren't they good?

[C]

They've had a pretty good run recently

[A]

of maybe they haven't won the cup since, which also sounded crazy to me, though. I'm like, what, 20 years? The caners, Ron Francis.

[C]

Ron. They got Sebastian Ajo. I think he's their star. I don't know. I enjoy watching. Yeah, they play off hockey, but when a team is, like, defensively focused, I don't know anything about them. Like, how do I know if you're doing good at defense?

[A]

Right.

[C]

What are you supposed to do?

[A]

What is it? What is. The Devils? You fall over.

[B]

This is a defensive team special. Leads the team in scoring with 80 points, 27 goals.

[A]

That's pretty low.

[B]

Yeah, it is low. I mean, there's other guys who've got to 30, but that's not. Not very high.

[A]

Defense wins championships and cups. Yep. Brace a day. Support from this show comes from Quince. I'm way overdue for a wardrobe refresh. I'm a podcast host. That is very important. I drive a Chevy Trax. I'm a man. I'm 45. Clothes shopping in person is simply not a priority for me. So I usually wear the same stuff till my wife calls me out. For these reasons, I'm pumped to say that Quince has been my new go to. I asked Nora to help me pick out a couple of items, and it turns out she already had a cart ready of things she was planning on getting me from Quint's. So I picked up two of the 100% European linen shirts. One striped, one solid. The material feels light and breathable, and the stitching looks really well done. They're the perfect type of pieces that feel easy and comfortable, but still look put together. And the best part is, I didn't break the bank. In fact, everything I purchased was priced 50 to 80% less than what you'd find at similar brands. Why? Because Quint's works directly with the ethical factories and cuts out the middlemen. So you're getting premium materials without the markup. Refresh your everyday with luxury you'll actually use. Head to quince.com nodunks for free shipping on your order and 3 seconds 65 day returns. Now available in Canada too. That's Q-U-I-N-C-E.com nodunks for free shipping and 365 day returns quint.com no dunks the

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[A]

This is an I Heart Podcast.

[B]

Guaranteed human.