NICK WRIGHT Talks LeBron, Skip, Pundit Beef

Summary

The Adam Friedland Show: NICK WRIGHT Talks LeBron, Skip, Pundit Beef

Date: December 10, 2025
Guest: Nick Wright (FS1 “First Things First” Host)
Main Theme: The sports pundit ecosystem, LeBron’s legacy, media beefs, and the state of “takes” in 2020s sports talk

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Overview

This episode features a wide-ranging, energetic, and irreverent conversation between Adam Friedland and Nick Wright, revolving around the internal culture of sports TV debates, LeBron James’ place in basketball history, the roots of sports media beefs, and the quirks of contemporary fandom. The dialogue samples the light, improvisational, and often sarcastic tone both men are known for—leaning into bits, sidebars, and stream-of-consciousness humor, while still taking deep dives into sports history, the craft of punditry, and the psychology of rooting.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Sports Punditry: The Art, Business, and Ecosystem

• Becoming an “Opinionist”:

  • Nick explains his path: “They call me an opinionist. I'm a sports talk show host. ... I'm definitely not a journalist. ... I'm one of those people that argues about sports on tv.” (26:22)
  • On joining Fox and intentionally filling the “LeBron is the GOAT” void:
    “...the block, the three months before the block... I said, he just passed him [Jordan]. It's over.” (29:05)
  • Both joke about the low “barrier to entry” for being considered a sharp sports TV personality, while tacitly acknowledging that chemistry and the ability to generate attention are the real currency.

• About the Sports Media World:

  • “Fox Sports is… super siloed… I've been doing it for nine years. I'm pretty openly liberal guy. ... I never had [problems].” (21:39)
  • The “ecosystem” now relies increasingly on personality and meta-commentary over just athletes or games:
    “Nothing as far as… the things that do the best on social media or YouTube are like inter-sports gossip and sometimes not even involving the athletes. Sometimes it's like this pundit says this about that pundit. ... People love that shit.” (48:31)

2. The LeBron Debate—Media Bias and GOAT Talk

• LeBron vs. MJ, Kobe, Tim Duncan, and the Shaping of Narratives:

  • Nick details how LeBron’s career has been covered and why the “vacancy” for a strong LeBron advocate existed:
    “The fact that it was controversial to say the greatest high school, the greatest prospect ever… that it's still controversial to be like, he's the best. ... It's been hugely beneficial for me.” (31:06)
  • On media nostalgia:
    “A lot of the most influential media folks. A lot of their legacies are tied to the Jordan era Bulls. And so they are very protective of...” (29:55)
  • On why Tim Duncan is underrated:
    “What people turned the goat debate into, was not who’s the greatest player ever, it's who reminds me of Michael Jordan the most, which is why Kobe is probably a touch historically overrated...” (32:00)

• Perpetual Beef—Skip, Stephen A., and Michael Jordan’s Influence:

  • The culture of “bad faith” takes and whether some pundits actually believe their own anti-LeBron cases:
    “Are some guys bullshitting?”
    “100%.” (25:01)
  • Skip Bayless’ real feelings—“No, see, I don’t think Skip’s bullshitting.” (25:08)
  • Stephen A. and Michael’s whispering in the media’s ear: “Mike is at the crib, North Carolina, hitting tequila, and he's like, go fuck with Braun a little bit more, don't you think?” (25:40)

3. The Modern Fan: Loyalty, Pain, and Embarrassment

• The Emotional Experience:

  • On being devastated by sports:
    “If my girlfriend knew, she would... she would leave me.” (18:54) “...it's the hope that kills you.” (19:18) “...the first day I was not in a depression based on the Chiefs Broncos game.” (19:44)

• Fandom and Identity:

  • Adam discusses feeling embarrassed by how seriously he takes rooting (especially for Arsenal):
    “My role is that I'm a member of Arsenal.” (76:40)
    • On “realness” of certain fans/ethnicities and jerseys: “If you're white... Not past 13. If you're black, like, do your thing. ... Mexican, come on. You're the realest. ... A white guy can't wear a jersey past 13." (16:13)

4. Pundit Celebrity & Gossip Culture

• “...it feels like someone's difficulty handling celebrity can cast a shadow over the very reason why they are a celebrity.” (48:03)
• Celebrity beef (LeBron vs. Brian Windhorst/Stephen A./Wendy, etc.):
  “I thought Bron taking that shot at Wendy was unnecessary... I thought he could have gone harder at Stephen A.” (49:31)

5. Lightning Round ("Takes" and Hot Debates)

• Adam and Nick speed-round controversial or irreverent opinions with five-second rebuttals:
  • Offensive linemen shouldn't be TV pundits? “You absolutely need them because—” (74:24)
  • NBA coaches should go back to suits? “I agree.” (74:34)
  • Best sports movie: Nick—Rocky or Raging Bull; Adam—Moneyball (88:20)
  • Should sports coaches have to be ex-jocks? Nick: “I think it’s very difficult if you weren’t a player.” (81:36)
  • “Soccer is the best sport. The talent pool is wider. It’s the whole world, right?” Nick: Agrees (75:53)

6. Miscellaneous Memorable Basketball Takes

• On Steph Curry: “Anyone who doesn’t have him in their top five, I have no respect for you.” (77:58); Nick disagrees—Magic is still the #1 PG.
• On Wimby’s potential to surpass LeBron/MJ:
  “I don’t think he gets there... every single player in the history of the league that's 7’5 or taller has just had terrible injuries.” (58:47)
• On Jokic:
  “Nikola Jokic was a fat guy from the Balkans and then he ended up being incredible.” (69:07)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Why Nick Picked “LeBron as the GOAT” Lane

“It was remarkable that that corner was unguarded. That like, hey, just say the guy who's obviously the greatest player ever is the greatest player ever. And I became famous for it.” —Nick Wright (29:32)

On the Pundit Beef Industry

“The things that do the best on social media or on YouTube are like inter-sports gossip and sometimes not even involving the athletes. ... People for some reason love that shit.” —Nick Wright (48:31)

On Jersey Rules & Fan Realness

“We came up with rules, actually, in the office. If you're white, you. Not past 13. If you're black, like, do your thing. ... So I pretty much like a white guy can't wear a jersey past 13.” —Adam Friedland (16:13)

On The GOAT Debate / Media Nostalgia

“They're very protective of... their era. For a lot of people, the greatest era of sports is the era when I broke into sports broadcasting that was going on.” —Nick Wright (30:21)

On LeBron and Media Scrutiny

“It's a ridiculous standard to hold him to. ... I don't know if you get his number, just text him. Just be yourself. You're the best basketball player ever.” —Adam (36:39)

On the Future and Legacy

“People in 40 years won't believe that it was an argument that it was like, people will think. No. And so that part is unequivocally true, that this is going to age as. You got to be kidding me. People argued for someone else...” —Nick Wright (41:05)

On Pundit Drama & Stephen A.

“...if you touch me, I will have no choice but to put hands on you. Who are you? ... He's 6’8”, the greatest athlete of all time.” —Adam Friedland (51:44)

On Race, Analytics, and Power in Front Offices

“It has been a way for people who didn't—especially NBA front offices, way for people who didn’t play to get a seat at the table, and an overwhelmingly black sport. ... Given a lot more white people seats at the table.” —Nick Wright (93:19)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Sports Pundit Ecosystem, Nick’s Role: 26:22–28:04
• Adam’s Take on Jersey Realness & Fandom Rules: 16:06–16:38
• LeBron vs. MJ/GOAT Debate: 29:05–34:13
• Nick’s “Lucky” Career Timing as a LeBron Advocate: 31:06–31:30
• Lightning Round / Rapid Takes: 74:01–77:10
• Kobe’s Farewell Game & The Role of Narrative: 38:42–39:19, 96:29–97:01
• Discussion of Race and Analytics in Punditry & Front Offices: 93:19–94:46
• Celebrity Gossip & Pundit Beef: 48:03–50:18
• Steph Curry’s Place in History: 77:58–78:18

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Tone & Style

• Irreverent: Frequent sidebars, bits, and self-aware asides highlight both men’s penchant for comedy and tangent.
• Candid: Nick is unusually open about strategy, luck, and cynicism in talksports, and Adam frequently alludes to sports fandom’s embarrassing and emotional aspects.
• Meta: Several segments turn the spotlight on the nature of the debate itself, with the hosts dissecting why these TV arguments matter and who profits from them (“People argued for someone else... that part is unequivocally true, that this is going to age as...").
• Personal: Both give personal anecdotes—Adam’s Arsenal obsession, Nick’s KC roots, and a long section about Adam’s disastrous engagement story (“My penis went in my body...”).

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Conclusion

This episode offers a rich blend of comedy, sports nerdery, inside-baseball pundit shop talk, and honest reflections on the weirdness of caring so much about games and the men who talk about them. Nick Wright is refreshingly self-aware about his pundit role and the scripts pundits fall into, while Adam bounces between sports pain, comedy, and cosmic questions about why any of it matters.

For anyone interested in the culture of sports debate, media personalities’ incentives, or just the irrational joy and shame of fandom, this is appointment listening.

Transcript

[Adam Friedland]

You and Skip are the only smart people in the. How's he doing? You checking with him?

[Nick Wright]

I have.

[Adam Friedland]

Not really.

[Nick Wright]

He and I, it's.

[Adam Friedland]

Listen, it's wrong, but that one and a half million dollars, like, for. For someone to say, no, I won't have sex with you for a million and a half dollars. He's got it. That really has to hurt your feelings. Skip must be so, like. He's like, what's. I'm that repulsive? A million would like, okay. Would you have sex with. Your wife is here. I'm sure she would say, go for a million and a half dollars. Would you let Skip crack? I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Would you tell him if it was on the table still, if Skip was like, all right, Nick, you're ranked second. Would you be like, yeah, he would get you something so nice. A million and a half dollars. I would let him do whatever he wants to be. You're not gonna be gay. The rest, I feel like it doesn't make you gay. It's me. Sorry. I'm on a rant right now and I should be doing this on Fox Sports. Back to the Adam Friedland Show. First off, guys, I'm going back on the road. Me and my boy Caleb, who works on the show here, my best friend, I think. I think I'm. He's my best friend. I'm not his. In fact, it's depressing me and Caleb Pitts. Emerald City Comedy Club, Seattle, Washington. January 22nd, 23rd, 24th. I'm doing five shows. Get [e-mail]. there's also a link in the description. I'd also like to thank our members for supporting us here on YouTube.com you guys make the show possible. Members get access to all of our episodes early and if you join at the second or third tiers, you also get your name in the credits of this fine program. If you'd like to join the Friedland Family foundation, you can do so by clicking the join button here on YouTube or by clicking the link in the description. You could also support the show on Patreon if you prefer. The link for that is also in the description. And guys, merch is also available. Go to AdamFriedland Show. Check it out. Hoodies, T shirts, hats, whatever. I'm wearing one.

[Nick Wright]

Thank you.

[Adam Friedland]

My guest this week is sports broadcaster and host of first things first on FS1, the goat, Nick Wright. For me, this is a big opportunity, both a debut and also a greatest hits album. I've been saving up these takes for 38 years and my whole life, and here I get to finally unleash them. So for a few short hours, I got to feel like some of my heroes, like, you know, ski EP or Unk or Big Perk or, you know, Ryan Rosillo, Cousin Sal, Keith Olbermann. Yeah. Chuck Diesel, Roy Keane, Jimmy Johnson, Pat McAfee. And, you know, and let's not forget Joe Rogan, Chris Collinsworth, Doris Burke, Girl, Colin Cowherd. Pause. Dan Patrick, Jimmy the Greek, Mike Francesa, Malika Andrews, Scott Van Pell, Matt Barnes. Oh, Steven. Matt Barnes, Steven Jackson, all the smoke. You know, the list. The list obviously goes on.

[Nick Wright]

No.

[Adam Friedland]

Osho, cinco, travis kelsey, the fat brother, thierry henry. You got gilbert arenas, nick young, mace, cam, hassan, picare stav, bob costas, al michaels, gus johnson, Harry carey, marv albert, kenny the jet smith, of course, ernie. Ernie, e.j. johnson, you know, voice of velvet. I mean, the guys. I mean, I could go. I mean, I could go on forever, you know, like john madden, brent musburger, you know, I keep going to chick hearn, vin scully, dick emberg, dick bergeron, dick vital, dick button, dick ebersol. There was a dick trickle, you know, Dick Stockton. So, guys, this is a big one for me, and in my opinion, it's my favorite episode I've ever done. I kill Nick Wright, I end his career. I ethered him, but he's still a good guy and I liked him a lot. And I feel like we're friends now and maybe we'd do a podcast together. Look at him. That's an intense stare. Please enjoy the interview, guys, with Nick wright. Sponsored by R.O. thank you to Rosesparks for sponsoring this episode. I'm not a real Rosesparks user, but I'm excited to tell you what it's all about, folks. Women can tell if you're confident in the bedroom and they think it's sexy and worry about your erection could affect that swag in the bedroom. Your swag. Did it turn off? It turned off. Rose Sparks are a 2 in 1 prescription treatment for guys who want to get harder in more controlled erections. They hit the bloodstream fast because they dissolve under the tongue. And getting hard fast means there's less waiting to perform. After Rosesparks dissolve. They work in 15 minutes on average. Plus Rosesparks dual action formula style stays active in the system for up to 36 hours, folks. No, you don't stay hard the whole time, but when you get aroused, you're able to get and maintain an erection with Rose Sparks. Guys. Can get harder, have more control in bed and boost to last longer so everyone gets more pleasure. Ro connects guys with a medical provider 100% online and if approved treatment ships directly to your door. Prescribed new sexual health patients get $15 off their first order of Sparks. On a recurring plan, connect with a provider at ro co tafs to find out if prescription ro sparks are right for you. That's ro co tafs for $15 off your first order. Sparks is a compound drug product. Compound drugs are permitted to be prescribed under federal law, but are not FDA approved and do not undergo FDA safety, effectiveness or or manufacturing review. For full safety information go to RO Co safetyinfo.

[Nick Wright]

It's kinda. I don't know if it's what I'm best at. It's. I used to. If you'd asked me 20 years ago what my plan was.

[Adam Friedland]

President of the United States.

[Nick Wright]

No, but the idea was to get a big enough name by doing sports that I could. It was basically Overman's career path. Become a big enough name doing sports that I could then do politics. Yeah, but I've.

[Adam Friedland]

I think we've started already, right, Thomas? Okay, great. We're all kind of exhausted right now. This is the third interview in three days.

[Nick Wright]

Oh, who am I?

[Adam Friedland]

And then we have the mayor, and then the mayor is coming on.

[Nick Wright]

Oh, really?

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, yeah, I'm MSM now, dude. I'm mainstream.

[Nick Wright]

Mainstream.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah.

[Nick Wright]

Crossed over.

[Adam Friedland]

I'm going to bring out.

[Nick Wright]

Long way from the Cometown podcast. No, it's the same thing, but it's a smart rebrand. It's like two chains.

[Adam Friedland]

It's not deliberate at all. Titty boy.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah, exactly.

[Adam Friedland]

I think titty boy's coming on.

[Nick Wright]

Oh, oh, really?

[Adam Friedland]

Are you a big tech nine head?

[Nick Wright]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

He's the guy of your city?

[Nick Wright]

Yeah, I like him a lot. And he's a really good dude.

[Adam Friedland]

Is he? Oh, you know him from the celebrity Kansas City?

[Nick Wright]

Well, yeah, I mean, there's very. There's not a ton of folks that are like, born and raised Kansas City. And with like, Nash, there's a bunch of people in the comedy world.

[Adam Friedland]

Really?

[Nick Wright]

Stone Street.

[Adam Friedland]

That never moves, Rut.

[Nick Wright]

Well, I don't know. No, I think they moved, but I mean, they're born and raised there. Like Paul Ruddy, Paul Rhone Street. Jon Hamm.

[Adam Friedland]

Are you KCK or kc?

[Nick Wright]

Mo.

[Adam Friedland]

Casey Mo.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah. Almost everyone you'd meet is Casey. Moe.

[Adam Friedland]

Do you. Do you fuck with kck? Yeah, it's more posh, right?

[Nick Wright]

No, it's the opposite. So here's. So this is what's gonna. Oh, I wouldn't. Kansas City, Kansas is a really tough

[Adam Friedland]

area because to me it all sounds terrible. It sounds. It sounds. I feel like they're all eating meat and just £900. Well, you went Kansas City to Houston.

[Nick Wright]

I went Kansas City to Houston, LA to New York.

[Adam Friedland]

How are you so slim? You're so trim. You went to some big places.

[Nick Wright]

I went to some big.

[Adam Friedland]

I mean, you went to the gastric bypass capital of America, Houston.

[Nick Wright]

Is that Houston?

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Nick Wright]

Is that a Fact?

[Adam Friedland]

I watch 600 pound Life When Ball isn't on.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

They're always. And yeah, the guy's always like, please stop eating. And then they have to go home and they just can't. They can't stop. They can't suck.

[Nick Wright]

But yeah. So the. Sorry, no, you're fine. But no, the reason you thought Kansas City, Kansas was more posh is. I don't know if anyone cares about this. There's a road in Kansas City literally called State Line Road. That's exactly what it sounds like.

[Adam Friedland]

That sounds awesome.

[Nick Wright]

And the Kansas, like, so if you are in KCMO and you cross over into Kansas, it's mostly suburbs and stuff, but that's not Kansas City, Kansas. That's like places called Leawood and Overland Park. And so there's. There's a part like.

[Adam Friedland]

So the burbs in Kansas are nice.

[Nick Wright]

Very nice.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah.

[Nick Wright]

And fun fact, the state of Kansas people are like, why is Kansas City in Missouri? Because the state of Kansas was named after the city of Kansas City. Kansas City, Missouri existed.

[Adam Friedland]

Kind of pathetic.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. They named the whole state after us after some other. Yeah.

[Nick Wright]

Now they're trying to take the Chiefs and the Royals. They're trying to get the Chiefs and the Royals to move State across state line. Yeah. Be a travesty to go to K. To go to.

[Adam Friedland]

So there's local rivalries there. Oh, yeah. With the other guys. Well, they all put on for Pat, though.

[Nick Wright]

Of course. Yes.

[Adam Friedland]

That's where you make peace.

[Nick Wright]

Well, the Chiefs and Royals are everyone's. But for the. A lot of those folks went to local colleges. So mu, KU and K State are like the local rivals.

[Adam Friedland]

Jayhawks. Yeah.

[Nick Wright]

KU Jayhawks.

[Adam Friedland]

Well done. Yeah.

[Nick Wright]

You're a ball. Nowhere. I love ball football or basketball

[Adam Friedland]

at this point. Basketball, kind of the tuck game. Kind of. I cried because I'm a Raiders fan and it wasn't fair.

[Nick Wright]

And we're the same age. You're a little younger.

[Adam Friedland]

I'm 38. You're 42.

[Nick Wright]

41, but yeah, 41.

[Adam Friedland]

Sorry.

[Nick Wright]

I know you have.

[Adam Friedland]

You don't look a day over, but. Yeah, I thought it was really cute. Like, you were like a kid. The kid. The Casey kid?

[Nick Wright]

Yeah. What were you called, Nick? You mean when I called into the radio station? Nick the kid. I called into all the chief spokes.

[Adam Friedland]

Kids. And you yell about Marty Schottenheimer. Yeah. Andre Risen.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah, that's right. Andre Risen.

[Adam Friedland]

We're rivals. We hate each other.

[Nick Wright]

Because you're a Raiders fan. Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

You guys, I'm not anymore. I'm a. I literally grew up in Vegas, too. I was born in LA and then

[Nick Wright]

grew up in Vegas and very similar to my path.

[Adam Friedland]

When they moved to Vegas, I stopped being a fan. It's just not real.

[Nick Wright]

But they aren't.

[Adam Friedland]

Half of the stadium is traveling fans because they want to go get fucked up.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah, same with. The same with Chargers.

[Adam Friedland]

That's not an LA team. If you talk to The Mexicans in LA, they're still loyal to the Raiders.

[Nick Wright]

Yes, 100%.

[Adam Friedland]

They're the most loyal people in the world.

[Nick Wright]

Well, the Raiders are like one of the biggest national brands in large part in Mexico, too. Yes, that's what I was gonna say. Their Latin fan base is crazy.

[Adam Friedland]

It's Dallas and the Raiders.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

America's Team. America's Team. They should kind of like, stop liking the Cowboys then. If it's America's Team, We've been pretty mean to Mexico for a while.

[Nick Wright]

You know, I hadn't thought about that. The moral conundrum of being a Hispanic Cowboys fan.

[Adam Friedland]

It's strange.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah. And honestly, you know, they should probably just embrace the Kansas City Chiefs.

[Adam Friedland]

I know a guy who has a. He used to, like, help out with the show. He has a tattoo on his ass and it's a Dallas Cowboys star and a Palestine flag. And I was like, that is the only one in the world that is the only one that's on his ass, too.

[Nick Wright]

Why'd you fire him?

[Adam Friedland]

I didn't fire him. No, he was like a freelance kind of guy.

[Nick Wright]

Why didn't you bring him back?

[Adam Friedland]

I don't know. He lives in Jersey.

[Nick Wright]

He's a good guy.

[Adam Friedland]

I like him a lot. He's a documentarian.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah, he's a documentarian with a Cowboys tattoo on his ass.

[Adam Friedland]

No, he's not showing the people in the documentary.

[Nick Wright]

No, I got that. But it just seems like a highbrow job and maybe, I don't know.

[Adam Friedland]

You're saying he's stupid.

[Nick Wright]

No, I'm not saying a Jersey Cowboys fan is.

[Adam Friedland]

That has to be the worst kind of guy.

[Nick Wright]

Well, so I. So I agree. And I also now when people. If I meet people and they don't know me and they're like, oh, you know, who's your team? I have to preface it with, well, I'm born and raised in Kansas City. Or else they'll think like, oh, you're a Chiefs fan living in New York. You're just front runner.

[Adam Friedland]

No one does that, though. Even though you guys are good. No one does it. You know that. You know that.

[Nick Wright]

Well, we.

[Adam Friedland]

There's just not, I don't know, we

[Nick Wright]

took on, you know, the. All of the Swift. Taylor Swift fans.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. Now you have to pretend it's not baby music. Is it your fucking tight end? You have to like. I mean, I have you love. Shake it off. No, you want to see some guy get his head knocked off, you're not there for fucking. Shake it off. I wish I could talk about this stuff on tv.

[Nick Wright]

Why don't you?

[Adam Friedland]

I'm on the. I do long form, Jewish style, late night talk. I don't know what the fuck this is. The cute thing about the kid radio station, I was a very precocious kid myself. And when I was four, I think I was at a parents party with my parents and I would talk to parents.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah, I did the same thing.

[Adam Friedland]

People from the Raiders front office. And I was yelling at them, like, badgering them that they had a fiery art show. So I think I heard my dad say it.

[Nick Wright]

You know, When I was 10, I happened to like, I was somewhere and my. One of my mom's friends said, hey, that guy is the president of the Miami Dolphins.

[Adam Friedland]

And I. Pullinga.

[Nick Wright]

No, I think it was. I think it. I don't really remember. What is it Wayne Huizenga. Who it was at the time. Yeah. And I walked over to him and I was like, I just want to let you know hiring Jimmy Johnson's the greatest move you've ever made.

[Adam Friedland]

Of course.

[Nick Wright]

Right, like. And so. Yeah, so it's very similar to.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, 10. You're like, yo, he's. He's leaving the Canes and he's coming to the big leagues.

[Nick Wright]

Well, no, he had just left the Cowboys.

[Adam Friedland]

Oh, he came after.

[Nick Wright]

That's right.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah.

[Nick Wright]

They count once. Yeah, once. Jerry and him fell out.

[Adam Friedland]

Dude, your wife likes like these kind of car. You have to be the most bored. Unless you like it.

[Nick Wright]

No, she's boring.

[Adam Friedland]

Is it when my girlfriend says, oh, did your team lose? And I have to be like, did my team lose? And I'm like, my feelings are Hurt. Because I care about, like, men with great bodies. I just. As I realized as an adult that we shouldn't be wearing jerseys.

[Nick Wright]

No, of course.

[Adam Friedland]

I can't be wearing a man's name on my.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah, I think there is.

[Adam Friedland]

We came up with rules, actually, in the office.

[Nick Wright]

Oh, can I hear them? If you're.

[Adam Friedland]

Sorry. If you're white, you. Not past 13. If you're. If you're. If you're black, like, do your thing. And if you're. No. And if you're Mexican, you know, Come on. You're the realest. You're the realest of the game. So I pretty much like a white guy can't wear a jersey. Pass 13.

[Nick Wright]

Here's the. There are to me a couple exceptions. I'm not a hockey fan.

[Adam Friedland]

Throwback.

[Nick Wright]

I think hockey sweaters just like, look like an awesome outfit almost. And I think baseball jerseys. Two baseball games to the.

[Adam Friedland]

I. I never. I never. When my team's playing, I can't wear the jersey. I'm very superstitious. Clearly I can't touch the jersey effect.

[Nick Wright]

Really?

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. And I'm primarily at this point into soccer and.

[Nick Wright]

Who's your team?

[Adam Friedland]

Arsenal team.

[Nick Wright]

Oh, I was gonna. Just because they're in first place.

[Adam Friedland]

No, it's been 20 years of hell.

[Nick Wright]

Well, I mean, yeah, but right now you're a fan. They're in first place.

[Adam Friedland]

No, you don't.

[Nick Wright]

I'm just fucking with you. It's really my buddy. This is gonna sound shitty.

[Adam Friedland]

It means so much and it's ridiculous.

[Nick Wright]

So our. The guy who does stats for the TV show. This great kid named Josh. He's a die hard Arsenal fan.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. Yeah. He doesn't know like me.

[Nick Wright]

I mean, I think he probably knows a lot.

[Adam Friedland]

The mayor knows Ball.

[Nick Wright]

The. The mayor of New York City.

[Adam Friedland]

Zoron.

[Nick Wright]

Oh, I would buy that.

[Adam Friedland]

I met him like before the election. We were talking about our worst, most

[Nick Wright]

humiliating losses for Arsenal is his team. Arsenal?

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. Oh, okay.

[Nick Wright]

He knows I play cards with a guy who is.

[Adam Friedland]

Come on. You can't be talking about it. What cards?

[Nick Wright]

Dude, why can't I be talking about cards?

[Adam Friedland]

It's the biggest. You're gonna get in trouble. I don't want to see you locked up.

[Nick Wright]

I play in legal games.

[Adam Friedland]

You play? What do you mean, legal games?

[Nick Wright]

So this is what nobody understands about poker. If all of us in this room agreed to play in a card game, we could play for $10aman.

[Adam Friedland]

But you don't want to play with us. You want to play with cool guys.

[Nick Wright]

I understand, but Just hear me out. Or a million dollars a man. And that's totally legal.

[Adam Friedland]

I play you in a million dollars. Yeah.

[Nick Wright]

Okay, let's do it.

[Adam Friedland]

I'm gonna vanquish you on sports takes

[Nick Wright]

after this, but, no, the reason I was saying it, this guy, he's die hard sports fan who lives in New York City, has the two best courtside Knick seats in the building, right next to Mike Brown, now not Thibodeau, and has a box at Arsenal that he just goes to for every home game.

[Adam Friedland]

The fuck, bro?

[Nick Wright]

Yeah. I should introduce you.

[Adam Friedland]

This guy, I don't even like him, but he just knows at the same level. And we talk every day about this. I. The amount that I care. Like, if my girlfriend knew, she would. Like, she would leave me.

[Nick Wright]

Do you. Are you in a bad mood all week? If they lose, I.

[Adam Friedland]

What happens is this. You get the games in the morning. Yeah. Right. And so it's like a Saturday morning. You're a little bit hungover, your girlfriend's still in bed, and you go to the living room and you're sitting there and they. They just. They ruin you before your weekend starts. The saying is, it's the hope that kills you.

[Nick Wright]

So, yeah, listen, obviously the Chiefs have been very good the last half decade. This year's been tough.

[Adam Friedland]

Does it feel worse and worse each time?

[Nick Wright]

Yes.

[Adam Friedland]

It doesn't feel. Each chip. Each chip doesn't hit it as heavy, Right?

[Nick Wright]

Well, yeah, nothing will ever match the first one. But being a football fan and having your team lose, it doesn't ruin your weekend. But, like, we're doing this on a Friday. Yeah. Yesterday was the first day that I was not in a depression based on the Chiefs Broncos game. Like.

[Adam Friedland]

Like, who's the coolest guy on the Chiefs?

[Nick Wright]

The coolest guy on the Chiefs. I mean, I'm. I'm buddies with Patrick, so I, like. I would say him. Travis. Travis certainly had that mantle. Travis has. You know, Travis has become so famous. He has to be kind of more careful now.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. Yeah. He fell off. Yeah.

[Nick Wright]

No, I didn't say he fell off.

[Adam Friedland]

I agree. You're saying that this guy fell off.

[Nick Wright]

I didn't say he fell off.

[Adam Friedland]

He asked me. By far, the coolest guy on your team is Andy.

[Nick Wright]

Oh, he's not on the team, but yes.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, but he's the coolest guy in that vicinity. Everyone else is a real Dorcas. I mean it.

[Nick Wright]

Chris Jones, pretty cool.

[Adam Friedland]

I saw him at a restaurant, and it's one of the most massive people I've ever seen in my Entire life.

[Nick Wright]

Did you see him run the 40th combine?

[Adam Friedland]

No, not at a restaurant with my parents.

[Nick Wright]

I understand, but this is funny for you.

[Adam Friedland]

Do you know the penis fell out? There you go. I never miss a penis sports thing. I imagine that when Bronze dick came out, everyone relaxed. Everyone was chill about it.

[Nick Wright]

When did that happen?

[Adam Friedland]

Before a finals game. He was adjusting his shorts and we saw his dick. Like. How do you not know you're in the media?

[Nick Wright]

I did not know that.

[Adam Friedland]

You're in the fucking mainstream fake news media.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

You didn't know that he's your favorite guy.

[Nick Wright]

He is my favorite player.

[Adam Friedland]

Are you, like, stoked? Are you stoked about it?

[Nick Wright]

Stoked about what?

[Adam Friedland]

That there's a LeBron? Come on, bro. So you went Fox 2016?

[Nick Wright]

Yes.

[Adam Friedland]

How have you. You've been in TV for nine years.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

Have you enjoyed it? What's the vibe at Fox? Is it like, more Republican sports or.

[Nick Wright]

No, it's so. It's super. Listen, it is super siloed. Like, the Fox Sports were owned by the same people. But Fox Sports is. I've never. I've been doing it for nine years. I'm pretty openly liberal guy. I've never had. I think one of my most famous things ever was right when the show started, some impassioned Kaepernick stuff. And I never.

[Adam Friedland]

How were you the only guy. How were you? Like, one of the.

[Nick Wright]

It's like, you want to know something?

[Adam Friedland]

It's so bizarre to me.

[Nick Wright]

I'll tell you something.

[Adam Friedland]

You just caught the easiest ones.

[Nick Wright]

What do you mean?

[Adam Friedland]

He took a knee and he's like, what the fuck did he do wrong?

[Nick Wright]

Of course.

[Adam Friedland]

And then like, LeBron James is the best basketball player.

[Nick Wright]

Oh, you mean. Oh, that. Yes.

[Adam Friedland]

He just filled vacancies there where I'm like, they were just there.

[Nick Wright]

They were just there, everyone. And then my hometown team becomes the greatest football team ever. I have become very lucky. I'm very lucky that somehow.

[Adam Friedland]

How stupid are the other guys doing this?

[Nick Wright]

Well, that's. Again, I love.

[Adam Friedland]

Really? They must be morons.

[Nick Wright]

I'm not gonna say everyone's a moron, but I will say that I.

[Adam Friedland]

It is. You and Skeep are the only smart people. How's he doing? You checking on him?

[Nick Wright]

I have.

[Adam Friedland]

Not really.

[Nick Wright]

He and I.

[Adam Friedland]

Listen, it's wrong, but that one and a half million dollars, like, for someone to say, no, I won't have sex with you for a million and a half dollars, he's got. That really has to hurt your feelings. Skip must be so, like, he's like, what's. I'm that repulsive, Amelia? Like, okay, would you have sex with. Your wife is here. I'm sure she would say, go for a million and a half dollars. Would you let Skip crack? I'm sorry. I would. It must be. Listen, it's wrong. He shouldn't do that in a workplace. I'm not defending Skip, but walking away, he must be just. He must be hurting. And I'm not saying you should check in, but maybe we should call him right now and see. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Would you tell him if it was on the table still, if SkiIP was like, all right, Nick, you're second. You're ranked second. Would you be like, yeah, he would get you something so nice, A million and a half dollars. I would let him do whatever he wants to be. You're not gonna be gay. The rest, I feel like it doesn't make you gay. It's me. Sorry. I'm on a rant right now, and I should be doing this on Fox Sports 1. What about. Have you checked in on Unk? This squad is having a rough time.

[Nick Wright]

Listen, I have been. I moved to New York. I got hired by Fox in 2016, and then the show started in New York in 2017. So I never. Those. I never really was on campus with those guys. So they were colleagues, but I don't know them.

[Adam Friedland]

Like, they must have been so funny to see them like the office. Oh, yeah, yeah. I would imagine. Come on now, Ski. Yeah. Do they have arguments? Dude. I mean, I'm saying, it's just that they were box office for a while. They kind of. It kind of. They found something there.

[Nick Wright]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. That show, Skip and Shannon at its peak, was one of the greatest sports television shows of all time. It was perfect.

[Adam Friedland]

And it's just like, are there bad faith takes.

[Nick Wright]

Are some guys bullshitting some guys 100%.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. Like.

[Nick Wright]

And you can tell Skip doesn't think

[Adam Friedland]

LeBron is that bad.

[Nick Wright]

No, see, I don't think Skip's bullshitting.

[Adam Friedland]

Why does he hate LeBron?

[Nick Wright]

You know, that's weird. That one is a weird one.

[Adam Friedland]

It's like, perverse. In fact, it makes sense that Stephen A. Why Stephen A.

[Nick Wright]

Is mad. Yeah. Stephen A. Is mad that LeBron won't pay him attention. That's what it is.

[Adam Friedland]

It's kind of. Maybe someone's okay without naming names. Does Mike. Does he have influence?

[Nick Wright]

Oh, yeah. Oh, you mean the fact that Steven. That Stephen A. And Mike are buddies? I feel like, yeah, of course. Obviously.

[Adam Friedland]

Mike is at the crib, North Carolina, hitting tequila, and he's like, go fuck with Braun a little bit more, don't you think? Yeah, he's been making his life hell for 22 years.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that.

[Adam Friedland]

That's.

[Nick Wright]

That's. I think there is.

[Adam Friedland]

I'm a Kobe fan, too. Like, it's just. But it's so obvious to me, it is in.

[Nick Wright]

Well, I think there's a lot of. I think there's a lot there, but I think you there. Some of the most ardent, either brawn critics or MJ sycophants are also texting with mj.

[Adam Friedland]

I do think that's something. Okay, so for our audience that's not familiar with what you do, how would you describe your job? I think we should. We're obviously as a sports pundit. Yeah.

[Nick Wright]

I mean, I'm a. What they call. They call me an opinionist. I'm a sports talk show host. I'm one. When people Pundit. When I. Yeah, pundit. I don't know. When people ask me. I'm definitely not a journalist.

[Adam Friedland]

Really? Why?

[Nick Wright]

Because I don't practice journalism.

[Adam Friedland]

Oh, you don't snitch?

[Nick Wright]

No, no, that's. I just don't. I'm not out there, like, reporting on stories and stuff. When people ask me what I do, I say I'm one of those people that argues about sports on tv.

[Adam Friedland]

So sick. I mean, it's such a. In concept. It's such a funny concept. Right. And I think it really comes from Mike. Right. It comes from Mike, the Mad Dog. I think they're the genesis of all this.

[Nick Wright]

100%.

[Adam Friedland]

The concept. If the loose concept of two men at a table having a point, counterpoint. Like, let's you.

[Nick Wright]

Let's do it. You really want to argue? Let's just.

[Adam Friedland]

I kind of want to ask. I'm more interested in, like, how. What the ecosystem is nowadays. Because, I mean, like, okay, you came in nine years ago. Bron was what, in his 13th season?

[Nick Wright]

Yeah. I mean, I started at Fox three months before the 31 comeback against Golden State. And I looked around and so like, the block. The three months before the block.

[Adam Friedland]

And he's a smart guy. The 25%.

[Nick Wright]

Right, 25%. What a smart. Oh. Oh, jeez, dude.

[Adam Friedland]

As businessman, what would I be?

[Nick Wright]

What would I be? My mom's grandfather was Jewish. So is that 25?

[Adam Friedland]

I mean, you feeling the LeBron James is good at basketball vacancy.

[Nick Wright]

Well, so that's the.

[Adam Friedland]

That was the unbelievable.

[Nick Wright]

That was the unbelievable thing. So he was Brian and I are the same high school class. I came from Kansas City doesn't have an NBA team.

[Adam Friedland]

You said same high school class, like,

[Nick Wright]

so there's a reason I'm saying this.

[Adam Friedland]

Ohio.

[Nick Wright]

No, I got it. But just listen to me for a second. So in. No, but. So in high school, me and my basketball teammates would watch the St. Vincent St. Mary's games and they were on TV because we were so fucking cool. I saw my age, this guy, right? We thought it was like, this guy is our age. And Kansas City didn't have a team. So I was just like, you know what? Wherever that guy goes, that's gonna be.

[Adam Friedland]

There was no high school basketball in Kansas City.

[Nick Wright]

No, we didn't have an NBA team.

[Adam Friedland]

Oh, okay.

[Nick Wright]

And so I was like, that's. I didn't have. I was unaffiliated from NBA fandom. So LeBron was always my favorite player. And then I get on national TV and everyone is. The argument people are having is, one day will he pass Michael Jordan? And that's like as far as anyone will go. Like the third rail was, he might one day be able to be as good as him. And then I was on TV during the 31 comeback. The greatest three game stretch in the history of the sport. 4116 and 7, 418 and 11. And then 29 point triple double with the greatest defensive play ever.

[Adam Friedland]

Oh, yeah.

[Nick Wright]

And I. The next day on tv, I said, he just passed him. It's over.

[Adam Friedland]

The block was his moment in his career. That was his moment.

[Nick Wright]

And I mean, that was 10 years ago.

[Adam Friedland]

The shot right over Brian Russell. That's like kind of their.

[Nick Wright]

Yes, they each have their moments. Luckily, bronze, he didn't have to push off.

[Adam Friedland]

But yeah, they were playing against truck drivers and so.

[Nick Wright]

Well, it's a little over.

[Adam Friedland]

They're so good right now.

[Nick Wright]

They're certainly.

[Adam Friedland]

They're so good.

[Nick Wright]

So much better than previous eras. But everybody's playing the era you're in. But to your point, it was remarkable that that corner was unguarded. That like, hey, just say the guy who's obviously the greatest player ever is the greatest player ever. And I became famous for it.

[Adam Friedland]

So why. I think, why Isn't everyone the LeBron guy? Right.

[Nick Wright]

I think because people are. I think there's a lot of. A lot of the most influential media folks. A lot of their legacies are tied to the Jordan era Bulls. And so they are very protective of.

[Adam Friedland]

We watched that as kids.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah. But we were. We were very young.

[Adam Friedland]

It's like, what's your favorite music Pretty much eclectic.

[Nick Wright]

But, like, if you the. For a lot of people, their. Their favorite song.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah.

[Nick Wright]

Is like, the first one of the first songs they listened to, the first time they were driving their own car. And. And I think there's a lot of media folks that the greatest era of sports is the era when I broke into sports broadcasting that was going on.

[Adam Friedland]

They're all from Boston. It doesn't compute.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah, but.

[Adam Friedland]

So there's obviously a nostalgia factor. But also, there might just be. There might be. Like. Do you think the media has elevated this goat debate? Right? Well, I think I have, but, like, people, like. Do you think to some extent you've kind of been lucky that, like, LeBron is, like, you know, like, you're doing the right thing? I'm not saying, like, you're. This is, like, disingenuous, but you've benefited from, like, LeBron getting pummeled, you know?

[Nick Wright]

Oh, 100%. The fact that it is the fact that it was controversial to say the greatest high school, the greatest prospect ever who has played, has all of the youngest to ever do records and oldest to ever do records. Who. Who has every record imaginable, that it's still controversial to be like, he's the best. Has been hugely beneficial for me. It would be.

[Adam Friedland]

But why is it uniformly. It was like, no, there are guys that weren't, like, nostalgic for the Bulls championship. Like, is it. Is it personality driven?

[Nick Wright]

Yeah, I mean, I think that. So here's again, this might be too Inside Sports for your viewers.

[Adam Friedland]

No, no, I know.

[Nick Wright]

So I have a theory that if Jordan.

[Adam Friedland]

There's a lot of theories.

[Nick Wright]

If Jordan never existed and the greatest play, the universally accepted greatest player of all time was Kareem, because that's who it would have been.

[Adam Friedland]

I know what you're gonna say. If Jordan ever existed. 911 wouldn't have. Yeah, right.

[Nick Wright]

Than a guy like Tim Duncan would be in the goat debate. Because what people were doing, what people turned the goat debate into, was not who's the greatest player ever, it's who reminds me of Michael Jordan the most, which is why Kobe is probably a touch historically overrated because he is the most similar to Michael Jordan.

[Adam Friedland]

Not today, Satan.

[Nick Wright]

But I'm just like, if magic was considered the goat, then no one would argue that LeBron was, because LeBron is a better Magic. But because Mike was considered the goat, people elevated Kobe past a guy like Tim Duncan who was just objectively better than him.

[Adam Friedland]

They said 1B. That's right.

[Nick Wright]

Exactly. And that's crazy.

[Adam Friedland]

So you're saying that he benefited from Michael.

[Nick Wright]

I'm saying that instead of the argument being right, instead of the question being who's the greatest basketball player of all time, people ask that question, but they were really asking is who's the most similar to Michael Jordan. And those are not the same thing.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, I. I agree. I. I just think that. I think Tim didn't, like, carry.

[Nick Wright]

Like, he didn't have the aura or the gravitas.

[Adam Friedland]

Like, he didn't, like, he had good players. He had Manu, and he had.

[Nick Wright]

Oh, yeah, yeah. Kobe only had Shaquille o'. Neal.

[Adam Friedland]

Kobe like, Kobe like the second two or like the second.

[Nick Wright]

Right. But what. What hurts again? What hurts Kobe is the three years in the middle of his prime when he missed the playoffs or lost in round one. Smack dab in the middle of his prime with who?

[Adam Friedland]

Andrew Bynum? Well, that's the thing.

[Nick Wright]

But in the NBA, like, you're supposed to, you know, you carry guys.

[Adam Friedland]

He was left alone and he was. Listen, here's the thing about Braun, okay? Like, he is the beta tester for, like, a new type of superstar, the NBA. Right. Not like Jordan marketed sneakers. Right. Now they have to also market their themselves as human beings. Right. And let's be Christian for a second. 100%, 25%. But I'm still a live and let live Christian.

[Nick Wright]

Right.

[Adam Friedland]

Obviously, the first guy to have to do it is gonna be a clumsy adjustment. Right.

[Nick Wright]

Sure.

[Adam Friedland]

And I don't think that that's afforded to LeBron enough. Right. And I do think that the decision was potentially the first kind of brick in the social media era. And I think that one year he just had a rough one because when he lost the Mavs, he just said, if you don't like me, you're poor. And like, he did that thing, and it's just.

[Nick Wright]

It's the only real. That press conference after that finals loss. Yeah. In 25 years in the public eye, it's the only indefensible misstep.

[Adam Friedland]

When he picked up the purse, the suit with shorts.

[Nick Wright]

Well, that.

[Adam Friedland]

I'm also UTA. Clutch Sports. We're family. I love you, LeBron. I'm so happy you're back.

[Nick Wright]

Anyway, he actually. Well, that was. Yeah, that was right before the 31 comeback. Yeah, that was the same.

[Adam Friedland]

I know, but he was like. He was like, being.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah. The Tom Ford suits would have been better had they won.

[Adam Friedland]

Worse was the shutter shades. Miami. Miami. And, like, the fake. The nerd glasses. The D. Wade.

[Nick Wright]

LeBron. Oh, yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

I just think that, like, LeBron was beloved. We all knew that he was so good. We all knew that those fucking Cavs teams were doo doo cheeks. Right. And like, I don't think he would have been blamed for leaving. Right. Potentially. If he went to the Knicks, I think, and did the decision like that, no one would have cared. But there was something about the not, not two, not three, not four, which is like he's a. He's still like, he's adjusting to a pressure that no one's ever applied to it.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah, listen. And I think the. But the. That's the remarkable thing about the guy's career is like the thing in Miami or in against Dallas happened. And for you're asking, that was a sick team.

[Adam Friedland]

That Dirk run was awesome.

[Nick Wright]

Oh, there's probably the.

[Adam Friedland]

He lost to J.J. beret. I mean, it was a little.

[Nick Wright]

He lost to Dirk Nowitzki.

[Adam Friedland]

JJ Beret was pretty much the.

[Nick Wright]

I know that's what the myth is, but it's not true.

[Adam Friedland]

They say it as a meme figure, but that.

[Nick Wright]

No, that the. Folks, to answer your question of why it's controversial to say he's the greatest, a lot of people decided in that moment he's ineligible. He'll never be able to overcome it. But that was 14 years, nine finals appearances and yeah, four championships ago.

[Adam Friedland]

You have his, like, number or like, do you like to.

[Nick Wright]

No.

[Adam Friedland]

Has he ever sent you a selfie or. No, no. Has he ever liked Instagram of yours?

[Nick Wright]

No, I have a good relationship with him, but I don't.

[Adam Friedland]

I don't care. I mean, you put on for him. Has he said thank you ever, actually?

[Nick Wright]

Oh, yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. He should as well. He should. But like, what I'm saying is this is like. It is a ridiculous standard to hold him to. But what I think is. I don't know if you get his number, just text him. Just be yourself. You're the best basketball player ever.

[Nick Wright]

I think at this point in his career, he is.

[Adam Friedland]

What is the decision for fucking Hennessy? I mean, it's just like, come on, dude, don't.

[Nick Wright]

Anybody that was tricked by that fucking Hennessy pre ad is a moron.

[Adam Friedland]

Why?

[Nick Wright]

Because anybody that thought. Anybody that thought LeBron was going to announce his retirement at noon on a Tuesday online. Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

What did you. The ussr, the state media. That makes no sense.

[Nick Wright]

What do you mean?

[Adam Friedland]

Tuesday is not a retirement day. What does that even mean?

[Nick Wright]

I'll tell you exactly what it is.

[Adam Friedland]

And anyone that thinks that Tuesday is a retirement.

[Nick Wright]

Anybody that thought that. LeBron.

[Adam Friedland]

That's bizarre.

[Nick Wright]

It's not bizarre at all.

[Adam Friedland]

No, it's just he's 41 and we're like, how much longer is he gonna go? He's the best basketball player ever.

[Nick Wright]

Wondering whether or not he might retire does not make you an idiot. Thinking it's gonna be one day notice and I'm gonna do it in the middle of a week, middle of a workday, as opposed to a major event in prime time. I don't know. Doesn't know how the guy's. And so I guess I'm calling you an idiot.

[Adam Friedland]

So he's never retired on a Tuesday before.

[Nick Wright]

He's not gonna retire at no Tuesday online.

[Adam Friedland]

Who knew that?

[Nick Wright]

Anybody with a.

[Adam Friedland]

Literally 99.9% of people don't know that you're putting on for your boy.

[Nick Wright]

I'm not.

[Adam Friedland]

It's just not the. It's just not the way.

[Nick Wright]

How. Let me ask you this. How do you think he will announce I'm gonna retire?

[Adam Friedland]

I will. Okay. He'd probably do think the Kobe year was like the video tributes and like, it was a whole thing.

[Nick Wright]

So he would give me.

[Adam Friedland]

That was the worst year. But. And then it was the best sports game I've ever seen in my entire life.

[Nick Wright]

At the end, the 60 point game,

[Adam Friedland]

it was just the most. I was weeping. Like, I called my dad weeping. And. And it was kind of like also just, sorry to get stuck on Kobe, but all of the fucking math nerds that were like, he's inefficient. He just. No one saw an inefficient shooting performance for like a 13 win team. They saw a God. They saw like someone that we thought we'd never see again. And then he came back for one

[Nick Wright]

night, channeled it, and it's one of the greatest sports performances ever.

[Adam Friedland]

I think it is the best sports game. Yeah.

[Nick Wright]

You can just say game.

[Adam Friedland]

What?

[Nick Wright]

You don't have to say sports game.

[Adam Friedland]

Well, there are other types of games. Like girls play games.

[Nick Wright]

I understand, but even if we included that. Do any of those trumpet or is it the best game?

[Adam Friedland]

You're trying to flex on me in terms of sports game.

[Nick Wright]

No, I'm saying it in a nerd

[Adam Friedland]

way because that's how I do interviews. Okay, but going back to like, like, it's just like, he doesn't need. He doesn't need to do that just to protect himself. Right. He's like, he's already the best basketball player ever. And I do think it's like, it's similar to kd. Right? He's a. He's a. That is a basketball angel. That is a savant. That is an offensive savant. And we got to watch him, and he's the burner. Accounts indicated that, like, the boys are going into the comments. The boys are checking Reddit, and it's like, it's really depressing for me because I'm like, you know, if I had, like, let's say, $100 million, like, I wouldn't give a fuck about it. I'd disappear. Right.

[Nick Wright]

Don't you think, though, that that's evidence? Maybe you wouldn't. The fact that the people who have it don't. Doesn't make you doubt whether or not if you had it, you would have.

[Adam Friedland]

I'm not judging him for it. I think that it's just, like. It just indicates a vulnerability and an insecurity when it's like, bro, like, you're the best. You literally are the best.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

And I think the goat debate being perpetuated has kind of perhaps, like, influenced that, you know, like, people saying that he's not the best basketball player when he's 41. And what was he, 24, six and six last year?

[Nick Wright]

Sixth in MVP voting, second team, all NBA. And you're 22. It's almost.

[Adam Friedland]

What was it? 24, six and six.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah, that's right.

[Adam Friedland]

At 41.

[Nick Wright]

At 40.

[Adam Friedland]

And he was. Yeah, but he was like, yeah, no, I.

[Nick Wright]

Listen, it's nobody. Here's the thing.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, it will.

[Nick Wright]

People in 40 years won't believe that it was an argument that it was like, people will think. No. And so that part is unequivocally true, that this is going to age as. You got to be kidding me. People argued for someone else, like, and

[Adam Friedland]

it's like a Mad Men where they're at a picnic and then they just shake out all their garbage into a field and you're like, oh, they didn't have littering back then. You know what I mean?

[Nick Wright]

That's the only prestige great show that I've never seen. It's not good.

[Adam Friedland]

It's just fashion. No, no, it's good.

[Nick Wright]

My wife. My wife owns a women's boutique and is a style professional stylist.

[Adam Friedland]

Do you dress him? Yes. Give it up for her. You are. He's a peacock.

[Nick Wright]

You have the best.

[Adam Friedland]

You have some of the best. I think, like that. I think in a debate, I think you dressed like, I don't know, Peaky Blinders. Kind of like Atlanta Church. Peaky Blinders?

[Nick Wright]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

Is that. I'm sorry. It's a powerful move. You're like a sharply dressed.

[Nick Wright]

Well, I Try. Listen, there is. I do not have a face for traditional tv.

[Adam Friedland]

We wear what they tell us. Come on.

[Nick Wright]

No, no, no. Right. So I do a lot of things, whether it be the hair, the jewelry or the clothes, to kind of distract.

[Adam Friedland]

No, you're not distracting. It's a flex against the guy you're arguing. Cause you're like being like a. You're like doing a closing argument, like defense attorney.

[Nick Wright]

Well, I thought you were gonna do

[Adam Friedland]

it to defense attorney of a client who's so guilty.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah, yeah, I was worried you were gonna do that to me. Cause when I walked in, you said you had to go change for the show, but then you just put on a worse T shirt.

[Adam Friedland]

Well, this was under my thing. Sorry, dude. We've had three interviews in a row. Today's episode is sponsored by Surfshark, a modern VPN designed with the user in mind. Surfshark is the only VPN that has reached the coverage of 100 countries. How about that? They got some great features, including a web content blocker, parental controls, email scam checker. Check any email in your inbox to see if it's a scam or phishing attempt. One subscription allows you to install and run surfshark on an unlimited number of devices at the same time. There are apps for all platforms. PC, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS, Smart TVs, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Chrome, Firefox, Xbox and PlayStation. PlayStation 24.7Live customer support ensures that your issues will be solved in a prompt, timely manner. 30 day money back guarantee gives users plenty of time to try out surfshark risk free, fast and easy to use. Connected to the server that offers the best speed jam. Packed with features that they go way beyond the basics. As a world traveler, you could use Surfshark to overcome location based price discrimination on plane tickets and car rentals by connecting to a VPN server in different countries. Unlock 50 largest Netflix country libraries including the US and Japon Japan, Japan. One subscription allows you to run Surfshark on an unlimited number of devices at the same time. 30 day money back guarantee gives users plenty of plenty of time to try out Surf Shark risk free. Strictly no logs means that we don't keep your data Surf Shark search search in complete privacy with no ads or trackers following your every move. Clean web automatically blocks more than one million.

[Nick Wright]

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[Adam Friedland]

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[Nick Wright]

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[Nick Wright]

It's tough.

[Adam Friedland]

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[Nick Wright]

That's interesting, right?

[Adam Friedland]

And I think that it's like, it's. Yeah, I think that people. I think that sports punditry and you could tell me how what your experience has been in the last 10 years has become a lot of celebrity gossipy. And I think it's because we're so interconnected with the Adonises. These gorgeous men, we buy their shirts and

[Nick Wright]

listen. What's crazy is nothing as far as like the things that do the best on social media or on YouTube are like inter sports gossip and sometimes not even involving the athletes. Sometimes it's like this pundit says this about that pundit. People for some reason love that shit.

[Adam Friedland]

It's like streamers. Does it feel trashy sometimes?

[Nick Wright]

Yeah. And I think you have to walk a fine line on what you wanna. You know how seriously you want to be taken.

[Adam Friedland]

I think you should go all in on it. The Stephen A. Fucking wind horse LeBron thing was just. It felt like fly. It was. I was locked in on that.

[Nick Wright]

It was right.

[Adam Friedland]

It was yellow journal. I mean, like, like.

[Nick Wright]

And I. Listen, I, I don't think. I think Wendy is in a separate category. I think Wendy's one of the most respected guys in the, in the business.

[Adam Friedland]

Well, when Bron did that.

[Nick Wright]

I know what Bron did.

[Adam Friedland]

Did you say. Then there was one that was. Did you.

[Nick Wright]

That's the. I thought Bron taking that shot at Wendy was unnecessary. Yeah, I think the. I think everything he said about is like.

[Adam Friedland]

You don't have to say it. This guy went to your high school

[Nick Wright]

or something and has covered him.

[Adam Friedland]

You the liar. And then like, you know, he thinks you're awesome and he's like, he's been like putting like he's been like celebrating you for 20 years.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah, I thought that one was weird. I thought he could have gone harder at Stephen A.

[Adam Friedland]

But yeah. Well, first of all, okay, just on a basic moral level, if some guy's shitting on your son constantly and he's a two way player and he's getting mentioned more than a fuck the fucking mvp, like sga. Like he's a dad, he's gonna be like, shut the fuck up.

[Nick Wright]

But it also. But it wasn't. It was.

[Adam Friedland]

That's. He's entirely within his res.

[Nick Wright]

Of course. But it's also. That whole thing was. All of it was, in my opinion, misleading. What Bronn was so upset about was when Stephen A. Flipped it from criticizing Bronny the player to criticizing Bronn the father. When he's like, I'm pleading with you as a father to stop.

[Adam Friedland]

That's not the right thing. Being the dad, protecting the son is better. That name is better.

[Nick Wright]

I understand, but it is what it is.

[Adam Friedland]

Don't attack me. That's rough.

[Nick Wright]

Either way.

[Adam Friedland]

He's just a two way player. He's in the G League half the time. The South Bay Lakers. And they're just like. It's because it's Bron's son and he's just getting all this fucking attention. And plus, he's a real one, kind of for going to la. Could you imagine being on a team with your dad? It'd be so annoying. My dad would be fucking, like, just. I would go to Phoenix, get blowjob after blowjob. I wouldn't go to tea with my dad. That sucks. He's a real one for actually doing it.

[Nick Wright]

I mean it.

[Adam Friedland]

I mean that. Yeah, he's like, I'm gonna. Yeah, my dad's gonna, like, if I miss something, a shot, like, my dad's gonna be like, it's annoying. And your dad's the best basketball player ever. Well, that's the other.

[Nick Wright]

That's the other tough part.

[Adam Friedland]

So good on Brody. But beyond that, it was the first time I didn't. I think it was at the beginning of the administration. It was the first time I just didn't think of Trump and Elon for a week. I got a vacation.

[Nick Wright]

Cause of LeBron. Stephen A. Stuff.

[Adam Friedland]

Well, because, like, LeBron takes Sean, Wendy. And then I'm like, that's peculiar. And then, Then Stephen A. Okay, first off, he said, like, like, and if you. And if you touch me, I will have no choice but to put hands on you. Who are you? Who. Seriously?

[Nick Wright]

That's the part that was.

[Adam Friedland]

Who are you taking in that.

[Nick Wright]

Well, I mean, that's. I mean, it was such an insane statement. It was.

[Adam Friedland]

And then, like, it was. It's. He's six.

[Nick Wright]

He's six, eight. Six, eight. The greatest athlete of all time. That all of it. And then wouldn't. And then Stephen A. Wouldn't stop talking about it. He talked about it again right before this season started.

[Adam Friedland]

The funeral thing is a little bit my fault.

[Nick Wright]

It's your fault.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. How? I told Pablo I met him at the Nets game right after we got Luka. The Lakers were in town and we were at a bar and I was like, why? Why wasn't LeBron at the memorial? And he's like, he was. And I was like, I don't. We didn't see him. Right. And then he was like, yeah, well, his daughter was being born that day. And then that happened. And right before that happened, he texted me. He's like, I've Talked to like 25 people. This is my white whale.

[Nick Wright]

And so you're the genesis of that story.

[Adam Friedland]

I told my dad, he's like, you fucked up our playoff run, you fucking idiot. I just like, I wanted to know where he was. The other thing is this. These two guys were, like, not nice to him. Can you imagine? Bron wore 23. He wore 23.

[Nick Wright]

And this guy's being a dickhead to him forever.

[Adam Friedland]

Forever.

[Nick Wright]

Jordan's relationship with Bron is really fascinating.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. Do you think that Kobe and MJ thought it was soft that he has friends? Really? They were two guys. Like, as a man, you shouldn't have friends. Seriously.

[Nick Wright]

I mean, I haven't thought about it that way, but maybe.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. The other thing was, this is like brah was dipped into the river Styx. Like, God gave us that human being. Like, those two guys had to become sociopaths to, like, achieve their greatness. And like, there was a. They weren't. There was a dissimilarity, I think.

[Nick Wright]

Well, yeah, I mean, listen, the Kobe's path is Jordan's path. And with the exception of, like, obvious, Kobe's dad obviously played in the NBA. Obviously all these guys have a lot of. Jordan's dad play not in the NBA. That's why I said, with the exception.

[Adam Friedland]

I'm gonna get killed. He's gonna kill it.

[Nick Wright]

And bronze path, I would say is closer to Magic's as far as bronze.

[Adam Friedland]

Like, he's Wemby. He's a freak of nature.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah. Like, maybe that's a better.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, Kareem. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I think he was. He was 18 years old. He was already built for the NBA.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah. At 20, he was the best player in the league.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. I remember second in MVP voting. MVP voting is just suck ups. Like, you just.

[Nick Wright]

I don't have a vote.

[Adam Friedland]

Try to suck up to him.

[Nick Wright]

I don't have vote. I'm sure you. I'm sure, I'm sure. I'm glad you don't.

[Adam Friedland]

I should vote.

[Nick Wright]

I'm sure when Bron was 20 and Kobe missed the playoffs because he didn't have enough players. You still thought Kobe was better.

[Adam Friedland]

And then was that go to 81?

[Nick Wright]

The. Yeah, that. Yes. I mean, or that. That era. And then the next year when I was abroad, that year when you were, you know, crying about Sasha Vujicic and Bron was taking Delonte west to the NBA Finals.

[Adam Friedland]

I'm crying. He was the machine. The machine. The eyebrows.

[Nick Wright]

Yes. Vujicic was good.

[Adam Friedland]

The thing is this. Like, I'm a Kobe fan, but I accept that LeBron is the goat. Right. And when we won in the bubble, which is, by the way, was the. The toughest championship ever.

[Nick Wright]

Correct.

[Adam Friedland]

Right. And the fact that.

[Nick Wright]

And they had home court and they were the team that didn't get to use it.

[Adam Friedland]

There's no home. Oh, exactly.

[Nick Wright]

My point is they had earned home court and then nobody got home the court.

[Adam Friedland]

And like, it's just, from what I understand, like, it was draining. I mean, we saw Jimmy that sec. That game, he just won single handedly.

[Nick Wright]

Well, you cooked. No, I mean, team. The Clippers fell apart. The Nuggets fell apart.

[Adam Friedland]

You saw AD hit the shot.

[Nick Wright]

The. Oh, I'm sorry. The Nuggets didn't fall apart. The Clippers fell apart against the Nuggets.

[Adam Friedland]

I can't believe. The Clippers fell apart. I cannot believe it.

[Nick Wright]

It's one of the greatest. And do you know, you know that the fucking Thunder have the Clippers draft pick this coming year? Yeah, it might be the fourth pick of the draft.

[Adam Friedland]

How do they know? Shay was good, man.

[Nick Wright]

I don't know. I mean, everybody thought he was like, oh, he's. He's better than expected. Nobody thought this. Nobody in the world thought this was possible. Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

Comparing it to the, to the Luka trade is crazy. Oh, no, that's insane.

[Nick Wright]

No. Well, the Luca trade was just Israel.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah.

[Nick Wright]

No, it wasn't.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, it was Miriam else. It goes all the way to the top.

[Nick Wright]

That is one of Fox Sports.

[Adam Friedland]

You can't get spicy.

[Nick Wright]

No, that is one of the most frustrating conspiracies. Is that the.

[Adam Friedland]

It's for the casino.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah, that. It's for the casino to move them or to move it to Vegas when it was very, very simple. Nico Harrison did not like that there was someone more powerful than him in the organization. So he fucking.

[Adam Friedland]

He had a bad attitude. He's a fat boy.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah, but I mean, I don't even think that. I think those were his excuses when reality was he was like, as long as Luke is here, I won't really be in charge. He will be.

[Adam Friedland]

He sold it as a win now.

[Nick Wright]

He sold it as win now.

[Adam Friedland]

And they're terrible.

[Nick Wright]

And now they're going to trade ad.

[Adam Friedland]

I love him.

[Nick Wright]

Anthony Davis. I. Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

In the bubble. Honestly, when we won, I had this thought to myself, does it feel the same? And it kind of didn't. Because the Lakers, I kind of liked, like, javale and Dwight, they were fun.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

But it was a mercenary kind of team. And I kind of thought to myself, like, does it feel like, you know, we had all these, like, kids and then we threw them away for ad. I was so happy for AD when he was, like, crying. You could tell it meant so much to him.

[Nick Wright]

And I think they would have won again the next year if Bron didn't get hurt.

[Adam Friedland]

The problem was that they started the season three weeks later, and the organization should have protected their two assets, their two biggest assets. They should have sat out the first half of that season.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah, but I mean, they were. They. They had the best record in the west when Solomon Hill did the cartwheel into LeBron's ankle.

[Adam Friedland]

And there was that. And then AD also went down, too.

[Nick Wright]

Well. Yeah, but AD's gone down every year of his career except for the championship.

[Adam Friedland]

Really?

[Nick Wright]

Are you being a smartass? I don't know.

[Adam Friedland]

I don't know, dude. I feel bad for that guy. He seemed like. Do you remember Kentucky during that tournament? Yeah, I just remember. I was like, this guy is just an absolute comprehensive monster.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah. Yeah. I think he's. I think the best prospect. You could argue that from Bron to Wimby, in that time frame, the single best prospect was Anthony Davis.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. Well, your 40 year thing. I have a counterpoint.

[Nick Wright]

Sure.

[Adam Friedland]

They're not gonna care about Braun. M.J. because of Wimby. Yeah.

[Nick Wright]

I don't think he gets there.

[Adam Friedland]

Why?

[Nick Wright]

Because every single player in the history of the league that's 75 or taller has just had terrible injuries.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, but his body's different, dude.

[Nick Wright]

Really? Yeah. He's not. What's he doing right now?

[Adam Friedland]

He's not thick. He's not like Greg, Odin.

[Nick Wright]

I. Yeah, but neither was. I mean, who's your favorite body? Neither was Ralph Sanders.

[Adam Friedland]

Who do you think has the best body out of all the guys?

[Nick Wright]

I. I don't know.

[Adam Friedland]

Really?

[Nick Wright]

I don't know. Probably Dwight. Right?

[Adam Friedland]

Dwight.

[Nick Wright]

Probably.

[Adam Friedland]

He's strong.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah. I mean, Dwight's like a bodybuilder.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah. But I just don't think Wimby will stay healthy, sadly. And so far, that's Been true.

[Adam Friedland]

Did Dwight get kind of like blacklisted a little bit?

[Nick Wright]

I don't think so.

[Adam Friedland]

After that stuff went up. Now we're doing celebrity gossip.

[Nick Wright]

We are now doing celebrity gossip.

[Adam Friedland]

But he was good still.

[Nick Wright]

I mean, he wasn't that good at that point. He played a long time. Dwight played a long time.

[Adam Friedland]

Was it after the championship? How many who did. Where did he go after 2020? I think he went to China.

[Nick Wright]

I don't. I think he played with one other year.

[Adam Friedland]

That team was like big and strong.

[Nick Wright]

Well, yeah, that team. That team had a lot of. It was the. They were built like. What's the best comp for that?

[Adam Friedland]

The football team?

[Nick Wright]

No, they were Chris Joneses, like the 08 Celtics. Like just a lot of length. Say that I don't like Celtics either.

[Adam Friedland]

I stink. That team also is just. Do you think. How do you compare the current era to dead ball? Like, do you think that those competitive. Is there competitive parity there?

[Nick Wright]

What do you mean?

[Adam Friedland]

Because like everyone that played against Kobe. The impressive thing about Braun is that he transitioned between eras. Multiple eras. Yeah, yeah. But like now it's just like Steve Kerr like woked the league. You think it is his wokeness?

[Nick Wright]

What do you mean?

[Adam Friedland]

The three ball. Oh, yeah, yeah. Do you think it's. It's just utter wokeness? I don't, I don't. But like that era where it was like 87, 83 and like those like Lakers, Celtics, Finals. Sure is. Were the. Was that more difficult? Like, because the rule changes.

[Nick Wright]

I think that I. I think that they. It just totally changed the way the sport's played. I don't know if one's more difficult than the other.

[Adam Friedland]

You're just trying to figure out a way to compliment LeBron.

[Nick Wright]

No, I'm not.

[Adam Friedland]

By that answer.

[Nick Wright]

I'm not. I just. So like the 80s were prior to the. No, prior to the 2000s, the 80s were the highest scoring decade of the last 50 years. And then the 90s were the lowest scoring because. And it's all. It's not same guys in the 80s and 90s. It's just the rule changes.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. Oh my God, my shirt's dirty. My girlfriend's out of town right now.

[Nick Wright]

Dude, how long have you been with your girlfriend?

[Adam Friedland]

Five and a half years of fiance.

[Nick Wright]

I was gonna say. Yeah, it's about time. If it's five and a half years, how'd you propose?

[Adam Friedland]

Oh, I bricked it so bad.

[Nick Wright]

How'd you do it?

[Adam Friedland]

Oh, my God. Okay. I was in. So we got together at New Year's it was gonna be our five year anniversary.

[Nick Wright]

So this is. I'm just 10 months ago.

[Adam Friedland]

I mean, does he come up with, like, plans? Like, romantic plans? Yeah, he definitely does. Look how romantic of a guy this is. I'm a mess of a guy. So, yeah, we. She was going to Mexico City to see a friend. I said, oh. She's like, do you want to come? And so then her friend.

[Nick Wright]

New Year's Eve.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, her friend was my man.

[Nick Wright]

Might be the first person ever propose on New Year's Eve.

[Adam Friedland]

Dude, I don't fucking. Go ahead.

[Nick Wright]

I want to hear.

[Adam Friedland]

God damn it, dude.

[Nick Wright]

I want to hear.

[Adam Friedland]

What do you. What did he do?

[Nick Wright]

She hated it. Yeah, no, she. But I. But it was.

[Adam Friedland]

It was. She hated it.

[Nick Wright]

It was a great plan.

[Adam Friedland]

Okay, fine, but go ahead. So I'm like, how can I not fuck it up, right? And so I. So I told her friend, I was like, we'll just do like 10, 9, 8, 7, kiss, and then I'll hand her, right? Simple. Like, I. No way I could fuck it up. And then that night, my inside man was like, ways, like, trashed by like, 9:30. Then the girls were like, let's make a move. And then. So I had to. They're like, you're good at directions. And I'm like, oh, God. And I was like. And then we show up at a place at like, 11. No one's there. It's completely empty. And I was like, you have to find a fucking. And also I ran my mouth to, like, too many people. So my phone buzzed. Buzz, buzz. Like, her brother hit me up. He's like, you guys are being fucking sus, dude. Like, he's like, I know it's going down. I want, like, let me see pics. My family was convinced that I didn't want to include them in this special moment in my life. 25%. That's how they act. But, like, yeah. So then I was like. I told her friend, who also. She laughs when she's nervous. So I was like, why are you laughing at me? And then I was like, you have to find a fucking party. I was like, this is my life. And then. So then she found a party, and we went into Uber and dropped us off. And then I looked and I was like, where is it? She's like, it's here. And it was a hospital. It dropped us off at a hospital. And then, like, we found this place where she was invited. And then it was like eight people around a coffee table. And then I was like, I'm not gonna fucking propose here. And then some guy was like, yo, the last episode was Fire. And I was like, I'm not gonna propose in front of these people. And then, like, all night we were trying to find a place, and it was like, I was acting bad. She was like, why have you had such a bad attitude to New Year's? And I'm like, I'm great. I feel great. And then like, finally, like 3:00am, we found a place and it was great. And there was, like, people. They were playing, like, cumbia or whatever. It just looked fun, right? And so I get patted down. And then it was cold. You know how they get cold. Sorry, I apologize. It was rude of me. You know how they fucking. They're always cold. Yeah. So she was wearing my jacket and then she got patted down. And then the ring was in the inner pocket and they pulled it out. And then I've been. I've been so bad. I've been so badly behaved that I was like. She was like. And then she said something so sweet. She said something so sweet. I can't believe I'm telling Nick Wright this. I love you, dude.

[Nick Wright]

Thanks, I appreciate it.

[Adam Friedland]

And she said something so sweet, but, like, literally, like, it was so emasculated, like, my penis went in my body. She was like. She said, well, it didn't work out tonight, but, like, maybe another time. And I was like, yeah, maybe another time. And then, like, yeah. And then the whole next day, I was like, trying for the first time in my life, you know that, like, men, they're supposed to, like, if you're. You feel terrible about something, you're supposed to not mention it.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

It was the first time I've ever done that. Yeah, I let my phone die. There was like 50 missed texts because I ran my dumb ass mouth to everyone. And. And then at the end of the day, I was like, I feel terrible all day. And she's like, why don't you just fucking ask me? And I was like, I thought I could do a plan. Like just one fucking plan for the first time in my fucking life. She's like, no. Like, you're terrible at plans. That's why I make all the plans. You call me a micromanager, but you're incapable of plans. That's why you're lucky to be with me. And I was like, you're right. That's so us, you know? And she was like. And then she was like. She's like, why didn't you just fucking ask me? And I was like, really? She was like, yeah, you think I would have liked that? I was like, it sounded good. I thought girls would like that kind of thing. And she was like, no. She's like, I don't have, like, I'm not like, a dumb bitch. So then I was like. And then she took it, and I was weeping.

[Nick Wright]

Sick ring, though.

[Adam Friedland]

It's like my late mother's. And it's a great. Great grandmother or great grandmothers. Yeah. From back in the day.

[Nick Wright]

That's awesome.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. Yeah. Well. Yeah. Yeah. And I was crying. She was like, why are you being so dramatic? I was like.

[Nick Wright]

You were crying?

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. So much.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

You cried, too.

[Nick Wright]

I didn't cry.

[Adam Friedland]

Have you ever cried in sports, but not when you got engaged to your queen over here? I didn't cry.

[Nick Wright]

No, I didn't cry.

[Adam Friedland]

I cry a lot. I cried the first Lakers chip with Shaq and Kobe because I'd never seen a team of mine win. Yeah, I remember. I was peeing.

[Nick Wright]

Notice how you said Shaq's name first, but.

[Adam Friedland]

Shut the fuck up, man. All right, let's do this dumb thing. What's the 10? What's your 10?

[Nick Wright]

What's my 10?

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Nick Wright]

Players ever.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, that's what you want to do. We're just talking hoop.

[Nick Wright]

Okay, that's fine. Hoop is my best, in order. That's fine. Ron, Kareem, Jordan, Magic, Russell, Wilt, Duncan, Kobe.

[Adam Friedland]

Why Russell overweld? Because of the chips.

[Nick Wright]

I mean, he owned him repeatedly.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, but then you're playing into the Labom argument that the chips matter.

[Nick Wright]

Well, there they were, head to head, and it's 11 to 2.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, but that guy was having so much sex, he was probably tired.

[Nick Wright]

And then. So I. By that math. What. How many. Did I just name Robert or.

[Adam Friedland]

He's the second best player, though.

[Nick Wright]

No.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah.

[Nick Wright]

If. Again, if you're. No.

[Adam Friedland]

Who else. Who. Who else is up there randomly.

[Nick Wright]

Randomly up there that I have higher than others?

[Adam Friedland]

Bill Ruth. I'm saying championships.

[Nick Wright]

Oh. I mean, Russell's teammates.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, yeah.

[Nick Wright]

Havilichek.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. And it wasn't basketball, dude. You see what they're doing?

[Nick Wright]

They're like, I understand, but what do you. What do you want them to do?

[Adam Friedland]

I'm just saying, like, we can't, like, pretend like, Dante DiVincenzo just murders everyone. One there. That was a good poll, actually. Dante DiVincenzo was a good one.

[Nick Wright]

Are you just saying it? Because also, he'd be allowed to play because he was white.

[Adam Friedland]

Well, they let. In Boston. They let Bill.

[Nick Wright]

But there's limitations. On how many black guys you could have.

[Adam Friedland]

Well, beyond that. It was a racist stadium.

[Nick Wright]

Oh, yeah. Oh, horrible.

[Adam Friedland]

Kyrie also. They're still about that.

[Nick Wright]

It's a well earned reputation.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. The green hair.

[Nick Wright]

But then. And then. So then after whatever is Kobe.

[Adam Friedland]

Fucking asshole.

[Nick Wright]

Bron, Kareem, Michael, Magic, Russell, Wilt Duncan, Kobe. So Kobe's eight birds nine and then 10, 11, 12 gets hard because it's Shaq, Akeem, Joker and Steph are all fighting spot.

[Adam Friedland]

You don't like him?

[Nick Wright]

No, I just didn't believe in him. I was just late to the party. I was wrong about him.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Nick Wright]

That's all.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. Why is it like, we, like, when we argue about sports? People just like someone not knowing the future, like, you hate them. Like, who cares? Yeah. You're like, yeah, Nikola Jokic was a fat guy from the Balkans and then he ended up being incredible.

[Nick Wright]

One of the greatest players of all time.

[Adam Friedland]

How are you supposed to know? But although you, Caleb Williams. Yeah. You said before you ever played, you're like, he will play in the super bowl this year.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah, I picked him. That's a whiff. Did you feel like now was your

[Adam Friedland]

blood coursing through your veins?

[Nick Wright]

In my defense, you're like, I have a new boy. So here, let me ask you. Let me ask you this.

[Adam Friedland]

I'm firing in.

[Nick Wright]

So let me ask you this. So I predicted that Caleb Williams as a rookie would play in the Super Bowl.

[Adam Friedland]

Is he good? That nail polish? That's what I know.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah. His mom's a nail tech. It's like a bonding thing.

[Adam Friedland]

People are rude to him about it though.

[Nick Wright]

No. Yeah, people are I. That apart? I totally agree. Yeah. People think he's too effeminate. I don't think that.

[Adam Friedland]

Well, they do that to the. The Sixers guy too, Jared.

[Nick Wright]

Oh, yeah, the tick Tock.

[Adam Friedland]

But he does tick tockers, and that is where I draw the line. Just stop it.

[Nick Wright]

Well, that just seems childish.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. Why does he do that?

[Nick Wright]

His. His tick tocks just seem very childish. But I mean, he's a kid, the boy's brother.

[Adam Friedland]

He loves tick tock also.

[Nick Wright]

Oh, I know. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

You think that's why he gets crap? Cause, like, it's not. Because obviously, what's the argument? You're like, mahomes is really good. What is the argument that you're getting back there?

[Nick Wright]

Oh, I mean, it's all bullshit.

[Adam Friedland]

It's because he. What, he talks like Kermit the Frog?

[Nick Wright]

No, I mean, it's just. He's just won he's one too much. And so doesn't that make him good? No, of course. But I'm saying because of that, he has a lot of people that don't like him.

[Adam Friedland]

So you just talk to people that are like 35 IQ all day long about sports?

[Nick Wright]

No, I think the reason the TV show I do is good is because Brew and Wilds are both really sharp guys. But to your point earlier, like, the barrier for entry of being like a smart sports TV guy is not very high.

[Adam Friedland]

I'm jealous. I mean, I'm not even a LeBron Stan, but if I could have seen that there was a vacancy there, you

[Nick Wright]

would have jumped out.

[Adam Friedland]

I mean, it's brilliant business.

[Nick Wright]

I totally agree.

[Adam Friedland]

It.

[Nick Wright]

And then, yeah, the. I mean, the things I'm most known for are being big supporters of the guy. The two guys who are going to go down in the greatest in the history of their sports.

[Adam Friedland]

You think he's better than Brady?

[Nick Wright]

Yeah, I do.

[Adam Friedland]

Right. Why is that?

[Nick Wright]

Because he was great. He was individually great immediately. And Tom wasn't.

[Adam Friedland]

And he was. He came in for Drew Bledsoe.

[Nick Wright]

Right. But Tom. So Tom was considered those first. You remember everybody thought Peyton Manning's the better quarterback, but Tom Brady's clutch for like the first decade. And it wasn't really until Brady got Moss and they had those crazy stats. Mahomes won league MVP his first year as a starter. So he was. And he's always. And he's won amazingly at a higher level than Brady through the limited time.

[Adam Friedland]

And he went to a party too, with the. They had chainsmokers. DJ Khaled. Did you see that clip?

[Nick Wright]

No.

[Adam Friedland]

So funny. I'll show you.

[Nick Wright]

Okay.

[Adam Friedland]

He's like, yeah, we went to a hotel. We were partying. They had chain smokers. DJ Khaled. Yeah, dude, he's awesome. I mean, what. But like, people, like, start off, they actually do a nice party for us at the hotel. The chain smokers came through. DJ College came through. I had the goddamn Spoon Mans and the Sound Garden videos coming to my show. No way.

[Nick Wright]

Oh, yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

Change Makers came through. DJ Khaled. That's your boy, dude. Tell him I'm nice. I will party for us at the hotel. Tell him I'm nice, but I'll text him.

[Nick Wright]

Adam Friedland is nice and like, kind of like.

[Adam Friedland]

I will tell you after the show, but I kind of have a involvement with the Kelsey thing.

[Nick Wright]

Oh, tell us now.

[Adam Friedland]

No, no, they know. The audience knows. Oh, okay. But yeah, Taylor Swift and I have been through a lot. We're Doing fine right now. Yeah. Yeah.

[Nick Wright]

Am I supposed to know? Should I have done my research on this?

[Adam Friedland]

No, it's boring. It's like some guy came on my podcast that was dating Taylor Swift, and then. Oh, yeah, because my friend said someone mentioned Ice Spice, and he said, is that the Eskimo Spice Girl? Because of Ice.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

And then they said it was. It was insensitive to Eskimos or whatever. Really? Yeah, it's like kind of a. And then, like, I miss a lot

[Nick Wright]

of the Internet that you see.

[Adam Friedland]

No, I am not online at all, dude. I missed that. Ronaldo was at the White House yesterday.

[Nick Wright]

I don't believe that. You're not online at all, bro.

[Adam Friedland]

Dude, I'm here working on this. On this brilliant show.

[Nick Wright]

You just said you've worked three days in a row and you're exhausted. You can't be working three interviews in a row.

[Adam Friedland]

Because I grind on them. Not for this one, because this is light work. All right. All right, let's do it. This is light work, dude. I could do this if I wanted to. But wait, let me. Let me.

[Nick Wright]

I want.

[Adam Friedland]

I want to. I want to. Let's do a segment. Right? Lightning round.

[Nick Wright]

Right, Lightning round.

[Adam Friedland]

You're going to get, like, let's say five seconds to argue back.

[Nick Wright]

Five seconds.

[Adam Friedland]

Okay.

[Nick Wright]

All right. Sure.

[Adam Friedland]

And then. Okay. Offensive lineman shouldn't be on tv. As pundits. I don't care what Jeff Saturday thinks about something. If you don't get TDs or sacks, just, like, get off the screen. And also, like, we don't know what you look like.

[Nick Wright]

That's your take.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, they should have. I don't want to see them.

[Nick Wright]

You absolutely need them because.

[Adam Friedland]

Okay, okay. NBA, they should go back to business. Suits, the coaches.

[Nick Wright]

I love that take. I agree.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, they look like they're, like, at a Kia finance event.

[Nick Wright]

Like, dude, NBA coaches. Yeah, NBA coaches should wear suits. I 100% agree.

[Adam Friedland]

And baseball coaches wearing the. The uniforms is the dopest thing of all time.

[Nick Wright]

You love it.

[Adam Friedland]

Oh, it's hilarious. See, Don Zimmer's fat ass, like, wearing suits.

[Nick Wright]

I think one day a year, the other sport should do the same thing.

[Adam Friedland]

Suits.

[Nick Wright]

No.

[Adam Friedland]

What?

[Nick Wright]

Wearing uniforms, the coaches like the NFL one day a year.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, I guess J.J. would look fine. So if David Stern were commissioner, Pablo would be dead. What do you think about that? Okay. Agree.

[Nick Wright]

It's a great take.

[Adam Friedland]

Okay. If.

[Nick Wright]

I think if Stern were. Go ahead.

[Adam Friedland]

If AI went to NFL, he'd be potentially top five ever Allen Iverson.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah, agreed, dude. I think he would have been. I also think he could have been Arsenal's striker.

[Adam Friedland]

He was one of the best pure athletes I've ever seen.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

And when he talks about Kobe, like, those guys put Kobe maybe one.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah, I know.

[Adam Friedland]

And I trust, like, what AI thinks about basketball more than a guy that doesn't know how to play sports. Sorry, bro. Soccer is the best sport. The talent pool is wider. It's the whole world, right?

[Nick Wright]

The talent pool's wider and there's not a height barrier to entry the way there is in other sports.

[Adam Friedland]

Yes. And there is just. By far. The atmosphere is. There's no comparison.

[Nick Wright]

The atmosphere is the best.

[Adam Friedland]

There's no comparison.

[Nick Wright]

I agree.

[Adam Friedland]

And it's just like. There is also, like. I guess the packers are technically like this, but there's a notion of, like, belonging to a club and then that your. The supporters. I pay Arsenal. I pay them. What do you pay?

[Nick Wright]

What do you mean? What do you pay?

[Adam Friedland]

38 pounds a year.

[Nick Wright]

For what?

[Adam Friedland]

For to be in my club. That's my club.

[Nick Wright]

You just give them money? Yeah. What do you give back?

[Adam Friedland]

I'm a member of Arsenal. And then the players are the first team, the manager is the coach. And then there's a board, there's four. It's kind of beautiful.

[Nick Wright]

But then what's your role?

[Adam Friedland]

My role is that I'm a member of Arsenal.

[Nick Wright]

So, like, do you get to vote on stuff?

[Adam Friedland]

I get to maybe try and get tickets, but we get to watch preseason games. Yeah, we get to watch extreme preseason games. I literally watch everything.

[Nick Wright]

So you're just paying for Arsenal League pass, buddy.

[Adam Friedland]

No, I get that on Peacock. Well, and.

[Nick Wright]

Right, so then you just. You're just giving them £40 a year.

[Adam Friedland]

Whatever. You should just watch the better sport. I like embarrassing being a guy from Brooklyn saying that it's the best sport.

[Nick Wright]

Listen, I like it. World Cup's on my network.

[Adam Friedland]

World cup is gonna. We're gonna brick it. The United States is gonna.

[Nick Wright]

Oh, no shot. We got no shot.

[Adam Friedland]

No, no, no. I don't care about the team. That's. I never.

[Nick Wright]

Oh, you mean the. As a host nation.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, yeah. It's gonna be like the. The ticket prices are insane.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah, but that and ticket prices are insane.

[Adam Friedland]

Every World cup, there's like, my friend tried to get five tickets and it was like $50,000.

[Nick Wright]

Trying to go to the final.

[Adam Friedland]

No, he's trying to go to a random game in Miami.

[Nick Wright]

I don't think.

[Adam Friedland]

I think group stage Mark would never lie. I'll put him on the phone after this. He's the finest man I know. Kobe farewell game was the best sports game in the last 25 years, probably ever. Stephen Wardell, Stephen Curry is the best point guard of all time. And anyone who doesn't have him in their top five is. I don't have. I have no respect for you.

[Nick Wright]

Top five player of all time.

[Adam Friedland]

Yes. Yes.

[Nick Wright]

Okay.

[Adam Friedland]

So I've never seen anyone shoot basketball.

[Nick Wright]

He's the best shooter of all time.

[Adam Friedland]

What is. But that's what basketball is. That's how you make points.

[Nick Wright]

It's a big part of what basketball is.

[Adam Friedland]

Have you ever seen anything remotely like that?

[Nick Wright]

No. He's the best shooter of all time. He's not better than Magic Johnson.

[Adam Friedland]

There's no goat to pay for shooting. No. Okay. And what. What?

[Nick Wright]

I.

[Adam Friedland]

Okay, I'll get sidetracked. I. The story of the 1980 finals is on paper incredible. Right? He's a rookie. Yeah. It's game six. Kareem's hurt.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

He's in LA trying to rehab. They're like, let's just throw it. He plays five positions and he wins mvp.

[Nick Wright]

Shouldn't have won mvp, but, yeah, I do.

[Adam Friedland]

Have you watched game six?

[Nick Wright]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

Come on.

[Nick Wright]

What?

[Adam Friedland]

It's not. He's no one's league magic because he's a big guard. And Michael Cooper, he could be a 3 and D. The rest of them aren't league.

[Nick Wright]

Kareem is definitively.

[Adam Friedland]

He wasn't playing that game.

[Nick Wright]

Oh, you're talking about literally just that game.

[Adam Friedland]

It's just crappy. It's just.

[Nick Wright]

But it's.

[Adam Friedland]

It's just. There's no comparison. The Arizona.

[Nick Wright]

But you're like. This is like saying, I'm with you, dude.

[Adam Friedland]

I'm a bromo.

[Nick Wright]

I'm a bromo.

[Adam Friedland]

Sexual like you.

[Nick Wright]

Let me ask you this.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah.

[Nick Wright]

You're a comedian. Yeah. Who's the fucking Jackie Gleason or whatever.

[Adam Friedland]

Very good. Yeah. He was a rabbi.

[Nick Wright]

His routines right now look pedestrian compared to current.

[Adam Friedland]

No, absolutely not. In regards. There isn't a comparison of the other.

[Nick Wright]

No, hold on. Who's the guy that used Henny Youngman take my wife, please.

[Adam Friedland]

That is the best joke ever written. People's. No, no, because they say. Because of word economy. They say that is the.

[Nick Wright]

The best joke ever written. But the. I guess my point. That's true too. Or like I Love Lucy. That type of stuff, like, doesn't hold up today. But we assume those people, if they were born today, would be the funniest people alive.

[Adam Friedland]

It's a girl.

[Nick Wright]

What?

[Adam Friedland]

It's a Girl, she's being annoying. It's not funny that.

[Nick Wright]

Can I ask you a question? When you said.

[Adam Friedland]

Hold on.

[Nick Wright]

I have a question from 10 minutes ago. Yeah, yeah. When you said, they get cold, and then you apologize to my wife because

[Adam Friedland]

I was being sexist, but it was

[Nick Wright]

joking, so I didn't know if you were being sexist or racist. That's what I was trying to figure out. If your girlfriend was black and you were saying black people. I would never go there.

[Adam Friedland]

I would complain about these with a ball and chain because we're on a first guy date.

[Nick Wright]

You thought the same thing, right? I was like, oh, are you also engaged with black women?

[Adam Friedland]

What is that stereotype?

[Nick Wright]

What do you mean?

[Adam Friedland]

Black people get cold.

[Nick Wright]

I didn't know that that's what you were saying.

[Adam Friedland]

Women get cold. If you've heard a million times. And I did a joke like, I'm sorry. And then I'm like, they get cold. Yeah.

[Nick Wright]

That's why I couldn't figure out. Oh.

[Adam Friedland]

Cause obviously your wife is here and we're on a first date and she's chaperoning us.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

And how's it going? What do you think? Yeah, I'm destroying it. Right.

[Nick Wright]

Okay.

[Adam Friedland]

They should let more people that aren't jocks be the coach.

[Nick Wright]

Why?

[Adam Friedland]

Because there's no overlap. Like, if you could learn the game cerebrally, you don't have to have played when you were 21 years old.

[Nick Wright]

I disagree.

[Adam Friedland]

Why?

[Nick Wright]

Because I.

[Adam Friedland]

You know who Jose Mourinho was. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You didn't play.

[Nick Wright]

Right. I'm not saying that it's impossible to be done. I think the best, particularly in the NFL.

[Adam Friedland]

You're sucking up to the jocks right now.

[Nick Wright]

No, I'm not.

[Adam Friedland]

You're sucking up to the jocks.

[Nick Wright]

I'm not sucking.

[Adam Friedland]

We could do it.

[Nick Wright]

I think there are elements of it that we could do, but I think, like, to me, the boys. With an NFL team, Correct?

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, the boys.

[Nick Wright]

And I think a huge part of being an NFL head coach is being able to, like, command the respect of the room. And I think that's very difficult. If you weren't a player.

[Adam Friedland]

You're absolutely right. Now I'm imagining, like, I'm your coach.

[Nick Wright]

You don't have to imagine it that much. Just look at the doll.

[Adam Friedland]

Listen to me. We're doing Spider y Banana. I learned about it in the YouTube. It's bullshit that the NFL has non guaranteed contracts and that these guys are like literally destroying their brains and. And you could just cancel someone's deal, like, why Is Shohei getting like a billion dollars? So it's just for a less popular sport. The.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah, I mean, I. The. The union for the NFL has been bad for a long time.

[Adam Friedland]

They're pro. Like, the. The owners.

[Nick Wright]

The union just hasn't had any teeth.

[Adam Friedland]

It's really like, actually, like. It's brutally sad. Especially the sacrifice they make physically.

[Nick Wright]

And now listen, they. Anybody can get a guaranteed contract. They just. Guys. They don't have the leverage to negotiate it.

[Adam Friedland]

When you hear about Bobby Badilla, are you like, sick, dude?

[Nick Wright]

Well, yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. Fuck the. Fuck the man. He's got to pay.

[Nick Wright]

Well, listen, I'm a union guy. I think that. Yeah, but the football union's been bad for a long time and the guys don't have enough juice to really.

[Adam Friedland]

Who's the rep? Who's the main guy?

[Nick Wright]

It was D. Marie Smith forever. Who is it now? I don't even know. They just got asked. Pablo, he just got them all in trouble.

[Adam Friedland]

He got the union.

[Nick Wright]

NFL union.

[Adam Friedland]

He's a Pinkerton. He's a union buster.

[Nick Wright]

Well, I don't think he meant to be, but kind of, yeah, he did because he tattled. Well, again.

[Adam Friedland]

I ruined the Lakers playoff run. Did you have a take that you were wrong because of me?

[Nick Wright]

Did you take that I was wrong?

[Adam Friedland]

That was my fault. I apologize. The T. Wolves. Did you say we're going to beat the Jewels?

[Nick Wright]

That's your fault.

[Adam Friedland]

I apologize.

[Nick Wright]

You threw it off with your adeling to Pablo.

[Adam Friedland]

My dad is pissed off at me. Yeah, my dad. My parents.

[Nick Wright]

What do your parents do?

[Adam Friedland]

My mother passed away. My dad was an architect. And then they were from Cape Town. They were Jews. And then my dad, the apartheid regime had him on an enemies list. And then he got called up to go to Angola, to the civil war. And then they moved to la. But then my dad. The reason I'm kind of into sports is my dad learn, like, got into sports. And it was the 80s in LA, so it was showtime. Dodgers, Fernando. And so he. My dad was at the. At the Gibson game.

[Nick Wright]

Really?

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah.

[Nick Wright]

That's sick.

[Adam Friedland]

But he learned American sports to have something to share with his kid, who's American. And so, like, we shared it.

[Nick Wright]

So. Does your dad have a sick accent?

[Adam Friedland]

It's. I don't think it's a very good one. Is this anybody? Have you seen the blood? The blood diamond? Yeah, he sounds nice. I love my dad, but at this age, he's 74. He turns the TV off like 25 times a game. He cannot take the stress. Really and it could be like a regular season game, too.

[Nick Wright]

And his favorite team's Lakers during the

[Adam Friedland]

World Series, Game seven. I'm backing on baseball.

[Nick Wright]

I know. This was an unbelievable playoff. Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah.

[Nick Wright]

It's an unbelievable.

[Adam Friedland]

During the World Series, I called like 40 times just to make sure he didn't die. Yeah. And he's like, I can't take this. It's not good for my health, Adam. It's not good for my.

[Nick Wright]

Do you go to LA and go to games? No, we're going to LA on Tuesday for Thanksgiving, see our son.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah.

[Nick Wright]

And I get to meet my granddaughter for the first time after.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. Congratulations, by the way.

[Nick Wright]

Oh, thank you.

[Adam Friedland]

For show yet. You're a grandfather.

[Nick Wright]

I'm a grandfather as of 12 days ago.

[Adam Friedland]

Do you think that like the other guys that should have more respect for you in a sports debate? Yeah.

[Nick Wright]

100%.

[Adam Friedland]

As UNK gramps. Yeah. OG exactly. Right.

[Nick Wright]

That's how I feel.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah.

[Nick Wright]

But. But we're gonna go to Lakers Mavs the day after Thanksgiving.

[Adam Friedland]

And the question is sad. Right.

[Nick Wright]

Well, here's the question that I've not yet talked to my wife about. Yeah. So my granddaughter will be at that point, 20 days old.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah.

[Nick Wright]

Also, though, it would be super sick for her when she's 70. It'd be like meeting someone. It's like I watched Babe Ruth to take her to the game.

[Adam Friedland]

So she's 20 days old.

[Nick Wright]

I understand.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah.

[Nick Wright]

But she can say she was there. She won't remember, but she'll. She'll be told you actually were.

[Adam Friedland]

Who's gonna respect that? Who's. Seriously? So it was like when you were a very small baby, you were in the same.

[Nick Wright]

If your dad saw Babe Ruth play, that wouldn't be cool if he was a baby. Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

No, he wouldn't remember it. What? You went to Kaufman. That was your first game.

[Nick Wright]

Kaufman.

[Adam Friedland]

Kaufman.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

It was a shit stadium.

[Nick Wright]

No, it's still there.

[Adam Friedland]

The fountain.

[Nick Wright]

The fountains are great.

[Adam Friedland]

You guys should change your uniforms.

[Nick Wright]

Why?

[Adam Friedland]

Because they look too much like Dodgers?

[Nick Wright]

No, they're powder blue. The powder blue ones are better.

[Adam Friedland]

They used to have, like, Dodgers uniforms.

[Nick Wright]

No, they had Royals uniforms. Maybe you guys copied us.

[Adam Friedland]

No way. You guys are Tech nine. You guys, we have like, Brad Pitt.

[Nick Wright]

Brad Pitt from. Actually, that's a bad poll because where's Brad Pitt from? Just north of Kansas City. Exactly. Okay.

[Adam Friedland]

The Brooklyn Nets shouldn't exist.

[Nick Wright]

Agreed.

[Adam Friedland]

I live 10, five minutes from the stadium, walking. It's just their fans aren't there.

[Nick Wright]

We had the year they got Katie, Kyrie and Harden. We had season tickets.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah.

[Nick Wright]

And my wife, after that year, said, I would rather go to five Knicks games a year than all of the Nets games.

[Adam Friedland]

I mean, it's just. I feel bad for them because every game is a road game.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah. No, I. I don't know where. So. Where? What city? Is there a city on the east

[Adam Friedland]

coast they should go to Newark, N.J.

[Nick Wright]

where they used to be.

[Adam Friedland]

They put on for the fucking Devils. Here's. I got a good one for you. Yeah. The Los Angeles Clippers should not exist. They should go to Seattle or Vegas.

[Nick Wright]

Totally agree.

[Adam Friedland]

Vegas. It's. I don't care. I'm from there. The Las Vegas Raiders should not exist and nor should the A's. And Oakland should have something.

[Nick Wright]

I agree. Oakland should have some guys. But the Raiders have moved so many times. Louisiana. Oakland.

[Adam Friedland]

Louisiana.

[Nick Wright]

Oakland, Vegas.

[Adam Friedland]

They're Oakland. Okay. The best. Speaking of Oakland, the best sports movie is Moneyball. Because they save so much. They do. It's incredible. What's yours? Titans.

[Nick Wright]

No, it's not. Remember the Titans?

[Adam Friedland]

Coach Boot?

[Nick Wright]

He brought those boys together.

[Adam Friedland]

Taught him how to play.

[Nick Wright]

Objectively speaking, the best sports movie of all time is probably Rocky.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, I guess so.

[Nick Wright]

Raging Bull's pretty great.

[Adam Friedland]

That might. That's up there.

[Nick Wright]

The new space jam that Bron created.

[Adam Friedland]

Incredible. Incredible. UTA family Clutch Sports. Rich Paul. Mav Carter. I asked my agents if I could have a meeting with Rich Paul, when I go to la. I could. What am I gonna talk to him about?

[Nick Wright]

I don't know. He'd like you. Rich is a great guy.

[Adam Friedland]

Is he?

[Nick Wright]

Yeah. Rich is a great guy.

[Adam Friedland]

Really? Yeah.

[Nick Wright]

And Maverick's one of my dearest friends.

[Adam Friedland]

Really?

[Nick Wright]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

So you're like. You're, like, in too deep. That's why you did that Tuesday take. That was ridiculous. Tuesday at noon. Everyone should know that Tuesday is not a retirement. What was that? It would do they text you the good one. All right. Here's the last one. Yeah. I'm just putting it out there. For a million and a half dollars, you could have your way with it. Literally. I don't care. Freaky. Unchristian. Whatever you want. You could use any hole you want. It's. I just want to buy a house. Really.

[Nick Wright]

I gotta imagine you do really well, bro.

[Adam Friedland]

It's like. It's gonna be good. I think this year has been a reinvestment cycle.

[Nick Wright]

But reinvest. Oh, reinvest in yourself.

[Adam Friedland]

You're probably. Yeah, in my own damn self. I'm drinking water. Yeah. I'm doing meditation. How's this Going. Really? You like me more than Broussard?

[Nick Wright]

I love Broussard, but I like you a lot.

[Adam Friedland]

Thank you. As your co worker, you shouldn't be saying that, but kind of.

[Nick Wright]

He's a great guy, this guy. I never do stuff like this, ever.

[Adam Friedland]

Really? Why'd you do it?

[Nick Wright]

No, he needs to.

[Adam Friedland]

Why?

[Nick Wright]

She thinks I should do more stuff like this, but that's not why I'm doing it. I'm doing it because I actually, I.

[Adam Friedland]

You like the show?

[Nick Wright]

Yeah. I think you do a good job.

[Adam Friedland]

We're gonna have a Richie Torres moment after this. Okay, last take. And we're gonna cut this. College basketball is bad, but it's not as bad. It's way better than girl.

[Nick Wright]

I think women's college basketball is actually Women's college basketball. I think women's college basketball.

[Adam Friedland]

I'm talking about the league.

[Nick Wright]

I understand. I think women's college basketball is more consistently watchable than men's college basketball at this point.

[Adam Friedland]

Why? Because you're hornier for them?

[Nick Wright]

No.

[Adam Friedland]

They're sexier.

[Nick Wright]

No. I think that the men's college basketball doesn't work in its current state. And I think women's college basketball, soccer is too long. I think college basketball having people that stay for all four years makes the product really good. And that never happens in men's ball. Steph stayed for three, I think.

[Adam Friedland]

Three. Oh, he almost got there.

[Nick Wright]

Duncan stayed for four, but that's long ago.

[Adam Friedland]

Nerd ass Duncan. That's classic Duncan fundamentals. Yeah, he didn't. He learned how to play basketball when he was, like, 17. He was a swimmer.

[Nick Wright]

He was a swimmer. Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

There was, like, a. This aquatic center was destroyed.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah. He's from the U.S. virgin Islands.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. Yeah, same bro.

[Nick Wright]

Basically.

[Adam Friedland]

Not one time, actually. Was that. Never mind. Was that where the. Did you. Are you on the logs or. No. Did you ever meet Epstein?

[Nick Wright]

Oh, that's. I didn't know what you were talking about. No, no.

[Adam Friedland]

Do you know anyone that's met him?

[Nick Wright]

I don't think so.

[Adam Friedland]

Can you imagine, like, some guy's like, you on a private plane to a private island, and it's my crib, and then you just walk in and you, like, didn't expect that.

[Nick Wright]

I think most of the people who went. Were aware what was going on.

[Adam Friedland]

I mean, I don't, of course, but what if someone. Some guy was like, this guy Jeff, he's so rich, and then. Yeah, he wants to take me to an island. My goat Dershowitz is there.

[Nick Wright]

You're a big Dershowitz fan. No.

[Adam Friedland]

He's the worst guy ever. Okay, I think. I think we got it. I mean, like, is there anything you want to. You want to debate me on? I can beat you. Well, that's what. I didn't talk about Kobe, but it's fine. I don't need to. I don't need to stoop down, like, to the level of the inefficient, the math guys.

[Nick Wright]

No, he's a great. I said he was one of the 10 greatest players of all time. For some folks, that's not enough because they want the myth rather than the facts. But being one of the 10 greatest in the history of something's really good. If at the end of this thing, they were like, the Adam Friedland show is one of the 10 best digital interview shows ever, you wouldn't be like, that's bullshit.

[Adam Friedland]

What I mean, 1B, dude, 1B.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

See Chelsea Lately? 1A. Adam Freedom. 1B. I don't know. I hate the math stuff. Is it raised? Is it driven by race? Is it that it's a white pundit class talking about a black predominant.

[Nick Wright]

So I do think there is an. There is an unintentional element to that where I think that some of the. Some of the. It has been a way for people who didn't. Especially NBA front offices, way for people who didn't play to get a seat at the table, and an overwhelmingly black sport. It has made a lot more. Given a lot more white people seats at the table.

[Adam Friedland]

Oh, I didn't mean it that way. I mean it like they could like criticize a black player with math. No, I mean it like that. What? Black. What you don't think. Are there any players that do the math?

[Nick Wright]

No, what I'm saying is the front offices that are dominated by guys who didn't play analytics folks that's overwhelmingly white and the front offices that are dominated by ex. Players that's overwhelmingly black.

[Adam Friedland]

Right. In a front office context, I don't mind it, but on tv, it's just not entertaining. Oh, right.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah. People arguing about efficiency.

[Adam Friedland]

Zach. Zach is the one that's fun about it because he gets so excited. I don't even know what the numbers mean.

[Nick Wright]

Well, so I. Yeah. So Zach. Zach is the best to ever do what he's doing because he's having fun and because he's smarter than all these guys.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah.

[Nick Wright]

And so what? He's folks who are not as smart and don't know as much basketball as Zach trying to do what Zach does is a disaster. Because now it's like Wait, you don't have all the information and you're boring. That's not going to work.

[Adam Friedland]

What? What? Like, do you think it's a. It's divorced from. What is great about sports, though? The math?

[Nick Wright]

Some of it, yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

But you're at math because you're like, lebron is the best. Because.

[Nick Wright]

No, I mean, I'm a little bit of both. But I do think that is your favorite movie.

[Adam Friedland]

Like the top box office.

[Nick Wright]

No. Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

You're like, it's the best movie as the best.

[Nick Wright]

I think There Will Be Blood's the greatest movie ever.

[Adam Friedland]

Oh, fire. Yeah, great. Best movie. Wait, so let's. I want to finish this point because I think it's interesting. Like, what do you identify, like, when you were a kid calling in, say, Marty Schottenheimer should be taken out back.

[Nick Wright]

And fired.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. And fired. Yeah. Taken out.

[Nick Wright]

Taken out back and forth.

[Adam Friedland]

Old yeller. What do we like about it? And why do we get so mad at each other about it? We've been getting along, but when you're on tv, you're pissed. You get heated about shit. And I don't think you're doing showbiz. I think you're actually like.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah, yeah. I like to. Much to the chagrin of my lovely wife, who we've referenced a few times. I like to argue, and I really. I have always.

[Adam Friedland]

You act like that over there.

[Nick Wright]

Maybe I try not to, but it's sometimes hard. I have always had. Maybe it's a mental defect, but it's also probably of what's made me, however good I am at what I do. I'm really convinced that if after I make my argument, you don't agree with me, you must not have understood my argument.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, everyone feels that way, right?

[Nick Wright]

Well, I think some people have more humility in it than I do. But.

[Adam Friedland]

But I mean, what you're doing on TV is something that people do when they're hanging out, right? Yeah, we do. And it's like, why. Why does it retain meaning, Right. To people? Right.

[Nick Wright]

Oh, I don't. That. I don't know.

[Adam Friedland]

I think it's because we attach narrative to it. Right?

[Nick Wright]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

So, like, Kobe shooting a hundred times and getting a 60, I think, by the way, it's the story of the. Of a career. Right?

[Nick Wright]

Correct. I don't think there's a lot of criticism of Kobe's final game.

[Adam Friedland]

I don't think. That's what I'm saying. That's why. What made it special.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

Right. It's not debatable. Everyone had a great time watching it.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

But it made it special. Not because of anything other than we thought we'd never see him again. It's like when Tiger won the Masters.

[Nick Wright]

That is. That's. That's pro. That's one of my two or three favorite sports moments ever, is Tiger winning the Masters.

[Adam Friedland]

Because when we were kids, he was like. It was a mythological. He was also a kid. Right? Did you get SI Kids?

[Nick Wright]

I got all of it, man. I got. I got a grant. Hillary Magazine, SI Kids I had growing up. I had every cause. ESPN the Magazine came out when we were teens. Yeah. And I would get it, read the whole thing, and pin it up on my wall. And I had all of them on my wall when I graduated high school.

[Adam Friedland]

Do you remember the commercial with kg?

[Nick Wright]

With KG and Stephon Marva? Tastefully done.

[Adam Friedland]

I took it serious. They said all nude.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

They said no bikinis. They were like. The punchline was all nude.

[Nick Wright]

Tastefully done.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. I mean, but they didn't. They actually didn't. I mean, FOX Sports would never do that. Espn, they would never lie about putting real boobs in it. At that age, you're hunting for boobs. Yeah. I was like, I gotta get ESPN the Magazine because Stephon Marbury told me there's gonna be sluts in it, and there was nothing.

[Nick Wright]

I think that. I mean, if we're really trying to rehash that commercial, I think he was implying that he was gonna be nude in it.

[Adam Friedland]

Oh, really?

[Nick Wright]

And you had to get it.

[Adam Friedland]

It's like, you know, Burt Reynolds.

[Nick Wright]

He.

[Adam Friedland]

He posed in Playgirl, and he thought it was because girls were reading it. And then he found out afterwards that it was gay guys. Gay guys. And then he got pissed off. He's like, what the hell? No, I don't believe it. Of course not. Dude. This has been a pleasure.

[Nick Wright]

Thank you.

[Adam Friedland]

Wait, I should. Sa.