Chris Cote Breaks The LeBron James News | Hour 1

Summary

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The Dan Le Batard Show — "Chris Cote Breaks The LeBron James News | Hour 1"

Date: July 20, 2026
Location: The Elser Hotel, Downtown Miami

Episode Overview

In this lively edition of The Dan Le Batard Show, the crew is buzzing amid swirling NBA rumors, hot takes on Miami Heat’s seismic offseason, and plenty of trademark banter. With Chris Whittingham sitting in, the show pivots around the bombshell possibility of LeBron James returning to Miami—courtesy of Chris Cody’s cryptic, much-maligned tweet. The hour spins from playful debates about the morality of selling dinosaur bones, to an earnest, sometimes anxious discussion on Pat Riley’s career-defining gamble for Giannis Antetokounmpo, and the risks of building around aging NBA stars. As always, the crew blends sports analysis with irreverent humor and personal stories, giving fans an insightful, entertaining snapshot of Miami’s sports fandom.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Nostalgia for Old-School Sports Radio & Callers

[01:43 – 03:14]

• Dan reminisces about listening to baseball broadcasts on the radio and the unique joy of hearing random callers share bizarre life updates.
• Quote:
  • “I legitimately made me miss callers because we’re not doing that around here anymore. That seems to be quite the playground.” — Dan Le Batard [03:01]

2. Two-Sport Athlete Greatness: Where Does Marty Fish Rank?

[03:25 – 05:16]

• The crew debates whether Marty Fish belongs in the same "two-sport athlete" conversation as Bo Jackson or Deion Sanders, given his tennis and golf acumen.
• Dan: Raises philosophical questions on what defines a "sport" vs. a "game," using darts, golf, and athleticism as examples.
• Mike: Maintains that athletes like Marty Fish have impressive hand-eye skills, though perhaps not in the "explosive" way of classic two-sport stars.
• Playful back-and-forth leads Mike to start compiling a top-44 two-sport athlete list at Dan’s request.

3. Sports Memorabilia Morality: T. Rex Bones, Presidential Baseballs, and Bar Mitzvah Grails

[05:16 – 11:02]

• Dan questions the ethics of selling ancient artifacts (like T. Rex fossils) to billionaires.
  • Quote:
    • “When you’re talking about selling something that is 70 million or 60 million years old, that’s not something I think should be for sale.” — Dan Le Batard [06:29]
• Turns to collectibles:
  • 21 presidentially-signed baseballs sell for $3 million.
  • Zas and Tony joke about the pricelessness (or not) of autographed Glen Rice sneakers—a treasured bar mitzvah gift for Tony.
• Dan’s roast:
  • “I do not believe anyone listening to this... would go back into their house and... grab their game worn Glen Rice sneakers and run out.” [09:25]

4. Miami Heat, Pat Riley, and the All-In Giannis Gamble

[14:43 – 25:49]

• Preview of Pat Riley joining later; Dan reflects on Riley's six-decade career as player, coach, and NBA legend.
• The conversation centers on:
  • Miami’s bold trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo, trading away seven years’ worth of assets (“most desperate act ever seen from him”).
  • The urgency, risk, and potential legacy impact as Riley nears retirement.
  • The difference between acquiring depth via young players (San Antonio/OKC) versus piling up aging superstars (“Pat Riley going right back to, I trust old players and only old players”).
  • The cross-generational challenge: Betting on Giannis and maybe LeBron against Wemby (Victor Wembanyama) and the new NBA youth.
• Quotes:
  • “This is the most desperate act I’ve ever seen from him. It is so all or nothing, this risks for the first time, the team being terrible after Pat Riley is gone.” — Dan Le Batard [18:02]
  • “Is Pat Riley pushing all of his chips to the table for one last big shot in Miami?” — Dan Le Batard [23:53]
  • “Absolutely.” — Zas [24:02]

5. Injury Probability: Old vs. Young in Today’s NBA

[24:37 – 35:49]

• Spirited argument about whether older players are actually more injury-prone in the new era.
  • Dan insists that risk increases with age and injury history.
  • Chris and Tony challenge the blanket statement, noting that new training methods and early overuse have caused more young players to suffer major “Tommy John–style” injuries.
• References to Achilles tears and player durability counter conventional wisdom.
• Quotes:
  • “I thought it was a fact: Older players, more probable to get hurt... previous players, more probable to get hurt.” — Dan Le Batard [32:59]
  • “This Achilles issue... has been an issue with some older players but primarily with the younger players... because of the way they’re raised and the way they’re playing year-round.” — Chris Whittingham [34:54]

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6. The ‘Newsbreak’: Chris Cody’s LeBron Tweet & Credibility Chaos

[28:36 – 32:55, 36:40 – 38:36]

• Chris Cody is called in to discuss a controversial tweet hinting at LeBron James’s return to Miami.

  • He doubles down, saying he’s “sitting by” his source but is vague about its reliability.

• Mike, Dan, and the others mock Chris for his flimsy vetting (one unnamed “source”), suggesting their media reputation is at risk.

• Quotes:

  • “What kind of nerves do you have? You’re sitting by your tweet that LeBron is going to announce tonight that he’s going to Miami?” — Dan Le Batard [30:01]
  • “I sit firmly by it. And I... have been hearing better things even since the things I was hearing yesterday.” — Chris Cody [30:13]
  • “You can be wrong because your source can be wrong. And you’re only as good as your sources. And you don’t have any sources.” — Dan Le Batard [31:47]
  • “I hate you.” — Chris [31:33, playful banter]

• The segment closes with Dan noting the high risk—“He runs the risk... He has 12 hours to soak in: ‘Oh, I did something that makes me the center of attention...’”

7. Social Media Era: Memory, Credibility, and Hot Takes

[36:40 – 39:33]

• If Chris Cody’s LeBron “exclusive” falls through, Dan predicts social media will dunk on him, but only briefly—“Social media is not about yesterday.”
• The show questions how lasting “reporting mistakes” are in today’s viral, click-driven info economy.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Dan on Pat Riley’s Storytelling Power:
  • “Some of the best stuff I’ve written is with Pat Riley because he volunteers the parts that make the storytelling good.” [16:20]
• Mike’s List Making:
  • “Get back to your list of top 44 two-sport athletes of all time.” — Dan Le Batard [32:49]
• Tony, on memorabilia priorities:
  • “If my house were on fire, I grabbed them [Glen Rice sneakers] and I make sure they survive.” [08:47]
• Chris, poking fun at himself:
  • “I don’t know what a source is.” [32:10, becomes a running punchline]

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Other Fun Moments & Pop Culture Asides

• Halftime Show Critiques:
  • First-ever World Cup halftime show with American flavor is met with mixed reviews. Tony laments Madonna’s lip syncing, others praise Shakira and BTS.
• References to "telephone game" and generational shifts — A poll is suggested on whether listeners even know what the “game of telephone” is.

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Key Timestamps

• 03:01 — Dan on missing callers, classic sports radio style
• 05:16 — Start of "two-sport athlete" debate
• 06:29 — Ethical discussion: Should T. Rex bones be sold?
• 08:47 — Tony’s story about Glen Rice sneakers
• 14:43 – 25:49 — Pat Riley legacy, Heat all-in on Giannis, trading for an aging star, looming LeBron rumors
• 29:00 – 32:55 — Chris Cody defends his “LeBron to Miami” tweet in real time
• 34:09 – 35:49 — Sports injury debates: Old vs. young, Tommy John in the NBA
• 36:40 – 38:36 — The risk of getting the biggest sports scoop wrong in the social media age
• 40:31 – 41:22 — World Cup Halftime Show, pop culture critiques

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Conclusion

This hour epitomizes what followers love about The Dan Le Batard Show—smart, irreverent, and deeply local (but with wide-ranging references). The LeBron rumor, large-scale Miami Heat gambles, goofy personal stories, and the show’s self-satire keep the content fresh. If LeBron does announce his return, Chris Cody will bask in glory. If not, the show will just keep it moving—just as certain as Pat Riley is always betting on himself.

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End of Hour 1 Summary

Transcript

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[Dan LeBatard]

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[Dan LeBatard]

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[Tony]

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[Dan LeBatard]

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[Tony]

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[Dan LeBatard]

The Diamondbacks come down, come up from down seven. Nothing to win a game yesterday against the St. Louis Cardinals. And Jeremy makes fun of me because I'm always listening to baseball on the radio. I think it's the best way to listen to baseball, and not just because, you know, I'm listening to a Toronto broadcast and they're having Happy Canada Day and they're just citing fans from Ontario by name. But the drawback to listening to it on the radio is that when I'm coming in this morning, the radio is still on Sports talk. So I get in the car today and they're taking a call while they're talking about the super bowl and they're talking about. I'm sorry, they're talking about the World cup and they're talking about it in the way that Americans could understand it, which is comparing it to the super bowl and saying, you know what Argentina was? Argentina was what that Chiefs team was, that was winning all its games, 13, 9 on a missed field goal. And then they, then they get to the super bowl and they lose to the Eagles by a million points. But then a caller calls in and offers this sentence and it legitimately made me just miss the idea of callers, which is the sentence was, hey guys, I suffered a stroke in my right eye since the last time I talked to you.

[Mike]

So it was a first time, long time deal, evidently.

[Dan LeBatard]

Yeah. And so that's what was on my radio coming in in the morning. And it legitimately made me miss callers because we're not doing that around here anymore. And that seems to be quite the playground.

[Mike]

Rich Eisen took a call for Marty Fish during an interview and the caller asked about you and Stugots. He's like, he said, are you Team Levatard or Team Sugots?

[Dan LeBatard]

Oh, Marty Fish.

[Mike]

Marty answered me.

[Dan LeBatard]

We didn't even talk about Marty Fish. And the idea that he won that Tahoe tournament again for the Marty legitimately

[Mike]

should be in the conversation. I'm not saying gold medal, because gold medal, you know, Deion Sanders and Bo Jackson and whatnot, and the sports are different. But when you're, when you're talking about two sport athletes, Marty Fish makes like a top 50 countdown.

[Dan LeBatard]

So you're putting him in Bo Jackson's class and Deion Sanders.

[Mike]

But I outlined that, that's a separate class. But if I'm doing a top 50 multi sport athlete here, I think I go, Morty Fish, Jack Nicklaus, you're familiar with Jack Nicklaus, right? He said that Marty Fish is the best golfer that is not a pro golfer. And he could have done that as a career.

[Dan LeBatard]

Well, but let me ask you guys this question, and this might be playing somewhat semantics, but when I think of two sport athletes, I think of very obvious athleticism. Okay? And because golf, it can be argued, is that a sport or a game, you would not be making that argument if Marty Fish was really good at darts. If he was good at darts and tennis, you would not be making the argument that he is a great two sport athlete. So whether you agree with golf being a game or a sport, do you not associate two sport athletes with rampant athleticism?

[Tony]

There has to be some type of physicality involved.

[Mike]

I mean, there is physicality in golf. You're walking the entire time like you're not hopping on a golf cart.

[Dan LeBatard]

It doesn't require it doesn't. It requires hand, eye coordination. It requires certain things from your body.

[Mike]

You're right, guys. Tiger woods is not impressive.

[Dan LeBatard]

I'm just saying in terms of what becomes a sport or a game. Mike, when I think of two sport athletes, I think of somebody who's distributed, who's showing off an athleticism that is not usually present in golf.

[Mike]

I don't disagree. That's why he's listed at number 44 on my list, right ahead of Jeff Conine.

[Dan LeBatard]

All right, let. Let me hear your list now. I'm going to make you put it together on what it is that your top 44. Two sport athletes of all time. Of all time are. Since we're. Since we're already there, I need to hear what that list sounds like. I. I wanna ask a question of you guys that has to do with morality. I thought of this most recently on the air when I was talking about whether it is right to have human remains in a museum, in whether it's mummy form or another form. If it's disrespectful to sort of have a human being in, you know, a body, in a place for display that is no longer with us. Did you see that a T. Rex sold the other day for an amount of money? How much would you guys for all of the bones of a T. Rex? Because I'm about to tell you what it sold for.

[Zas]

Well, if Iena had that golden structure of T. Rex stuff was like 200 million.

[Dan LeBatard]

No, no, no, no. So that is not a. It's not a T. Rex. That's a mammoth. And a mammoth is much younger. A mammoth is like an embryo compared to a T. Rex. A T. Rex is like 70 million years old.

[Mike]

You're familiar with the notion that the earth is only 6,000 years old, right?

[Dan LeBatard]

And when you're talking about selling Something that is 70 million or 60 million years old, that's not something I think should be for sale. I don't think that a billionaire should be able to just buy everything and anything. And so the price, the asking price was $51 million, and that's what it ended up selling for. Do you guys have any moral qualms with putting. Put it on the poll at Lebatard show. Do you have any moral qualms with selling a t. Rex for 51 million dol.

[Tony]

Nah, I don't care. I also wouldn't give you a dollar for.

[Zas]

Exactly.

[Tony]

I don't have anywhere to put that. Like, I don't need. I don't, I don't need The T. Rex bones. What am I going to do with that? It's not, it's not worth a dollar to me.

[Dan LeBatard]

Well, it would be worth a dollar to you if it can sell for $51 million. You're basically leaving a lottery ticket on the table if you don't take that.

[Chris]

We have a response from reporter Chris Cody who says, quote, the tweet speaks for itself and refuses to join the zoom.

[Dan LeBatard]

I saw that he was in a flooding New York this weekend with his father who fished out of a garbage can an old FedEx to put over his head cuz he was worried that his hair was getting too wet. So he actually went into a garbage can, grabbed a FedEx envelope and put it on his head like a hat because of how much the rain ends up bothering him. I saw that. A collection of baseballs. Zaz, since you won't pay for a T. Rex, I don't know what you pay for other than SummerSlam tickets. What do you pay for in sports in the way of memorabilia? Because I saw that 21 baseballs signed by 21 consecutive presidents going back to Teddy Roosevelt went, went for more than $3 million. What is your most prized form or expensive form of memorabilia?

[Tony]

I like autographed pictures, you know of. For my, my favorite teams. Panthers and Heats, I like that kind of deal. But my, my most prized possession, it was actually a bar mitzvah gift. So it's 32 years ago I got a pair of game worn autographed Glen Rice sneakers. Those are my absolute favorite.

[Zas]

What size?

[Tony]

Oh, I don't know. They're. They're big. They're really big though.

[Zas]

Really big. Like 13, I think.

[Tony]

Bigger maybe.

[Zas]

Let's say if they're 13, let me get them. Nope, nope, I'll pay you.

[Tony]

Those are my. No, it's, it's priceless.

[Zas]

It's not priceless.

[Tony]

It's.

[Zas]

I can get you to give them to me.

[Tony]

Nope.

[Zas]

If I have grand.

[Tony]

If my house were on fire, I grabbed them and I make sure that they survive the house.

[Zas]

20 grand.

[Tony]

No, I'm not selling it to you.

[Chris Whittingham]

Stop.

[Tony]

Stop naming fugazi money.

[Zas]

50 grand.

[Tony]

You don't even have 50 grand.

[Dan LeBatard]

The thing that Zsasz is saying I think is something that would only come out of his mouth in the history of human sports consumption, which is, I don't believe that anyone else on earth is saying that their most prized possession is a pair of game worn Glen Rice sneakers. I don't believe, I don't believe anyone else listening to this. Nike, this Is a worldwide show. This is international. This is. Our show's huge in the Philippines. Like, this show is something that reaches the world. I do not believe that anyone listening to this, not one person would say that they would go back into their house and if there were a fire, run in and just grab their game worn Glen Rice sneakers and run out of the house. I believe that is an exclusive Zaslow thought.

[Chris]

The craziest part about this is he's friends with Glen Rice now, so he could replace them.

[Tony]

I mean, I don't want to replace them. I like these.

[Chris]

Right? But, like, I'm envisioning a world where there's a fire in your home, and your first thought isn't, let me make sure that my family is aware that there's this fire.

[Tony]

It's, let me have, like, what, am I gonna carry them out the house you could replace. They have legs. And by the way, I would actually, the reason I wouldn't. Because people are probably saying, zazzle, why aren't you grabbing your championship rings? I could easily put the rings in my pocket. All right, it's two rings. I could easily put them.

[Mike]

Or.

[Tony]

Or I would open up the ring box and I would actually put them on my fingers and run out. So that's no issue whatsoever.

[Dan LeBatard]

That's good work by you, making sure that you can counter anyone in the audience who's saying, how can the Glen Rice sneakers be. But would you agree with me that there's no one listening to this, Not a soul, not a person listening to this, who values Glen Rice game worn sneakers the way that you do anywhere in the world?

[Tony]

Good. Good.

[Dan LeBatard]

But you agree with it?

[Tony]

Yes.

[Chris Whittingham]

Yeah.

[Tony]

I don't think anyone's prized possession unless they're in Glenn's family, of course.

[Dan LeBatard]

No, I don't think so. I don't think even in his family. I don't believe. I believe they're saying, dad's old sneakers can burn.

[Tony]

No, no. That's my favorite item. I love it.

[Mike]

Summer is pretty much my favorite time to be a sports fan. The biggest soccer tournament of the summer just wrapped up. Baseball's on every night. Racing never takes a weekend off. And my calendar basically revolves around first pitches, green flags, and whatever game everybody's texting about. I realized I'm the MVP of my group. I'm always the friend that says, hey, I've got it. I've got a place. I've got some ice cold Miller Lights. I got the tv. I got a big, comfy blue leather couch.

[Dan LeBatard]

Come on over.

[Mike]

That's the behavior of a Miller Time mvp. I almost never watch the big ones alone. I'd much rather be with my friends. And if I am alone, we're texting, we're sipping on our Miller Lites. Toasting the day, toasting the big games. For me, Miller Lite is just a part of a big game routine. It's brewed for taste with simple ingredients, clean, refreshing, and easy to drink, especially in the Miami heat. It's a true American pilsner and the original light beer since 1975. An all American summer starts with an all American beer Miller lite. Go to millerlight.com dan to find delivery options near you. Or you can pick up some Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer. It's Miller time. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Co. Milwaukee, Wisconsin 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.

[Chris]

All right, friends. You guys know what a big fan I am of quints. I'm constantly wearing their clothes. I've told you about it. I've got pants, I've got shirts. And it's what's in my wardrobe as I make an effort. Okay, making an effort matters. And it's why I've been leaning on quints, particularly as we head into these summer months, because you need to have stuff that's fit for the season. Their 100% European linen shirts and pants are breathable, lightweight, and perfect for the summer. I recently picked up one of their linen shirts. It's sky blue. It's awesome. It's become a piece that I am constantly throwing on without even thinking about it because it looks good on camera, but also it's comfortable when I'm running around all day. And it works whether I'm at the studio or heading somewhere else for work. Everything at Quint's is priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands. Quint has become one of those brands I end up recommending for everything from home goods to travel essentials. So make your summer wardrobe easier. Go to quince.com dan for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada, too. That's Q U-I-N-C-E.com dan for free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com dan Tony, you know that moment

[Mike]

at a party or at a tailgate where everything just sort of clicks?

[Zas]

I know it well. It's usually when I show up, everybody goes crazy.

[Mike]

Yeah, you usually take all the credit for it. But it's because Tony usually walks in with Cuervo walking like this. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Cuervo is a thing that turns hanging out into this is the night.

[Zas]

It has that effect on people.

[Mike]

It does. You usually take the credit for it, but again, it's the Cuervo effect. It's like that moment in a big game where everyone in the crowd just starts standing up, hooting and hollering.

[Tony]

Keep it Cuervo.

[Zas]

Cuervo, baby.

[Dan LeBatard]

Down, Levitar. Jessica thinks you're pathetic. I saw the look on her face. It can never be the lane to victory. No, I think Jeremy's pathetic.

[Chris Whittingham]

Jeremy just should hear him back. Deliver.

[Chris]

So sad.

[Dan LeBatard]

Most absurd theater kid basketball analysis line that I've ever heard from him.

[Tony]

Jeremy Tache.

[Chris]

My dad was talking about the adjustments

[Chris Whittingham]

that SPO made and criticizing him last night. And Jeremy just back here.

[Chris]

His adjustments were spectacular.

[Dan LeBatard]

It's just like they lost.

[Chris Whittingham]

They're down.02.

[Tony]

This is the D le Show.

[Dan LeBatard]

We're going to have Chris Whittingham on with us and Pat Riley is going to join us at the end of the show today. Is there anything that you guys want to to know from Pat Riley? Because one of the things that happens to me, that becomes something of a conundrum anytime we talk to Pat Riley around here. I always want to talk to Pat Riley because he's a library about the entirety of his career. Right. It's fairly absurd some of the things I'm about to say right now. Go ahead and try to think of all of the executives throughout sports that you think are older than Pat Riley. Because nationally and internationally, there are not going to be many people who have been at this for six decades. He's been to the finals 19 times. He was teammates with Wilt. He played against Bill Russell. He obviously you can tell era by era the entire story of the league, right? It's Magic, Kareem, It's Bird, it's MJ, it's Shaq, it's it, it's Wade, it's LeBron. It. The entire story. Wilton Russell, the entire story of the league could be told through this man. And sometimes I feel like I'm wasting his time if I'm asking about the micro minutia of the day. But I don't actually think that anyone in our audience wants to hear about the past right now. They'd rather hear him give non answers because you're not. What do you. What do you think he's going to say to. Is LeBron coming here like you think, yes, yeah or no? I've lost him. I blew it like he's not. He's not going to say what you want him to say. And so I feel a bit like it's a waste of time to ask him that stuff, but I feel like I have a responsibility to the audience to ask him that stuff. And the reason I ask you the questions as, okay, and this is a little more. This is a little darker, Right. But because. Because my wife's father died suddenly, and because I've been having some conversations around that grief with her about the suddenness of, you know, you never know when a last conversation with somebody is gonna be. For 30 years, legitimately, 30 years, Pat Riley has done my job for me. I ask the question and what comes out next, whatever it is, always helps me write columns, helps me do magazine stories, helps me, like, write some stories. Some of the best stuff I've written is with Pat Riley because he volunteers the idea of, yeah, when we lost to the Knicks, I'm weeping at my desk and Alonzo Mourning has to grab me by the back of the shirt and tell me to go talk to my damn team, do my damn job. Because he volunteers the parts that make the storytelling good. But I don't think it's what the audience wants today. I think they want the gratuitous questions that aren't going to get the kinds of answers they want just so that they're being asked. And I ask you, what's the point of that?

[Tony]

Yeah, they. They want you to sit down with Riley and find out some kind of tea leaf about what's happening with LeBron. You're talking about Riley today. They want to hear about LeBron, which is a little bit of a disservice to Giannis because they just introduced Giannis last week. And that's why, really, what this summer has been about has been about acquiring Giannis.

[Dan LeBatard]

But even that small, compared to the lineage I just gave you, Giannis pales. All those names I just gave you, wilt, Bill Russell, LeBron, Shaq Bird, Magic. As great as Giannis is, he does not belong. Maybe does.

[Tony]

He's right behind.

[Dan LeBatard]

He's awfully close. But one championship, like, he's awfully close in terms of just talent and greatness. But the thing about this trade, to me, even though I know everyone in town loves it, and I understand why they love it, this is the most desperate act I've ever seen from him. It is so all or nothing, this risks for the first time, the team being terrible after Pat Riley is gone. He's never done that before. He's trading seven years of investments. It's not just that it's seven first round picks are the equivalent. It's everything he's cared about investing in over the last seven years is going to Milwaukee. Because you go back to Tyler Herro and you go back to the recent first round picks. This is everything the Miami Heat have been building for seven years. They've sent it all away in an act of desperation that is very much when now, before Pat Riley's mortality window and career window close. It's a desperate act. It's an all or nothing act. You do not refute this. Correct.

[Tony]

But isn't this why he acquired all of it? Was this was always the plan?

[Dan LeBatard]

Yes, it was always the plan. But the difference right now between all of the other getaway plans is you weren't chasing Giannis 2.0 in San Antonio with version of it that's nine years older. That's not what you were doing. Like you're not trading everything so that I put both rosters, whatever the heats roster is at the end and I say it's going up against San Antonio this entire season. You like your chances. Pat Riley likes his chances because Pat Riley is always going to bet on Pat Riley. But do you like the chances when I say nine years older? All the miles in the world on that body and you're going after Giannis 2.0 in San Antonio with a version of it that's not quite as good. One of them is going to get better. One of them's not. The one that's going to get better is the one that's nine years younger. We can agree on that. Right? Wemby's not as good as he's going to be.

[Tony]

Correct.

[Dan LeBatard]

Giannis is as good as he's going to be and might not already be as good as what that is in San Antonio.

[Tony]

Well, so you're not giving the coach any credit to be able to do something with Giannis that hasn't been done yet.

[Dan LeBatard]

I will have to. But that's the bet they're making. Like that's. I, yes, I trust this organization that way, but that trust has dissipated over the last five years because I've never heard it this loud around Riley. This is the loudest it's ever been. This is, this is the most ageist it's ever been that the analysis from, from you guys and others is do we even want riley talking to LeBron? Is he going to figure out how the voice memo works? Like that's, that's what our analysis is around here.

[Chris]

I mean, he insinuated that he thinks there's a world where Giannis hasn't even reached his peak yet because of his trust in Eric Spoelster. That's what he said at the press conference is like, this is a guy who has reached the heights of his career. He's in his prime and maybe even hasn't been the best. He's going to be like, I believe last season. And, Tony, you could tell me if I'm wrong, but I believe he was number one in the league in points per 36. Like, when he was out there, he was spectacular.

[Dan LeBatard]

There is no questioning that. And before that, the seven years before that, he finished in the top four in MVP voting. But this is win now, right now, it's an act of desperation, and I don't even say that as a pejorative. You guys understand what I'm saying, right? There's what you risk. If Giannis gets hurt in a sport that's breaking its players, you're going to be terrible for 10 years after that.

[Zas]

Sure, okay. But the bet you're making is I'm going to go out and be desperate, right? Pat Riley says it's either winning or it's misery. That means it's either desperation or you're losing. So, like, you have to go out and make desperate moves to get guys that are, you know, Was it seven years in a row that he was top four in MVP voting? Like, that's the desperation move. You go get a super, super superstar.

[Dan LeBatard]

You do understand what I'm saying, though, Zads, when I say it's not just merely that they're trading the last seven years of investment, they're also trading pieces of the future for right now, this minute. And the betting odds or the market price, excuse me, on what it is that's happening with LeBron James suggests that that's another piece that's going to be down here, too. You say it's unfair to Giannis to make this conversation about LeBron. The off season is going to feel like a success either way, but it's going to feel like a success with the Miami Heat going fairly dramatically from the first young team that Pat Riley has ever had to Pat Riley going right back to, I trust old players and only old players. I don't want guys in their 20s. I want to face the teams like San Antonio and OKC who have players in their 20s and have depth when the whole thing has changed. Zaz, like the whole. Among the most amazing things Pat Riley has done over Six decades is continually reinvent himself. He used to go for the inefficient shot in the post with the tallest player who was being guarded. And the whole game has changed around him. One of the things that has now changed is the sport is actively breaking its players. All of the teams are going for depth. Jaylen Brown just got traded because all of the teams that passed you are going for depth. They're not building like, like this. This is not the way that people are building anymore. This is the way Pat Riley is building. Going up against, I say it again, a model in San Antonio that is younger, stronger, bigger, faster than the nine year old model of Giannis that Miami presently has.

[Tony]

Yeah, like I obviously agree that you have to have depth in the league, but all those teams that have the depth, they also have these superstar players. So what's the point in having the depth if you don't have the superstar? And Pat said, hey, let's do the hard part. Let's get the superstar. And then we, you know, like the planets have Giannis, if they get LeBron. The plan for LeBron is a year or two. The plan with Giannis is the rest of his career. Like the plan isn't, let's make sure we win this year with Giannis, it's, we're going to have the rest of his career. Let's win as many times as we can before.

[Dan LeBatard]

Just, just be clear on this. Is Pat Riley pushing all of his chips to the table for one last big shot in Miami?

[Zas]

Absolutely. And you look at what the Knicks just did, right? They got a lot veteran pieces together. They don't have a lot of young 20s guys like the spurs did. You saw the, the plethora of mistakes that the spurs had in and out of those finals where the Knicks, yeah, they were down, but they continued, you know, meticulously. All right, doom, boom, boom, boom. Come back, come back, come back. And if you want to build a team that has a superstar and depth, you're going to have older guys that have been there and done that and

[Chris]

know what to do with the older guys. It worked for them with the younger guys with okc, they broke down. It's the luck of the draw. It's not always about age. It's about having the best player and hoping that the experience that you have around leads you to where you need to be.

[Dan LeBatard]

Oh, but it's not quite luck of the draw. We're all playing probabilities here and older players are more likely to get injured than younger players. Like I. That's just a probability. I feel like I could say that empirically and factually, that if you had to guess who's more likely to get hurt, young player or old player, and you're playing all of the probabilities. Old players. The answer to that question, Tyler Heroes,

[Chris]

26 years old, and he's missed a million games over the course of his career. And Giannis is a guy who's been durable.

[Dan LeBatard]

So you're disputing what I'm saying. You're saying it's totally.

[Chris]

It depends on the guy.

[Dan LeBatard]

No, no, no, no. If I'm playing blackjack, the cards are all coming out. What are the probabilities?

[Tony]

It does.

[Dan LeBatard]

Yes. It depends on the guy per person. But what I'm asking you is what's more probable? It's not luck of the draw. What do you think is more probable, Giannis getting hurt or Wemby getting hurt? Which one's more probable?

[Zas]

They're both kind of even. I'd say even odds on those, because Wendy's been hurt a lot in his career. But if you look at the way that the game is pacing, younger guys are having these traumatic injuries. Jason Tatum with an Achilles, Tyrese Halliburton, if it wasn't for him tearing his Achilles.

[Dan LeBatard]

You guys are disputing what I'm saying, that a guy who's been injured before, who is older, is more likely to get hurt than a young player who hasn't. You're disputing this.

[Chris]

I don't think that it's blackjack. I don't think it's as simple. It's probably. Yeah, but the probabilities are based off of the player that you're acquiring. Giannis Antetokounmpo, individually, was hurt last year and missed significant time for the very first time in his career. If you look at Wemby, he's missed multiple games throughout his career in every season he's played. You look at Tyler Herro, for example, a guy who constantly misses time. This isn't black and white. Games played equals whatever. For that matter, Giannis, the reason he's had the type of success he has in terms of durability is because, unlike Jayson Tatum, unlike Tyrese Halliburton, he wasn't built in a lab, exercising the same muscles over and over and over again from the time he was 12 years old. There's a Tommy John epidemic happening in basketball with these Achilles because of these young guys in the way that they train, not because of the older ones. They're the more durable ones. James Harden, LeBron, all of these guys.

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[Chris Whittingham]

Close your eyes. Exhale.

[Dan LeBatard]

Feel your body relax and let go of whatever you're carrying today. Well, I'm letting go of the worry that I wouldn't get my new contacts in time for this class. I got them delivered free from 1-800-contacts. Oh, my gosh, they're so fast.

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[Dan LeBatard]

Oh, sorry. I almost couldn't breathe when I saw the discount they gave me on my first order. Oh, sorry. Namaste.

[Tony]

Visit 1-800-contacts.com today to save on your first order.

[Chris]

1-800-contacts contacts.

[Dan LeBatard]

Dan Levatar.

[Chris]

I got a Slater scoop.

[Tony]

Chris Cody. This is the Dan Levatar Show.

[Dan LeBatard]

Chris Cody is shaking his head. Evidently he's frustrated that he keeps going in and out of tunnels on a bus, and I don't know if he's ready or not. We will see if his sound is okay.

[Chris Whittingham]

I'm ready.

[Dan LeBatard]

Okay. What are you frustrated about? What are you shaking your head about angrily that we've taken so long to get to you?

[Chris Whittingham]

I'm approaching a tunnel. That's it. I just. I'm worried about Internet and I think I. I got some good stuff for you and I want to miss it.

[Dan LeBatard]

Well, what were you doing yesterday? Why did you send that tweet out? Are you. You're claiming we've got all sorts of people calling us and now the market price has evidently changed because you've moved the needle on what the. What the odds are, what the probabilities are. Why did you tweet that out yesterday?

[Chris Whittingham]

I sit by my tweet. I'm hearing things. Like, am I not allowed to hear things? Should I not? Like, I thought we're in a. We're in a clicks business. Like, when I hear things. I work for our show. It's my duty to let the people know I'm hearing things.

[Tony]

Yo, why is that seatbelt so tight around your neck?

[Chris Whittingham]

My bad. I'm just, you know, trying to be safe.

[Dan LeBatard]

Tony is claiming you're on a gummy and that the glasses are hiding that you're on a gummy. You cannot be trusted here. You are not reputable, and you've got a credibility issue you will see today. Okay, so.

[Chris Whittingham]

So not about the gummy part. We know about the gummy part.

[Zas]

I know my guy. I. I heard the couple first sentences, and I was like, ooh.

[Dan LeBatard]

So, wait, so you early.

[Chris Whittingham]

It's early. We've been, like, going hard at night, so we slept in a little bit. Like, this is. I'm just out of bed here.

[Dan LeBatard]

All right, so you are sitting by your tweet, though, and you are saying that tonight. What kind of nerves do you have? You're sitting by your tweet that LeBron is going to announce tonight that he is going to Miami. You're sitting by that tweet.

[Chris Whittingham]

I sit it firmly by it. And I. I've been hearing better things even since the things I was hearing yesterday.

[Tony]

Yo, why is your, like, face off to the side of the camera? Why. Why are you in the center?

[Chris Whittingham]

I'm in an Uber with my daughter and my family, and I'm not trying to.

[Tony]

Like, like, why would I want. Why would I want the window to be three quarters of the frame?

[Chris Whittingham]

I thought that that actually was a good shot. I was, like, showing New York. Like, would you like me to get center frame? Here we go.

[Dan LeBatard]

No. I don't know why Zaz is critiquing just how you're doing this when you're breaking news that no one else has. And you seem to be very confident. Un confident. You're not usually this confident about anything.

[Chris Whittingham]

Let's remember, just the last thing I. I got out there with the report on, I believe, was that the Dolphins were going to play the Bengals in Spain, and that never happened. They ended up playing the Commanders, I believe.

[Dan LeBatard]

Well, what. What is the point that you.

[Chris Whittingham]

My point is that I believe the last one of these I did. I was wrong.

[Dan LeBatard]

Okay, but. So you're. You're doing this. I don't Are you afraid as you do this? Are you doing it for attention? Are you doing it because you're sure you're going right? I was saying before you came on that the last time Stephen A. And I did this, both of us swore. No, this is too scary. We're never doing this again. And here you go boldly and face first into these waters.

[Chris Whittingham]

I mean, this is just fun for me. Like, this is. This is good for business.

[Chris]

I hate you.

[Dan LeBatard]

All right, so you don't. You don't care whether you're right or wrong. You don't care about the credibility. It's good for business because what's business? Just getting attention.

[Chris Whittingham]

I know what I heard, so I can't be wrong now.

[Dan LeBatard]

You can be wrong because your source can be wrong. And you're only good as your sources. And you don't have any sources.

[Chris Whittingham]

Well, there you go. That guy could be wrong. Or no, no. Or woman. That guy or woman could be wrong.

[Dan LeBatard]

So you're just filing this under. You didn't even vet it with a second source. You're just filing this under. I heard it somewhere.

[Chris Whittingham]

I would say. I've heard it from. I don't. I don't know what a source is.

[Dan LeBatard]

Okay, get out of here. Get him out of here.

[Tony]

That's it.

[Dan LeBatard]

I can't do this anymore with him. He's trafficking on pretty high. I don't know what a source is.

[Mike]

He seemed pretty high to me, and quite honestly, that was regrettable, I think. I think our credibility did take a hit. It seems like he only took it from. He only took his information from one source, too. Chris, did you not adhere to three sources?

[Chris Whittingham]

I'm kidding. I've heard this from guys. I sit by my source.

[Mike]

You said that already. You don't feel comfortable enough to stand by it, but you're just comfortably sitting by your source.

[Chris Whittingham]

Well, I'm sitting right now. I don't want to be. I'm in the truth business.

[Dan LeBatard]

All right? I said get him out of here. I don't know why we asked him a follow up. I'm in the truth business. Get back to your list of top 442 sport athletes of all time.

[Mike]

It's almost done.

[Dan LeBatard]

Okay, Keep. Keep working on that. Chris Whittingham is going to join us here in a little bit to talk a little bit about the, you know, important soccer game that was played yesterday. I imagine some people would like to hear Chris Whittingham's thoughts and some more thoughts from around here. But I just. I do want to tie up this loose end. Because I thought I was just saying Zaz and I don't know which side you are on here, but you've got Jeremy saying that injuries are 100% random. And I have known as a truth my entire life. In sports, the person who starts to get hurt is more probable to get hurt after that. Once other parts of the body start breaking down to compensate for a body part that is not working right. That is what happened to Kevin Durant when he fell apart. And all of a sudden Kawhi Leonard is winning a title. Because when I just think older play, I thought it was a fact. Older players more probable to get hurt. Previous players more probable to get hurt. Yes, of you can have outliers, of course, but that doesn't mean that you're not playing probabilities when it comes to injury.

[Tony]

Yeah, but. But the question is, has Giannis started to get hurt or did he just get hurt this past season? Because otherwise, for the rest of his career, he's been pretty durable. I think this year we could get an answer to that. But I'm willing to believe that he got hurt and he's not starting to get hurt.

[Zas]

He got hurt. And also, how much. How hurt was he? Right. He was trying to come back at

[Tony]

the end of the season.

[Zas]

He wanted to come back. The Bucks were like, no, we don't know. And then he all right, I'm not gonna play it, but I want to play it. So it's like, how hurt was he? Was he trying to like, make a point to the Bucks to try and do stuff like, who knows, right?

[Tony]

Before this year only, what are we talking? Once in his career has he missed 20 games as a durable player? You know, so I'm want to see. He may have just gotten hurt this past.

[Chris]

I am looking at this from the perspective of, of what I said earlier in terms of this Tommy John thing. This Achilles issue has been an issue with some older players, but primarily with the younger players in the league because of the way that they're raised and the way that they're playing year round. This is not dissimilar from the Tommy John issue that we had in Major League Baseball with guys chasing velocity and seeing way more younger pitchers than older pitchers in the last decade going through this. It is a, a fact that multiple of these Achilles injuries we've seen have been with some of the youngest, highest usage players in the league. And you have all sorts of guys that we talked about older in the league, DeMar DeRozan and James Harden and LeBron, all of these players who have been nothing but durable for the majority of their careers because of the way that they trained before.

[Dan LeBatard]

I think I have this right when it comes, though, to what is a fact and what is not a fact. I believe it is also a fact when you mentioned Tommy John surgery, that once you've had it, you're less likely likely to have it a second time. It's happened to Drew Rasmussen and others. But it's a probability that if you've already had it, you're not going to have it again. So I don't have to argue there when it comes to pictures, that an old pitcher is more likely to get hurt than a young pitcher there because of the medicine and because of the science and because of how everything is advanced, we're almost. Now, I feel like I have this right when I say organizations almost want you to get the Tommy John surgery out of the way early in your career so that they don't have to risk it when the assessment is larger later, because it's just a completely unnatural act to throw a baseball that hard without your body breaking down over time.

[Tony]

What happens if we find out this afternoon LeBron is coming to Miami?

[Dan LeBatard]

Well, this is an interesting thing because he's sitting here reporting this with not a care in the world, and I feel like fear should rise up on him later. But he doesn't seem to care whatsoever if he's wrong or not later. And to his credit, in the modern age, he might have something right here. Journalistically, nobody cares about yesterday more than social media. Like, social media is not about yesterday. You are. So whatever you reported yesterday, people will move on if he's wrong. But I think he's going to get dunked on by the Internet if we come into work tomorrow morning and he's got this wrong after reporting that LeBron is going to be in Miami later tonight.

[Chris Whittingham]

Really?

[Zas]

You think so? Because Zaz on Friday said that LeBron was going to go out and post World cup, was going to make an announcement on Sunday. I forgot about it until just now.

[Tony]

Okay, that is true. I was. But that was. That was more just a hunch that it was going to be Sunday night. But. But with more thought toward the timing, it actually makes more sense that he would announce it Monday night because then, like, Sunday night, yes, the World Cup's over, but we're still going to react to what happened in the World cup today. If he announces it tonight, we're done with the World Cup. Like. Like that's really when it's over. So I think, I think tonight's in play, too.

[Chris]

We have done so much work as a show over the last few weeks since Giannis ended up here, to come to the middle and meet each other in a great place and reengage with Heat, Twitter and Heat fandom and bring all of those people back to what we're doing. Understanding fair analysis, understanding biased analysis, really finding a way for, for Mike and I to meet somewhere in the middle. And now Chris is throwing out there into the ether as a member of this show, this tweet, as everyone was finally starting to believe nationally that LeBron might end up in Miami if this doesn't happen. He's ruined everything.

[Dan LeBatard]

I don't know how. He's so relaxed about this and he runs the risk. This is the glorious time. Maybe this is why he's relaxed. It's the gummy. But beyond that, it's also the fact that he has 12 hours to soak in. Oh, I did something that makes me the center of attention. I am my dad's boy. I love being the center of attention. I learned it from you, Dad. I learned it from you. We are gonna talk to Chris Whittingham in a little while here in about 10 minutes. Or everything that happened in the World cup final and the World cup in general Mbappe wins the Golden Boot. That England France game was great. I'd sign up, incidentally, for all of the World cup being what that ridiculous England France game was, where neither of them clearly cared about anything other than let's just screw around out here. This is going to feel like a friendly and you're going to have the absurd score of 6 to 4 in a soccer game, which is the equivalent of 184 in American football ball.

[Tony]

What do you make of earlier this morning, Patrick Beverley tweeting out what is a room all out? Patrick Beverly tweeting out rumor has it Braun making his decision today. Like is he just.

[Zas]

What if he saw from Chris, right?

[Tony]

Is he just piggybacking Chris?

[Dan LeBatard]

So now it's a game of telephone. Does anyone listening to this, given that we don't play those kinds of games anymore, know what the game telephone is? Great game since but wait a minute. Do you think that the put it on the poll at Levitar show? Do you know what the game telephone is? Yes or no? I haven't heard it referenced in a long time. What is your best guess? Do you believe this generation of young people addicted to the Internet, using their phones as computers and no idea what a payphone or a landline?

[Tony]

Let's just ask Tony. Is Tony know what it is?

[Zas]

Do they know I know the game Telephone. The thing is, you'd have to actually tell kids what a telephone is because they don't have telephone.

[Dan LeBatard]

Tony is not a young person. He is the. He is the age of Lamina Mall's father. Like that. He is not a young person anymore.

[Chris]

Your.

[Dan LeBatard]

Your thoughts, though? Before we get into the meat and the analysis with Chris Whittingham on just the halftime show yesterday. That's the first time the World cup has ever done that. It was pretty distinctly. Let's export America to the world here. I mean, they did the Korean boy band thing, but other than that. And they did Shakira as well, but they.

[Tony]

That I liked.

[Zas]

Good song.

[Dan LeBatard]

What didn't you like?

[Tony]

I mean, trotting Madonna out there. I don't know what the hell she was doing. And immediately with the lip syncing, it's like, you lost me. You lost me with all the lip syncing. And then what's this. This. This boy band? Kps, kbs. What's their name? What are they?

[Dan LeBatard]

You don't know? Yeah, this is.

[Mike]

Is this from the Korean Baseball League?

[Tony]

I have no idea who that is.

[Mike]

This is bts.

[Dan LeBatard]

Isn't this the biggest. This is the biggest band in the world. That's right.

[Tony]

Get out of here. A bigger Pearl Jam. Zaz.

[Dan LeBatard]

That's the biggest band in the world. Like that. It. That. That show. If they paid the artists. I don't think they paid the artists. I think it's just like the Super Bowl. The artists don't get paid. You just get a sort of a production budget to. To make the show what you will of it. You got Justin Bieber, you got Shakira boy Bieber.

[Tony]

Bringing down the mood, huh? Can you play something a little bit more upbeat? We're trying to have some fun out here.

[Zas]

Acoustic guitar is like, okay, he's slowing

[Tony]

it down to a crawl.

[Dan LeBatard]

You got Madonna. It's a giant show. Like, it's. It. It is a. A show worthy of the world.

[Tony]

Give me 15 minutes of Shakira. You don't need anything else. The rest of it. Nonsense.

[Zas]

I didn't need to. Kermit and Miss Piggy.

[Dan LeBatard]

What happened there? Do you guys believe Jack White bailed at the last minute because they told him he had to lip sync? Like, do you like what?

[Mike]

I don't think they offered him.

[Dan LeBatard]

Yeah, but why would you play his song and not offer him? Like, what. What are you doing?

[Mike]

That's what the Muppets are for.

[Dan LeBatard]

Why. Why would you not just invite him if you're doing a star studded thing meant to, you know, export America to the world?

[Zas]

Muppets may be cheaper than Jack White to get him onto the stage.

[Dan LeBatard]

They're all cheap. They don't have to pay for anything.

[Mike]

I have big, big news. I've completed my list of top 50.

[Zas]

He's been diligently working back here.

[Dan LeBatard]

I know. I haven't heard him talk for two hours. He. He was crestfallen when I made him do it, like, because he knew it was going to take time. You now have 18 seconds to do the entire list. Do you want to do. We'll do it with Chris Whittingham and we'll do it. We'll do it next.

[Chris Whittingham]

I don't know what a source is.