Top 10 Things Dan Le Batard Did To Piss Off ESPN | Hour 3 (feat. Amin Elhassan)

Summary

Podcast Summary

The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz

Episode: Top 10 Things Dan Le Batard Did To Piss Off ESPN | Hour 3 (feat. Amin Elhassan)
Date: May 18, 2026

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Overview

In this lively episode recorded at the Elser Hotel in Downtown Miami, Dan Le Batard, Stugotz, and the crew—supported by guests like Amin Elhassan and Zach Harper—dive into their most memorable (and controversial) moments with ESPN. Through a humorous “top 10” countdown, they reveal the often-untold behind-the-scenes stories, highlight friction with management and affiliates, and debate the nature of sports media’s shifting culture. Amin’s rapid-fire NBA insights and the group’s signature irreverence keep the show fast-paced and unpredictable.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. ESPN’s Angriest Moments with the Le Batard Show

(01:34–12:14)

• Introduction to the Top 10:

  • Mike Ryan presents his top 10 list of the show's most egregious “stepping in it” moments with ESPN.
  • Dan insists his personal list differs significantly, setting up a comedic back-and-forth.
  • Multiple crew members and guests jump in to recall and react to each incident.

• Notable Top 10 Highlights:

  • Ron McGill Animal Segments: ESPN repeatedly tried to remove animal expert Ron McGill from the show.
    “They kept fighting it. They fought it like, seven different times. They tried to get him off our show.” — Dan (03:31)
  • The ‘Looks Like Game’: ESPN talent often disliked being subject to the crew’s signature looks-like jokes, especially Chris Berman and Matthew Berry.
    “Chris Berman objected to what we said, which was, he looks like a Ben Franklin wax figurine that is melting in a car that's too hot.” — Dan (04:00)
  • NFL Talent Issues: NFL personnel, notably Mark Brunell, took exception to questions about personal finances and perceived lack of professionalism in the show's line of questioning.
    “We were calling him Baghdad Brusky because he was just doing propaganda... they didn't understand the reference.” — Dan (04:51)
  • Affiliate Controversy: The show openly confronted a racist radio affiliate, with ESPN more interested in appeasing the affiliate than defending the show.
    “They wanted to deport my father.” — Dan (06:23)
  • Calling Out Sponsors: Dan’s on-air critique of a mortgage partner as “predatory” right after their ad jeopardized a major sponsorship.
    “Dan called them predators. While, like, we were coming out of an ad read.” — Mike (07:23)
  • Political Fights:
    • The show’s infamous 'kids in cages' commentary and ESPN’s discomfort with its political edge.
    • Dan lamenting the need to force sports ties onto all political discussions, signaling the breaking point in the ESPN relationship.

• Reflecting on Different Experiences:

  • Mike notes that as an executive producer, he shielded Dan from internal blowback:
    “There were certain things that went right to the top of the line.” — Mike (02:28)
  • Dan admits awareness but has a completely different personal ranking, promising to share it later.

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2. Amin Elhassan’s Weekend Observations

(12:14–24:44)

• NBA Playoffs Deep Dive:

  • Zach Harper and Amin banter over playoff surprises, player slumps (Jalen Dern), and the value of being “right” about basketball predictions.
  • Briefs on team weaknesses: “Detroit… couldn’t guard without fouling. It was ridiculous. And guess what? Being right is the best feeling in the world.” — Zach (13:45)
  • Cleveland’s playoff surge gets statistical context and colorful commentary.

• Pop Culture Crossovers:

  • Zach riffs on the mythos around Satoshi (Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator), citing a bizarre Scottie Pippen anecdote.
  • Celebrity culture, meme-worthy moments, and the AI image of Trump and an “unusually jacked alien” provide levity.

• Soccer and American Sports Fandom:

  • Zach critiques Messi’s relationship with fans, comparing him (unfavorably) to Pele and Maradona.
    “Pele. Actual goat who was doing that stuff at 17 in a World cup, not in the MLS as an old man.” — Zach (23:14)

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3. Rapid Fire NBA and Sports Media Analysis

(26:53–41:48)

• Miles Turner & NBA Locker Room Culture:

  • Amin unpacks the significance of punctuality—or its absence—in NBA logistics, highlighting the unique environment around star players like Giannis.

• SGA’s Historic Trajectory:

  • The group debates whether Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is genuinely on a “top-5 all-time” path, or merely thriving in a unique system.
  • Zach stands firm that SGA’s intangibles and two-way impact are irreplaceable—even among the current elite.
    “What’s happening in Oklahoma City is a very specific brand of positivity that Luka does not bring.” — Zach (33:29)

• Game 7 Road Wins & Three-Point Variance:

  • More frequent road team successes in recent NBA Game 7s are attributed to the volatility of the three-point shot.
  • Amin: "Because of that variance [in threes], we’re going to get more wild results, more wild outcomes.” (33:54)

• Spurs-OKC Playoff Chess:

  • AMIN: Key for Spurs: keep Wemby out of the paint; for OKC: use mid-range weapons, but only if they're true stars.

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4. Sports Media Meta-Narratives

(37:20–41:48)

• Shaq’s Graduation & TV Trolling:

  • Playful celebration of Shaq’s on-stage graduation antics trolling Charles Barkley, emphasizing personality-driven entertainment.
  • Amin highlights questions about Shaq’s superhuman multitasking—graduate work, law enforcement, media celebrity.

• The Scoop Wars (Shams vs. Prime):

  • Shams Charania leaks the NBA MVP winner 10 hours before Prime’s contractual announcement window, angering rights holders.
  • Amin contextualizes: The NBA used to regulate news timing, but in the “current ecosystem,” competitive scooping trumps cooperation. “Shams owes nothing. The Prime, he owes nothing.” — Zach (39:04)

• Stephen A. Smith vs. Jaylen Brown:

  • After Brown objects to media narratives, Stephen A. delivers a vintage, thinly-veiled threat:
    “Be careful what you wish for. You really want me to start reporting on that level?” — Stephen A. (40:10)
  • Amin clarifies the line between opinion TV and journalism:
    “What Stephen A. Smith does on First Take is objectively not journalism... I think of them as just getting together and having barbershop conversations.” — Zach (41:10)
  • Discussion closes with a quip about Vegas Golden Knights and media fines (“It ain’t the United States of Tortorella.” — Zach)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Dan on ESPN’s priorities:
  “They wanted to deport my father.” (06:23)

• Mike Ryan on internal politics:
  “...everything that I was doing on the air that he once celebrated became examples of what to do that was wrong.” (07:29)

• Zach Harper on being right:
  “Being right is the best feeling in the world… it’s better than sex.” (13:53)

• Amin on SGA’s uniqueness:
  “No, not a good defender. Like, Shay’s an excellent defensive player. These are the things that we don’t mention because we’re too busy pouring into the narrative.” (32:43)

• Zach, on sports media:
  “What Stephen A. Smith does on First Take is objectively not journalism... I think of them as just getting together and having barbershop conversations.” (41:10)

• Amin on Shaq’s many lives:
  “He’s a sheriff. When does—and he’s a DJ and he does inside the NBA. When does he have time to do all of it?” (38:32)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 01:34: Show opens with ESPN top 10 controversy set-up
• 03:15–12:14: Mike Ryan’s Top 10 list with crew commentary
• 12:37: Amin’s Weekend Observations
• 27:09: NBA career stories—Miles Turner and team punctuality
• 29:20: Is SGA a basketball all-timer? Debate begins
• 33:54: Why are NBA Game 7 road wins up?
• 37:20: Shaq’s Graduation stage bit
• 38:38: Shams vs. Prime—and the changing scoop “ecosystem”
• 40:10: Stephen A. Smith “threat” to Jaylen Brown and media analysis

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Tone and Language

True to the show’s DNA, the episode is brash, sardonic, and self-aware—never missing an opportunity for an inside joke or a broadside at the culture of sports television, old-guard and new. The interplay between Dan, Mike Ryan, Amin, and Zach is both insider-y and welcoming: listeners get both hard truths (about the inner workings of ESPN, sports journalism) and comedic absurdity (Fozzie Bear voice, “the United States of Tortorella”).

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Summary

This episode is essential Le Batard: a heady fusion of sports analysis, media critique, and behind-the-scenes chaos, all filtered through a uniquely Miami lens. The top 10 digs into why their show and ESPN were constantly at odds, underlining the culture clash between irreverent, independent content and corporate sports media. Add in rapid-fire NBA expertise from Amin and Zach, and you get a show that’s equally entertaining to hardcore fans and those just seeking an honest, hilarious look at the world of sports broadcasting.

Transcript

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[Don LeBatard]

This is the Dan Levator show with the Stugats Podcast.

[Dan LeBatard]

Amin Elhassan will join us shortly. Hopefully we have time in this hour to get to Shaq's graduation stage theatrics as he trolls Barkley and graduates from lsu. And also we will get to a soccer player chugging a beer in a second as well. But Mike Ryan has been hard at work and has indeed put together a top 10 list of what he believes to be. What? What is this list? The angriest ESPN was personally at me the time that we were at espn. And you think our lists are going to be different because you often were shielding me from some of those things. So you probably have some information I don't in terms of what they were mad about, but I think my my top 10 list is going to be better than your top 10 list.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah, it's top 10 times our show stepped into it collectively.

[Dan LeBatard]

All right, so it's the show entirely, not just me, right.

[Mike Ryan]

Are a little bit more pronounced. I kept a lot of this stuff away from you, but there were certain things that went right to the top of the line.

[Dan LeBatard]

All right, well, let's See how different our lists are here. I mean, are you interested in any of this, or should we. Do you think that this. That you know, most of this? Like, what if you had to guess here, the. The times that I. Or we got in trouble at espn, what do you think would be at the top of the list?

[Zach Harper]

Dan, I'm going to echo what Mike said earlier. Our list is going to be fine. I'm interested to hear what your list is, because I think you're going to have a completely different take from what all the rest of us think.

[Dan LeBatard]

All right, let's see what we've got here. Number 10, Mike, any Oli, are you going straight to number 10?

[Mike Ryan]

I'm going to number 10. Straight to number 10.

[Dan LeBatard]

It'd be funny if our lists are completely different. We Both have top 10 lists, and our lists are completely different.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah. Number 10 was the rare occasion where it was kept completely away from me because it was a negotiated deal point. They went right to Dan to complain about Ron McGill and he had to fight that fight. So number 10 is Ron McGill didn't

[Dan LeBatard]

make my top 10.

[Tony]

And they. They just. They. They didn't approve of. They didn't think it was.

[Dan LeBatard]

They kept fighting it. They fought it like, seven different times. They tried to get him off of our show.

[Zach Harper]

And then he went on with SVP a bunch.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah.

[Dan LeBatard]

Right.

[Mike Ryan]

Then everybody saw.

[Dan LeBatard]

Then SportsCenter started doing mascot fights with him. Yeah.

[Mike Ryan]

Number nine. This one might surprise some listeners. The Looks Like Game gave us a lot of problems, particularly with the talent office over there, because the ESPN talent did not enjoy being part of the Looks Like Game. Famously, Matthew Berry, although we fixed that one in bus. Never fixed that.

[Dan LeBatard]

Never fixed it with Chris Berman either, who objected to what we said, which was, he looks like a Ben Franklin wax figurine that is melting in a car that's too hot.

[Mike Ryan]

Number eight. This was one that was kind of kept away from Dan. And it wasn't like one singular moment. I had to go to Bristol and talk to the NFL people over there because the NFL talent office really disliked our show, but it was a lack of education. You didn't really have anybody fighting for us on behalf of the radio division. The NFL is the straw that stirs a drink over there, and people just bowed to them. And I was able to smooth that one over, but it was hostile. Mark Brunel just made stuff up. Just made stuff up. Yeah. I was like, did anybody care to ask if this were true or where we stood on it? He just made stuff up.

[Dan LeBatard]

None of the things so far. Hold on a second. None of the things so far are on my list. But what I remember about that story is we were calling him Baghdad Brusky because he was just doing propaganda for the. And when we got up there to ask them why they were objecting to that, they didn't understand the reference.

[Mike Ryan]

They didn't get the Baghdad Bob part. So a lot of departments just needed to talk and get some background information. But the thing is, the people that you would count on to explain and provide the context, they weren't listening to us either. Number seven.

[Zach Harper]

Wait, what did Mark Brunel. What did Mark Brunel say?

[Mike Ryan]

Mark Brunel took exception to the questioning on our show and claimed that I didn't clear it with him ahead of time when I absolutely did. And when I found out about this and went to bat for myself, he later capitulated and said that was right. And I had this whole big thing that probably ended up contributing to our NFL talent office issue because they just had a lot of people say that they didn't like our show.

[Dan LeBatard]

I mean, the issue that we had is that we were asking him questions about money he had lost because it was reported in a number of places that he had lost money. And so we were just asking him about that.

[Mike Ryan]

Ran it by him. Ran it by him. So, like the NFL problems that we had over there is just one catch all. Number seven. Wei. We were openly brawling with a, an important affiliate and quite honestly, like ESPN kind of failed us here because some racist shit was being said and it felt like everyone was like, I don't know, glossing over the racism part and just trying to mend fences with the affiliate.

[Dan LeBatard]

They wanted to deport my father.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah, not espn. Strongest moment over there. I thought that they should have came to our defense.

[Dan LeBatard]

Not on my list either.

[Mike Ryan]

Wow, your list. Well, Dan, you were never in the affiliate meetings. And like I always had to like, you know, listen to the feedback that our main representative got from all the, the affiliates. And that was one of those things. I was largely kept away.

[Dan LeBatard]

It's not because I didn't know any of these. I know all of them. They don't make my list.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah, like you and I have different experiences. Mine, like there were certain top line ones. Number six is I'm not gonna name the mortgage company. But Dan got us in some trouble with a big time sponsor, jeopardized the entirety of ESPN Radio's deal with this mortgage company. And he would tend to do that. There was a lot of sales stuff that doesn't even, like, crack the top 10. But this one was really bad.

[Zach Harper]

How do you jeopardize. How the hell do you do that? Predatory loans. Oh, okay.

[Mike Ryan]

That's what Dan. Dan called them predators. While, like, we were coming out of an ad read.

[Dan LeBatard]

Not on my list.

[Zach Harper]

Coming out of the ad read.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah, out of an ad read. He's like, you know, they do predatory loans. And they were like, dude, there was so like this chronologically, this is probably too low. This one Dan probably heard about, but it didn't feature Dan. This chronologically happened after what ended up being my number one. But this is when I knew the goose was cooked. We had like a department meeting that was over Skype or whatever, and the guy that was in charge that was a big supporter of our fan until the political climate changed. And then everything that I was doing on the air that he once celebrated became examples of what to do that was wrong. So like, he was going at. And clearly in retrospect, he was trying to reverse engineer arguments for letting us go. And no, I called him out in front of everybody and I was pretty disrespectful because I already saw what was going on. So I was just gonna dig my heels in and not be embarrassed like that. And I ended up embarrassing him, but it was bad. You remember that meeting?

[Dan LeBatard]

I can't believe that our lists are totally different.

[Mike Ryan]

Happy trails, my friend. Oh, also, there was one of these moments in this meeting was like he was saying, like, we shouldn't be leaking stuff to the media. And I was like, but I believe you are the person doing that. Yeah, that one didn't go over well.

[Zach Harper]

Was this the meeting where I ripped my pants?

[Chris Cody]

No, no, that was a different one.

[Mike Ryan]

Number four, Rob Manfred. Number three. Number three, the billboards. Number two, you're welcome, kids in cages. And all the fallout from that. And then number one, when I was in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the center back, and Dan lamenting that he had to have a sports tie to all the political discussions that he was having. And that was really. That was the beginning of the end. You knew that. You knew that it was pretty much over then. Chris Cody, when you come over to my house and we put on the games, I got basketball, I got baseball going on, but what do I lay out for you and the boys for entertainment and drinking Miller Line. Uh huh. Those beautiful white cans or on draft or the bottle, if you prefer.

[Zach Harper]

Oh, when you open that with the can, though, and you.

[Mike Ryan]

One of the best sounds on the planet. You pair that with the right. You take that first sip, we both look around. It's not a bit.

[Chris Cody]

I have goosebumps thinking about the first sip.

[Mike Ryan]

We take that first sip, we open it up, and we're looking around. There's just that five seconds of almost eerie silence where you're just soaking it all in, and you're like, man, did we make the right call or what? That's why we reach for Miller Lite. It's clean, refreshing, easy to drink, brewed for taste with simple ingredients.

[Zach Harper]

Ah, that golden color.

[Mike Ryan]

Just 96 calories and 3.2 carbs. The original light beer since 1975. And it still hits different.

[Zach Harper]

I love you, Miller Lite.

[Mike Ryan]

Cheers to legendary moments with Miller Lite. Great taste. 96 calories. 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.

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[Mike Ryan]

Tony, you know that moment at a party or at a tailgate where everything just sort of clicks?

[Chris Cody]

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

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah, you usually take all the credit for it, but it's because Tony usually walks in with Cuervo.

[Don LeBatard]

Walking like this.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Cuervo is a thing that turns hanging out into this is the night.

[Chris Cody]

It has that effect on people.

[Mike Ryan]

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. Keep it Cuervo.

[Chris Cody]

Keep it cuervo, baby.

[Don LeBatard]

Don LeBatard, Kermit the Frog here live

[Mike Ryan]

from Metalog Media studios here in Miami.

[Don LeBatard]

Stugats.

[Mike Ryan]

The Germans are advancing on France in World War II.

[Don LeBatard]

This is the Don Lebatar show with the Stugats.

[Dan LeBatard]

All right, we'll get to my list in a little bit here. We'll put that at the end here.

[Tony]

How many were the same at the top there?

[Dan LeBatard]

We've got similar lists toward the top, but I think. I think I've got seven or eight different than him. So we will get to my list. Remind me here before we get out of here to get to my list, but let's do now Amin's Weekend Observations

[Don LeBatard]

it is time for Amin to share his game notes. No one in the media will tell you what happened. Better than my voice, I mean.

[Zach Harper]

Weekend Observations is brought to you by Miller Lite Legendary Moments start with a light. Weekend Observations is also brought to you by the people in the comments. You're awful, Dan. The four greatest words in sports here to guess.

[Dan LeBatard]

You're right. You're right.

[Zach Harper]

Close. I told you so. Everyone was gushing about Detroit. I gave you all the reasons they would lose. Too heliocentric. Turn it over too much. Not good at shooting threes. Not good at converting free throws. Send the opponent to the free throw line. Too many times I said this in February and it happened.

[Dan LeBatard]

Cleveland got like 44 more free throws right than than Detroit.

[Zach Harper]

They couldn't guard without fouling. It was ridiculous. And guess what? Being right is the best feeling in the world.

[Tony]

It's so good.

[Zach Harper]

It's better than sex. Because when you think about it, sex is just another way of being right. You're I'm not gonna sleep with you one of it. And then, ah, there you have it. Every single time. By the way, the the pistons, Dan, are 30 and four when they make 12 or more threes, 30 and four that all you have to do is make 12. By the way, the league average is 13. Just to keep that in mind. Donovan Mitchell, welcome to the conference finals. It did it. Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson that the tactical adjustment the Cavs made was to avoid Asar Thompson quote. If he's near the ball, throw it to someone else. Detroit should have made the same adjustment on offense. Near the ball, throw it to someone else. Anyone else. Jesus. Jalen Dern was on the back of a milk carton all postseason long milk cartons. 20 CB. That's the 20 CB bell right there.

[Dan LeBatard]

Have you ever seen something like that, Amin? Have you ever in your lifetime seen a player drop so much during the postseason that he's averaging 10 points a game fewer in the postseason and having seven postseason games of under 10 points when he only had six of those all season?

[Zach Harper]

Yeah, half of his scoring, his shooting percentage dropped, I think 15 percentage points. Tom Habistro had the most interesting stat going into Game 6 that he didn't have a single second chance point in the entire series. This is a guy who, like, that's what you do. You rebound and you get put backs. He didn't have a single one going into game six. That's pretty bad. But he's 21, 22 years old. He's got time. Winning a Pulitzer means having to explain to everyone, yes, I'm serious. I won the Pulitzer. Somehow I feel like Ernest Hemingway didn't have to do that one. Right? Well, he won. Everyone's like, congratulations, Ernest. He doesn't say, no, no. Yeah. Actually won it. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. No, I'm not sober right now, no. But yes, I did do it. The drumstick is the worst part of the chicken.

[Dan LeBatard]

What? What?

[Zach Harper]

Drumsticks.

[Tony]

Is dark meat the worst part?

[Dan LeBatard]

You think the drumstick is the worst part of the. A chicken liver. You'd rather have a chicken liver?

[Zach Harper]

Yeah, if it's prepared right. Drumsticks are for kids. It's almost like, oh, look at it. It's. It's got a handle. That's all it is. It's like cartoons taught us. The drumsticks are cool, but it's not really a cool part of the chicken.

[Tony]

Dark meat's gross.

[Zach Harper]

Well, I'm not gonna do that for. I'm just gonna say, put it on

[Dan LeBatard]

the Polette LeBatard Show. Is dark meat gross?

[Zach Harper]

OKC could have hired me to do a singing telegram for Phoenix and LA and that still would have been a more arduous route to the conference finals for them. Shout out to the guy behind the Cavs bench in the Satoshi T shirt. Got an image coming up here. Where's Scottie Pippen and Tyrese Gibson when you need them? You guys listen to that episode of Pablo? Toy finds out.

[Dan LeBatard]

Evidently not.

[Zach Harper]

You guys know who Satoshi is? I should start there.

[Dan LeBatard]

You guys know a better question, but you're getting nothing but blank stares from the entirety of the room. I know, but why don't you explain it to Chris Cody?

[Zach Harper]

I love that bit. Satoshi is the character who's supposed to be responsible for creating bitcoin. A Japanese gentleman. Except a lot of the news reports over the last month or so have been, he's not Japanese. He's not even a real person. This white guy created this character Satoshi to be the inventor of bitcoin. But Scotty Pippen, as Pablo Tori, found out, along with myself and White Sanak. Scottie Pippen claimed that he met Satoshi In Seattle, Scottie Pippen has been a huge bitcoin crypto guy. And Scottie Pippen has created an AI Basketball to kind of praise bitcoin, while also, you know, take Michael Jordan down a couple of pegs. It's kind of. It's weird. You got to listen to the episode. It's amazing. Zaz, what up? Talks like Fozzie Bear. It took me years of trying to play something. It sounds so familiar, that whole talking like this. And I finally. It hit me. It's Fozzie. That's how Fozzie talks. Waka, waka, waka, waka. Wow. Hey, we're gonna go to the playoffs. Am I positive? Am I, Zaz? I don't know.

[Tony]

If you think that's me, you gotta work on that.

[Zach Harper]

Gotta work on that. Waka, waka. Just start adding, hey, he looks like him, too.

[Mike Ryan]

He also gotta get you that hat.

[Zach Harper]

Yeah. You gotta be ahead. Wemby said we almost swept okc, dominated three times with their real team. God, this guy's great for basketball bulletin board material.

[Dan LeBatard]

Dan, what do you think's gonna happen there?

[Zach Harper]

I think the Thunder are gonna destroy them.

[Don LeBatard]

Whoa.

[Chris Cody]

Yeah, that's how it's done, Zaz.

[Tony]

But I don't believe that.

[Zach Harper]

Okay, you could have said it the

[Chris Cody]

other way and said it would have been hard.

[Zach Harper]

Yeah. Gina Carano barely lasted longer than I did on American Ninja Warrior. Barely. What'd she do in her training? Just lose weight. Was that all she trained on?

[Chris Cody]

You got a million bucks to lose weight? What else do you want?

[Dan LeBatard]

Barely last. I want patino in that restaurant.

[Zach Harper]

Maybe a practice. I don't know. Fighting. I'm part of that. It's like she just went on Weight Watchers, and that was it. President Trump posted an AI image of him walking down an airstrip with an unusually jacked alien. Tell me you've never met Giannis without telling me you've never met Giannis. Way too short.

[Tony]

That's definitely what aliens look like.

[Zach Harper]

Seriously, the best part about that AI generated image. Throw it back up, please. Is in order for it to be made, someone had to put in a pretty specific prompt. I'd love to see the prop that produced that image. Okay, I want Donald Trump walking next to an alien. Give me some Secret Service guys, maybe a military guy in the background. All right? Make the alien hottest. Make him hotter.

[Tony]

Aliens heads.

[Dan LeBatard]

Big.

[Zach Harper]

Hotter. Hotter. Like he has to be the sexiest alien imaginable where the second you see him, you want to rip his clothes off. Matter of fact, what clothes give him no clothes. Take away the clothes.

[Mike Ryan]

Also, make sure none of the chains connect. When he's shackled up walking down, make sure none of them actually connect.

[Dan LeBatard]

It's not shackles. It's more like a pocket watch that he's got.

[Zach Harper]

His jewelry. That's alien jewelry. Come on, Mike. They're cool. I watched Project Hail Mary this weekend. They're different. They're not like us.

[Tony]

What a movie.

[Zach Harper]

I was surprised. I was pretty surprised.

[Dan LeBatard]

It's got great reviews. Everyone loves it. Everyone does.

[Zach Harper]

I. I thought it was going to be some smarmy, like, feel good movie. And it was like, did they make

[Dan LeBatard]

you love a rock? Did you fall in love with a rock? That the alien is the form of a sponge of some sort.

[Zach Harper]

Yeah. Give it all away, Dan. Good job.

[Dan LeBatard]

What's that?

[Zach Harper]

Here's the science.

[Dan LeBatard]

Give away anything. I didn't give anything away.

[Zach Harper]

Bar Rescue podcast. Hosted by real life bar and restaurant consultant Chelsea Reynolds, commercial kitchen and food truck veteran Colin Cassard, and two guys who might use AI to generate an open bar. That's Zach Harper and Pulitzer Prize winning Amino Hassan. Wherever you get podcasts, the step backs. Speaking of podcasts, the look back at LeBron's incredible career. Also catnip for the worst people on the Internet to comment. One guy said, lebron didn't exceed my expectations.

[Tony]

What?

[Zach Harper]

Like you can be like. I don't think he's the go to. That's not what the podcast is about. But to sit here and say, yeah, this is pretty much what I expected when he was coming out of high school. You're full of Miles Turner now. That's how you get traded. Oh, my God. My master class. You guys see this?

[Dan LeBatard]

You guys know what monster he said, among other things, that Giannis was the one who was always late. Showed up when he won, and sometimes the plane would wait for an hour for him.

[Zach Harper]

Yeah, and that doc never find anybody. Anybody. That's incredible. Rory McElroy mad. He got hecklers after he choked on the 16th hole. Grow up. Golf not a sport. Taylor Swman. Give me a break. Messy play. Oh. Oh, my God.

[Mike Ryan]

Oh, the World cup.

[Zach Harper]

Better watch out. Shut up. You guys spent 25 minutes talking about why doesn't Messi love the fans? You had me pining for the Jay Feely rushing quarterback conversation.

[State Farm Advertiser]

Fiedler.

[Zach Harper]

You wanna know why Messi doesn't love the fans? Because he doesn't respect them. Because this whole thing is an inconvenience to him. You know who didn't do that? Pele. Actual goat who was doing that stuff at 17 in a World cup, not in the MLS as an old man. Maradona wouldn't have done that either. He was too busy snorting up the Amalfi coast. Imagine Maradona in Miami playing for the. For Miami. See? Oh my God, it's your Miami. Oh, you'd never see him. He'd show up, like, right as they're kicking off. He'd be in the crowd with the fans. How about that? You win. YouTube. I'm finally capitulating on YouTube Premium. These ads are literal. Hell, try to watch a live press conference, and right as the coach is going to say something really important, I get an ad for Claude. AI like, enough. You win. I'll do it. I'll shell out the money. Anything to make those damn ads stop. Speaking of hell, what the hell was Sedano doing here? Get that image. Yeah, and I've already done the experience. He don't have a shirt on under that robe. That's commitment to the bit. You can have our brials. Those are the weekend observations.

[Tony]

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[Mike Ryan]

Don LeBatard you're getting started on the breakfast lawn.

[Zach Harper]

Oh, man, I've been singing a song to myself all morning long. Breakfast Fl.

[Don LeBatard]

Stets.

[Zach Harper]

Have you never heard the Breakfast Fl? No.

[Mike Ryan]

Hit me with it.

[Zach Harper]

Okay. I wish I had some breakfast Fl. Where can I find a breakfast like that?

[Don LeBatard]

This is the d ler show with the st. G.

[Dan LeBatard]

I've got a number of basketball things that I want to ask. I mean, let's start with the Miles Turner commentary. What other. It was. It was fairly shocking to see that out in public. So your thoughts there, beyond Miles Turner trying to get traded or what?

[Zach Harper]

So I talked about this on Basketball Illuminati. Actually, no, I didn't. I talked about this on SiriusXM radio the other day. One day I'm going to write my memoirs about my life in the NBA. And the name of the book. I've known this for about 15 years now. The name of the book is going to be what time is the one o' clock bus? Like, this is a very, very normal thing in the NBA. The idea that, like, hey, what time is one o' clock bus? It sounds like a dumb question. Like. Well, it's in the question. It's one o'. Clock. No, no, it's not a dumb question. It's actually a very prescient question that understands the dynamics of NBA locker rooms, which is we could say the bus is 1 o'.

[Dan LeBatard]

Clock.

[Zach Harper]

It's not leaving at 1 o'. Clock. It's leaving when. Whenever our most important people are on it. Are. Are there. And so what Miles Turner was explaining in general is not a shocking thing at all. Now, an hour and a half holding the plane, that's shocking. And the, the most shocking part is that the Doc Rivers didn't find anybody. So it's one thing for Giannis to be late and not get disciplined for it, because it's Giannis. We. We all revolve around him. But you're telling me, like Ryan Rollins and, and KPJ and those guys could show up late and they weren't getting fined either? That's nuts. I'm not saying that they did. I'm just saying the way Miles Turner made it seem nobody on the roster was held accountable to punctuality and that. That is not the norm in the NBA.

[Dan LeBatard]

Is your reason for thinking OKC is going to smoke the spurs simply that the spurs don't have playoff experience, or is that the top of your list on reasons?

[Zach Harper]

Yeah, that. That's the top of the list for sure. I think the, the OKC that we've been marveling at has been a lesser product. We just got the news yesterday that Jalen Williams will be playing in game one. So I think that changes things dramatically. I think their depth goes deeper than any team in the playoffs and certainly the spurs. The spurs are going to hit a point where it's like I can't play these guys. These guys who I've been able to play in these first two rounds are not going to be playable against an Oklahoma City team. And I think like as much as I love Wemby coming out and saying all those things, those guys are pretty proud over there. And saying that to a team that has a reigning MVP now, two time MVP and the reigning champs, they're going to come out with something to prove tomorrow. Tonight.

[Dan LeBatard]

I have some difficulty with the historical context that we're about to have for SGA back to back MVPs. There have only been 14 of those back to back MVPs before the age of 28. That's only LeBron and Kareem. All time all timers is SGA. That's. Is SGA going to finish this as one of the top five players in basketball history? Because the trajectory right now suggests he is.

[Zach Harper]

He's an incredible player. I mean that's all it comes down to really when you talk about All Time all timers is can you keep doing this right? And there's two reasons why someone could not keep doing whatever it is the thing they're doing. Reason number one is oh, it was just the perfect situation and you're going to get somewhere else and then you're not going to play as well and you'll never reach that peak again. We don't think that's going to happen in Oklahoma City. The way their, their checking account, their saving account is set up is like this thing is going to be going on for a while. Whether they win championships or not, as irrelevant. They're going to be great and it's a great system for him and he's going to continue to be great. The other reason is you got hurt. Injuries robbed you of the best years of your life so far. He's been a very durable player. You know, you knock on wood and you cross your fingers and you hope that that continues. But yes, Dan, he's on that trajectory. He still has to do it though. We can't give him, we can't give him the grade, the A grade before he's taken the final and he's still relatively early in his career.

[Dan LeBatard]

Amin did not agree with Our assessment last week that if you put Donovan Mitchell where SGA is, he would get the championship and he would get the mvp. His reasoning was that SGA is a tall guard and can do things, many things that Mitchell can't. How many players do you believe that I could take and just put in SGA's position and get the exact same result? Name the players that I can do that with.

[Zach Harper]

So. So part of the problem with this conversation, Dan, is it assumes a plug and play where it's like, if I can just get someone to do this, this and this. Yeah, it'll be. It'll run the same big. Part of Oklahoma City's greatness is their togetherness, how tight knit they are as a group. And that starts with him. He is a very inclusive guy. He's the guy that, hey, when I do my interviews with prime or whoever, everyone, the team's behind me, the team's with me. You saw that he got his guys all Burberry trench coats and, you know, all types of gifts and stuff. Like, he's a very unique guy in that way. And I think that spirit speaks to the kind of team they have and that helps them in their greatness. So you got to start there with just his intangibles. I don't know if anyone can replicate that. Then you talk about basketball wise, maybe Anthony Edwards. I don't know if his personality is quite the same. I think his Persona is a lot closer to that of what you see in Minnesota. Kind of a more rugged guy, I don't know. But I trust him, I guess, to be the kind of guy who could be able to do that. But again, I don't think Anthony Edwards is as good of a passer and playmaker as Shea is. So there's a drop off there. I mean, think about some of the other guys. Giannis, obviously, such an interior based game. It takes away from the things SGA does so well, which is in the mid range and obviously getting to the free throw line and converting there. I mean, you can name player Jalen Brunson. Too small. Like, we go down the list.

[Dan LeBatard]

So nobody. So nobody. You're saying nobody? If you say no to Anthony Edwards, you're saying no to everybody.

[Zach Harper]

Yeah, I, I think like the way it is, he's pretty much the only

[Dan LeBatard]

guy Luca couldn't do.

[Zach Harper]

It works that way. No, not a good defender. Like, Shay's an excellent defensive player. These are the things that we don't mention because we're too busy pouring into the narrative. Oh, my God, he's a flopper. Like, no, no, you're not watching him. You're not watching him for real, what he's doing on both sides of the ball. He's such a high level defensive player that Luka can never replicate that level of defense. And then also, again, going back to the intangibles, Lucas does not. Luca does not have that kind of effect on his teammates. He does not have that kind of spirit and joy. He's kind of a scowling guy, which works for him. That's not to say that that's he'll never win because of that or that can't work. It's just to say what's happening in Oklahoma City is a very specific brand of positivity that, that Luca does not bring.

[Tony]

I don't think, I mean, historically in the NBA, Game 7 so difficult to win on the road. It's been like 80 something percent for the home team historically, but over the last like five, six years, I think since COVID that. Not that the road team is winning more than the home team, but it's become a lot more common for the road team to win game seven like we saw last night. Any explanation for that?

[Zach Harper]

Yeah, I mean, I think there are a couple of things. Number one, obviously the three point shot has such variance on it. If you make threes and the other team doesn't, that can be it. And we know that three point defense is more about limiting attempts and not limiting percentage because teams pretty much make what they make in a game. Sometimes you make all your shots, sometimes you miss them all. And we can't call it unless you're the Orlando Magic and you had no business taking those shots to begin with. But the reality is because of that variance, we're going to get more wild results, more wild outcomes. I think that's why also some of these blowouts are happening is because of the variance in three point makes.

[Chris Cody]

Amin, we've got a potentially historic series and going into the future, a series that we might see 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 years down the road. What's the keys tonight? There's a lot of chess being played defensively to try and stop Wemby. What's the most important keys tonight for the, for the San Antonio Spurs?

[Zach Harper]

Well, I think for certain, the farther out that Wemby catches the ball, the less impactful he is. And luckily for them, he's seduced sometimes by that, by the ability to take and make threes. Well, he'll hang around the perimeter, the more they can get, keep him from the Paint offensively, I think the better for them. And then the, on the flip side, the same thing. How can we draw him away from the rim? We know there's an absolute Wemby effect that he just is there. Teams don't drive as much, they don't get to the rim. They, they, they choose other alternatives. So what they have to do is either get him off the floor, through foul trouble or whatever, or pull them out. That means Chet's got to be making threes. And Chet's been a streaky guy. He can make a lot and he can miss a lot, but he's got to be out there. Him and Jalen Williams, the other Jalen Williams have to be able to draw Wemby out of the paint.

[Chris Cody]

Obviously, the game is three and baskets at the hoop. The mid range game has kind of been left to basically SGA and maybe a little bit of Jalen Brunson, but can that be used as a weapon force for Oklahoma City to use that mid range game where Wemby has to decide, all right, am I going to just play up on the perimeter or I'm going to be back behind and make sure that the rim is defended? Is that the way that they can beat him?

[Zach Harper]

Yeah, I mean, I think, look, Shea and, and every great player, every great player has mid range in their game. Shea and Jalen Brunson probably more so than anybody else. But yeah, that's the soft spot. Right. And the reason we, we discourage mid range shots. I have to explain this every time. I'm never discouraging it from my stars. You should take whatever shot you want, man. If it's, if you're open, that's a good shot. It's a good shot. Right? We're discouraging our role players. I don't want to see Jalen Williams, the tall Jalen Williams shooting mid Rangers. I don't, I don't want to see Alex Caruso in the mid range. Right. Because the idea is that if they're there, that means the defense is contracted and that means they can sit in everybody's lap. And it just makes things more difficult for Shay and short Jalen Williams to be able to do what they want to do. So in essence, like that there, when people say, oh, the mid range is a bad shot, oh no, it's a bad shot for you. It's not a bad shot for that guy. And we want that guy to be able to get his shots whenever he wants.

[Tony]

I actually just looked it up. Game sevens since 2021, the road team 11 and nine.

[Dan LeBatard]

Yeah, it's changed. A lot of stuff has changed about the league with the three pointer. I've got a number of questions, so let's do this as quickly as we can here. Let's play. Amin is a giant Shaquille o' Neal supporter. One of the biggest anywhere in the country. Let's play the video of Shaq graduating.

[Zach Harper]

Shaquille. I hate Charles Barkley. O'.

[Dan LeBatard]

Ne. So the rest of this is just cheering here. Amin, did you see this? How did you. Yeah, how did. This was great. It was nice to see.

[Zach Harper]

Yeah.

[Dan LeBatard]

Kind of happy and just trolling Charles. Not a lot of relationships like that one in sports television.

[Zach Harper]

Yeah. If Draymond Green did that, we'd have like a four hour think piece about it. Right. And that's. And that's the point of humor. Right. Sometimes it's not that the joke was bad, it's just like, who's delivering the joke, where. Like, what place of privilege do you have to deliver that joke? Clearly, we all know that Shaq is fooling around. He's just teasing. And Charles won't take it any which way. But like, that was the point of the whole Draymond Green thing. It wasn't that he said something so disrespectful. Just like, I don't know if you're comfortable enough with those guys to be able to attempt something like that. But when it comes to Shaq, all I'm wondering is this, like his third graduate degree. When does he have time to do all this work? He's got a doctorate from Barry. He's got a master's from lsu. Like, he's got another one from somewhere else. He's a sheriff. When does. And he's a dj and he does inside the NBA. When does he have time to do all of it?

[Dan LeBatard]

Your thought on the prime people being mad at Choms for breaking the MVP story 10 hours early?

[Zach Harper]

Yeah, I mean, Mike mentioned it earlier. Yeah, that's. It was contractually one of the deal points in the. In the deal, in the broadcast deal. So, hey, we get to announce this in the same way that, hey, NBC gets announced. The all Star reserves, right. Now, the problem with that is it. It involves an ecosystem where everyone is cooperating and is mindful of those deal points. But the reality is Shams owes nothing. The prime, he owes nothing.

[Dan LeBatard]

They're competitors. They're competitors now.

[Zach Harper]

Yeah. They're not. They are and they aren't. It's weird. It's kind of like they're not partners.

[Dan LeBatard]

Espn and prime are not partners.

[Zach Harper]

They are in a kind of quasi. It's like two people who may not be friends, but they have the same best friend. And so because of that, they all have to hang out together. And so it can be awkward in that way, but in that same situation, the guy who's the mutual, it's incumbent on him to make sure everybody behaves. You can't be like, hey, that's between y'. All. Which is pretty much what the NBA has done. It's like, it has not regulated these sort of things. Not since Commissioner Stern was in charge, where we had embargoes on news breaking. Like, hey, you can't announce that you hired a new coach right before the NBA Finals. Sorry. Like, you got to wait until the NBA Finals are over, and then you, Indiana or Detroit, whatever, can. Can mention your new coach. But that's not how that works. But if there's that guy, the mutual. The NBA, Adam Silver, if he's not policing that, then ESPN has no responsibility, and ipso facto, Shams has no responsibility.

[Dan LeBatard]

Stephen A. Has responded to Jaylen Brown. He says, quote, jaylen Brown, be careful what you wish for. You really want me to start reporting on that level? Locker room, how the organization might think about you, how the city might feel about you, how Jayson Tatum may or may not feel about you. Tony, you were listening to Stephen A. Here. What did he do to Jaylen Brown?

[Chris Cody]

That was an incredible dismount. That wasn't even the meat of it. He went and talked for, like, five minutes about all these different things. Giving him praise, but telling him, like, you think that this is all good. Like, you go out the day after you guys lose, and you talk about how that was your favorite season. All I was telling you was, we don't want to hear from you right now. And then he ended with that beautiful point. It was like vintage Stephen A crossover behind the back. Another crossover, Texas two step and finished up with a jelly.

[Zach Harper]

Did he. Did he do the quiet voice?

[Chris Cody]

He did for a second.

[Zach Harper]

That. That.

[Chris Cody]

That quote was done in a bit of a quiet voice.

[Tony]

I'll tell you what Stephen A. Didn't do. Retire.

[Dan LeBatard]

I mean, what are your thoughts on this? Back and forth?

[Zach Harper]

Yeah, I mean, like, what Dylan Brown said was accurate. And it's like, hey, you guys keep saying, hey, do your job. Talking to the media is my job. That is part of my job. I get fined if I don't do it. So I thought he was right on that. But, like, I can't remember who said it earlier. But I think he's got a fundamental, like a lot of people, fundamental misunderstanding. What part is journalism? What part isn't right? What Stephen A. Smith does on First Take is objectively not journalism. Right? And when he says, oh, the people covering our sport is first take covering the NBA, I don't think of them as covering anything. I think of them as just getting together and having barbershop conversations. And that's what they do.

[Dan LeBatard]

See you later. I mean, thank you for being on with us. Speaking of part of the thank you Pulitzer Prize winning Amin, a part of the job is to speak to the media. The Vegas Golden Knights led by Tortorella have been fined a second round pick for freezing out the media.

[Zach Harper]

This is the United States of America. It ain't the United States of Tortorella.

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