Where Will LeBron James Play Next Season? + Greg Cote Is A Pulitzer Prize Winner | Hour 2

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz

Episode: Where Will LeBron James Play Next Season? + Greg Cote Is A Pulitzer Prize Winner | Hour 2
Date: May 12, 2026
Hosts: Dan Le Batard, Stugotz, Greg Cote, Mike, Tony, Chris
Location: Elser Hotel, Downtown Miami

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Episode Overview

This hour of the show mixes the crew’s trademark blend of sports analysis, pop culture commentary, running gags, and chaos. Central topics include LeBron James’ NBA future following the Lakers’ playoff exit, the future of OKC as a potential dynasty, Victor Wembanyama's controversial playoff ejection, and plenty of light-hearted banter—from the taste of Disney turkey legs to Greg Cote’s "Pulitzer Prize."

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Main Topics and Key Discussions

1. NBA Playoffs: LeBron’s Future and OKC’s Rise

Timestamps: 11:17–16:38, 29:24–35:49

• LeBron's Season Ends & Future in Question

  • The crew reacts to LeBron and the Lakers being swept by OKC. Dan highlights LeBron’s enduring excellence and marvels at his longevity and continued All-Star level play at his age.
  • Quote [30:12, Dan Le Batard]: “It is rare to have the kind of excellence that OKC is showing. And it's not the conversation point today. The conversation point today is LeBron's season is over and he's saying after the game, I don't know if I'm going to be here next year—which is a curious thing for him to say given that he's one of the few players in the league with a no trade clause."
  • Discussion around whether LeBron will leave Los Angeles, with Tony doubting it ("I don't see any scenario where he's not with the Lakers again next year.") and Stugotz pushing the Cleveland return narrative.

• LeBron’s Historical Status

  • The ongoing debate over LeBron’s legacy, suggesting he’s underappreciated due to constant comparison with Jordan.
  • The show mentions a piece arguing LeBron has had “four Hall of Fame careers.”
  • Quote [32:09, Dan Le Batard]: “We keep making it something less than Jordan, when he's presently doing something that Jordan could not even aspire to do.”

• OKC's Potential Dynasty

  • Acknowledgement of OKC as a “sneaky dynasty” due to their young, affordable core and small-market roster-building genius.
  • Tony and Dan discuss the difficulty other rising teams like San Antonio may have overtaking OKC long-term.

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2. Wembanyama’s Playoff Ejection and NBA Rules

Timestamps: 18:07–24:33

• Wembanyama’s Ejection:
  • Dan criticizes the NBA’s handling of Victor Wembanyama’s flagrant foul and non-suspension, arguing star treatment is obvious for faces of the league.
  • Hosts contemplate if outcomes (i.e. if Naz Reid had been knocked out/unconscious) would have forced the NBA’s hand.
  • Quote [20:00, Dan Le Batard]: “Any other player in the league, except for a couple, gets suspended for tonight too. Like that was that flagrant, that dirty.”
  • Stugotz rationalizes the league’s reluctance to suspend a generational star, “You don't want to change the whole tenor of the postseason by suspending a guy like that.”
  • Comedic tangent develops about who in the NBA could even physically elbow Wemby in the face.

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3. Rivalries & Future Stars: SGA vs. Wemby vs. Chet

Timestamps: 16:38–18:07

• The hosts discuss who might become the NBA’s next iconic rivalry; Amin previously suggested Anthony Edwards vs. Wembanyama as the new Magic vs. Bird, but Chris and Tony counter that SGA vs. Wemby or Chet vs. Wemby (based on their history in youth basketball) could be more compelling.
• Quote [17:42, Tony]: “But the rivalry cannot be with a second best player…when there’s an MVP on that team.”

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4. LeBron’s Off-Court Empire & The Business of Billionaires

Timestamps: 35:49–39:59

• Dan details LeBron’s business partnerships (notably with Rich Paul)—now a mega-agent with 95 NBA clients—illustrating how playing in LA amplifies the scale of his empire. “The amount of money that he gets benefiting from playing in Los Angeles for the Lakers specifically is just nuts as a side project.”
• Spirals into a philosophical discussion: Is there a real difference in lifestyle or fulfillment between $400M and $1B?
  • Quote [39:38, Dan Le Batard]: “As a goal, for me personally, becoming a billionaire… it’s just really, your life goal is just a round number.”

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5. Disney Geekery: The Lopez Twins

Timestamps: 03:44–06:25

• Dan teases a coming "South Beach Sessions" episode with NBA’s Brook and Robin Lopez, painting them as “overgrown toddlers” and possibly the ultimate Disney fanatics.
• Revelations include Brook Lopez owning homes themed to Disney both in Orlando (with secret passages) and Anaheim.
  • Quote [05:28, Dan Le Batard]: “They were totally obsessed with Disney in a way that I found both charming and super unusual.”
• Spirals into discussion of whether you can literally live inside Disney property—a tangent that delights the cast.

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6. Classic Show Hijinks & Pop Culture Trivia

Timestamps: 06:25–11:15

• Multi-generational movie confusion: The team tries to identify the origin of a sound Chris uses for a Dolphins first down, leading to hilarious miss-guessing (Pacino in “A Few Good Men,” “Raging Bull,” etc.) before landing on “Scent of a Woman.”
  • Quote [10:09, Dan Le Batard]: “This is two generations of idiot pop culture idiot.”

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7. The "Pulitzer" and Inside Jokes

Timestamps: 40:01–41:46

• Greg Cote is “awarded” a fake Pulitzer for “Best Catchphrase Countdown.”
  • Quote [40:31, Stugotz]: “It says, Greg Cody wins Pulitzer. New category, Best catchphrase Countdown. Now.”
• Tongue-in-cheek banter about self-importance; Pablo Torre “walking around like Anton Chigurh with his Pulitzer coin.”

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8. Other Segments and Side Notes:

• DeAndre Ayton Critique (26:10–29:17): Tony goes off on Ayton’s underperformance and his “Dominatin" bling, which the panel mocks mercilessly.
• Disney Food Debate (24:04–25:34): Debate over whether the legendary giant Disney turkey legs are actually emu. (Spoiler: they’re just huge “toms”—male turkeys.)
  • Quote [25:21, Chris]: “A large language model says no, massive turkey legs sold at Disney parks are not emu, despite long standing urban legends.”

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Notable Quotes

• Tony, on Deandre Ayton:
  “[Ayton] is a terrible player... no one would watch him play and say, your nickname should be dominate.” [26:10]
• Dan, on billionaire ambition:
  “Do you really think there's that much of a difference between whatever your life is at $800 million...and a billion dollars?... It’s just numbers in an account.” [39:12]
• Stugotz, on LeBron’s late-career level:
  “It’s not just the longevity... He is All Star caliber, All Star quality at that age.” [32:09]
• Kendrick Perkins (quoted by Dan):
  “‘Let’s have a moment of silence for the ones that passed away. LeBron, Steph and KD, they’re dead birds, tall grass when it comes to them ever stepping foot on the big stage again.’” [33:15]

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Memorable Moments

• Movie Trivia Meltdown: The extended, chaotic attempt to source the “Hoo-ah!” sound bite shows both generations’ total pop culture confusion [07:02–10:09].
• Greg Cote’s “Pulitzer”: The visual of Greg holding up a homemade certificate for “Best catchphrase Countdown” is pure show absurdity [40:01–40:31].
• Disney Emu Conspiracy: The crew half-convinces themselves Disney sells emu legs, then gets fact-checked by Chris reading AI results [24:18–25:21].

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Important Timestamps

• 03:44 – Lopez Disney obsession
• 06:25 – Multi-generational movie trivia confusion
• 11:17 – LeBron’s legacy and basketball career arc
• 18:07 – Wembanyama suspension debate
• 24:04 – Disney turkey leg/emu debacle
• 26:10 – Tony’s DeAndre Ayton rant
• 30:12 – LeBron Lakers future, free agency discussion
• 32:09 – LeBron/Jordan/Brady cross-sport comparison
• 33:15 – Kendrick Perkins “dead birds” quote
• 35:49 – LeBron’s business empire, billionaire discourse
• 40:01 – Greg Cote’s “Pulitzer” award

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Closing Thoughts

Hour 2 is a perfect encapsulation of the Le Batard Show’s scattershot brilliance: high-level NBA discussion, honest appreciation for greatness (and withering criticism of mediocrity), indulgent pop culture detours, and self-satirizing comedy. The episode leaves listeners both better informed on the NBA landscape and thoroughly entertained by the panel's inimitable chemistry.

Transcript

[Dan Le Batard]

Last night you spent two hours deciding what to wear to the party this morning. It'll take you two minutes to list it on Depop and make your money back. Just grab your phone, snap a few photos and we'll take care of the rest. The sheer dress and platform heels you'll never wear again. There's a birthday girl searching for them right now. Your one and done look is about to pay for your next night out, or at least the ride home. Your style can make you cash. Start selling on Depop, where taste recognizes taste.

[Stugats]

This is the Dan Levatar show with the Stugats Podcast.

[Greg Cody]

Against the spread is presented by DraftKings. DraftKings. The Crown is yours, Roy.

[Dan Le Batard]

What do we got?

[Stugats]

Game 4. The Sabres and Canadiens. Montreal currently leads the series 2 to 1. The Sabres have won 12 of the last 15 games as an underdog versus the Atlanta divisions and they have also covered the puck lines at 73% this season. So go with the Sabres. They are an underdog at a goal

[Dan Le Batard]

and a half against the spread.

[Mike]

Mike going to go with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Skiings on the bump against the Colorado Rockies. Just look at the eras and this one works out for us. So let's take the Pirates minus one and a half. You're gonna have to lay some juice on this one because they're expected to blow them out buckets. That's pretty.

[Dan Le Batard]

Speaking of blowing them out, that sounds like something between a leaf blower and a chainsaw. It does not. No one would guess. No one would guess that that's a gassy.

[Greg Cody]

Hey, can you keep it down? I'm doing a podcast. It's like right outside my dad's door. That's every time we're doing the great Cody show.

[Stugats]

That sounded like my racehorse leaving the gate.

[Dan Le Batard]

I just enjoyed watching Greg Cody walk around out there with a single piece of bacon in his hand. No napkin, no plate. It's one of the great joys of Greg Cody Tuesday. Watching him leak bacon grease as he just walks around.

[Stugats]

It's generally the best bacon I've ever had in my life. I don't know who your bacon provider is, but they knock it out the park today. There were some problems with it, if I'm being honest, but generally speaking, it's primo bacon.

[Dan Le Batard]

What were the problems with it?

[Stugats]

It was a little brittle today. It was a little brittle. You like your bacon. I brittle bacon indicates that it was either cooked a little bit too long or it was a little too thin and and couldn't withhold the cooking time.

[Greg Cody]

I love A bacon that'll just like disintegrate in my mouth.

[Stugats]

Oh, you got no bacon. Has to have a little chew.

[Greg Cody]

Give it to me so crispy that it just like.

[Tony]

I like it burnt. Yeah, I like that.

[Greg Cody]

As crispy as possible.

[Tony]

Yeah.

[Chris]

Greg, you also ate it three hours after it got here.

[Stugats]

That's a fact. Yeah. Jack. Yeah. Thank you. You're welcome. Okay. Yeah, Tony's got that right.

[Dan Le Batard]

We've got a couple of things here to promote that are coming up. Roy is doing what I believe to be our most unusual watch along ever. The Minnesota Wild and the Avalanche. The Wild and the Avalanche are playing at 8pm tomorrow night.

[Tony]

Why is that unusual?

[Dan Le Batard]

And Roy in the hockey show will be doing a live watch along of the Minnesota Wild and the Colorado Avalanche.

[Stugats]

Yeah, it's a nation game right now. The Avalanche lead 3, 2, 1 in that series. We plan on doing these watch alongs every single week.

[Chris]

So we've started with this particular.

[Greg Cody]

Maybe a drunk Greg Cody from bowling will pop in.

[Stugats]

Oh, that'd be nice.

[Mike]

Hockey needs the Florida Panthers.

[Greg Cody]

It is boring.

[Mike]

It's not as fun.

[Tony]

So much more fun when the Panthers play.

[Stugats]

100% true. Yep.

[Dan Le Batard]

So that watch along is tomorrow night at 8pm Something else that's coming up in the future. I'm not going to give you the date just yet because I don't know how this is scheduled, but I am curious whether you guys find it interesting or not. I sat down during south beach sessions with Brooke and Robin Lopez. The two of them.

[Chris]

What'd they say?

[Greg Cody]

Did you just talk two hours about, like, Disney?

[Dan Le Batard]

Yes.

[Stugats]

Yeah.

[Greg Cody]

Oh, man.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yes.

[Greg Cody]

So excited.

[Dan Le Batard]

They are overgrown toddlers. It was crazy, okay? It was simply crazy to talk to these giant people who are eight years old but also have money. So among the details that became interesting are Brook Lopez has a property in Orlando that's in the Magic Kingdom. Okay? He's not only got a house, but each of the homes. Each of the rooms in the house have a Disney theme to him. And the home is filled with all sorts of secret compartments and pathways that only he knows about. But on top of that, he also bought his other home in Anaheim, right next to Disneyland. Because these are the most obsessed Disney adults that I have ever met in my life. What are you shaking your head about?

[Tony]

Says grow up home in Disney with.

[Dan Le Batard]

You're a fan of professional wrestling.

[Tony]

I don't. I don't have a secret pathway into Wrestlemania.

[Stugats]

You should, but if you could, you would.

[Dan Le Batard]

If you could. I saw it.

[Greg Cody]

Oh, I've seen on Social media. This Golden Oak, it's like the. These, like, insanely, like, mansions that are on the property. It's like the most exclusive thing you could have. I. I would love to see this house.

[Dan Le Batard]

They were totally obsessed with Disney in a way that I found both charming and super unusual.

[Stugats]

I. It begs a question. The Disney Corporation sells property?

[Mike]

Yes.

[Stugats]

Within its.

[Mike]

Yeah, there's. There's places where you could live. Some are adjacent to hotel properties. There's an entire one, I believe, called Celebration.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah, I think they. It still exists, but at one point they were going to make like they punted.

[Stugats]

They did. But I don't mean that it's adjacent to Disney World. I mean, it's.

[Dan Le Batard]

No, it's on the property. It's right next to Fort Wilderness. And he will indeed just simply say to his wife, I'm going to go over to the haunted house real quick and then just go there and then come back.

[Mike]

They're Cuban, right?

[Dan Le Batard]

Yes.

[Mike]

You talk about that a little bit,

[Dan Le Batard]

but they don't know much about their heritage. Although afterward they were asking me all sorts of questions, wanting to know about their heritage.

[Chris]

And what'd you say?

[Dan Le Batard]

Well, I was saying, go over the Freedom Tower. When you're across the street from the arena right there, you can find out everything it is that you want to know about our people because they don't have a lot of links to it. We did a lot of good stuff from California, and that is one of the things that we did. I learned during the break something that I found fairly shocking. Chris, Cody and Roy revealed this to me. And Roy, I don't know the context of what it is that you guys were talking about that revealed this about Chris Cody.

[Mike]

Yeah. Chris asked me what the sound from

[Stugats]

the first down for the Dolphins games were said.

[Greg Cody]

It's just a noise I've made throughout my entire life. It's just like one. Like I just did it.

[Stugats]

Yeah.

[Greg Cody]

And to me, that is just. That's another Miami Dolphins first down.

[Dan Le Batard]

Let's find out. Let's find out if your dad knows because he's not a real moviegoer. Instead of impersonating the sound, do you have the actual sound? Greg Cody, do you know who's making this sound?

[Stugats]

I do.

[Tony]

Come on.

[Stugats]

It's the famous actor, Rock Hudson. Oh, this is great.

[Greg Cody]

He doesn't know it.

[Stugats]

No, no. It's the famous actor and I gotta pin his name down because I don't think.

[Tony]

Thank you. You should be able to say this immediately.

[Stugats]

I don't think it's Robert Dairo. But I think it's in the neighborhood. In the neighborhood. Give me a second. Robert Dairo Humphrey. Al Pacino. Hey, there you go.

[Greg Cody]

If someone said that in his headphones, you're fired.

[Stugats]

Nobody said that.

[Tony]

Movie.

[Stugats]

It's apac. What movie?

[Dan Le Batard]

Street Core Named Desire.

[Stugats]

You ain't. You.

[Dan Le Batard]

You.

[Chris]

No.

[Stugats]

You're not man enough to know the truth. Something like.

[Dan Le Batard]

No, that's a few Good. And. And that's A Few Good Men. You're not man enough to know the truth.

[Stugats]

You can't handle the truth. Don't know.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's a different movie. Pacino was not. You're not bad enough to know the truth.

[Tony]

That was originally a lot. Nicholson. Ad lib.

[Dan Le Batard]

Put it on the pole. At Lebiton. Show was Pacino. And A Few Good Men was a blind Pacin.

[Stugats]

Okay.

[Tony]

Who did he say?

[Dan Le Batard]

Let's keep going. Let's see. Let's see how long it takes you to get. I think. Did he win an Oscar? I think he won an Oscar for this

[Stugats]

Bull Durham.

[Greg Cody]

No.

[Dan Le Batard]

Good answer. Good answer. Put it on the pole. Put it on the pole.

[Stugats]

No, it's a bull movie.

[Tony]

Just naming De Niro movies.

[Stugats]

I don't know.

[Dan Le Batard]

Put it on the pole. Was a blind Pacino in Bull Durham.

[Stugats]

Chicago Bull.

[Dan Le Batard]

And put it on the pole as well. Was a blind Pacino in Raging Bull. First of all, it's a really random thing to have stick in. Adults say it all the time. No, but it's been for 30 years. That movie's 30 years old. I don't want to tell him what the movie is. Keep guessing, Greg. Keep trying to guess. What the. Al Pacino. How many. How many Oscars has pac because he.

[Stugats]

A Few Good Men.

[Dan Le Batard]

You already guessed that, and we already told you that. It's not A Few Good Men and you're not man enough to handle the.

[Stugats]

Right.

[Greg Cody]

Okay.

[Tony]

Classic line.

[Stugats]

It's got a military theme to it. I just can't come up with it.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's not a military theme, but I think he's a former military guy.

[Tony]

He's a colonel.

[Stugats]

There you go. Colonel Sanders. I don't know. I'm never gonna get it. I don't know movies.

[Tony]

It's his only Academy Award.

[Dan Le Batard]

The scent of a woman who.

[Stugats]

Ah, See, I told you I was gonna get it.

[Dan Le Batard]

Your son had no idea where that sound.

[Greg Cody]

Where I get it from.

[Dan Le Batard]

This is two generations of idiot pop culture idiot.

[Stugats]

I knew it was Al Pacino.

[Dan Le Batard]

Greg, you cannot listen to what you just did for the last four minutes and say that. That is some Sort of expertise that you're bragging about.

[Stugats]

I speak for moviegoers in general. Al Pacino and De Niro are always interchangeable. They're always mistaken for each other. They're the same person.

[Chris]

De Niro could not have been the devil.

[Stugats]

They've won the same awards. They're like the same people.

[Tony]

They were only in one scene together, like in their movie careers.

[Stugats]

I know, but they're parallel lives. And you know it.

[Dan Le Batard]

Put it on the poll. Do you often confuse De Niro and Pacino? And you know it.

[Greg Cody]

And you know it. You're gonna have to wait for that one.

[Stugats]

Exactly.

[Dan Le Batard]

That was staggering even by the standards of the Greg Cody show featuring Greg Cody, where your son Michael asks you movie questions and you flail and fail and get them all wrong. Even by those standards, that was an amazing amount of ignorance.

[Stugats]

I said Al Pacino. What more do you want?

[Dan Le Batard]

The big story from basketball last night. The big story doesn't get to be the overwhelming metronome excellence of Oakland OKC. It's that LeBron is eliminated. Another promotional item. We are doing a six part series where we talk to Amin and Izzy and we're doing some stuff that begins today in the feed where we sort of celebrate a amazing career. I don't think anyone thinks it is over, but I don't want to get numb to what was just accomplished. Even though he was swept in the second round and swept by a sneaky dynasty. They're going to end up being a sneaky dynast.

[Stugats]

Right?

[Dan Le Batard]

Even if they don't win it this year, they're going to end up being a sneaky dynasty.

[Tony]

I think you're probably right. But we were saying the same thing about Denver after 23. They haven't come close to winning again. We were probably saying the same thing about Boston after 24 and they haven't come close. I agree. I think this does feel different.

[Dan Le Batard]

But OKC can lose to the spurs and I don't think too many people would be that surprised given how bad OKC looked specifically against the Spurs. But they're just going to be great for a long time because nobody's built like that. Nobody's built to have everything locked in and young and affordable. And they did it in a market where the rules favor them because they can lock people into contracts, where they can't use their free agency to get out of the city because the success is going to be too large. It's kind of amazing what they've done in a small market there to revamp the entirety of the engineering of how you construct a roster.

[Stugats]

And I do think to your point, I think if you're a San Antonio fan, a Wemby fan, your biggest fear is that we're good. We should have the budding dynasty, but instead it's going to be that guy from that city. I think okc. You're looking at OKC as a, as a roadblock right now if you're San Antonio.

[Tony]

Yeah, but you say that as if there's, you know, supposedly this small window for San Antonio. Like Gildas Alexander is really young when Banyama is even younger. They could be battling out for titles the next 10 years. Like San Antonio's gonna win some Chris Cody.

[Mike]

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?

[Stugats]

Miller Line.

[Mike]

Uh huh. Those beautiful white cans or on draft or the bottle if you prefer.

[Tony]

Oh.

[Greg Cody]

When you open that with the can

[Dan Le Batard]

though, and you one of the best

[Mike]

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

[Greg Cody]

I have goosebumps thinking about the first sip.

[Mike]

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 that golden color. Just 96 calories and 3.2 carbs. The original light beer says since 1975 and it still hits different I love you, Miller Lite. Cheers to legendary moments with Miller Lite Grape 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]

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

[Stugats]

I know it well.

[Chris]

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.

[Chris]

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, keep it Cuervo.

[Stugats]

Keep it Cuervo, baby.

[Dan Le Batard]

Don Levatard.

[Stugats]

It's all about me.

[Mike]

Stugats.

[Stugats]

Wee.

[Dan Le Batard]

This is the Don Levatar show with the Stugats. Yeah. I thought it was interesting. Yesterday we were talking and Amin is saying that Anthony Edwards and Wembanyama have a chance to be the new Magic and Bird because they're so different, and it's just personality clashes. But I think the new rivalry is going to be SGA and Wembanyama because what are you shaking your head about? Not enough personality there for sga?

[Stugats]

It's not that.

[Chris]

It's that he's just droning excellence, and you don't really get a lot from him. I think the more interesting rivalry in that mix is actually Chet versus Wemby because they've been growing up together, playing in all these under 17, under 16 games where they've got an actual rivalry between each other where Wembanyama kind of always Wins and always gets the edge on Chet. So that's. That's the one to look forward to in that specific one. But Wemby's just going to be the. The. The aim for everybody going forward because

[Tony]

of who he is.

[Dan Le Batard]

But the rivalry cannot be with a second best player on a team when there's an MVP on that team.

[Chris]

But he's got nothing to say.

[Tony]

Pretty big game tonight. Like, that's huge game.

[Chris]

Not a big game.

[Tony]

If we were doing big game, not a big game right now.

[Dan Le Batard]

Spurs, Wolves, we're not doing big game or not a big game.

[Tony]

But if we weren't.

[Dan Le Batard]

But yesterday, right when we left the show. Okay, Amin was wrong. And we. They did not suspend Wembanyama for any more time, even though they might have suspended any number of players other than Wembanyama for another game. But what you can't do if you're that league, there are absolutely a different set of rules for Wembanyama. When you're that close to being face of the league, there's no way you get suspended there any number. This is the punishment there is about. Or the lack of punishment isn't about the crime, it's about the criminal. In that particular case, that one guy might be. It might be him and LeBron, maybe Steph, too, as somebody who can get away with that. No one else in the league gets away with something that dirty. Because I'd argue that's the dirtiest playoff thing I've seen since Draymond got ejected for a game because he wouldn't stop kicking people in the junk. And he's got a resume filled with kicking people in the junk. They had no problem suspending Draymond and really altering forevermore a legacy series. A series.

[Tony]

Well, they didn't suspend him like he accumulated technical fouls. If he hadn't accumulated technical fouls, I don't know that he'd have been suspended in the finals.

[Dan Le Batard]

You don't think so? Draymond Green, I believe, has such a history that he's on the other end of the spectrum, more likely to be suspended than anyone else. Wembanyama is less likely to be suspended. I was honestly surprised that they threw him out of the game. I was honestly surprised. I know it's dirty. I'm not questioning how dirty it was. I'm talking about the player involved. The player involved has a different set of rules because of his level of importance to the entirety of the league, not just the franchise.

[Chris]

But we can't do that, right? If you're Going to back, look around and then throw an elbow to somebody's neck at that speed. That doesn't matter who you are. You need to begin, get a flag or two and get tough.

[Dan Le Batard]

You say that, but any other player in the league, except for a couple, gets suspended for tonight too. Like that was that flagrant that dirty. How many NBA games have you seen where you've seen that regular season or postseason? You got swinging elbows all the time. You don't get swinging elbows that catch somebody in the face. That's not something you see all the time.

[Tony]

Really rare, especially in today's NBA, it's rare.

[Stugats]

It was. I thought it was fair. I thought it was fair to eject him with a flagrant two. I didn't think he needed to be suspended an additional game. There was no grievous injury caused by it. I think it's fair. But I agree with Dan. The reality is you don't want to. If you're the NBA, you don't want to change the whole tenor of the postseason by suspending a guy like that.

[Dan Le Batard]

He brings up something interesting though, because that's happenstance that there wasn't a terrible injury. But if there had been, does it change this conversation at all?

[Stugats]

I think it does.

[Tony]

Yep.

[Dan Le Batard]

So you're playing the result there. It's not the crime, it's the results. So really that's reality though.

[Stugats]

Okay, so if I shoot you, it's a different crime if I miss you than if I hit you. You know what I'm saying? If you throw an elbow and it, and it causes just a minor injury, the guy's hurt for, you know, he's down for 10 seconds matters. That's one thing. Yeah, if, if, if the injury will cause him to miss the next game,

[Dan Le Batard]

you guys are saying that it matters. But what I'm telling you is the fact that there wasn't a terrible injury there is totally random. Like if I tell you that size of a human being throwing that elbow at that speed injured someone seriously, you'd say, yeah, I think that's probable. If that catches somebody in the face. You're telling me, what you guys are telling me is if Naz Reed had simply gone unconscious, nevermind make it a major injury, just nevermind something that impacts the rest of the series where Nas Reed can't play. Just the visuals are Nas Reed is on the floor now and he's unconscious. Then you're telling me that is a Game 5 suspension that changes the nature of that entire series.

[Chris]

Dan, how many times have we seen Somebody do a spinning elbow in MMA that hits somebody in the temple and knocks him out. Absolutely.

[Dan Le Batard]

But it's random. What I'm saying is when Many is lucky that that's not what happened. When many is lucky that he doesn't have the stain on his resume. That is the video forever of a 7:3 dude purposely throwing an elbow and hitting someone in the face with a

[Mike]

lot of tinfoil hats surrounding this decision from the NBA, did they even make the right call for what's good for the NBA? It might have been in the NBA's best interest to suspend Wembley. You have the moment with him coming

[Tony]

back because you think it's gonna be payback.

[Mike]

Now you have that storyline hovering over this. You have Minnesota winning another game in this series. They have. You have the spurs one step closer to elimination. I think it ratchets up the drama in this series. I don't think it affects the ratings whatsoever. I think if anything, you get a bigger number for Wemby's return.

[Chris]

Remember, Jokic almost killed Markief Morris, basically ended his career.

[Tony]

Got one playoff.

[Chris]

So one game suspension for Jokic.

[Dan Le Batard]

So this is the Draymond quote on all of this. You tell me what you guys think. Jaden McDaniels and Joker just got fined for much less. I would say to the Minnesota Timberwolves, hey, guys, this is fair game. There's no suspension. There's no fines. Who's going to elbow him in the face? Because what he just did was set a tone.

[Chris]

Fair game. Dexter Pittman game. Get in there.

[Mike]

You got to reach his face.

[Stugats]

Yeah, I was about to say you got to really give it one of these to get up there.

[Dan Le Batard]

Is there a player in the league who can throw an elbow and actually hit Wemby in the face? Gobert is there bears up there.

[Mike]

It's still. It's still going to get up there. It's still going to look super intentional.

[Stugats]

Yes.

[Dan Le Batard]

Put it on the poll at Lebatard show. Is there a player in the league who could successfully elbow Wemby in the face?

[Mike]

Gotta uppercut him on your way up for a board. Close hand board and just kind of little chicken wing.

[Chris]

That's what we call chicken wing.

[Dan Le Batard]

Do you guys. I feel like wembanyama needs to be larger than a chicken wing. A little chicken wing isn't what. It's not what Wemb. It's an off ostrich wing. It's not. It's not a little. It's not a little chicken wing.

[Chris]

But we don't do ostrich wings. We do the ostrich drum.

[Mike]

Right.

[Chris]

The emu. Like I said at Disney they have like the big ostrich drum as a turkey leg.

[Tony]

You ever walk around with those?

[Chris]

Embarrassingly, no.

[Tony]

Me neither.

[Dan Le Batard]

Did you just say the emu that Disney is serving? Emu is that.

[Chris]

Yeah, that's something I've said for many years.

[Dan Le Batard]

I don't believe that they are serving.

[Tony]

You want to check?

[Dan Le Batard]

I don't think. Go ahead and check for me, please. I don't think that that's accurate what you're saying. I don't think that emu is. Put it on the poll at Lebatard show. Is emu a Disney delic?

[Chris]

The turkey leg is very, very big. They don't make turkeys that so big. They don't make turkeys that big. Dan.

[Tony]

I don't know how much turkey like goats for these days in magic kingdom by 20 bucks.

[Stugats]

Is it really?

[Chris]

Probably it's a huge emu leg.

[Dan Le Batard]

Of course. Cheaper than a turkey sandwich in the LA airport and long term gain. A turkey sandwich at the LA airport is $25.30. And I don't think that Cody's got this right anymore. I think all prices have changed so much that you don't. I don't believe you can get a turkey leg at Disney. Do I have it wrong? For $20, I got it for you.

[Greg Cody]

As of mid-2025 it is between 1449 and 1550 for the Turkey leg.

[Mike]

Nothing's happened since then to affect the

[Greg Cody]

price could be up by then.

[Dan Le Batard]

And is it, is it indeed a turkey leg? Because you are saying there are no turkeys that are that big. And I'm not sure that I disagree

[Chris]

with, you know, a large language model say that no massive turkey legs sold at Disney parks are not emu despite long standing urban legends and claims from celebrities. But they use male turkeys which are called toms now. They can grow up to 50 pounds.

[Tony]

Eat that Tom BS.

[Dan Le Batard]

There were a couple of funny things from the OKC Lakers series. One of them is Caruso ended up getting three fouls in 16 seconds. That's a little bit difficult to do. But also funny during one of the games is Deandre Ayton allowed two offensive rebounds. And you see J.J. redick on the bench just complain. Go sit down and complain. After he allowed two offensive rebounds said to his fellow coaches mumbling under his breath, I can't play. I can't play. Deandre Ayton.

[Tony]

Dan, this guy is out of the league in a couple years. He stinks. You know, yesterday he was putting out this video of his new bling. Okay. He's got this massive chain that he had made from dominating. That's the nickname he gave himself because no one would watch him play and say, your nickname should be dominate. So his nickname is Dominatin. You show off the blitz. Not only is your team down three games to none, and you're out there showing off your dominating bling in game four that night, you get swept. Six points, three rebounds. This guy sucks.

[Mike]

He.

[Tony]

Dan, he is a terrible player.

[Chris]

What are you on about with DeAndre? When he ever do?

[Tony]

Oh, yeah, he's a good player.

[Chris]

I didn't say he was a good player. But you've been on him the entire time.

[Dan Le Batard]

I like good players.

[Tony]

I dislike bad ones.

[Chris]

Okay, but he tells you he doesn't really care about what you think.

[Tony]

Did he say that?

[Chris]

He proved it by showing you the ice.

[Tony]

That's why he's gonna be out of the league in a couple years.

[Chris]

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[Stugats]

Don't miss it.

[Chris]

Watch Ronda Rousey versus Gina Carano, live only on Netflix. Saturday, May 16th at 9pm Eastern, 6pm Pacific.

[Dan Le Batard]

Don LeBatard.

[Stugats]

This guy comes in as the next Wayne Gretzky. His nicknames include the chosen1 and McJesus. Okay, he's a great player. He scores a lot of goals. He scores a ton of assists. But it hasn't translated to making Edmonton a powerhouse in the league.

[Greg Cody]

They're in the final.

[Mike]

Stugats.

[Greg Cody]

What's your nickname for him?

[Stugats]

Look overrated.

[Dan Le Batard]

This is the Dan Levatar show with the Stugats. Let's put up the bling again. You just reminded me of Stugatz because you didn't finish a thought. You just stopped in the middle. Of the word bling and just went blah and moved on to your next thought. But that dominating looks like domination. It looks, I don't know, play on words to. I know, I. But what I'm saying is what I'm presently looking at. I don't know if it's my eyesight or not, but I would have said that says domination, not dominating. I would have said Greg, Cody, you. You would say what to that particular piece of bl.

[Stugats]

Yeah, I didn't look at it carefully enough. It says Dominatin, but. But with a Y instead of a T. I, O, N. It's a Y

[Dan Le Batard]

T, O N. His last name is

[Stugats]

Ayton, so it says dominating.

[Tony]

What it says stinks.

[Greg Cody]

Thank you, dad.

[Stugats]

You're welcome. His bling is pretty good, though.

[Tony]

You think there's a single Laker fan wants him back next year?

[Dan Le Batard]

Well, what's going to happen with LeBron there? Because to me, it is rare to have the kind of excellence that OKC is showing. And it's not the conversation point today. The conversation point today is LeBron's season is over and he's saying after the game, I don't know if I'm going to be here next year. Which is a curious thing for him to say given that he's one of the few players in the league with a no trade clause. He can absolutely guarantee that he will be there simply by choosing it. Here's his sound after the game. You guys asked me about it and I've answered questions. Yeah, I don't think I've come out like, oh, retirement is coming. Yeah. So I mean, what about future? I don't know, obviously. I mean, this is obviously we still fresh from, you know, obviously losing.

[Stugats]

I don't know.

[Dan Le Batard]

I mean, I don't know what the future holds for me. Obviously, as it stands right now, tonight, I got a lot of time. I'll sit back. Like I think I said it last year after we lost, I think to Minnesota to go back and recalibrate with my family and talk with them and spend some time with them. And then when the time comes, obviously, you guys know what I decided to do.

[Tony]

Well, Dan, for the first time in his career, he's an unrestricted free agent.

[Dan Le Batard]

Oh, that's right.

[Tony]

That's never been the. That's the first time in his whole career. Unrestricted free agent.

[Dan Le Batard]

So Haberstro just published an article and he's arguing that LeBron has had four different hall of Fame careers, that his time. He's been with the Lakers longer than he's been with anybody. So it's eight years and it's eight All Star appearances.

[Greg Cody]

It is funny that, like, I think it's been consensus that he had three, and now the big take is a fourth.

[Dan Le Batard]

Well, insane, because Tom had three, Tom Brady had three. Now you can argue that LeBron James has had four. So what do you guys think is going to happen there? Because he was saying that the season was a success because it's the first time he's ever had to play as a third option. I'm honestly, I'm not articulating it well when I tell you that I believe even though he's been the most covered American athlete for the last 20 years, pretty much nonstop, I still think his career has been underappreciated because we keep comparing it to Jordan and we keep making it something less than Jordan when he's presently doing something that Jordan could not even aspire to do, in that he's the oldest player in the league and he's still part of the relevant conversation. It's not Kareem Abdul Jabbar scoring, you know, 10 points a game in his 40s. He's still somebody that I would assume any team in the sport would like to have him, would like to put him on their team.

[Stugats]

That's what's amazing to me and so admirable, is that it's not just the longevity. It's not just his age. It's that he is All Star caliber, All Star quality at that age. I don't see a lot of decline now. He's the third option on a healthy team. Maybe not on every healthy team, but maybe that one. But it's remarkable how good he's maintained, how good he's continued. I think Tom Brady showed less toward the end of his comparable career than LeBron is showing right now.

[Dan Le Batard]

What?

[Tony]

What?

[Dan Le Batard]

He's just talking about the very last year because he won the championship the very last year.

[Mike]

Like, what it took Stafford's second greatest throw ever to Cooper cup downfield. Tom Brady almost beat him.

[Stugats]

Yeah, almost.

[Mike]

He was incredible. I mean, if we're going by that, I mean, that's a lot better than what LeBron just did, getting swept out of the second round. Okay, that wasn't. That wasn't almost.

[Chris]

Not only that, Tom Brady ruined his marriage for the game.

[Tony]

That's for one.

[Chris]

For one more season where he went nine and eight.

[Stugats]

All right. Are we admiring him about that?

[Chris]

He loves ball.

[Stugats]

Yeah.

[Dan Le Batard]

Here is Kendrick Perkins saying of LeBron, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant that They'll never win another NBA championship. He says, quote, let's have a moment of silence for the ones that passed away. LeBron, Steph and KD, they're dead birds, tall grass when it comes to them ever stepping foot on the big stage again. As far as winning an NBA championship, those days are over. I don't agree with that. I think LeBron can choose and will choose wherever it is that he's next, a place where he can win a championship as a participant instead of the lead driver.

[Tony]

I think you're right about LeBron could choose to go where he wants and still be a major player on a huge stage. I don't see any scenario where he's not with the Lakers again next year. I really don't.

[Mike]

Even Cleveland?

[Tony]

Definitely not. No, I don't see it. I don't see it. Like, at this point in his career when we know that he's going to play, I mean, every year could be his last year at this point. And for the last year of his career. Not a career where, hey, I got to make sure I get a championship. In the last year of his career, he's picking up the family. His kid is on the Lakers. He's got business on that side of the country. His. His other son's even in school on that side of the country. And he's going to pick everything up and go to a new team, even if the new team's the same as the old team, the Cavaliers. I don't see it.

[Mike]

Do you think he wants this to be the end of his career? This exact model, which is I get to the second round, maybe, and I get waxed by OKC or a team

[Dan Le Batard]

that, well, Luke is not playing.

[Mike]

That's already told us that they're better without him.

[Stugats]

Him.

[Mike]

But even with Luca, they're not beating okc.

[Dan Le Batard]

Maybe not, but you can at least think it possible, given what you just saw. It's kind of an important player that you need to have if you're going to compete with okc.

[Mike]

I agree, but that west is pretty tough.

[Tony]

And here's also the thing. Even if LeBron winds up taking a little bit less than what he's making right now, it's not like he's going to go out there and take the minimum to join a team that's a championship contender, if he's going to join the championship contender because he doesn't want to go out like this on a team that can't compete with okc, no one who's any good has any kind of money available. So take a minimum contract with a really good team or still get paid a lot of money. Well, the only options are like, well,

[Dan Le Batard]

but he could just go to the east, which is easier. Right? It's just simply easier.

[Stugats]

That's why I think the choice is. Is Cleveland. It's the sentimental choice. It's the final homecoming for him. He gets to go to what now is a very competitive team in an easier conference. The path to the championship is much easier there than it is if he stays with the Lakers.

[Dan Le Batard]

I ran into Rich Paul at the airport when I was leaving for Los Angeles.

[Stugats]

Nice name drop.

[Dan Le Batard]

My. Well, it comes with information. It's not just name dropping. I have to give you the name of the person in order to tell you. But. But feel free to hit me with the name drop if you must. Even though. And Valerie was shocked when I told her that's Adele's fiance. He was, you know, imaginary golf, swinging a golf club because he has made his way into the power brokering in that sport. 95 just NBA clients is what it is that LeBron is doing on the side. It's just his side project. And so when you say that he's got businesses out there, it's not just businesses. He and Rich Paul are obsessed with the content business, Obsessed with the idea of content being king. You've seen Rich Paul could have done whatever it is that he wanted. He chose to do a podcast with Max Kellerman, who could have also done whatever it is that he wanted. And the two of them are doing a podcast together where the business that overflows from LeBron is such that his buddy, who he once met in an Airport is representing 95 NBA players. And that's just the NBA they represent. I don't know how many hundreds of other people. That's a crazy business to have on the side where you get a percentage of what all of those clients are making. And all of those clients are making a giant amount of money. The amount of money that he gets benefiting from playing in Los Angeles for the Lakers specifically is just nuts as a side project.

[Stugats]

That's one of the many things I've always admired about LeBron. I remember years ago he was either still with the Heat or had just left the Heat. Him saying in an interview that he wanted to be one of the first athlete billionaires. He's always had a business intelligence to him. That's admirable.

[Dan Le Batard]

Let me ask you guys this question because I don't know. I didn't see the Kevin Hart roast I'm assuming that that much of the subject matter and making fun of Kevin Hart is just how much he's doing, how ubiquitous he is, how much money he grabs at, because he has the stated goal of wanting to be a billionaire. And to me, that strikes me as a curious goal for someone like him because it puts him on the road a ton. It makes him do an extraordinary amount of work in order to try and get there. And I ask all of you, do you guys really think there's that much of a difference between whatever your Life is at $800 million or $600 million or $400 million and a billion dollars? Do you think that when Kevin Hart becomes a billionaire and arrives at whatever the goal of that destination and that journey is, it's just numbers in an account? It's basically him and a couple of financial planners who can celebrate. Got it. It's like that Bo Burnham song about Bezos. You did it. You just keep making more money.

[Greg Cody]

It's about, it's about the brag of being able to say, I'm going for that much money. It's not about actually getting. It's like, if, if, if I'm saying I'm going for a Billy, then you, you know, I'm impressive.

[Mike]

I think what Dan is saying is, is rooted in reality. You take the temperature of the, the current goings on, and it seems like all the wealthy are pretty good, just chilling with their $800 million and not adding to it. Usually when people become billionaires, they stop right there, too. They don't try to become trillionaires.

[Dan Le Batard]

My larger point is, as a goal, for me personally, as a goal of becoming a billionaire, to me, it's just really, your life goal is just a round number. Like your Life goal, like 950 million, and you failed. Like, that's not good enough yet.

[Mike]

That's why you're there, pal. And Elon Musk is going to Mars.

[Stugats]

Yeah.

[Dan Le Batard]

I don't get it, though. Like, I. What's your goal?

[Mike]

Power. Do you like power?

[Dan Le Batard]

A pullet,

[Greg Cody]

apparently. My dad won one, as I'm seeing on his note.

[Stugats]

Oh, yeah. I mean, I, I, I don't brag.

[Tony]

What this thing.

[Stugats]

I didn't wanna, I didn't want to brag, but I got this.

[Greg Cody]

At least you have it at the right angle.

[Stugats]

I got this.

[Dan Le Batard]

No camera can see what that is. You're a professional broadcaster.

[Tony]

Real deal.

[Stugats]

Holyfield. I got this in the certified mail the other day. I gotta have it framed, obviously, but I'm so grateful to the Pulitzer.

[Dan Le Batard]

What does it say?

[Stugats]

It says, Greg Cody wins Pulitzer. New category, Best catchphrase Countdown. Now. I didn't even realize that that was a Pulitzer category. Apparently it's brand new and. And I didn't even know that I was being considered for it. It's such a thrill. It's such a thrill and I'm happy about it. But I'm not going to mention it like a mean Al Hassan at every opportunity.

[Greg Cody]

You don't think shifting the list from 50 to 60 that didn't affect the Pulitzer?

[Stugats]

Well, we shifted it afterwards. So the Pulitzer committee should feel even better because now their prize to me is being aggrandized.

[Dan Le Batard]

You guys know, right? We mentioned yesterday that Pablo Torre has now. He has now arrived at Apex Mountain for self important self regard. And Pablo keeps telling people that he's going around like Anton Chigurh style from no country for Old Men as soon as he gets that Pulitzer coin and he's just going to flip it in front of billionaires. He's actually saying that to people.

[Mike]

A valid criticism from Chris. Guess what you just added to the original list. That's not impressive. Pablo made 10 episodes, you just printed

[Dan Le Batard]

a piece of paper poorly. And your graphics department needs some help there on what it is that you did at your old fax style printer.

[Stugats]

Okay, first of all, this is a

[Dan Le Batard]

new and unimproved Dan Levatar show with the Stugarts gamble on by DraftKings.