The Best of The Dan Patrick Show

Summary

The Dan Patrick Show – "Best of" (May 6, 2026)

Podcast: The Dan Patrick Show
Network: iHeartPodcasts & Dan Patrick Podcast Network
Date: May 6, 2026
Episode: "The Best of The Dan Patrick Show"

Episode Overview

This episode delivers Dan Patrick’s signature blend of insider sports commentary, A-list guests, and entertaining banter with his regular crew. The focus is squarely on the NBA playoffs, with lively discussions about key matchups, standout performances, current narratives swirling around superstars like LeBron James, and the culture of sports fandom. Special guests—ESPN’s Tim Legler and NBA reporter Dave McMenamin—bring deeper analysis and firsthand insights into these topics.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. NBA Playoffs Breakdown

Lakers vs Thunder: Depth and LeBron’s Burden

• Dan Patrick examines the Lakers’ Game 1 loss to the Thunder:
  • Despite Shea Gilgis-Alexander (SGA) scoring under 20 and seven turnovers, OKC still dominated.
  • "SGA didn't play well, LeBron played well, and you still lose by 20. Like, that’s the scary part of this." (04:58)
• Thunder’s depth likened to peak Warriors:
  • Marvin: "The Thunder last night, they kind of look like the Steph Curry... Warriors in their prime." (05:07)
• Lakers’ challenges highlighted:
  • Missing Luka Doncic makes it hard to threaten a deep, defense-focused OKC.
  • Discussion around LeBron’s comments regarding Luka’s absence—a factual assessment or an excuse?
    • Dan: "Now it’s, he’s 41 and he can’t do it alone. And he’s reminding people...if we have Luka then maybe we can make this a series." (09:30)
    • Paulie: "I don’t know if it’s fair to say LeBron made up an excuse for the loss...He was making the point that it’s obvious what the struggles are." (11:05)

Which Underdogs Can Advance?

• Poll Question: Which underdog would you pick to advance: Cavaliers, 76ers, Lakers, Timberwolves?
  • Dan gives surprising love to the Timberwolves for their playoff consistency: "They’ve been to the Western Conference finals back to back years. It’s not a fluke that they’re here." (06:07)
  • Discusses Detroit’s performance vs Cavs, noting James Harden’s struggles and Cade Cunningham’s rise.

Playoff ‘X-Factors’ & the Role of Supporting Players

• Playoff success often hinges on unsung role players.
  • Marvin: "Shaq calls them the others...you're always going to need that man." (08:38)
• Duncan Robinson, Austin Reaves, Jarrett McCain are mentioned as such key contributors.

2. Knicks Rising – Momentum, Offense, and the MSG Effect

Tim Legler Interview (ESPN NBA Analyst)

(20:01–34:05)

• The Knicks are the “most dominant on both ends of the floor” among remaining playoff teams. (20:22)
• The offensive breakthrough was unlocking Karl-Anthony Towns and utilizing him as a facilitator.
  • Tim Legler: "They sort of changed the way they were utilizing Karl Anthony Towns...including him as more of a guy they could go to early in the offense..." (21:33)
• Home-court advantage at Madison Square Garden and the unique energy it brings.
  • Legler: "If you're not in the building, I don’t think there’s any arena that pops off like the Garden." (23:39)
• Mike Brown of the Knicks credited for mid-series adjustments.

Knicks Fans, Ben Stiller & the Met Gala

• Ben Stiller responds to fans criticizing him for attending the Met Gala instead of Knicks game—shows playful back-and-forth with the Dan Patrick crew.
  • Dan: "The only problem I have is...he’s going to the photographers—Nixon 6. Meanwhile, his wife is having her hand held by somebody to help her get up the steps." (13:46)
• Discussion of New York’s intense, passionate sports culture and the quirky traditions and rules of the Met Gala. (16:30+)

3. Deep Dive on LeBron James – Narrative, Longevity, and Legacy

Dave McMenamin Interview (ESPN NBA Reporter)

(34:42–52:02)

• The Lakers’ issues are attributed to injuries (Luka) and inconsistent supporting cast, especially Austin Reaves.
  • Dave: "You’d like to think that’s a pretty ideal circumstance to steal one on the road. But when you shoot 10 for 30 yourself as a team...the Thunder look like the team that beat the doors off you in the regular season." (34:42)
• OKC’s depth and next-man-up ethos make them formidable even without top players.
• LeBron’s "Excuse" for the Loss?
  • Dave: "To me, it was just addressing the obvious elephant in the room...If you don’t take those two pieces of context into consideration, then you’re being a little disingenuous..." (37:09)
• LeBron’s Future:
  • Unlikely this is his last season—his game still All-Star caliber and he remains motivated by the chance to win.
  • Dave: "If there was not a chance to contend, I really believe he would would walk away. He doesn’t need it. But so long as that sliver of a window is open...why would you walk away?" (41:52)
• LeBron wants to create more "counting stats" with son Bronny, showing the personal side of his career milestones.
• On "GOAT" Narratives & Reputational Shifts:
  • Why LeBron’s legacy is debated, especially compared with Michael Jordan.
    • Dan and Dave discuss the higher scrutiny ("fatigue") post-Decision and how his mobility influenced perceptions of loyalty and leadership. (46:06+)
  • LeBron himself admires Michael’s mid-post game and will to win, but doesn’t judge retirement plans by peers’ examples.

4. Memorable and Lighthearted Moments

• Hot Pizza Wednesday in the studio – Dan struggles with the pronunciation of "soppressata."
  • Dan: "After the initial soprasada hump, you got the rest. Killed the rest." (03:01)
• The crew banters about "salad pizza," pineapple toppings, and Mets fans’ dreams of a "Mets Gala" with everyone in garbage bags. (15:19)
• Fun at the Met Gala’s strict etiquette: no garlic, onions, or partners at the same table, and only 20 seconds with Anna Wintour. (16:50)
• Legler’s story about playing with (and against) 7’6" and 7’7" giants (Shawn Bradley/George Muresan) and comparing them with Victor Wembanyama’s unique skills and presence. (29:35–32:14)
• Reggie Miller’s eternal leanness and "could still shoot" at age 60. (33:52)

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Notable Quotes & Segments with Timestamps

• On the Lakers’ Challenge vs Thunder
  "SGA didn't play well, LeBron played well, and you still lose by 20. Like, that’s the scary part of this." — Dan Patrick (04:58)
• On Thunder’s Depth Compared to 2010s Warriors
  "The Thunder last night, they kind of look like the Steph Curry... Warriors in their prime." — Marvin (05:07)
• LeBron Blame or Fact?
  "LeBron 10 years ago...would be approaching this differently. Now it's, he's 41 and he can't do it alone." — Dan Patrick (09:30)
• On Knicks’ Unlocked Offense
  "They sort of changed the way they were utilizing Karl Anthony Towns...it was his inclusion and utilizing him from that spot to start to really run their offense and pick them apart. And it unlocked things..." — Tim Legler (21:33)
• On Madison Square Garden's Energy
  "If you're not in the building, I don’t think there’s any arena that pops off like the Garden." — Tim Legler (23:39)
• LeBron’s Continued Relevance
  "If you take him [LeBron] and Rui Hachimura ... the rest of their team shot 29%. You just can’t get it done." — Tim Legler (27:57)
• On Playing Against Giants
  "A massive shadow approached me from, from behind and it kind of blocked out everything..." (George Muresan story) — Tim Legler (29:58)
• LeBron’s Perspective on the GOAT Debate
  "Michael’s mid-post game, his ability to get to his spot and rise, his fade away. And then...his will to win. And I think that’s what LeBron was kind of knocked for for many years, just not having the quote, unquote killer instinct." — Dave McMenamin (49:03)
• On LeBron's Finals Losses
  "It feels like getting there 10 times to play for 10 titles. You have to give credit to that." — Dan Patrick (50:41)

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Important Segments & Guest Timestamps

• Lakers/Thunder Recap & Underdog Polls: 04:58–12:25
• Ben Stiller, Knicks Celeb Fans, Met Gala Banter: 13:46–17:30
• Tim Legler Interview on Knicks' Playoff Push: 20:01–34:05
• Dave McMenamin Interview on LeBron and Lakers: 34:42–52:02

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Tone and Style

• The Dan Patrick Show keeps a conversational, light, but informed tone.
• Heavy on sports culture and behind-the-scenes context, peppered with humor and gentle ribbing among Dan and his crew.
• Guest segments feature serious analysis but remain lively and personable.

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Summary Takeaway

This episode is a comprehensive, entertaining primer on the current NBA playoffs, blending sharp sports talk with humorous cultural asides. Dan Patrick and guests elucidate why the Lakers are struggling, why the Knicks are peaking, and how superstars like LeBron James continue to dominate narratives—balancing legacy, leadership, and lasting greatness, all while navigating the quirks of modern sports fandom.

Transcript

[Dan Patrick]

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[Paulie]

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[Dave McMenamin]

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[Dan Patrick]

applecard.com you are listening to the Dan Patrick show on Fox Sports Radio. For my birthday a week from this Friday, Rectech is giving a grill. You can go to rec tech.com search the Dan Patrick show for details. We will give that grill away. By the way, one of the grills is fired up today because we're making pizza. We got the pizza insert. So I said to Dylan, how about a pizza Wednesday? And he went out and got some dough, some ingredients. So in between, like commercial breaks, he's out there whipping up some pizzas. So we have hot honey suprasada. Is that salami? It's.

[Dylan]

Yeah, basically.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay. Pepperoni and onion.

[Paulie]

It's salami.

[Dan Patrick]

Spicy brother pesto arugula brigitte and sausage and rugat. How did I do?

[Dylan]

You kind of nailed that, actually.

[Dan Patrick]

All right.

[Dylan]

After the initial soprasada hump, you got the rest. Killed the rest.

[Dan Patrick]

I thought you were saying we were having hot honey super salad. And I go, why are we having super salad? And then you go, no, it's pronounced differently.

[Dylan]

Although salad pizza done.

[Dan Patrick]

Well, no, no.

[Dylan]

Greek salad pizza.

[Dan Patrick]

No, no. And no pineapple on there.

[Dylan]

No, not. No. I'm out on that. But salad pizza, yeah.

[Dan Patrick]

Who has it better than we do? Nobody. All righty. Trouble sleeping. Introducing Z. Kleiner. Or you could listen to the Todd cast. Revolutionary recliner design by Flex D. I heard you.

I'm just not going to comment that.

That's three minutes and 21 seconds in. Dang. I was going to take the over.

That was unprovoked. You just started up.

I know, I know. Pistons handled the Cavaliers. Thunder over the Lakers. This is. I'll start with the Lakers and the Thunder because you had Shea Gilgis. Alexander held under 20 points. He had seven turnovers. Okay, now we have a recipe for. Maybe we can steal one here. You got okc, second best player, Jalen Williams, who is not playing. And maybe you get some magic here. Austin Reeves didn't play well. LeBron played well. They still. They miss Luca. It's hard to threaten OKC without Luca out there. And LeBron even lamented that. That, hey, we got a guy who scores 30 points who's not out there. Luke Canard's a nice role player. They just don't have the weapons. He and OKC is deep. They are really. You know, they got guys who are coming off the bench, might be the 10th or 11th guy on their bench. They might be the fifth or sixth player for another team. But they're very deep and they showed it last night. They kind of went through the motions. This is one of those where SGA didn't play well. LeBron played well, and you still lose by 20. Like, that's the scary part of this. But do I think they can win a game here? Yes, I do. Maybe two. I don't think they'll Be swept. Yes.

[Marvin]

Marv, the Thunder last night, they kind of look like the Steph Curry Spurs. I mean, spurs, warriors in their prime. Whereas, like, man, we're trying to hold them off as long as we can and what if we take the ball out of Steph Curry's hands? But guess what? Klay Thompson goes off, Leandro Barbosa goes off, Andre Iguodala goes off. That's how deep this Thunder team is. You don't know Jarrett McCain, who's the ninth or 10th guy, came off and hit four three pointers for them last night.

[Dan Patrick]

I know it's one of those where you go, wait, who's this guy? Who's that guy?

[Marvin]

Former Sixer.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah. Then you're going, okay, I. That's where I saw him. Yes. Okay. Yeah. Paul.

[Paulie]

There was a point in the third quarter where it felt like the Lakers could cut it to four, and there was a replay that went against them and then instantly it was 11 and it felt like that was their shot and they were in striking distance and it never got closer.

[Dan Patrick]

Dylan, what's the poll question for the first hour of the program?

[Dylan]

All right, we got a couple, Dan. This one's from Paulie. Which underdog would you have advancing the Cavaliers, 76ers, Lakers or Timberwolves, all dogs in their respective series?

[Dan Patrick]

Well, I don't know why Minnesota doesn't get more love, more verbal bouquets. They've been to the Western Conference finals back to back years. So it's not a fluke that they're here and it's not a fluke that they won game one against San Antonio because the spurs have minimal playoff experience. You got Rudy Gobert, you got Anthony Edwards, Julius Randall. They do have experience here. And that's what's kind of surprising. It's. You would think San Antonio would be the underdog even though they had a better record, they had a better regular season. But the fact that maybe it's just you say Timberwolves and maybe that doesn't strike fear, but they've gone to the Western Conference finals back to back years. So I would say them, you know, the Cleveland Detroit series, that could be a seven game series. Although James Harden looked old last night, he. Well, he is old, but he looked older. And for some reason they had him bringing the ball up. And also our Thompson was guarding him and who he was all over James Harden. And this one I don't understand. How about you let somebody else bring the ball up? Because I don't want James Harden expending all that Energy, just getting the ball to half court at seven turnovers and he looked old. And Detroit, you know that that was a great all around team performance. But Kate Cunningham, you know, he's kind of the right handed version of Jalen Brunson. It feels like, like he's just coming after you. He's going to continue to score. I mean, they're different players, but because Cunningham was leading the NBA in assist before he got hurt, so. But to see him, this is what I love. You see great players be great at this time of the year, because that's really, we focus on that. Bottom line sports society, what did you do in the playoffs? What'd you do? You know, winning a championship, not winning a championship. The won your mvp. Those are the kind of things Anthony Edwards, we didn't know if he was going to play or when he was going to play. Off the bench. 18 points, you love seeing that. Cade Cunningham, Jalen Brunson, what he did, like, that's what you want. You know, SGA will be great in this series. But it was almost one of those where he thought, ah, don't need to tonight. Yes, Marvin.

[Marvin]

And in the playoffs, Shaq usually calls them the others. You got those guys like Duncan Robinson, our boy from the Heat, he had a big game last night. You're always going to need that man. He's still in the league. Or who is that guy that comes up big in the playoff series?

[Dan Patrick]

The Cavs tied the game. They came back from, what were they down 18 or something? And so five minutes to go, Cade Cunningham comes back in the game, delivers three straight possessions with perfect passes for six points. And you know, they're, they're starting to crumble a little bit. And then he comes back in and they go on cruise to the victory. All right, what other poll question are you thinking about here, Dill?

[Dylan]

This is from Todd LeBron blaming the loss on Lucas absence and lack of scoring is a very understandable and reasonable point or a bad sign. Excuses already after game one.

[Dan Patrick]

Well, I think he's reminding everybody of, you know, LeBron 10 years ago, you know, would, would be approaching this differently. Now it's, he's 41 and he can't do it alone. And he's reminding people of, hey, if we have Luca, then maybe we can make this a series. Reminding them and maybe Luca is going to be able to play. I mean, I mean he, he's telling factually, he's telling you the truth. If they had Luca, they have a chance to win this series. They just don't have him. Maybe you get him when they go back to Los Angeles. Dave McMenamon, who will join us later on. He'll have an update on that, I'm sure. Yes, Marvin.

[Marvin]

Wait. So the NBA scoring leader has an

[Dan Patrick]

effect on a series.

[Marvin]

That's crazy.

[Dan Patrick]

I didn't look at it as LeBron is needs an excuse. I think he was just reminding people of, we got to the second round. We weren't supposed to beat Houston. We got to the second round. I'm out here on an island just reminding you we don't have Luca. And if we do get now, I know there's going to be people who parse this and say, Michael Jordan never would have made an excuse like that. Do you think that happens in. In LeBron's life? No matter what happens, like if he drops the mail when he's, you know, bringing in, you know, Jordan never would have dropped them in. You know, he's not good at parallel park. Well, Michael, pretty good partner. Yes, Paul?

[Paulie]

I don't know if it's fair to say LeBron made up an excuse for the loss. He was asked about the Lakers offensive struggles last night, and he said, well, the offensive struggles. We have a guy who averaged 37 a game, 35 this year. What are you asking?

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah.

[Paulie]

And he was making the point that it's obvious what the struggles are. It's not like they didn't actually play that bad offensively over the course of the game. They just don't have their main guy.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah, yeah. I didn't. I didn't view it as an excuse. But then I don't see LeBron through the lens that people do who don't like him or they're just waiting for him to say something. Yes, Dylan, I mean, I think you

[Dylan]

can still call it an excuse, but like a valid one. Is that fair?

[Dan Patrick]

Well, then it becomes a fact. It's not an excuse, is it? It's just, hey, these are the fact you're going against one of the best defensive teams in the NBA.

[Dylan]

I mean, I've made a lot of excuses that were true, at least to me.

[Dan Patrick]

Once again, I'm not going to, you know, dive down into semantics here of what LeBron is saying, how he's saying it is an excuse. Is it? I. I think he just reminding people we don't have Luca. Not that they needed to be reminded, but I think he's pointing out, hey, this is a great team, defending champs, and we're holding on for dear life. And by the way, we don't have the leading score.

[Dylan]

Jordan would have won without Luca.

[Paulie]

He did. He won.

[Dan Patrick]

He never played with Luca.

[Paulie]

That's true.

[Dylan]

Argument over by choice.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay.

[Paulie]

I love our take on this topic.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah.

[Marvin]

Worst take.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah, boy. Did you see where Austin Rivers fired back at Draymond Green after Draymond Green fired at Austin Rivers? We got to see if Austin Rivers will ever join us again because I don't want to get him in trouble again. But I didn't have to say much when I talked about what Draymond's comments were about how he was used by Steve Kerr. But then Draymond makes it personal, and Austin Rivers was never making it personal. Like, he even complimented Draymond Green. But Austin River. It's a four minute clip. I, I appreciate Austin Rivers mentioning the Dan Patrick show. So I, I'd listened to the whole thing after I heard that. I'm like, okay, he complimented. Give us credit. Ben Stiller did reach out, apparently on social media, after some of the Danets or our poll question, some of the audience called him out for not going to the Knicks game. And I said, I don't have any problem with it. The only problem I have is when he's walking up the steps and he's going to the photographers. Nixon 6. Meanwhile, his wife is having her hand held by somebody to help her get up the steps. That was the only problem I had. He'll be there tonight. Front row. Yes, Dylan.

[Dylan]

My real issue with that was that it's really Nixon 4. Oh, not Nixon 6.

[Dan Patrick]

Oh, okay.

[Dylan]

According to Rob in the back.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay. I, I was going to say Nixon 3. The way they play.

[Dave McMenamin]

If they could, they would.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah, yeah, Paul.

[Paulie]

So the guys in back tweeted out the segment about Ben Stiller in the Met gala, and minutes after we tweeted it out, he responded saying, bring it. I know who I am. Like, he's not afraid of the criticism in any way.

[Dan Patrick]

But I think there's a commercial with Jalen Brunson who, who says, I know who I am. And I don't know if Ben Stiller was quoting Jalen Brunson, but I saw that yesterday and I heard, you know, when Brunson said, I know who I am, and then that match with Ben Stiller had to say, but I'm sure Ben Stiller will be. Now, how do the Knicks fans treat him tonight? Like, do they. Do they boo that he shows up and didn't show up for game one? Yes, Marvin.

[Marvin]

No, I think they treat him the same. I think they show him more support because Also, a lot of those people, they're all New Yorkers. And the Met Gala is a part of the fabric of New York life anyway.

[Dan Patrick]

Oh, I see. But you didn't use fabric.

[Marvin]

Yeah. Oh, see, what? I didn't even mean to bloop myself.

[Dan Patrick]

Yes.

[Dylan]

Dylan, if they lose game two, though, are they going to be like, go back to the Met Gala? Ben, come on.

[Dan Patrick]

Should the Mets have a Mets gala?

[Dylan]

No.

[Dan Patrick]

Where everybody shows up, very, you know, fashion friendly.

[Dylan]

A Mets Gala or wearing garbage bags would be.

[Dave McMenamin]

Wow.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay. No, I told you. You know what's going to happen? The Mets second half of the season are going to be crazy great, and then they're going to raise your hopes, and then it'll be a crashing fall.

[Paulie]

Yes, Paul, Ben Stiller was ahead of this right after the Knicks won the other night. He tweeted out, I guess I have to go to the Met Ball again on Wednesday.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay.

[Paulie]

Don't mess with a streak.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay.

[Paulie]

He gets it.

[Dan Patrick]

Showing his sense of humor there. Funny guy. But we did invite him on. But did we get a response? We did not get a response. We used to in the past when

we've invited him on.

But he did respond and enlightened some of our social media things yesterday. Yes.

[Dylan]

Dill, would you go to the Mac Aladan if invited one time just to kind of see what it's all about?

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah. Yeah. But I. I would not know, you know, what to wear, how to dress when you go to that.

[Dylan]

I. I'll help you.

[Dan Patrick]

Well, guys can get by with not crazy things. It's the women who have crazy outfits there.

Yeah.

[Dylan]

Which they all. I learned yesterday in my Met Gala research. They all. All that people attending and outfits have to be by Anna Wintour. So she gets like the final look, which is. Actually makes it even crazier when you see some of the outfits where she's like, yeah, it's good.

[Dan Patrick]

But you're not allowed to have garlic or onions in any of the dishes to prevent bad breath.

[Dylan]

That's good for you.

[Dan Patrick]

No bruschetta because it's messy. No parsley or chives because they get stuck in your teeth. Spouses are seated at different tables from one another, phones are banned, and you can greet Anna Wintour for a maximum of 20 seconds.

Yes, Todd, what is that all about?

It just that harkens back to, like, certain celebrities or hosts.

When you go on their show, you can't look them right in the eye or don't engage them. If you see them in the hall or in the elevator. I Just we're all human beings. I hate when I hear those stories.

Thank you. Todd, welcome. Yes, Paul.

[Paulie]

I actually like the 22nd rules. Quick small talk.

[Dan Patrick]

How are you?

[Paulie]

Good to see you. What are you wearing?

[Dan Patrick]

Nice to meet you. Let's go. Yeah. Be sure to catch the live edition of the Dan Patrick show, weekdays at 9am Eastern, 6am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app. Hey, is Cavino and Rick from Fox Sports Radio. Now, in addition to hearing us live weekdays from 5 to 7pm Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, we're excited to announce a brand new YouTube channel for the show. Yep, that's right. You can now watch Covino enriched live on YouTube every day. All you got to do search Covino Enrich FSR on YouTube again. Go to YouTube search Covino and Rich FSR. Check us out on YouTube. Subscribe. Hit that thumbs up icon and comment away.

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[Dan Patrick]

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[Dave McMenamin]

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[Dan Patrick]

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[Dan Patrick]

He's Tim Legler, ESPN NBA analyst. He'll be on the call tonight. It's game two. Sixers and the Knicks at the garden tip off seven eastern on the mothership. How you feeling, D.P.

what's up? How are you, man? Good to be with you.

Everything's good. How should Nick fans be feeling after game one right now?

Not just because of game one, but because of the way they closed out the Atlanta series. Nobody in the league is playing better than the Knicks. Of all the teams left in the playoffs, this is the team right now that is the most dominant on both ends of the floor. So they should be feeling very, very confident. Look, Philadelphia is probably going to give them their best punch tonight. I expected the Knicks to win that game rather handily just because, you know, Philly went seven with Boston. They, that's their, you know, their nemesis that continually knocks them out of the playoffs. They overcame a 3:1 deficit. You turn around 48 hours later, less than that, and you're, you know, playing the Knicks in the Garden who've been sitting there waiting on you. So I kind of figured that. I didn't think it'd be as bad as it was. I think now you find out what kind of series this is going to be tonight. Philadelphia is going to punch back, but as I said, the Knicks are in the best offensive rhythm they've been in all season, and they are now combining that with a very physical, energized defense. And this is what it looks like when you get a team playing their absolute best basketball.

But what changed? They were down 2:1 to the Hawks. And then what clicked, what was different, you know, from then on to where we are now?

For me, the biggest change was mid series and Mike Brown's alluded to this. They had to unlock their offense. And to me, when their offense was unlocked, that that's what's kind of energized their defense. But. And how do they unlock their offense? They sort of changed the way they were utilizing Karl Anthony Towns and where he was catching the ball and including him as more of a guy that they could go to early in the offense and he could use his passing a little bit more. And it wasn't just the assist numbers. Like it's easy to say that if a guy gets more assists. Oh, you know, they ran the ball through him a little bit more. No, like if you watch them, it was obvious. They're like, hey, listen, Carl, Anthony Towns likes To catch the ball at the top of the key in the elbows anyway. And he's being guarded by a smaller guy in a congu who's an undersized center. So Carl Anthony Towns has all these passing windows available to him and if that's where he wants the ball and he's going to feel more included and we're not going to worry about his shot attempts because it wasn't like he was shooting more. His scoring numbers weren't up. It was his inclusion and utilizing him from that spot to start to like really run their offense and pick them apart. And it unlocked things for O.J. anunoby and Mikhail Bridges and that's how they finished off that series. And then their defense just was, was. I said more up on their toes because things were going better on the other end. And it's led to this. I give Mike Brown credit. Some guys are so married to how they want to coach offensively, where guys should be. They know what's best all the time. It takes, you know, a guy that's willing to really look at his team mid series and say, you know what, we need to adjust something here. They did it. It unlocked everything. And here we go, man, four straight games, and particularly these last two, you know, it's. It's almost perfect basketball that they're playing right now, and it's going to see what Philadelphia could do to disrupt it.

When it comes to home court advantage, you know, the Garden used to rock, it's still rocking now, but, you know, we would single out Boston Garden, Madison Square Garden. But what makes a true home court advantage, how does that affect you as a player, a visiting player?

I think a big part of it is number one, you know, they're just, they're ready at the tip. And most of, most of the arenas you're talking about now and you know, teams that good, teams that were the fan base thinks they really have a shot. That's typically the case in the playoffs, but it is the lack of the peaks and valleys throughout the game, you know what I mean? And that's staying with your team when, when, when There is a 10 to run the other way and staying in it, understanding, like just the pulse of the game and when they need a little more from you as a crowd. For me, I know watching a game on television, if you're not in the building, I don't think there's any arena that pops off like the Garden. When the Knicks are good and the Garden is rocking like nothing else quite looks like that visually. And when you're sitting courtside, look, there are other great environments in this league. OKC is incredible, right? Even Detroit, like the environment that they have right now going on, it's so loud, so thunderous. So there are other arenas that, you know, can match what the Knicks crowd is bringing to the table. But I think right now this fan base senses the path is there. It's been laid like this is their year to get back to the Finals.

Last year, the path was there too. They got rid of the Celtics, Tatum gets hurt, and all they had to do is get past the Pacers. And everybody thought, foregone conclusion. That's why if I'm a Knicks fan, I'm like, okay, easy one game. This is probably going six or seven. You know, we got to slug it out here. You know, we're not going to win this in three. So I think having a sense of reality would help.

Yeah, well, I think that, listen, northeast corridor cities, New York, Philly, Boston, similar in this, in this regard, right? So when their team's playing well, like the Knicks are right now, it's like there's no way we can, anybody can stop us. And if they lose a couple of games in a row, like they did the Atlanta Series, it's like, oh my, here we go. And you're talking about off season personnel changes already. You're down to one in a series. That's just kind of how those cities work is why. That's why there's just such great, passionate, you know, fan bases. Not always the easiest places to play as an athlete. But when things are going well, there's nothing quite like it, like that support that you're going to get. And I just think the way that everybody's sort of looking at the landscape in the east, the Celtics are no longer there. You didn't have to deal with the Pacers, who were in the finals last year because of the injury to Halliburton. You know, Tatum even missing most of the year changed the Celtics regular season and they weren't able to get it done at the end. You've got a Detroit Pistons team that's a 60 win team, an elite defensive team. But I think, you know, the New York Knicks feel like, hey, you know, we took care of them a year ago now. I know the Pistons beat them up this year in a regular season, so that'll be an interesting matchup if we get there, a lot of basketball to be played. But right now, I'm telling you, the Knicks are so confident, everybody in their starting lineup is Playing well. They're getting great contributions, X factor type stuff from their bench. Seems like Mike Brown's pushing all the right buttons right now. It's just this incredible momentum surge for the New York Knicks right now, and somebody's got to try to slow this down. Philadelphia's got to try to make something happen tonight.

76ers Knicks at the Garden on the mothership at 7 Eastern. Watching the Lakers last night, there's only so much LeBron can do. The fact he's doing as much as he's doing at his age is remarkable. And then I know people are probably going to look at his comment where it sounded like an excuse when he says, well, we don't have Luca. It's not a. It's a fact. And he was asked about it, so it's not like he said, oh, we lost. Hey, keep in mind, I don't have Luca out there. We're gonna probably turn it so, you know, it's against. It's anti LeBron because he's making excuses there. What do you expect out of this series?

I mean, look, he's. Listen, you can't deny the fact that you're talking about the best defensive team in the NBA. And you know, it's an argument. San Antonio's right there. Detroit is a great defense, so. But to me, Oklahoma City is the best defense in the league because the number of guys that they have on the perimeter with elite lateral speed, strength, they've just gotten more of those guys than anybody. And they've also got Chad Holmgren back there as well.

It's.

It's so difficult to operate your offense against them because it's so difficult to crack the outer shell and beat your guy, whether it's pick and roll or one on one and get by them because they're so good defensively. So to take a guy like Luka Doncic that's that big, that strong, that good offensively, the best probably in the league at being able to collapse defenses and take him out of the series. It's not, it's not an excuse. It is a reason. This is one of the best offensive players in the game. And now you don't have him. You don't have an in rhythm Austin Reeves, you know, so, you know, credit to him, he made it back. He's not close to being at peak form. Austin Reaves is a major difference maker. He's got a handle, he's got strength, he draws fouls. He's really important in this series. If the Lakers want to have a Chance, Austin Reeves really struggled last night because he's only played a couple of games since he came back from a very long layoff. It's a lot to ask to be thrust into this environment and expect him to be at his best. So I, yeah, I was watching the game last night and you kind of. Did you kind of empathize with LeBron? I mean, LeBron couldn't have played much better than he did. If you take him and Rui Hachimura take their shooting percentages out of the mix. The rest of their team shot 29%. You just can't get it done. You've got to make your share of threes. You cannot turn the ball over the way they did against that team. And they just didn't play a clean enough game. The bad news for the Lakers actually is I thought Oklahoma City was like a 7 out of their 10. That's about what I would rate them. There's a lot more there for them. It was almost like they could have been had last night if Austin Reaves was, was like more capable to give them a big night and they weren't able to do it. Oklahoma City, I think is just going to get stronger as the series goes on without Luka Doncic. I think this is going to be very difficult for the Lakers.

What is it like to play against somebody who's seven, six?

Well, I never. Yeah, I guess. Did I play against 7 6? Yeah, I guess. Sean Bradley, I played with a 7 7. And I can tell you this, like, neither one of those guys looked like what Victor Wembanyama looks like.

George Mirason, right?

George Marissan, 7 7. And I remember the first time I laid eyes on Jerry's Mirror Song when I joined the team and it was at Bowie State University where we were running like pickup games before the season. And I actually, this is a true story. I was over getting like Gatorade, like out of the cooler, the old style coolers. You know, I used to press the little button wherever you're getting Gatorade. And, and, and I'm telling you, it. A massive shadow approached me from, from behind and it kind of blocked out everything in front of me. And I turned around and your, your eyes were like basically in his like solar plexus. Like that's what you're looking at and you kind of just look up at this guy. It's, it's, it's really jolting you because you know, obviously tallest guy ever played in the league. But you know, he wasn't out on the perimeter. Jumping out on a switch and like staying with a guard and then tracking them all the way to the rip. If you brought the action right to George at the rim, you were going to have a problem scoring. But if you going to ask him to move around laterally a little bit, there's a good chance he was going to get off balance and not get there in time. That's not the case here. The league's never seen anything like this. Defensively. The length we've seen, we've never seen the length combined with this level of athleticism and agility. It's just, it's just. And so for me, I've seen it. I've sat courtside, I've called games with women. Yeah. But I don't know what that would feel like to try to drive to the rim on a half court defense with Wembanyamas anywhere on the floor. It's just a totally different approach mentally to what you think you can do well.

And I saw Anthony Edwards take a jumper over Wembanyama and, and I was like, oh my God. Like, you know, Joker had a fade away shot over Wemby. But you know, you're seeing Edwards, who's what, 6, 3 going up against a guy who you know is 7 4. And with that, you know what was

amazing about that shot, Dan, was, you know, that play you're talking about, he isoed him and went one on one and he sort of tried to get him to back up, but he backed up a little bit. But it wasn't like women. Yama fell all the way back to the paint. He only backed up a little bit. So when he went up to contest that shot, telling you right now, there's no way Anthony Edwards saw the basket because of women Yama's reach. There's no way you can stay with your shot all the way to see the rim with that length. So. And he didn't hit anything but net that way. I thought the same thing you did. I don't know how that shot went in because there's no way his vision was clear.

Good to talk to you, Legs. We'll be listening tonight. Thank you, bud.

You got it there.

That's Tim Legler, ESPN NBA analyst who said that he could beat me in a three point shooting contest left handed many, many years ago. And he was serious about it. It's probably still serious about it. Is that right, Legs? You, you said you were very serious that that afternoon.

I was, I was, I was incredibly serious, particularly at that time in my life. I don't quite shoot as much as I used to, but I, I'd still be okay.

Could you beat Greg Anthony left handed?

No. That's an NBA player. I can't. I can't. You can't be disrespectful to a former colleague in NBA.

Come on. I could shoot better than Greg Anthony could.

[Dylan]

No.

[Dan Patrick]

From deep.

I can't go into my boy Ga. No.

Yeah, no. We even laughed he was taking the little, like Avery Johnson, 18 footers, you know, you, yeah, you.

Hey, I know, I know this. I, I used to shoot all the time because I was coaching and I was in the gym with my, you know, my guys, my son, my AAU team that I coached for years on the Under Armour circuit. I, So I was, I was in a gym like two, three times a week. I was getting up, still a couple hundred jumpers all the way until about what, 10 years ago. I think I stopped. It's harder now, man. It's harder now. And I still, I still get myself ready for my basketball camp every summer so I can, so I can wow the kids. Like that's my goal. To not walk in there as a guy that was a high level shooter and throw up a bunch of bricks for your shooting demonstration. That wouldn't go very well with my, my camp. So I get myself ready for that week. Other than that, man, I don't spend a lot of time shooting anymore.

Reggie Miller can still shoot, man.

Oh, yeah, yeah, I'm sure, I'm sure. There's no doubt.

And he's 60. Like he's.

Yeah, he hasn't gained £1 since late. I don't know how he pulled that off either. I don't know how that's possible.

Thank you, legs.

All right, Dan.

Jim Legler, Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation. Catch all of our [e-mail] and within the iHeartRadio app. Search FSR to listen live. Dave McMenamin was there. He witnessed the kind of, I don't know, average game for okc. If you think about it, it just felt like this was more of a. Yeah, all right, we got a game tonight, nothing special. SGA didn't have a great game and LeBron showed up. But anything that you didn't expect happened last night.

[Dave McMenamin]

I think the Lakers, if you told them you'd hold SGA to 18 points with seven turnovers, you'd like to think that's a pretty ideal circumstance to steal one on the road. But when you shoot 10 for 30 yourself as a team. And Austin Reeve goes three for 16. And really after two and a half quarters, the Thunder look like the team that beat the doors off you in the regular season.

[Dan Patrick]

I don't know.

[Dave McMenamin]

I mean, they're going to have to find a way to turn the page and, and not have this seep into what happens on Thursday.

[Dan Patrick]

I'm trying to figure this out and you'll follow it closer than I will, but did Boston have a different game plan when they're making their threes? Do the Celtics or the Lakers have a different game plan when you're not. There's nights when you're just not going to make shots, but these teams keep shooting these shots. And I just wonder how much adjustment happens in the NBA during games when this happens.

[Dave McMenamin]

It's, it's a great question and certainly anyone who watched that Philly Boston game, I think, had that thought come to mind. I'll give JJ Reddick credit. I don't think he's someone who just tries to pound his head into the wall doing the same thing. He is someone who's shown, whether it be with the rotations, whether it be his defense that's gotten better this year by throwing in some zone, by throwing in some two men on the ball action and obviously the offensive sets. But at the end of the day, if your goal is to get into the paint and collapse the defense and spread out to an open shooter, you are a professional basketball player getting that shot. And you know, I understand, you know, at some point you got to change things, but you kind of trust the shots that you're generating in that sense. And the Lakers from the All Star break onward or a top 10 three point shooting team. And so, you know, obviously the one guy missing from that equation throughout these playoffs has been Luka Doncic, who is their most lethal three point shooter.

[Dan Patrick]

And I know it's going to be spun in a different way, but LeBron was asked about, you know, you're not scoring. And he, he reminded the media that, hey, we don't have Luca here. It's probably going to be spun where he's making excuses which isn't fair to him. He didn't say, hey, we lost. But keep in mind, I don't have any help out here. So how did you take that answer from LeBron?

[Dave McMenamin]

Yeah, and you're totally right. You've been around it for forever. You know that there'll be some who try to turn it into him complaining or saying woe is me. To me, it was just addressing the obvious elephant in the room that, hey, I know it looked bad tonight, but we are playing the defending champs and we have the leading scorer in the NBA this season in street clothes still. So if you're going to honestly assess what you saw, if you don't take those two pieces of context into consideration, then you're being a little disingenuous about your expectations for what the series could be.

[Dan Patrick]

What's the time frame? Any update on Luca?

[Dave McMenamin]

No update, and I'm just quoting JJ Redick by sharing that with you. He has been on the court late form shooting, not much movement, hasn't progressed to one on one, hasn't even run to my knowledge. But the thing about that is these things can change rather quickly once a hurdle is cleared. He's about 35 days since he suffered the injury, so we're talking about five weeks. These things can take as many as six to eight weeks. Sham Charania reported the other day that sources told him he's being evaluated on a week to week basis, which would mean game two is out of the picture. But you could still theoretically have a shred of hope for games three and four back in Los Angeles, but that remains to be seen.

[Dan Patrick]

Talking to Dave McMenamin covers the NBA for the Mothership is OKC beatable.

[Dave McMenamin]

I mean, if you watch last year's playoffs, you saw Denver take them to seven, you saw Indiana take them to seven, so certainly they are. And right now when Jenny Williams is out of the lineup, you would say that that's probably their second or third best player. So they're more vulnerable now. But then you watch the game last night and, and you see guys like AJ Mitchell, you see the other Jalen Williams, you see Jared McCain come in and make plays, you see the bench outscore the Lakers bench 34 to 15, and you're like, man, if they can do this on a night where Shay literally has his worst scoring game in two years, they do seem like in a class of their own right now.

[Dan Patrick]

You hear athletes at the end of their careers say, well, I don't want to go out like this. But you can't decide what's going to happen by, oh, I don't want to go out this way, I'll come back next year. There's no guarantee next year is better than this year. But is there a scenario you see for LeBron where this is how he wants to go out or this is how he will go out?

[Dave McMenamin]

There was a time this year where I really believed it was this last season and it was early December after he had made his comeback. And he's doing things like scoring 12 points on the road in the fourth quarter against Philadelphia 76ers and afterwards waxing poetic about how much it meant to him to soak in the road crowd because that's a place he's always appreciated. That kind of narrative coming from him changed around the All Star break, and I would be pretty shocked at this point if this was his last season. His game is still elite, not what it was in his prime, but it's still All Star caliber. He has found a way to play winning basketball with this team. They went 16, 2 with him, taking a kind of a supporting role through March and early April. And if they make some adjustments to this roster, they should be right there up with the top echelon of the Western Conference. So to me, it doesn't make sense because he still loves the game for him to walk away from the game. And quite frankly, it doesn't really make sense for him to look for another team to play for. I think the Lakers offer him pretty much everything he'd want at this stage of his career.

[Dan Patrick]

Does he ever talk, and this is probably not the way to phrase it, but just patting his stats like he, he may not win another title, but the longevity that he's showing, like he's doing something that nobody has done at this level, I don't know how important those things are. If, if you say you're not going to win another title in the next two years, but you're still going to be able to play and contribute. How much does he care about the final numbers of his career in the stat?

[Dave McMenamin]

I could tell you that he cares about is he's has two assists to Bronnie James thus far in his career, he wants to add to that. And he's had one assist he's received from Bronny James. Like, that's certainly a counting stat that he wants, but it's about doing all the things he does to keep his body and mind sharp to still be doing the same thing he's been doing all these years later. With the context of winning, if there was not a chance to contend, I really believe he would would walk away. He doesn't need it. But so long as that sliver of a window is open and. And truly, I've been told by people within the organization when they were putting together that run in the second half of the season, he really believed he bought in on everything. You saw the best version of LeBron James, if he can stay in that mode, why would you walk away? Because that's the type of stuff that's going to gnaw at you and eat at you when you only have golf as your outlet for years to come. You'll think back that I almost squeezed everything out of that, but there was a little bit more juice left to be squeezed.

[Dan Patrick]

Explain to the audience that you had an opportunity to ask LeBron 23 questions, questions you've never asked him before.

[Dave McMenamin]

Yeah. So the idea was, and as I was talking to you briefly before, I thought this was going to be the last year. It was kind of feeling that way and kind of the same deal. I wanted to squeeze all the juice out of it as well. And so I approached him after his season debut in Utah, after he missed the first 14 games with sciatica, and I was like, I've been kind of thrown around this idea in my head. I just love to kind of empty the notebook of the stuff that either I didn't ask you because it was kind of a one off throwaway question like, why does he wear the same quarter zip every. Every game that Nike came out with in 2021 and he doesn't wear the new warm ups. I just always wanted to ask him that to like, way more basketball centric, like what have and antagonators, antagonistic players like Lance Stevenson and Dylan Brooks meant to your career. He said, let's try it. And so over the course of the season, it would be mostly always a post game window, more often on the road because we're not trying to get home to our families. And you know, you can linger a little bit longer in the locker room.

[Dan Patrick]

Locker room.

[Dave McMenamin]

And yeah, it's just kind of peppered him with these questions. And to his credit, he played ball like there wasn't one of them that he said, no, I'm not going to answer that. And for the most part, I think there's some insightful answers.

[Dan Patrick]

What surprised you the most?

[Dave McMenamin]

I think that when I asked him about guys that I know he respects, Carmelo Anthony, Dwayne Wade, Richard Jefferson, guys, Tracy McGrady, his peers in the game, several of his teammates, and have gone on to broadcasting careers. When I was asking him, does he look to them as an example of how you fill your time in retirement? He's like, f. No, I'm like, he's like, it's not because that's anything to do with them or broadcasting. Just. I just don't look at my life that way. Like I have my own journey and I just found Like, I think if I was in the shoes, I would probably look to my friends and my peers as they did XX and X. And I'm going to try to do XX and X as a way to kind of have what we all know to be a really awkward and difficult time of your life. You know, athletes suffer two deaths when they retire and when they expire. That would be something I would do to try to like, maybe have a little bit of a head start on it. And he flatly rejected that. He puts his mind through what they're going through at all. And I thought that was pretty revealing.

[Dan Patrick]

When do you think not everybody turned on him, but when do you think there was this. I don't know if it was fatigue that people had with him. Social media, Mike didn't go through social media. So it just felt like, was there a time where this went from a feel good story? Local kid without a dad leads, you know, goes with the Cavaliers, does everything they possibly can. And then I didn't know if it was when he went to Miami that all of a sudden it's like, oh, okay, Michael never did this. You had to go, you, you want to wear 23. You want to be Michael Jordan. Has LeBron ever. Or did you talk to him about being the villain or how did he become a villain?

[Dave McMenamin]

I actually didn't talk to him about that because I feel like that's something that he kind of had exercised those demons in his Miami tenure. Now I didn't start covering him day to day until 2014 when he left Miami to go to Cleveland. I could tell you from speaking to people within his kind of orbit, his Q score plummeted from the decision. And that was something, that was the reason why he hired a political strategist to be his publicist for many years and tried to find a way to dig out from under that just nastiness. And he became the poster child of modern sports. And not enough athlete loyalty towards the markets they play for. Mind you, on the other side, I think if you walk away from his career and take the 30,000 foot view, the best part of his athlete empowerment that he has been the kind of, I guess the main advocate for is that these organizations aren't going to care about you. Blake Griffin's going to go through major free agency presentation where they have him up on posters next to dignitaries of U.S. history for the Clippers, and the next thing you know he's traded to the Detroit Pistons. And so if that's going to happen to you while you wield the Power, you be the one kind of deciding your own future. And I think that is incredible. And I think all power to him. Where we've seen some of the backlash that have led from that is too many players who want to follow the first part of that playbook, but then not have the accountability on the back end. I mean, LeBron James, every franchise has ever played for, he's won a championship for. He's the only guy in NBA history to do that, to win a championship and a Finals MVP on three different franchises.

[Dan Patrick]

Do you think deep down, maybe not deep down LeBron thinks he's better than Michael Jordan?

[Dave McMenamin]

So that was an interesting conversation we had and I didn't want to talk about like goat because that there's no way to really determine it, but I wanted to ask like, what parts of your game is better than his game and what parts of his game are better than your game? And he admitted to me, or I guess I don't know, I, I don't know if he's trying to had a problem admitting it, but he said Michael's mid post game, his ability to get to his spot and rise, his fade away. And then to me, the part that he wouldn't say was better, but the part he admired about his game was his will to win. And I think that's what LeBron was kind of knocked for for many years, just not having the quote, unquote killer instinct. I mean, from the time I've covered him, I've seen him make a handful of game winners in the NBA playoffs. Made to me, that's a guy who can deal with the pressure. Saw him lead a 31 comeback against the 73 win team in the Golden State Warriors. Again, impervious to pressure. And so I don't know how accurate those, those knocks for him were on him at any point, but that is the reputation of Jordan, that's in the ether that he'll probably never overcome. And I love that he spoke to me candidly about the fact that he's 4 and 6 in the finals and that's viewed as a knock on his career. There are people who would if he lost in the first round, lost in the second round, didn't make the playoffs, they would not bring that up as much as him getting to the NBA Finals and losing.

[Dan Patrick]

Well, you say they don't do that to Jerry West. Jerry, I think was one in nine and your nickname is Mr. Clutch and you're the logo. And look, Jerry was one of my favorite players, but it, it feels like getting there 10 times to play for 10 titles. You have to give credit to that. I know Mike was 6 0. I know Montana was 4. 0, but damn, Brady got there. Even if you lose, LeBron got there. I mean, you can't win it if you don't get there. And I always thought that that was a shame, that it was viewed as a negative. Well, he can't win the big one. Jerry west, as great as he was, only won one title.

[Dave McMenamin]

And like, yeah, you're a golf guy, right? And he's becoming a golf. Like, we look at all the second place finishes for guys like, you know, Tiger and Arnold, and, you know, that's.

[Dan Patrick]

Jack had 19 second place finishes.

[Dave McMenamin]

There you go, Right? That's something that should be celebrated, the fact that you're playing on Sunday with something to play for. LeBron's been playing in June with something to play for, and I don't think we'll see another player. That, to me, is as important of any stat that he was able to kind of accomplish at his time.

[Dan Patrick]

Thanks for spending time. We appreciate it. Thanks for the insights, Dave.

[Dave McMenamin]

You got it, dan. Anytime.

[Dan Patrick]

Dave McMenamin.

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