What's Wright - Best Of Nick Wright - Are Lakers FINISHED? Celtics TEAM TO BEAT w/ Tatum? Jokic TOP 10 EVER?

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Herd with Colin Cowherd

Episode: What's Wright - Best Of Nick Wright
Date: April 12, 2026
Host: Nick Wright (with co-host Damonte)
Main Topics: Are Lakers finished? Celtics team to beat with Tatum? Is Jokic a top 10 all-time player?

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Overview

This “Best Of” compilation from Nick Wright’s “What’s Wright” features in-depth conversations on the NBA’s biggest stories as the regular season wraps up and the playoffs loom. The hottest topics: Jason Tatum’s mental return to MSG and the Celtics' championship outlook, the battered Lakers’ chances without key stars, LeBron’s endurance and next-move speculation, and a thoughtful debate on Nikola Jokic’s historical place in NBA rankings.

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1. Jason Tatum’s Return and the Celtics’ Championship Outlook

Segment Start: [03:17]

Key Points

• Tatum's Emotional MSG Return:

  • Tatum is returning to Madison Square Garden for the first time since his Achilles tear in last year's playoffs. He intentionally chose this game (instead of another in a back-to-back) to mentally overcome the trauma before potentially facing the Knicks in the playoffs.
  • "There was a level of honest vulnerability that was surprising... It would not have at all been shocking if Jason Tatum lied." — Nick Wright [05:17]

• Tatum’s Form Since Return:

  • After initial struggles (“first week and a half there was rough” [06:28]), Tatum’s stats have surged, with his last five games averaging 25 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists on 49% FG and 41% from three.
  • "Him being this impactful this quickly is stunning. And I do feel like tonight's game is the final checkpoint for him, like being fully back mentally." — Nick Wright [08:50]

• Celtics as Title Favorites:

  • Nick is highly confident in Boston as the safest bet to reach (and possibly win) the Finals, citing Tatum’s performance and roster depth.
    • "That's why I'm so confident in Boston making the finals and I think being the safest bet to win the championship." — Nick Wright [08:51]

• East Threats:

  • Despite the Knicks’ past success over Boston, Nick sees Detroit as the bigger postseason threat due to their surprising offensive depth.

Notable Exchange

• Damonte: "Who do you think is the biggest threat to them out on the east side?" [09:32]
• Nick Wright: “I think the biggest threat is actually Detroit.” [09:39]

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2. Playoff Seeding Scenarios & Potential Matchups

Segment Start: [12:12]

• Nick breaks down the Eastern Conference seeding chaos, discussing how the Knicks’ and Cavs’ results could shift playoff paths and which matchups teams would prefer.
• He emphasizes Boston’s sturdy playoff positioning and Vegas' lower-than-expected odds for the Celtics, considering them a value bet.
  • "I think Boston at +550 is a bet. I bet the Celtics at 11 to 1 for a little bit... and at nine to one for a fair amount when I knew Tatum was coming back." — Nick Wright [14:40]

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3. Are the Lakers Finished? Injury Crisis & Playoff Prospects

Segment Start: [21:01]

Key Points

• Critical Injuries:

  • Luka (presumed Luka Doncic, now on the Lakers) traveling to Europe for hamstring therapy and Austin Reaves out with an oblique—possibly for the entire first round.
  • Without both, Nick is blunt: “If they're both out, then they're dead.” [21:21]

• Lakers’ Underdog Formula:

  • With only LeBron and Austin, Nick saw a shot against Houston. Without both stars, however, he’s unequivocal the Lakers are “drawing dead.”

• Outrage over Narrative:

  • Nick strongly objects to the emerging “I told you so” takes doubting the Lakers due to injuries.
    • "People are using games played without their two leading scorers as evidence that that team was never actually what what some of us thought it could be. Outrageous." — Nick Wright [21:21]

• Broader NBA Context:

  • Nick compares losing two top scorers to other teams—no playoff squad could survive such losses.

• Luka’s Timetable:

  • Nick predicts Doncic will return in round one, possibly missing only Game 1.

    • "I think Luca will play in round one. I do not think he will play the first game of round one." — Nick Wright [29:17]
    • He expresses cautious faith in modern treatment and Doncic’s resilience: "The guy's a warrior. And I think he's going to find his way back." [31:47]

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4. LeBron’s Mindset & Future Destinations

Segment Start: [32:05]

Key Points

• LeBron's Response to Adversity:

  • LeBron called the injury "a shot to the head, heart, chest, and mainframe." [32:05]
    • Nick shares a courtside moment: LeBron, smiling, tells a fan, "I can still do this. They put me on the shelf though." [33:49]

• Evergreen Greatness:

  • Nick stands by his claim LeBron could be an All-Star into his mid-40s if he chooses the right role.

• Potential Next Teams:

  • Debates Cleveland, Golden State, New York Knicks, and Denver Nuggets as landing spots.
    • Golden State and Denver intrigue him because LeBron could still “initiate the offense” rather than be marginalized by other ball-dominant stars.
    • "Somewhere he can have the ball in his hands...maybe what these next few weeks remind him is how damn exhausting that is." — Nick Wright [35:57]

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5. Is Jokic Top 10 All-Time? Measuring Greatness

Segment Start: [43:31]

Key Points

• Jokic’s Historical Placement:

  • Nick places Jokic just outside his all-time top 12—around 13th—behind the likes of Moses Malone and Dr. J, but ahead of Giannis and Durant.

    • "If people are trying to argue, you know he's one of the five greatest players ever. Yes, that's too far." — Nick Wright [43:57]
    • "I have Joker slotted right ahead of those guys as right now the 13th greatest player ever." [47:00]

• Criteria for Top Tier:

  • The barrier is not just rings, but deep, consistent playoff runs.
    • Cites playoff games played: "If everyone on the list has played nearly double the playoff games as you, it's just hard to break into that group." [48:30]

• Jokic vs. Shaq/Akeem:

  • Compares Shaq’s and Hakeem’s Finals dominance, explaining why their playoff legacies still outweigh Jokic’s for now.

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6. Why Repeat Champions Are Disappearing

Segment Start: [51:47]

Key Points

• Historical Perspective:

  • As the league grows in size and talent, consecutive championships have become harder.
    • "The maximum realistic championships that can be won. That number seems to keep decreasing." — Nick Wright [54:50]

• Era Comparisons:

  • Each generation of superstars wins fewer titles: Russell (11), Havlicek (8), Kareem/Jordan (6), Kobe/Duncan (5), LeBron/Steph (4).
  • The modern game’s parity, talent spread, and playoff grind make repeats and three-peats rare.

• OKC as a Modern Exception?

  • Thunder as a possible repeat threat—but acknowledging nothing is guaranteed, as defending champs “keep getting popped in round two.” [56:06]

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7. Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Him being this impactful this quickly is stunning. And I do feel like tonight's game is the final checkpoint for him, like being fully back mentally." — Nick Wright on Tatum [08:50]
• "If they're both out, then they're dead." — Nick Wright on the Lakers’ playoff chances without Luka and Austin Reaves [21:21]
• "I think Luca will play in round one...The guy's a warrior." — Nick Wright on Doncic's expected return [29:17, 31:47]
• "I can still do this. They put me on the shelf though." — LeBron (relayed by Nick Wright) [33:49]
• "I have Joker slotted right ahead of those guys as right now the 13th greatest player ever." — Nick Wright [47:00]
• "The maximum realistic championships that can be won. That number seems to keep decreasing." — Nick Wright on NBA eras [54:50]

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8. Timestamps for Important Segments

• [03:17] – Celtics outlook & Tatum’s emotional MSG return
• [06:00-09:00] – In-depth on Tatum’s recovery and Celtics’ title prospects
• [12:12] – Eastern Conference playoff seeding drama
• [21:01] – Lakers’ injury crisis & Nick’s critique of “fraud” narratives
• [29:17] – Luka’s injury, return timeline, and impact
• [32:05] – LeBron’s mindset and speculation on future teams
• [43:31] – Jokic’s all-time ranking debate
• [51:47] – The increasing difficulty of repeat NBA championships

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Tone and Takeaways

Nick Wright blends sharp statistical analysis, personal insight, and passion for NBA history. He’s forthright about narratives he considers unfair (especially around injuries), brings empathy for player psychology (Tatum’s return), and is unafraid to challenge consensus (Jokic, Lakers hate). The episode is a must-listen for NBA fans seeking context behind the headlines and a peek ahead to a playoff race loaded with intrigue.

Transcript

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[Nick Wright]

Welcome to the Best of the Week for what's Right with Nick Wright. The best takes and moments from this week on the show. Enjoy.

[Damonte]

Tatum returns to MSG tonight for his first time since tearing his Achilles last year in the playoffs. He's not thrilled about going back. It's a little traumatic, but he wants to go about it now because they might be able to see them in the second round. What do you think of his approach?

[Nick Wright]

So I, I had a hunch on what because the Celtics play a back to back, they play tonight and tomorrow and he's not yet allowed to play back to backs. So we very easily could miss this game and then play tomorrow. And I had a hunch that I've since confirmed that it was very intentional that he is playing this game rather than tomorrow's game because he doesn't want the first game back to be a playoff game, the first game back in that building. And so a couple things on that one is I really do feel it is good fortune for the Celtics and for Jason Tatum individually that this game was still on their schedule. Like they only play at MSG a couple times a year. If both of those games were early in the season, then he wasn't going to get this opportunity to play at MSG before it's a playoff game. And it would have, you know, if the Celtics Knicks play in the playoffs it almost assuredly will be round two. It would be, you know, very eerie and you know, I think uncomfortable for Jason in that it would be around a year ago to the day, same round, same opponent, like all of that. And so I think it's really good that he is playing this game. I also think it is really interesting demons a how publicly open and honest Jayson Tatum has been throughout this entire process. And if you guys saw his answer on this specific thing about coming back, it was a level of honest vulnerability that was surprising like that I don't know. I, I it would not have at all been shocking if Jason Tatum lied. If he just said like, oh yeah, you know, I'm. It's the next game. The, you know, there's the building isn't what caused my injury. Like, even if he felt funny about it, to just try to pretend he didn't.

[Damonte]

Yeah.

[Nick Wright]

And I think. Right. And I think that every piece of this has been unique. I also. It is. His return has been stunning in how quickly he is playing 35 minutes a game, how quickly his numbers are.

[Damonte]

If you watch the first, first week and a half there was rough.

[Nick Wright]

Yes. But then, but really since then it's been. If you watch it, it doesn't look like peak Tatum.

[Damonte]

Yeah.

[Nick Wright]

But so here is minutes played since his return and his return was just over a month ago. 27, 27, 27. Took a game off 32, 32, 31, 31, 31, 35, 37, 31. Took a game off 37, 31, 34, 39. Just played 39 minutes in the Hornets game in. And then you add to it demons a in the last five games. So the Tatum's numbers, his first 10 games back from the injury was they were fine. He was 20 points, nine and a half rebounds, four assists, but couldn't hit a three. Was 38% from the field, 30% from three. And if he had stayed at that level, it still felt like, well, you know, he's taking minutes from Baylor, Shireman and such like that's. It's a net positive, but you weren't getting the full impact of it.

[Damonte]

Right.

[Nick Wright]

His numbers in the last five games that he's played where the Celtics are five and oh, 25 a night, 10 rebounds, eight assists, 49% from the field and 41% from three. Now some of that is maybe you know, just a little hot shooting because he's not a 41% career three point shooter, but he's 37% like he, you know, he's a good career three point shooter, but him being this impactful this quickly is stunning. And I do feel like tonight's game is the final checkpoint for him, like being like fully back mentally.

[Damonte]

Oh, fair.

[Nick Wright]

The final mental checkpoint. No, I don't think you're gonna see first team all NBA MVP candidate Jason Tatum probably until the beginning of next season, but he seems to already be all star Jason Tatum. And that's unbelievable. And it's why, I think it's why I'm so confident in Boston making the finals and I think being the safest bet to win the championship. So let's talk about that for a minute.

[Damonte]

Here, who do you think is the biggest threat to them out on the east side?

[Nick Wright]

You know, I know the Knicks beat him last year and I know the Knicks built a team specifically to counteract Boston, but I don't think it's the Knicks. I think the biggest threat is actually Detroit.

[Damonte]

Yeah, I don't think I have enough defense in my opinion.

[Nick Wright]

I, well, and that's where maybe they miss Tibbs and the, the Knicks have had a solid year, but I think it's been a disappointing solid year like that. They were supposed to be the team. Detroit wasn't supposed to be this good this quickly. Boston was supposed to be in a bit of a, you know, transition year. The, and Cleveland, you know, made a mid season massive trade because they weren't happy with where they were going. The Knicks have been healthy and the Knicks, the Knicks were supposed to be Flirting with 60 wins like Detroit is rather than low, low mid-50s. And Detroit's ability to sustain without Cade and find real another offensive creator in Dennis Jenkins that now when Cade is not, you know, not on the court, maybe the offense doesn't go to die, I think is super important for them. I also want to add one other thing and this is, and I don't want to step on things we're doing later in the show, but here's the other intriguing piece of tonight's game on the Knicks side of things. The Knicks right now are 51 and 28 and the Cavs are 51 and 29. So they are just a half game up on the Cavs. Now what they do have is the season series. So if they finish with the same record, the Knicks get the better seed. But here's where, and maybe I'm. Let me tell me what you think here. Who do you think the Knicks would rather play in round two, Boston or Detroit?

[Damonte]

I mean. I say Boston.

[Nick Wright]

Oh. So I, I disagree. I, I think they'd rather play Detroit even though they beat Boston in the playoffs last year. I it because they, they also beat Detroit in the playoffs last year for whatever twerk. Now Detroit has owned them this regular season, but I don't know how and

[Damonte]

I can just see like the wear down of facing Detroit and then having to go to Boston.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah, but the way, but the flip side is you play Boston, maybe you don't have to play Detroit, you just lose. And so the, here's the reason I'm, I ask it after tonight, the Knicks have Toronto and Charlotte left two teams that need those games for seating purposes. Just assume. And the Knicks are The favorite tonight. So I'm not saying they're necessarily going to lose. If the Knicks lose tonight and Cleveland ties them in the standings, it certainly becomes very on the board that Cleveland jumps up to three. Cleveland's final games are at Atlanta and then home for Washington. And you can't lose that Washington game if you want to because what I know about the Wizards is they're not winning game 82 and screwing up, you know, any of their lottery odds after they've, you know, thrown this entire season in the garbage. Right now Washington has the worst record in basketball. They have one win less than the Pacers. You're going to have to pry these losses from their cold, dead hands. So it is. The Knicks might fall to 4. I don't know how bad that is for them and. But I guess the flip side of that is how much does Cleveland want to move up to 3? I'm not sure on that either, but I think I. I just think not. I think I will be shocked if the Celtics don't end up in the finals. Now against the Thunder, they would be decided Vegas underdogs in those finals.

[Damonte]

Yeah.

[Nick Wright]

And against anyone, they. Well, I shouldn't say against anyone against the Thunder or the spurs, they would not have home court advantage in the finals. I just also think whoever comes out of the west is going to have been through such a gauntlet that Boston could be pretty well positioned. And I understand. Listen, Vegas disagrees with me. Vegas has our friends at Hard Rock. Bet has Boston at +550 and OKC at damn near even money. Hard Rock Bed is almost putting OKC verse the field. They're plus 120 so they only have the field as tiny favorites over OKC. I think Boston at +550 is a bet. I bet, I bet the Celtics at 11 to 1 for a little bit when I thought Tatum was coming back and at nine to one for a fair amount when I knew Tatum was coming back. And I think they are. I think they are the safest bet to be in the finals. And I think I'll be taking them if they get to the finals. With all that said, I should give the Knicks. If the Celtics are full strength tonight and the Knicks win that game, it does basically for the Knicks all but lock up the three seed. They're not going to fall to four. If they win tonight, they would have to, you know, lose each of their final two games and have Cleveland win its final two games and then maybe the Knicks feel a little disrespected by this be like we beat you last year in the playoffs. We can do it again. I just. I don't see that happening. Today's show is brought to you by our presenting sponsor, Hard Rock bet. Florida Sportsbook Springs in the air that can only mean one thing. Baseball's back. Hard Rock Bet makes it easy to bet on America's pastime. Just a few easy taps. It's not picking winners. You can bet on home run, strikeouts, even whether there's a run scored in the first inning for quick, fast paced action right out the gate. And if you miss the first pitch, no problem. You can live bet every inning, every at bat, all the way to the final out. But maybe you're more into the NBA Hardwood is heating up as the playoff pushes on and with Hard Rock Bet, every night is a shot to build a same game parlay and score a major bucket. You might like the hot hand to drop 30, the big man to control the glass with a double double, the point guard dish out five assists. However you draw it up, Hard Rock Bet gives you tons of ways to stack your picks into an epic same game parlay. If you're ever late to tip off, don't worry. Hard Rock Bet lets you live bet all game long from the first bucket to the final buzzer. Sign up today and double your winnings on your first 10 bets. Maximum $50. That's right, double your winnings on your first 10 bets. So if you would have won a hundred bucks on your bet, now it's 200. Download the hard Rock Bet app today and get the party started. Payable and bonus Bets Not a cash offer offered by the Seminole Tribe of Florida in Florida Offered by Seminole hard Rock Digital LLC in all other states. Must be 21 plus and physically present in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee or Virginia. To play terms and conditions apply. Concerned about gambling in Florida? Call 1-833-PLAY-WISE in Indiana. If you or someone you know has a gambling Problem wants help, call 1-800-9 with it Gambling problem call 1-800- gambler Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia Support for the show comes

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[Nick Wright]

all right, Damonte, let's get to the Lakers.

[Damonte]

All right, so this happened really fast. The Lakers have fallen out of the three seed Luka is headed to Europe for treatment on his hamstring strain, and Austin Reaves is dealing with an oblique strain. Are the Lakers screwed or is there a little bit of hope?

[Nick Wright]

Well, listen, if Luke and Austin are both out for the entirety of the first round of the playoffs and it seems like Austin is almost guaranteed to be out for the entirety of the first round of the playoffs. Luka, this trip to Europe, there seems to be a glimmer of hope now because of it. If they're both out, then they're dead. And I we saw LeBron instantly be able to go back to head of the snake, hand on the joystick. LeBron with 30 points and 15 assists and nine rebounds. But we also saw the Lakers lose that game to a Mavs team that hadn't wanted home in two months and it wasn't enough. I did believe when I didn't know Austin was going to be out, I did believe that LeBron plus Austin LeBron if it was just Luca out that the Lakers could beat the rockets in round one, that I thought LeBron could go toe to toe with Kevin Durant and Austin could provide enough scoring and the Rockets, I know the Rockets are on a nice little run and that was a good win over the warriors, but that the Rockets were not going to be able to that I thought the Lakers even without Luca could beat the Rockets is I guess what I would say. But without Luca and without Austin, they got no shot. Now it has ruffled my feathers a bit the way some folks and I probably started the TV show off poorly yesterday pointing this out and I probably need to apologize to old KW and Danny today, but the number of folks who are taking Luca and Austin being out and the Lakers all of a sudden looking awful as evidence that the Lakers were frauds all along, I find outrageous that they, they are so desperate, they were so desperate to be proven right on their anti Lucas stances or add the Lakers or fake contender stance that they are using games played without their two leading scorers as evidence that that team was never actually what what some of us thought it could be. Which by the way, I, I don't, I didn't see anybody saying that Lakers seems best team in the league. What I think some of us were saying is we have literally seen multiple times Luca take an underdog, undermanned, mismatched team and on the power of his own individual offensive brilliance, seen them, seen him take those teams on multiple deep playoff runs to the conference finals or the NBA finals and none of those teams had a wingman as obviously as experienced but as savvy as LeBron. And so I did feel there was a path. And if the Lakers fall apart entirely, I think it will be honestly, truly outrageous if Austin and Luca don't come back and the Lakers get clocked in round one. Which they would if they don't come back. And folks then say, see, this is why March was a. Was an illusion. I would just ask them take any team in the league and if drop them into the playoffs without their best player and either their second or third best player and let's just go best and third best any team in the league. And how do you think they would do so if the Thunder lost Shay and J Up, how are they looking if the Nuggets lost Joker and Aaron Gordon? How they look if the spurs lost Wimby and Fox? How they looking like the, if the, the Rockets lost Durant and Amin Thompson? Just tell me, are there any of these teams now you can say, well, we saw the Celtics survive without Jason Tatum. We're seeing the, the Pistons survive without Cade Cunningham. Absolutely we are. We have seen teams survive in the regular season and I think the Celtics would want a playoff series even without Tatum and in the Eastern Conference maybe early in the playoffs without their best player. But you lose your best player and your second leading scorer and you're in the Western Conference. If all of a sudden the, the Timberwolves go into the playoffs without Ant, which I guess is a possibility now and Jaden McDaniels, I'd say they're an easy out. And it doesn't in my estimation make those teams. I get, you know, it is. This is not an exact fair comparison because that team was obviously a brilliant team. But I would have thought it was outrageous if after the Raptors beat the warriors in the finals, when Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson went out with injury, people like, see, I told you that warriors team didn't have it. It's like, well, and again, I'm not comparing the 2026 Lakers to the 2019 Warriors. So that to me is there is a growing. The Lakers are always polarizing because they're too hyped. And because they're too hyped they get, you know, they get more attention. And so course that exists. But there also really is a growing cottage industry of yeah, I know Luca won player of the month in January and March and I know he's, you know, first team all NBA every healthy year of his career after his rookie year. And I know he's second all time in playoff points per game, but how good is he really? And that would make sense if he had Harden's playoff track record. But instead he has quite the opposite of that. He's never lost as a favorite in a series. He's never lost to a lower seeded team in a series. All he has done is upset teams in the playoffs or have his teams outperform their seed. Except for last year, his first year with the Lakers when they were the favorite and they did lose, you know, as the higher seeded team. That was one series of his whole career. And what do you think happens with

[Damonte]

him in the 65 game rule?

[Nick Wright]

I think that he, I think he wins his appeal. I think that if they put in there, you know, extenuating circumstances, the birth of a child a continent over has to be one of the extenuating circumstances. I also, with all that said to Monze, I want to go on the record here. I think Luca will play in round one. Okay, I do not think he will play the first game of round one. But Luca got hurt on April 2nd. The playoffs begin on April 18th. Game three of round one will probably be on April 25th. Like the Lakers right now, it looks like, are probably going to play the Rockets in round one. The Rockets played a seven game series last year in round one. So if we just look at the Rockets like that seven game series schedule, here were the dates. They played on Sunday, April 20, which would be the 19th this year. This first Sunday of the playoffs. It's a. But just the 20th. Then two days off, played on the 23rd, then two days off, played on Saturday, the 26th, then played every other day, 2830, May 2nd, May 4th. So, and again, maybe I'm over trusting this, these Spanish doctors and platelet rich plasma therapy or whatever the hell he's doing over there, but he's doing it because he believes he can come back. And I don't think he's doing it because he believes. Well, I could be back for the conference finals. Because Luca knows if he's not back and full strength in short order they are going. The Lakers need not only Luca to come back in round one, but to have any shot at anything to be close to himself by the end of round one. Because round two, the Lakers were going to be drawing incredibly slim no matter what. And if Austin's not back and Luke is not 100%, they're drawing dead there anyway. But I think Luke is going to find his way back. The guy, the guy's a warrior. And I think he's going to be. I think he's going to find his way back. All right, let's talk a little LeBron here.

[Damonte]

Yeah. So LeBron called the injury news a shot to the head, heart, chest and main and mainframe. What does his reaction tell you about his belief in LA going forward.

[Nick Wright]

Well, listen, I. LeBron's smart. He understands that what I said before, that the Lakers are like literally every other team in the league, that if a week and a half before the playoffs you lose your top two leading scorers, you're going to be in real trouble. I also though think so. There's a clip going around from the Mavs game. This is terrible. You know what? This is truly terrible. Podcasting.

[Damonte]

Are you about to.

[Nick Wright]

I am going to. I am going to hold my phone up to the camera and the microphone up to the microphone and see if you guys can hear this. Hold on. First I have to turn my Bluetooth off because I want the. Again, I apologize on the front end, but I think this will be worthwhile. This is LeBron to a fan who is recording courtside during the Mavs Laker game. And I don't know if you guys will be able to hear it, but I'm going to put the audio up here. Just trust me that it's LeBron walking around. So if you didn't. Did you hear that Damonte at all?

[Damonte]

No. What is she. I heard back and forth a couple times.

[Nick Wright]

So he says to a. He says to a fan, I can still do this. You know what I'm saying? I can still do this. They put me on the shelf though. And so. And he's smiling and laughing when he says it.

[Damonte]

Yeah.

[Nick Wright]

So here is. I have two takeaways from LeBron's 30.9 rebound 15 assist game in his first game as back to being LeBron and not being the third option. My first take is, I stand by my take from before that LeBron will never be bad that if LeBron could just keep playing and at age 45 would still be a good NBA player. I said on Lebanon show a couple months ago and they made fun of me that if LeBron wanted to take on the Jason Kidd on the Mavs role, he could be an all star at 50. And they thought they said I was and maybe fit. Maybe 50 was overstating it, but 45 is not. And the fact that he could he can go from lowest usage, oddest role he's ever had in his basketball life. Not NBA life, basketball life. Because I promise you seven year old LeBron James was the primary option on his team. The fact that he can go to that role and then first game back be like, okay, now I'm just back to regular LeBron is something only he could do in the history of the league. But here's the other thing, seeing how much fun he was having doing that, I think does inform potential options for next year.

[Damonte]

Yeah.

[Nick Wright]

Because a lot of people, myself included, have kind of circled Cleveland. But Cleveland, he would be in the same role he had been in with the Lakers because much like Luke and Austin, Donovan and Harden have to have the ball in their hands. There's just. They're not. Their entire utility is scoring or play making ball in their hands. So he. So I think that is a less attractive place. I think that, you know, Simmons and others have really pointed at Golden State. I have not believed Golden State. However, in Golden State he would be the initiator of the offense. He would be the guy running the show. You know, Steph can be the leading scorer, but Steph as of now is, you know, doesn't play like the traditional point guard role. And the fact that Golden State is going to miss the playoffs entirely this year though, he's going to get popped in the play and they're going, they're basically locked into the 10 seed and they're going there. They're. They have clinched a below.500 record. Makes to me going to Golden State more tenable. It's. It, it's harder to say, oh man, you know, he's riding Steph's wave when Golden State is coming off of sub 500, miss the playoffs.

[Damonte]

It would be the time for optics. Yeah, yeah.

[Nick Wright]

And so I think Golden State's a real option. I think the Knicks are a bigger option now because while, listen, he wouldn't be the primary, that'd be Jalen, but he would still be their secondary initiator, secondary ball handler, secondary scorer, I think, and take some of the workload off Jalen. And I am not going to ignore entirely Dave McMinnamin just throwing in to his where will LeBron play next year article out of nowhere, seemingly the Nuggets. I thought it was really interesting. Now everything runs through Joker there. But again, Joker's not like consistently bringing the ball up the court. Now that would be obviously joining Joker's team, but I think that's, I think in year 24 at age 42, joining Joker's team is because Joker's the generation after Brian like that, you know, it's, it's like, it's like being on the

[Damonte]

smartest basketball dudes ever on the same team.

[Nick Wright]

And I listen and I believe and you know, Brew and I argue about this. I believe the two best passers of the era, like Brew thinks I overrate LeBron's passing. But the I Yeah. I mean so I think somewhere he can have the ball in his hands this little these next few weeks. Now maybe what these next few weeks remind him is how damn exhausting that is. He's like, I don't want to do that. But I think I I think it was very instructive that the moment he was asked to go be that guy again, he was now again. Maybe tonight he won't enjoy that. Playing the Pit Bulls on the Thunder as By the way, what do you think the point spread for this game you're going to tonight? Thunder at Lakers OKC -18 wow, what a sharp.

[Damonte]

What is it?

[Nick Wright]

17 and a half?

[Damonte]

Let's go.

[Nick Wright]

Wow, what a sharp by you. And so listen, we'll see, we'll see what it what it looks like. But all of those things to me are interesting subplots. Still got the fire to what's happened to the Lakers. Boost Mobile is proving that you don't have to overpay for great wireless Unlock the savings with the 25amonth Forever Unlimited plan. It's a permanent price with no contracts and no price hikes. You can keep your phone and your number, but you save up to 600 a year compared to the major carriers. Stop overpaying and switch to a Fair [e-mail] today based on average annual single line payment of AT T, Verizon and T Mobile customers compared to 12 months on the Boost Mobile Unlimited plan as of January 2026. For full offer details, visit boost mobile.com

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[Damonte]

says it's been two more playoff runs since Jokic's title. He had one brutal loss to the Wolves and couldn't beat the Thunder last year, yet people keep pushing him up in the rankings into the Stefan Akeem tier. I don't get it. He's better than Giannis and Durant, but is he a tier above? He has two good playoff runs and that's it. Shay could surpass surpass that all this year. You think people are going too far with Jokic praise these days?

[Nick Wright]

Listen, I guess it depends on what you define as people. I if people are trying to argue, you know he's one of the five greatest players ever. Yes, that's too far. Now. I do think he has pretty clearly established himself ahead of Giannis and ahead of Durant and I just, I don't care. Like Durant having two rings doesn't offset to me the individual dominance of Joker and the fact that he was the unquestioned engine behind his ring and that he went through you Know, people can scoff at it that LeBron and Anthony Davis Lakers team had won a title and Joker was unstoppable. En route to that series and his other deep playoff run, he ran into a great team. That 2020 Lakers team was a great team. They were the best team in the league start to finish. So but and I, so if we expand, you know, outside of my top 12, which we did at the end of Thursday's pod of Braun, Kareem Jordan, Magic, Russell, Wilt, Duncan, Kobe, Bird, Akeem, Shaq, Steph after that 12, if we were to, you know, remove Jokic, I then would have Dr. J and Moses I I and Moses is a great comp by the way, in that Moses only as the one ring has three MVPs. Was this kind of forgotten how dominant he was. Dr. J's tricky because Dr. J was the greatest ABA player ever. Then came over to the NBA and immediately started going to a bunch of finals but didn't win his title until he and Moses came together. I have Joker slotted right ahead of those guys as right now the 13th greatest player ever. And the reason that it's not just demand, say can he win another ring? It's about deep consistent playoff runs. Because those guys that I mentioned, here's their playoff games played. Okay. And I'm just going to kind of go down the list as I see them. Braun is at 292. Okay, that's ridiculous. It's three and a half seasons of playoff games. Tim Duncan is at 250. Kareem is at 237. Kobe is at 220. Shaq is at 216. Magic who had a shortened career is at 190. I'm scrolling further to find the. So who have I wilt is at 160. And keep in mind the playoffs, obviously back then there weren't as many rounds. Bill Russell is at 165. Akeem is at 145. And you people don't think of Akeem is like a ton of deep playoff runs. He's at 145. Steph is. Where is Steph? Hold on, I can't find him. Oh, Steph is at 1:55. Did I, did I that cover everybody? Did I leave anybody out? Did I say Bird? Bird is at 164 and Joker is at 94 playoff games. So that's where you start hitting your head on. If everyone on the list has played nearly double the playoff games as you, it's just hard to break in to that group. And I know Shaq only has the one mvp. But what Shaq does have is it's not just the three Pete and it's not just the three straight Finals MVPs. It's that in the early 2000s in back to back to back NBA Finals, Shaquille O' Neal did the following. In his first NBA Finals, first championship I should say he was 38 points, 17 rebounds a night for the finals. And then in his next NBA finals against defensive player of the year Dikembe Mutombo, he was 33 points, 16 rebounds tonight. And then in his third NBA finals he was 36 points, 12 rebounds a night. Which means those three finals collectively he averaged 35 and 15 with three blocks and four assists. So like that gives him real heft if you will. Akeem, who's the other center I still and I know others don't have ahead of ha that that I have ahead of Joker. He is and maybe Wimby takes it, but he is the greatest defensive player of the last 50 years. And by his second year in the league he had led a team to the NBA Finals averaging 2712 and four blocks a game en route to it. He then like Joker was out in the Joker's not out in the wilderness, but didn't have a championship caliber team around him. And even though Damanze he was the greatest defensive player alive, Akeem had a playoff series as a 25 year old that they lost in four games where he they lost in four. He averaged 38 and 17 as the greatest defensive player. And then he won back to back championships and back to back Finals MVPs averaging over the course of those two Finals 31 and 1111 rebounds along with four blocks a game going up against two other first ballot hall of Fame centers, Shaquille O', Neal, Patrick Ewing, David Robinson along the way and not shutting those guys down, but winning those matchups. So as great as Joker is, if you want to elbow some of those guys out of the top 12, much less the top 10, you're going to have the opportunities. Two, three deep runs or one more, one more ring, multiple more deep runs and we can start. You know, having those conversations is what I think is the fairest way to look at it. All right, go ahead Demons.

[Damonte]

A poppy dreams asked do you think a team will ever repeat in the NBA again?

[Nick Wright]

Ever is a very long time. And so my answer to that is is probably. But I also think it is not demand a coincidental but that as time has gone on and the talent level's gotten higher and the league has added more teams that the ceiling of championships one can win keeps lowering. So here's what I mean. Bill Russell, the player of the early days of the NBA, I mean post Mike and but of integrated NBA won 11 championships. Call that, call him the player of the late 50s, early 60s. Yeah, right. His teammate John Havlicek, who was on his team for some of those championships and then played into the 70s, he set the new bar which is lower. The 70s era player for championships at 8. Kareem Abdul Jabbar, who played in the 70s into the 80s, set the bar the ceiling of championships for that era at 6. Michael Jordan who played in the 80s into the 90s met that bar at 6. Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan who started their career in the 90s and then played into the 2000s set the bar of championships at five. And LeBron James and Steph Curry who played in the 2000s into the 2010s and 20s have set the bar championships at four. So you like the, the defining guys. It keeps going lower.

[Damonte]

Yeah.

[Nick Wright]

And it's also one of the reasons why I don't find the Jordan 6 versus LeBron's 4 to be as persuasive as.

[Damonte]

Yeah, I feel like I've never heard you bring out that argument when defending, defending that case. But yeah, so it's just like you

[Nick Wright]

know, so Magic who played in the 80s into the 90s has five like this. The maximum realistic championships that can be won. Number seems to keep decreasing. And now what we're seeing Daman is the 2000s guys, none of them have gotten their second yet. The 2000s into the 2000s guys, they're all sitting on one.

[Damonte]

Yeah.

[Nick Wright]

And now obviously some of them are going to get two. Some of them may even get three. But are we going to see the three Pete? Right.

[Damonte]

Three makes even harder.

[Nick Wright]

Right. But so it's just the. What is realistic as far as number of championships seems to be decreasing rather than increasing. And a three peat which I mean the Celtics had an eight Pete. The Bulls had back to back three peats. The Pistons were a game away from having a three peat but it was on the front end. They lost a game seven of the finals and then one back to back championships. The Lakers had a three peat three. The reason I'm not going to dismiss it is we might be two and a half months from the Thunder being two thirds of the way there. But I. Yeah, it's not just gets harder in particular speaking of ok, so

[Damonte]

you know how with NBA the champions, it seems like the next year after you win, just like a slump, OKC is kind of beaten that, huh? With like them winning a championship last year and they've been pretty dominant this year.

[Nick Wright]

Well, I mean they listen, they've been dominant, but we felt that way about Boston at this point last year and Denver at this point the year before. Not as dominant in the regular season like we'll see the the defending champs keep getting popped in round two. Now I OKC we would think is going to avoid that, but everyone thought Denver was going to avoid it. Nobody thought Minnesota was going to beat them and nobody, like most people thought the Celtics were going to avoid that. People didn't think that the Knicks were going to beat them. So we'll see if you're looking for

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[Host/Announcer]

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[Nick Wright]

I think Kid is walking up the slide.

[Host/Announcer]

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