Best Of - Pacers-Thunder STUNNING Nick, Kevin Durant's TOP 3 landing spots, LeBron vs. Kobe "not close"

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Herd with Colin Cowherd – June 15, 2025

Episode Title: What's Wright - Best Of - Pacers-Thunder STUNNING Nick, Kevin Durant's TOP 3 Landing Spots, LeBron vs. Kobe "Not Close"

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1. Indiana Pacers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Series Analysis

In this segment, host Nick Wright and his guest engage in an in-depth analysis of the ongoing playoff series between the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder. They dissect the pivotal Game 3 victory by the Pacers and what it signifies for the series' momentum.

• Role Players Stepping Up: Wright highlights the crucial contributions from the Pacers' role players, contrasting them with the Thunder's underwhelming performances. He remarks, “[02:23] Nick Wright: ...the Pacers have a game to play with. The Pacers demand to go into game four...” emphasizing the unexpected resilience shown by Indiana.

• Benedict Mathurin’s Emergence: The discussion delves into Mathurin's impressive playoff run, noting his significant scoring bursts off the bench. Wright states, “[11:02] Nick Wright: ...Benedict Mathurin has played 106 minutes and scored 93 points. The guy is basically a point a minute over his last six games.”

• Defensive Strategies and Coaching: Wright praises Coach Rick Carlisle’s strategic decisions, particularly his trust in the bench, which has been instrumental in wearing out the Thunder. “[17:15] Nick Wright: Carlisle trusts the bench like it is remarkable...”

• Key Moments and Game Dynamics: They analyze key turning points in the series, including pivotal plays in Game 1 and Game 2 that set the stage for the current series trajectory. Wright reflects, “[07:10] Nick Wright: ...that was the fourth time they've done that in these playoffs. I get that.”

Notable Quote:

“[02:23] Nick Wright: If we had better results elsewhere, I almost assuredly would have fired considerably on the Thunder to win this basketball game...”

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2. Kevin Durant's Top 3 Potential Landing Spots

Transitioning to NBA trade rumors, Wright and his guest speculate on Kevin Durant's top three destinations should he be traded. They assess various teams' championship potentials and how Durant would fit into each roster.

• San Antonio Spurs: Wright considers the Spurs a fascinating option but questions their immediate championship prospects without significant roster changes. “[21:24] Nick Wright: ...the Spurs are interesting, but it wouldn't put them over the top.”

• Houston Rockets: With a dynamic young core, Houston paired with Durant could be a potent combination. “[22:32] Nick Wright: Anthony Edwards plus Durant, if Anthony can level up just a touch, that one's interesting.”

• New York Knicks: Wright expresses interest in how Durant would mesh with the Knicks, analyzing both teams' strengths. “[22:53] Nick Wright: ...the Knicks would be a really fascinating one and that that play out.”

Notable Quote:

“[22:50] Nick Wright: Durant is a hundred percent getting traded. Giannis might get traded, and then we'll see what the other moves are.”

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3. LeBron James vs. Kobe Bryant: The "Bag" Debate

A significant portion of the episode centers on comparing LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, particularly focusing on the concept of "having a bag" in the offensive game.

• Defining "Having a Bag": Wright and his guest debate the meaning behind LeBron’s criticism about not having a "bag," interpreting it as a lack of diverse offensive moves. “[28:03] Nick Wright: What do you think having a bag means?... it's definitely offense and definitely related to scoring.”

• Statistical Analysis: They compare LeBron and Kobe's three-point shooting statistics, challenging popular perceptions. Wright provides detailed stats: “[29:03] Nick Wright: ...Kobe for his career 32.9% on 4.1 attempts per game. LeBron for his career in the playoffs is 33% on 4.1 attempts per game.”

• Skill Set Comparison: Wright acknowledges Kobe’s superior mid-range shooting and ball-handling, while also defending LeBron’s overall scoring versatility. “[40:03] Nick Wright: ...Kobe was a better mid-range shot maker than LeBron and I think Kobe was a better ball handler than LeBron.”

Notable Quote:

“[29:21] Nick Wright: ...the games changed so much even though LeBron and Kobe played in the league together for more than a decade.”

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4. Listener Engagement and Lighthearted Moments

Towards the episode's conclusion, Wright addresses listener questions and engages in light-hearted banter with his guest. Topics include playful critiques of co-hosts and humorous takes on listener comments about the show's content.

Notable Quote:

“[27:22] Nick Wright: ...it would be awesome if the Pacers win.”

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Conclusion

This episode of The Herd with Colin Cowherd offers a comprehensive look at the Indiana Pacers' playoff performance, delves into the future of Kevin Durant's career, and engages in a nuanced debate about LeBron James and Kobe Bryant's legacies. With detailed analysis and spirited discussions, listeners gain valuable insights into current NBA narratives.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• “[02:23] Nick Wright: If we had better results elsewhere, I almost assuredly would have fired considerably on the Thunder to win this basketball game...”

• “[11:02] Nick Wright: ...Benedict Mathurin has played 106 minutes and scored 93 points. The guy is basically a point a minute over his last six games.”

• “[21:24] Nick Wright: ...the Spurs are interesting, but it wouldn't put them over the top.”

• “[29:21] Nick Wright: ...the games changed so much even though LeBron and Kobe played in the league together for more than a decade.”

• “[27:22] Nick Wright: ...it would be awesome if the Pacers win.”

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This summary encapsulates the key discussions and insights from the episode, providing a clear and engaging overview for those who have not listened to the full podcast.

Transcript

[Nick Wright]

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[Nick Wright]

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[Unnamed Guest]

You said the Pacers had to win this game and they went out there and win it. Their role players showed up. OKC's role players did little for them. Shave and kind of underwhelmed a little bit. Do you think that that performance is replicable for the Pacers?

[Nick Wright]

Well, what I think is this. I think we have Something now that I never thought we were going to have, which is a real series that could go either way. And the I, I'm shocked Indy won that game and I know I shouldn't be because again, five, five and a half point underdogs win all the time. It's not like, and they were at home, they're at home. And I, I, I understand all of that. I, I really do. And if I, the only solace I have, I suppose from a personal perspective in all, you know, my terrible poker results from last week in Vegas is had I not had terrible poker results last week in Vegas, I, I almost assuredly would have fired considerably on the Thunder to win this basketball game because I have bought in, I have bought in that the 2025 Oklahoma City Thunder, as far as singular seasons, are an all time team that Indiana did not have an answer for. Shay. And as we talked about I think pretty intelligently on Tuesday, it is just so hard unless you have the best defense in basketball to win a championship, if your best player is a pass first guy, if he's not a just go get you a bucket guy. And we talked about it on Tuesday that the greatest point guards we've seen in the history of this league, aside from Magic Johnson, were not able to crack that code. If they were, listen, Steph did it. Obviously he's not a pass first guy. Zeke did it. He could have scored more but also had the best defense in basketball. But Jason Kidd or Chris Paul or hell, Oscar Robertson, before he had a Keem or Bob Cousy before he had Russell, Steve Nash, those guys, it's just so hard because you are going to come again across a team whose best guy can go get a bucket whenever he wants. And how do you answer that? And again, I'm not acting as if the Pacers have won the series. I am acting as if, however, we now have a series and now all of a sudden the Pacers have a game to play with. The Pacers demand go into game four and I'm sure they won't view it this way, but it's a house money game. They go into game four saying, all right, if we win, we have a vice grip on this series and if we lose, we already know we can win in Oklahoma City. And unlike game one, which you give the Pacers credit for their heart and their grit and all of that, Game one, however, let's be honest, felt fluky. It felt like, okay, Oklahoma City took their eye off the ball for just a minute and the Pacers stormed Through that door.

[Unnamed Guest]

You say it felt fluky. If this is what they do when they get, they get in those late game situations and they can overcome it. I think they just did it again.

[Nick Wright]

So. But well that's not what they did here.

[Unnamed Guest]

Oh, not in this game. I'm talking about game one.

[Nick Wright]

Oh yeah. So here, here's why I'm saying it didn't feel fluky that they hit, you know, that Halliburton hit the game winner. That didn't feel fluky. What felt fluky was the fact that Oklahoma City led seconds into the game. The Pacers never closed the gap that it was a 14 point game in the fourth quarter and it was I. And all of a sudden the Pacers have a chance to steal it. That and you're right, that was the fourth time they've done that in these playoffs. I get that. So maybe fluke is the wrong word Chiefs, but not. They weren't going to win four games that way. They were not going to win four games where Oklahoma City dominates the game and then they come roaring back like they've won one game a series that way.

[Unnamed Guest]

Right.

[Nick Wright]

And then game two, when Oklahoma City dominated from start to finish, that felt to me much more indicative of the game we, we were going to get where the Pacers are good, but Oklahoma City's great. And instead everything you wanted to see from Indiana, they did, they did bother Shay Moore. Halliburton was more aggressive, Siakam was more efficient and the star of the game, Benedict Matherin, who has had such an interesting playoffs. So mah who the Pacers beat Daman because they never tank, don't have a lot of super high draft picks on their team and in fact I think like I don't know if it's franchise history like the last 30 years or something, but there's only two guys that they have drafted in the top nine or something. I'm going to get that those details a little wrong. But it's about that Matheran and a kid who's hurt. And Matherin was kind of, it looked like oh wait, is he gonna be odd man out when in the Cleveland series. Game four he basically gets a DNP coach's decision. Game five, he only plays 11 minutes. Then against the Knicks, game two, 11 minutes, zero points. Game three, eight minutes, two points. And it looked like Carlisle was souring on him. And then Ma has had in the last six games three just unbelievable stat lines off the bench. Game four against the Knicks, 12 minutes 20 points. Game five against the Knicks, 25 minutes, 23 points. And then last night, game three against the Thunder. 22 minutes, 27 points. And I'm gonna pull it up. So we have it. Exactly. But since he was basically. It looked like. Oh man, is Carlisle done with him? In the six games since then, Benedict Matheran has played 106 minutes and scored 93 points. The guy is basically a point a minute over his last six games. None more important or noteworthy than last night when nobody had an answer for him. When he just. He was the X factor off the bench for them and all. I'm just so. Yes, listen. T.J. mcConnell did T.J. mcConnell things and he loves getting those steals in the backcourt. You know he's just a. A white man's Jose Alvarado. Like I'm gonna do play this scrappy style. I'm gonna annoy you. He doesn't, he doesn't go out of bounds and, and trick people like that. But he's a pest. And one of his steals, the one where he just caught the inbound pass and laid it up was one of the dopest things.

[Unnamed Guest]

What?

[Nick Wright]

That was one of the coolest mini highlights of the season. Yeah, he just jumped up and grabbed.

[Unnamed Guest]

It and laid it off right there. 100% call. OK. A couple times with that.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah. And so you. He had. He made three baskets. I feel like they were. And he had five steals. So T.J. mcConnell off the bench, five steals. Obie Toppen off the bench, four of five from two and some big rebounds. And Ben Matherin, man, nine of 12 got to the free throw line eight times which is another thing he did against the Knicks. He drew fouls and got to the line. He's plus 16 in 22 minutes.

[Unnamed Guest]

Gives OKC another thing to have to.

[Nick Wright]

Worry about a hundred percent. And credit where it's due to Halberton because Halberton. The point that I made. Now let. Let me just be clear here. My playoff bracket and my playoff predictions are in shambles. I have been wrong about pre series picks more this playoffs than any playoffs I can remember and bet of the year which we'll get to later is on life support. It's. It's truly on life support. My inseries analysis has been far better and one of the points that I'm. Excuse me, I apologize. One of the points I made after game two was the Pacers need to recognize you are not playing a good shot. Good shot, great shot team. You are playing a bad shot. Decent shot. Take the shot. And it felt like Halliburton understood That, that Halliburton when, when his teammates go 5 of 21 from 3 when aside from Matherin, nobody hits more than 13 when aside from Siakam, none of the other starters really seem like they have it offensively, he understood I've got to be a little more aggressive looking for my own shot. And he did. Now he's still. The ball was still popping and moving and he still had his 11 assists and he was a rebound shy of a triple double. But he was a little more aggressive offensively. And here's the other thing the Pacers do, man, they wear your ass out where they are. And the part of this is because Carlisle trusts the bench like it is remarkable to Monze that in a basketball game that keep in mind, I thought the Thunder kind of stole the game. A sneaky. What could have been a sneaky huge moment was the very end of the third quarter when the Pacers are up one with 35 seconds left and chat gets a dunk and one. Now they're up two. McConnell misses, you know, like a five footer and then J Dub hits a three basically at the quarter buzzer. And it went from, oh, the Pacers are going to have the lead going into the fourth to the Pacers are down five going into the fourth. And then it didn't, you know, they crushed him in the fourth, 32 to 18. But the fact that Halliburton in what I felt was a gotta have it must win game, that was nip and tuck really throughout. He only played 36 minutes. Like Halliburton has not played 40 minutes in a regulation playoff game this year, which is maybe one of the reasons he's so good at the end. But it's a testament to the Pacers that they're able to do that, have their best player on the bench and not get blown out. And the Thunder at the end of this game were the tired team. What a performance. And it is not lost on me that I said this was to me the most shocking, singular finals game for me since Game 5, 2011, Mavs, Heat, and the coach of the team that pulled off that upset and the coach of the team that pulled off this upset are the same guy, Rick Carlisle, who I imagine once the finals are over, the Knicks are going to say, hey, can we interview him? So Damas, read me one of the questions from the chat.

[Unnamed Guest]

Oh, yeah. So, anonymous, three, five, four, says Nick, what do you think has been the issue with a lot of pundits getting behind the Pacers as a good team? A Anonymous354 I've been there with you, but go ahead.

[Nick Wright]

So listen, I don't think people have denied that the Pacers are a good team. I do think people have. I think it's fair to say people have not acted as if the fact that they have the second best record in basketball since and I don't think have lost consecutive games since January 1st. I think that people have dismissed that maybe a little more than they should have. But I think this was less about a dismissal of Indiana and more about a reverence for OKC, who, if we're being honest, through two games controlled 96% of this series. 96 minutes played. OKC led for 91, was tied for two and a half and trailed for two. Like that's. But yesterday was not that. Who do you have winning it all? Put your hoops expertise to the test. All season long, DraftKings has been the go to spot for NBA player props, and that doesn't stop now. Who's going to carry their team to the chip? Try placing a bet on your personal MVP to drop 30, 40, maybe over 50. We talked about it. Nobody's dropped 50 in a finals game since the game six clincher by Giannis Giannis all over today's show. Ready to place your first bet? Download the DraftKings sportsbook app now. Lock in your bets. Finish the season as a winner. Something special for first timers. New DraftKings customers bet $5 to get $300 in bonus bets. If your bet wins, don't miss your last chance to bet on the NBA this season. Download the DraftKings sportsbook app. Use code WRIGHT. Code WRIGHT W R I G H T. That's code ripe for new customers to get $300 in bonus bets. If your bet wins. When you bet five bucks only on DraftKings, the crown is yours.

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[Unnamed Guest]

Giannis shut down any trade rumors that there were circulating saying that he would like to be in Milwaukee next year and win a championship. So that makes the KD sweepstakes much more interesting. And Shams reported that Houston's San Antonio, Miami, Minnesota and the Knicks are all interested. Which team would you see, Katie suiting up for Giannis? Just waiting for KD to pick a team. So see where he should go.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah. So I'm not ready to say the honest things done. I don't think the honest thing is guaranteed that he's asking for a trade, but I certainly don't think it's guaranteed that he's staying in Milwaukee. But the honest trade is going to be more complicated and in 2/3 of the league are going to be interested. There seems to be a lot of smoke surrounding Durant and the Spurs. That's a fun one that I'm interested in, but I do not think that team can win a championship. I just don't think Wimby is ready.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yet to be Kevin Durant's goal.

[Nick Wright]

What a question. Do you not think it is?

[Unnamed Guest]

I mean, he wants to go play in San Antonio. It doesn't necessarily seem like it is. I don't think that he thinks that he's the missing piece from San Antonio getting to a championship.

[Nick Wright]

Well, and to be fair, we don't know where he wants to go play.

[Unnamed Guest]

But if it were to be San Antonio. But it seems like. Go ahead. I'm sorry.

[Nick Wright]

No, I mean, listen, the spurs, it's not like if he were to go to Miami and pick Miami, then I would say he's not that worried about winning a title because they can't win.

[Unnamed Guest]

Right.

[Nick Wright]

You know, the, with, with respect to him, you'd have to give up something for him. Even if you got hero and bam, that team's not good enough. The Spurs, Castle's good. De' Aaron Fox is really good. Wimby has unlimited upside. And if Durant still feels like and I'm the, you know, fifth best player in the NBA, even if he's closer to the 15th best player in the NBA, like, it's not like he'd be going somewhere where they have no shot whatsoever. I, I, the, so the spurs to me are interesting, but it wouldn't put them over the top. I am those other three teams, you could maybe convince me on any of them. That, man, that team could win the title if you took away Jaylen Green's minutes and gave them to Kevin Durant. They beat the Warriors. Like that's, that's not even to me a question. They beat the warriors and then they have a real. You know what I mean? A real shot next year. Shingoon a little better. You know, you're gonna have a great defense with Udoka like that. To me, that team is really interesting. Now that's the perfect Giannis team. But Houston is really interesting. Anthony Edwards plus Durant, if ant can level up just a touch, that one's interesting. And the Knicks, I don't think the Knicks necessarily would be better than the Knicks with Durant. Wouldn't necessarily better be better than Houston or Minnesota with Durant, but because one's in the east and one's in the west, like the Knicks would be a really fascinating one and one that I would be really interested in seeing how it plays out. I, I do think KD has at least one more elite year left in the tank. And I also think people need to understand because of his contract, he's not easy to trade. So like the idea. I know that Shams has said, or Shams has said, there are wild card suitors. You gotta find wild card suitors that aren't second apron and can get the salaries together and all of that. And so I, I would imagine, just my guess, that one of the wild card suitors is the Clippers. That be a very hard trade to pull off and that's one I wouldn't like. Yeah, yeah. I've seen Durant with Harden. I'm not. And like Kawhi is an injury risk, Durant's an injury risk. I'd like to see Durant be the old vet on a young team. Like, you know what I mean? I think that would be, I think that would be fun. But Durant is a hundred percent getting traded. Giannis might get traded, and then we'll see what the other moves are. All right, do we have a couple listener questions, Demons that we can get to quickly before I got to get out of here? Yeah.

[Unnamed Guest]

Wokage asks which is more likely, Thunder coming back or Demonte's rec league team turning it around?

[Nick Wright]

What? What's the answer?

[Unnamed Guest]

I'd honestly say Demons, a rec league team turning it around.

[Nick Wright]

Wow.

[Unnamed Guest]

I think that the Pacers, I just think the Pacers are going to win the series.

[Nick Wright]

Man, that would be great. Can I just say something else? And I'm going to bring, I'm going to bring my. Our pod set up with us to Miami. And if the Pacers win game four Friday night, I'll do sometime Saturday morning, some emergency pod type of thing. It would be awesome if the Pacers win.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah.

[Nick Wright]

I'm like, I don't think they're going to, but it would be awesome. Joseph says, what's up with the gun show today? To Monze looking all jacked. You know what's so funny? And this is a compliment to M. Don't take this the wrong way. I actually was thinking the opposite. I was like, you need to hit those push ups a little bit more, man. You're not as I do, though. No, for real, like, again, like, I mean, you're in great shape and a great athlete, but just for, like, when I saw you in your jersey, I'm like, oh, demonte's a little skinnier than he was a few months ago.

[Unnamed Guest]

Like, appreciate you Ethan or. No, not Ethan. Joseph. Sorry. But.

[Nick Wright]

All right. Nick Wright Muse. What did he say to Maze?

[Unnamed Guest]

Quick grammar check for Nick. I know Nick will appreciate this. He said change tack a couple of times now on first Things first in the Herd. And it's changed tack.

[Nick Wright]

Really? It's so that. Thank you. I do appreciate that. I have said they need to change their tact. Tact. And he's saying that the phrase is. It needs to change tac, which is T, A, C, K. I didn't know that. I'll look up why that is. I had no idea.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah. LeBron might be the NBA's leading scorer, but what does that mean when you got no bag on my. In the game? LeBron said, I see all the time. I'll be on social media like, LeBron has no bag. LeBron has no bag. And I'm sitting here like, I got 50 billion points. I thought he should have said, I've got 50 billion chips. Like, word play on like a bag of chips. LeBron be the undisputed goat if he's got no bag.

[Nick Wright]

Okay, so let me, let me ask you this. What do you think having a bag means? Because it's. This is not an agreed upon definition and I think this is an important piece to it. So I'm curious where you. What you think.

[Unnamed Guest]

Okay. I think having a bag is. Is James Harden. That's like, like Steph Curry just a. Just a go to move or, or a bag of moves that you can go to. To break the defender down. I just think it's offense, it's offensive game. I don't think it's like Anything outside of that?

[Nick Wright]

No. So it's def. And. And it's all. It's definitely offense and definitely related to scoring. Right. Like, I think everybody agrees on that. So here is what I think is fair and true, and here is what I think is just nonsense. Right? So I think. What do you think the weakest part of LeBron's offensive game is? Cause I think it's very clear. I think there is one thing that offensively he is average at. I would say he's just league average.

[Unnamed Guest]

His. Stop. Go, stop, start.

[Nick Wright]

Well, maybe we're saying the same thing. Just general ball handling.

[Unnamed Guest]

Oh, okay.

[Nick Wright]

He's not. He's not an elite ball handler. And so if people. If by bag they mean like a Kyrie style, like 15 dribble move, then sure, then, yeah, LeBron's not going to be one of your top 30 picks of people when it comes to ball handling. Like the. He. I think Durant, at 7ft tall, might be a better ball handler. Like I. I do. And so, like, that is. To me, that's a. If that's what people are talking about, that's actually. Actually accurate. Now, to LeBron's point, is it possible that not just kids on Twitter, but also retired NBA players on horrific podcasts wildly overrate the bag? If to LeBron's point, he's got 50,000 points and doesn't have one, then, yeah, then maybe it's not quite as important as you think. So if we're just saying bag is ball handling, then it's probably like. It's probably true. Here is where I think it gets a little, though, misconstrued or misleading. If by bag people are talking about ability to score from anywhere on the court at any time, LeBron's as good as anyone in the history of the league being a three and P. And this is where. And this is again where we will simply run into folks who some, I'm sure, are in the chat right now, who are going to try to do a lot of mental gymnastics around the numbers and the facts, which is now, LeBron, early in his career didn't, you know, was not a good jump shooter. But the benefit of playing 22 years is even if you weren't good at something for the first seven, there were 15 years you were good at it. So, like, you be like, Ah, LeBron couldn't shoot. But by year nine, he was literally 41% from three. His third year in Miami, I guess that would have been year 10. And then, you know, that was year 10 for him. Was still the first half of his career in Miami he developed his three point shot. His second stint in Cleveland, he developed his mid range shot, particularly the turnaround. And since then has been the idea that he's gotten his 50,000 points by putting his head down and just going to the rim a hundred times a game. Again, that's just belied by the data. And by the data I mean the games are on tv. You can see where the shots are made. All of it that he has the same shot. People talk about him as if he has the same shot chart as Shaq did, that it was layups and free throws, dunks and free throws. But this is where now we are and this is why and I, you always have to be sensitive here because of obviously the tragedy surrounding his passing. But the juxtaposition of Kobe versus LeBron as far as what the actual truth is and was versus how they are remembered has always been very interesting. Because if you ask a hundred NBA fans who was the better three point shooter, Kobe or LeBron, the vast majority are going to say Kobe Bryant, despite the fact that any possible way you slice it, it's not true. And I will. And that's, you know, that's bag for some is like your ability, like I said, to score from all three levels. So Kobe for his career was 32.9% from three. LeBron for his career, 34.9% from three. Oh, well, Nick, Kobe shot way more. No, he didn't. Kobe for his career 4.1 attempts per game. LeBron for his career 4.7 attempts per game. Well, Kobe was better in the playoffs. No, Kobe for his career from three. His three point percentage is 33.1% on four attempts per game. LeBron for his career in the playoffs is 33% on 4.1 attempts per game. Well, oh wait, hold on. I, I had, I, I, I got that last one exactly wrong. I apologize because I, I read Kobe's, I read Kobe stat twice. Kobe for his career in the playoffs, 33.1% on four attempts per game. 4.0, exactly. LeBron for his career in the playoffs, 33.3% essentially the same. LeBron a tick better, but on 4.9 attempts per game. Oh well, Nick. And this is one you'll hear when people are really at this point grasping. Nick, the games changed so much. Even though LeBron and Kobe played in the league together for a more than a decade. Okay, so if you just take LeBron's career and stop it when Kobe retired, Kobe again for his career 33.1% on 4.0 attempts per game. Look, that's for the playoffs and for the regular season. Kobe 32.9 on 4.1 attempts per game. Basically identical for Kobe regular seasonal playoffs. He retired in 2016. LeBron, his rookie year through the date of Kobe's retirement, the exact same number of three point attempts per game, 4.0. And Kobe's 32.9. LeBron 34.0. And so this isn't a, I'm not trying to do like a Kobe verse LeBron thing. Cause I think that's a silly, really untenable argument as much as people try to make it one. The reason I am mentioning that is because that is as clear and as clean and as matter of fact as data can get. And people simply will say, I do not believe that. That's not how I remember it. Which is that. And the, the people in the chat can get as angry as they want and say that's longevity. Even though it's per game that that' a different era even if we just go year for year. In their mind's eye, Kobe was a dominant three point assassin. And in their mind's eye, LeBron was just putting his shoulder down and getting to the rim. Despite the fact that at the date of Kobe's retirement, he averaged the exact same number of three point attempts per game as LeBron did and shot him worse. It's just what the facts were. So when LeBron is talking about I'm get on social media and say Lebron doesn't have a bag or this or that, it's because so much of that is, it's not revisionist history, it's just absolute fake news, so to speak, that people will believe to their dying breath. Like the one of the number one questions people will ask is, okay, so whatever you're gonna say, LeBron's better than Kobe because of, you know, he played longer or whatever it is, however, but one shot, life on the line. And then you tell him, well, playoff game winners like we just talked before, LeBron took was 8 of 20, Kobe was 4 of 18. People will simply say, I don't believe you, even though it is what it is. And so now Dr. Frank says in the chat, but would you say Kobe had a deeper bag than LeBron? I think there's an argument there. Yes, they're a hun. Yeah, because I, Kobe was a better mid range shot maker than LeBron and I think Kobe was a better ball handler than LeBron. That one I agree with. Yeah, yeah.

[Unnamed Guest]

On the back you agree?

[Nick Wright]

Yeah, yeah. But the that then circles back to the more I think interesting question is but then what does it really matter except for again to be fair because I am I I gotta tell you, among other things, I'm the most I'm the fairest arguer in sports media because I will often make an argument and while I'm making it because it's how my brain works, think like, oh, does this contradict something you were make an argument you're making about something else? And how do you reconcile those two?

[Unnamed Guest]

So.

[Nick Wright]

While how deep your bag is might be overrated when it comes to your effectiveness as a player, as evidenced by our discussion about why people were more maybe attracted to Russell Westbrook style of play than Shay Gilgeous Alexander's, how deep your bag is certainly has to do has an impact on popularity grabbing. The casual fan highlights things like that. That part there is a real impact.

[Damonza]

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[Unnamed Guest]

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[Nick Wright]

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[Unnamed Guest]

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[Nick Wright]

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[Unnamed Guest]

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[Nick Wright]

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[Unnamed Guest]

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[Nick Wright]

The OG cool rush for yourself with depression.

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