← The Herd with Colin Cowherd
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
What's Wright - Best Of - Who is NBA MVP? Eagles BASH Jalen Hurts, where Mahomes/Allen/Lamar rank ALL-TIME
00:57:20
Loading summary
Transcript89 lines
- [00:00]
Nick Wright
This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.
- [00:04]
Daniel Cormier
This is Daniel Cormier from the Daniel Cormier Show. This podcast is sponsored by Total Wireless, the official wireless partner of ufc. Power doesn't wait in the octagon or outside of it. You either make the move or you miss the moment. That's why you need a network that's just as powerful as you are. With Total Wireless, you get unlimited 5G data keeping you in the action from the walkouts to the knockouts. Now that's a total power move. Make your total Power move today. Visit totalwireless.com or stop by your neighborhood Total Wireless store. Additional terms apply. See totalwireless.com for details.
- [00:40]
Public Investing Sponsor
Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. FINRA and SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors llc. SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete Disclosures available@public.comDisclosures Do you want to
- [01:42]
CarMax Sponsor
find a stress free way to buy your next car? Start at CarMax and shop your way. If you want to browse with confidence, get pre qualified online with no impact on your credit score and shop cars within your budget. From luxury cars to family rides, CarMax has options for almost every price range, including more than 25,000 cars priced under $25,000. So hey, want to get started? Just head to CarMax.com for details and get pre qualified today. Want to drive carmax?
- [02:14]
Nick Wright
Wasn't that delicious?
- [02:15]
So good.
- [02:16]
Your bill ladies. I got it. No, I got it.
- [02:20]
Seriously, I insist.
- [02:22]
I insisted first.
- [02:23]
Oh don't be silly.
- [02:24]
You don't be silly people with the
- [02:26]
Demons
Wells Fargo Active cash credit card prefer to pay because they earn unlimited 2%
- [02:30]
Nick Wright
cash rewards on purchases.
- [02:32]
Okay. Rock, paper, scissors for it.
- [02:34]
Rock, paper, scissors. Shoot.
- [02:35]
Demons
No. The Wells Fargo Active cash credit card.
- [02:39]
Nick Wright
Visit Wells Fargo.com ActiveCash terms apply. 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.
- [02:52]
Demons
All right, about two weeks remaining and the MVP race is getting spicy. So SGA is still their favorite at minus 300, followed by Wimby, Luka, and then Jokic, all with great cases. Two questions. Is this the greatest MVP race that we've ever seen? And why is Luca's case so polarizing?
- [03:10]
Nick Wright
Okay, so we will the, the, the main course of this is Luca the little Amuz bouche appetizer is is this the greatest MVP race we've ever seen? And the answer to that question is unequivocally absolutely without argument, no, because there is it. I, to be totally fair, I didn't do pencil to paper. Go through every MVP race to see if this one has an argument for second place because it didn't seem like a use of good use of my time because I knew it did not have an argument for first place. Because the greatest MVP race of all time and one of the most ridiculous is and we've talked about it once before on the show, but we will talk about it once more here. The 1962 NBA MVP race is one of the greatest, one of the greatest pages on the Internet. On the whole Internet. Al Gore's entire Internet. One of the greatest pages that exists is The Basketball Reference 196162 NBA Awards voting page where if you go there, you will see that season coming in sixth in the MVP race, Bullet Bob Pettic, who averaged a tidy 31 points, 19 rebounds a game. He got two first place votes. He came in sixth. Coming in fifth in that MVP race was Jerry west who averaged a nice and tidy 31 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists. Coming in fourth in that MVP race was Elgin Baylor who averaged 38 points, 19 rebounds, 5 assists. However, only played 48 games because he was in the military and could only play part time. He was try going back and forth between, you know, I don't know if it was the weekends he could play or the weekends he couldn't, whatever it is. But you know, while he wasn't in the US Military, he was a part time basketball player giving you 38 and 19. However, third place that year was Oscar Robertson, the first year anyone in the history of the league ever Averaged a triple double came in third. He averaged 31 points, 13 rebounds, 11 assists. A nice tidy third and second place with only nine first place votes was Wilt Chamberlain who that season averaged 48 and a half minutes, meaning he averaged more minutes than there were in the games because he never subbed out essentially the whole year and played overtimes. And while averaging 48 and a half minutes, he actually averaged more points. A nice clean for Wilt, 50.26 rebound a game average on 48 and a half minutes a night. However, that was only enough to finish a distant, distant second to Bill Russell who averaged 19 points and 24 rebounds. Folks, I wasn't there. I can't tell you how it happened. I just know that happened. I know that Bill Russell, way to finish it off. Bill Russell ran away with it averaging 19 and 24. Wilt was 50 and 26, playing every minute of every game all year. The Big O averaged 31, 13 and 11. Elgin gave you 3819 while also serving the country and that. So this, this top four is pretty sick. It doesn't quite match up to the 196162 NBA awards voting. Now that that is taken care of and out of the way, we will discuss what is happening right now with Luca, which is bordering on a little insane. Okay. Because folks are in real time, I fear recreating the history of this season and also recreating their own belief in what these Lakers could be. Because going into the the Lakers have already smashed the over on their win total. Many people, smart people that I respect, thought this Lakers team would stone miss the playoffs. They already have 50 wins. They have already clinched a playoff spot. They are a huge favorite to be the three seed. They also have a very decent chance of finishing with a better record than every team in the east except for Detroit. Right now they're sitting at 50 wins. The Celtics are sitting at 50 wins. And they have done that despite the fact that they made no major moves at the deadline. And Austin Reeves and LeBron James have missed a combined 47 games, which means they have done that based on the overwhelming strength of Luka Doncic, offensive wunderkind. And there are two things happening with the Luca MVP discussion. Three things actually. One, folks are pretending the Lakers were expected to be this good. They were not. And early in the year when they were the three seed and Luca was averaging 33 a night, the discussion happening in real time was well, they've beat up on some bad teams. They've gotten very lucky in close wins, the clutch numbers won't sustain this team is not as good as its record suggests. Before the year, they were eight behind, almost universally behind OKC in projections. Okc, obviously. Denver, no problem. Houston having added Kevin Durant. Minnesota. Yes, the Los Angeles Clippers were a much more popular regular season pick. Now they were not behind the spurs for most people because the spurs have greatly overachieved their expectation. And part of that is a testament to Wimby, no doubt about it. And that's just in the Western Conference, much less where they would stack up throughout the league as a whole. So that happened, people reframing what they thought the Lakers expectations were this year. That is happening in real time. Another thing that is happening in real time, people pretending like Luca just started having an awesome season. He was the Western Conference player of the month for January. Lucas, month by month numbers this year are October. He. He started the year off averaging 45 a game. Okay, but that's three games in October. In October, he averaged 45 a game. In December. I'm sorry, in November. Pardon me, sorry. When The Lakers lost two games all month that he played in, Luka averaged 33, 8 and 10. That's December. That's November. Pardon me, December. When the Lakers weren't that good and when Luka missed a couple games due to injury or just missed a couple games, he was down to 31, 7 and 7. Then January rolls around, he's player of the month with 34, 7 and 9. March was the one bad month. The Lakers were bad. It wrapped around the All Star Game. He was. He dealt with the injury and was 27 a night. And then March rolls around and for the month of March, he's 38, 8 and 7. And the Lakers have lost twice. And if they gave away player of the month for March, I don't know that they do. I think they might combine March and April, but it would be him again. So, folks, pretending as if he just started being excellent is not true. Now what is true is if you had asked me in mid February where he was and I think we did it on this show in the MVP race, I would have had him sixth. In mid February, I would have had Shea. I don't know if Wimby was quite there. Shea, Joker, Jalen Brown, Kaden, Wimby, all ahead of him. So which is why I have not gotten on here and said he's clearly the mvp. Shea has been that consistently excellent all throughout the year and. But I do think Luca is gaining massive, massive ground. And the last plank of this is, folks, have simply overstated how awful his defense is. Is Luka Doncic a. An excellent defensive player? Obviously not. Is Luka Doncic a good defensive player? I don't think so. Is Luka Doncic one of the worst defensive players in the league? By no possible metric. Can you feel that now. Do. Do Lucas defensive lowlights rank among the worst of any player in the league? Absolutely. The plays where he's just out to lunch defensively, yes. And that is a fair criticism of it. But my pal, man, talking about individual defensive rating as if that is a real thing when it really isn't. That's a team and a lineup stat, I think is unfair.
- [15:19]
Demons
And also how much he rebounds. Do you think it kind of reverses that at all? I. I shouldn't say at all, but like, I feel like the fact that he's such a good rebounder playing point guard, it should play a little bit to that.
- [15:30]
Nick Wright
Well, yes. And I mean, that's been a big part. Ask Daniel about you look up. The, the. The advanced metrics tell us that, you know, Bill Russell, you were great, but the greatest defensive big man of all time is Nikola Jokic. All of us know that's nonsense. But the reason for that is because the advanced metrics really value defensive rebounding ending a possession. And so I understand Luca is polarizing. Okay, I, I get that. I understand that Luka annoys people. I get that. And I understand that at times, Luke is his own worst enemy. I get all of that. But we are moving the goal posts on this player in a wildly unfair manner. The Lakers do not have a great defensive roster, and Luke is obviously a part of that. And they right now have tied with the clippers for the 19th best defense in basketball. And that's, you know, not very good. It is ahead of Denver, by the way, and it is improving and has been improving particularly over the last month. But for us to in real time try to change what the historic qualifiers for league MVP are, in my opinion, in service of one guy's candidacy in Victor when Minyama and against another guy's candidacy and Luka Doncic, which is an award that has never been 50 defense, 50 offense, changing it up, I think is disingenuous.
- [18:03]
Demons
Would you say that percentage of it. That's defense, though?
- [18:07]
Nick Wright
Of course.
- [18:08]
Demons
Like 70, 30.
- [18:09]
Nick Wright
No, of. I listen. I think historically, if you look at the winners, historically it's been 9010 offense defense. As far as what is valued right now, there are outliers and interestingly enough, one of them was the 62 MVP race where there, where they, there was a guy who averaged a 30 point triple double, a guy who averaged 50 a night, and then a guy who averaged 20. What was it, 19 and 24 or something? Yeah, no. 26 rebounds, 19 points. But he was so devastatingly impactful on defense that he won the award. Now he also was a champion, considered the, you know, greatest winner in the sport. Had, you know, at that point Bill Russell had accomplished more than Wimby, which plays, you know, a bit of a factor into it, but there are guys that can change the rules on. All right, it's 90, 10 for other guys. But this guy's defensive impact is so overwhelming, so overwhelming that he should win the award. So I understand folks saying Wimby's defensive impact is just unlike everyone else's. That is a fair argument. It is not a fair argument to say I'm not even considering Luca because he doesn't play both ends of the court. Not if you voted for James Harden. Not if you weren't throwing your entire body in front of Steve Nash going first, first, second in MVP voting. Not if you were part of Steph Curry over LeBron multiple times. Don't, don't, don't tell me you're, you're weighing this on two way impact. And here's the other thing about Wimby's specific candidacy. You. It is in my, again, not always so humble opinion, outrageous to give him extra credit in the MVP race for how few minutes per game he's playing. If you want to give the spurs extra credit for how much of a contender they are. Because it's like, well, what about when Wimy is playing 38 minutes a game instead of 29? Totally makes sense. If you want to talk about what this means for Wimby's upper limit potential about. Well, what, what about when he plays the minutes all the other candidates play? I'm all for that as well. There are a lot of things where Wimby's minutes per game should come into the conversation, but his ability to win the MVP award is not one of them. When a stat that I think will absolutely blow your mind, Monze, and I want to get this exactly right. This year Victor win. Benyama has played 90 fewer minutes than LeBron Victor. When Benyama this year is 100th in the NBA in minutes, 100th now you can again say that means, oh my God, he's going to win six titles and 10 Defensive Player of the year awards and the spurs are going to be unstoppable. All of that. But what what I don't think you can say is what I don't think is accurate is the that Wimy's the gap between Luca's offense and Wimy's offense is 20 points created a game conservatively Lucas points plus assists versus Wimy's points plus assists and there's more to it and I know all of a sudden Wimy's we've created a new term called roll gravity or lob gravity or something. It's like oh the corner threes they're generating. I've watched NBA for my entire life. I've never heard this term great. But the gap between so you have this size gap between Luke and Wimy's offense now you can say you have an even bigger gap between Luke and Wimby's defense. No problem. But is it is is Wimby's impact in 17:55 minutes his defensive impact that much greater to where it overcomes the fact that Luka has played 500 more minutes the equivalent of for again at Wimy's minutes per game. 29500 minutes is an extra 16 games. It's not. It's not enough for me and again if someone I think there are and I haven't even talked about Joker on this and we'll get to him in a second if if someone makes the argues for here's why Wimby's the mvp. Nobody thought the spurs would be this good. He's so far and away the best defensive player in the sport. I I think that is a legitimate argument. Shay obviously has a legitimate argument. Joker who we'll get to obviously as legitimate argument. What I find so galling and I probably overuse that word is folks a lot of folks are acting as if Luca does not have a legitimate argument. You're God dog, right? This guy, a guy who's averaging almost 34 a game for an overachieving three seed who's second and third best player both have missed a third of the season. That guy every time, every year in NBA history had a legitimate argument for the MVP and Luke is not going to come close to it. And I think that's unfortunate.
- [25:16]
Public Investing Sponsor
Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index. With AI it all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year. You can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors llc. SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available at public.com disclosures this
- [26:17]
Daniel Cormier
is Daniel Cormier from the Daniel Cormier Show. This podcast is sponsored by Total Wireless, the official wireless partner of ufc. All UFC fighters know power doesn't wait in the octagon or outside of it. You either make the move or you miss the moment. That's why you need a network that's as powerful as you are. With Total Wireless, you get unlimited 5G data keeping you in on all the action, from the walkouts to the knockouts. You'll never miss a moment. That's coverage that you can count on for every single round. So when the moment happens, you're not catching up. You're already there. Now that that's a total power move in the ufc, power isn't given, it's taken. So make your total power move today. Visit totalwireless.com or stop by your neighborhood. Total Wireless Store 5G access requires a 5G capable device in a 5G service area. Monthly rates on the Total Base 5G Unlimited plan for new subscribers applies only to the monthly rate for your plan. Additional terms apply. See website for details.
- [27:12]
Julian Edelman
This is Julian Edelman from Dudes on Dudes with Gronk and Jewels. All right, real quick, take a look at yourself right now.
- [27:18]
Nick Wright
Why?
- [27:19]
Daniel Cormier
What's wrong?
- [27:19]
Julian Edelman
Nothing's wrong. You look like a guy running on three hours of sleep and vibes.
- [27:24]
Nick Wright
Okay, yeah, I'm tired, kind of cranky and very thirsty.
- [27:28]
Julian Edelman
Congrats. Those are some of the potential signs of mild dehydration. And I bet your last bathroom break showed you another sign your body might be throwing you a penalty flag.
- [27:41]
Nick Wright
So what's the play?
- [27:42]
Julian Edelman
Call Liquid IV Hydration Multiplier. One stick in water helps hydrate faster than water alone. Okay, but where's the proof liquid IVs, clinical studies, not just a guy I know. Real science. Results you can trust.
- [28:00]
Daniel Cormier
Well, take a look at me now.
- [28:01]
Nick Wright
Liquid IV is officially part of my daily hydration routine. Pass the firecracker. Popsicle flavor.
- [28:07]
Julian Edelman
Stay hydrated like a pro, not like Jack before this. Stock up on Liquid IV hydration multiplier@liquid-iv.com and use the promo code NUTHOUSE for 20 off your first purchase.
- [28:27]
Nick Wright
And so go. Go ahead. You want to go to Yoga Chups?
- [28:31]
Demons
Oh, yeah. So over the course of the next two weeks. Yeah, we'll see five games where two. Where the two of the candidates of the MVP race will face each other. So first we got okc. They'll play the Lakers twice and Denver once. Denver will play the spurs twice and OKC once, and the spurs will play Denver twice, and then the Lakers will play OKC twice.
- [28:50]
Nick Wright
Yeah, those two times. Yeah. So listen, I think, I think Shea. One of the reasons I believe Shea is a huge favorite to win this award is. And we're talking more about OKC in a few. I think Shea has a floor of second place on ballots. So I think Shea is going to get firsts and seconds, and I think Wimby is going to get first, second, third and fourths. And I think Joker is going to get not a lot of first, but second, third and fourths. And I. And so I think that there have been instances in the history of this award with the guy with the most first place votes doesn't win it. That happened to Barkley. It's happened a few times. I think Shea probably gets the most firsts and wins the award, but I also think there's a world where Wimby gets the most firsts and doesn't win it because Shays is all first and seconds with a couple thirds. Wimby is first, seconds, thirds, fourths, and that drags. That drags him down. I also just, I think that this only becomes a very close conversation if the spurs finish with the one seed. And I, I have. Just.
- [30:34]
Demons
So you don't think in those games there could be any. Any taking of the torch?
- [30:39]
Nick Wright
Well, the problem is the spurs don't play the Thunder, and the spurs did die. As Wimby mentioned, the spurs dominated the Thunder when they played them earlier this year. Wimby was playing in a couple of those games. Played like 20 minutes. Was not. Like was not the. Which again, all of these arguments could be arguments as to why they're going to win the title, all these things, but the MVP is not a hypothetical award. It's not well what they could have done and so I just don't Luke is in a weird spot and it'd be I want to say one other thing about Luke and then we'll talk Joker it it's also really weird that he is treated this way despite the fact that he has been every year of his playoff career an absolute playoff killer. Just a killer is first year in the playoffs against what everyone thought was the best team in the league. Kawhi Paul George. Clippers in that playoff series as a huge Underdog puts up 31 9. I'm sorry 10 and 9. They lose in 6. His next year in the playoffs again against Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. He's being guarded 100% of his possessions by Pete Kawhi and Paul George. He they lose in seven as a big underdog he averages 368 and 10. His next year in the playoffs their underdogs in round two against the favorite Suns. He makes Devin Booker cry. Almost gives you 32:10 and six that playoff run. They then missed the playoffs one year and his next time in the playoffs he carries the Mavs to the finals beating Shay, then beating Ant. And then last year obviously was you know they he wasn't. He was 30 points a game in those playoffs in the one round against Tim Rolls. That was a disaster for the Lakers. There's no doubt. No no way around that. But it's just. Is he a perfect player? No. Does he deserve more respect from the people and more and folks doing a closer introspection on Wait a minute. I didn't think the Lakers had any shot at contending. I thought the Lakers might miss the playoffs again. Not Nick Wright but folks out there they're the they've got 50 wins. They have the same number of wins as Boston. They. They are they've been the three seed a good portion of the season and are a huge favorite to be it. Braun has taken on another role. Austin suffered a major injury that the team is leaning heavily on deandre Ayton and Marcus Smart and Luke is just out there fire breathing every night. What's that worth? All right. Go ahead on Joker Jokic will average
- [34:20]
Demons
a triple double and be the first player to lead in rebounds and assists ever if he hadn't already run a bunch. Do you think that he'd be the
- [34:28]
Nick Wright
front runner for the race if he had zero MVPs? Probably right. And listen Daniel put in this I I'm not going to call it a whining question but it felt a Little whining from Nuggets fan Daniel when he says Jokic is leveled up every year. So is he just ineligible to win at this point? He's not ineligible to win and he's having an awesome year. And if folks want to make the case that Jokic this year is having a more impressive season than some previous years when I didn't think he should have been MVP and he won it, so be it. But they are any the Nuggets I think by a hair as a team have underachieved this year. They have been awful in the clutch. They don't feel like frontline A list contenders at the moment. And Joker has three MVPs so I don't think people are when the three guys in my opinion ahead of him in the race four if you include Jalen Brown. I don't as far as a head of Joker all have better records, all their team and you know, seems to be in a better position to win a championship. I'm not, I'm not worried about the fact that Joker, as great as he is, isn't going to, you know, get his fourth MVP in the last six years. I think, I think we'll all be okay on that. Today's show is brought to you by our presenting sponsor, Hard Rock bet. Florida Sportsbook. Biggest weekend in college basketball is almost here. Round of four is set. National champion just days away from cutting down the nets. Now's the time to step your game up with daily dancing boosts on Hard Rock Bet, you'll get a live profit boost and a parlay profit boost for the games. More ways to shoot your shot, more ways to cash in, more ways with boosted odds when the stakes are their highest. And those heart stopping zero on the clock moments, I mean we had one of them, one of the greatest all time. Not quite a buzzer beater, but as close as you can get in the end of Yukon Duke they still the the ones that are true buzzer beater zeros on the clock. They still pay. On Hard Rock Bet, they're handing out $25 bonus bets. If a team you bet to win or cover hits a buzzer beater. Because when the lights are the brightest, every shot matters even more. If you haven't joined Hard Rock Bet yet, now's the time to check in the game. New signups can double their winnings on their first 10 bets max $50. That means if you would have won a hundred bucks on your bet, now it's 200. So don't sit on the bench. 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 point 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.
- [38:22]
Demons
Yeah so ESPN dropped a story on the dysfunction of the 2025 Eagles. Hertz and Sirianni were scrutinized very heavily. More AJ Brown frustrations came to light Is this way worse than what you thought?
- [38:37]
Nick Wright
I don't know if it's way worse than what I thought, but here's what I confirms it. Well, I also find it interesting that this story can exist meaning that you had 10 people with the Eagles in various ways kind of throwing shade at their franchise quarterback or their head coach. That this story can't exist in Kansas City. You can't write it. There's you're just you're not going to find three people, much less double digigit sources that are going to be like here's the problem with Patrick. This story can't exist in Buffalo. This story kind of existed in Baltimore and the head coach got and that. But the head coach got is out.
- [39:27]
Demons
Right?
- [39:28]
Nick Wright
You know what I mean? Like the it stories like this don't come out of thin air and here is so just kind of rapid fire takeaways on it. You you said more A.J. brown frustrations came to light. I looked at a little bit differently. I looked at it as this story. To me de Monz is a little confirmation as to why AJ Brown being such a pain in the ass the last two years did not seem to hurt his popularity in that locker room or standing amongst teammates. That even if A.J. brown's methods of messaging were clumsy or unprofessional, that it seems like there were enough people in that building that were like at least someone's saying something that it, you know, created inoculated him a bit from what I think could be problematic. If nobody was if everybody was like man AJ such a diva, just wants his stats everything else then I think AJ would not still have been as stable in that locker room as he seemed to be. So that, you know that to me jumped another thing that jumped from this article Was them really zeroing in on Jalen's. There's leadership style and play style. We'll start with play style. Jalen's allergy to playing the position certain ways more under center, more play action, turning his back to the defense, more pre snap motions, those types of things that can make things easier for receivers and quarterbacks if they're willing to do it. And the way that truly limited their passing game and Jalen not wanting to adjust from there. Another. Another piece of the story that I thought was really fascinating was one of the most criticized moments of the Eagles season late in the year, 107 against Green Bay when Sirianni decided to go for a fourth down. And I'm going to pull up the time score situation. Exactly. Because I remember us seeing when it happened. I came on the show and I couldn't believe it that Sirianni not only went for the fourth down, now that obviously is his call. Oh, it wasn't late in the season. It was early in the season. Pardon me. I mean the exact midway point of the year. But. So here's the time score situation. Green Bay is out of timeouts. It is fourth and six for the Eagles at the Green Bay 35 yard line. So. And there's 33 seconds left. And so Sirianni chose not to kick the field goal, which I think probably was smart because you missed that field goal, you know, all of a sudden they're. They're near midfield and felt they were too close to punt. I disagreed with that piece of it. I thought you punt, try to pin him back, whatever. He decided to go for it, which was, I thought, questionable. But then what we really criticized was the play call was a bomb down the left sideline from Jalen Hurts AJ Brown. This article revealed they just called that on their own and that Jalen will occasionally just call stuff on his own or draw up routes essentially on his own. That was not what they practiced or what the play design was. Man, if you're going to do that, you need to have higher success rate at it than Jalen has had certainly last year. I think that's fair. And then here is another criticism and then the big picture piece of it. They said in the article that Jalen, you know, has this Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan style of leadership. This is maybe going to be a controversial take and I want to make sure I say it right. I don't know that Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan's leadership styles were good. I think they were effective for them specifically. And it would. That leadership style is not in general the right way to be a leader and can only work if your individual excellence is unimpeachable. Yeah. Does that make sense? Yeah.
- [45:13]
Demons
I was about to say because it's Kobe and Jordan. Like those guys are one of ones.
- [45:19]
Nick Wright
Exactly. So I just think that again, people roll their eyes at my Mahomes stuff, but it's. It's all true. It's not at all Patrick's style of leadership, the Kobe or Jordan style, but he's probably the only quarterback in the league that if it were, could get away with it.
- [45:39]
Demons
Right.
- [45:40]
Nick Wright
Like, what are we going to say to this guy? You know what I mean? He's the. He's the best. He is going to go down in history as the greatest or on the ver. Like Kobe, on the very short list of greatest. What are we going to do? I. So I just, I think that could. If I used the wrong comp on the TV show yesterday when this came up, but I want to use an NBA comp. Like I don't think the Kobe or Jordan style of leadership would if. When not I can't use him because they didn't.
- [46:20]
Demons
They.
- [46:21]
Nick Wright
They didn't have any success. And Jalen obviously has had a lot of success. If Tyrese Halliburton was like the I have a Kobe or LeBron style or Kobe or Jordan style of leadership, I think people might be like, yeah, okay, yeah, listen, you're really good. Don't get me wrong, but we're not quite there yet. And then here's the football. Read on it. It's very simple. And this is where the Russell Wilson comps just continue a pace. Because Russell Wilson, like Jaylen Herz, went to two different colleges because one place didn't want him anymore. Like Russell Wilson, Jaylen Herz has won everywhere. Like Russell Wilson, went to two Super Bowls very early. Winning one, losing one. Like Russell Wilson, particularly early in his career, had real questions about what a precise thrower he is. With that said, the one type of throw that from the very beginning he was excellent at was the deep ball. Like Russell Wilson seemed to have very odd relationships with teammates like Russell Wilson. There was a real debate about how much credit he should get for winning a championship on that team with that style. And here is where Russell Wilson, to his credit in the second half of his Seahawks career adjusted. Once Russell Wilson stopped being this dynamic, scrambling running threat, he did develop as a better passer. Jalen Hurts, his first full time years of starter ran for 785 yards. His SEC and the TD numbers I are weird because of the tush push piece of it so I don't even know how to calculate those. His second year as a starter he ran for 760 yards. His first year it was 5.6 of carry. His second year is 4.6 of carry. His third year as a starter he ran for 605 yards at 3.9 yards of carry. His fifth year, fourth year as a starter aim for 630 yards at 4.2 a carry. And last year he ran for 4421 yards at 4.0 at carry. If you are going to no longer be a true dynamic on any snap dual threat quarterback you must do what Russ did and greatly improve as a passer. Russell Wilson is second year as third year as a starter ran for 850 yards by you know by 2018, his seventh year as a starter that was down to three. He went from 8:50 his third year to 376 and no rushing touchdowns his seventh year. But that year he threw for 35 touchdowns, seven interceptions, had a 110 rating. The next two years he had a combined 105 rating, 71 touchdowns, 80 picks and threw for more than 4,000 yards each year. So if the running is not going to be as big of a part of your game you he's. He's got to get better as a precision fully developed passer or he's got to lean into the running more like he used to. And this is the last thing I'll say on this demase. Sirianni is obviously on the hot seat. Jalen hurts seat is warmer than a guy who is 14 months removed from winning Super Bowl MVP seat has any business being does that make like the he you would think he had a three year minimum grace period.
- [50:55]
Demons
Yeah.
- [50:56]
Nick Wright
And it feels like it might be two year minimum grace period and then some. Did this not at all take conversations. Go ahead.
- [51:10]
Demons
This didn't take away any flack on Sirianni. Like you don't think his seat got a little bit cooler with this?
- [51:16]
Nick Wright
Well, it seems like some of the criticisms in the article was that Sirianni doesn't, you know won't criticize Jalen or won't, you know isn't going to so I don't know. I it did in that I do give Sirianni credit on that play that I talked about against Green Bay.
- [51:37]
Demons
Right.
- [51:38]
Nick Wright
He went to the press conference and said he called it right. And to you know throw him. So I do. He is good at taking blame for other guys stuff. I and I think that's one of the reasons his players love him and so I will give him credit for that. All right, we're going to talk about another quarterback in a second. But first, Boost Mobile is proving that you don't have to overpay for great wireless Unlock the savings with the $25 a month 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 price@boost mobile.com 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
- [52:35]
Public Investing Sponsor
support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public, you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing from Corporate Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors LLC SEC Registered Advisor. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available at public.com disclosures this
- [53:36]
Daniel Cormier
is Daniel Cormier from the Daniel Cormier Show. This podcast is sponsored by Total Wireless, the official wireless partner of ufc. All UFC fighters know power doesn't wait in the octagon or outside of it. You either make the move or you miss the moment. That's why you need a network that's as powerful as you are. With Total Wireless you get unlimited 5G data keeping you in on all the action. From the walkouts to the knockouts. You'll never miss a moment. That's coverage that you can count on for every single round. So when the moment happens, you're not catching up. You're already there. Now that that's a total power move in the ufc, power isn't given, it's taken. So make your total power move today. Visit totalwireless.com or stop by your neighborhood Total Wireless Store 5G access requires a 5G capable device in a 5G service area. Monthly rates on the Total Base 5G Unlimited plan for new subscribers applies only to the monthly rate for your plan. Additional terms apply. See website for details.
- [54:31]
Julian Edelman
This is Julian Edelman from Games With Names. As a former pro athlete, I never took slow for an answer on the field or in life. And that includes my Internet. Don't take slow for an answer. Get Optimum's fast reliable fiber Internet why Optimum Fiber 1 Optimum Fiber is the fastest, most reliable fiber Internet in the New York Tri State. To enjoy fiber Internet with 99.9% network reliability and three stream work and game on multiple devices at once seamlessly. There are so many great reasons to switch like a five year price lock. So don't wait. Call 888-FOR OPTIMUM. Visit optimum.com or visit your local Optimum Store today. Terms apply. See optimum.com for details.
- [55:26]
Demons
Cathri S. Where do you think the big four quarterbacks of the NFL Mahomes, Allen, Lamar and Burrow will rank when they all retire? All time?
- [55:35]
Nick Wright
What a great question. Yeah, no no no. We'll all so they're all time rank so let me see if I can find my all time QB pyramid just to give it some context here. I'm pretty sure.
- [55:54]
Demons
Hold on.
- [55:56]
Nick Wright
I'm. I'm pretty sure all time Mountain I think is what I called it. I have it in my docs. Let me see if I can find it real quick. I apologize.
- [56:07]
Demons
Off the top of your like would they all be in the top 10?
- [56:10]
Nick Wright
No way. No no no no. So listen, Mahomes is in my eyes already too. And the running down Brady is going to be hard. I understand that. I believe he can do it. But the smart bet for Mahomes is that he'll slot in it too right now, this moment. Who do you think is higher all time Demons? A Allen or Lamar?
- [56:47]
Demons
I'd have to give it to Lamar. I mean obviously totally unbiased.
- [56:52]
Nick Wright
I agree with you. I. I agree with you. I think that even though. Even though Lamar has struggled in the the postseason, I still think that he is he his two MVPs, his regular season numbers are so magnificent and I think that he is. Okay. I finally found it. I think that he is ahead of Josh. I don't think he'll finish ahead of Josh because I think he's more likely to win an MVP or to win a Super Bowl. Josh is than Lamar. So I think Mark, I think that Josh will finish. Like right around where Steve Young, Kurt Warner are, which is for me like right outside the top 10 modern era. And by modern era, I mean post merger. So I'm not counting star unitis, Graham Ball. Those guys are out. So like the oldest quarterbacks that I'm ranking are Staubach and Bradshaw. But for me, the top 10 post merger quarterbacks again, not including the super old guys, Brady, Mahomes, Manning, Montana Marino, Elway, Rogers, F, Staubach, Bradshaw. That's your 10 with Steve Young, Kurt Warner, Troy Aikman, Drew Brees and you know, Lamar with two MVP has got to be in that mix at the moment. I think that Josh Allen is going to finish right around of the, you know, post merger, Steve Young, Kurt Warner area. I think Lamar is going to finish right around the Big Ben 15, 16 area. And I think that Burrow is going to finish in the Matt stafford area. Like 20, 22, something. Something like that.
- [59:42]
Demons
Okay.
- [59:43]
Nick Wright
Like outside the. That's how I think it's going to go. And I don't know if that's going to be fair to Burrow, but I think Burrow drew the nut low on franchise to be drafted.
- [59:53]
Demons
To be honest.
- [59:54]
Nick Wright
I listen, I think Stafford's a great. I think what he's done with the Rams is unbelievable. But I can't put Stafford's career ahead of Big Ben or Drew Brees. You know what I mean? I can put him ahead of Philip Rivers, put him ahead of Eli Manning, but like right now, I think Joe Burrow is an underdog to make the hall of Fame. I just think that the injuries plus the lack of team success and the, you know, that is just so putting Stafford right now, I think just cemented himself as a Hall of Famer this past year with the mvp. So that's where I, you know, if we're doing all time, that's a great question. I like that a lot. All right, next, ASA asks, do you
- [60:50]
Demons
think Lamar has overachieved everyone's early career expectations considering the fact that everyone, including his own team, pass on him in the first round? And also, why does everyone love Joe Burrow more than Lamar?
- [61:03]
Nick Wright
Well, I don't know that everyone loves Joe Burrow more than Lamar, but look there. There is a Faction of folks that when they say who are the best quarterbacks and I fall into this sometimes what they are saying is who are the best passers.
- [61:16]
Demons
Yeah.
- [61:17]
Nick Wright
Like they are. They are removing right they are removing. They are giving like the credit you get for what you do with your legs somehow doesn't fall into like the quarterback rankings. And listen I'm guilty of that sometimes that probably is affected my feelings on Burrow my feelings in the other direction on Jalen hurts for Lamar. I you know everybody knows my big hang up with Lamar is the postseason stuff that I just think he gets in his own head and doesn't play nearly as like himself. But has he overachieved everyone's early career expectations by a mile? Like yeah. I mean he, he was the final pick of the first round and his first full time years of starter. He was unanimous mvp. I it so he has way over he, he's. He would have overachieved people's early career expectations if he was the number one pick of the draft. He. And so like I mean he is and I know this sounds like damning with faint praise. He is one of the greatest regular season players ever. Like full stop. He is that. Which is why he only needs one great playoff run or even one playoff run where he's not great but the team wins anyway to just be stamped. Not that he's not already stamped. But yeah, I I know right. But he but so yes. But he has shattered expectations. Shattered.
- [62:55]
Demons
All right, next, Curtis asks Nick, what is your Mount Rushmore Are the greatest sports moments in history?
- [63:02]
Nick Wright
So I am going to. There's two ways to answer this question. One way is to like remove, just remove me from it. Be like the greatest sports moments ever. And then you're like well, Jesse Owens making right. So I that so I'm going to kind of like if it was just like hey Nick, give me the definitive four greatest sports moments in history. You'd have to be like, well, a lot of them are not even really sports. It's like Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier. Jesse Owens making Hitler look like a fool at the Olympics in front of him. The Miracle on Ice. It's a lot, you know, a lot of Olympic social, political things. But he asked me my so I'm going to do it. My goosebumps. Favorite greatest sports moments that I've seen in my life. And I'm going to like so Tiger winning his final masters in 2019 when he, you know, he hadn't won in a decade. It looked like he was done that is on there for me. LeBron's block in Game 7 of the Finals on Iguodala leading to that championship, that is on there for me. The the. The drive in overtime, down three in the super bowl for Mahomes and the Chiefs to cement the dynasty and win back to back against the Niners, that's on there for me.
- [65:16]
And
- [65:19]
Usain Bolt at the Olympics just pounding his chest While finishing the 100 meter is on there for me. Just those are, those are. When I say them, I get goosebumps again. Those are, those are for me. My four favorite watched it, can remember where I watched it, how I watched it, what I was doing, moments for me as a sports fan. So, for whatever it's worth, you know
- [66:02]
Toyota Sponsor
how it's never really about where you're going, it's about who you're going with. The right people can turn any drive into a great memory. That's something Toyota really believes. They design vehicles around real life and real people, the ones who make plans happen and bring everyone together inside. Everything's built with passengers in mind. Comfortable seating, smart layouts, and space that actually works so everyone can relax and enjoy the ride. There's room for the people, room for the stuff, and room for the moments that happen along the way. Because when people are the destination, your ride is important. Learn more@toyota.com and find the vehicle that fits your people.
- [66:37]
Daniel Cormier
This is Daniel Cormier from the Daniel Cormier Show. This podcast is sponsored by Total Wireless, the official wireless partner of ufc. Power doesn't wait in the octagon or outside of it. You either make the move or you miss the moment. That's why you need a network that's just as powerful as you are. With Total Wireless, you get unlimited 5G data keeping you in the action from the walkouts to the knockouts. Now that's a total power move. Make your total power move today. Visit totalwireless.com or stop by your neighborhood. Total Wireless Store. Additional terms apply. See totalwireless.com for details at CVS it
- [67:14]
Nick Wright
matters that we're not just in your community, but that we're part of it. It matters that we're here for you when you need us, day or night. And we want everyone to feel welcomed and rewarded. It matters that CVS is here to fill your prescriptions and here to fill your craving for a tasty and, yeah, healthy snack at cvs. Yes, we're proud to serve your community because we believe where you get your medicine matters. So Visit us@cvs.com or just come by our store. We can't wait to meet you. Store hours vary by location.
- [67:47]
Grainger Sponsor
If you work in university maintenance, Grainger considers you an MVP because your playbook ensures your arena is always ready for tip off. And Grainger is your trusted partner, offering the products you need all in one place, from H Vac and plumbing supplies to lighting and more. And all delivered with plenty of time left on the clock, so your team always gets the win. Call 1-800-granger. Visit granger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done.
- [68:17]
Nick Wright
This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.