Defending Anthony Edwards, Spurs-Thunder must-see series, Steelers Sign Rodgers | 05.18

Summary

The Right Time with Bomani Jones

Episode: Defending Anthony Edwards, Spurs-Thunder Must-See Series, Steelers Sign Rodgers | 05.18

Date: May 18, 2026

Host: Bomani Jones
Producer/Co-Host: Ryan Brumley
Additional Voices: Jasper, James Johnson, Jake

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Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the weekend's NBA playoff action, spotlighting Anthony Edwards' leadership, the anticipation for the Spurs-Thunder Western Conference Finals, and what the Knicks' playoff run means for their key players. The pod then pivots to NFL news with Aaron Rodgers signing to the Steelers, debates labor rights with the Waffle House workers’ strike, and discusses the impact of bots on internet virality. Listener voicemails close the show with classic “Right Time” banter.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

NBA Playoff Reactions

James Harden/Donovan Mitchell Discussion

• Bomani reflects on the Cavs blowout win over the Pistons and how a less competitive game deprived podcasters of juicy Harden content:

  “James Harden, you did your part...we could get a half-hour worth of content off that shit. Instead, no, they won by 30 points.” (01:10)

• Mitchell achieves a milestone:

  “Donovan Mitchell finally got himself to the conference finals. Like, he has managed to live his whole NBA career in places that we don't really care about that much...We just don't care that much about what's going on over there.” (01:58)

• Both hosts muse on Harden’s arc:

  “At this point, especially now that he done fell out with Daryl Morey. Don't nobody really want to see James Harden do good except for James Harden. I don't wish ill upon him.” (03:12, Bomani)

Knicks, Cavs, and Player Narratives

• Discussion of the Knicks’ dominance and whether expectations reset with a single loss:

  “Do we throw it all out the window if they lose game one?” (06:29, Bomani)

• On the Jalen Brunson vs. Donovan Mitchell debate:

  “At this point, I don't think Knicks fans would trade Jalen Brunson for Donovan Mitchell, but how many of the rest of us would?” (08:16, Bomani)
  “They're kind of the same. They have different games, but they're kind of the same guy.” (09:01, Bomani)

• Carl Anthony Towns’ quiet ascent:

  “I don't think anybody is redeeming himself quite like Carl Anthony Towns is in this…he has to be their best player for them to win.” (09:29, Bomani)

• Towns’ defensive shortcomings:

  “Can Cavaliers do anything to make Towns have to guard people?…primarily is, like, weird defensive decisions.” (10:34, Bomani)

Criticism of Anthony Edwards’ Leadership

• Bomani responds to NBA veterans calling out Edwards after he congratulated the Spurs’ bench while losing badly:

  “I thought that was actually a standup sort of move…when I think about what's, what we're looking at these playoffs…Shay, Victor and Anthony Edwards…their young guys...are excellent leaders. Not just excellent leaders, but guys who want to take responsibility and are willing to.” (14:24)

• Defending Edwards' approach:

  “Rather than question him in that moment, we should be just asking him…how did you guys go win that Game one against San Antonio on the road with you on one leg?” (17:10, Bomani)

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Spurs-Thunder Western Conference Finals Preview

Historic Stakes & Matchup Dynamics

• Anticipation for a true must-see series:

  “This is finally… the series…the one we've been waiting on all year long.” (17:36, Bomani)

• Comparisons to NBA past (Robinson-Olajuwon):

  “They're about to give Shae that MVP in front of Victor. Yep, shades of giving David Robinson the MVP in front of Akeem Olajuwon.” (21:12, Bomani)

• Victor Wembanyama’s defensive impact:

  “He might be the best defensive player of all time...He can guard the ball, the pass, the rim, the mid. At the same damn time. All of these grown men. Petrified, terrified, unsure…” (18:46)

• On the Thunder’s depth and youth:

  “If Chet Holmgren is their third best player…if Jalen Williams is your third best player, dude, what are we talking about here?...they’re really, really good at the top end. But the Spurs are too.” (23:14, Bomani)

• On playoff experience and team culture:

  “Whether experience matters as much as it used to in the NBA because of the parity…Does the fact that the Spurs not have any experience going against the defending champions, how much does that matter?” (25:02, Bomani)

• Personal rooting interests and NBA shenanigans:

  “My mama is from Oklahoma City…the general manager of the Thunder helped build a statue of my mama in Oklahoma City and I still want Oklahoma City to lose. That’s how much I hate that shit they be doing. I hate it so much it gets on my neck nerves.” (26:11, Bomani)

Physical Play and “Goon” Culture

• On the need for enforcer mentality in the playoffs:

  “Spurs got a lot of dudes that you got to pay attention to. Then you got Fox with all that speed, Dylan Harper…Luke Kornet's not the toughest guy in the world. But my point is they got size other than Victor.” (24:12, Bomani)

On “Big Man Camp” and Bill Cartwright Influence

• Joking about teaching Victor the ways of NBA elbows:

  “Olajuwon is not the only center that you can go work out with…That's right. I'm talking about Bill Cartwright...Let Cartwright teach you about how to use those elbows to establish your presence in the NBA, right?” (29:34, Bomani)

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NFL: Aaron Rodgers Signs with Steelers

• Initial reaction:

  “None of it has made sense and…I guess their argument is that there's not a better quarterback available than Aaron Rodgers. And it is possible that that is true. But that is…risk minimization.” (33:03, Bomani)

• Rodgers is past his prime:

  “He was bad last year. Like he is a 20 to 25 range quarterback because he just tore his Achilles a couple years ago. He's not mobile like that.” (33:48, Bomani)

• Awkward reunion with Mike McCarthy:

  “That's the thing that's crazy about this is he's doing this...again with Mike McCarthy who he dragged the whole time he was in Green Bay.” (34:26, Ryan)

• Steelers’ resistance to rebuilding:

  “They don't want to rebuild or they don't rebuild. At some point you're going to have to. And it looks like that point is going to be next year because it's on the board that they could stink this year.” (35:19, Bomani)

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Waffle House Labor Movement

• On Waffle House workers organizing for $25/hr:

  “Everybody's got a Waffle House story and all of them imply that the workers should make more than $25 an hour.” (36:47, Bomani)

• Economic and cultural implications:

  “If the food at the Waffle House is, as it currently stands at current wages, how much worse is that food going to get if they start paying the workers $25 an hour?...What is going to happen to the prices at Waffle House if they start paying these people $25 an hour?” (37:46, Bomani)

• On the unique “Waffle House robbing the robber” dynamic:

  “Waffle House is the only place…where if you decide to rob the Waffle House, there is just a good chance that the Waffle House is going to rob you.” (38:43, Bomani)

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The Fake Internet (Viral Bots and Online Culture)

• Reaction to Vulture’s piece on fake virality:

  “There’s something to the idea of the zombie Internet…Twitter at this point is largely a zombie app. It is bots, by and large, sending out content that just keeps people engaged who are addicted to scrolling and addicted to responding.” (41:00, Bomani)

• On organic movements vs. manufactured trends:

  “The attention is all bought and paid for, it is truly a simulation of a zeitgeist rather than a zeitgeist that truly gives you a reflection of where culture is and stuff stands.” (43:35, Bomani)

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• “Do we throw it all out the window if [the Knicks] lose game one? Like, how much does it take?” (06:29, Bomani)
• “He's the legend killer. [Anthony Edwards] has gone through and taken all these people down at all these points.” (15:56, Bomani)
• “[Victor Wembanyama] can guard the ball, the pass, the rim, the mid. At the same damn time.” (18:46, Bomani)
• “You might elbow Lou Dort and just pop your shit out of joint.” (27:53, Bomani)
• “My mama is from Oklahoma City…the general manager of the Thunder helped an initiative that built a statue of my mama in Oklahoma City and I still want Oklahoma City to lose.” (26:11, Bomani)
• “Waffle House is the only place…where if you decide to rob the Waffle House, there is just a good chance that the Waffle House is going to rob you.” (38:43, Bomani)
• “The attention is all bought and paid for, it is truly a simulation of a zeitgeist…” (43:35, Bomani)

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Important Timestamps

• NBA Playoff Recaps & Harden/Mitchell – 00:01–05:30
• Knicks, Cavs, Brunson vs. Mitchell, Towns – 05:30–11:00
• Anthony Edwards Leadership Controversy – 11:50–17:30
• Spurs-Thunder Series Deep Dive – 17:35–29:30
• Bill Cartwright “Big Man Camp” / Playoff physicality – 29:34–32:46
• Aaron Rodgers to Steelers – 32:46–35:34
• Waffle House Wage Debate – 36:38–40:38
• Vulture’s “Fake Feed”/Viral Bots – 41:00–44:19
• Voicemails: Goon culture, LeBron/Kobe, athletic embarrassment – 44:23–53:36
• Bomani on meeting fans & gratitude for listeners – 53:29–55:54
• Final voicemail: Puerto Rican barbershop acceptance – 55:54–57:29

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Listener Voicemails – Highlights

• Demand for NBA “goons” (45:20, James Johnson): Bomani mentions DeMarcus Cousins is “just a touch old” at this point, but reminisces on the need for edge in NBA playoffs.
• Tension between LeBron and Lakers legacy/Kobe fans (47:32, Jasper): Bomani acknowledges the “mythos” of Lakers’ history conflicting with LeBron’s own approach.
• Viral clip of Joel flubbing a football drill (49:12, Jasper): Bomani rides for his friend Joel, defending him from the social media pile-on.
• Fan update on barbershop belonging (55:54, Jake): A white listener in Illinois is welcomed at a Puerto Rican barbershop, as long as he brings “cash and a smile.”

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Tone & Delivery

Bomani remains humorous, slightly sardonic, and deeply insightful throughout. The episode is peppered with pop culture references, NBA history, playful roasting, and appreciation for listeners. Banter with Ryan and listeners’ calls deepen the conversational, inside-joke tone loyal fans expect.

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Summary Takeaways

• Anthony Edwards deserves praise, not criticism, for his playoff leadership and authenticity.
• The Spurs-Thunder series carries historic and personal stakes, with both teams embodying youthful promise and competitive edge.
• The NFL's obsession with “risk minimization” leads to curious veteran signings, as with Rodgers to Pittsburgh.
• Waffle House remains a metaphorical—and literal—battleground in labor rights and American culture.
• The age of internet virality is increasingly manufactured by bots, challenging authentic cultural movements.
• Genuine listener connection matters—even (especially) if you pay for a meet and greet.

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For those who haven't listened:
This episode blends sharp NBA analysis with wider cultural and social commentary, perfect for sports fans and pop culture observers alike. Bomani's voice is as witty and incisive as ever, making even the digressions worth your time.

Transcript

[Bomani Jones]

Wave. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Right time, presented by FanDuel Predicts. My name is Bomani Jones. Thanks for listening. Wherever you get your podcast. Thanks for watching us on YouTube. Subscribe, like, rate us, review us, give us five stars. You only give us four stars. I'm inclined to believe you are a hater. We will talk about the most exciting playoff series in my recent memory in. In just a few. First, we got a lot. Like, it was a very, very interesting weekend of NBA basketball. I want to say James Harden, you did your part. You really, really did your part, and your teammates prevented you from doing your part. Now, obviously, I'm not talking about doing your part to help your team make it to the Eastern Conference finals. Like, obviously, your teammates did their part to help get to the Eastern Conference finals. And, you know, you did what you do. I'm talking about your part for us. You know what I'm saying? People, I hear that, like, do TV shows and stuff. Like, sometime, if we can, me and Ryan like to record the show on Sunday night. It makes it easier for people to package it, produce it, turn it back around. But if there's something important that's going on on Sunday night, then we can't do it. And then we get up Monday morning, and then we do the show. And so we had this game at. At 8, 7, 8 o', clock, whatever time it came on last night. And we was like, damn, no, we gonna need to wait until the morning in order to record. But I'm gonna be perfectly honest with you. If we knew that the Cavs was just gonna whoop the Pistons ass, we'd have recorded last night and then got up and been like, oh, the Cavs beat the Pistons ass. Cause the truth is, y' all don't really care about that. You know what I mean? Like, it dawned on me after the game. I was like, oh, damn. Donovan Mitchell finally got himself to the conference finals. Like, he has managed to live his whole NBA career in places that we don't really care about that much. Like, we cared about LeBron in Cleveland, but we don't care about, like, Cleveland, Cleveland. You know, nobody looks at Brad DY and is like, damn, number one pick, and you never got to the finals, right? We just. We just don't care that much about what's going on over there. And I guess it's a very similar situation with the Pistons. Either way it goes, if they win that game by 30 points, that means it's not even really an exciting game. Ain't nobody really waking up in the morning, like, oh, damn, did you watch the game last night? Because I probably turned that off about 9:30, you know what I'm saying? Like. Like that don't really feed our beast the same way. Although, shout out to you, Donovan Mitchell, way to finally get to the conference finals. But Jim Harden doing something like going two for ten with only nine points. Ordinarily, Ryan, we could get a half hour worth of content off of that shit. Instead. No, they won by 30 points.

[Ryan Brumley]

Easy, easy. Half hour.

[Bomani Jones]

Right, Right. Like he did what he was supposed to do and it was going to justify our decision to adjust what we would prefer to do as a recording strategy. I just want to tell him I don't want him to think that I don't notice that he did his part for everybody else. Because, I mean, let's be real about it at this point, especially now that he done fell out with Daryl Morey. Don't nobody really want to see James Harden do good except for James Harden. I don't wish ill upon him.

[Ryan Brumley]

Correct.

[Bomani Jones]

I don't want him to fail. I just have absolutely nothing to gain from. From him overcoming his right. Him staying the same, buddy.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yeah, that.

[Bomani Jones]

That's excellence for us. Him getting it one time. It don't change what has happened the whole time. You understand what I'm saying? Like, it doesn't actually alter people. Like, well, does this. Would this change what you think of him doing this one time would change what I've been thinking for 17 years? Is that what you asking me? No, not really. Not really. Instead I was up here like, what we gonna talk about? Because it was such a blowout, right? Like maybe that's what it is. I didn't think they had it in them. I thought that the Pistons had blown that series with that indefensible collapse that they had at the end of game five, right. I. I was just like, oh, wow, this is over. And then the Cavs calved and they went out there and lost that game at home. And so I thought Detroit was. Was going to come in here, make it happen, and then Detroit, New York would have been a very. The Vinnie Goodwill Invitational, as I like to call that, that would have been a very, very, very interesting series for a number of reasons. Right? But no, the Cavs. Cavs got up. I was talking to the homie Jason, and he wasn't able to catch the game. And he had. He saw Harden wasn't playing well. I was like, yeah, but they whooping was like whooping that ass. And he said, well, who well, well, who. Who's doing all the scoring? And I said everybody else. And then sent him a snapshot of the box score at the moment, which was basically everybody else getting buckets. Even Sam Merrill. Whom? Is it possible that his daddy is somebody? His family was like the Merrill from Merrill lynch?

[Ryan Brumley]

Or what if those are different? Different Merrells.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah. Or is Merrill. No, no, it's the same spelling.

[Ryan Brumley]

Oh, really? I thought it was a 1L, 1R 2R situation.

[Bomani Jones]

Well, it's the, it's the same spelling. Merrill lynch was a person or Merrill and Lynch. Yes, yes, yes. Like, it was like. I, I don't really have the answer for that. But you, you can never be sure with athletic white boys. Right, Right. Athletic black people. You'd be assuming they came from the hardest scrabble of environments. Athletic white boys be like David Du Ball Duvall, like Duval county, maybe going. They'd be going back all kinds of places. You'd be like, damn. Okay. Right. But anyway, good for them. They. They made that happen. I don't really know what they got for the Knicks, but I mean, look, here's my question about the Knicks in that regard. Ryan, I'm curious what you think about this. They have been so dominant these last seven games that they've played. It didn't feel like luck, it didn't feel like heat. It felt like a really good team, got really good.

[Ryan Brumley]

Especially with. Because they changed their style of play so much.

[Bomani Jones]

Yes. But do we throw it all out the window if they lose game one? Like, is like how much does it take?

[Ryan Brumley]

Yeah. When it takes his Don Mitchell scoring 45 in the Garden and. Yes, yes. And then we throw most of it

[Bomani Jones]

out because look there. Is that.

[Ryan Brumley]

Right?

[Bomani Jones]

That's a serious angle here. The whole Donovan Mitchell Knicks angle. Right. Like it is. It is there. But I think about this, and as good as the Knicks have played, as well as this is rolled, something I will never forget as long as I live. The 2012 playoffs. The San Antonio spurs, counting the regular season, were up 20 against the Thunder in the Western Conference finals and were on literally a 20 game winning streak and lost four in a row because the Thunder kept calling the same play over and over again. That pin down. And the spurs couldn't do nothing with it because it was Westbrook, Durant, Harden deployed in positions that left you with no, what are we supposed to do here? Right? How. What does it take? Because the Knicks fans are excited. Right. But they're also playing against the Cavaliers. Right? The non LeBron Cavaliers. It's kind of like I was talking to a friend with the Hawks and the Knicks were playing and she was like, how's the game going? And I was like, it's the Hawks and the Knicks, so nobody really wants to win. Now. These are teams that could taste it. We got the other part too. Ryan, you mentioned this before the show. I'm pretty axiomatic about the limitations of small guards. This is small guard versus small guard. Right. This is also an element of Donovan Mitchell. Gotta look at Jalen Brunson, like, how does it feel to be me? That was supposed to be Donovan Mitchell.

[Ryan Brumley]

Right.

[Bomani Jones]

Like, Jalen Brunson really came in there and turned into what they would hope Donovan Mitchell had been like at this point, I don't think Knicks fans would trade Jalen Brunson for Donovan Mitchell, but how many of the rest of us would?

[Ryan Brumley]

I think that's interesting. I think, right? Yeah, right.

[Bomani Jones]

It's a very. Like. Which. Who would you take at this point? I mean, at what. At some point, Jalen Brunson has to stop being where he was drafted. Right? Like, he has to stop being in our minds what he was when he came into the league. I mean, Donovan Mitchell, it's not like know we. He. It's not like we thought that he was gonna. He was the number three pick in the draft or anything like that. But I still think that there's a way that we view Donovan Mitchell as like having a superstar potential where I think we still view Jalen Brunson as a bit of a yeoman. But they both six one, six two guards.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yeah, six two max.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah. Yeah. They're. They're kind of the same. They have different games, but they're kind of the same guy. Well, looks like one of them is going to have to go to the NBA final.

[Jake]

Right?

[Bomani Jones]

The Knicks should win it, obviously. I mean, the big thing with the Knicks is Carl Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson are so much bigger than Evan Mobley and Jared Allen.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yeah, that's the weird series where Carl Anthony Towns is the big man, not the tall man.

[Bomani Jones]

Hey, man, I don't think anybody is redeeming himself quite like Carl Anthony Towns is in this because what I. I've been saying, he has to be their best player for them to win. Right. And not just he has to play the best, he has to be the Knicks best player for them to win. And what has happened, quietly, he has become their best player. Like we're running the offense through him. He's the hub of the offense. That's what you do with your best player.

[Jasper]

Right.

[Bomani Jones]

Jalen Brunson can be treated as the guy that gets the shots and everything else. Da, da, da. They seem to have figured out a way that allows room for both. Right. For Towns to be their best player in a capacity that he seems to be able to live up to and let Jalen Brunson be a little close, you know, just to what we think of Jalen Brunson as being. Right. But just as I say, will it only take one bad game for you to jump off the bandwagon of what the Knicks have been doing? There's also that with our buddy Carl.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yes.

[Bomani Jones]

You know, but counterpoint, can Cavaliers do anything to make Towns have to guard people? Because that's the shortcoming with him, like, primarily is, like, weird defensive decisions. Can you make him have to foul people? Can you make him have to.

[Ryan Brumley]

Because he wants to.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah. Badly.

[Ryan Brumley]

So badly.

[Bomani Jones]

Badly. But, I mean, I imagine that what they do is they have him guard Jared Allen, which means he doesn't really have to do that much.

[Ryan Brumley]

Right.

[Bomani Jones]

But also, do you want to leave him as rim protector because you don't want him necessarily doing that. Right. I mean, this is going to be an interesting one. Also, Mike Brown fired twice by the Cleveland Cavaliers under circumstances that weren't really that fair.

[Ryan Brumley]

It's true. I forgot about that.

[Bomani Jones]

I did.

[Ryan Brumley]

Mike Brown redemption.

[Bomani Jones]

Hey, JB Biggerstaff, fired by the Cavaliers under circumstances that weren't necessarily that fair. You know, he wanted that one bad.

[James Johnson]

Bad. Right.

[Bomani Jones]

Got their asses kicked. Yeah. But also, I want to say this to James Harden, and I need him to understand this. Yes. While I said that maybe I was over here for my own selfish reasons, not hoping that he didn't play well, but prepared to capitalize on the moment.

[Ryan Brumley]

Right. The moment he did not capitalize on. We were prepared to do that in his stead.

[Bomani Jones]

Yes. Yes, we were there. But again, he. He really did give it a go. By the way, I read off those stats for him and how, you know, how poor they were. Do you know what his plus minus was?

[Ryan Brumley]

I saw it. Yeah.

[Bomani Jones]

A plus 31. Okay. Guess he did something. Man, we were so thirsty for mess that they was mad at the ant man for acknowledging the obvious. Now, like, I wasn't watching that game because I was doing a show in Atlanta. Put a pin in that thought. I'm gonna tell you guys something about that a little later in the show. I was doing a show in Atlanta, looked up, saw what the score was, the spurs decided that they were done. Fooling around with Minnesota and apparently Minnesota went as far as they went and well, that next thing I'll wait to break out. However, I heard about this. Anthony Edwards went with eight minutes left in the game and dapped up the spurs bench and then sat down and Dirk Nvisky and Yudonis Haslam chastised him and said that he showed poor leadership and. And show weakness in that moment and that you should never allow your team to see you show weakness. Ryan, correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Minnesota losing by 75 points around there like. Like it was over right where they

[Ryan Brumley]

were only in the situation. Cause Anthony Edwards dragged them there with a bum knee, yo.

[Bomani Jones]

I mean, Edwards said, look, man, I wasn't going back in the game. Or I did not think I was going back in the game. And you know why Anthony Edwards wasn't going back in the game? Cause that shit was over. Right? What was the leadership that he was supposed to show in that game that he wasn't going back into? Was he supposed to be out there with Jack Haley? Jack Haley with towel mate spinning like a helicopter? Is that's what it. Like, what in the world. It was obvious that game was over. I thought that he demonstrated like. I thought that was actually a standup sort of move. Like, the thing that. As I saw the criticism from the players about that, the reason it struck me was I am one of those people that like to chastise the youth a little bit. You know what I mean? Right? You say it again.

[Ryan Brumley]

You, you, you.

[Bomani Jones]

But I'm not really chastising them. Chastising y'. All. And by y', all, I mean they parents. Like, y' all are that age now. These are your kids, right? And a lot of this shit is your fault, and you know it. Okay? But when I think about what's, you know, what we're looking at these playoffs are like, who was left or whatever. I'm thinking about in particular Shay Victor and Anthony Edwards. I think one of the coolest things the NBA has going for it as it stands, is that their young guys who are at the top of the league all also appear to be excellent leaders. And not just excellent leaders, but guys who want to take the responsibility and are. Are willing to. Right? Like, I understand where people get mad at Stephen A. Smith, where he says that Kawhi Leonard is the worst example of a superstar that this league has ever had. But I. I get what he's saying and may even agree because the one thing Kawhi just want to hoop and go home while also making all the money while also showing up late. Right. While also. No, no, no. Like, I respect these guys willing to be the guy, right? And who understand this. Anthony Edwards has. He appears to be not just like some good leader, a willing leader, an excellent leader, a guy who has empowered dudes like Carl Anthony Towns, who has empowered Rudy Gobert, who got to drag Eeyore around with this particular team. Like when Nas Reed after the game was talking about, you know, we got to be a little less moody. Every Knicks fan knew exactly who he was talking about. And he was talking about Julius Randle. And that's what you asked Anthony Edwards and dragged him through on one leg, got him to the conference finals two years in a row with rosters that none of us think have any chance of winning a championship.

[Ryan Brumley]

Right down jokic twice. And LeBron took down.

[Bomani Jones]

Everybody. Took down Kevin Durant.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yes, Right.

[Bomani Jones]

He's the legend killer. He's gone through and taken all these people down at all of these points. Amen. They were going to lose the game. The game was over. But we was so thirsty for some mess, right? Because that's the thing about a blowout. There's nothing to talk about. So thirsty for some mess that people were there making an argument about how. No, man, I don't think that he was. That. That was demonstrating good leadership. My good friend Jamel Hill, she made the same point. And on. On. On one of the apps and LZ Grandison came over. I forget what he said. Something that I kind of pushed back on it. Jamel said that Ant man should have been on the. Oh, he was talking about how Go Bear and Go Bear and Randall didn't show up. Jamel said he should have been on the bench. Cousin Gobert, Randall out. I'm like, what? To get them ready for a potential do or die game nine. Yeah, it. It was over. It's over. It was over. Let me dap them up now so that when five o' clock come, I can get right in my car and I can go home, right? That was. No. That. That dude has demonstrated leadership bona fides in a way where rather than question him in that moment, we should be just asking him, you know, like, what? Tell me, how is it that you deal with these cats, right? Like, how did you guys go win that Game one against San Antonio on the road with you on one leg, right? He's like, my guys play better when I'm in here. And knowing that Chris Finch was like, take a load off, brother.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yeah.

[Bomani Jones]

No, no, no, no need. No need to keep up this charade.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yeah.

[Bomani Jones]

It's over.

[Ryan Brumley]

What are we doing?

[Bomani Jones]

What are we doing? This is all it was. So. Yeah, we was ready for you, James Harden. We were so hungry for you that we jumped on that before we even got to it. And. And thank you. Thank you. But it turned out that we had already eaten. We didn't have what we need. But don't you worry, you get to play against the New York Knicks. Plenty. Plenty of time for one of two things to happen. Him to completely redeem himself. Lol. Or is about to be on. On the biggest st. All right, Ryan, this is it. Yeah. This is. This is finally. This is the series. This is the one we've been waiting on all year long. Right? Like, there was a point during the season where we had a turn where we said to ourselves, oh, wait a minute, no San Antonio might be this good. Right? Like, I. I don't think. I think the majority of us thought next year would be the more likely time that they began to make a leap like this because they had not won a playoff series, especially when Wimpy

[Ryan Brumley]

starts off the year. Correct. Yeah, correct.

[Bomani Jones]

Right. And we weren't exactly sure how that was going to go. Right? But, like, we got to think about this. For example, the Shaq and Penny Magic, they made it to the NBA Finals their second year together in the playoffs, but the first year, they got swept in the first round. You know, these things take steps. Like, I was thinking about that with respect to the. The Shaq and Kobe Lakers. Like, it's easy to forget that that was a long climb. This is a different NBA. But I don't. I don't think that I thought that this team was good enough to get to the conference finals or to consistently be a top two, top three seed. I didn't think they were there because I just didn't think their other guys were quite that good. And I mean, they appear to be that good, but the other part is Victor is better then I did not think that he was ready to do things as he has done them. And I don't think I truly gave enough credit to how good he could be defensively. Like, when he. When he got into the league, my thought was he might be the best defensive player of all time, but it felt a little bit hyperbolic to say, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah. He might be the best defensive player of all time. Like, he can guard the ball, the pass, the rim, the mid. At the same damn time. Time all of these grown men. Petrified, terrified, unsure whether. And just saying it after the game like it's a matter of fact. It's like, I ain't never seen a show like this before.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yeah.

[Bomani Jones]

What. What are we supposed to do?

[Ryan Brumley]

What are we supposed to do? He's 8ft tall, right.

[Bomani Jones]

And he appears to be able. Like, you think about it, when the guys could just, like, lock in and decide they're going to score 30 or something like that. There's something to be said about a guy that can decide. I'm going to lock in and nobody's getting anything.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yeah. I can lock in and take off. Take over half side of the court like I'm Darrell Reavis.

[Bomani Jones]

What if re. No, but what if Revis could guard a radi. Like a circumference.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yes.

[Bomani Jones]

Right. Like a. A circle. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. A circle. He can do that. That's. That's. That's what's going on here. And now we have got the Thunder who saw Brian Windhorst make this point. Ryan, I know you're a little too young for this, but they're about to give Shay that MVP in front of Victor. Yep, shades of giving David Robinson the MVP in front of Akeem Olajuwon. Now, it's important to note it's not simply that they gave the MVP to David Robinson in front of Olajuwon, who did not deserve the MVP that year. I don't think he played enough games, as I recall. The issue is that Robinson gave a speech where he gave credit to the great big men who came before him. And he left out one guy, of course, he left out Hakeem Olajuwon. That. That there. That was the. That was the mistake, right? And then that's when Olajuwon quite honestly ruined David Robinson's reputation forever. It's never been the same. We talked about this the other day. David Robinson was so cold. It was always out there, just him and his lonesome. Right. It was not like David Elijah rendered that. By the way, the Rockets won the first two games of that series, and they ultimately won the series in six games. But they won the first two games in San Antonio. The spurs came back and won the next two games at the Summit like none of that mattered. All that anybody remembers is that one particular up fake where it looked like Elijah Juan went through his legs to get that layup. Like, it. It was. It. It. It did everything. Perhaps shades of that in this. Because I think an important difference is I never Got the feeling that Elijah Juan hated David Robinson. Victor hates these guys. They all seem to hate Oklahoma City. I, I mean, I'm assuming Oklahoma City hates them back, but I don't know if they're.

[Ryan Brumley]

I don't know if they're up for that kind of emotion.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, I don't. I don't. I mean, they need to figure it out if they're not, right? Cause, I mean, I don't know if you guys been seeing that shit Jalen Williams been wearing to the games, but he don't look like he could hate a soul. He look like he hate. He love everybody like that. That, that's not. That, that, that. That. That shade of salmon on that little ass jacket is not one of a man who hates, right? Just doesn't work that way. You know what I mean? Like, you ain't getting no job at Ben hating people. Just, just. That's just not how things work. I understand it and it's cool. But the Thunder, I mean, they're in one of the great runs of NBA history, it looks like, right? They. The. The level of regular season success they have, the fact they won this year, what, 64 games, and this is without their second best player. Like if, if Chet Holgren is their third best player, if that's the case, or if Jalen Williams is your third best player, dude, what are we talking about here? Because it's easy to kind of look at them as just a collection of dudes, right? Like a lot. And they do have like a lot of high level role player action going on there, but they're really, really good at the top end. But the spurs are too. Like, I, I've seen the theory that Lou Dort is the guy to guard Victor just because, you know how he be, how he be acting, you know, like, the idea is just to get him to be out there muscling Victor. Okay, so who's going to muscle Castle? Who's going to muscle Vassal? I know his name is not Vassal, but I just like, called him Castle and Vassal, right? Like, who going to do something with those guys? Spurs got a lot of dudes that you got to pay attention to. Then you got Fox with all that speed, Dylan Harper, who is exceeding what one would expect from a rookie under these circumstances. Luke Cornett's not the toughest guy in the world. But my point is they got size other than Victor. Like, they got dudes that they can roll out here. This is going to be excellent. It's going to be murder on the people that got to catch these little puddle jumpers in order to get to the game. Like a 15 minute flight from San Antonio to Dallas in a 15 minute flight. It just feel like a waste. But anyway, it's here. I cannot wait. And I have no idea who's going to win it. I guess I could come out here and throw out some pick. I just. I would like to think me and my man Rod talk about this a lot. And his question is whether experience matters as much as it used to in the NBA because of the parody and the kind of like turnover that we're having with who's good and who's not. Does the fact that the spurs not have any experience going against the defending champions, how much does that matter? The defending champions part should matter. And just about everything we know about the ascension and stories of guys like Victor, you got to bang your head at least once on the way to the top. And remember, the reason they didn't get to like have anything close to a headbanger last year is because he got hurt. He had the, the. The thrombosis that, that slowed him down. It hasn't happened yet. History would indicate that this is the time that it would. I can't bring myself to say it. I just can't. I, I. Am I being a coward by saying I just want to watch and see who wins? Because I need you to understand I want the spurs to win. And you have to understand this. My mama is from Oklahoma City. The general manager of the Oklahoma City Thunder helped an initiative that built a statue of my mama in Oklahoma City. And I still want Oklahoma City to lose. That's how much I hate that shit they be doing. I hate it so much it gets on my neck nerves. Like I was watching that with James Harden. That his thing. We always act like somebody punched him in the face. And look, I saw Victor engaging in some of them Shenanigans too. No, Mr. Ethical Basketball, you not allowed to do that. Stand tall, be an example, be bigger than your. Be bigger than them. That's. That's your whole brand, right? Be bigger than that. Be bigger than them. Because these suckers about to be out here doing all that fouling and doing all that flopping in our. Hate it. I see now I kind of hate. It's gonna sound terrible. I hate that Victor wasted his elbow in the last series. Cause if you do it again, they definitely go to suspense.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yes.

[Bomani Jones]

Right. But if he had, especially against Lou

[Ryan Brumley]

Dort, who deserves it more?

[Bomani Jones]

That's what I'm saying. If he had done that in the first quarter against Lou Dort and they threw him out the game. I'm gonna be honest with you. Some they might have. They might start to go fund me around the league to get him his money back. I'm gonna tell you this on the other end, though. You might elbow Lou Dort and just pop your shit out of joint.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yeah.

[Bomani Jones]

That is a giant. Giant, man. I told you. I said, as well as that if Lou Dort grew up in Mississippi, Lou Door would be an edge rusher somewhere. And somehow people got mad at me about this. I'm like, what are you talking about? That's a football player. Yeah, I know. I know a football player when I.

[Ryan Brumley]

He's built like a football player, and he plays basketball like a football player does.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, but see, that's the other thing, though, about Victor with the Thunder, because they're so deep, they gonna be sending dudes out there to foul. Like Jalen Williams, the one who daddy look like he in the army or who look like his daddy in the army. That one. Yes. That's what I mean. That guy. That's six fouls. What? My man, Bright Skin Hartenstein. That's what he called himself. Don't, don't, don't. Don't get on me about that. He called himself Bright Skin. He said he go past light skin all the way to bright skin. He got six. I mean, check. Got six to offer. Like, you gotta. He gotta be a little bit more judicious.

[Ryan Brumley]

He's got at least four.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, yeah. And then all them other dudes, they, like, we can foul, too.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yeah.

[Bomani Jones]

Like, I don't think there's any question. We saw Minnesota try it. And now again, since Victor used up his elbow, that one's. That one's off the board for right now. You're not going to be able to do it. But I will say this. The NBA need to watch out. This is this. Is this. This the summer camp that needs to get started that nobody's talked about? Let me double check and make sure that it's possible to have this summer camp open because it might be too late, but I think it's still time. Oh, okay, Cool. He's still in the league. All right. So you know how them cats be going down there and they work out with Olajuwon. And I'm convinced that when they work out with Olajuwon, the only thing that you learn is that there's only one Akeem Olajuwon. Right. And I assure you, he ain't doing it for Free? I used to live in Nigeria, partner. He ain't doing it for free, okay? But cats go down there. Victor, by the way, seemed to be one of the rare guys that may have picked something up from his time doing that. But whatever, okay? Olajuwon is not the only center that you can go work out with. And it really dawned on me when I saw Victor swing that elbow that there's another player that he kind of reminds me of. And maybe if he put some of this guy's work into his game, it would make him even better and even more fearsome. That's right. I'm talking about Bill Cartwright. Now look, don't, don't. Don't be trying to shoot like him. Like, don't, don't ever shoot. But let Cartwright teach you about how to. How to use those elbows to establish your presence in the NBA, Right? Y' all cats think y' all got something. Now wait till you got to worry about. Bill Cartwright. Once broke Akeem Olajuwad's face going for a rebound. Have you ever seen the clips of. Of Gaggle Olajuwon? That was cause Bill Cartwright went up for a rebound and came down and bowed him in the face. That's who. If, if. Imagine if Victor go work out with Bill Cartwright during the summer, whole league gonna be terrified. Terrified. I tell you, he gonna get 25 rebounds a game. Ain't nobody gonna want to guard him. He ain't never gonna have to shoot another three pointer again. He just stand in the lane. Everybody be like, all right, Big Pepper, you got this dog. We, we. We. We not even going to get in the way that, that Bill Cartwright. That's if. If he can't set up a camp, somebody can write the sketch of just Bill Cartwright. Big man camp. And it's just big men throwing a bunch of elbows. That's. That's all I'm. I'm telling you, Victor, put a little bit of that in this game. Sky's the limit. Potato this, too. If Victor played for the Thunder, they would have called Bill Cartwright in to teach the whole team. Shit, I'm surprised they ain't done that already. The way they be out there playing. You can predict the playoff action all the way to the finals. With Fanduel predicts. All you have to do is sign up to get your $25 bonus. Follow all the playoff dishes, swishes, wishes and misses. Every move is a potential plot twist. Predict the spread, the total points, and even the game winning moments that make the playoffs, where one run, one rebound. One shot changes everything from opening tip to the final buzzer. Stay locked in with every pass, every play and every moment that moves us closer to crowning a champion. Sign up now for your $25 bonus on FanDuel Predicts offered by FanDuel Prediction Markets LLC, a registered Futures Commission merchant. 18 plus bonus is non withdrawable and expires 7 days after receipt. Trading derivatives involve significant risk and may not be suitable for all investors. Manage your activity with our consumer protection tools. Restrictions apply. See [e-mail] predicts bonus offer terms we know you can't be on top of all the news and information of the day. No need for the social media feeds. We got you now. If you haven't heard.

[Ryan Brumley]

All right Bo, if you haven't heard, the drama is finally over in Pittsburgh. Aaron Rodgers has signed a one year deal with the Steelers worth up to $25 million. Reports are he is at OTAs this morning. Bo, what was your reaction to this news?

[Bomani Jones]

None of it has made sense and I guess, I guess their argument is that there's not a better quarterback available than Aaron Rodgers. And it is possible that that is true. But that is in a, I would call it risk minimization sort of approach. Like it was on the board for the Steelers to do what Miami did and Miami's not making any sense with what they did. But go get Malik Willis, right? Go get somebody that gives you a chance at a higher ceiling, that there's a possibility. The possibility that Aaron Rodgers is better than he was last year is low. That's just not how getting old works, right? It's highly unlikely.

[Ryan Brumley]

And he was bad last year and

[Bomani Jones]

he was bad last year. Like he is a 20 to 25 range quarterback because he just tore his Achilles a couple years ago. He's not mobile like that. He can't move like that. He's actually pretty good considering, but he's not, he's not like LeBron James at 41 even though Aaron Rodgers is really good to be 43. But he's not the equivalent of what LeBron James is at his age, right? He should not still be out there and they should not have still been wanting to do this now that he going he out there with his, with, with, with his, with his ex coach, right. And they had got sick of each other after a point.

[Ryan Brumley]

That's the thing, that's the thing that's crazy about this is he's doing this. He's dragging us out to do this again with Mike McCarthy who he dragged the Whole time he was in Green Bay.

[Bomani Jones]

So something I do seem to appreciate about Aaron Rodgers is that he does seem to be a guy that's willing to look back and be like, hey man, maybe we should just let this go. Right? Like a guy that deals with stuff. And so I think there may be something admirable about the fact that he's willing to play for McCarthy again. My thing about that is as wild as it is and seemed to be a risk minimization play to go with Aaron Rogers. You know what else applies to that?

[Ryan Brumley]

Mike McCarthy.

[Bomani Jones]

Mike McCarthy. Like, like it was a reminder of. Wait, hey, that didn't make any sense either. Hey guys, what are we doing here? And their thing is, you know, the Steelers, they're like, they don't want to rebuild or they don't rebuild. At some point you're going to have to. And it looks like that point is going to be next year because it's on the board that they could stink this year.

[Ryan Brumley]

I think. Yes, it is. It, it has to be the, like Aaron Rodgers has not been good in five years.

[Bomani Jones]

That's fair. That's it. And, and he's, and he's still going to have moments where you can dial it up, of course. Right. You're going to be able to put together like a snippet of great, I mean, a, a, a cut of great plays that's going to remind you that he's Aaron Rogers. But he's not. Like, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's abundantly clear that he's not. And they've decided that they're going to go ahead and do this again. Somebody realize either they got the oldest defense in the NFL. Yeesh.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yeah. That's going to be interesting to see how that goes. Moving on to Atlanta. Big news in Waffle House. Some workers staged a rally demanding 25 out $25 an hour and safer working conditions. Representative from Clark Atlanta University said, you have people coming in inebriated, harassing employees, particularly women who feel unsafe. People don't always tip. Even when they do, we don't get all our tips. They go to our paychecks. They're taxed. So Waffle House workers trying to change their situation in Atlanta. Bo, what was your reaction to this?

[Bomani Jones]

So Waffle House is a very interesting fixture in commerce and culture to me

[Ryan Brumley]

because in America, not just.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, yeah, like just as a, as a full on notion. Everybody's got a Waffle House story and all of them imply that the workers should make more than $25 an hour.

[Ryan Brumley]

Right.

[Bomani Jones]

Like. Like every single story. I think the best one my partner's had, they were in the Waffle House one day, and some dude got into it with a woman in there. And I want to say he called her a bitch or something like that. She got on the phone and was like, huh? Okay. All right. Yeah, yeah. Okay, cool. And she's like, hey, that's my husband. He weighs 300 pounds. He's on the way here. So do you want me to call the ambulance now or you want to wait? The guy's left? Like, these are. This is. This is what goes down at the Waffle House.

[Ryan Brumley]

Waffle House workers should make $25 an hour everywhere in America, including if you went back in time 20 years.

[Bomani Jones]

Yes. Here's the only problem with what's going to happen if this happens. Okay. And by the way, I would love to see the profit margins at Waffle House.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yes. Yeah.

[Bomani Jones]

I'm very, very curious, like, what the books look like, but I just know there are two things that are going to happen. And this doesn't mean that people shouldn't get paid $25 an hour. Just throwing it out here. Right. If the food at the Waffle House is, as it currently stands at current wages, how much worse is that food going to get if they start paying the workers $25 an hour? Right. Just asking that question. And number two, and this is a big one, what is going to happen to the prices at Waffle House if they start paying these people $25 an hour? Because let me tell you what's going to happen to those prices. They are going to be offensive for the idea of eating at Waffle House.

[Ryan Brumley]

And then more people might want to fight.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, yeah. Like. Like, that's the. Like, I don't even know what stuff costs at Waffle House anymore, because going to Waffle House at actual breakfast hours doesn't make any sense. So it's been a long time since I've been awake at Waffle House hours. 25. I don't. I don't know what anything costs right now, but there's only so much I'm paying for cold scrambled eggs because they always put the eggs on the grill first. And I just don't know how they don't have a best practices for binder that tells you not to do that. Everybody else knows better at their own fucking house. How do you know that you're not supposed to do that? So I'm hoping they win. I really, really am. This, to me, is the wildest thing about Waffle House, Waffle House is the only place that I can think of where, if you decide to rob the Waffle House, there is just a good chance that the Waffle House is going to rob you. Like, the fear that you have to have of robbing the Waffle House is that you're going to get robbed. Like, I just can't imagine. We going to come set it off, and the ruckus is going to start here at the Waffle House. I don't think you should. I got. I'm telling you something, too, man. I got a partner. He was a manager at the Waffle House. His stories, but the staff are amazing.

[Ryan Brumley]

I can only imagine.

[Bomani Jones]

And I think a big part of why Waffle House should consider paying $25 an hour is then when my man was working at Waffle House, if they were paying $25 an hour, he might not have had to be so tolerant of the employees smoking crack on their brakes, because that's who you was getting to work at Waffle House. For the prices that Waffle House was paying, you could get a different caliber of employee if you take it up. Problem also, though, maybe if you take it up to $25 an hour now, you won't have employees capable of robbing the robbers. They may be a little bit too bougie. They may be a little, you know, $25 an hour this day and day shit. You have somebody on the grill with a degree, right? I don't know.

[Ryan Brumley]

Might be a master's degree. The way the economy is, a lot

[Bomani Jones]

of ways this could go. But I'm rooting for Always Team labor over here.

[Ryan Brumley]

All right? And finally, this one piece made the rounds on the Internet in a sort of an ironic way. A piece in Vulture titled the Feet. The feed is fake. That viral song, movie meme inference, lawyer and celebrity drama was probably the product of a stealth marketing campaign. Bo, you've been talking to us for a while, and this piece caught your eye. What was your thoughts?

[Bomani Jones]

Well, you know, there's something to the idea of the zombie Internet, right? Like, for example, Twitter at this point is largely a zombie app. It is bots, by and large, sending out content that just keep people engaged who are addicted to scrolling and addicted to responding. And I'm saying that more in the first person than I am in the third, just to be clear. That's where, I mean, that's what the stuff is. But it does always seem right, right around the time somebody's got something coming out, some album, whatever. All this stuff just floods the Zone. Like all this Michael Jackson content that you know. Because this is the part, I think that happened that nobody really talks about, which is people complain about the for you tab. I use the for you tab on those apps. And you know why? Because people are like, I just want to get something from the people I follow. I've been listening to those people for 15 years, kind of tired of their shit, right? Like, you need. You want to sprinkle a little something else in there, right? That's what it turns into. And by the way, those people are on your own. The for you tab. So they're going to sprinkle in that same stuff that's coming from the other place is going to be there. But the change that's happened is just in terms of how we consume. It's gone from using those apps to keep up with your friends or the friends that you've made to just responding to stuff, right? It's like they stepped on that dope. You were getting the pure dope that you wanted at first, and then it just got stepped on, Stepped on. And then they started putting that fentanyl in it, and it's killing us, right? And that's what my thought was when I read this story about how, like, an album comes out or something, or some project and a company will put together 65,000 bots just to flood the Zone with the content. And what gets me, for me, about it, is, is the idea that nothing is organic at all. And there's always been, at every turn on every form of media or whatever, an element that was not organic. Like payola is to radio, for example. But there's something about that feeling that something is, like, really building. And there's something about feeling like you caught up on something. And then, you know, there's a movement that starts and then it goes from there. That's really cool. And then my question, and it gets back to what I talked about before, when people would hit me up and talk about how do I get my career going again? I don't know. Because if what you're up against as a regular person is 65,000 bots, right? And you'd be like, well, I mean, and it's not even like if you're a rapper, for example, but you got to go up against whatever the flood of Drake stuff is that's coming out because people have been sitting up. How do you get anybody to see your stuff? When everybody says it's all about social, it's all about your follower Count, right, How many people you get. Except it's not about that. It's about your willingness to pay for people that don't even have to follow you just to flood the zone. So how is anybody supposed to make anything happen? Like, we're really at that point where you start sounding like those people that used to sound crazy about the fact that we live in a simulation. Right? All the. If the attention is all bought and paid for, it is truly a simulation of a zeitgeist rather than a zeitgeist that truly gives you a reflection of where culture is and stuff stands. And that's after we moved everything into these spaces. I find that incredibly worse.

[Ryan Brumley]

All right, bo. Lot of good voicemails. Here's our first.

[James Johnson]

Bo. What's happening, Shabboy? Ricky Cortez, per usual, back at you. Just listen to you talking about why the spurs don't have a goon. Man, I got a question for you. Why haven't I said somebody, not even just the Spurs. Why isn't somebody called Boogie man, that is the goon of all goons out there available right now, ready to smack somebody's head off. Imagine him just sitting at the end of the bench, whispering. Whispering words like. Like Draymond did to KD back in Golden State, hyping him up for the championship. Bro, we need books waiting for somebody to mess. Waiting somebody to look twice at Wimby so he can get checked into the game and roll somebody over. That's all I had to say. Let me know what you think about that. But we need. Yeah, the way Beef Stew does it, big in. In Detroit, we need. We need Boogie back in the league just to. Just to reinforce. I'm here in Indy, man, Just like.

[Bomani Jones]

Just.

[James Johnson]

Just like, you know, nobody wanted to mess with Halle once they brought in. Once they brought in big jj, Juwan Johnson. Juwan Johnson, whatever his name is. Him. Yeah. Let me know what you think. I like you both.

[Bomani Jones]

All right. That is James Johnson.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yes.

[Bomani Jones]

I would just throw this out here, though, just to make you feel old. Do you realize it has been eight years since demarcus Cousins towards Achilles?

[Ryan Brumley]

No, I did not.

[Bomani Jones]

It has been eight years. He was only 27, by the way, when he tore his Achilles and he is now still only 35. He feels much older. Right. But the answer to your question is all in the he old.

[Ryan Brumley]

Right?

[Bomani Jones]

Right. He is there. And also little unwieldy.

[Ryan Brumley]

Just a touch.

[Bomani Jones]

Just to touch like. Like that. It is he. Is he. He is in the Rasheed Wallace category of wow. He became beloved. When did that happen? For sure, guys, I have no problem with. By the way, I met him. I met demarcus in Vegas one time. He seemed real cool.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yeah, seems really good cool if you get along with him.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, that's a great way to put it.

[Ryan Brumley]

All right, here's our next one.

[Jasper]

Yo, what's up, Bo Courtney from Louisiana. I just wanted to give you a call, a shout out. Just watched the pod with you and Nick Wright, and I just thought of an interesting, interesting question for you guys. So we talked about LeBron going to a situation where he wasn't like. And y' all brought up the Genie Buss situation. Knowing Jeannie Buss is a big. Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, like a true Lakers person. And what type of tension or like King tension do you think just got brawled up during this time? Nick always talks about them wanting him to be watched a little bit sooner than what he is. But actually, like, what if Jeannie Buss was just like a die hard Kobe fan? Been watching you a long time. Appreciate you. Love the pod. Keep him coming. Go Tigers.

[Bomani Jones]

All right, so he said just, what if. What if Jeanie Buss was just a Kobe fan?

[Ryan Brumley]

Yeah.

[Bomani Jones]

No, I mean, I think Nick is fair to say that the LeBron era has been successful. It was certainly better than it was before, but I think it's hard to argue it also that it hasn't been a little disappointing. I thought it would be more than this, and I think people just thought that it would feel better than this. And so I don't even. I mean, I think the. The Kobe Stan element of it always made it a little tough with Lakers fans, you know, as it went. But I just really think it just hadn't been what they thought it was going to be.

[Ryan Brumley]

I think it's very clear that the longer you've been somewhere, the more you believe in your own mythos.

[Bomani Jones]

Yes.

[Ryan Brumley]

And I think The Lakers wanted LeBron things to do things the Laker way, and LeBron won things. The Lakers to do things a LeBron way.

[Bomani Jones]

Yes.

[Ryan Brumley]

And that is where the tension has been at all times.

[Bomani Jones]

I think that's fair because there was that run where they were letting Clutch have the run of the place. Right, right. And get all their guys. That was not the Magic Johnson era, but it was the one that came after it. But I would understand why LeBron thought he knew more about running a franchise than the current Lakers regime. Jerry Buss seemed to be good at it. Second generation buses, not so much. Right. And LeBron is not LeBron one, you got to prove it to. You got to show him. Like, Steph Curry seems content to let the warriors run that LeBron is like, I have to answer for everything that goes wrong all the time. And he probably knew better than they did. That's the truth.

[Ryan Brumley]

All right, here's our next one.

[Jasper]

Hey, Bomani. Hey, Ryan. This is Jasper from D.C. i'm watching a clip right now on social media of Joel lining up against somebody when they were on the ringer tailgate stuff at ucla. And Joel gets burnt pretty bad and was curious if you guys had seen the clip and what your analysis of the film is. Have a good one. Thanks.

[Bomani Jones]

First of all, yes, I saw the clip. And I saw the clip because Van couldn't wait to send it to me. I saw the clip well before any of you did.

[Ryan Brumley]

You might have been the first person to see that clip who wasn't there.

[Bomani Jones]

It was. It is totally possible. I received that clip and I am team Joel on this one. Joel was out there in sneakers and jeans trying to backpedal. That's not easy to do. And as Joel has pointed out, go look at that clip of him running the 9 route on Billy and making the catch. Joel also has some criticisms of Van as all time quarterback that I wasn't in a position to evaluate. But I did not bully Joel like the rest of y' all have because I am a friend to Joel Anderson. You understand what I'm saying? Now, would Joel take this same approach for me? Hell no. No chance in the world but me. Nope. I'm here riding for Joel on this one, and I look forward to him getting in shape and getting ready for. For his race against Billy. That Ryan, I feel like we gotta find a way to get ourselves to.

[Ryan Brumley]

Yeah, we gotta go.

[Bomani Jones]

I know you might be a little busy around that time, but I'm gonna find.

[Ryan Brumley]

We'll figure it out.

[Bomani Jones]

I wanna find a way to get there and be there. But, nah, y' all ain't gonna get me to pile on my buddy Joel in that moment. No, sir Rebob. In fact, I don't know if any of y' all got the right to do that. Y' all getting a little familiar with Joel and you know, that's why he be on the Internet cussing y' all out.

[Ryan Brumley]

My God, boy, I gotta say, you know what the real lesson for me here is? Unless you're a pro athlete, don't let anyone film you doing anything athletic.

[Bomani Jones]

I refuse.

[Ryan Brumley]

Not in a mil. Not in a million years.

[Bomani Jones]

I refuse. Not away in the world. Not a way in the world. By the way, speaking of cussing people, I need to say something right fast, Ryan. So we did an event in Atlanta, kind of Bomani Jones live. Shout out to my man Rod. Shout out to Kara. Shout out to my guy Dimitri. We did a real. It was a real good time, and thanks to everybody who came out. But I don't think I've told you about this. We had a meet and greet where people paid a little extra to come do the meet and greet. Okay. People were afraid to come speak to me because they have received the impression from listening to me that I do not like it when people come up and talk to me.

[Ryan Brumley]

Well, maybe not in the street, but this is a different situation.

[Bomani Jones]

I would, like. I started with that point. Yeah, I understood that you paid, right? Like, I actually noticed it. And I told Demetri, I was like, dude, you got to get on the microphone and tell people it's okay to come talk to me, right?

[James Johnson]

Like.

[Bomani Jones]

And they're like. And people who did. They're like, well, we know you don't. I'm like, no, I just like people to read the room a little bit, right? Like, don't. Don't feel as though you're entitled to me. I will. I will speak to you. I will be very nice. I'll take a picture, whatever it is, but not if I got a plate of food in front of me, you know, where I'm out with somebody or whatever it is, but I'm like, oh, damn, I'm really doing something wrong here. If I have given you guys the impression that I'm mean like that, right? You can vouch for this.

[Ryan Brumley]

You are not mean at all. At all. Not, not, not. You are not mean, but you are not mean.

[Bomani Jones]

That's just. That's. That's not what I do. I don't do quite nice, actually. Yeah. So if you see me, right, I might just keep it quick. I might not want it to go on forever. We might not talk, you know, the whole. The whole leeway, whatever. But I could not believe those people paid money, did what? I'm like, yo. In fact, I could. I could break down one of the walls of this show, right? Ryan and I have a thing with certain guests where we have a line on them. Too much respect. And what we mean by too much respect is people who get on, and they, like, want to make sure they sound smart or look, whatever it is. And, like, where I'm like, nah, man, just come on here and kick it. It ain't that big a deal, right? Like, some of the people.

[Ryan Brumley]

Put your feet up. It's fun.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, yeah. Some of the people on the too much respect list might surprise you. They're good, but it's still like, hey, a little too much respect. This is an example in the wild of, hey, just a little too much respect. So I don't need you running up on me everywhere, right? However, if you've paid money to talk to me, come talk to me. It's okay, I promise. It's cool. But no, seriously, it was a great time. I really love the opportunity for members of the audience to meet each other. I love. Because the way Rod and I have worked together in different ways for so long and where our audience is kind of overlap, I love, like, as somebody there, tell me how they found out about me through Rod. Right? Like, I love the idea that we have that exchange, that interplay and to see people come together. And I want to read something right fast because it's in line with this that I want you guys to hear. I received a message on Instagram, and I'm glad in this occasion that I read the Stranger Instagram inbox, which I rarely do, and this is what I received. It's from a gentleman. I believe it's Ria or Raya. I'm not sure how to pronounce it, but he said, hey, Bo, I just graduated from college in the US From South Africa. I'm leaving the States tomorrow and just wanted to say thank you. These past four years were really difficult, and the right time was my daily piece of joy. I honestly just wanted to express my gratitude for you helping me think critically and challenge my own values as I leave the country and look to do greater things. You have impacted me significantly, and I want to express my gratitude. Joel, Dominique Van Ryan, Nick, Stephen, Roy Howard, and everyone on your platform genuinely motivate me to not only learn, but give back and have the necessary discussions that make sense, but explore the journey of life. Thank you. And that just made my day. Like, I just thought that was. That was very nice of him. And I'm glad that we don't get that many at this point. I don't get that many opportunities to hear from people who actually like what we do. Right. Like, I have to kind of just take for granted that you guys are out there. So to be able to meet people and to receive something like that, like, I appreciate that. I say thank you greatly. And, yeah, if you paid money to talk to me, don't worry, I'll talk To you.

[Ryan Brumley]

All right, let's run this last voicemail.

[Jake]

Hey, Bomani and Ryan, this is Jake from the Champaign, Urbana area of Illinois. Just calling to give you guys a little bit of an update after bouncing back and forth between the Puerto Rican barber shop, my regular barber shop. Last time I went into the Puerto Rican shop and just asked him if it was cool that a white guy like myself kept showing up to get his hair done. The barber that I was talking to laughed, said something in Spanish to the rest of the barber shop, then he all laughed. And then he looked at me and said that as long as I keep bring in cash and a smile, I'm always welcome to go there to get my hair cut. So shout out to Urban Fates in Urbana, Illinois, because they let me keep showing up. Hope you guys have a good one.

[James Johnson]

Bye Bye.

[Bomani Jones]

Effectivo Yuna Sorisa. I would love to know what he told them, what they said. Of course, for me, unfortunately, it's that Puerto Rican Spanish. I wouldn't have been able to help you with nothing. Nothing at all. Yeah, white guys misunderstand. That's y'.

[James Johnson]

All.

[Bomani Jones]

That's what y' all do. Y' all be chartering away. Good ass money. Jessica, who is coming from not us. No siree. Bob, Come on in here, gringo. I don't think that's applicable when you're in champagne. By the way, that's where my parents met. Was in champagne or B.

[Ryan Brumley]

That's incredible.

[Bomani Jones]

Yes, it is. Hey, but ladies and gentlemen, thanks so much for joining us here on the Right time. We do this four days a week. Ryan Brumley handles everything behind the scenes. Thank you, sir. Hit the voicemail line. 323-59-67767. Remember, follow the right time. Subscribe like, rate us, review us, give us five stars. You only give us four stars. I'm inclined to believe you are a hater. I'll talk to you guys in a couple of days. Take it easy.