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- [00:00]
A
This episode is brought to you by AMC. You do not want to miss. Rise of the 49ers, the limited series event premiering February 1st and 2nd. Exclusively on AMC and AMC. Executive produced by Tom Brady, the docu series charts the legendary rise of the San Francisco 49ers from underdogs to five time Super bowl champions in the 80s and 90s. It features interviews with Joe Montana, Jerry Rice and Ronnie Lott, as well as never be seen archival footage. Rise of the 49ers premiering February 1st and 2nd. Visit amcplus.com to start your free trial now. This episode is brought to you by Scout Motors. You don't change the game by standing on the sidelines. You do it by building something new. Iconic in the 70s and reimagined for today. The all new Scout Terra and Scout Traveler are engineered from the ground up with advanced capability and bold ingenuity. Build brand new for what's next. Opposing defenses take note of Join the waitlist@scoutmotors.com Concept vehicles not available for sale. Joining the waitlist does not guarantee purchase. Visit scoutmotors.com for details.
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B
Hello again. Logan Murdoch here live from Spotify studios here in Los Angeles. Here for part two of our first ever take a thon where we finally crown a champion for the best take. The take champion given to us by Jamie Odenaron. It was a very, very fun show. A lot of surprising. I think I'm very surprised by the champion here. I think it's a bit of malpractice, but we get into all of that next. Victoria, play the theme music. What's poppin? Real ones. Logan Murdoch here for part two of our takeathon. Sorry, I'm a little bit distracted by the distinguished panel. It's myself, Tyler Parker and Howard Beck is here.
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C
The battle ready Beck.
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B
Battle ready Beck. At least I think.
- [02:02]
C
Hey, guys.
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B
Hey.
- [02:04]
D
Are we doing a podcast?
- [02:05]
B
We're doing a podcast.
- [02:06]
D
I heard it was going to get a little intense here. Tyler's come with some flamin hot takes. Yeah, as a Game of Thrones fan, I thought like, if you're going to take on a dragon with flamin hot takes, like you got to have.
- [02:16]
C
You gotta have the armor here.
- [02:18]
D
My neck is never gonna be the same. My hair may never be the same. Listen, when you're broadcasting from the house of our studio, you gotta be on it.
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B
Absolutely. So this is fantastic.
- [02:28]
D
I'm taking this home.
- [02:29]
B
Hell yeah. We are here for part two, like I said of the takeathon. Let's regroup with Some of the rules here. We have each been tasked to analyze a group of players on the separate All Star teams. Team Stars, Team Stripes, and Team Worlds. Each pick will be heavily scrutinized by our resident take expert, Jomi Adenaron, who is in the building with us. Hello, Jeremy.
- [02:53]
E
Going on, guys.
- [02:54]
B
Are we happy to be here? All right, so you are, Jomi. You are tasked to give the Take Champion award at the end of this based on your preference. Good takes whatever takes that are on your preference, that you like, dislike, and you're going to award us. This is a very prestigious award, the first serve award we've ever had. Are you ready to do this? What is your formula? How should we cozy up to the guest of honor?
- [03:22]
D
And how many bonus points do I get for wearing a knight's helmet?
- [03:25]
E
I mean, the knight's helmet was pretty clutch. You do love to see that Howard doing the. Yes. And I just want to be completely honest with you guys. I'm taking this extremely seriously.
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B
Okay?
- [03:35]
E
Okay. There's literally nothing in the world that means more to me right now than making sure that I get this right. And because that's what the people want. You know what I'm saying? This is Netflix ready.
- [03:45]
B
This is big time.
- [03:46]
E
All right? What we're not going to do is come out here and pretend like this is not the all star game of 2020, 2024. You know, where they just out there playing around. This all star game of 2020. We're taking charges, locking in.
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B
Let's go. Let's do it.
- [04:00]
C
Let's go. And if I win, the charity of my choice gets a million dollars, right?
- [04:04]
E
Well, so here's the thing, though.
- [04:05]
C
And if we're basing this off the 2021.
- [04:08]
E
Well, here's the thing, though. Logan Howard, you know, me and Tyler go way back.
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C
That's true.
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E
We're Miller High life bros. You know what I mean? So, like, that's my guy, you guys.
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B
Okay.
- [04:17]
E
I'm trying to be. I'm trying to be objective, but me and Tyler got. You know, we got a long standing thing going on, so.
- [04:22]
B
Wow.
- [04:23]
C
A couple. A couple highlights coming your way, no matter what. You know what I mean?
- [04:26]
E
I love you.
- [04:27]
B
Okay. All right. We will see Jeremy at the end of the show to get the awards, but without further ado, let's get back into the action. Take a look at the screen. LeBron James. Oh, wow. Okay, that. There we go. We got clutch Jomi in the house. So let's. All right, let's calm down. Let's talk about LeBron for the first player of the time. Okay, I have a lot of things we can go with LeBron. But LeBron is finally at a place where he cannot bend the narrative to his will anymore for a number of reasons. Right. The LUCA trademark, the way the media apparatus is kind of set up now, and it's not set up in his favor as it was maybe in the mid 2010s. And I feel like he's going to need a pivot for the final twilight of his career. And I wonder how he's going to be able to manage doing that.
- [05:22]
D
I guess it depends on whether or not these next couple months are the end of his career.
- [05:28]
B
I don't think it will be. You don't think it will be?
- [05:30]
D
I don't think it will be. Our opinion is not necessarily shared by others who we might have seen in the building last night when we were attending the Laker game. There are others who are monitoring this situation closely who. Who think that this may well be the end. I don't get that sense.
- [05:47]
B
That would be one of the most confounding things in NBA history for him to go out in this way. The mo. I think one of the most public front facing superstars we've ever. And that includes Jordan, someone who any camera he wants to be in front of, he wants to control his own narrative based on. In front of the camera, on Twitter, any social media, being in every single conversation, it's very like. It's almost like Drake of him to be in every single type of conversation and be of the algorithm smiling through it all. For him to just vanish without a trace would be pretty odd.
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C
I mean, I don't. I think even if he's did stop, and I'm not saying that's what I think is going to happen. I think even if he did retire, I don't think this guy's vanishing without a trace in any way. This guy's gonna either immediately go into some sort of.
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B
He's gonna do a podcast route.
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C
Well, he'll keep doing the pod or he'll. I mean, he. He's made no, you know, secrets about wanting to be an owner in the league and stuff like that. But what is your. Is your take that he's gonna. He's gonna go somewhere else and play?
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B
Well, he's never going to have the control that he once did. And that a lot of that has to do with one. The Luka trade that just. That upended a lot of his plans.
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C
It's the first time he's not at the top of the totem pole.
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B
Yeah. And also he, you know, him going to the Lakers, he kind of, it was the first time in his career we ever met his match in terms of leverage, because with all the other teams, he could impose his will on the organization. With a team like the Lakers, you can't do that. You were just one of.
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C
Well, he could until they got Luka.
- [07:20]
B
Well, no, like he could in theory, within the front office, perhaps, but amongst the fan base, he's just another great player to come into the fold. Right. Like, oh, yeah, we've had Magic Johnson, who got us five rings. How many of you got us that? That's the, this is the only time he's ever had to deal with that. So you combine that with the Luca trade, which, I mean, I think something that we don't really talk about is Luka. For years, the Lakers have been overwhelmingly influenced by Clutch in the front office. And Luka, who was, who was repped by wme, completely upends that power that they have within that framework of the front office. So not only is LeBron upended, but his team is upended in the way they move throughout the building now they have to share. And I'm just gonna, I'm wondering how that's going to play over the next four months to a year, because if he goes to the Cavs now, like, he's not going to have still not have the same power. He's still going to be lurching onto another power source where he doesn't have the influence that he once had. And I'm just fascinated to see how he and his team deals with that. Yeah.
- [08:33]
D
And I think, I do think that LeBron has a sense of the moment.
- [08:41]
B
Right. Always. That's been one of his superpowers, I.
- [08:44]
D
Think, in a very healthy way right now. I wrote, you know, a couple months ago when he was coming back that he needed to emulate Late stage Kareem, where Kareem decided it's time to pass the torch to Magic or allow it to be passed. Like, Kareem didn't decide as much as Riley did, but there was the moment. This, it's now his show. LeBron has not forced it at all. LeBron's playing off. When Austin Reeves is playing, he's even playing off Austin Reeves, he's giving up the ball early. LeBron's playing his role as a super high level co star now, which is a really weird phrase to attach to it to a guy who is one of the greatest of all time, he has done that willingly. And so if he can do that on the court, why can't he do that? In terms of everything else that goes around that. I don't know how that looks. I, I like, I like. A lot of people think he's probably done in terms of the Lakers after this season. I don't think that that marriage is going to continue. They really need to be all in on how to build around Luca now, whether that's with simple things like the salary cap, right. That you can't tie up a lot of money in a soon to be 42 year old if you're trying to rebuild around Luca for the next five years. So there's a practical reality here, and if that means LeBron lands with the Cleveland Cavaliers again or goes to go.
- [09:52]
B
But I think that's even a. Even the fact that we're having this conversation, that's a byproduct of that, of how monumental that trade was. Right? Because it was the first time in the history of lebr that he has been surprised and not in control of his destiny. And I think now all of a sudden he. It's been a struggle for him to be a number two or be anything other than a number one. And it seems like now he's like, he. It feels like a betrayal for him or to him. And now he's thinking about going to other teams where the play here, in my view, is probably just stay in la. You're going to get the best farewell if you just do what Kareem did, which was, oh, okay, this dude magic. What Kareem did in the 80s was one of the most selfless acts that a player of Kareem's caliber has ever done. And this was a chance for LeBron to do that. And it seems like just the fact that we're here shows that he hasn't done it to the effect that maybe he could have done to get everything that he wants, which is the glory and the farewell tour and to be at the. To. To be at the stature that he believes and honestly should be. So it's a. It's going to be fascinating to see what his next year is going to look like. Who was the next player on the list? Chet Holmgren. Yeah. Tyler had to have this one.
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C
And thank you so much. The. I think Chet needs to bleach his hair and shave his beard into a mustache and get 10 to 15 visible tattoos. I think that Chet should look like Ryan Gosling in place beyond the Pines.
- [11:29]
D
I thought you were Going for, like, Birdman?
- [11:31]
C
No, no, I think. Well, I mean, you know, I don't think he needs to get just absolutely wild. I don't think we need to get like, you know, up under the beard. You know what I mean? But, like, I think. I think Chet needs to embrace his inner sleaze a little bit and start to peacock some.
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B
I don't think that. That's not happening. I don't think that's happening. I think that. I think there's a lot of people.
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C
This isn't about what's happening. It's about what could happen. You know what I mean? This is about this.
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B
Be like Joe Borough or something.
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C
I'm a man with a dream. Yes.
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B
He's going to be Eminem. Sure.
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C
If he. If he wants to shave his head, that's fine. I do think he runs the risk of looking a little bit like a penis if he does that. But I think that.
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B
But I.
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C
But I support. I support whatever he wants to do. I do think that he. I really do feel Ryan Gosling and Place beyond the Pines plus a stash. I think that he. I think the game goes up a level, you know, Like, I really do. And I mean, he's already.
- [12:25]
B
You think if that happens, he's gonna actually just start talking to Wimby again? Like, he's. Even though the Wimby thing. I think Wimy cares a lot more than what. Than about the rivalry, than he wants. He's trying to antagonize Chad into a rivalry as a better player.
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D
In the. In the. In the so called rivalry, it's usually the other guy who's like.
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B
But Chad doesn't. Chet doesn't care about.
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D
What's the weird thing?
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C
Chad's got the hardware, baby. He's got rings.
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B
Yeah, okay. All right. I have. No. Do you have a rebuttal to the penis transformation that he is?
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D
I mean, listen, I've only been a, you know, standing member of this podcast for the last two and a half years. Can I just assume that that was the first invocation of the word penis on this podcast?
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B
Yeah, I think so. I think so. Congratulations. All right, let's just. Let's forget that ever happened. Next player. Jokic Howard.
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D
Nikola Jokic. Awesome player. Isn't he? Awesome.
- [13:17]
B
Awesome.
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D
He's awesome. I'm gonna stipulate one thing before I say the thing, which is that I am not a count the rings with multiple Z's person.
- [13:27]
B
Kobe didn't convert you for all those years that you. That you covered him.
- [13:31]
C
I figured that Was like an osmosis sort of situation.
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B
It seems like with every, every, every person that has covered Kobe has like gotten the propaganda of Kobe and it's like, oh, it's like Stephen A. Is a great example of like, you need to do this if you're gonna win. You need this many rings, you need this.
- [13:46]
D
I will admit that there's a certain amount of like internalizing of like Kobe'. It wasn't the Mamba mentality because he was not the Mamba during the years I covered him later. But like the, the, the, the, the insane work ethic, the obsessiveness and everything you like, you can't walk away from that without now judging every other player for the rest of history through that lens. And I, I admit I sometimes do. It's an unfair standard.
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C
You want all these guys in like pajama pants after they have a bad game and stuff and shoot.
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D
I want them all getting up at three in the morning to, to, to go get up some shots and lift weights and stuff, you know, maybe go to bed at 6, wake up again at 6:05 and then do the whole thing over again.
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B
Yeah, but they're not doing that. They're playing the game.
- [14:23]
C
You got to get on the sticks sometime.
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D
I hate to say it, I hate to say it. Nikola Jokic needs another ring.
- [14:30]
B
For what though?
- [14:31]
D
So he's got three MVPs in a finals MVP. And if he retired tomorrow, we would already regard him as one of the all time greats. But his talent level and the things he does on the court and just the every amazing sequence from him, his incredible court vision, all of this, his, his scoring. Like we're always going to remember him as a passer first because it's, he's so great, but he's a dominant scorer and he's done it in a way that like no other player, like he's one of one and doesn't give a. But I give a. And, and I think that what, what's going to Happen is like 30 years from now, if he never wins another one, people are going to be like, you know grandpa, you keep telling me about like you know this guy who did all this and did whatever and I'm looking at his stats, whatever, like how come he only won one? Like we do this sometimes, right? And I'll just put, put this out, point this out. So the, he's in the three MVP club. There's only like, you know, so everybody who's got at least three MVPs, Kareem six championship rings, Jordan six rings. Bill Russell 11 rings, LeBron four rings, Wilt two, Magic five, Bird three. And then Moses, who has. Has just the one. But Yic is better than Moses. Sorry. Like, you're in this group of three. Time at. And, and, and, and up MVPs. He could get a fourth, he could get a fifth for all I know. But we're gonna. It's going to happen whether I like it or not. When it's all said and done. If he ends up with five MVPs, but only. Only one championship, it's going to be like.
- [15:56]
B
I think it depends, man. Like, I don't. It's funny because you were the first, like, national pundit or pundit, whatever national voice that is really, like, kind of actually had this criticism of Yokit. Not a criticism, but, like, it's an observation. An observation and a mandate.
- [16:13]
C
I think it's a criticism of the way that people think about these things, the criticism of Jokic.
- [16:18]
B
But what I'm saying, though, is Jokic has largely skated past this. It's just been like, for whatever it is. No, but for whatever it is, it's just been like, oh, we're just in awe of the stat lines and like, he's had series where it's like, oh, my God, like the Oklahoma City series where Denver's completely undermanned and we're like, how the. Are they even in this series? Right.
- [16:39]
C
Until game seven, he was unbelievable.
- [16:41]
B
Right. And so. But he, even with the game 17, has. He doesn't get the criticism. When he does do wrong, there's this.
- [16:49]
D
Weird, like, very, very polarized.
- [16:51]
B
Giannis doesn't get it either. I think he works it on himself as much. I don't think he gets the even of the rings culture. He doesn't get it based on his talent.
- [16:59]
D
We have Jokic zealots who think he should have won, like, five, six straight MVPs.
- [17:03]
B
Yeah.
- [17:03]
D
And then we have Jokic doubters who think he's already won too many MVPs. Those people exist. It includes a lot of, like, former players with podcasts.
- [17:13]
B
He, He.
- [17:13]
D
He take. He takes a lot of shots. Don't mean basketball shots. He takes a lot of blows. Like, there is. There is still, I think, a skepticism of him that I don't think is warranted. There's a.
- [17:23]
B
There's a zealotry that I think it's a jealousy truth thing, too, as well. Yeah.
- [17:27]
D
And he's done. Also because he's done it differently.
- [17:29]
B
Right.
- [17:30]
D
He's not dominant like Michael was. He's not even dominant like Kevin Durant.
- [17:33]
B
And he also didn't come into the league with expectations. He's a second round pick.
- [17:36]
D
Yeah. So I think people and he just, he just looks the way he looks, he plays the way he plays but it's all incredibly effective. So I think to put all those people to rest and to shut them up, he just needs the extra hardware to go behind.
- [17:48]
B
You know, the dirty little secret is they're never going to shut up.
- [17:51]
D
I know. Especially the ones with the podcast.
- [17:54]
B
Next Next player Kawhi Leonard I was going back and forth on this one. I was going to say and just trying to take a cop out and just say he's the scariest player in the league going into the back stretch of the season. But I want to have a really formative conversation about Kawhi Leonard. I think that he's the most confound this isn't the take but he is the most confounding superstar of the modern era in that teams have just and it speaks to his ability when he's on the floor have just backed up the Brinks truck and gave given him full commitments. And I don't think, I don't think it's necessarily warranted that wouldn't be warranted for other players based on the injury history and the ability. And I do wonder when it's all said and done and in an era where ownership in the league is doing everything they can to take money out of players pockets, I do wonder if he is going to be an avatar for owners and future collective bargaining agreements to be like this is why we can't pay them guaranteed money because we can't either trust them to stay healthy on the floor or we, we don't want to get bullied into situations like this. I'm not saying that he bullied the Clippers, the Clippers did this by their own volition. But it's been, I don't think that a team, especially the Clippers, has gotten the bang for the buck that they have have paid Kawhi and I wonder if that's going to be used against players for future generations. I don't have any intel on this, but it's just a fear that I have going forward over the next few bargaining agreements.
- [19:37]
D
I mean he's not the first player to make max money and not be able to stay healthy.
- [19:41]
B
Yeah, it's true.
- [19:44]
D
He might be the first to have also gotten like a bunch of different side deals that are going to take down the entire organization. But you know, shout Out.
- [19:51]
C
Uncle Dennis, what's going on?
- [19:53]
B
Also not completely, I mean, also not completely his fault. He's a capitalist just like everybody else in this business.
- [19:58]
D
I, I, I thought your Kawaite was going to be like, he's the foremost player environmentalist of our time.
- [20:06]
C
I think his attitude towards the environment is aspirational. You know, I think it's something that we should all strive for.
- [20:13]
B
I don't. That was just, I don't know. I don't have anything else. I was stretching for Logan.
- [20:18]
E
I think you're missing the force for the trees on that one.
- [20:21]
C
Really good. Really good, Jeremy.
- [20:26]
B
Next one. Devin. Booker, Tyler.
- [20:29]
C
All right. The all black book twos with the white swoosh. That's the best signature shoe going right now. That's the best iteration of a player signature shoe. He wore them last night. Today's February 11th. Yeah, last night. February 10th, against the Mad.
- [20:44]
B
It was, I think it was a fragment collab. Was the fragment.
- [20:47]
C
Maybe so. But I think this is the best. I'm a minimalist when it comes to my sneakers. I don't, I don't need a lot of loud, bright colors, really. I'm a fan of black, and I think this is the best player shoe on the market.
- [21:03]
B
Howard, sit this one out. But it's.
- [21:05]
D
Let me, you don't have to tell me to sit out a conversation that I have absolutely no clue about.
- [21:08]
B
I think that he has the best sig since Kyrie. I, I, and I was, I was gonna say since Kobe, but I think, like, in terms of It's a throwback.
- [21:21]
C
I love Kyrie's as much as the kids love Kyrie's. I know the kids love. The kids love Kyries. The kids love Lamelo's.
- [21:27]
B
But here's the thing.
- [21:28]
C
Jaws kids love. You see a lot of kids in Jaws.
- [21:30]
B
Now, what I love about books. Signature line. Yeah. Is it's a throwback to when you can wear basketball shoes with everything.
- [21:37]
C
Yes.
- [21:39]
B
And he, like. I love how he warms up like a normal person. Right. With the normal fit of, like, the cutoff sweats and, like, a tank top and a beanie.
- [21:48]
C
I think he should wear. I think the NBA should institute some kind of rule that allows Booker to wear a beanie during games. This is a secondary take. I feel strong.
- [21:58]
B
He's gonna wear a Nike Drive it beanie.
- [22:00]
C
I think he should. I've been liking the beanie look for him since he got pissed off at those people for doubling him in that pickup game years ago. I really think that they should start to Let players incorporate beanies into.
- [22:11]
B
You know, hey, we need to wear a. Put Isaiah Stewart in a beanie. Okay? Would. Would book in a beanie. Who's the all beanie team? Just put them all in beanies.
- [22:18]
C
You know, Tyler heroes wearing a beanie, and in an instant, it's going to.
- [22:21]
B
Be a Prada beanie. He's going to rock a product. All right. That we have. I know. Howard has no take on this. He's wearing all birds. That's the next one. Victor Wimpanyama, Howard Beck, Wimby. We just saw him. This is a great take. We just saw him last night. He was awesome. He was playing.
- [22:39]
D
What do you have, like, 25 in the first quarter?
- [22:41]
B
Like 29.
- [22:42]
D
Like 25 in, like three minutes.
- [22:43]
B
We were like, oh, is he gonna go for 70? But they were blowing him out by like 30 going in.
- [22:48]
D
If only the Lakers hadn't fielded a G league team, Wendy might have had more incentive to keep playing.
- [22:52]
C
That's. I was gonna say. No LeBron, no Luca, no Reeves. Right?
- [22:55]
D
Yeah.
- [22:55]
C
Okay.
- [22:56]
B
He was. Well, he was. He was. It was a mouse in the house with him and a fellow by the name of Kobe. That was number 18.
- [23:01]
C
No, I saw the. The buffkin boys were pumped last night. He could get some buffkin minutes. I appreciated that.
- [23:06]
B
Anyway, Howard, you take.
- [23:08]
D
Victor Wembanyama is the next face and arms and legs and everything else of the NBA.
- [23:16]
B
Can we just say he's the best player in the league yet or no next year? We'll just say that next year.
- [23:19]
D
I'm going to hold off on. On going to that point because of.
- [23:23]
B
Of this is the take a thon.
- [23:24]
C
No, no, no, no, no, no. It's going to be fun to watch the YIC zealots have to reckon with Wimy on the come up here because speak to the same demo of.
- [23:36]
F
I don't know.
- [23:38]
B
Remember the Clayton Bigsby skit on Chappelle's show where the guys. Neil Brennan's head exploded in the. In the meeting.
- [23:46]
C
Yeah.
- [23:46]
B
That's what's going to happen with the yoke and zealots next year.
- [23:50]
D
So people hate this. This face of the NBA thing. It's not a real thing, but, like, ever since we had Michael, who was able to be not just the best player in the game, the most dominant player, the most winning player, but was also the most charismatic, the most compelling, the most popular.
- [24:06]
C
You think Wimy's charismatic?
- [24:09]
B
I'm gonna get there.
- [24:10]
D
Wimy, I'm gonna get.
- [24:11]
C
You think he's, like, cool and Interesting.
- [24:13]
B
I think that's the hottest take of the.
- [24:14]
C
Oh, my God.
- [24:15]
B
Okay.
- [24:16]
C
I think he's a great player. I don't think he's like, man, I want to go hang out with that guy.
- [24:19]
D
I do you want to go hang out with Wimby? Yeah.
- [24:22]
B
Okay.
- [24:22]
D
Why wouldn't I? He's gonna kick my ass in chess. But, like, he's gonna tell me about, like, Buddhist monks and like, oh, you're.
- [24:30]
B
Oklahoma City Thunder fan here.
- [24:32]
C
Oh, I think was amazing and definitely will probably be the best player in the league next year. I do think people get a little. A little too jazzed up, you know, sometimes.
- [24:43]
B
But you want to know what the funniest thing.
- [24:45]
C
Chess doesn't make a person interesting.
- [24:47]
B
You know what the funniest thing was, is, like, going into the draft, they were talk a Brian Windhorse, who I love. We all love on here, but they were. The biggest thing that they were talking about was like, you know, his favorite artist is Keith Haring. I was like. I mean, the most mainstream, the most.
- [25:02]
C
Basic, like, come on.
- [25:04]
D
He's like.
- [25:06]
B
All he told me is that he likes going to Uniqlo.
- [25:09]
D
Listen, here's the thing.
- [25:10]
B
What a. I still think he's interesting more. I think you're just hating because you're okc. I still think he's, like, really interesting. And I do think that he is a guy that is going to take the baton. Like, where we didn't know if you know the how Steph was the guy that was the league pass guy. When he's cooking, you have to watch it with your own eyes. I think he is that guy. Oh, I agree with you. He kind of has, like, when in press conferences. We were in there yesterday. He has, like, some bites where you're like, oh, oh, that's how you feel. I like that it's a throwback. And I don't know, man. Maybe, you know, I'm too. I might be too old now to kick it with Wemby. And, like, it might be boring for me, but I'm sure people want to kick it with Wemby.
- [25:49]
C
I think if you want to hang out with somebody who's constantly talking about how hard they work, that sounds pretty exhausting to me. Who at every opportunity, every down moment in the conversation, they're like, man, P.S. i work so hard for the NBA's.
- [26:03]
F
For the sake of their. Their appeal beyond the hardcore. Right. To have the casual fans in.
- [26:08]
B
Yeah.
- [26:08]
F
Michael pulling Everybody.
- [26:09]
B
Right?
- [26:09]
F
Stephan LeBron pulling everybody. Kobe at his best. And it's not because just because you're dominant. Shay is awesome. Shea's dominant. We'll get to him later. Joic is awesome. He's dominant. We've got a lot of players who are dominant. But to be a face of the NBA, as somebody who is an ambassador of it and who draws in the casual fan and everything, you have to not just be dominant and spectacular. Fun to watch and yes, charismatic. Whether that's court charisma or whether that's personality, then you have to want it. And Wemby seems to really be comfortable with this.
- [26:39]
A
This episode is brought to you by Spectrum Business. Fast, reliable Internet means everything for your business and even this podcast. That's why I trust Spectrum Business. They keep companies of all sizes connected with Internet, advanced Wi, Fi, phone, TV, mobile services plus 24. 7 US based support. Millions of business owners already trust Spectrum business, so visit spectrum.combusiness to learn more. Restrictions apply. Services not available in all areas. This episode is brought to you by TaxAct. Like an expert coach, TaxAct offers step by step guidance and guaranteed accuracy when filing taxes. Get tips along the way. Add expert assist to talk to tax experts and let our experts do your taxes for you. With Expert full service, TaxAct helps you find the deductions and credits you deserve so you can get them over with. Visit taxact.com to learn more. Conditions apply. See taxact.com for details.
- [27:36]
B
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- [28:07]
F
He enjoys going to, you know, Washington Square park or wherever it was. Play chess in the rain, right? He, he's really comfortable with himself and he's also just this incredible. Like he, he's an alien for a reason, right? Just confounds the imagination.
- [28:26]
D
He's fascinating to watch and yes, I do think he has a certain kind of charisma. It's not the same as like a Steph or, or, or a Michael or whatever. I think it's his own kind of, he's got his own weird vibe. It's, it's a little intellectual, but I think it's fun and it's interesting and, and he.
- [28:40]
B
I don't think you're selling Tyler.
- [28:41]
C
I think he's got on court charisma. I think he's exciting as hell to watch and I think he does stuff nobody else can do. And in that way, like, yes. Like, he's, he's, he's catnip for fans, right? Like, it's, you can't, you can't not take your eyes off of him. And I totally agree with you that whenever he's like, it's, it is like Steph in the old days where it's like, you got to go watch and see is he taking a one footed floater, three pointer. Like, it's, he does wild, wild stuff. I don't think he's like an exciting hang or someone that I want to hear.
- [29:12]
B
Like, he's going to Atlantic City.
- [29:14]
D
I didn't say he was the player I most want to have a beer with. I just said he's, he's going to be there.
- [29:17]
C
I mean, like, I don't think he, I'm not like watching him off the court in his interviews or something and thinking like, man, what an incredible personality.
- [29:26]
D
Listen, of all the, of all the players that we've evaluated in the course of the series, he's not the one that you decided you needed to like, full body tattoo and put. And spike his hair up and bleach his hair like so well.
- [29:36]
C
No, that's. That, that has nothing to do with Chad's charisma. That's just, that's, that's my, that's, that's what I believe.
- [29:42]
B
So you're saying.
- [29:42]
C
I'm just saying I believe that's best for me. You know what I mean? I'm just, that's, that's really selfish on my part.
- [29:46]
B
He's more of an Ant guy. He wants to anytime and is on.
- [29:49]
C
I like.
- [29:50]
B
It's a. Yeah, we should have probably made that take. Ant is probably the most interesting. I think he. You can, there's a case you can make that he's more interesting than Wimby. I think it might be where Wimby's kind of like, it's more manufactured interest where it's like, he does. This isn't this interesting. I kind of want to go into Ant's world because it's kind of wild. Like, you know how you wanted to go into Jordan's world because you're like, sure, maybe there's something there. Yeah, just like we spent a day in maybe. I'm talking to my editors and people who are listening. Let me go spend a day with Aunt Edward, see how it works out. Who's.
- [30:23]
C
I, I Think you're. I think he's like, I. The face of the league conversation is sometimes exhausting to me and I kind of don't even care about it. But I agree that it's definitely him. Like, it has to be.
- [30:34]
B
Yeah, but that's also power. Like, it's. It's also the face of the league thing has also nothing to do with personality. Has to do with like, who is the most corporately viable and who is the most. Who you can sell to eight year olds and, you know, it's like the Disneyland game.
- [30:52]
D
It's like five different things and you need to be able to check every box. And I think he does. And I think some of the other guys who at least maybe are dominant players or are fun to watch don't check the other boxes.
- [31:00]
B
It's the difference between Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson. To the cons, to the consumer, whatever that means. Who's the next player? Brunson. Okay, I tried. Let's see what we got here. Top five small guard of all time. Is he in the conversation? I think he might be.
- [31:15]
C
Oh, yeah?
- [31:16]
D
Where's our cutoff for small?
- [31:18]
B
I said six, two and below. So all time. What? Isaiah's number one with the champion. The mix of championships in game is Chris Paul. Chris. No, Allen Iverson over Chris Paul for sure. Just individually.
- [31:35]
D
That's vibes.
- [31:36]
C
I agree with you on a vibes perspective.
- [31:38]
B
Perspective. Who I want to go hang out with.
- [31:40]
C
I love to hang out.
- [31:41]
B
You trying to go to TGI Fridays?
- [31:42]
C
I would love to go to TJI Fridays.
- [31:46]
B
No, it's probably Chris Paul over whatever. It's so polarizing. Who else put Jalen Brunson right up in there. Who am I missing?
- [31:57]
D
Nate Archibald.
- [31:58]
B
Who am I missing?
- [32:00]
E
Isaiah Thomas, Boston Celtic.
- [32:03]
B
He had a good run, but, you know, good run. You're. Hey, are you defending a Celtic right now?
- [32:07]
E
I'm just saying that's crazy. I'm thinking about there's not a lot of take.
- [32:13]
B
But I did not end my take. But I did not. My take isn't over. I don't think it'll be enough for the Knicks to win the title anytime soon. The fact of his ability. I think there's a ceiling and sorry, Ben, I know you're going to watch all of this. Sorry, buddy. I don't think it's good. I think that his ability is only going to get them to a certain point. And I don't know if there's a pivot there for the Knicks. But I will say this. Mike D' Antoni always used to tell Roger Bell, sometimes you're not going to win a championship. You just said with son, sometimes you're not going to win a championship. But if you can win a lot of games and have a lot of fun, it's a good season. I think there's going to be a lot of that for the Knicks with Jalen Brunson.
- [32:52]
D
No disagreement. And it's not because of like, I'm not. I don't know that I subscribe to the idea. Like, oh, a team built around a player of this stature can never win because of xyz. You have the right players around him and especially in today's NBA, there are ways to account for that.
- [33:09]
B
I don't know if the Knicks have the apparatus in place to be.
- [33:12]
D
I just don't. I just don't know that they've got that. Now.
- [33:14]
C
Look, I think as long as teams can put cat and him and pick and rolls, I think you have a problem in terms of playoff defense. I. Brunson is. Is miraculous offensively and. And is.
- [33:26]
B
They're playing 3 on 5 in the playoffs. He, he. God bless Mitchell Robinson.
- [33:30]
C
Yeah, he's doing yeoman's work down there.
- [33:32]
B
But I can't do this.
- [33:33]
C
Brunson is. Brunson is one of the league leaders in. How did he get that off? And it went in. You know what I mean? Like, like it. And I think Brunson in the playoffs is a special experience. Like when. When games get into a grind and you have to be able to just go get stuff one on one. I think he is pro, a very, very fun watch. And I know that fans of teams that have played against him will be like, he's flailing and flopping all over the place. But just as someone who has not been one of those people, I think he's a blast to watch operate when the. In these big stake, big yo.
- [34:13]
B
How he ended that series against Detroit was a sight to behold.
- [34:16]
C
Amazing.
- [34:17]
B
It was incredible. Just you got the whole experience. He's like, if I'm not going to say that. Next question. Next player.
- [34:25]
C
I love a lefty too.
- [34:27]
B
I wish I was lefty.
- [34:28]
C
I wish I was.
- [34:29]
B
I wish I was a lefty. I was talking to a friend earlier, she was a lefty back in the. When I was a couple days ago. And she was talking about just how hard it is to be a lefty because you gotta bump arms with other people. It's hard to eat. You know, it's like I was like, you know what? I'll Take that on just for a day. Let's see how it goes. And a day for the option of the rest of my life to be left. Anyway, that leads us to, to Jalen Duran.
- [34:55]
C
So these are the best shoulders in the league now. And I don't, I don't think it's close.
- [35:01]
B
I think these Dwight Howard shoulders.
- [35:03]
C
Well, so I think these are the best shoulders this century. I think they're better than Dwight's.
- [35:07]
B
Wow. I should he have the jersey that Dwight had. Remember Dwight had the extra medium joint and it was, it was just like right here. I was like how did you. I don't even know they made that cut.
- [35:17]
C
I'm not sure the public could handle him in a medium. I really think that like I like it's going get steamy in Little Caesar if he, if he's doing that like, you know, don't get me wrong, like give the people what they want. Jaylen for sure. Ghost medium. But if you don't want to subject yourself to that kind of, you know those, those ogles, you know, it's, you know, you're a person, you know, you're not just a body. But no, I don't think we've seen shoulders like this since young David Robinson.
- [35:43]
B
Okay.
- [35:44]
C
I think that these are like this is a galactic size.
- [35:49]
B
He's showed a dude with the, with the weights that is in the mirror just doing shoulder shrugs for like an hour and a half.
- [35:56]
C
Yeah.
- [35:56]
B
Just as a warm up for the workout.
- [35:58]
A
Yeah.
- [35:58]
B
Yeah.
- [35:59]
C
I felt bad for Moose for most of the abate the other day.
- [36:03]
B
Here's the thing. You saw Moose didn't actually want to fight. You can see during that he didn't actually want to fight. And a lot of that is probably because he saw those shoulders. But he had to try to do something because he got Moose.
- [36:12]
C
He saw those shoulders and he felt you know it. But no, I Big, big Durin fan. A throwback big who is the perfect kind of center to pair with K right now. And yeah, I, I Huge fan. And yeah man, just keep doing those shrugs, you know.
- [36:30]
B
Great take next player Howard.
- [36:34]
D
I don't have much on Denny Abdia. He's had a phenomenal season. I I By default, almost not by default. He's earned this. He's, he's take. He is is ready to be the pl. The blazer standard bearer taking the torch from Dame Lillard who is now taking his retirement.
- [36:48]
B
How about, how about this? I got another take for you. How about this? Sorry to take your take, but I have a take how about he proves that the Wizards aren't as smart as they think they are?
- [36:56]
D
Well, there's, that is baked into this for sure. And, and great reminder too. I, I, I think we talked about this a couple months back on the show. But yeah, like the Wizards just gave him away.
- [37:05]
B
Just gave him away.
- [37:06]
D
A rebuilding team gave away a really turns out good young player who can.
- [37:10]
B
Do, who was, who actually had moments on the Wizards. If you were like really in the depths of league pass and you his.
- [37:15]
D
Last half season with them, you could start to see what was coming and.
- [37:18]
C
That'S when they, he's always been a good time in transition. Like he, like the guy loves to get downhill and can really do some.
- [37:24]
B
Damage and get to the free throw line.
- [37:26]
D
I was for a team that waited way too long to decide to move off of first to CJ and then Dame himself and then they finally decided, okay, we're playing the lottery. And they come up with Scoot who's been really banged up. I still think Scoot's got a lot of, a lot of promise. I'm still on Scoot Island, Shaden Sharp, all these guys. And it turns out it's the guy that they stole from the Wizards who's actually now the hub of their, of their franchise and doing a fantastic job.
- [37:48]
B
Before we get to the next player, I always get reminded of me and you at summer league, which was like, I think that was the beginning of our love affair.
- [37:56]
C
Yeah, absolutely.
- [37:56]
B
But we really were going, we rode hard. It didn't, it didn't really work out.
- [38:01]
C
I think I said there's a force of nature element with Scoot and you know, we haven't seen that come before.
- [38:07]
B
That might have been Vegas talking.
- [38:09]
C
I'm on the beaches. I'm on the beach on Scoot island with you too.
- [38:12]
B
It's raining, though. It's raining.
- [38:14]
C
It's raining. But you know what? Sometimes that feels good. Sometimes you get in the water and it's an experience.
- [38:18]
B
Yeah. Okay. All right. That's the next player, Steph Curry. Okay, that's me. I'm in LA right now and if I say this, I don't know if I'm going to be able to get back home to sfo, but I'm going to say it anyway, I think, and it's not his fault. It's really not his fault. But I think I don't know if we're going to see Steph in the playoffs. Ooh. And it has nothing to do with him. It has everything to do with the Malpractice in Golden State's front office over the last few years. And it is so disappointing what they have done or not done actually. And I think he can only do so much. He has the running knee right now, which is a usage injury. And it's kind of like the sciatica zone where you're like, oh, this is. Cause you're old and you have a lot of miles on you. And he is the number one option on that team and he just deserves better, man. He's the number one option on that team and he's getting run into the ground and is getting played like it's 2016. And I think the writing is on the wall. I think there's one, there's. On one side, everything can go right with Porzingis and Maybe they get 47 wins with everything going right. But then also there can be everything going wrong, which is probably the more feasible, the more believable thing going into next season. I think it's going to be tough in the Bay Area. And you know, it's funny, I. I always go back to. And this is my second take of Steph Curry. I think he's the next Dirk. I think he's the modern day Dirk Navinsky. And the fact that he, the malpractice around the front office, around him during his later years really robbed him of a chance to getting to a place where he needs to be. And it's very, it's very poetic that, you know, those two careers, because I remember I did a. I did a big profile called Curry Comic collected on the ringer. You guys can go check that out. I interviewed Steph twice for that. The second time, the first time was the day that Dirk Navinsky got his jersey statue in. His jersey retired in Dallas. I interviewed him then and then a couple of statue, great statue. And then the day after I talked on the phone with him about that and he was just so excited about seeing that and taking pictures and wanting to be that for the Warriors. And it was kind of like it felt like the kiss of death. They won a championship that year, but ever since then, the warriors have done just fallen over themselves. There's been other. There's been other things. The Draymond punch has obviously been. It was a big catalyst to them not being able to repeat, but just.
- [40:51]
C
So well that happens.
- [40:52]
B
It's crazy, but it's pretty great. It's just the writing's on the wall. Steph deserves better. I don't know. I don't think he's going to get better. And I don't think that we're going to see the warriors in the postseason.
- [41:04]
C
The same way that you. So you say he's the modern Dirk. Do you think that he's going to stay with the one franchise for his whole career? You think he's going to.
- [41:11]
B
I think he's going to stay. I think he's going to stay.
- [41:13]
D
He absolutely is. I mean, you know, I had the story with Stuff, you know, a couple weeks ago I went and, and sat down with him for a while to talk about.
- [41:20]
B
We'd be talking to Steph on Real Ones, also a Real Ones guest. Go check out the Real Ones interview with Stuff. Sorry.
- [41:25]
D
The premise of that story was about, you know, what does it mean to go out on your own terms and what do you want for the. The end stages of your career. Realizing that nobody gets to go out on top. No one gets to go out the way that Michael did in 1998.
- [41:38]
B
And.
- [41:38]
D
And of course, he didn't really go out because he came back and then was over wizard, which is still weird. Steph's not going to do that. He is going to be like Durkin, that he's going to. He, he, he values the one franchise thing so much so that he was never, he's never going to force his way. He's never like that. That's not happening. Yes, he could still be a really viable piece before this recent injury. He could go somewhere and, and potentially make a finals run more easily than he could with Golden State. But I don't think the Dirk comparison and the Mavericks comparison is really apt in that dirt. Got to two finals, spread whatever, five years apart, won the one championship. And as soon as he won the one championship, Mark Cuban pulled the plug, made a bad bet, and they never got back again. Steph's been to what, six finals? One four.
- [42:22]
B
I mean, more so the back. I'm not talking about like the totality. I mean, I'm talking about specifically the back end of their careers.
- [42:28]
D
But Dirk had like seven years of that basically post championship. Steph's last championship was just three and a half years ago. It's gonna be 44 and it'll be 4 in June.
- [42:39]
B
But I mean, what about by the end, if he doesn't make the playoffs for like, say, plays three more years? It'd basically be around the same time period. Right.
- [42:45]
D
We don't know how much longer he's going to play and we don't know what else they might do in the meantime. But also, I will just say like, while not every bet has hit, like, it's not like the warriors have been just standing idly by. They went out and got Jimmy Butler, who was, you know, still a top 20 whatever player at the time that they got him. Now he just got hurt a few weeks back. Steph is now hurt. Like, things are looking a little bleak because of the age and injury thing catching up with them, but I don't think they've like, stood bad. They have made some really bad organizational decisions standing by the young guys too long, insisting on. On using all those picks in the first place. Like, there were a lot of mistakes made along the way. There's no question. But I don't think, like, the crimes against Stephen by the warriors brain trust or this are at the level of, of what we've seen with whether it's Dirk or some others where the franchise just never did enough for them. Steph's fine. I'm not. I'm not worried about that. I do think they'll make another playoffs, like, as long as this knee thing is not as serious.
- [43:44]
B
But it's going to be recurring, though. That's. That seems like an injury that's going to be recurring. We'll see. It did recur this season, right? Like, that's. He's been. He's been dealing with that for a while. And like, and it also speaks to the fact that, like, if he's a number one, I think this, this injury is a reminder that of the. Just the years he has left and how old he is, man, like, that's a lot. The style of play that he has and him being a number one doing that. There's going to be these little knickknack injuries and you're. I don't think that we can just guarantee him just stamping into going into the postseason anymore simply off of just his injury. And like the rest of the. This roster was flawed before the trade deadline and it is definitely flawed post trade deadline. So you're going into a season next year where you're not going to have Jimmy Butler for until what, at least January. Who knows what they do with Porzingis, like, what kind of contract they have. But he has this, like, mysterious illness. And these are not just like, that's weird, right? And there's. And then he's always so healthy, right? Exactly. And then, like, you have all these unproven guys that are around these young guys that haven't really proven anything like, that other teams don't want.
- [45:00]
D
And then he just doesn't believe in G. Santos the way we do.
- [45:03]
B
And then, like, your only alternative is trading all of your picks for Giannis, right?
- [45:09]
D
Well, I mean, not the worst option, frankly.
- [45:12]
B
Yeah, but then you won't be able to, you know, you won't be able to build your team or. I don't know, man. I. First of all, I don't think they're going to get Giannis. Right. Like, I think we're all in agree. I think. I don't know how you feel, but I think me and you, I don't know.
- [45:22]
C
I don't know why the Bucks would accept whatever the warriors can offer them that trade package. Seems like. I think the term is dog shit. Like, I don't. I don't know why.
- [45:33]
B
So, okay, they don't get Giannis, right? You mean you expect Steph, with the runner's knee and all of that stuff at his. At his capacity to be the only one without any help to. To lead them back to a postseason next year? I just. I. I don't see it at this present moment.
- [45:47]
C
It would have been good if, like, during this, during the time as Steph was aging, if they could have gotten some young blood in there that could have helped them offensively and sort of bridge the gap between these two, like. Like, between, like an early, sort of a younger timeline and an older timeline, if they could have gotten somebody.
- [46:05]
D
There's more than one. How many timelines are there at this point?
- [46:08]
C
Maybe three.
- [46:09]
B
He was one over there. I just saw another.
- [46:11]
C
Spencer's immortal. We know he's around forever, right? And then here in the middle. What.
- [46:18]
B
Moving on, where we go. This has to be on the record. I saw on Twitter, I don't know who I could. Somebody tweeted it on my timeline that said that Pat Spencer is a Jeremy Lynn of Tech Bros. That's really good. It's fucking great. It's great. It's a great joke. Next player. Donovan Mitchell Logan. Okay. I think he's starting to get into late stage Damian Lillard territory in that he's. He has a couple of more years of being the absolute guy before. And this is a very half baked take, by the way, before. Like, are we going to, like, does he need to team up with somebody to, like, actually get there? Um, this is very half baked because my other side of mind is like, the east is, like, not great right now. Yeah, but. And he absolutely could make a run in this type of east, but then they just traded for James Harden and it's like two guys that haven't really done well, at the highest of heights when they're needed. So I don't know. But I think that, like, he has a couple of more years of being the guy before we start asking questions like, should he go somewhere else to.
- [47:29]
C
Get help and be a number two?
- [47:30]
B
And be a number two. Because I think he's a great prototypical. If he's the second best player on the team to do it, pretty good.
- [47:35]
C
He's been unbelievable this year.
- [47:36]
B
Yeah.
- [47:37]
D
No, I think there's. He has that kind of career arc.
- [47:40]
B
Right.
- [47:41]
D
Where Perennial allstar. Perennial. Either all mb, all NBA or all NBA discussion. Really fun player. Great. Can go out and. And drop 40 on a given night. And. And I think, you know, he's. He has, like, the right mentality and that.
- [47:58]
F
Right.
- [47:58]
E
That.
- [47:58]
D
That aura around him. Right. Like, I have confidence in him, the way he carries himself. I have confidence he's going to get me there even when he doesn't. Right. He has that kind of. And he has had some playoff flameouts, but I think he's. He's been banged up at the wrong time. In Cleveland in particular, the Jazz had no help around him. Like, you're. When your second star is a defensive specialist, Rudy Gobert, and you've got nobody else to. To lead in the building.
- [48:21]
B
So you knew that Rudy Gobert slander was bound to happen.
- [48:24]
E
I mean, Rudy Gobert. As soon as I heard Damian Lillard, my ears perked up. I was like, this is what we're doing. If we got Damian Lillard takes. Please.
- [48:31]
B
Are we disrespecting Damian Lillard?
- [48:33]
E
Are you disrespecting? I don't think you're disrespecting him enough.
- [48:36]
C
Oh, my God.
- [48:38]
B
I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to do that now. We don't have.
- [48:41]
E
We don't got to get into it. We can talk offline.
- [48:44]
C
One of the things I've always sort of found odd about Donovan Mitchell is early in his Jazz tenure, he was a great playoff player and like, really met the moment. And they won some series that people did not have them winning beforehand, largely because he just would take over.
- [49:03]
B
Yeah.
- [49:04]
C
And yeah, there's these. There's been flame outs now, but I think.
- [49:07]
D
I think it's at least as much about the failings of building around him in Utah and Cleveland than it is about him. And also, like Darius Garland being banged up at the wrong time. And like, they're like, Cleveland just like, it's just a big injury mess for the last two years.
- [49:20]
B
I think it also Just speaks on what type of talent, luck and, you know, front office work that is required to win titles. Right. Like, they're only. You could count on two hands how many players that were just sheer because they walk in the door, they're a title, you're a title contender. And so it's not a knock on Donovan Mitchell by any means that he's not one of those 10 players of all time. I just think that, you know, it, it's, it's. It might be his turn coming up soon. True. If he's going to get. Want to get what he wants, he's probably going to have to team up with someone else. That's the take. Not that bad. I didn't think that was. I was kind of scared of that take. I was like, oh, it's actually pretty good. Next. Next player. Oh, goodness.
- [50:05]
C
Shangoon has the long stretched torso and short, thick legs of a polar bear. I think when I, When I watch Shingoon, I feel. Especially when his. Because he, because he's a guy that wears longer shorts, they go down. They go down to the knees. And yeah, there's just something very arctic about him to me. But yeah, I mean, he's.
- [50:31]
B
Would you like to see him just like slide on some ice into a pool of freezing cold?
- [50:35]
C
Sometimes he's. Sometimes he slides on the floor belly first and looks up at the ref. I mean, he's a player, He's a player who's prone to that. But they, I mean, obviously, like a great player.
- [50:44]
B
He gets great shoulders in that picture too, by the way. But like, more like wilt shoulders. No, no, not wilt shoulders like Bill Walton shoulders. Where they just kind of like, just go up.
- [50:52]
C
Yeah, kind of skit. Yeah, a little. Like they've got little.
- [50:55]
B
They could stab you in the eye.
- [50:56]
C
Right.
- [50:56]
E
Yeah.
- [50:58]
C
No, I mean, I like Shingoon.
- [51:01]
B
He.
- [51:03]
C
Some people have said that he is, you know, showing a little bit more defensively. I don't necessarily disagree, but I do think that the people that are saying that can often overstate it. I think his. I think his coaches said as much. Eme's had some problems with his defense this year. He's been vocal about that. That's the one. That's my only real knock on him. I think he does. I think he is a bit of a whiner, unfortunately. I think he's got a little Luca in him in that way. But as a, as offensive engines go and like when he, when he gets on a hot streak, it's. He's difficult to slow Down.
- [51:42]
B
I think he is the ultimate pickup player. Like if I'm just running, if I'm wearing fours at the Berkeley, y', know, I just, I need a Shangoon on my team. Right. Like I just need somebody that's going to hit a drop step, that's going to, you know, who was kind of like this. I mean, you know, it didn't, he didn't really age well as a person but remember in his Cantor like where he would just get weird just like.
- [52:03]
C
I think it's fair to say he did not age well as a person.
- [52:05]
B
Definitely did not age well. I agree with you but, but just I'm talking about specifically the game.
- [52:08]
C
Yeah, I know. I, I, you know where he would.
- [52:10]
B
Just like kind of like, just like oh, I like that. Oh he got into that way. I think, I think he's, I think Shangun is smoother though. A lot smoother.
- [52:18]
C
I mean I think Shangoon's, you know, so much better than Cantor. I think, I think there's. Canter had some nice stuff, some nice low post moves around the basket and stuff like that. Shingoon's, you know, eons better than him as a passer, as a rebounder.
- [52:37]
B
There was a game as a dribbler. There was a game against the Lakers when remember the Rockets were just vibes for that, that like season and a half where he played against the Lakers and like he got Braun on a switch and he just destroyed Braun on the switch with an and one and even Brown was like tip of the gap.
- [52:51]
C
He's strong man. But yeah, that's my, my main take was that I, he does for some reason anytime I watch him I start thinking about polar bears.
- [53:00]
B
Okay, fair, you know. Next. Here we go. SGA Howard, he kind of, he kind of quarterbacked this. I mean not quarterback kind of said your take already.
- [53:14]
D
There was a little bit of a preview of this in a previous take. I feel like I might need to shove my chair just a little bit further back from our resident Oklahoma City guy here.
- [53:23]
B
I'll be okay.
- [53:24]
C
Are they getting this?
- [53:25]
D
I'm just gonna readjust a little bit. I may the helmet is, is at the ready here. If I need the, the Knight's helmet.
- [53:33]
C
Don't be afraid. I'm a sweetheart.
- [53:35]
D
Shay's awesome. I voted for him for MVP as the vast majority of us did last last year. No disrespect to him at all. And in fact I think he's another guy who I often think like people are weirdly negative about him. Like the detractors are a little bit over the top. I once made the mistake of clicking on one Instagram video, one reel. That was like, you know, foul merchant type bullshit.
- [53:56]
B
Whatever.
- [53:57]
D
For the next 24 hours, all I got. And they were all different accounts. There are like an infinite number of like Shea slander accounts. And if you just click one of them, the algorithm just shoves you. Nothing but Shade.
- [54:08]
B
You know what that is? That's just the algorithm.
- [54:10]
C
It's a cottage. It's a cottage injury of losers, Howard. That's what it is.
- [54:14]
B
Yeah. You know my favorite Shade joke though? Shout out Miles Brown on Twitter M. Brown. He called him Essence Harden.
- [54:22]
C
That was a great.
- [54:22]
B
That was a great one, that. Sorry.
- [54:24]
C
That was a great joke. I have no notes for that joke. I can't. There's nothing you can do about it. Somet sometimes you got to just take the losses, you know, I'm not anti Shay at all.
- [54:32]
D
I want to be make very, very clear. He is a mystery box. As a superstar. He is the least knowable superstar of his era of the NBA.
- [54:42]
B
Which kind. Interesting because we don't know anything about.
- [54:45]
C
I kind of love that.
- [54:46]
B
I like it too.
- [54:47]
C
If you want to start that rumor, that'd be great.
- [54:49]
D
And as a result of this, he is, to play off of my earlier Wemby take, he is the least likely to be the face of the NBA. Not because he's Canadian, not because he's playing in Oklahoma City. Because he doesn't want it. Really.
- [55:01]
C
And what I say, I don't think he cares about it at all.
- [55:04]
D
He doesn't. So again, I have all these boxes I think you have to check to be like the. The this mythologic, this, you know, the mythological title we've bestowed. Right of face. You have to be dominant. He's dominant. Fun to watch is an important part of this. And that's a mixed bag because. Right. There's a lot of people, we love to watch him. There's an artistry to his game, but then there's all these other people who hate the foul drawing.
- [55:25]
C
Right.
- [55:26]
D
So he's polarizing that regard. Charismatic, like in a certain way. Like he's. He's great in commercials, but he doesn't really give much of himself.
- [55:36]
B
Yeah.
- [55:37]
D
And he is, he's very limited. He's very limited with the media by design. And so we, we really don't know him at all. Like, you can make fun of like Wemby and chess and, you know, Tibetan monks and everything else, but the fact is like, we do at least know A little bit about his thought process and his personality and his, his, his intellectual exploration.
- [55:58]
B
Sure.
- [55:59]
D
What do we know about Shea at all?
- [56:01]
B
I think he is the most modern superstar that we have to be honest. Right. He is the Pinterest allstar. The kids love him.
- [56:10]
C
The Pinterest All Star. That is that modern. Pinterest is Pinterest.
- [56:13]
B
No, the kids are on Pinterest.
- [56:14]
C
Are the kids on Pinterest? I don't know.
- [56:15]
B
I mean, you don't have, you don't have a book. Definitely not a book. You're not on Pinterest. Maybe that's the top. Excuse me. But anyway, I think, I do think he is the. I think he's the most modern star in that regard because he is the most Gen Z superstar that they don't. Gen Z don't care about. Like, if you say. You just have to say one sound bite and it'll just go everywhere on reels. It'll go on anything. Right. I, I think we are missing the plot here. It's. I think that Shay is, for a certain generation, is the guy. Right. And for the reasons why we just. All the things that maybe, you know, turn the, the older generation off about him is what, like, the kids love about him. Right. It's just like the aura, the, the, the, the, the mink at All Star Weekend. Right. Like, and I do think, like, I've.
- [57:09]
D
I've interviewed, he's the first guy to wear a mink.
- [57:11]
B
Yeah. Shout Out Magic and Shout Out Clyde. But I think that, like, from a style perspective and from an auras perspective, I think that, like, he is the guy and I think that, you know, he's interesting because he does have that barrier. I think the Frank Ocean comparison is apt in this regard. You don't hear shit from Frank. Yeah. But every time I go on some sort of social media, it's like, oh, Frank Ocean moved. Oh, they put out an album in 10 years.
- [57:41]
C
Sure.
- [57:41]
B
Right.
- [57:42]
C
Has it been that long?
- [57:43]
B
Has been that long. Nine Years Blonde.
- [57:49]
D
I'm just saying to bring it back to Shay, it's fine. Like, it's, it's his choice to decide how to design his career and his public profile and everything else. And it also is not necessarily unique. Right. Because who are the other guys who are constantly at the top of the MVP discussion who we know almost nothing about Jokic and Luka, not exactly the most giving of themselves either publicly, but we do know, like, YIC has shown a lot more of his personality, I think, over the years. We know a all about his Horses, Luca. Very clipped. Like, there's, like. I can't remember the last interesting thing Luca said, and I still think.
- [58:22]
B
Is SGA more interesting than Luca?
- [58:25]
C
I mean, to me, yes, but I. I can't be trusted. I mean, I. But, like, established that, you know. Yeah, I'm. I.
- [58:30]
B
The.
- [58:31]
F
I.
- [58:31]
C
The. I don't think sga, like, cares to be understood by anybody, but, like, the people that are immediately around him. I think that his life is ball, clothes, family. Not in that order. I think it's, you know, family, ball clothes. But, like, it. It. I. I don't think that he has any interest in, like, trying to let people in or anything like that. And, you know, it. It. I think, like, I'm cool with that because that's him. I don't think he's being anything other than himself. You know what I mean? So it's like, it's.
- [59:12]
D
This is an observation, not a critique.
- [59:13]
C
No, I hear you. I'm with you. I didn't take it. I didn't think. It didn't sound like.
- [59:16]
D
So I can leave the Knights helmet on the floor? Yeah.
- [59:18]
C
Oh, you'll be okay.
- [59:19]
B
All right, next player. Oh, that is it, ladies and gentlemen. Okay. All right. So, you know, it's the time of the show that we're really all waiting for. We get to announce the take champion for 2026 for the first ever take a thon. Okay. Jeremy, what's going on, buddy? How we've been feeling?
- [59:40]
E
So, you know, I put everything through the computer. We're doing it old school.
- [59:44]
B
Bc, is there an algorithm?
- [59:45]
E
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Not AI. Not AI, guys, we're anti AI over here, but we did the math. And Tyler, you had the most quantity of hilarious takes, right? Ant needs more gear, Chet. Slim Shady, right? Polar Bear, Shangoon, and my personal favorite, Wemby just kind of sucks, which he's also French. I think we're not discussing that enough.
- [60:11]
B
In his, like, discussing that he's French enough. Every press conference, they cut the English. Last night, the spurs cut off key questions in English. They said no more. They said at the end of his press conference, towards the end, they said no more English. When we're running out of time, let's talk to the French people. Let's talk to the French. I think we know that he's French.
- [60:30]
E
It's a lot of that. I think that plays a part in how he's viewed Logan. I loved the Steph. Won't win another chip. That means.
- [60:37]
B
I know you did.
- [60:37]
E
That means a lot to me. You did bring the facts, which I appreciate, but I got to give it to hpz.
- [60:44]
B
Wow.
- [60:44]
E
I gotta give it to Howard. Jokic needs more chips, and here's why. Because you could make the argument that the NBA has never been as deep as it is right now.
- [60:54]
B
Right?
- [60:54]
E
There's a lot of talent spread across the entire league, and it's hard to win. We have had a repeat champion since those warriors in the mid 2010s. But if you got three MVPs, if you. That guy that everybody's talking about, you gotta have more than one.
- [61:11]
B
If you're.
- [61:11]
E
If you're. If you're Jokic, and we putting you in conversations with Hakeem and Shaq and Kareem, all these great centers.
- [61:20]
B
Wait. Jomi's of rings culture. Wow. That's crazy. Okay, all right.
- [61:24]
E
I'm just saying. I'm just. It's different. It'd be another thing. Like, we don't have these conversations about Giannis, right? He's got two MVPs and a defensive player of the year. Know what I mean? When you reach that upper echelon, we're talking like top, you know, 20, top 15, maybe even top 10. You can't just sit there and only have one ring on your finger. That's not really how it goes. So ultimately, Howard, you had the best take.
- [61:47]
B
Thank you.
- [61:48]
C
Congrats.
- [61:48]
D
Appreciate it.
- [61:49]
B
Congrats. No problem. Congrats.
- [61:50]
D
One of the great honors of my career.
- [61:51]
B
Okay. Thank you very much. Let's get him a certificate and he'll put it on his wall or something.
- [61:57]
E
If you guys are subscribed to the Patreon, you can listen to my dame take.
- [62:00]
B
We don't.
- [62:00]
E
We don't do that over here.
- [62:01]
B
That's. That's behind the paywall. All right, all right. All right, man. This was fun, man. Our first ever take a thon. See you guys next, huh?
- [62:09]
C
Yeah.
- [62:09]
B
All right, man. That has been another edition of Real Ones. We will see you guys next week. I believe we got some More content from us3. I am Logan Murdoch. That is Howard Beck. That's Tyler Parker. Honorary. Ah, all the shits. Bye.
- [62:30]
E
Damage. Just Trey Young with better pr.
- [62:32]
B
Hey, calm the down. Wait, wait, wait. No, wait, wait.
- [62:36]
C
You, you, you.
- [62:37]
E
I believe that. I believe that with everybody.
- [62:39]
C
You scaredy cat. You say that when the cameras go off.
- [62:41]
B
We still recording, right?
- [62:42]
C
We still going soft? Shit.
- [62:43]
B
We're still rolling.
- [62:44]
E
I'll say it right now.
- [62:45]
C
Soft shit.
- [62:46]
B
Hey, you know what we need to do? Hey, first of all, fuck off. You were on the no fly list of the Bay. No more VA trips for you, buddy.
- [62:52]
E
I don't care, brother.
- [62:53]
B
No more vape trips for you.
- [62:54]
E
And second, I'm tired of the lion. I'm tired of the lion, man.
- [62:57]
B
And second, hey, put some credits at the end of this and add that fucking take. Add that take.
- [63:02]
E
We spent all this time being like, oh, no, we feel sorry for dam.
- [63:06]
B
His fault. It's his fault. You out of pocket, bro.
- [63:09]
E
The Achilles. We can't control the Achilles. That's that. You know what I'm saying?
- [63:11]
B
That's you're out of pocket.
- [63:14]
E
Legitimately embarrassing career.
- [63:16]
D
Bye.
- [63:16]
B
Click it.
- [63:17]
E
We'll talk about it. I'm serious, brother. If you swapped him as Steph, Steph might have one or two in Portland. You the only re. Only way he'd Win1 if KDK. That's it. That's it.
- [63:29]
B
One of the worst stars we've ever seen, Sam.