The Ringer NBA Show | Group Chat

Episode: Wemby Saves the All-Star Game. Plus, Tanking Reform Gets Serious.

Date: February 16, 2026
Panel: Justin Verrier, Rob Mahoney, J. Kyle Mann

Overview

This episode dives into the 2026 NBA All-Star Game’s revival, largely credited to Victor Wembanyama’s intensity, and explores league-wide implications—on competitiveness, All-Star Weekend festivities, and the tanking conversation following Adam Silver’s press conference. The hosts debate potential reforms and the league’s direction with familiar candor and humor.

All-Star Game 2026: Wemby Ignites Competitiveness

Wemby’s Transformative Impact

• Victor Wembanyama’s Approach:

  • Entered the game with rare intensity and seriousness, sparking greater effort.
    • "If there's one person who could do that, I think it's Victor Wembanyama... Wimby was the single handed catalyst that made this interesting." – Kyle Mann [02:00]
  • Wemby’s desire to win rippled to other stars, making the game compelling.
    • "Wemby giving a shit trickled down to the point where Ant said outright, yeah, Wemby got going, and I really wanted to go at him as a result of that." – Justin Verrier [04:06]

• Chain Reaction Among Stars:

  • Anthony Edwards followed Wemby’s lead, raising the game’s intensity.
    • "His great achievement in this game... is really getting Anthony Edwards going. And once Anthony Edwards got going, everyone kind of got going." – Rob Mahoney [03:35]
  • The format and environment allowed other stars, like Kawhi, to shine with similar tenacity.

• Game Format Praised:

  • The round-robin, three-team format led to closer, more competitive mini-games.
    • "This format, I think was an unqualified success for the league. It made it so much more watchable." – Rob Mahoney [12:45]
  • Players were “trying to play for the win” within shorter, high-stakes bursts ([13:31] Justin Verrier).

Personality & “Face of the League” Conversation

• Wemby’s ambition and openness in wanting to be the league’s face stood out.
  • "He isn't backing down from those conversations. He's been very forthright, basically being like, yeah, I want to be a guy. And you don't usually hear that." – Justin Verrier [08:18]
• The panel mused on generational differences in NBA stars’ attitudes.
  • "The very try hard strivey part of Victor Webb and Yama is something that I think appeals to a lot of people in our age demographic." – Rob Mahoney [09:16]

Memorable Moments & Quotes

• Social media clip: Ant and Wemby in the tunnel—the contrast in attitude possibly sparked the competitive edge ([06:26] Kyle Mann).
• Kawhi Leonard’s all-time All-Star performance:
  • "He beat [his previous point total] in one 12 minute session of this game. Absolutely insane…hunting threes, hunting guys down…" – Rob Mahoney [17:30]
• Lighthearted roasts regarding Reggie Miller's mispronunciation and TV fashion [11:14–11:51].

All-Star Saturday: Highs, Lows, and T-Shirt Catapults

• On-Site Anecdotes:

  • Justin survives a near-miss from a t-shirt catapult at the Intuit Dome (hijinks at [21:12–23:52]).
  • "I'm under fire.", Justin Verrier on the “assault.”

• Lackluster Festivities:

  • All-Star Saturday lacked “juice,” with a flat dunk contest and awkward shooting competitions.
    • "It was boring. That's got to go. I do wonder if the real fix for All Star Weekend is just to either diminish this...or just get rid of it altogether." – Justin Verrier [25:58]

• Dunk Contest Woes:

  • Event suffers from lack of high-profile participants; winner Keyshad Johnson is little-known to casual fans.
  • Calls for creative solutions (e.g., team dunks, routines) or scrapping the event entirely.
    • "Maybe this is ice dancing on my brain. I want partner routines. You pick two dunkers, you pick choreographed music, and you have a whole routine." – Rob Mahoney [29:35]

Tanking & Adam Silver’s Press Conference

Tanking at the Forefront

• Silver made vague promises about addressing tanking, but skepticism is high.
  • "Most Adam Silver press conferences...have the same sort of like mealy mouth affect...I'm just like waiting for the movement and I'm waiting for the ideas." – Rob Mahoney [42:03]
• The Jazz’s blatant tanking is the season’s flashpoint; hosts debate fairness of scapegoating Utah ([45:06] onwards).

Reform Proposals: Abolish the Draft?

• Rob’s Proposal:
  • Abolish the NBA Draft, create rookie free agency with incentives for bad teams (bigger salary exceptions).
    • "If a team can't appeal to a player, why they should sign there, that player shouldn't sign there. And so the idea that we're just kind of designating based on draft orders that you go there now does not really make sense to me." – Rob Mahoney [55:58]
  • Argues this would end tanking and incentivize teams to improve their appeal.
• Panel Skepticism:
  • Kyle and Justin fear it would irreparably hurt small markets.
    • "It would turn some of these teams into wilderness...It will." – Kyle Mann [54:39]
    • "For me, this just feels a little too unwieldy. And it does, I think, nuke potentially a couple teams off the board." – Justin Verrier [59:05]
  • Concerns around NIL-like situations, black markets, and big markets hoarding talent.
• Larger debate about competitive balance, the purpose of local markets, and whether the league is evolving past the need for every city to contend.

League Marketing & Experiential Concerns

Arena Experience vs. Modernization

• Panel debates arena amenities, AI-driven/CVR experiences vs. analog communal events.
  • "I almost wonder if the future of the inner arena experience is actually being less technologically advanced, not more forward thinking." – Justin Verrier [39:19]
  • "Anything you do that says get out your phone...is taking away and not adding to the experience of being in the arena." – Rob Mahoney [39:29]

Broadcasting & Customization

• Opportunities and dangers in AI-personalized broadcasts.
  • "The NBA would never sign off on [full-access audio], because...the language would just never...It would never happen." – Kyle Mann [36:20]
  • Panel skeptical that ultra-customized streams will catch on or serve the sport’s communal value.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Banter

• "This was wimby's Henry Muck app presentation where, you know, he says sincerities and in short supply." – Kyle Mann [10:31]
• On being the face of the league:
  • "You have to be competitive enough to kind of be an asshole about it sometimes..." – Rob Mahoney [09:41]
• On All-Star Saturday disasters:
  • "If there's anybody...that would. That it's the funniest to see them get shot by a T shirt cannon. And Justin, I'm sorry, it's probably you." – Kyle Mann [21:46]
• On the future of All-Star Saturday:
  • "It was just a lot of blah dunks, which we're used to at this point..." – Rob Mahoney [26:59]
• On tanking in the Jazz:
  • "Just take the Will Wade approach. That was my whole thing. Don't try to. We know what happened." – Kyle Mann [46:04]
• Wemby’s place in the league:
  • "That's the headline. This is not. Not Wemby's league right now." – Justin Verrier [20:59]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:28] – All-Star Game kicks off; initial impressions
• [02:00–05:22] – Wemby’s role in revitalizing the game; ripple effect on other stars
• [06:26–10:31] – The “Wemby vs. Ant” moment; generational attitudes; “face of the league” debate
• [12:45–15:08] – Praising new All-Star Game format; increased competitiveness
• [17:25–18:16] – Kawhi's remarkable All-Star showing
• [21:12–23:52] – All-Star Saturday: Justin’s t-shirt catapult ordeal
• [25:19–29:08] – All-Star Weekend’s contest critiques; ideas for rescuing the dunk contest
• [41:26–45:24] – Adam Silver’s press conference and the tanking problem
• [47:28–59:34] – In-depth debate: abolishing the draft, rookie free agency, small market viability

Tone & Closing Thoughts

In classic Group Chat fashion, the hosts blend sharp, self-aware NBA analysis with friendly trashtalk, pop culture references, and meta-commentary about their own fandom. The prevailing mood: hopeful about the All-Star Game’s rediscovered spark; skeptical and feisty about big reforms, and always ready to poke fun at each other and the league.

For listeners:
If you’re tracking All-Star Game changes, Wemby’s rise, or tanking reform, this episode provides lively, substantive debate—with plenty of one-liners and NBA inside-baseball.

Next up:
Look out for more Group Chat later this week (new schedule: Thursday), with updates on league reform and midseason storylines.