← The Stephen A. Smith Show
The Stephen A. Smith Show
Full Show: Stephen A. discusses public sympathy for CEO Killer. Jay Z's Civil Lawsuit battle.
01:14:19
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- [00:00]
Greg Rosenthal
What's up, everyone? It's Greg Rosenthal, and I'm teaming up with the king of spring, Daniel Jeremiah. He requires me to say that we're going to be bringing you 40s and free agents, the only podcast you'll need this NFL draft season. From DJs mock drafts to my top 101, free agents will have it covered for you with all new episodes every Thursday keeping you up to date as we head to the NFL Draft. Listen to 40s and free agents starting on March 6th on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [00:31]
Julie Swerbinks
What's up, everyone? Julie Swerbinks here along with former NHL player Nate Thompson. We're doing a new podcast together. Here we go. The name Energy Line with Nate and jsb. Each week we'll get together and talk about hockey life. All topics are fair game, right? Exactly. And you'll never know who will drop by to join us. Julia's pretty well connected. She has text threads going that you wouldn't believe. Listen to Energy Line with Nate and jsb on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We got the number one high school player in the nation about to come into the house. I got a colleague of mine that I think has lost his damn mind. But all of that pales in comparison or at least comes in the aftermath of what I got to say about the one and only Jay Z with the allegations that have been thrown in his direction. Stephen A. Smith show in the house. Let's roll. What's up, everybody? Welcome to the latest edition of the Stephen A. Smith show, coming at you over the digital airwaves of YouTube and of course, iHeartRadio. This is a live, a fresh show. Today I was out of the country since last week. I was in Dubai and Abu Dhabi on business and personal reasons. I enjoyed myself thoroughly. I am back in the States, however, and ready to go. I wanted to thank, as always, my subscribers and followers. We've now eclipsed over 957,000 subscribers, rapidly approaching 1 million. Of course, we've had millions of downloads over there over iheartradio. Can't thank y'all for the love and support. Enough. Keep it coming. And I'm gonna keep on coming to continue to like and follow the show. Just click the bell and YouTube will be notified for all of our new content of the Stephen A. Smith Show. And obviously, you'll be the newest member of the family. And while you're doing so, especially around Christmas time, make sure to pick up a beautiful, beautiful holiday gift. It would happen to be my best selling book, Straight Shooter, a memoir of second Chances and First Takes, a New York Times bestseller. By the way, that is the creme de la creme of being an author. It's now in paperback. Just go to straight shooterbook.com to get yourself a copy. Once again, straight sho the book.com to get yourself a copy. I am told it is inspirational and motivational. It is not a sports book. It is a book about my life and some of the intricate details that have accompanied it. So I hope you enjoy it and look forward to hearing what you have to say about it. Gotta take a moment to get started. I told you before AJ debonza, number one high school basketball player in the nation, showed up on ESPN's First Take this morning and announced where he's attending college. He's expected to be one and done and ultimately a top pick in the NBA draft for the year 2026. Was expected to be one of the elite college basketball players next season as well. So we're looking forward to having him and his father in in studio here in attendance of course. I'll get into Mike Wilbon, my colleague at ESPN, courtesy of pardon the interruption, number one show on ESPN for over the last 20 years. He showed up on NBA today and talked about LeBron James and what would be an ideal landing spot for him, which I found to be sacrilegious, so I'll touch on that as well. But that ultimately has to come after I get into this subject right here. Gotta get started in the world of music and entertainment where a new lawsuit this week alleges Jay Z and Sean Diddy combs raped a 13 year old girl more than 20 years ago after an award show after party. The suit was filed in New York Southern District. That's the same jurisdiction currently holding Sean Combs in a federal jail on sex trafficking and racketeering charges until his trial this upcoming spring. As for Jay Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, he's denied the allegations, calling them idiotic to say the least. He went on to say the plaintiff's attorney named Tony Busby tried to blackmail him in a demand letter sent before the suit was actually filed. Busby appeared on this show in October, if y'all would recall, and told us about a number of alleged victims that approached his office. Take a listen to Mr. Busby back then. Are these alleged co conspirators on Are they public figures? Are they well known people in Hollywood in the music industry? Are they people who worked for P. Diddy Combs. Could you be specific in that regard?
- [05:04]
Stephen A. Smith
I would say yes to all. All the above. Yeah. People.
- [05:09]
Julie Swerbinks
Yes to all of the above.
- [05:11]
Stephen A. Smith
All the above. People that names that you would know. Some people's names you wouldn't know, but are people that are in management or executive positions, people that were benefiting from this culture that was created, people that were there knowing that this was going to happen, people that actually participated.
- [05:27]
Julie Swerbinks
Now, here's a portion of Jay Z's statement issued in the aftermath of news of the suit breaking on Sunday. Quote, these allegations are so heinous in nature that I employ you to file a criminal complaint, not a civil one. Whomever would commit such a crime against a minor should be locked away. Would you not agree these alleged victims would deserve real justice if that were the case? End quote. In addition to the statement, Jay Z didn't stop there on Monday. Yesterday, his legal team asked the judge to deny a request for the plaintiff to remain anonymous. Jay Z's lawyer argued that the accuser's decision to file a lawsuit against his client under the name Jane Doe was, quote, inconsistent with a genuine effort to determine the truth or falsity of these allegations as opposed to an effort to procure the a quick settlement. His attorneys want a dismissal of the suit or disclosure of the plaintiff's identity. Basically, that's it. Ladies and gentlemen, let me say this. A couple of things. I don't know Sean Diddy Combs. I've met him on a few occasions. I've spoken to him on a few occasions. I don't know whatever truth or falsehood is associated with his name. I haven't cast any guilt or innocence upon Sean Diddy. I simply reported it had. Ryan Smith, legal analyst on one minute. Eli Honink, CNN Analyst on another Ellie, I'm sorry. Ellie Honink, a CNN analyst on another occasion, dissecting and analyzing the case against Sean Diddy. The reason why I broached that was because his homes were raided in both Los Angeles and Miami by Homeland Security. News had been percolated and it was clearly evident that an indictment would be forthcoming and that clearly they were going to go after Sean Diddy. Combs, that is the United States government. Mr. Busby is not that he is a lawyer. I am not going to sit here and dismiss or excoriate Mr. Busby or his client, who's anonymous at this particular moment in time, and the allegations that she has leveled against Jay Z. Here's what I will say. I'm broaching this story right now, because we're talking about a friend of mine who is Jay Z. Somebody that I've known now for 25 years. And I'm gonna state for the record, not calling anybody any names, not challenging Mr. Busby or the accuser, whomever. I'm telling you, I've known this man for 25 years. And I'm saying for me, Stephen A. Smith, there is no way in hell I believe this about him. The Jay Z that I know is the Jay Z that I've seen around teenagers. And he doesn't even want us playing the kind of music we kind of listen to in hip hop. He made us turn it off. That dude who was in concert in 2004, performing alongside R. Kelly, who he grew to dislike a lot, particularly because of the allegations that were leveled against him, who found things like that despicable and abhorrent. Anybody that's been around Jay Z and knows him has seen him come to the defense of the most helpless amongst us, which are the children. I can't believe for one second that he would ever be associated with an allegation like this. And I felt it was important to bring that up because you've got people out there. Stephen A. You had something to say about Diddy. Why aren't you going to have something to say about Jay Z? Well, I don't know Diddy. I don't know Diddy. I've met him a few times. Talked to him a few times. Absolutely. But I've known jay Z for 25 years. I don't believe it. Now, that's as far as I can go. Because again, if you can't provide eyewitness evidence to refute the allegations that have been levied against anyone, it's irresponsible to go over the airwaves and go any further than that. It is not irresponsible to point out who a friend of mine is, somebody that I've come to know and love and don't believe for one second would be capable of such a thing. That's not irresponsible. That's love right there. Because of what you know about a person based on your personal interactions with them along with the people that have been around them, I don't believe it. And I tell you what also made me comfortable enough to come on the camera and say this to all of y'all. That quote that Jay Z gave, put it up there again, because I want the audience to see it again. I want to read the quote to you, okay? These allegations are so heinous in nature that I implore you to file a criminal complaint, not a civil one. Bam. What he's saying is, let's go. Let's go to court. Who is she? I got children at home. Beyonce's my wife. You think I'm gonna let you talk about me like that when I got to explain to my children your dad is not a rapist? You think that's a conversation that I want? You think I'm gonna let that slide? That's what Jay Z is saying. I have not spoken to him since this is. Since these allegations have come down again. I was in Dubai, in Abu Dhabi. Not that the phones don't work there. I just haven't spoken to him about it. But I'm telling you what my personal belief is. Rape. First of all, I wouldn't believe that. Secondly, a 13 year old. No. And I understand that everybody in this day and age got to be careful about where you go and what I got that I understand it. We weren't eyewitnesses. We can't castigate the accuser. We can look at the lawyer as an ambulance chaser because he's pursuing a civil suit which involves money as opposed to a conviction that'll send you to jail. I get that. But I'll be damned if you could be friends with somebody for over 20 years with a platform like I have and various others have and not at least acknowledge the person that you know and the person that you've been around and the person that you've spoken to that you've come to love. You don't believe is capable of something like that. I don't think that's a crime. It's not a crime to say that now. Again, we'll find out more and the story probably won't go away. But the number one reason I felt comfortable enough to come out and say what I said is because of that quote. Put it up there one last time. These allegations are so heinous in nature that I implore you to file a criminal complaint, not a civil one. Whomever would commit such a crime against a minor should be locked away. Would you not agree these alleged victims would deserve real justice if that was the case? And then after that, the brother is pursuing her identity. Let's go. It happened more than 20 years ago. Allegedly. You weren't an adult then. You're clearly an adult now. If it happened over 20 years ago, that would leave you in your 30s. I don't know. I'm saying to you again, the allegation is about what happened to a child. But that child, once upon a time, allegedly has now come forward as an adult. I'm going to go right or left, whatever way you want to take it, by getting a little bit political here. When you think about the election that has transpired and some of the things that have transpired in our society, when we talked about woke culture, it wasn't just about transgender or other issues involving whether it's the LGBTQ community or whomever. It was also about America being a society that once upon a time presumed you innocent until proven guilty and how that has now changed. Careers and livelihoods have been compromised over sheer accusations. And so you're going to have people who are salacious enough to point the finger at Jay Z, and then you're going to have others that will go in the opposite direction. But be clear, this ain't P. Diddy. Homeland Security didn't raid Jay Z's home. He wasn't charged with multiple felony accounts that can land him in jail for the rest of his natural life. He has been accused by a plaintiff who's hired a lawyer in pursuit of civil retribution 20 years after the fact. That's not P. Diddy. This is different. And all I'm going to say is, I don't know what happened. I wasn't there. None of you were there, or whatever. But if people can look at this and say, hey, I think he's guilty, then we also have the freedom for some of us to look at him and say, you got to prove that to me. Because I can't imagine he would be guilty of such a thing. And that's where I'm coming from. Period. Now let's get to a story that drew national headlines this week right here in New York City. The shooting death of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Thompson was gunned down early last week morning or early last Wednesday morning in broad daylight outside a Manhattan hotel as he was headed to a conference. The suspect, and I keep forgetting how to pronounce this kid's name. 26 year old Luigi Mangione. I believe that's what his name is. Luigi Mangione was arrested yesterday morning at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after a nationwide manhunt. He was later charged with Thompson's murder after investigators found a gun, a fake ID and letters that authorities are calling a manifesto against the United States health care system. Now, as news spread of Mangione's arrest, thousands of people went to social media and voiced their support for the alleged killer on X For Example, the hashtag freeluigi has gained momentum, with some portraying him as a vigilante challenging perceived injustices in the healthcare system. Some have even hailed him a hero, while others have called for his release. Really? Is that what we doing? So we've regressed so much in our society that we're going to deem it okay for a husband and a father of two kids to be gunned down, shot in the back, murdered in cold blood? That's what we doing. What the hell is wrong with y'all? What does this world come to? You know, when I look at folks on Capitol Hill, I'm disgusted at the lack of compromise. I'm disgusted at how the American public is hoodwinked time and time again. I'm disgusted at how our taxpayer dollars are being used. When I look at our health care system, I feel no different. It's clearly too expensive. It's excessive. And when you see executives getting rich off of it, politicians getting rich off of it, it's absolutely, positively disgusting. But I'll look here in my studio with my nephew here and his son here, and my colleagues and my co, and I will ask you a simple question. Whether it's God, it's Allah, it's Jehovah, it's whomever, whoever your God is. What happened about being concerned about your soul? Now, I'm not sitting here trying to act like I'm the modern day Gandhi or I'm the Pope or something along those lines, but I'd like to think that I have a decent enough core spiritually to be hesitant, if not flat out fearful, of committing cold blooded murder. Because I know that I have a God to answer to when it's time for my soul to be judged. How are we not thinking like that? How are we thinking that it's okay to murder somebody in cold blood? Cause you don't like what's going on with health care? You think Mr. Thompson is the one person guilty? What about all of those other health care executives that didn't get murdered? What about them? They're next. Or better yet, did you decide to leave them free to live their lives without incurring any kind of harm towards them? You killed a man. Was killed. Murdered. And y'all are out there applauding. Social media really is the land of cowards. There's no way y'all would reveal your trifling ass selves and say that publicly. But behind some computer or some phone with no facial recognition or anything else to ID who you are, you could say, what the hell you want cold blooded murder? You're going to justify. Didn't we protest police officers in the streets finding themselves in dicey situations as law enforcement officials sworn to protect and serve. And in some cases, they believe that's exactly what they were doing when they were castigated and vilified across the nation. We didn't feel that way about them. How do you justify murder? Where's your soul? Don't you care about whether or not you'll go to heaven someday? That man was a husband, a father. In Christmas time, his wife will be a widower. His children will be fatherless. Did you think about them? The killer's another matter. He should be thrown under the jail or. I'm an advocate for the death penalty. Consider. Consider the fact that it's cold blooded murder. I ain't got a problem with that. Take them out in special circumstances, I believe. Take them out an eye for an eye. So that's a given. But in the case of you trolls out there on social media, really, that's what we doing. You really think that's okay? You should be ashamed of yourselves. You really should. Coming up, we'll get into some sports headlines, including more props for Caitlin Clark and a proposed final destination for the one and only LeBron James in the NBA. I'll get into those stories, but first, he's a high school phenom we could see in the NBA within the next year or so. I've got the one and only AJ Debanza who just committed to byu, that is Brigham Young University next season. Find out why and more next right here on the Stephen A. Smith Show. Don't go away. Listen up, y'all. I have an important announcement you need to know about here at the Stephen A. Smith Show. We're here to win, and that's why we've partnered with Prizepix, America's number one fantasy app, to help turn all your big time sports knowledge into some big time cash. You see, with prize picks, you choose two, three or even up to six of your favorite players and then choose more or less on their projected stats for the game or contest. You like Josh Allen, Pick him. You like Cooper Cup, Pick him, too. You think Jaylen Brown's going to go off? Then pick all three. It only takes 60 seconds to make your picks, you know, and because it's December, that means it is now pixamous as prize picks. So stay on the lookout this holiday season for free picks, discounts and free lineups all month long, like this week's Patrick Mahomes Free pick that's right. Jump into the prospects board and find a Patrick Mahomes 0.5 passing yards projection for the Chiefs Dec. 15 class against the Cleveland Browns. The free pick is live now and a 0.5 yard projection will be available until kickoff in the Chiefs game on December 15th. And get this sign up with code SAS and Prospects will give you $50 instantly when you play your first $5 Nunno. You don't need to win your lineup to receive the $50 bonus. It's guaranteed. All you have to do is play a $5 lineup on prize picks and you'll get $50 instantly. Prize picks Pick more, pick less. It's really that easy.
- [24:13]
Hunter
I'm Hunter, host of Hunting for Answers on the Black Effect Podcast Network. Join me every weekday as I share bite sized stories of missing and murdered black women and girls in America. There are several ways we can all do better at protecting Black women women. My contribution is shining a light on our missing sisters and amplifying their disregarded stories. Stories like Tameka Anderson. As she drove toward Galvez. She was in contact with several people talking on the phone as she made her way to what should have been a routine transaction. But Tameka never bought the car and she never returned home that day. One Podcast, One Mission. Save Our Girls. Join the search as we explore the chilling cases of missing and murdered black women and girls. Listen to Hunting for Answers every weekday on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [25:16]
Julie Swerbinks
I'm Mark Seal.
- [25:17]
Mark Seal
And I'm Nathan King.
- [25:18]
Julie Swerbinks
This is Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli. The five families did not want us to shoot that picture.
- [25:24]
Mark Seal
Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli is based on my co host Mark's best selling book of the same title and on this show we call upon his years of research to help unpack the story behind the Godfather's birth. From start to finish, this is really.
- [25:36]
Julie Swerbinks
The first interview I've done in bed.
- [25:39]
Mark Seal
We sift through innumerable accounts. 35 pages isn't very much, many of them conflicting.
- [25:45]
Julie Swerbinks
That's nonsense.
- [25:46]
Mark Seal
There were 60 pages and try to get to the truth of what really happened.
- [25:49]
Julie Swerbinks
And they said we're finished. This is over. Not only is not going to work, you got to get rid of those guys. It's a disaster.
- [25:55]
Mark Seal
Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli features new and archival interviews with Francis Ford Coppola, Robert Evans, James Caan, Talia Shire and many others.
- [26:04]
Julie Swerbinks
Yes, that was a real horse's head.
- [26:07]
Mark Seal
Listen and subscribe to Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [26:20]
Julie Swerbinks
Here he is, AJ Debanza with us now, and his father and Nisei.
- [26:23]
Hunter
Thank you both so much for being here with us.
- [26:26]
Julie Swerbinks
Aj Big moment. We so appreciate you.
- [26:29]
Hunter
So where are you headed?
- [26:31]
AJ Debanza
I'll be coming into university.
- [26:37]
Julie Swerbinks
Brigham Young. Byu.
- [26:39]
AJ Debanza
Yeah.
- [26:40]
Julie Swerbinks
Cougars.
- [26:41]
AJ Debanza
Go Cougs.
- [26:43]
Julie Swerbinks
There you have it. The number one high school player in the nation announcing on ESPN's First Take earlier today that he is indeed going to BYU next season. And I am lucky to have him and his dad, Anise dibanza, Senior. And of course, AJ as in junior. Congratulations on your decision. What's going on? Big time. How are you?
- [27:05]
AJ Debanza
Chilling. It's living.
- [27:06]
Julie Swerbinks
I appreciate y'all blessing me with y'all presence for this interview. Just to remind the audience here, why byu?
- [27:14]
AJ Debanza
Like I said on first take, you know, NBA staff all the way down to the dietician, strength coach, analytics guy. And my ultimate goal is to go to the NBA. So why not surround myself a year earlier?
- [27:24]
Julie Swerbinks
I'm gonna call you Pops. Cause you and I had the pleasure of meeting each other a few weeks ago, and it's a pleasure to get to know you and what have you. And obviously you. You're the man that guides this young man, whatever he's. You're a proud daddy here. When he says they've got an NBA squad, in terms of the coaching staff and what have you, who did their homework on that, I'm assuming it's you. And how do you know that BYU has what it takes to counsel and tutor your son and ultimately elevate him to the next level?
- [27:56]
Stephen A. Smith
My wife and I went to Provo back in April. That was during the playoffs. Kevin Young flew from Phoenix, Arizona, to come and say hello to us. He kind of laid out what he wanted to do, so we listened, and then he continued to have conversation with us, introduce us to his staff. Just like AJ Said, everything was NBA. I'm like, okay, pay attention to that. But I continued to do my recruiting, pay attention to Alabama, North Carolina, Kansas, Kansas City at the time. And at the end, that was his decision. I just supported him.
- [28:36]
Julie Swerbinks
Now, when you're a kid, because you still are a kid, you're a young man, but you're a kid. We say that affectionately. You know, when people think about a school that they want to go to, and you saw the four schools there, North Carolina, Alabama, you know, obviously BYU in Kansas, when you. Sometimes you're Looking at other things, you're looking at the environment, you're looking at how much you're going to enjoy the college experience, et cetera, et cetera. I thought I said he gonna go to North Carolina because I was thinking North Carolina, Duke, acc, big time college basketball rivalry, et cetera, et cetera. Talk about how much consideration you really gave those other schools. And what is it that BYU had that the others didn't?
- [29:17]
AJ Debanza
I mean, all my visits were good. All them four visits were amazing visits. Like after every visit I wanted to go to the school. That's how good the visit was. But I mean, I really sat down with my parents and was like, all right, what do we want out of it? And our ultimate goal is the mba. We sat down. Pros and cons of each school. Obviously, BYU has some cons, but their pros just overweighted all the cons. And then that's, you know, ultimately why we chose byu.
- [29:40]
Julie Swerbinks
When you think about college basketball in this day and age, what do you see?
- [29:45]
AJ Debanza
I say competitiveness. I think college games are more competitive than the league regular season. So that's like the biggest takeaway that they're more.
- [29:53]
Julie Swerbinks
College basketball is more competitive during the regular season.
- [29:56]
AJ Debanza
Yeah.
- [29:57]
Julie Swerbinks
Okay, so when we look at college basketball in America right now, and I'll throw this question to both of you, you first. And then, and then, and then, and then pops. When we look at college basketball right now, clearly there's a competitor. The games matter. Nothing's like March Madness. College basketball owns the month of March. Nobody tries to compete with March Madness. And we get that part. But there's still people that look at college basketball in this day and age. They see the G League, they see competition over in Europe, they see all of these different things and they say college basketball isn't what it used to be. Do you feel that way or do you just watch it and find yourself loving it and gravitating to it more and more?
- [30:42]
AJ Debanza
Yeah, I just. I just watch it and just love it. I don't think it's less. I mean, it's still go. It's still college basketball.
- [30:50]
Julie Swerbinks
Right.
- [30:51]
AJ Debanza
Like you said, it's still March Madness. People don't compete with martial madness, so.
- [30:54]
Julie Swerbinks
Right. What about you, Pops?
- [30:55]
Stephen A. Smith
Those kids are hungry. They're trying to get to the next level. They have to compete. You know, even though there's only, what, 450 players in the league, they're hungry. They want to compete. You know, we watch Mark Maves, we go to the games. You know, we really love it he wanted to go to college. He made that clear to his mother.
- [31:15]
Julie Swerbinks
Yeah, he made that clear. And what were the kind of things he would say to you about going to college?
- [31:19]
Stephen A. Smith
I want to go to college, Pierre. Because at the time they were talking about the G League, they were talking about Europe. He told his mama, I'm going to college. One and done. Yep.
- [31:29]
Julie Swerbinks
I gotta get back to you because when I look at college basketball, we've seen superstars like back in The Days with LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and others, Kevin Garnett, to a lesser degree, Jermaine O'Neal, et cetera, people that went straight from high school to the pros. Yeah, obviously the rules changed and mandates got to be 19 years of age, serve one year in college, et cetera, et cetera. Before you move on, when you think about your game and you fantasize about what you're going to do on the next level, tell our audience about your game, the kind of game you think you bring to the table.
- [32:03]
AJ Debanza
Just all around game. I mean passing, scoring, rebounding, defense. Obviously I can improve on a lot, but you know, I think I can bring a lot to the table. If I'm having an off scoring night, I'm a defend. If I'm having an off defensive night, I'm a score stuff like that. Just doing a lot of stuff that, you know, impacts winning.
- [32:20]
Julie Swerbinks
Now you were talking to me about your defensive prowess. What is it that you love about you yourself as a defender?
- [32:26]
AJ Debanza
I mean, I just take pride in defense. I don't like getting scored on a lot, so I mean, I just like locking up other defenders. Like I watch defensive film.
- [32:32]
Julie Swerbinks
Really?
- [32:33]
AJ Debanza
Yeah.
- [32:33]
Julie Swerbinks
Okay. Have you ever found yourself on the basketball court where somebody was getting the better of you offensively that they were scoring too much on you?
- [32:40]
AJ Debanza
Yeah.
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Julie Swerbinks
What was that like?
- [32:42]
AJ Debanza
Good day. Good offensive day. I mean, I'm. I'm guarding the best player on the other team. So I'm going to get scored on. I know I'm going to get scored on, but I mean, I'm just trying to limit field goal percentage, make them take harder shots that I don't want to take. I mean, I'm good against scored on those basketball. Everybody gets scored on.
- [32:57]
Julie Swerbinks
I want to get to you, pops, in this regard. When we see players in this day and age and a lot of times we just see their talent, we don't see their discipline. And the conversations that you and I had, you've talked a lot about your son, the responsibility that he has to be all he can be. What Was it like raising him?
- [33:17]
Stephen A. Smith
It was easy. I'm from Africa.
- [33:20]
Julie Swerbinks
Okay.
- [33:21]
Stephen A. Smith
You know, one way.
- [33:22]
Julie Swerbinks
Okay.
- [33:23]
Stephen A. Smith
Tough love. You know, Olu's gonna be my son. He may be number one in the country. He's number four in my house. Number four?
- [33:32]
Julie Swerbinks
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Who's one, two, and three?
- [33:34]
Stephen A. Smith
I'm the one. My wife is number two.
- [33:38]
Julie Swerbinks
Right.
- [33:39]
Stephen A. Smith
Samara is number three, AJ is number four, and Jasmine is number five.
- [33:43]
Julie Swerbinks
Gotcha.
- [33:44]
Stephen A. Smith
That's Yoda. He does the dishes when he comes home. He clean his house. He does everything he's supposed to do. He's still my son.
- [33:51]
Julie Swerbinks
And that's always been the case. Has there been any? Because America can be tempting. Yeah, America. Sometimes one of the things that we lament is that America, it can influence the young minds and get them to deviate from what they're supposed to do. Have you ever had those challenges with Junior?
- [34:08]
Stephen A. Smith
His mother from Jamaica? They don't mess around.
- [34:13]
Julie Swerbinks
So in other words, got you from Africa, got Mama from Jamaica, and he didn't have any rights, so you. You let him know. Is that true?
- [34:24]
AJ Debanza
I don't cause no problem.
- [34:26]
Julie Swerbinks
Right. And why is that? How come you didn't cause any problems? Give it to us straight.
- [34:32]
AJ Debanza
Yeah, we were just disciplined at home, me and my sisters. So we just know right from wrong.
- [34:36]
Julie Swerbinks
Right. And you know right from wrong. But that doesn't mean you won't try to get away from anything when you're a kid. Kids always try. Their parents stop. You know that's true.
- [34:46]
AJ Debanza
Nah, I kind of did try it. I kind of did try it. And I got basketball taken away for like a month.
- [34:52]
Julie Swerbinks
Really? How old were you?
- [34:54]
AJ Debanza
Like sixth grade.
- [34:55]
Julie Swerbinks
Sixth grade.
- [34:55]
AJ Debanza
I was like sixth grade. Playing on my eighth grade team. I thought I was nice. Nah, a month off.
- [35:01]
Julie Swerbinks
Suspended his choice because you thought you was nice, that you had a nice game?
- [35:06]
AJ Debanza
Nah, I was goofing around in school. Grades wasn't as and Bs month off.
- [35:12]
Julie Swerbinks
So you gave him a month off from basketball. Is that because you knew that's how much he loved it?
- [35:17]
Stephen A. Smith
Yeah.
- [35:18]
Julie Swerbinks
So you took away. Cause we parental guidance here, we want strategies. Right. So in other words, you found the thing that he loved most and you took it away from him for a.
- [35:27]
Stephen A. Smith
Full month that he didn't like before. Ask him. He never loved basketball.
- [35:34]
AJ Debanza
You gotta start somewhere.
- [35:35]
Stephen A. Smith
I had to force his ass.
- [35:38]
Julie Swerbinks
Right?
- [35:38]
Stephen A. Smith
Yeah.
- [35:39]
Julie Swerbinks
So when you think about that now and you think about the culture that exists in the NBA today, because everybody, by all accounts, they say, that's where you're going. You're going to be one and done. They think that you're the, you know, clearly you're the number one player in the nation. Obviously, there's competition out there. You got this cat Peterson that you just went up against. You got the boozer twins, particularly one boozer. Both of them are going to Duke. You've played against them on several occasions as well. People are looking at you and they say it's a given. Health obviously, being, you know, paramount. As long as you're healthy, you're definitely going to be one of the top picks in the 2020 NBA Draft. That's how everybody is looking at you when you think about it from that standpoint. My question to you would be the world that we live in, the NBA, all the distractions that come along with it. How prepared are you for those challenges and why?
- [36:35]
AJ Debanza
I mean, I'm prepared. I mean, as a kid, I was still, you know, challenged with, like, distracts and all that. But I have my mom, my dad just with me just telling me the right things, and I think I can still continue that, like the levels I go up.
- [36:48]
Julie Swerbinks
Do you have two parents that will challenge you? I'm not talking about your game here. I'm talking about your character as you continue to get older and you mature and what have you that'll keep a watchful eye and always remind you of the responsibility that you have to yourself, your family and beyond. Talk about that for a second. And what your parents have meant to you and what you anticipate they will mean to you moving forward.
- [37:12]
AJ Debanza
I mean, just from a young age, just discipline at all levels. Like he said, discipline starts at home. So that's why I say thank you to everybody I go by. That's why, you know, I opened the door like I just got taught from a young age. And even my sisters, you know, didn't learn manners. They just. We just been growing up a different way because Africa, Jamaican, two different cultures. J African, just know the vibes.
- [37:33]
Julie Swerbinks
That's right.
- [37:34]
AJ Debanza
Yeah.
- [37:35]
Julie Swerbinks
Talk about the path that you've taken because obviously him working in Boston, you ultimately moving on to Utah to go to go to school out there. Speak about the movement that you've had to experience and how beneficial that has been for you.
- [37:51]
AJ Debanza
I mean, it was good. I mean, Boston, nothing wrong with Boston, but competition wise, I think I needed a little bit more challenge. So I moved out to California, played with prolific prep national schedule. That's when we really got tested. We lost first round to Chipotle Nationals, then made a decision to go to Utah Play another national schedule. Still getting tested. So, I mean, it was just, you know, testing myself early before I get to college, so it's nothing new.
- [38:14]
Julie Swerbinks
Pops, how does he handle losing?
- [38:16]
Stephen A. Smith
Not good. He doesn't like to lose. But I tell him all the time, fix it. It's that simple.
- [38:22]
Julie Swerbinks
And when you say fix it, what does that mean? Because sometimes it could be the people around you. It might not be you, but you seem like the kind of father that says, nah, I'm not going to go that route because that'll be an excuse. So I'm going to blame you even when it ain't your fault. So you. You will embrace that responsibility. You seem to be that kind of guy always.
- [38:42]
Stephen A. Smith
You know, I tell him all the time, start with you, you got to lead. Say he has nine. Rebound. Why didn't you get 10? I always want more. Yep.
- [38:52]
Julie Swerbinks
Define your definition of a great leader, sir.
- [38:57]
Stephen A. Smith
Lead by example. You know, he's not a type of get in your face type of guy. That's not him. I wish he was sometimes, you know, but lead by example, you know, aj, You're a great defender. You got to rebound. You know, he bird watch all the time. I shouldn't say all the time. Sometime. I met the dream a couple months ago.
- [39:19]
Julie Swerbinks
Hakeem Milaju. Okay.
- [39:21]
Stephen A. Smith
My second favorite place of all time.
- [39:23]
Julie Swerbinks
Mine. Second.
- [39:25]
Stephen A. Smith
Mine.
- [39:25]
Julie Swerbinks
Who's first?
- [39:26]
Stephen A. Smith
M.G.
- [39:27]
AJ Debanza
Okay.
- [39:27]
Julie Swerbinks
Just want to make sure. Okay, go ahead. See the wise man. Listen to the camera. Listen to your dad right there. Keep going, keep going.
- [39:33]
Stephen A. Smith
MJ.
- [39:34]
AJ Debanza
That's right.
- [39:34]
Julie Swerbinks
He's the GOAT. Not LeBron. Michael Jordan.
- [39:37]
Stephen A. Smith
I didn't mention his name. Okay, Michael Jeffrey Jordan. All right, so I met, okay, I met a large one. I mentioned his name. He didn't know who he was. I introduced him to LA Jones. He said, I'm gonna watch him play. Watch him play. One half he went home, came back the next day, looked me up. Where's your son? I said, hold on. Hey, Jay, get over here. He got here. Dream talked to him for 12 minutes. First thing he said, you bird watch too much. Swear to God.
- [40:11]
Julie Swerbinks
And by bird watching, he meant what? Just spectating.
- [40:14]
Stephen A. Smith
He doesn't rebound.
- [40:16]
Julie Swerbinks
Wow.
- [40:16]
Stephen A. Smith
Yeah. He said, you bird watch too much. You're such a good athlete. You great in transition. Grab the rebound and go. No one can stop you.
- [40:31]
Julie Swerbinks
That's what he's here. Hakeem the Dream Olaju. One of the greatest centers. A two time NBA champion. Although he won both years when Michael Jordan retired. I'm just giving facts. I'm Just giving facts. I think Michael Jordan would have beat him, but the point is, is that he won one championship. When Michael Jordan retired the second year, Michael Jordan came back with 17 games left in the regular season, lost in the playoffs to Orlando, and ultimately he beat them as well. My question to you is, when Akeem the Dream Elijah won you, you realized who he was and he was talking to you. What was that like?
- [41:02]
AJ Debanza
I mean, it was just. You always got to take advice from the greats. I mean, they've been there, done that. So whatever he's saying, you better listen and apply.
- [41:09]
Julie Swerbinks
So how has your rebounding improved since that conversation?
- [41:12]
AJ Debanza
11 a game.
- [41:13]
Julie Swerbinks
And what was it before that?
- [41:15]
AJ Debanza
Like five.
- [41:16]
Julie Swerbinks
So you averaged six more rebounds a game after your conversation with the King of the Dream, Olajuwon?
- [41:22]
AJ Debanza
Yeah.
- [41:22]
Julie Swerbinks
Any other players you've been speaking to?
- [41:24]
AJ Debanza
I have a pretty good relationship with Kevin Durant.
- [41:26]
Julie Swerbinks
Okay.
- [41:27]
AJ Debanza
Paul George, Paula Bancara, Jason Tatum, Jaylen Brown. Shout out to these guys. Spoke to LeBron once, CP3. A lot of guys.
- [41:37]
Julie Swerbinks
Right.
- [41:37]
AJ Debanza
Trying to get a connection early.
- [41:38]
Julie Swerbinks
And Kevin Durant is your favorite player?
- [41:40]
AJ Debanza
Yeah.
- [41:40]
Julie Swerbinks
Why?
- [41:41]
AJ Debanza
Certified bucket. Simplicity. Efficient.
- [41:46]
Julie Swerbinks
Okay. Do you think that's somebody your game will be modeled after?
- [41:51]
AJ Debanza
I don't think I model my game after him, but I do take a lot of his things. That's why I shoot the mid range so much.
- [41:57]
Julie Swerbinks
By the way, getting back to that conversation with your dad, you heard what he said about Michael Jordan, right?
- [42:04]
AJ Debanza
Yeah.
- [42:05]
Julie Swerbinks
Is that your belief?
- [42:07]
AJ Debanza
That is my belief.
- [42:08]
Julie Swerbinks
That what? Say it, say it, say it Proud.
- [42:11]
AJ Debanza
Michael Jordan is the best player of all time.
- [42:14]
Julie Swerbinks
And why do you come to that conclusion? Is it because your pop said so?
- [42:18]
AJ Debanza
No.
- [42:19]
Julie Swerbinks
Or what? You watch.
- [42:20]
AJ Debanza
We used to argue, then I watched the Last Dance. Changed my whole mind.
- [42:25]
Julie Swerbinks
Why?
- [42:26]
AJ Debanza
If you watch the last dance, you know why? Like, he's just crazy. Like, I never. I wasn't alive to watch him. So I was like, LeBron, LeBron, LeBron. Now LeBron's second in my opinion.
- [42:36]
Julie Swerbinks
Same here. Same here.
- [42:37]
AJ Debanza
But I just watched six in a row. Like two three peats.
- [42:40]
Julie Swerbinks
Yes, ma'am.
- [42:41]
AJ Debanza
Crazy.
- [42:42]
Julie Swerbinks
Two three peats. Six championships, six NBA Finals MVPs. Ten time scoring champion, nine time all NBA first team defensive player. That is the goat. Just so we know, Stephen A. Stephen A.
- [42:56]
Stephen A. Smith
Somebody asked Michael Jordan, would you have won eight in a row? You know, what was his answer?
- [43:00]
Julie Swerbinks
What?
- [43:01]
Stephen A. Smith
I don't know about the big African.
- [43:04]
Julie Swerbinks
Excuse me?
- [43:05]
Stephen A. Smith
You heard what I said.
- [43:06]
Julie Swerbinks
He doesn't know about the big African. Yeah.
- [43:08]
Stephen A. Smith
So in other words, he's not sure. If he would have won eight in a row because of Hakeem.
- [43:13]
Julie Swerbinks
Well, I agree with that. It's not a certainty, I don't think. I think Akeem the dream was phenomenal. But when I look and listen, Kenny Smith, his son kj, Y'all know very, very well I got a lot of love for the Jet. I remember Robert Horry on those squads, I remember Otis Thorpe, the whole bit. What I'm thinking about is the three headed monster at the big man spot that they had in terms of the Luke Longleys of the world and stuff like that. Not to mention the Tony KU coaches, the Dennis Rodmans, I think the collection of individuals, Scottie Pippen, one of the elite defenders the game has ever seen. The combination, they could sit up there and pressure you 94ft, that could really derail you. I don't see that level of defense in the NBA today. When you look at defenders in the NBA today and the way that they defend, how do you think you'll fare against them?
- [44:10]
AJ Debanza
What you mean like how my offensive.
- [44:12]
Julie Swerbinks
Yes. What you bring to the game offensively compared to what they're showing you in the NBA today. What do you see?
- [44:19]
AJ Debanza
Now since I watch defensive clips, I know defensive tendencies and I'm a defender myself, so I know defensive tendencies. So that's why I think I will be able to like break it down a little bit more. Now if you do decide to pressure me and double team and help side, you're leaving two of my shooters open. Don't let me get 10 assist because then they'll start getting hot and you'll lose a game.
- [44:40]
Julie Swerbinks
But you're assuming you're going to be playing with shooters.
- [44:43]
AJ Debanza
Everybody in NBA.
- [44:44]
Julie Swerbinks
You're not taking everybody in the NBA. That is not true.
- [44:47]
AJ Debanza
90 of people, A.J.
- [44:48]
Julie Swerbinks
That is not true. Everybody in the NBA cannot shoot. I can get a boy.
- [44:54]
AJ Debanza
He's gonna name a whole bunch of bigs.
- [44:55]
Julie Swerbinks
If I knew you're gonna name a.
- [44:57]
AJ Debanza
Whole bunch of bigs.
- [44:58]
Julie Swerbinks
I mean, I don't, I just don't want to throw anybody on front street, okay? I can name a whole bunch of people that are not bigs, that can't.
- [45:04]
AJ Debanza
Shoot right after the show.
- [45:05]
Julie Swerbinks
Okay, we can do that. We do that after the show because I'm not gonna put it on camera. Look, man, before I let you get on out of here, I just want you to speak to what this whole process has meant to you as a young man. Being in a position where you're on national television announcer to the world where you're Going to go with everybody interested in it because you're that guy. What does this whole process meant to you and what have you learned from it?
- [45:30]
AJ Debanza
I mean, it's just a blessing, but it's only one step closer. I mean, I told my dad it's a three step process. This is only step one. The draft will be step two. And the hall of Fame speech is step three.
- [45:41]
Julie Swerbinks
And the hall of Fame speech is step three. If I may say respectfully, I think you missed a stat.
- [45:46]
AJ Debanza
What's that step?
- [45:47]
Julie Swerbinks
How about a Final Four appearance for byu?
- [45:49]
AJ Debanza
Yeah.
- [45:50]
Julie Swerbinks
You going to play there?
- [45:51]
AJ Debanza
Yeah.
- [45:51]
Julie Swerbinks
Or competing for a national championship. That's the NCAA tournament, Bertha. A Final Four appearance. You ain't just bypassing byu. No, I'm not playing next year.
- [45:59]
AJ Debanza
Right, exactly. Then that means there'll be more step. That'll be Rookie of the Year, first All Star.
- [46:04]
Julie Swerbinks
Okay.
- [46:05]
AJ Debanza
Defensive team.
- [46:07]
Julie Swerbinks
Okay.
- [46:07]
AJ Debanza
There'll be more steps, but just the Overall goal.
- [46:10]
Stephen A. Smith
Olympics.
- [46:10]
AJ Debanza
2028 Olympics.
- [46:12]
Julie Swerbinks
2028 Olympics. Really? I didn't even think about that one. I'm still salty about that. Because I don't like the fact that Steve Kerr benched my man Jason Tatum like that. That. That really bothered me. That really bothered. He's too great to not find a spot for a few minutes for one of the great players in the NBA. That's just me. But I. I digress. 2028 Olympics. I think the coach will be either Eric Spoelstra or Ty Lou. One of the two is gonna be coaching that team. But there's a lot of people that's ahead of you for 2028.
- [46:44]
AJ Debanza
Yeah.
- [46:44]
Julie Swerbinks
You gonna bypass those folks?
- [46:46]
AJ Debanza
Yeah.
- [46:47]
Julie Swerbinks
Really?
- [46:47]
AJ Debanza
Yeah.
- [46:48]
Julie Swerbinks
Cooper Flagg is somebody that's in college basketball right now at Duke. Everybody's been talking about him. How do you feel about his game and how it compares to yours?
- [46:55]
AJ Debanza
So we've known each other since seventh grade. He from New England, from Maine. So, I mean, I support his game, always respected his game. We've been playing in terms of each other. So, I mean, he gonna be great.
- [47:04]
Julie Swerbinks
You think he's gonna play? You think he's gonna be great? Yeah, I like him. I watch the skill set.
- [47:07]
AJ Debanza
Plays the right way.
- [47:08]
Julie Swerbinks
Yeah. And for me, personally, I don't want to use the word pressure. You're gonna have pressure, and that's gonna be on you, which I'm sure you'll embrace. No problem. But when we look at him and then we look at you as the number one guy, we're saying, wait a minute now, what's up? You gonna have to answer that call. You prepared for that?
- [47:27]
AJ Debanza
Yeah, because I'm my own player. Like you can compare me who you want. We two different players, right?
- [47:35]
Julie Swerbinks
I got you. Okay. First take. Your father made it clear college is one and done. And there are two NBA teams you're most interested in. Then you said it yourself, the Orlando Magic and the San Antonio spurs shocked the living hell out of me. You picked those two teams?
- [47:49]
AJ Debanza
Wow.
- [47:49]
Julie Swerbinks
I ain't expect to see. I mean, what did you think? I just did it.
- [47:52]
AJ Debanza
What did you think?
- [47:53]
Julie Swerbinks
Me personally? I was thinking you were going to say somebody like Golden State in Boston.
- [47:58]
AJ Debanza
I don't want to play for Boston because cuz I'm from Boston, I want to get out of Boston.
- [48:04]
Julie Swerbinks
Okay.
- [48:04]
AJ Debanza
That's the only reason why?
- [48:05]
Julie Swerbinks
Well, you know that you ain't going to have. I mean, I would say you ain't gonna have a choice, but I mean.
- [48:10]
AJ Debanza
Oh yeah, you don't have a choice. I'll be. If I get drafted to the Celtics, I'm blessed. But if it was an option, I wouldn't want to go.
- [48:18]
Julie Swerbinks
What's the problem with playing in the place you grew up in?
- [48:22]
AJ Debanza
I just want to get out and move.
- [48:24]
Julie Swerbinks
Right.
- [48:24]
AJ Debanza
I don't want to raise my family in Boston. I want to be somewhere else.
- [48:27]
Julie Swerbinks
Got you. Just because you want to move, you want to. You want to find someplace different.
- [48:31]
AJ Debanza
Yeah.
- [48:31]
Julie Swerbinks
All right. Playing with a shooter like Steph Curry, now, see, that's where you'd average 12, 12, 15.
- [48:36]
AJ Debanza
See? And a great vet with Draymond Green.
- [48:40]
Julie Swerbinks
Yes, he is a great vet. He is a great vet. He gets emotional, you understand what I'm saying? But he's a phenomenal teammate and he's a champion stuff Pops. As we get ready to end this talk this conversation. By the way, before I get to my last question, your son made history. Four and a half million dollar nil deal. What kind of financial advice have you.
- [49:02]
Stephen A. Smith
Given them before you start making money? I don't know where that figure came from.
- [49:07]
Julie Swerbinks
First of all, that's what they told. That's what was reported. I don't know if it's accurate or not. And that's y'all business. Y'all tell her if you want to. If you don't, it's no big deal. But that's what they're saying.
- [49:16]
Stephen A. Smith
Well, they were saying we were going to the biggest bidder. That's not true. Three out of the four school that made the final cut offer the same amount. I call it the minimum wage. And he had no idea what it was because we chose not to tell him because we didn't want money. Me and my wife didn't want money to affect his decision. Once he told us where he wanted to go, we told him, you see what you got? And we told him to manage the money. We got him a financial advisor. We told him about taxes. You know, he was shocked when he got a bill the other day.
- [49:51]
Julie Swerbinks
Guess.
- [49:52]
AJ Debanza
Oh, my God.
- [49:52]
Julie Swerbinks
Welcome to the real world.
- [49:53]
AJ Debanza
Welcome to the.
- [49:54]
Stephen A. Smith
He was shocked.
- [49:55]
Julie Swerbinks
Yeah, yeah, keep send your money going.
- [49:57]
Stephen A. Smith
He was shocked.
- [49:58]
AJ Debanza
I see, Asia, you pay your taxes today?
- [50:02]
Stephen A. Smith
Yeah. I say that amount going to triple next year. That why? Well, he's going to make more money.
- [50:07]
Julie Swerbinks
So is the tax. Tax is going to triple.
- [50:09]
AJ Debanza
And that's another reason why Boston is one of the highest taxes.
- [50:12]
Julie Swerbinks
Yes. It's not New York or la, though, LA Y.
- [50:16]
AJ Debanza
But Texas and Florida. No state tax.
- [50:19]
Julie Swerbinks
I'm aware of this. I'm aware of this. I'm aware of this. You know, Pops, what's it going to be like for an agent to be representing him having to deal with you? Because, you know, I, I, I've listened to you, you know, a thing or two about your basketball now. You know, they ain't gonna be able to just pull one over on you. And like you said, African Pops, Jamaican mama, y'all on play. What's it gonna be like? What do they need to know about representing your son?
- [50:51]
Stephen A. Smith
Who say I'm gonna have an agent?
- [50:53]
Julie Swerbinks
I don't know.
- [50:54]
Stephen A. Smith
So far, so good. I have an advisor.
- [50:56]
Julie Swerbinks
Okay, an advisor, but. So you plan on being the dude sitting across from the team, negotiating with him?
- [51:04]
Stephen A. Smith
Um, no, the advisor so far, our advisor, Leonard Amato, is taking care of it.
- [51:10]
Julie Swerbinks
Okay, Gotcha.
- [51:11]
Stephen A. Smith
We work together, and when the time comes, if he needs an agent, he has to be my price.
- [51:20]
Julie Swerbinks
Your price?
- [51:20]
Stephen A. Smith
Yes.
- [51:22]
Julie Swerbinks
What does that mean?
- [51:23]
Stephen A. Smith
My rate.
- [51:24]
Julie Swerbinks
Your rate?
- [51:24]
Stephen A. Smith
Yeah.
- [51:27]
Julie Swerbinks
Excuse me. A.J. bops. Appreciate y'all, man. Congratulations on everything. All the best. I'm going to watch BYU basketball for the first time, man.
- [51:38]
AJ Debanza
You're. You're not watching this year?
- [51:40]
Julie Swerbinks
No.
- [51:41]
AJ Debanza
You don't know who they got coming out this year?
- [51:42]
Julie Swerbinks
No, I'm not watching them much this year. I will be watching them next year. I will. I will watch practically everyone if you're around. I'm going to watch.
- [51:52]
AJ Debanza
All right.
- [51:53]
Julie Swerbinks
I'm not going to have you on the show and then ignore you. You know, first of all, you got a fan of me.
- [51:56]
Stephen A. Smith
He's not going to watch this year.
- [51:58]
Julie Swerbinks
No, no, I watched him this year. I mean, I watch him as the Season progresses. I, I really listen. Between football and professional basketball, I'm inundated with a lot of stuff. As March Madness approaches, then I really, really pay attention to who's in the mix and what they're going to do. I don't miss March Madness game, so I'll definitely be watching that. But what I'm saying is even with North Carolina and Duke, I really don't watch much of them unless they playing each other. Kentucky, Louisville, stuff like that. I'm watching sec. I'm watching Florida State from Tom's because, you know, the coach Leonard. I'm watching a few of these programs. Calipari, I know very well. Obviously I've lost faith. I remember, I see. I, I, I grew up in the days of the Big East.
- [52:34]
AJ Debanza
Yeah.
- [52:35]
Julie Swerbinks
Where you had St. John's Ewan and the boys at Georgetown. Dwayne Pearl Washington, the Don't let anybody tell you differently. The greatest show in the history of college basketball.
- [52:46]
AJ Debanza
What's who.
- [52:47]
Julie Swerbinks
Dwayne Pearl Washington out of Syracuse. God rest his special. I'm talking about a better show than Chris Jackson at LSU before he became Abdul Mahmoud Raouf when he was playing with Shaq and Stanley Robertson. I'm talking about Kenny Anderson. Lethal Weapon 3 at Georgia Tech with Dennis Scott and Brian Oliver. I'm talking about UNLV with Larry Johnson and Greg Anthony and Stacey Altman and Anderson Hunt and the crew. That's how I go back. And I'm telling you, despite all of that, even with Michael Jordan at North Carolina, Michael Jordan at North Carolina. The greatest showman on the basketball court in the history of college basketball was Dwayne Pearl Washington. Ask your coach. I bet you he'll agree with me.
- [53:36]
AJ Debanza
All right.
- [53:37]
Julie Swerbinks
Ask him. Ask him. Good luck to you.
- [53:40]
AJ Debanza
Thank you.
- [53:41]
Julie Swerbinks
All the best to you.
- [53:42]
Stephen A. Smith
Thank you, pops.
- [53:42]
Julie Swerbinks
Appreciate you. Thanks for having me right here. Really, really honored to have both of y'all. Wish you nothing but the best. You're gonna be all right, man. You got your pops with you. You're good. You good to go. You good to go. Coming up, another milestone for Caitlin Clark. And where should LeBron finish his NBA career? I'll get into all of that. Plus, I respond to your tweets as well. Right here. Next on the Stephen A. Smith Show. Don't go away.
- [54:07]
Hunter
I'm Hunter, host of Hunting for Answers on the Black Effect Podcast Network. Join me every weekday as I share bite sized stories of Ms. Missing and murdered black women and girls in America. There are several ways we can all do better at protecting black women. My contribution is shining a light on our missing sisters and amplifying their disregarded stories. Stories like Tameka Anderson. As she drove toward Galvez, she was in contact with several people talking on the phone as she made her way to what should have been a routine transaction. But Tameka never bought the car and she never returned home that day. One Podcast, One Mission Save Our Girls Join the search as we explore the chilling cases of missing and murdered Black women and girls. Listen to Hunting for Answers every weekday on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [55:10]
Julie Swerbinks
I'm Mark Seale.
- [55:11]
Mark Seal
And I'm Nathan King.
- [55:13]
Julie Swerbinks
This is Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli. The five families did not want us to shoot that picture.
- [55:18]
Mark Seal
Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli is based on my co host Mark's best selling book of the same title. And on this show we call upon his years of research to help unpack the story behind the Godfather's birth. From start to finish, this is really.
- [55:30]
Julie Swerbinks
The first interview I've done in bed.
- [55:34]
Mark Seal
We sift through innumerable accounts. 35 pages isn't very much, many of them conflicting.
- [55:39]
Julie Swerbinks
That's nonsense.
- [55:40]
Mark Seal
There were 60 pages and try to get to the truth of what really happened.
- [55:44]
Julie Swerbinks
And they said we're finished, this is over. Not only is not going to work, you gotta get rid of those guys.
- [55:49]
Mark Seal
It's just that Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli features new and archival interviews with Francis Ford Coppola, Robert Evans, James Kahn, Talia Shire and many others.
- [55:59]
Julie Swerbinks
Yes, that was the real horse's head.
- [56:01]
Mark Seal
Listen and subscribe to Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [56:13]
Julie Swerbinks
Welcome back to the Stephen A. Smith Show. Thanks again to A.J. divanza Sr. And Jr. Really, really appreciate it. Let's get to the NBA, please, where LeBron James is playing in his 22nd season and is about to turn 40 in just a few weeks. The Lakers Superstar already has four rings, but my friend and colleague Mike Wilbon from ESPN thinks he's got the perfect place for LeBron to end his career. Take a listen.
- [56:40]
Hunter
Is Golden State just one player away though, from doing that?
- [56:43]
Julie Swerbinks
Yeah.
- [56:44]
Hunter
Okay.
- [56:44]
Daniel Jeremiah
Yeah, the player plays right across the street around the corner right here. LeBron James. Let's cut to the chase with this. All those assets are great. If Steph and Draymond were 31 and 32 years old, you could sort of wait on them. And I love Kaminga, but they're not 31 and 32 years old. The warriors, you. You said it, Malika. You're talking about maximizing now tonight. They're not catching Oklahoma City. They're not catching. As Perk was talking some sense of me on PTI two days ago. They're not catching Dallas. They're not with the personnel they have currently assembled. I'm not sure they can catch those two teams with the person. I'm saying add either. But if you tell me if anybody watched the Olympics, Brian Windhorse this summer and you saw LeBron James and Steph Curry play together, how can you not want to see that? I'm not saying it's easy. Wendy will tell us how possible, if it is at all. But you tell me at this point, the Lakers stink. All right, let's just. The Lakers are not going to do anything. The Lakers are not any good. You have AD and LeBron playing 90% of the games and they're a seventh and eighth seed at best in the West. Is LeBron going to ride out another season like that? Why would he? Why does he need to? If LeBron James decides he wants to contend this season? You know what Wilt once did?
- [57:59]
Julie Swerbinks
He lived.
- [57:59]
Daniel Jeremiah
Not once he lived in LA, but he played in Philly. So, LeBron, how fast is it? How long does it take a G6 to get from San Francisco? You probably know a G6.
- [58:10]
Julie Swerbinks
27.
- [58:11]
Daniel Jeremiah
You can't play in San Francisco and live in Los Angeles if you want to. This is tailor made for those two guys to play together and finish their careers.
- [58:19]
Julie Swerbinks
Okay, no disagreement there. It would be nice to see LeBron James with Steph Curry. It would be nice to see one of the top three players in the history of basketball playing with unquestionably the greatest shooter God has ever created. And it was nice to see them during the Olympics. LeBron James was the best player for Team USA from start to finish. And Steph Curry was clearly the best player for the semifinals and the finals when he hit 17 three pointers in two games. It was absolutely sensational to see. I get all of that. But allow me to say this. LeBron doesn't deserve it. Now, I know that's sacrilegious to say. I don't give a damn. I'm going to call it like I see it. He doesn't deserve it because of the mess that exists in la. And it's primarily because of him. Now, when you look at LeBron James, clearly I'm not talking about his game. Because this dude is still all world approaching 40 it's phenomenal to watch, but they won a chip during the bubble. They had Kyle Kuzma. They had Alex Caruso. They had a Kentavious, Caldwell Pope. They had those cats, okay? And you traded a few of them along with a pick to get yourself Russell Westbrook. Now, not the Russell Westbrook we saw with the Clippers. Not the Russell Westbrook we're seeing with the Denver Nuggets. I'm talking about. The worst version of Russell Westbrook that ever existed was when he was wearing a Los Angeles Lakers uniform. He was better in Houston. He was damn sure better in Oklahoma City. Those are the two places where he was a Hall of Famer. Clearly, we look at him with the Clippers and the Denver Nuggets, and we know there's still a role for him in the NBA, but as a Los Angeles Laker, we won't repeat what they were calling him. I was just at a Lakers game against the Denver Nuggets and even them with him in a Nuggets uniform where he helped slay the Lakers that night, by the way. They were begging for him to shoot. I'm talking about the crowd. Because that's how bad it was for Russell Westbrook when he was a Los Angeles Laker. Why Was he there? LeBron got him there. LeBron got him there. Now, LeBron isn't responsible for every decision, every bad decision that has perplexed Laker fans all over the place. Rob Paleka owns that. I understand that. Shavino, you know, bringing along Austin Reaves and this clear fetish with him and all of this, I got that. But we can't ignore what role LeBron played in as well, because when you just want a chip and then you come off of that and you get to the playoffs, even though you lost in the first round to the Phoenix Sons, the fact of the matter is you didn't have to just throw everything aside. You needed additional bodies for additional mobility so you can acquire the assets needed in order for him to continue to compete. And that's not what happened. Then let's take. Let's not forget Darvin Ham. Darvin Ham, in his first year as the head coach for the Los Angeles Lakers, got them to the guided them to the Western Conference Finals, where they got swept by the Denver Nuggets. The following year, they lose in five games to the Denver Nuggets. But what precipitated that, LeBron James and folks hinting that Darvin Ham needed to go thereafter, starting a podcast with JJ Redick, and ultimately JJ Redick becoming The head coach for the Los Angeles Lakers. I don't want to hear shit about LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers offering the job to Danny Hurley. When you offered them the job at 11 million PER, it was still about six or seven coaches that were going to be paid more than a two time national champion who would be giving up everything to come and coach the Lakers. If you wanted him bad enough, you could have made a better offer. So since you didn't make the better offer, that means you didn't want him bad enough. Is it possible that you didn't want him bad enough because you really wanted JJ Redick all along and you just wanted to create and manipulate a narrative where that's not what it is or that's not how it looked? And I'm not throwing any shade on jj. I'm rooting for the brother used to work with me at espn. I'm not rooting against him. I'm not rooting against him at all. And it ain't his fault for taking the job. Damn right, he should have took the job. It ain't his fault for having a podcast with LeBron James. Damn right he should have had a podcast with LeBron James. If I had a basketball podcast, who would I want more than LeBron James? I got it. But in the end, you're LeBron James and you want to walk around like you the modern day basketball version of Gandhi, acting like you had nothing to do with it. All the things that happened. We were born at night, not last night. Course you had something to do with this. So why should you get to leave to go join Steph Curry in Golden State? Why should you do that? Oh, by the way, just as an aside to end this all, I know people like Rich Paul want to swear up and down that nobody gives a damn about the goat conversation. That's a damn lie. Ignore Chris Rich Paul's ass on that one. I love my man Rich Paul. Very proud of him and clutch Ports and what he's done with clutch ports. But that is nonsense. Yeah, people care about that goat conversation. And young whippersnappers with their breath smelling like Similac wet behind the ears don't know a damn thing about Michael Jordan. Well, let me tell you something. Michael Jordan got drafted by the Chicago Bulls with the third overall pick in 1984. He retired as a Chicago Bull in 1998. And the only reason why he went to Washington, the nation's capital, was because he was trying to become an owner. And the owner at the time, a Poland insisted that he be a participant on the basketball court. Somewhat like the New York Knicks should have insisted about Phil Jackson being the head coach of the Knicks instead of allowing him to be the president of basketball operations. See, Washington was smarter. They said Michael Jordan get your ass on the court. And that's what he did. But be very, very, very, very clear, Michael Jordan wasn't all over the place. Michael Jordan played and starred on one team in his hall of Fame career. LeBron been in Cleveland, Miami back to Cleveland, then to LA. Okay, won the championship. D Wade, Bosh, Pat Riley, Ray Allen won the title again, same crew of dudes. Then after that goes back to Cleveland, you got Kyrie and Kevin Love and then you go to LA and you get ad. Yes, Scottie Pippen is an all world player, but Scottie Pippen was groomed and nurtured and elevated by the presence, the push and the constant tutelage of Michael Jordan. LeBron James had some finished products. Just thought I'd throw that out there, in case y'all didn't know. So yeah, it would be great for basketball to see him with Steph Curry. It would be very entertaining. Andre Mongre, let's not forget that, because even with LeBron at and stuff, you ain't winning without Draymond Green. Yes, that's true. It would be great to see. But does he deserve it with LA looking the way that they looking? Nah, if LA made these decisions all by their lonesome, that would be different. But you gonna get them to make decisions, they stink up the joint and then you skip town. Nah, I ain't down for that. I ain't down for that. Finally, I want to give props to the one and only Caitlin Clark, who earlier today was named Time magazine's athlete of the Year. Clark had an historic year in both college and the WNBA where she made an indelible impact across the sports landscape. She led the University of Iowa to 345 record in the championship game of the Women's NCAA Tournament before losing to Dawn Staley, SC by the way, while breaking the all time Division 1 career scoring record for men and women. And just a few months later, Clark was drafted into the WNBA where she set a rookie record for most three pointers made in the season while also establishing WNBA marks for assist in a single game and in a season. And by the way, that's how her impact, that's just about her impact on the court, off the court. Her presence led to higher ratings, improved travel for players and increased increase salaries for women across the league. And that's where I was going to go. That's why she deserves the athlete of the year. You know what? She's white. And because of that, call it whatever you want. I'm not going to go as far as to say reverse racism because I don't think people felt that way. But clearly, when you consider some of the hard times other people gave her, they were resentful of the fact that this white girl came on the scene where there was a bunch of sisters that preceded her spanning decades that were big time, that deserved a lot of credit. I mean, people looked at the Sheryl Swoopes of the world, they looked at the Cynthia Coopers of the world, the Lisa Leslie's of the world, the Maya Moores of the world and others. And they said, yo, there was a bunch of people that came before her that did big things for the wnba. I respect it. It is right. I appreciate it. But whiteness does have its privileges, especially when you got a game. And what a lot of people weren't willing or were a bit reluctant to appreciate was the game on this young white sister of ours. She can ball. And oh, by the way, she was a great ambassador for the game. And by the way, she came in there and looked out for Everybody else. For 22 years, they couldn't get chartered flights. That sister got there and it was done in two weeks. That's who Caitlin Clark is. That's why white, black or otherwise, I call her a sister because she looked out for them sisters and everybody else in between. Yes, she did. And when you had some of the trolls, some of the sorry ass people that were fans of hers that were engaging in racist or prejudicial tendencies, she spoke out against that. So she spoke out against that. She got people paid. She got better travel arrangements. She increased the ratings and the revenue, which obviously the NWNBA benefited exponentially. Because now you got a $200 million deal. All of these things being considered. You damn right it is appropriate that she got athlete of the year. She is special and she's coming. And oh, by the way, still stupid. A Team USA to not have on a team. You want to grow women's basketball globally. How do you have an Olympics competition this year without Caitlin Clark on it? I called you Fool's Den. And one of these days you gonna fess up and admit we were damn fools for not having Caitlin Clark on the 2024 Team USA Olympic team. She'll be there in 2028. Barn injury. She will be there, but she should have Been there already. She really should have. It might have helped you even more. But your loss, it was stupid. Somebody needed to tell you that. So I'm gonna say it again. It was stupid. Now, let me get to the tweets before I get on out of here for the day, because I know y'all like to tweet me and all of this other stuff, so I aim to please. All right, we'll take a look at your tweets when we get on out of here at TV at work.
- [69:54]
AJ Debanza
Right?
- [69:54]
Julie Swerbinks
Stephen A. Smith. Will the jets ever do anything but cause their fan base constant pain? Probably not. Y'all suck. It's bad. Very bad. And for us to be able to say that even when Aaron Rodgers as your quarterback does look like a pox is on your house. Black cats running around that franchise. I used to say that about the Dallas Cowboys. Now it's on y'all. You picked up Devonte Adams. You had Garrett Wilson. You had Breece Hall. Okay? And you still look like that. And Aaron Rodgers didn't get hurt on the fourth play of the season this go round. He's still playing. And he's been in every one of these losses. It's bad. It's bad. And your defense was elite. And still y'all stunk up the joint. I don't know. Here's what I'll say. It can get better because it can't get worse. But that's about the only good thing I can say about the jets right now. Let's go to the next tweet. Please give it to me at Chaos. Chaos. DB what? A, DB what? C, H, A, O, Z U, D, B. Stephen A. Smith. Who would be a better draft pick? Tienshen. What is it? Tienshinon or Yamcha? I'm just reading it. Tin Shahan won the 22nd. Tenkachi Budoke held down. Cell and Buu fought in the Tournament of Power. Yamcha defeated Azaru Goku with Poor Master of the Wolf Fang Fist because became an elite baseball player. I don't understand any of this shit you wrote. I'm a grown ass man. Okay? I don't mind some of these questions, but how dare you send me this shit thinking I can pronounce all of these names. Do I look like I speak Mandarin? Huh? I don't know what this is. I'm not gon lie. I know my team want to sit up there. They're laughing in the control room. Everybody talking about yeah, because they're children. They watch this. I'm a Grown ass man. Okay? When you're sending me stuff like this, I don't even know. I don't know if tin she Han is pronounced right. Yamcha. I don't know if that's pronounced right. I don't know if tenkachi budoke is pronounced right. I don't know. Help a brother out. I work for a living. I ain't got time to know all of this. Y'all get on my nerves with this sometimes. Seriously. Seriously. I mean, at least phonetically spell it out, do what you gotta do, so I can at least pronounce it correctly. It's very annoying. It really, really is. Because I don't like getting names wrong. But what the hell? Then I'm seeing this guy with a third eye, all right? And this guy clearly juiced up. I mean, what you want me to say? What you want me to say? Let's go with him. What the hell is his name? Because I don't know. All right? What is that? Yamcha. Yamcha. I'll go with this. Okay. Good Lord. Next tweet, please. And some of y'all got to improve on your Twitter handle. Names. Efra. Efra. E F R A1 ends, right? Stephen, A. Got a good question. Where are you dropping for the return of the OG map in Fortnite? First of all, when am I gonna get some skins? Fortnite? When's that gonna happen? When's that? I mean, y'all. Y'all call on me enough. Y'all ask me enough damn questions about it. Fortnite want me to do a promo and stuff like that, which I was happy to do. Do. Where am I going? Snoop Dogg's got skins in Fortnite. How the hell don't I have one? Y'all pissing me off. You pissing me off. Okay, I appreciate Snoop being who he is, but dammit, this ain't rap. You know, I got a big name, too. If you gonna have skins for him, how come you can't have it for me? This is the last time I'm gonna take a damn Fortnite question if y'all don't get y'all shit together and get me in on the game. Game serious. Now, let me get back to the question. Where are you dropping for the return of the OG map in Fortnite? Where am I dropping? What do you mean, where am I dropping? So in other words, I'm skydiving. I'm skydiving and I'm landing in some place that'd be some scary for me. Skydiving. Let me get that out the way right now. Okay, let's look at the names here. Anarchy Acres, Pleasant Park, Loot Lake, Dusty Depot, Retail Row, Salty Springs, Fatal Fields, Flush Factory, Moisture Mire, Greasy Grove, Wailing Woods, Lonely Lodge. Okay, before I tell you where I'm going to pick, let me go through a list of stuff. I ain't picking. I'm gonna tell you why. See, let me show you how. Stephen. A rose. When I see a lot of green and stuff like that, right? I'm y'all thinking like fluffy greens and scenic view and all this other stuff. I'm thinking alligators, crocodiles, snakes and stuff like that. Cause I ain't no outdoor kind of dude be. I ain't in. I ain't into the wildlife stuff. Nah, nah, man. Bring your little punk self over here. My nephew, get over here. Now this is my nappy headed nephew. My, my nephew Jace, Josh's son. I just say nappy because you need to comb me.
- [75:40]
AJ Debanza
You need.
- [75:40]
Julie Swerbinks
We gonna have. You gonna get rid of this right here, right now. You see what I'm saying? Now this, this knucklehead right here. No, his daddy is a knucklehead. I take that back. He's just a pest. He's another one that knows his uncle Steve loves him. So he gets on me right here. Now I can't do this by myself. So you gonna help me. You understand? You understand? Say yes sir.
- [75:58]
Nate Thompson
Yes sir.
- [75:59]
Julie Swerbinks
Say yes sir. Now you gotta speak into my mic because you don't have a mic, all right? Uh huh. You didn't just go to cause I know you like your camera time. Cause you think you're cute. Go look at the camera. Right? Okay, now look at me here. All right? Now see, when I think alligators and stuff like that. Wailing Winds. Too much green over here. It could be. I don't know what's in there. I'm not doing that. You might blow me somewhere else. Tomato towns are right. Lonely Lodge. I'm like, I don't know what's there. I'm not going for that. Fatal Fields. The word, key word is fatal. I don't like that. Right. Flush Factory. Nah. And that's too close to that stuff. I'm assuming that's water. So anything could jump out at me. I ain't doing that. Greasy grove. Nope. I would tell you Pleasant park seems safe, right?
- [76:46]
Nate Thompson
Yeah.
- [76:48]
Julie Swerbinks
Go ahead. Remember, the mic is here, man. The mic is here.
- [76:51]
Nate Thompson
Pleasant park isn't really that pleasant. It's like, it's a lot of people that would try to, you know, kill you.
- [76:56]
Julie Swerbinks
Really? Is that true?
- [76:57]
Nate Thompson
Yeah.
- [76:57]
Julie Swerbinks
So they just. The name is Deceitful.
- [77:00]
Nate Thompson
Yep.
- [77:00]
Julie Swerbinks
Oh, damn. Okay, well, what about. What about Tomato Town?
- [77:08]
Nate Thompson
That place is a height.
- [77:10]
Julie Swerbinks
It's a Ight.
- [77:10]
Nate Thompson
It don't got no guns.
- [77:11]
Julie Swerbinks
Like, it doesn't have guns.
- [77:13]
Nate Thompson
Yeah, I think Retail Row.
- [77:15]
Julie Swerbinks
Why is Retail Row the best?
- [77:17]
Nate Thompson
Because it has a good amount of guns. Not a lot of people land in so you can loot by yourself. You could get mats. It's a lot of mats for you to farm, like trees.
- [77:31]
Julie Swerbinks
How do you notice, you know? Aren't you supposed to be studying in school? How you had time to know all of this?
- [77:38]
Nate Thompson
I used to play Fortnite back in the days.
- [77:41]
Julie Swerbinks
Used to play Fortnite back in the day.
- [77:43]
Nate Thompson
Yeah.
- [77:44]
Julie Swerbinks
All right. What about Anarchy Acres? I mean, man, my mic is. I keep telling you, the mic is on me, on my. On my jacket here.
- [77:53]
Nate Thompson
It's all right, but, like, it's, like, close to the end of the map. Like, the storm is gonna come, and the storm deals damage to you, and you don't want the storm.
- [78:02]
Julie Swerbinks
What about Moisty Meyer?
- [78:03]
Nate Thompson
That's also close to the storm. So you have to pick somewhere, like, more in the middle.
- [78:08]
Julie Swerbinks
Oh, so it's more in the middle because you land and you safe and you shield it from the storm and the wind and all of that?
- [78:13]
Nate Thompson
Yeah.
- [78:14]
Julie Swerbinks
So you're saying Tomato Town, Dusty Depot, Salty Springs.
- [78:18]
Nate Thompson
Yeah.
- [78:19]
Julie Swerbinks
Why you tell me? Retail route.
- [78:21]
Nate Thompson
Retail roll isn't that close to the storm.
- [78:24]
Julie Swerbinks
So what makes Retail Roll better than these three?
- [78:28]
Nate Thompson
Cause a lot of people land at these three.
- [78:31]
Julie Swerbinks
And you're saying. And you're saying you don't want to land where most people land.
- [78:35]
Nate Thompson
No, that's bad. Especially if you're trash at the game.
- [78:39]
Julie Swerbinks
Okay, get out of here. He would know. I'll be damned if I do. So go with whatever he said. Retail Row is where we gonna go. That's it for this edition of the Stephen A. Smith Show. Hope you all enjoyed it. Thanks again to the one and only AJ debonza and Anisha Demonza Senior, his daddy. I really, really appreciate them coming on to the show and revealing to us why they chose BYU as their preferred institution. One and done. Before this brother goes pro, the number one high school player in the nation. Can't wait to watch. Until next time, everybody. Hope y'all enjoyed the show. Peace and love. I'm out.
- [79:27]
Hunter
Geico's motorcycle expertise means I'm covered by people who know bikes like I do.
- [79:32]
Julie Swerbinks
I'm happy as a clam. No conclusive scientific research has shown clams can experience happiness.
- [79:37]
Hunter
It just meant that I feel really.
- [79:38]
Julie Swerbinks
Good about my coverage. I mean, even if you took the clam out for the best day ever, visiting the zoo, taking a scenic ride, knowing you're insured by specialists, and sharing a strawberry ice cream cone together, the clam would not feel happy and your strawberry cone would taste sort of clammy. Geico's motorcycle specialists who know bikes like you do, assume no liability for clammy ice cream cones. Geico expertise for your motorcycle what's up, everyone?
- [79:58]
Greg Rosenthal
It's Greg Rosenthal, and I'm teaming up with the King of Spring, Daniel Jeremiah. He requires me to say that we're going to be bringing you 40s and free agents, the only podcast you'll need this NFL draft season. From DJs mock drafts to my top 101, free agents will have it covered for you with all new episodes every Thursday, keeping you up to date as we head to the NFL Draft. Listen to 40s and free agents starting on March 6th on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.