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the tempo. Another great cocktail from

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Hypnotic Liquor, Barge Town, Kentucky. 17% alcohol

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by volume. Hypnotic reminds you to

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think wisely, drink wisely. Welcome

0:37

to NBA Today. Best

0:42

from the West against the

0:44

best from the East. Do

0:47

another witness in the greatness. The swag

0:49

is regaining. No,

0:53

he did not. He said he's

0:55

too little. Dame

1:00

shooting from half course. Kobe

1:05

Bryant, MVP trophy goes to

1:07

Damian Lillard. Welcome

1:11

to NBA Today, fresh off of All

1:13

Star Weekend. I'm your girl, Tineo Guomike,

1:15

filling in for my sis, Malika Andrews.

1:18

I have Ramona Shelburne, Austin Rivers here

1:20

with me in studio and Big Perk

1:22

beaming in as well, safely back from

1:24

Indianapolis. All right, y'all. The good

1:26

news, Steph versus Sabrina

1:28

absolutely delivered. Now

1:30

the bad news. Let's just say we had

1:32

mixed reactions to last night's game. But

1:35

let's start with the best thing of

1:37

the night, history. LeBron James and his

1:39

record setting 20th All

1:42

Star appearance. So roll the highlight for

1:44

Mr. LeBron James. LeBron James making, again,

1:46

his 20th appearance. And he's having some

1:48

fun with his teammates before. I

1:50

mean, look at him talk to Jokic there. They're like

1:52

the sick. I'm just

1:54

wondering what they were saying. Oh, he was talking to

1:57

a lot of people, but most notably Luca Doncic, but

1:59

in the game. I mean, he took it coast to

2:01

coast. He's gonna play for like a quarter. Well,

2:03

yeah, it's true. 14 minutes later. He's like,

2:05

let me get this in. And there's the signature dunk,

2:07

and then midway through the second quarter, this

2:09

was one of the plays of the night right here.

2:11

Paula George, off the

2:13

bounce! So LeBron James,

2:15

LeBron still making it look easy.

2:18

Highlight plays, and that's what you were talking about.

2:20

I mean, where was that in the contest? Oh,

2:22

let's just stay on the high right here. Let's stay on

2:25

the high. He finished with eight points as the West

2:27

lost. 211 to 186. Wait,

2:30

say that again? I know, 211 to 186. Now

2:34

LeBron James is the all-time leader in all-star

2:36

appearances, points and field goals. And clearly when

2:38

you think of longevity, it is just another

2:40

area where he continues to shine and set

2:42

the standard in the sport. But

2:44

it was what he said before Sunday's

2:46

game that left some wondering, could we

2:49

be witnessing the end? I

2:52

have not mapped out how many scenes I have

2:54

left. I know it's not that many.

2:58

I also don't know if I will, I

3:01

was asked this question a couple of days ago,

3:03

will you kind of take the farewell

3:05

tour or will you kind of just Kim

3:08

Duncan it? I'm

3:10

50-50. I'm gonna be

3:12

honest because there's times where I feel like, I

3:16

guess I owe it to my fans that's been

3:18

along this journey with me for

3:21

two decades plus. But the other side

3:23

of, I've never been

3:26

that great with accepting praise.

3:31

It's a weird feeling for me. I

3:34

never really talked about it much, but it's just a weird feeling for

3:36

me. But I don't know, but

3:38

I am a Laker and

3:40

I'm happy and been very

3:43

happy being a Laker the last six years and

3:45

hopefully it stays that way. But

3:48

I don't have to answer to how long

3:50

it is or which

3:52

uniform I'll be in. Hopefully it is with the Lakers.

3:54

It's a great organization and so many greats. But

3:57

with the, I don't know how it's gonna end. Nobody's

4:00

coming. Nobody's coming for

4:03

sure. It may be a little awkward, but we're

4:05

going to continue to praise you and give you

4:08

your flowers. But we do not know when it

4:10

will be, but LeBron James is clearly thinking about

4:12

it, the end. So Perk, what stands out to

4:14

you from those comments? And also, how much longer

4:16

do you think that LeBron James will play? What

4:21

stood out to me the most is that

4:23

LeBron James wants to be a later. So

4:26

I mean, that's the

4:28

security blanket for if your Jeannie Buss and

4:31

Rob Polinka that he wants to be a

4:33

Laker. Like he's saying that he

4:35

wants to finish as a Los Angeles Laker.

4:38

So the ball is in your

4:40

court to make sure you do

4:42

everything in your power that LeBron

4:44

James will tie as a Laker.

4:46

Second, look, LeBron James can literally

4:48

play until he's 50 years old.

4:50

I'm not saying at this elite

4:52

level, but he could be on

4:55

somebody vision to he's at the

4:57

age of 50. That's how much he

4:59

brings to the table on and off

5:01

the floor. But I will say this.

5:04

Here in LeBron comments about that is

5:06

coming to an end soon. I could

5:08

see that happen. Right. I

5:11

could see that happening. He wants to

5:13

be at Bryce games. Right. He

5:15

wants to be there for Bronny. He wants to

5:17

be home with Zulery. He wants to be home

5:19

with Savannah. And rightfully so.

5:21

Right. He's been preaching this for

5:23

time for so long for the last year and a

5:25

half. Family comes first. Right.

5:28

Family comes first. And so when you

5:30

enter a certain part of your career

5:33

where you start to value things a

5:35

little bit differently, what else

5:37

is it for him to accomplish? Honestly,

5:39

he's already got the bankroll.

5:42

He's already got the accolades.

5:44

So again, lucky I

5:46

could see him playing another three years max, to

5:48

be honest with you before you call it a

5:50

quiz. Yeah, I see another two, three years

5:52

here. You look at

5:54

the window of Bronny, whether he comes out this

5:56

year or not, he's coming off

5:58

of that heart situation. might need another year. I

6:02

agree with Perk, if LeBron James really wanted to, he

6:04

could probably play another five, six, seven, eight years. I

6:06

mean, he is a freak of nature. We've never really

6:08

seen anything like him in terms of longevity, and not

6:10

only playing for a long time, but playing at an

6:12

elite level for a long time, right? Yep. The

6:15

question is, does he want to? He's

6:17

achieved everything. He's not chasing

6:19

the six rings for Michael, because when he

6:21

lapsed in rings to his four to his

6:23

six, he makes up in how many years

6:25

he's played, and he's all-time leading scorer. So

6:27

they both have their ups and downs, right,

6:29

in terms of comparison. For me, this is

6:31

about the joy of the game. He loves

6:33

playing, because he loves play. That's what he

6:35

does. He is the basketball icon of our

6:37

era. This is the guy that I

6:40

see playing a couple more years. I do see him finishing

6:42

as a Los Angeles Lakers. His family's embedded in the city.

6:44

His son goes to USC. His other son goes to

6:46

Sierra Canyon. They built a beautiful home out here.

6:48

This is where they're going to stay. I think

6:50

that's music to Lakers fans' ears, that

6:52

this guy wants to finish his career here. You

6:55

know, he's already jumped around a little bit, from Cleveland

6:57

to Miami, back to Cleveland. He's now here in LA.

6:59

I don't see him going anywhere else to chase a

7:01

ring. I know people want the Steph thing. It's not

7:03

gonna happen. I think he stays here,

7:05

finishes out his legacy. All

7:07

due respect to both of you guys, who I

7:09

think you guys know Bron very well, there's no

7:11

way he's just playing for the love of the game. This

7:14

is LeBron James. I'm not saying love of the game. I mean, you

7:17

gotta have love of the game. But he, like, to

7:19

work as hard as LeBron does, to put himself out

7:21

there, as hard as he has to put it, like,

7:23

to be in the condition he's in, that's not just

7:25

for the love of the game. They're

7:28

competing. They're trying to win, but let's be honest here.

7:30

The Lakers are the team right now that we're not

7:32

talking about in serious contention, as far as this season

7:34

goes. I don't think he's under the pressure cooker where

7:37

the Lakers don't deliver, he's out. But

7:39

I think that's where the tension comes in.

7:41

What we've seen over the last month

7:43

or so, when he publicly puts pressure on

7:45

the organization, when he tweets the emoji, when

7:47

you get other teams calling to say, hey,

7:50

is he unhappy enough to entertain this idea?

7:53

That's where that comes from. This

7:55

is LeBron James out there. Jeanette, you

7:58

know how hard he works. You are on the set of... space

8:00

jam with him right? I was and you

8:02

know behind the scenes behind my sister was in

8:04

the movie but yeah he works very hard and

8:06

I think you know if there's a timeline I

8:08

like the three-year window because it allows an opportunity

8:10

to play with or against his son but the

8:12

truth of the matter is you have to appreciate

8:14

the guy because we don't know how many more

8:17

all-star games we can see and hear from him

8:19

and talk about his future and so Ramona you

8:21

know you follow the Lakers very closely if he's

8:23

trying to forecast his future what do you see

8:25

in those series I mean listen that

8:27

quote was a masterpiece like that quote that

8:29

he gave I love the Lakers

8:32

it's a great organization it was

8:34

very well delivered it was very well conceived

8:36

but let's let's parse this a little bit

8:38

okay but I

8:40

don't have the answer to how long it is

8:42

or which uniform I'll be

8:44

in hopefully it is with the Lakers

8:46

it is a great organization so many

8:48

grades but we'll

8:51

see how many head does you hear in there? I

8:54

mean listen that was at least three that I can see him

8:56

going anywhere do you? No

8:59

Perk doesn't see LeBron. I don't either but

9:01

but he left his job and out. I

9:03

don't but I don't

9:05

but but but I want to go

9:08

to your point I want to go

9:10

to your point about the love of

9:12

the game right and

9:15

when you're a basketball player yes

9:18

competing for championships is one thing

9:20

but when you get on the floor

9:23

nothing else matters in life right

9:25

we call it the sanctuary when you're

9:27

able to go out there and perform

9:29

on the basketball court and be the

9:31

best version of yourself everything

9:33

that you're going through in the

9:35

outside world it doesn't matter at

9:38

that time and I know a

9:40

lot of guys look forward to

9:42

being on the basketball court you

9:44

see so many retired players right

9:46

now Jamal Crawford all across the

9:48

board you see these video clips

9:51

of them hooping at LA Fitness

9:53

them hooping at the YCA with

9:55

with just you know random lawyers and

9:57

doctors before they go to work because

10:00

it gives them that piece of joy.

10:02

It's the sanctuary for a hooper to

10:04

be in the gym, to be on

10:06

the basketball court. Correct. I mean,

10:08

I got you, and I've been through that myself

10:11

in my own playing career, where when it's

10:13

over, it's over, right? When it's

10:15

over, like that moment when you have your

10:17

last game, everything that

10:19

you were working on your entire life, like, let me

10:21

keep my hands back and hit that outside pitch at

10:23

the right field, and then all of a sudden the

10:25

last game happens and that doesn't matter ever again. That

10:28

is true. That is a stunning feeling that you have

10:30

when you're an athlete, and I don't think LeBron James

10:32

is anywhere close to hanging it up, and I don't

10:34

think he's anywhere close to done. What I hear from

10:36

him and the way he's talking is, this is a

10:38

man who still wants to win. This is a man

10:41

who still cares enough to put pressure on an organization.

10:43

He had an out if he wanted to go to

10:45

Golden State. If he wanted to go to the Warriors, that

10:47

door was open. He chose to

10:49

stay with the Lakers. He chose to

10:51

be right where he is, but every all-time great

10:53

today, every all-time great, they all get there. Dirk

10:56

played his whole career with the Mavs. Kobe

10:58

was there. At the

11:00

end of Kobe's run, you know who's on the

11:03

team with them? A bunch of rookies. That was

11:05

the Charmin Soft era. Is LeBron gonna be okay

11:07

with that? I don't think they're there yet, but

11:09

he's gonna make sure that pressure's on them to

11:11

keep fielding a championship. Ramona, you started your comment

11:13

with the desire to win. I wish we had

11:15

that energy in the All-Star Game. We have plenty

11:17

of highlights though in today's show, but we also

11:19

did wake up, one second perch, sorry, to news

11:21

from Woj, because if you saw the Nets final

11:23

game before the break, you may not be surprised.

11:25

The team dismissed head coach Jock Vaughn this

11:28

morning. Now remember, he took over for

11:30

Steve Nash after just seven games

11:32

last season, and Brooklyn will have some

11:34

cap space, and likely they're looking for

11:36

a rebuild this summer, and Vaughn's final

11:38

game was the recent 50-point loss to

11:40

the South States. It was the second

11:42

largest loss by any coach in league

11:45

history in their final game with the

11:47

team. Now coming up on

11:49

NBA today, the NBA's best were on center

11:51

stage in Indy over the weekend, but while

11:53

the Stars were out, there was no defense

11:56

to be found. Does the NBA have an

11:58

All-Star problem? I know. Is there

12:00

a way to fix it? Big Perk has some big

12:02

thoughts. Plus, Steph Curry sat

12:04

down with our Malika Andrews over the

12:06

weekend. Here, their exclusive interview on why

12:08

he dubbed the Warriors as, quote, average,

12:11

and what Golden State's Big Three has

12:13

left in the tank. And Dame Dalla,

12:15

Dame Lillard pulls off something that only

12:17

Michael Jordan has done before. But can

12:19

the Bucks capitalize on his MVP momentum

12:22

and turn this season around? That's next

12:24

on NBA Today. Do not go, and. Now

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14:01

Today is brought to you by AutoZone.

14:04

Get in the zone. We

14:08

gave a nod to LeBron's history. Let's get to

14:10

the game. To the field house we go. 8th

14:13

vs. West. Tyree Taliburn

14:15

hometown hero. Set the

14:17

tone in ND with some

14:19

3's early often. Yeah,

14:22

corner 3 right there. Good. Little

14:24

step, side step. Okay, I didn't know you had that footwork.

14:26

And by the way, look at this. From all the

14:28

way downtown, this would be his 5th 3

14:30

in the first quarter. Guess

14:32

who loves it? Pacer's great legend

14:35

Reggie Miller on the call. I

14:37

love that. Now the East up 25-22. This

14:40

guy leads the league and assists for

14:42

a reason. Right to Giannis. He slams

14:45

it. You like that connection? I thought Halibur

14:47

was going to be the MVP just the way he started

14:49

this game. I think the crowd did. That's what I need,

14:51

Dave. I need that Milwaukee. Okay, this is getting personal, right?

14:53

No, no, I love that. I want more

14:55

of that. All of us do. Okay,

14:57

now look at this pack right here. Does

15:00

it look familiar? Kind of. Who

15:03

does it remind you of? White chocolate.

15:05

There we go. Jason Williams.

15:07

Yes, sir. Rookie's step, but the play did not

15:09

manifest the way that I think Tyree thought it would. There's

15:11

the flashback. Oh, that was sweet. That was a rookie sophomore game.

15:13

Now let's go back to the third quarter. Okay, we'll get a

15:15

high one. Oh, we get stuffed out the room, but it's okay.

15:17

We still get a highlight. So from low to high. A low

15:19

game. Oh, that's a good one. Oh,

15:21

that's a good one. Oh, that's a good one. Oh,

15:23

that's a good one. Oh, that's a good one. You

15:25

got a low game from half court. Oh, is that

15:27

like logo? Is that like

15:30

a jump shot from half court? I don't

15:32

think people understand. Sorry, Luca. He

15:34

left the tops in Dallas. Oh,

15:36

he didn't bring him up. Oh,

15:39

did he pound? Pulled

15:42

up for his 50th point and he lets us know it's

15:44

5-0. That might be the meanest 50

15:46

I've ever seen in my life. I mean, there were

15:48

a lot of meaningless points. Not another one. Another one

15:50

from half court. The East wins 2-1-1. You got that

15:52

211 to 186. And

16:00

so here's what Adam Scoville had to say about the

16:02

game. And

16:04

to the Eastern Conference All-Stars,

16:08

you scored the most points. Well,

16:12

congratulations. Giannis, your

16:14

team, this trophy is yours. I

16:17

don't know what they can do to make it more competitive.

16:19

I don't know. I think everyone looks at it. It's like

16:21

it's a break. So I don't think nobody would come here

16:23

to compete. I

16:25

think 200 is a lot to be scored.

16:28

It just shows that we didn't go out

16:30

there and compete. I guess you

16:32

would want us to or whoever would want us to.

16:35

But I think that's

16:37

just what it is. Let

16:40

me grab my tea really quick. We got a little

16:42

shade from the commissioner. That was

16:44

actually hilarious. But I'll jokes aside,

16:47

the All-Star game is truly falling

16:49

below expectations. Austin, I want

16:51

to give you the floor here. Hey, partner, let's get them.

16:54

Because, hey, listen. First

16:56

off, this All-Star weekend had some high

16:58

moments. The Sabrina stuff was great. But

17:01

we talk about the bread and butter of the All-Star game. It's

17:03

always the dunk contest and the game

17:05

itself, right? Which this past weekend was a

17:07

tough watch. It was a tough watch. When

17:09

we talk about the All-Star game, listen, I'm not

17:12

expecting guys to be game seven, dive on the

17:14

floor, give everything you

17:16

got. But there's a fine line between

17:19

not playing hard and even what they did last night.

17:21

211 points, bro. Scott

17:24

Van Pelt said it better than anybody. If they don't care, why

17:26

should we? Kobe even said it, man.

17:28

Listen, guys play harder in pickup games in the summer.

17:30

Guys are going to play one on one tomorrow when

17:32

they go back to their respective cities and get after

17:34

it more than they did last night. So I don't

17:36

want to hear the whole injury thing. Again, I'm not

17:39

expecting these guys to play the greatest defense. There's going

17:41

to be some free-o-lay in the All-Star game. There's going

17:43

to be some circus acts. It's

17:45

an All-Star game. But when that third

17:48

and fourth quarter come around, often we

17:50

like to see these guys compete. This is the

17:52

greatest pickup game in the world. I want to

17:54

see the best players get after it. That felt

17:56

pro-bow-ish last night. I felt like I was watching

17:58

a football pro-bow like flat That was flag football.

18:00

And they've been trying to tweak the pro ball so

18:02

that it's more entertaining. That was bad, bro. And

18:05

then they got rid of it. Yeah. Come

18:08

on, man. Perk? To

18:10

be honest, it was embarrassing and

18:12

it was disrespectful to the game

18:15

of basketball, to the NBA. To

18:17

so many guys that used

18:19

to... The NBA

18:21

All-Star, to be

18:24

an NBA All-Star, it's an honor. It's an

18:26

honor. I played 14

18:29

years and never made an All-Star game.

18:31

I was close to making it one

18:33

time and Al Horford beat me out

18:35

by one coach's vote. Do you know

18:38

how it would have felt to be

18:40

in an All-Star game? Russell Westbrook went

18:42

back to back All-Star MVPs. One

18:45

of the times he came off the bench

18:47

because he was playing so hard. That's how

18:49

much he cared. And at the

18:51

end of the day, Claire won't say

18:53

it publicly, but in order to

18:55

move the needle, in order to

18:57

get an All-Star game where

18:59

they're actually competing, you know what's going

19:01

to have to happen. The NBA is

19:04

going to have to increase their incentives,

19:06

meaning put a bankroll in front of

19:08

their faces to make them go out

19:10

there and play. Hey, you know what?

19:12

If this team wins, each player get

19:15

an additional $500,000. We

19:17

saw the results and we saw

19:19

what happened with the NCS tournament.

19:22

Exactly. Guys were scrapping like crazy,

19:24

taking charges. We saw a playoff

19:26

version of LeBron James. But again,

19:28

man, you go back and you

19:31

watch Jordan. You watch

19:33

Shaq. You watch Cole. You

19:35

watch all these guys that was in

19:37

the All-Star. Even Russell Westbrook. Like, it

19:39

was a badge of honor to represent

19:41

and build a guy that represented

19:44

the All-Star game. And if I

19:46

was Adam Silver, I would have been pissed

19:48

as hell like he was last night because

19:50

it was an embarrassment all across the board.

19:52

So let's talk about how we got here.

19:54

Okay, because this is the first weekend

19:56

the NBA has the stage all to

19:58

itself. Bowls over,

20:01

everybody's got, this is

20:03

the NBA's big showcase. And instead of

20:05

us having the three

20:07

marquee games on ABC, the three big

20:09

lead-ins all the way through on TNT

20:11

and then ABC, we have the All-Stars

20:14

Saturday night, and we have the All-Star

20:16

game. And this is what, when

20:18

the nation turns its attention from football to basketball,

20:20

this is what the NBA is putting on display.

20:23

How did we get here? Football added a week,

20:25

so we have week 17 through the Super Bowls

20:27

one week later. The trade deadline is now before

20:29

the All-Star game. It used to be after, and

20:32

so the All-Star game, you saw the, I think

20:34

the Boogie Cousins train is the one that kind

20:36

of changed things. Right after the All-Star game, Boogie

20:38

gets traded, and people are scrambling to find

20:40

him in the locker room and tell him and get a

20:43

reaction. I remember that. And that changed everything because it kind

20:45

of, it just made the whole weekend kind of awkward for

20:47

everybody, so they moved the All-Star game after the trade

20:49

deadline. They also made the All-Star game a break,

20:51

so it's longer and they had to find a

20:53

spot for it on the calendar. But I think

20:56

the calendar just needs to change. The calendar has

20:58

changed in a way such that this isn't what

21:00

the NBA wants to be putting, this

21:02

is not the best foot forward for the NBA. I

21:05

can come up with all these ways to change the

21:07

game. I like World versus USA, I know you think

21:09

you don't like that, but in hockey it works. I

21:12

think there's enough great players all around the world. What

21:14

if there's not? See, that's the thing though. If the calendar

21:16

changes, you might still have the guys approach the

21:18

game the same way, and they don't care. And

21:20

to me, I think perkin it to it. My

21:22

solution is pay the guys. So a million. We

21:24

saw a million. I think the winning team, the

21:26

players got 500,000, right? From

21:28

the end season tournament. We were talking about how

21:31

game changing that money was. And I think

21:33

no matter how high you are on the

21:35

spectrum in the NBA, that money matters to

21:37

you and how you can transform lives. And so

21:40

pay them the same way. We saw them reap

21:42

the benefits of the end season tournament. Pay the

21:44

guys who win the All-Star game a little bit

21:46

more. But if the calendar here, and for me it's

21:48

paying them, what do you think is your solution? There's lots of the

21:51

optics though of like, these are All-Stars making 50 million

21:53

dollars. No, but that's why it shouldn't be half a million.

21:56

I don't care how much money you got. A million dollars is a

21:58

million dollars. But they tried the charity. the charity

22:00

giving you know giving money to charity and i think

22:02

now like it didn't really yield what much so often

22:04

what would you think you could what the actual fit

22:06

i think you could first of a million per player

22:08

is a lot of money even if you're not making

22:11

forty fifty million dollars a year million dollars free cash

22:13

man that's that's what you give your family friends your

22:15

charity do whatever you want with it that's a lot

22:17

of money that's one thing secondly each all-star player get

22:19

the ring while the

22:21

winning team get it totally different ever ring we

22:23

talk about super bowl looking type of ring and

22:25

i felt uh... all-star ring the losing team gets

22:27

maybe like uh... smaller ring with like a do

22:29

you want it out i don't know try to

22:31

make it more so where these guys take a

22:34

personal compete but at the end of the day

22:36

minute start at the top we need the

22:38

top dog the young guys competing if that was brought in

22:40

the possibility of separate it done a time i want them

22:42

a booker in an effort to compete at the top of

22:44

the day to pay them you know that they were to

22:46

be at each other of all the young

22:48

do the got their company what they do it out there just

22:50

chilling in walker what it would look like a good what did

22:53

you make of the at

22:55

any other comments i like that i was a

22:57

very little strange for me because he is such

22:59

the opposite of that he is such a competitor

23:01

for him to say i'm going all-star break and

23:03

that that's my boy so i i love it

23:05

but i hate the fact that he's going to

23:07

know nobody was a common all-star game compete why

23:09

not you go against the best players in the

23:11

world that the greatest pick up game in the

23:13

world you compete in the summertime versus average joe's

23:16

in a gym in atlanta but you're not compete

23:18

against devin booker the greatest to garden nba right

23:20

now or or jason tatum like these guys you

23:22

need to go compete again and they and

23:25

this goes back to my point or also

23:28

i'm glad you brought that up do you

23:30

remember the time when when jordan was garden

23:32

magic right and then you remember the time

23:34

when kobe was going to join and go

23:37

brawn was jordan kobe do you remember the

23:39

breakup of kobe and shack and

23:41

second cold was going there that they had

23:43

to do it during that all star game

23:45

like we gotta get back to this point

23:47

and you're so right when you nailed it

23:50

because let me tell you this if

23:53

you're a young guy if you're Anthony Elwood

23:55

you should not say oh i'm gonna be

23:57

shooting left-handed shots in the all-star game your

23:59

my that should be I want to

24:01

come out here and actually win the all-star

24:04

MVP don't take that for granted of putting

24:06

that accolade up under your resume so at

24:08

the end of the day we could we

24:10

could come with all these hypotheticals and what

24:13

can move the needle the number one thing

24:15

that's gonna get these guys to compete is

24:17

a bankroll you're gonna have to do I

24:19

think the money will help but you guys

24:21

are right I do think that's the break

24:24

the runs and played hard he did Kevin

24:26

that we did before I do think that

24:28

the point at the point is is that the

24:30

veterans have served their time and so the young guys have to

24:32

step up all

24:38

these warriors you want to hear his thoughts

24:40

on golden face and how to pair him

24:42

with his rivals you're

24:46

around this league long enough you're

24:49

gonna get surprised with some stuff that you

24:51

thought would never be possible but a little

24:55

flip on the radar that turn

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REEL There

26:42

is no question here Seth versus

26:44

Sabrina was the moment of All Star

26:47

weekend and Sabrina went toe to toe with the

26:49

greatest shooter of all time. NBA

26:51

line no problem, 26 final

26:53

score, day one with that exact amount. You love

26:55

to see it guys. Honestly I thought she should

26:57

have gone second. I thought that was a disadvantage to

27:00

have her go first and then have Seth know

27:02

what he needed to be. It's okay, but could

27:04

it was to stop for embracing the true nature

27:06

of competition and our own Malika Andrews caught

27:08

up with stuff in Indianapolis right before the

27:10

game. So check it out. What

27:18

is the greatest

27:20

shooter the game

27:22

has ever seen?

27:25

So who can stop the truth? We

27:27

will never find out. What

27:31

All Star weekend? It's your 10th

27:33

All Star. Does it make

27:35

you think about your own basketball mortality at all? Definitely,

27:38

but it's a motivator for sure because it does

27:40

remind you that this isn't going to be

27:42

around forever. I've never taken for granted, but it's

27:45

a reminder of how hard it is to

27:47

be acknowledged as an All Star every year. I

27:49

feel like I've still

27:51

got a little more left-handed. Can you think

27:53

about how long you want to do this?

27:55

I do, but the

27:57

more I think about it, like I said, the more motivated I get. I

28:00

worked as hard as I've ever worked to

28:02

maintain this level, so you're trying to redefine

28:04

what that could actually look like. I think

28:06

the lesson I've learned is not to put

28:08

any limitations on it, but, you

28:11

know, approach every year like this could be

28:13

right here. As

28:19

you continue to race against that

28:21

clock, to want to win more championships, because you're

28:23

one of the most competitive people that I know,

28:26

do you feel like you're as patient as you

28:28

once were with how this team goes through

28:30

ups and downs? You round this league

28:32

long enough, you know what goes

28:34

into building a championship DNA, and

28:37

you need your amount of play, you know,

28:39

you've been going this for over a decade.

28:43

And since the 22 finals, you

28:46

understand the margins decrease

28:48

as you get a little deeper into your

28:50

career. The little things that

28:53

impact winning are so precious, and, you

28:55

know, reminding ourselves of it, and also, you

28:57

know, bringing along, you know, the younger guys

29:00

to get them to that level. So

29:02

there's always patience within that, because I'm in so

29:04

much talent in the league right now. You

29:07

have to embrace it, and I think the patience that

29:09

comes with that is, I know we still are capable

29:11

of doing it. You called the

29:13

team average recently. Why is

29:15

that? Our record is,

29:18

we're one game above 500, and you

29:22

are what your record says you are. So we

29:24

truly get over the hump and get real

29:27

momentum that allows

29:29

us to climb up the standings a little bit. I

29:33

know we're capable of it. You know, sometimes you

29:35

have to be real with yourself that where

29:37

we are is not good enough, even though

29:39

it's better than where we were a month ago.

29:43

He's putting on the show. This is what

29:45

we all came here to see. You've

29:48

always said you wanted to go out with the

29:50

same folks you rode in with, with Draymond,

29:53

with Clay. Do you still believe that the

29:55

three of you will be Golden State Warriors,

29:57

and that's it for life? 100 percent. And

30:00

I think that's always been a motivator for

30:02

us. And I think

30:05

the way that we talk about it is we want to

30:08

not only end our career as

30:10

a warrior, not only continue to

30:12

compete at a very high level, but

30:14

you want to end it the right way. I think we've been through a

30:17

lot this year, and

30:19

the three of us, especially with

30:21

Draymond's absence for a while

30:23

with Clay taking on a new role, the

30:27

new cast of characters that we have that are

30:30

right alongside us in this journey. I

30:34

think it's extremely possible to accomplish both. We

30:38

just have to protect

30:40

the identity of who we are as

30:43

best we can, and I think we're moving in

30:45

that right direction. So

30:49

Steph wants to keep the gang together, but

30:51

what could that look like? Well, the Warriors have

30:53

the highest payroll in the NBA this season.

30:55

They have five players making over 20 million

30:58

each. When you dive

31:00

into their books, Clay Thompson is an

31:02

unrestricted free agent after the season, and

31:04

they could waste his fall after the

31:06

year because his salary is not guaranteed.

31:09

So Steph says 100%, he wants to

31:11

keep the big three together. So Austin,

31:13

do you want to see the Warriors three, you know,

31:15

big three sail off into the sunset? I do. You

31:18

know, we're talking about a modern day dynasty. You think

31:20

about the Spurs. I don't want to see Clay Thompson

31:22

go to a different team. It's like when

31:24

we talk about the Spurs, we talk about, remember Tony Parker

31:26

left to go to Charlotte and it was like, it was

31:28

like weird. And they came back home and everybody felt good

31:30

again. I don't want to see Clay

31:32

Thompson in a different jersey. By the way, he could help other teams,

31:35

by the way, because a new fresh start could do a lot for

31:37

a player. But this team right here, you

31:39

want to see these guys go one team their whole career.

31:42

We're talking about the Golden State Warriors. By the way, you

31:44

never know. They might have a bounce back year, next year.

31:46

There's been a lot of like dysfunction

31:48

this year between injuries, between

31:51

absence of Draymond, between Clay's up and down

31:53

his new role. They're playing their best basketball

31:55

season right now. We'll see how this second half

31:57

kind of leans out and plays out. And

31:59

then you. go from there but they've already written or wrote

32:02

history they've done everything that they needed to do in

32:04

the game of basketball obviously you want to see Steph

32:06

compete at a high level because he's still playing at

32:08

a high level but I can't picture Draymond in a

32:10

different jersey I don't want Draymond in a different jersey

32:12

I damn sure don't want Clay in a different jersey

32:15

I want him to finish it out and he

32:17

did just recently say that he's willing to

32:19

take a lesser role essentially and I think

32:21

that's very important but Ramona will

32:23

Draymond and Clay finish their season

32:25

as a warrior I think they do I

32:27

think they all finish their careers of the Warriors I think

32:29

it's getting there is gonna be difficult

32:32

for Draymond signed for four years so he's got three years

32:34

left on his contract I can't see a world and where

32:36

they trade him teams might call but I don't I

32:38

don't think they do that Clay it's

32:40

really it's gonna be the balls in his

32:42

court now I mean it's it's really they

32:44

made him a contract extension offer they couldn't

32:46

come to an agreement it was it was

32:48

a two-year offer Draymond got four so there's

32:50

a some of that there but there's

32:53

also what what is his market value does he

32:55

want to test the market does he want to

32:57

go out and see what free agency is like

32:59

does he want to meet with other teams that

33:01

might set the market for him as

33:03

he comes to free agency this summer but I think when all

33:05

is said and done I think they find a

33:07

way to get that deal done I think they all do

33:09

stay together until the end of their first yeah

33:12

and if you just look at what they produce

33:14

on the basketball court recently Steph is in his

33:16

prime Draymond has really helped key

33:18

in the role players and Jonathan Kominga has

33:20

taken another big step so perv do you

33:22

think that they keep the gang together based

33:24

off of what we've seen maybe the last

33:26

ten or so games no

33:29

I don't and let me say this

33:32

because everyone was everyone was

33:34

saying oh Clay is not the clay

33:36

of old clay just had a 35

33:39

piece I believe it was right

33:41

before the All-Star break off the

33:44

bitch so Clay still could be

33:46

clay if he wanted

33:48

to in a different situation just

33:50

because he's asked to take a

33:52

lesser role for the Warriors doesn't

33:54

mean that clay Thompson can't go

33:56

in the liver on another basketball

33:59

team and he reminded us of

34:01

that before

34:03

the game against Utah. Here's what I'm

34:06

saying, right? When it comes down to

34:08

holiness together for the long haul, we

34:10

don't know what's gonna happen and we

34:12

don't know if these guys are gonna

34:14

retire in the war uniform

34:17

because I could see Draymond Green riding

34:19

this out like a Eudonis has them.

34:21

Does it have to be for the

34:24

Golden State Warriors? Now say three or

34:26

four years down the line when Draymond

34:28

contract is up, if another contender come

34:30

knocking at the door like the Oklahoma

34:32

City Thunder or the Minnesota Timberwolves and

34:34

say, hey Draymond, we want you in

34:36

the locker room, then he have some

34:38

serious thinking to do. So I can't

34:40

go out on the limb and say

34:42

that all three of those guys will

34:45

retire in a wariest uniform, I won't

34:47

do it. Well, Perk, we will see

34:49

because they'll hit the court very soon,

34:51

our next though Saturday primetime game on ABC

34:53

and the ESPN app features actually, Jalen

34:55

Brunson though in the next, hosting Jason

34:57

Tatum in the first place Celtic. This should

35:00

have been this weekend. Correct, NBA

35:02

countdown kicks it all off at eight Eastern.

35:04

Now still ahead though on our show, defense

35:07

may have taken today off, but

35:09

there were plenty of highlights, a special

35:11

edition of top of the top all

35:13

star weekend is right around the corner.

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Well, at least when I was a bang, bang! It

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went out with a bang! Mike Breen? You

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36:58

was the Harlem Globetrotters. The

37:00

exhibition basketball team is part

37:03

comedy, part competition, and all

37:05

skills. Founded in

37:07

Chicago in 1926, the Harlem Globetrotters

37:09

have been home to legends like

37:11

Fred Curly Neal, Metal

37:14

Arc Lemon, and yes, even Wilt

37:16

Chamberlain. Now approaching their

37:19

100th year as an American institution, the

37:21

Globetrotters are still, well, twice

37:24

actively touring across the country with no

37:26

signs of slowing down. Honoring

37:29

Black History Month on ESPN Radio.

37:34

Welcome back to NBA Today. Who

37:39

loves highlighting the Globetrotters? Let's keep that same

37:41

energy. Time for a special All Star Weekend

37:43

Top of the Top. First up, let's see what it is.

37:46

Top Dunk Contest, Mack McClellan. Okay, back.

37:48

Okay. He deserved it. He absolutely did.

37:50

Oh. Everything I want to have done

37:52

is like, how many people can I

37:54

jump over? No, respect Mack. Shaq. Budwebs.

37:56

It was the Shaq. Jacob Toppin, though.

37:58

I like that one. That was

38:00

solid. That was so underrated. It's

38:03

so underrated. Didn't he get a bad score? Make

38:05

it make sense. And then gotta love

38:07

this G-League Jordan Jackson puts on his

38:09

mom's jersey the legend. Darryl Swoop.

38:12

Put him in the dunk hotel. I mean, that

38:15

too. There's a nice little flashback. He's the mother

38:17

of a kid. Alright, let's

38:19

go to top in-game dunks. LeBron James. Oh,

38:22

yeah. Obvious way. Come on now. Move

38:24

out the way. Actually, no one was there. There was

38:26

no defense. There we go. Story of the night. Carl

38:28

Anthony Towns. Oh,

38:31

okay. That's a nice reverse.

38:33

Up and under. Yannas. The Rock, the

38:35

Craydon. Okay. Is that Yannas right

38:38

there? Yeah. Yup. That

38:40

was clean as well. Let's go to top in-game. I like the

38:42

L.U. from BAM too. Yeah. What? I like

38:44

the L.U. from BAM. Oh, that one was

38:46

nice. Top handles though. True Young. Not me.

38:49

Oh, that's just respectful. LeBron should

38:51

have packed that. There

38:54

were only, I believe, five or even three blocks

38:56

in the All-Star game. And I think what, like

38:58

three or four fouls. Three fouls. Three fouls the

39:00

entire game. Oh, and stuff pulls out the... With

39:02

the ball going. You

39:45

know what? Just a little sideline here.

39:47

James getting the MVP and Halliburton's backyard.

39:50

But that little few that's been brewing. Oh, that

39:52

is the proof. And since you mentioned

39:54

it, here's Dame with Malika Andrews after winning

39:57

the Kobe Bryant All-Star Game MVP.

40:01

Here with the All-Star Game MVP,

40:03

Damian Lillard. Dame, you joined some

40:05

very elite company because there have

40:07

only been two players ever to

40:09

win an All-Star Saturday Night

40:11

event and also win All-Star MVP. It

40:14

is yourself and Michael Jordan in 1988 who won the dunk

40:16

contest. What does it mean to join

40:18

that company? Anytime you mention next

40:20

to Mike is a special accomplishment.

40:24

Regardless of how it had to happen or what

40:26

type of events they are, the

40:29

fact that nobody has done it since 1988, I

40:31

think that shows how difficult it is. I have

40:33

one more piece of trivia for you here. You

40:36

are not the first Milwaukee Bucks

40:38

in recent history to win an

40:40

MVP here at All-Star Weekend. Do

40:42

you happen to know the year that Giannis won his? Giannis

40:46

might have won it in...19? Giannis

40:50

won it in 2021, the same year... Atlanta.

40:54

And the same year that the Milwaukee

40:56

Bucks won a championship. Could history be

40:58

repeating itself? We

41:01

got some work to do, but I certainly hope

41:03

so. Dame, thank you so much. Congratulations.

41:07

Appreciate it. Look, I love the honesty from

41:10

Dame because it is true. The Bucks stumbled

41:12

into the All-Star break, but hopefully Dame can

41:14

ride some of this momentum into the final

41:16

stretch of the season. And there was actually

41:19

another interesting moment during the broadcast when Giannis

41:21

and Dame both spoke about being the two

41:23

oldest players on the All-Star team. I think

41:26

Dame is 33, Giannis is still 29. So

41:29

Austin, do you think that right now with the urgency

41:31

based off of them feeling their old bones, is

41:33

this the time for Milwaukee to win it all? I

41:36

think next year is the year where the pressure cooker really

41:38

kind of turns on and they got to go out there

41:41

and perform at that highest level. If anything,

41:43

this is kind of, I don't want to say a free year because

41:45

with that type of roster and with that type of, you know, you're

41:47

talking about players on that roster, you're talking about

41:49

Giannis and Dame, they're expected to go compete now. They're

41:53

3-7 under the O-head pops. If

41:57

I called him, he ain't called back. That's why I

41:59

don't know. I'm like, hold

42:01

on man. He ain't picking up your phone.

42:04

He ain't picking up nobody's phone right now. Listen, Dave has got

42:06

to get a little bit of confidence from this weekend. Even though

42:08

it was a weird game, you still won MVP, you

42:10

still won out there at one of the three-point contests. You get a

42:12

little positivity flowing in that blood, goes back to Milwaukee. They

42:14

know they had a tough last ten games.

42:16

After All-Star break is a whole new season.

42:19

That's a whole new year. That's how it feels like when you're

42:21

out there at least. Everyone's playing harder, it's

42:23

go time, it's playoff time. Let's see if Milwaukee can kind

42:26

of tap into a chemistry here and get something going. So

42:28

I did hear your dad talk on ESPN

42:30

radio over the weekend. He did an interview with PJ

42:32

Carlos-Mo and Mark Hestercher. I thought it

42:34

was interesting because he was talking to PJ who he knows

42:36

really well from his days with the Spurs. He goes, this

42:39

is the hardest coaching job I've ever had. He

42:41

said one of the hardest things is he doesn't have a staff.

42:44

He took over in the middle of the year. He's

42:46

got Dave Yeager, but everybody else he inherited from

42:48

the previous coaching staff. He goes, I'm still evaluating

42:50

the coaching staff, almost as much as I'm evaluating

42:52

the players. He's not comfortable there

42:54

yet. It's hard to enact any kind of change when you

42:56

don't have all your guys, you're in the middle of the

42:58

year, there's already a lot of pressure. We've

43:01

said this before, when you have Giannis on your team there

43:03

is always pressure. I don't care what his

43:05

contract says, I don't care the extension, there's always pressure.

43:07

They didn't make that move for Dame Lillard to go

43:09

finish in the second round again. That is true, but

43:11

the intel we got that actually matters is that, please

43:14

call your son back, dog. Please call your son back.

43:16

It's all good. It's all good. Clearly,

43:18

clearly, they're going to be in the lab, have no

43:20

fear. We will be

43:22

back in action this weekend with our Friday double header,

43:25

Donovan Mitchell in the two-seated Cavs, Tyrese

43:28

Mackey in the Sixers at 7th and Eastern, then

43:30

Giannis in the box, hey, face

43:33

Anthony Edwards in the first place, Henry

43:35

Evers, the NBA countdown at 7 on

43:37

ESPN, NBA. Once

43:41

he timed All-Star LeBron James, doesn't have the

43:43

answer yet for how much longer he'll

43:45

play, but we have some ideas.

43:48

How should the King say bye

43:50

next on NBA Today? Which

44:00

one to hear? Coming this January,

44:02

FX's Shogun. I

44:05

must ask, what do you think here? To

44:07

vanquish our common enemies. Based

44:11

on the global bestseller by James Clappell,

44:13

war is coming. Tonight,

44:16

tonight! The epic

44:18

saga of war, passion and

44:20

power. Magic comes.

44:23

FX's Shogun February 27th on

44:25

Hulu. LeBron

44:30

pulls up to his 20th all-star game

44:33

and drops a few highlights. My

44:35

favorite was the Paul George bounce

44:37

pad. And then he picked it up

44:39

and slammed it. Brought the house down.

44:41

That was crazy for a 39-year-old. But those

44:44

plays were not what made waves throughout

44:46

the association. Check out what LeBron said

44:48

before the game. I

44:51

was asked this question a couple days ago. Will

44:54

you kind of take the farewell

44:56

tour or will you kind of just Tim Duncan

44:58

it? I'm

45:01

50-50. I'm going to be honest because

45:03

there's times where I feel like I

45:07

guess I owe it to my fans that's been

45:09

along this journey with me for

45:12

two decades plus. But the other side

45:14

of I've never been

45:17

that great with accepting like

45:20

praise. Well

45:23

then this will be awkward. You heard the King.

45:25

He doesn't know how or when he'll say goodbye.

45:27

Let's refresh our memory on how other Hall of

45:29

Famers said farewell. Maybe the most notable was Kobe

45:31

who dropped 60 in his last game before giving

45:34

us the amazing quote, quote, mamba

45:36

out. Who

45:38

workshopped that? I am a beauist fan. And then

45:40

LeBron mentioned Tim Duncan. He played his final game

45:42

in the 2016 Westside. So, Semis,

45:44

that was, if you workshop that, that's a finesse.

45:47

Duncan scored 19 points in the final game of his

45:49

Hall of Fame career and he had a very understated

45:52

exit. You'll see it here. I think he just

45:54

points out and then walks out, right? And

45:56

then Michael Jordan, he got some unique love from

45:58

a rival. during his farewell

46:00

tour, Pat Riley, and he retired the number

46:03

23 in his honor class, he despite Jordan

46:05

never playing for the franchise, which

46:07

was interesting. So you heard Kobe, Tim

46:09

Duncan, Michael Jordan. So Perk, what would

46:11

be the best way for LeBron to

46:13

end his career? LeBron

46:17

better get them flowers and have a,

46:19

I don't know if he gonna call

46:21

it a king tour, whatever he need

46:23

to call it, but damn it, he

46:25

need to make sure he blessed the

46:27

fan base with an opportunity of, you

46:29

know, especially on the road, right? I

46:32

remember when Kobe was doing his farewell tour, I

46:34

was in New Orleans, and I remember when he

46:36

stopped by, the place was sold out, by

46:39

the way, we were horrible that season,

46:41

but it was just the praise and

46:43

former players being able to go in

46:45

the locker room and talk

46:47

with Cole. Like, LeBron gotta accept this,

46:49

like, it's just

46:51

right, like he need this. I know he

46:53

says he never been the one

46:56

that wanna accept flowers, but damn it, he

46:58

gotta accept these roads, and

47:00

get that farewell tour, no other way around. One

47:02

thing I'll say about LeBron is that I

47:04

think he's always understood how important he

47:06

is to the game and to the basketball

47:08

culture. Like, he was on the cover sports

47:11

illustrate when he's 15, dubbed the

47:13

chosen one. Now he has that tattooed, okay,

47:15

on him. He leaned into that, okay? And

47:17

he leaned into the King James moniker, but

47:20

I think also he understands, like, it's not

47:22

just about you. You are relevant outside of

47:24

the game. You are relevant to other people,

47:26

to fans, to other players, and I think

47:29

he will accept that and understand that. I

47:31

don't think he's ever ducked that stage. Like, I don't think

47:33

he's ever ducked all that responsibility, and that's one of the

47:35

things I think you've credited him for, because it's

47:38

a lot. It's interesting, just because it also

47:40

feels like he's already opened this door. When we

47:42

talk about superstars and how accessible they are, who

47:44

have we ever seen more accessible than LeBron James?

47:46

The guy who's on Instagram, he's tweeting, he watches

47:48

grassroots, he watches college, he's all over the place.

47:51

Kobe was a little bit more ducked off. Tim

47:53

Duncan lives in a cave. So we expected Tim

47:55

Duncan not to do the no tour, but

47:58

with LeBron, we need the tour. We need

48:00

to fly. I will say this when Kobe had his farewell

48:02

tour It was like it was amazing because the

48:04

team wasn't any good that year either perk I remember when going

48:06

to New Orleans on that and it was like it

48:08

was amazing to watch everybody just kiss and ring on

48:10

That bad team, but he played in every game on

48:12

the road But so as we put all-star game

48:15

to bed Sabrina and staff winners right pay the

48:17

players money next year And then daylan

48:19

brown the dunk the dunk They're

48:21

all of you. We saw you Their

48:28

arms are just sitting at home. They're like why how

48:30

did I get into your conversation? Sorry?