MJGMB #124: Ballers in Paris with Matt Lieb

Well, I guess what, I'm Miles, but I do that later, usually in the intro.

But Team USA got off to a pretty good start at the Paris Olympics.

It did well with an impressive win over Serbia in.

The first game.

So we we haven't seen the second one. You have you have played against.

On what we saw prior to the Olympics when they face off against South dude, and maybe a bit of a nail bier, But we'll see. But we'll get into plenty of early tournament talk and continue our nineties nostalgia series with the median and podcast host Matt Leeb.

On today's episode, I'm Miles Gray and I'm Jack O'Brien and this is Jack Dodd. Sorry, got it?

Look at.

K indeed driving spinning from bost it with Five's gonna try another three, mister, look on James.

Be honest with the teiff looks no shit time puts you gu Yes, that was a very international pronunciation I did of boostis to all of our French listeners who are tuning in for the first time, because we do see that we are trending in power, So thank you so much for listening.

Uh, Matt, I just found out about the NBA from the Olympic basketball.

They were just wandering by.

They were like, wow, it sounds like a lot of people in there went in saw Lebron James and we're like, where's this guy from?

And now they're turning into our podcast and now they say, Matt Boosti's.

And we were flying through the roof right now.

Flying through the roof, flying through the stratosphere.

Matt Leeb, you are also flying through the stratosphere up and down the state, traveling comedian podcast host by yourself, a gun by yourself, a wire proadcast Bat Hasbara. You've got many shows, many things you talked about, but day we're talking Olympics and some nineties nostalgia.

I know you were like the Olympics started. Well, I heard that.

I know that it started because I saw clips of the opening ceremony in which there was a death metal band playing that year.

Was that was super cool?

And I was like, oh, I didn't know that the Olympics was sick like that. I know it was sick. I'd have been into it years ago. Yeah, pretty metal.

Actually, I thought like when they talked about medals, them in like gold medal, silver.

Medal and alloys it and al Yeah, pretty sick? Do you so? How much have you?

Did you see any highlights of Team USA or should we describe to you what's happening.

I you know what, I have not seen a highlight. Didn't know that they started playing. I thought after the ceremony everyone just kind of like took a two week breather and said, like, Okay, you know now we got to get people. We got to start promoting the show like fringe festival. We got to get an audience.

You have that first big thing, but then you want to like give it some room to breathe. You don't want to seem too eager. Look at me. We're doing it an Olympic. I mean, it's like they're doing it all at the same time.

Like some people want to see shot put, some people want to see javelin, some people want to see you know, basketball, yeaheah.

Gun shooting is an event. They've got it all. Is that an Olympic sports? Shooting guns?

Yeah, shooting guns, and we should win. Team I say wins that a lot, right.

They don't. We're not good with accuracy. I don't know if I guess that's true. We're just all about firing it off. But the moment my eight year old found out shooting was an Olympic event, that's all he can talk about when when shooting.

Yeah, they were the cool goggles too, likeever enhances your aim?

Yeah, that South Korean like pistol person.

That woman who just broke the world record was so wild to what records were.

Like just like accuracy at twenty five Okay.

How many times you can spin it around and then put it back like an old West person has.

Very little in common with the quick and the dead.

Sharon Stone vehicle. Yes, I feel like that should have at least be one of the events. Is how fast you can twirl it around? Yeah, yeah, yeah, quick draw, I'm just talking whirlingls just it, yeah, spinning it and putting it back in the holster.

And if you can get it like perfectly in the hulster each.

Time, then you get a metal like they finally remember the skip it toy You used to put it around your ankle and skip around and had the little counter on it.

Okay, twirling where like you're like skipping over the guns.

Super nice gun twirling. Everyone's doing a dance at the same time. I feel like I saw this in when I watched Hamilton on Broadway.

There's a lot of like people dancing with muskets.

And I was like, okay, all right, yeah, maybe maybe when they let a West Virginia host of the Olympics, maybe we'll get this right they Kentucky. I've lived in both those places, so I can say it, all right, Yeah that's true.

Yeah, I can't say it. I'm you're not allowed of Culver City. Yes, I am a pacific post liberal elite.

Yes, all right.

Well, speaking of which, I found out that you are born and raised Angelino. For your choices of the nineties players that you would like to go over, I get there's like something that they all had in common. I couldn't quite figure it out.

Yeah, they all Campbell, Campbell.

To giveaway Bryant and our friend of the show, Robert or.

Haven't Yeah, my best friend Robert Or Yeah, well no, actually my best friend Robert and also my best friend Vince Carter, my best.

Restaurants Yeah, yeah, my friend publicly. Yeah, I went to Campbell, big shot Rob. If you're out here listening to.

Right, oh, you'd love Rod. That's that's will say.

When you know a celebrity, You're like, oh, you you should, you should meetbe you would love you.

Bob talk about can't because he's famous. That's right.

Yeah, I call him Babo, but me and him from way downtown Babo. So, uh, Mattri, I'm guessing you know we're a similar age, both raised in the city of Los Angeles. I love that you have Elden Campbell here from an era a frustration for a Lakers fans. Lakers fan Del Harris years, the Randy Funders, there were some lean years as a Lakers fan in the nineties.

Yeah, but like Eldon Campbell, what I think he.

Was our twenty seventh pick, Yes, in the nineteen ninety NBA draft.

That's because I look did up in preparation for this.

Is like, wait, why so why did you tell me why Elden Campbell has a sacred spot in your fanheart?

Okay?

So Elden Campbell for me, uh became my favorite basketball player. Not because of basketball, okay, but because Uh. In middle school, I had a summer school teacher named mister Campbell who was the strangest teacher.

He sounded like.

Morgan Freeman and and the students were not nice.

To him.

He would say like Teacha abuse, Teacha abuse. Like it was very strange the way he would speak. But then he at one point he was like, my brother Eldon plays for the Lakers, and wow, whoa And I liked, wait, Elden Campbell is your brother.

And he's like, you have told the story before, maybe on Daily Zeist.

Maybe did I tell?

Yeah, that's okay, I want to I want to know it again. It's very importan and for what we're talking about to.

Be to be completely honest. You know, when you're a kid that age, you just believe everything. And now you know, I've like rethought, I've never thought to like google it. Does he have a brother who was a middle school teacher in Los Angeles or middle school summer school teacher in Los Angeles? And uh, you know, I I hope it wasn't a lie. He didn't seem like the type of guy who lied. He in fact, you know, his

What's that? And that was all I needed, no exactly, and I was like, oh man, that's cool.

And then I just you know, started started watching, uh, the Lakers more more so than ever because I felt like I had a connection to them because of the tables.

You's weird brother, even though he had this like Kennedy esque accent. It's because Eldon Campbell is from Inglewood.

Are you speaking in Inglewood? Yeah?

Like maybe they just maybe that's just like a you know somewhere in Inglewood there's like a just a one hood in which everyone's like we speak like Mulgan Freeman Gardens.

Yeah, I'm from the wood, the seven Acre Wood. It's a blesstery day. It's a blustery day in the Christopher Robin. Yeah.

I also actually, you know, if you look at like career stats for Elton Campbell, like he's not bad, you know, he just was. He didn't get respect because you know, eventually they had a better center.

Yes, yes, but he was.

A standout in Bulls versus Lakers the Sega Genesis game. He had like a signature move. There were a handful of players who had signature moves. Jordan would go down the lane, do the right hand to left hand layup. Magic would go down the lane. It was always going down the lane. It was just like you get in one position, headed towards the basket, hit the right combination of buttons and they would get one. But his was

If you look closely, like in the background of the game, in the crowd, you can see his brother the middle, mister Campbell going teja abuse abuse.

He sounds like somebody who would be like, oh, you did a sports ball Tevin Eldon.

Yeah.

Yeah, I've had the line. I've had the line saying goodbye like Tevin Campbell in my head since we started talking about Elden Campbell for some reason.

It's a wood tang layer.

I remember though, too, when Eldon went to the Pistons and we faced them off in the two thousand and four.

Finals, which we did not win unfortunately. I know.

I remember he put in quite a shift against our deer, Shakiel, and that was a bit of a bitter pill to swallow also, but I.

Was glad to see Eldon get a get a ring, yeah, you know, and not not on the lake, you know, just like be like, hey, take that shack.

I think you're so good, you know what I mean? Do you think he's so so so good.

Yeah, because we traded away for him. But in ninety nine and that's when, like, is that when Glenn Rice.

Came Yeah ninety nine, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah. He was on that first Lakers championship team and I was like, yeah.

We go, you're the reason baby.

Yeah, we shipped out Eddie Jones and Eldon Campbell, which was very very difficult for me as a big Eddie Jones fan to see.

But yeah, and Eddie Jones was another one. He was almost on the list too, But I felt like, you know, maybe too many Lakers. Yeah, you know, we can't have every single Laker Laker.

Yeah, you know Kurt Rambis del Harris, he's the coach.

Yeah, if I want to talk about him too. Look, can we just talk about Dell?

Yeah, what great, great gray hair. Yet Shack, I think is an obvious choice.

Obvious choice.

You're also getting too Shaq and Kobe before anybody else. This is our second nineties player run through, so.

No one else did check and Kobe just well we've only done one week.

Yeah, worth of the nineties player look back.

Well, I'm glad because I feel like those two are obscure choices you know, like, yeah, for sure, people really remember, you know, back in the day, there was this you know, yeah three peat championship team called the Los Angeles Lakers.

But the Eldon Campbell competition is out of control.

Everyone. Everyone's people are canceling.

Now that they've heard that Eldon Campbell is off the board.

Yeah, sorry, they want to talk about Eldon Biggie the big baby Lakers, Shaq. I mean what, so between Shaq and Kobe did like a Kobe guy, you're a Kobe guy.

Yeah.

I always felt like because Kobe, you know, uh, he never he didn't get no respect.

That's what I felt about Kobe Rodney Dangerfield of the NBA.

He was, he really was, and uh, you know, I felt like Shaq was such a you know, uh he was a behemoth. You know, he was like, uh, not just a franchise player, but like an NBA superstar. And Kobe was too, of course obviously, but they were always, uh you know, it was always like Shack greatest you know, center of all time. And uh this is like early on, before you know, Kobe proved himself to be one of the greatest basketball players of all time.

I feel like Shaq was as famous when he was with the Magic as he was when he was with the Like he was so famous already, like he like he had he had the movies already by the time he got to the Lakers, where it was.

Like he was already soling albums, you know what I mean.

Where he had an audio game called shack Fo you know what, he had Kazam, he had Steel, he had the albums.

He had like the clothing brand Twism. Let's not forget that either, That's right, Yeah, I.

Forgot about Twism. Yeah, I had a Twism.

I had one of the jankiest Twism jerseys you've ever seen because my mom found it at ross because I was begging for Twism gear. Yeah, and you couldn't find it anywhere, and my momus you could.

Get the irregular ones that yeah.

Like this one had, you know how, Like remember that, like get a regular Twism. Yeah, it can be a B grade, a B grade, a B grade Twism shirt. You remember that shim Ma machine material that all the basketball shorts are made of in the nineties, that like if you had a cat and it arrently scratched it like ruined, the entire was like one thread and the whole thing is dead. It's like scrunched on the side.

Yeah, he had.

I mean, Shaq was is such a like you know, like in the era of the big superstars, like with Michael Jordan taking up all the oxygen, like having a big guy like Shaq who felt like a fun, lovable kid whose gigantic shoe was in every mall in America for some reason because.

Everyone's like get a loaded of this guy's foot.

Yes, yeah, and became like the number one novelty in America, like yeah, surpassing Giant Ball of String.

It was like shack shoe. Yeah, yeah, it was.

It was like roadside attraction famous, like people were just like, look look at this freak. And it was crazy too because like in the era of Michael Jordan, which he is taking up all of the space to even have another superstar who also you know, had uh you know, he was a Rebok guy. So you know, he had his silhouette on there. They tried to make that bad hacken. Yeah, but you know, and and he's he hadn't he hadn't even won a championship yet, you know, it took him,

He was tall, Yeah, very tall. That was the other thing that I believe that. So I'm gonna I'm gonna believe it.

And I also was like, Eldon is a is you know, this guy is a weird accent. But Eldon does seem like the type of name you would have if your whole fans would name yeah, yes, like a transit Atlantic accent. Family would name their kid elder, right and so yeah, so I was always like, you know, Kobe doesn't get respect, Like everyone's buying shock albums. Nobody's buying thug poetry. And I was like, you know, he's a he's not a great rapper, but he can rap an Italian?

Why do people not respect this guy? Whe that he won the dunk contest? You know? Uh?

And then when the dunk contest did, did.

Kobe not win the dunk contest? And crazy? I thought he did? That was like his second or first?

Yeah?

I thought he did, like the first first year?

How is that more? Nyen that he it was iconic? He he uh, he has like his what was his move? It was oh man, it's been so long, but it was like, he definitely dunked the ball good.

I remember, all right, to make sure he dunked the ball good.

Here's a refresher for Kobe's dunk contest in ninety ninety.

So the thing that I remember was that he wore his shooting shirt for it, which was very like, oh, okay, we like that.

And I remember wanting a shooting shirts. Eighteen years old six six yeah, yeah, okay.

It's eighteen years old. Here's this but us he got second year.

Okay, yeah, eighteen years old, his second year exactly. Ooh went down between.

His legs and got them were his shooting shirt the whole time.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I feel like that casual casual casual.

Also kind of a mistake because why why is this not more iconic?

You say, a mistake, but you know, but he didn't win. The shooting shirt comes off. Oh dude, then they'll do it one more time.

Oh yeah, and then flext No, but the show, his last one I think was, oh yeah, Brandy's in the audience.

Is important. That's what.

He took Brandy to the prom right, he did take that.

He did, he took Brandy to the prompt. And then what was this one? He tried to go for a bounce between the legs.

That's a good gab him.

That that was I don't want to see that replay is not nice. First all right, so here's the last one we saw. We saw Michael Finley.

Already definitely like the most iconic one and yeah, oh yeah, this is like pumped back.

Yeah yeah. So he he.

Proved himself to be athletically like one of the greatest. And then you know, everyone just called him a ballhog for his first like three four years in the NBA, which was true. You know, he averaged five steals from his teammates. Yeah it's not just brow, Yeah, but it was.

But no, but you could see that belief in him too.

I remember like one of the playoff series against the Jazz and he was throwing up so many shots that I was like, dude, relax, like, yeah, you aren't the answer to this right now. But you could tell that, like that turned into what Kobe then became, which is like that real self belief in himself and be like I'm not I'm not serious.

I'm like, I'm not joking.

I will I will negate every contribution from this other team by myself if I had to.

And yeah, that was a thing that was a little bit.

I remember being frustrated as a young fan because it just didn't feel like it his belief was matching what was showing up on the court.

But then when those things were reconciled, Yeah, and once.

Everything started to come together, once they were running the triangle, once they you know, got uh Phil Jackson immediately were winning championships, and he was still you know, people were still you know, talking track and I was like, you're wrong, Kobe's Jordan. And then like Lebron James came out in two thousand and three and I was like.

Whoa Kobe?

I still hate Jordans, I still don't like Lebron from just that, because.

From people trying to shift the focus away from my man Kobe.

And this is a this is for people who don't live in La. This is how most Lakers fans at least.

Yeah.

A sickness that most Lakers fans have is they are they resent that Lebron came to the Lakers and won a championship.

Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, hurt.

They're like, I hate this guy, like he's just here, he just wants to win one with our jersey on they Yeah. Lakers fans coined the term Mickey Mouse branding for Disneyland.

All we don't like this guy.

A question that just occurred to me about Shack because arguably he went into the profession where the thing that is most notable about him is the least remarkable, which is like he's around other people who are huge and he like makes them look small by comparison, like Shack is. I don't think people understand how big Shack is and you're just huge in every direction. Do we think he would have had a like he would have been world famous if he just like never picked up a basketball,

Yes, wait so in this alternate universe, where where does he what's his path?

You still I don't know if he goes to LSU, but like, wwe maybe, oh.

Interesting, I could see him being like a Andre the Giant. The Giant people by the way, forget how big Andre the Giant was. He's another one.

Yeah.

It was like you when you think he's a giant, he's just like, ah, there's giants in the NBA.

No, He's like Jack.

He's like, yeah, watch hold can coke and have your mind blown.

Right Yeah yeah, I'm just every finger is the size of a two liter bot.

You know, you're just like what the hell? Yeah?

But yeah no, he was like always uh, one of those guys who I think people you know, you saw him as kind of freak, you know what I mean. It was just like damn, this guy is huge. But what made him amazing was the quick dude.

He was fast.

Yeah, yeah, crazy. Yeah, he would have wanted you would have wanted him doing something athletic. Maybe maybe in this scenario, he's just like the world's greatest NFL something or other.

Yeah, oh my god, did you imagine someone like that?

All he played center in the NFL like whatever team, like the people rushing behind him. Yeah, but you think the push push is effective with with.

Like normal people, like an actual linebacker. You're like, yeah, yeah, don't throw it to me over over the middle. But alone, you would literally kill people. Yeah, people would have died.

Oh shake heel, how she adore you? All right? Shall we take a quick break?

Yeah, let's take a quick break and then we're gonna tilt our eyes over toward Uh that's where the Olympic is happening.

We'll be right back and we're back. I've tilted my eyes. I was.

I was running through what my inner monologue is going to be tonight as I'm trying to go to sleep.

Our eyes, our eyes, How do you even do that? Why do I do this? Such an idiot? Honey, honey? Does this make sense? Let's chilt our eyes over this way? What not getting out of never mind saying something?

Everyone says, it's actually super poetic normal it was poet Kobet's album.

Was that really the name of his album. All right, that's what we need to do for one of our summer episodes.

Yeah, yeah, it's not great, man, I mean because that's description of you.

Kobe Bryant, I know, I know neither ig nor poet much projections of things he like wanted to be. Yeah, yeah, he's like, it would be a good Tupac album name.

Why didn't I just do it? I just make that the name of my album? What about this thug mansion? That's a man. Yeah.

Tismos shout out to him though, for what what he did for Lebron's game in the Olympics by being on the same team with him and just showing them how hard you have to work to be like a evolutionary player and then like, you know, like somebody who's like it moves the game forward.

Right, And Lebron and a.

Lot of the players from that generation talk about being on the same Olympics with him and being like, oh, he wakes up at five every morning.

Yeah, I know, he's the O G grindset mindset guy and kind of like ruined. He accidentally ruins the generation of men.

But I think that was YouTube, But I don't think. Yeah, I don't blame that.

But mamba mentality became so synonymous with so many things I think because yeah, like it it worked for him. Now does that work for your budding business of doing decals on automobiles? Right?

Yeah, it work for your all meat, you know.

Maybe see all right, we're gonna talk about the USA's first game against Serbia, but first I want to talk about my man victorama, my man our man victory.

Yeah, what a what an outing.

He's had two victories for France so far, and he's been controversial.

I will say controversial win against Japan.

Against Japan, that was a close one.

Oh I missed it. So why was it controversial?

Because Ruy Hachimura was playing in a way that was bringing tears to my eyes in the good way, and he just got so hot that like they really were starting to close the game down against France. He was hitting back to back threes and then suddenly he was ejected for some like not truly ejectable offenses based on what we've seen across the Olympics, which raised a lot of you know, people were like, this is a this

Yeah, but they I mean they were a lot that lucky. I think it was under a minute they were down four against Japan.

Yeah, and got a soft four point play call. Yeah. I don't know the guy. I might I might have missed the replay.

But it sounds like a scandal, you guys. It is like one of those Olympic scans.

Well, unfortunately, we know that Olympic refereeing has never done anything shady.

So we're we're good here, yes, yeah, yeah, but playing quite well. I got it.

So he played great in their first win against Brazil. It was just a lot of highlights, a lot of blocks, just a lot.

Yeah.

Everyone was like, oh, this is a new world watching him play.

There's not much you can do about it.

It's it's interest because they still like, don't play like he still like feels like he hasn't been unleashed. He feels leashed. Yeah, by in this setting, which is weird. I feel like this is us getting to see what it would look like if he had gone to college. Like the Olympic basketball feels like the best players in the world playing college basketball.

To me, like the stacing is.

Weird, the style is weird, and yeah, it's all just but he he still has been incredible in the game against Japan, Like one of the headlines was like Japan keeps wembing Yama like under control or you know, holds holds Wemby Aama like keeps him from going wild. He had eighteen eleven six with two blocks and true shields and like basically took over in over time.

I think, Yeah, that headline is sort of like, well, he didn't score twenty points, right, so they kept him under control like those other stats. Yeah, sure, sure, yeah, well I really took one jump like I have this one jumps out early in the game over him, and I was like, brave, brave, But yeah, Wemby's just truly continues like to evolve and gets stronger and it's.

Turning into a young man before our eyes.

Every France game, Like that's just a deal I've made with myself. Who's the last like, uh, you know Tony Parker, Yeah, Tony Parker.

Is he the last franchise France man.

Like franchise franchise player? Yeah, you know, Like I mean, really, Gobert if you ask Minnesota is based on what they paid for him.

But yeah, but for talking rings, you know what I mean.

Yeah, Tony Parker's got to be the only man, I think, all of France who's ever won.

He's never the best player on a single one of those teams.

Yeah, you know, yeah, sure, but he was pretty good.

I mean, when it comes to that era of basketball and all of the different point guards that Derek Fisher made famous, you know, he's one of them, you know.

Yeah, thank that's right, that's that's a historical fact. Shout out to Derek. I love you.

If you listen to this podcast, be my friend, Derek.

Be my friend. Invite me over to a cookout with Robert or.

Please one compliment I have to pay to our partners of this podcast. The NBA is their smart, forward thinking position on allowing people to share social media clips, yeah, plays from NBA games. Yeah, Like you get about twenty minutes to watch a highlight of Olympic basketball on Twitter before NBC is taking it down. And it's truly it just like makes the impact of these plays and all these games like less. It just like penetrates less in the culture. And it's a bummer, Like I just wish

Almost great point.

It's yeah, it feels like it feels like a snapchat or something. We're like, oh, well, you didn't you didn't see it. Yeah, I'm like, ah, but I like the highlights, but.

Yeah, yeah, I probably would have known the Olympics started.

They allowed the highlights on Twitter. Enough right right right on Twitter, waiting for highlight, right right right.

So Team USA's next game is Wednesday VERSUSU Sudan, so it may have already happened as you listen to this. The US is favored by thirty. This seems incorrect. Like just across the board, looking at how good all the teams are. That's the other My other takeaway from the Olympics is like, all of these teams look really good. Again, the spacing is such that it's it's cluttered in there. I don't think the US is like noticeably so far

But yeah, on Olympic Olympic basketball last last Olympics, but.

They didn't win the world title last last year.

Yeah so much.

Yeah, and like they didn't they weren't really close at that time. So yeah, but we do have Lebron James and uh, most importantly, I mean most importantly probably Lebron. I'm sorry to say, Matt, but KD was KD always comes to play in the Olympics. Uh, and he still feels like the one player who you see out there and he follows through on the promise that like, oh we have an NBA player, we have against non NBA players out there like that.

He just he looked like.

It was on easy mode for him and like nobody else. He went eight for eight in the first quarter, five for five from three and just was just looked like Kevin Durant playing against people who were not up to his level. And then like also was hitting impossible shots. Yeah, like he was just so hot.

The opponent level aside, he was just so dialed in. It was just freaky that like it felt like when's.

I they got a ringer, who's the guy?

Yeah yeah, hold on check his credentials from But he's going against Jokic, the best player in the world by a lot of people standards, and you know, the rotation is interesting, like they I mean, I think it's gonna be different game to game, but yeah, like Ad still not playing that much, even though when he played in the qualifying and like tune up matches, he would looked like the best player a lot of times, or at least the best big man.

Uh.

They still they like we're doing big man by committee type like just like they treated a d Joel Embiid and Bam like they were just like big bodies that you're like throwing at people to collect fouls like twenty minutes each. We're just like, I don't know, go out there and collect some fouls against Jokic.

Yeah, don't fully foul out, but like they get two or three in there, all right.

Yeah, Yeah, Brom was awesome. Steph looked really uh solid in his minutes.

Booker.

I wanted to call out super producer Jabbari was noting that like somebody in twenty twenty three tweeted, oh, Kyle Kuzma.

Somebody, Hey, hey, some fan, some fan.

Some basketball fan named Kyle Kuzma. Cosma tweeted, USA basketball better get some NBA stars that know how to play a role. Anybody can be nice with the ball in their hands, but can you be cool with defending and going to the corner for a few possessions?

Uh?

And Devin Booker said I'll do it, and he has been true. He was true to his word in this first game. He was just like out there, you know too many people who think they're the best player in the world or the best player on the court, and like, things don't always work out. So you need people who are still going to be like, all right, it's Lebron James.

We're gonna yeah, or even regardless of being like, well, I'll acknowledge this guy's better than me.

Is just more of like, we all have to play a role for.

The team to defeat the other teams because the you know, solo hero stuff.

Isn't always gonna work out for us in this game. Yeah, but that.

Was interesting to see because Jason Tatum and Tyrese Halliburn did not play in that game, and people were doing like flippant highlight reels of like you're like, yo, check out Tyree's Tatum's like mixtape from the highlight tape.

And it's just all the steering from the bench.

Yeah, But like Halliburton, you could tell it was like this is great, Like I'm I'm with this, this is all okay. Jason Tatum, though I understand you just came off of an NBA championship, he was a little bit more sulky.

I mean, Derek White is playing and he's not playing in that game. Derek White is, you know, coming into last season, was probably seen as the fourth best player on their team.

Yeah, you know.

And and also Drew Holliday is playing the third best player on that team, and he is supposed to be the best player on that team. But I think it speaks to what Jabari was calling out with the Devin Booker thing, is like you need people who are willing to be the other guy on the court, like energetically and in terms of the role you're filling.

And if I'm if I'm any of these guys, I'm like please bench me. I do not want to be injured. And I played basketball.

For I paid.

You don't understand, Steve, I get paid so much money to play basketball in the NBA.

I love America, but not like hold my job for free, love America. Leep? Are you eating a bag at sandwich right now? Yeah? I'm trying to enjoy myself. Yeah, I'm good. I'm good.

Don't worry about me. Look, I'm just here for the metal man. I'm just happy to be honestly, just so happy to be here.

I'm I'm just having before Yeah, just stuffing pastries into my mouth like I'm just happy to help my team or anywhere.

Like that Russell Westbrook clip when he was like looking over he's eating a sandwich.

But Kerr said he specifically like had multiple conversations with Tatum before the game and after the game to be like this is what's happening. Sorry, we're gonna need you against South Sudan. But like in terms of our you know, game plan for this game, like we need to just cycle in big bodies. I guess was their game plan and it worked. I mean, say what you will about like how tight the tune up game against South Sudan

Look, he was playing in the sport heat. That's not really his preferred sport.

In the Olympics.

He would have liked to been in the dressage or some of the equestrian events.

Sound but he is kind of a dance the dancing horse of the NBA, that's right.

But I mean, like I look at those like Sudan odds, we're favored, but like by thirty what we beat Serbia by twenty six? Okay, so Jabari, thank you. We were twelve and a half point favorites over Serbia.

We beat him by two. I mean, I guess you just South Sudan is just interesting, just.

Doing like NBA, like put the number of NBA guys on the team on one side of the scale and like whoever has the most. But that doesn't seem to be how things work in this modern version of international basketball.

Yeah, and I think, I mean that's why the South Sudan game will be interesting to be like, Okay, was what we saw in those tune up matches a bit of a fluke or you know South? I mean South Sudan was really performing well and they have a really like I didn't realize lou All Deng was personally financing the South Sudan basketball team for the last four years.

Yeah, and I was like, Okay, well, Shady, we need to look into that. We look into this.

Man is helping out his fellow countrymen achieve new heights.

Shoot it was us, the Lakers, Yeah exactly. I'm like, well, we did a good thing with that contract at least.

But yeah, I am that'll be a really really fun one to watch and look as it's happening, who knows they the US may have absolutely just run rough shot over them.

But I don't because there This is the thing that I feel like we saw in the playoffs and the NBA this year is like when you have a lot of speed, like really fast guards and then you're going up against thirty eight thirty nine year old Lebron James, Like, it's like and I saw it with like cheering for a team that has embiid on it is like, yeah, he's a stopper in the middle, but he's also like there's just so many ways to get those guys out away from the basket now and in space that I

Are they fast? They're fast and they can shoot. They got fast fast.

They because can sometimes win game exactly if there's one thing I know about basketball.

Stuffs and shoot can win game. Yes.

No Ken defense, yeah, no, Ken defense against fast guy who can shoot.

Yannis has been incredible and Grease is own two. Uh yeah, he's He's got sixty one points through two games.

Pretty good.

It's funny because I had temporarily forgotten about Giannis and I was like, is Webbing I'm the person that I would like put on the US if I could like pull a player from an international team. Yeah, it's probably still y honest, But.

In that conversation too, I feel like I told you on this this guy stinks. I like the horse guy. He's my one favorite bad guy from.

The actually be the answer probably because yeah, he would distribute the ball.

You were doing it based on who's the best of basketball, and yeah, objective metric all right.

We're talking doing it based on who you like the most.

Yeah, sorry, sorry losers. Anyways, I'm enjoying the Olympics.

Yeah, it's good.

It's good to have some fun basketball to watch, and especially with such a such a high concentration of NBA players, it makes it so much more enjoyable.

You know what I'm gonna I'm gonna turn it on. I'm gonna start watching it. Does it start in two weeks?

Yeah? Yeah, check back a few weeks.

All about it. I need some lead up time. I can't just go directly into it, you know, I get it. I get Peacock, and then I gotta go get a TV and then I gotta.

You know, it's a whole lot.

And then just the the opportunity to see Anthony Edwards interacting with the world off court is fun.

He's you know, what is he doing in the world as the like just walking through the streets of Paris?

Is he doing the revolution to team? You know? This game.

Just adorable and we love him. Yeah, all right, all right, let's take a quick break.

We'll come back.

We'll rapid fire through the rapid fire round a question.

And we're back. We're back, back.

We oh doing the fastestest question and answer segment of podcast history. Leave Are you ready to be in the hot seat? Because it's in the hot seat already. My wife's yeah, I'm in the doghouse. Whoa to this podcast?

Under the door tonight? I'm getting no respect like Bobe Bryan.

What does a guy gotta do? It's time for the fourth quarter rapid fire round of questioning. You already know what time and is Matt? We asked you a question.

Just respond quickly. You've got to keep it moving. We have some questions, some from our discord, some from our brains. Some we ask all of our guests, are you ready? Uh? Yes, already? Man? Sorry, he's already starting the clock.

He's already, Brian, You've got to hurry up, Man, got.

To hurry up. What's your answer? You're ready? Sorry? The clock started? The rapid fire? Okay, fire, Okay, here we go. It's a rappit. Okay, who goes first? Question?

Now?

I want to go first. It's me Jack. I want to ask Hey, Matt, Hey, Matt, first time? Long time? Wait? Sorry that's ronning.

But uh they were all right, So from our discord, they're debating, Yes, perfect on to you miles back. Okay, Discord, they were debating Katie's best nickname. We've got easy Money Sniper, we got Durantela, we got the Slim Reaper. So, first of all, which of those nicknames? And he he has a very specific choice of the Kevin durant does.

But uh yeah, first of.

All, I want to hear your pick, and then second of all, I want to hear your pick for the best player nicknames of all time.

Okay, so my pick for what for Kate Money, Sniper, Durantela or Slim Reaper.

Okay, Well, I mean I love Durantela.

I think that to me describes him perfectly because I remember first time seeing Kevin Durant I was like, this guy's like a spider.

That is Caitlin Dorante's nickname. That yeah, rules, yeah.

Okay, and best nickname? Yeah.

Uh Anthony Peeler the Iceman. Now you may be wondering, what what do you mean he's not the Iceman. Well, one time my friend got his autograph and he signed it Anthony the Iceman Peeler. He went what and he was confused by it because Anthony Peeler, that's not his name. Uh, so yeah, the Iceman Campbell. Everyone's just the soupman Campbell.

Anthony Durantela Miller like, oh, man, do you do did you ever figure out why he signed that? Was?

He like? Yeah, right, guy?

Do you think he was trying to get He was just trying to make the iceman happen. He was like, you know, what would be a cool nickname, the iceman. And the way I'll started is slowly, I'll just sign children's autographs and you know, put the iceman.

See if it's stick. But that was George Gervin's nickname. She was George is in the past.

That's the past. Why are you going to keep focusing on the past, you know, living in the air Jordan's.

That was the last.

Jordan Air air Peeler Yeah, yeah, I'm Jorge.

What you can do with peeler though, you know?

Yeah, I know, yeah, potato, you know, you know, get skinned by the peeler.

You know, I don't have that's all. Actually the peeler is like it goes too dark. I think, yeah, a little, it's a little horror film. It does yet Bill Yeah, yeah, wait a second, Bill Peeler.

She big, great, big, tall person.

Pretty.

All right, here's another one, Mattan, specifically from your playing career ever, from childhood on, what was your what was your personal highlight for you as a basketball player?

What is the greatest thing? The great big I'm a great big tall.

Man, six foot six, two hundred and forty pounds, all fat, no mo u uh So my highlight of my career is half court pickup game, in which I at this point had been exercising a lot, so I had.

A little I was a little bit okay at.

Basketball, okay, And for the first time ever, I saw a lane open and I ran with the ball and I thunk it. What I did in a pickup game in a in a pickup game. Now everyone of basketball.

Wow.

As soon as I did it, everyone started laughing, and I was like, well, I don't know you're laughing. I just dunked the ball, and you're like, you just traveled eight steps. I have forgotten about dribbling because I was scared that if I dribbled they'd steal it.

So I just started running.

But they were like rugby dunk, yeah exactly. But you know, I didn't think people. I was like, you know, it doesn't count. Pickup game.

Yeah, but there's no traveling on the streets. You complete the dunk. Yeah, the dunk. I thought everyone forget that and just be like, oh, you know, well we dunked it. Yeah, it handed.

It didn't like look good, but I was like, I saw a lane. You're like, you're like, yeah it was. I pulled my arm pit muscle, my arms too long.

I ran you go one handy on it hand.

Yeah, my arm straight up, and I just went as I saw the lane, And apparently people just love like thinking.

About it, like from your perspective, and then like in a comedy film, and then cut to what actually happened, where you're like, you got the ball, you see defender shift, You're like, there it is, baby, I'm going for it. Then hard cut to you like running from half court, like.

Taking little steps, extra little steps as I got closer.

And then bending your knees so low that your butt touches the ground.

It was not as graceful irl as it was in my mind. But yeah, I did slow down when I saw that lane.

Oh my gosh.

Okay, next question, and I might have an idea who you're gonna pick based on what you've said about your favorite player and who doesn't get respect. But between the two thousand and eight team USA team or the twenty twenty four USA team, who do you select as your better team?

Who is your champion? Who are you riding with? So you were there two thousand and eight, man a better team?

I mean, listen, you're talking about who would I pick between twenty and eight and twenty twenty four.

Yeah, there's zero question. You know, I'm picking two thousand and eight. There it is. And the reason I'm picking two thousand and eight and is.

I believe that that team what was it? It was either like four years earlier or what not, Like there was a year where we didn't win.

Yeah, four years earlier, two thousand and four.

And I remember being like, that's its great, you know, we're America and we didn't even win. And uh, I don't know if Kobe was even on that team in two thousand four.

Yeah I think he was. Yeah, Nope, no, yeah, he wasn't. I'm glad Jabari is here to just you know, and I remember he keep the misinformation from never Wanted Done contaest and he was on the two thousand and four team.

Yeah.

You obviously you're biased against Toby. So everything good that ever happened. You're like, no, But the truth of it is is that he wasn't on that team in two thousand and four. And I said, well that's why, that's why. And then two thousand and eight, Oh, it was great. It was like American team win, like, yeah, the redeemed team, that's right, and and yeah, so two thousand and eight, whereas like this team, I don't, honestly, I don't think they have it in them.

You don't think so yeah, yeah, maybe look look I look at that.

I look at that, this you know, USA basketball team, and I'm just like.

Who never heard of these guys? I've never heard these guys.

Now, it could be because I haven't watched basketball since twenty twelve, but I don't think it's that. I think it's honestly, like, I think it's the what who's that?

You know? Joel Embiida, What do you mean Lebron Joel? Never heard of Lebron James?

So wow, that's amazing for somebody to watch basketball all the way up to twenty twelve.

Tim, Yeah, never heard of them, heard me? But yeah, two thousand and eight all the way baby readeem team all right, last thing.

You have to replenish our list of nineties basketball players that we are talking about in the off season. Yeah, we need we need a few more names of people that our our future guests can pick from.

Where we've taken Kobe off the board, We've taken Shack off the board. We've taken heldon Cable and Heldon Campbell off the board. So can you add Replaytory.

We'll leave because we didn't really spend a lot of time talking about it.

I'm on there because there should be a whole podcast. It's just the ory.

Podcast, just where we are.

Yeah, okay, So three more nineties era basketball.

Players that we can our guests can pick from the trail spree? Well okay, ooh good one spree love that.

I mean Blotty Devoc, you know, a very good.

And Who's fun? Who's fun?

Is it true that Vlotty like smoked his whole NBA career?

That's everything I've read is true?

Yes, yeah, I mean rules, Yeah, yeah, no, he definitely looks like it. But it's almost like, is it just because he looked like that?

Yeah, No, it might be who knows, I could just be you know, projecting because he looks like a guy who smokes fat like a Denny right right.

Right, and he's daring someone to be like that guy is smoking a cigarette again, he's huge.

Let's just ask, is it cool if I smoke in here in every room he enters?

Yeah? Cool if I smoking?

Here's twenty twenty four?

So no, okay, last spree lat and uh, let's let's make it someone fun. Let's make it someone everybody enjoy Sam Cassell.

Yeah, Sam Cassell, this is a great list. I'm loving on guys. You know those are like Sam Cassell. I like Sam amazing. Well, if you have answered every one of the questions, I'm sorry it does there needs to be more Halloween masks of Sam's face.

Yeah, we we will.

Also we're gonna just for good measure at Anthony the Ice. Yeah all right, Uh Matt, you did it.

You nailed it. It's been a pleasure, a pleasure, haven't you. I guess I'm French.

Olympics because I slipper very from the France.

From where do they find you? And follow you and all all that stuff?

Find me on Instagram at matt leib jokes and follow me on Twitter at matt Leeb m A G.

T L I E B and yeah, you know I do. I do a bunch of podcasts.

So if you like podcasts about either politics or TV rewatch, check on out.

You'll find there for all my social media.

You can find our show at the hashtag Matt boosti's b W st I E s H. And you can also that's we'll find show notes, also stuff for the Discord server. If you want to join up and get in on the combo on Discord, you can find me at Miles of Gray.

I'm at Jack Underscore.

O'Brien, and that was your latest other episode of Miles.

And Jack Got Mad.

Until next time, we will have even more developments with Olympic basketball and even more nineties nostalgia.

As we enjoy our summer, and we hope you do too. We'll see you next week. A swap fall