MJGMB #94: Best of the Best Compilation 2023

Hey, everybody, it's Bryan the editor.

Now I know what you guys are thinking with this guy again, but where's Miles, Where's Jack?

Where's my boostes? Well, if you just calm down for a second, I will tell you. Okay.

So what happened was that Miles, Jack and Jabbari did so good at basketball camp that they got invited to Lebron James's birthday slash New Year's party. And uh, I'm gonna be honest, they're still recovering. So in the meantime, I compiled the greatest hits.

If you will, from the past year.

And don't you dare call it a clip show.

Okay, these are treasure memories that we all share.

Enjoy watching his workouts, like you really do get to get a feeling that you're like getting to watch him build his game like brick by brick and watching his workouts. I mean that that's something that people like show up hours early for the game to watch. But like that was something I could have used more workout footage, like just like watching him like do that thing where he like bounces off one foot and does like a step back that covers five feet and then like nails of

Did you notice at one point they he was just casually shooting a half court left handed three pointers, like.

Just just to do it and sink in them.

But during that workout, at one point in the footage, he's just like, Okay, let me just shoot a couple lefties.

Just ridiculous.

Yeah, I think part of the trick of the movie is covering up the fact that this this man has an actual superpower and has since he was a child, Like, yeah, being able to make threes with your left is no joke. Have you seen his golf swing? Like it's just the most perfect, Like it's better looking than any golf swing that you've seen on the PGA Tour. It's so beautiful.

Well, I mean, that's that's just until Chuck.

What's really crazy too?

And I was talking to this, I was talking to my boy about this, And to be clear before I said this, I'm not a Lebron hater. There's a lot of Lebron haters out there. I am not a Lebron hate, but you could argue that Steph changed the game in a way that Lebron did not. Le Bron is amazing, but it's not like he's the first tall point guard, you know, like we've seen magic before. He's an elite

Pippen, you know what I mean.

It was like, Okay, big point forward, athlete, two way player, elite defender. But I've seen that, not on Lebron's level, but I've seen it Steph Like he there's a reason the NBA has played the way it is now, and it was because the Warriors showed teams what spacing can do. And that's when now everybody has to shoot threes, everybody has to clear out. To me, that's traced back to step and like, oh, we have to guard this guy as soon as across his half court and then the

Right?

Yeah?

Exactly, it's yeah, he I feel like he changed the game more than anyone since like luel Center, like whoever, Like like everything changed, and then you know Kream comes in, everybody is like being center oriented and then for all like decades, that's the that's the plan. You got to do that, and like he's completely reoriented everything. I will say, as as a Lebron lover, when he went against Detroit early on, I forget what year was in his career.

Mean, Like, yeah, totally, I'm tired of the Lebron hat takes.

The guy has earned our respect.

If you're a.

Hoophead, yeah you can critique him all you want. That's what it comes with the territory being an all time great. But yeah, enough, the guy. The guy's unbelievable. But again, I just and you already said it. I just think Steph changed the way the game is played.

It's remarkable. It really is.

Yeah, if you think about it, I mean, we can look at Lebron and you know, as much as we want, we can't duplicate that. The belief that comes with you know, like if you're a kid watching the game, you might you'll think Lebron is incredible. You might think these, you know,

So yeah, I totally understand that.

And also the idea that you can add to your game r just because you come into the league.

Because of your one skill, which is shooting.

I mean I remember early in his career they were like, STEP's not a point guard, he's a shooting guard. And you watch him now, Franking Ankles no look passes. I mean, he's not going to lead the league in assists, but he doesn't have to. Yeah, but he's a legitimate point guard. He's a legitimate three level score and he came into the league as a three point specialist.

That's it. You know, you can add to your game.

It also makes you wonder, like some of these guys that come up with more talent, It's like, is it a work ethic thing because you have access to the same shooting coaches like to me working on your jumper. Like guys that come to the NBA and never get better at shooting, I'm like, what have you been doing? Or like your free throw percentage doesn't increase at all throughout your career. I'm like, how is that even possible?

Yeah?

Yeah, at the end of practice, you just you know, shoot one hundred free throws or whatever. It's like it's inconceivable, honestly.

But I think there is a piece of steath that is missing from this that is, like you know Katie. There's a good scene where Kadi comes to is the celebration party they throw after like he breaks the all time you know. It opens with him breaking the all time three point shooting record, you know, halfway through his career, and then there's a party afterwards. Katie shows up and he's like, I thought you were this little white kid

He's got to have, like he's got to have like the most elite depth perception true and hand coordination. That's and that's that people don't talk about that hand that coordination is a big one.

You can be an elite ask have that.

Yeah, well that one workout that they showed, you know, right, before the shooting where he's doing like the two tennis balls, he's catching it, he's crossing over, catching the tennis ball, throwing it with the other hand, all of that type of stuff where while I get it, like there are people that can do that, he's doing it. He's doing it with such ease it it makes sense that he can do these things really.

And those are that those are the skill that I think, you know, your average fan doesn't notice, right, It's the same thing with Lebron. It's like you look at Lebron, you see this elite athlete. You know, the quickness, the jump, thing, the strength, but it's the mental processing. Like everyone who's ever played with Lebron, it's like the guy just sees the game differently.

I think Steph is Steph is.

It's it's one thing to be able to stretch the floor like that, it's another to be able to say, Okay, guys have to guard me at half court. So here's what that does to the defense. So I'm thinking two steps ahead, I'm gonna whip it to Draymond and.

I'm gonna cut and I'm gonna come out the other side.

Because they're so spaced out I'm gonna get a shot on this wing, like he sees the game and that Lebron level.

I'm a couple of steps.

Ahead of all of you, and I'm aware of what me being on the floor does.

Yeah, I know how to use it, and that's like that's like the next step, right.

Yeah, it's it's cool. Uh Like basically no notes for this documentary, though, I think people should go check it out, especially if you're Steph skeptic.

Or even other example, if you'll indulge me with another example, It's like when Shack added passing. It's like once Shack became aware every time I touched the ball, three guys are gonna come running at me, and Shack started being able to hit those no look passes that you know, our vetus was like that, Like it's just like a different obviously. Now it's like being aware of your impact on the defense and then what to do about that, I think is a different evolution.

Yes, I agree, this documentary is unreal so good.

Yeah, hey, speaking of things that people should go watch, that's wild that the Sun's Verse Spurs is a one of the big matchups we were looking forward to. But I will know I was checking for it.

Of course, we want to see Wemby, we want to see KD.

We want to see just something.

We just want to see what it looks like, what these sort of matchups begin to look like.

Uh.

And it did not disappoint. I mean at least in like, there were some great moments. It was a thrilling end to the game. I think I think the Neutrals definitely.

Won that one.

Watching along, Yeah, James, and I do want to just note because one of the other things I pointed out or I put out there was wembing Yama for deepoy as a possibility deep in the summer when he was like in the twenties, like he was, you know, the

I mean, it's not necessarily with him, it wasna impact. That's why we have to watch the basketball games. That's why I impressed that you know, everyone watched the Suns Furs last night because Suns are up like twenty plus at the time.

I think in a third quarter, I'm not a sakend.

And then the first guys came back and end up stealing a game that they're probably should be a foul call, but it wasn't.

But it is what it is that you know who cares at this point.

That being said, though, you have to watch them be And the reason why is because there's certain things he makes players do that normal people cannot.

Don't have the same effect.

People make Guys either pass it early or try to make plays they normally don't make, so when that happens, it's usually an error of some sort. So that's where it's like, man, he may not get the block or the steel, but he's causing players.

To do things that are not comfortable and doing or.

He's causing guys to rush and get out of their own pace, and there's a lot to that. And when they get better players and when they get better defensive system, he's gonna win top the player of the year because the stats will come. But he's amazing, He's really amazing. He's nowhere close to scratching the surface season. That's the beautiful people why he's so far away. But defensively, I know we talked about the summer. I think was like forty to one or thirty someone that range, which is

Way of it happening.

Yeah, it's good value and I'm glad that I did not take that bet, but I know people who did, so I'm happy if if anybody makes money off of my lucky guess, some of them being I'm a stats though like that. So hees twenty nine points on twelve of fifteen shooting. So we we've talked a lot about it as a defense, and you know, there are these flashes of brilliance on offense, but I didn't realize like

It's very impressive, and.

They're going to him like.

The only thing I don't like is that at times it feels like his teammates are freezing him out, which is wild because he's the best player on the team already.

Yeah, but.

Basically featuring him every time down before quarter, like every time he should get in the ball wherever he wants to, because he is the best option was the jumper, whether it the dunk orlea, whatever it is, he should least touch the ball before anyone else gets a touch. But with that being said, he's delivered this first week been very impressive. Outside of the Clipper game, because they got

Yeah, I mean Kevin Durant said the same thing.

Basically, he was like, it's like this guy's just getting started and it's only going it's going to going straight up from here.

Yeah.

The point you made about like looking like he's getting like frozen out or something. I don't think it's like getting frozen out, but like it just feels like people aren't ready to defer to him at all on that team and where maybe they should be. And it's hard for me to determine. Is it because I just want to see him have the ball every time?

Right?

Like it like I'm a parent watching their kid and be like, get him the ball. Yeah, yeah, but it does. I don't know, it does feel like they could be looking for him a little bit more.

I mean, like there's plenty of game.

I'm sure maybe on some level psychologically it's like you can slowly increase the burden. But yeah, I mean, every time you see him with the bar, like I think it's gonna.

Okay, the jump shot is wet.

Okay, you should be could also be a conspicuous decision on the Spurs part to be like, if you're not putting him putting him in any but the best of positions to score in crunch time, like then he's going to shoot twelve to fifteen. And so they're you know, trying to build his confidence and create ease for him where he can like kind of step in uh and feel the flow as opposed to you know, so maybe that's a conscious decision by Poppins and their staff there.

If another monitoring ad minutes, I'm just glad they're not just playing them in the first and third quarter and let him sit the bench.

In the fourth.

I'm glad they're actually letting them play the last six statements in the fourth quarter, where the big game actually matters, because a lot of times he'll see got in a minute in restriction and they're playing in the third quarter and they'll just set up the whole court and they're like, what as good as that? But I know what they're doing.

This is I don't know the whole The last what day, three days, there's just been obscene amounts of scoring and we were talking about the amounts of high scoring gay or you know, individu performance, there have been I just want to read a stat just to kind of set the backdrop to, you know, on top of everything we've seen, like with Luca or Donovan Lebron, you know, a joker in Okay. So in the two thousands, the entirety of the two thousands, there were only nine sixty.

Point games from players.

Wow.

In the twenty tens, in the twenty tens, there were eleven sixty point plus games from players. So far, we've already had nine sixty point games in the twenty twenties. And we're in twenty twenty two or just entering twenty twenty three and we've had nine already.

Well, what is that from? Is that just from Pete?

The three point shot becoming such a so much more relevant.

My take on this is so dumb. It's just like, yeah, they're really good at making shots. Yeah, shot take it like that. You hear like NBA, like Zach Low people be like the shot makings really off the charts. It's like, yeah, they're they're good at shooting. They're good at making the ball in the basket.

They're getting bar points.

It turns out when you add them up, the numbers are a lot higher than last time. Yeah, I don't know if it's like I think also too, we were talking with Jabbari, our super producer. You know, as the game evolves and you know, the refereeing tends to benefit higher scoring, I think we're just kind of seeing like the byproduct of those sort of small tweaks, you know.

Well, more more threes and then more people being able to draw that extra free throw. I mean not that that like that just maybe has a cumulative effect, but I mean that that's been one of the harder things to like to officiate, to get cleaned up. Is just that foul on the three. The way that they like Steph Curry for it like that, the way that he's always able to draw that those three free throws.

I mean that's adds up, you know.

Yeah, you know it is. The three has been around since the eighties. I mean they're just they figured out, oh, that's that's a lot of points, we should do that. And the efficiency that people are doing it, like Donovan Mitchell's seventy one came on thirty, like low thirties field goal attempts and it was like the least of anyone in the top thirty five.

And didn't he assist on like ninety four of the point.

Yeah yeah, ninety nine of the points he was either direct he was directly responsible.

I mean that is absolutely Who's had a better game than that, Like Will Chamberlain.

Made Toby, yeah, Chamberlain, any one?

Yeah, right, Kobe, but this was this was the like the highest scoring game since Kobe.

Oh yeah really wow?

Yeah.

I remember when the Kobe game happened. I didn't watch it, but I was at the gym Bally's humble brag the following day.

Things were good, things.

Were real flats. It was the seventies.

Things were fine.

There's not many that's a long ago fust but I mean I remember I heard a guys say it, and I was like, now you have something wrong, Like there's there's a detail you have wrong in how many points he scored?

Right, yeah, yeah, it seems like it seems like an error. And same yesterday it's ninety nine.

Yeah, and then what.

Let Luca sixty fifty another fifty on the last ten days as of this recording.

Like.

Sure, yeah, yeah, Luca's was historic because he had twenty something boards where we keep seeing that like in the Donovan Mitchell game also there was like an intentionally missed free throw that like saved the game for them. Like it does feel like there's a glitch in the matrix, like said the whatever video game where we're watching them play, it's just stuck on like yeah, yeah.

On demo mode or whatever.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, someone's putting in the code that before at the loading screen before the game starts, and they figured out how to make it constantly on fire. But yeah, I mean I think it also you know, goes to your point, Jack, Like Jabari's in the chat saying like it is a you know, a confluence of things, just

Why is everyone shooting so well this year already?

Yeah, I still have the same question. It's yeah, it's wild they I think they've been I don't like, I don't like, I will not allow it.

Yeah, and then what what didn't the the Warriors went to double overtime and Clay put up fifty and fifty and what was the final was like one fifty to whatever?

Yeah, include it was. Yeah, I mean that.

Is absolutely crazy.

Yeah.

By the way, the Wilt Chamberlain, because we were talking before we started, like, are we going to see another one hundred point game? Like it feels possible Now it feels like the shooting is so next level of the shot making trademark is just so next level. And I don't know, like Luca, Luca feels like a good candidate for it. But Wilt Chamberlain's hundred point game, his team put up one hundred and sixty nine points. So that's you know, not a lot of teams doing that these days.

But and here's a dumb question. I have no clue, but was that Where was that game an overtime at all?

No?

I don't think so.

I think that. I mean, that is.

Just what do you I mean, you can't go to another game if you go to that one? Like, I'm done, I'm put my jacket up in the round.

I'm out of here. I'm not doing this again.

Why I tried to take my wife to another game? She said, the guy they score one hundred points again twenty let's get our money back. This is terrible. Oh yeah, I mean also too, like the other thing before we take a break. The Nets also have been on an absolute tear since December fourth, twelve straight. Yeah, and they're sixteen and one going back to late November. And I just said, man, the highlights of last night. We're also Oh man, I don't know. I didn't have as much faith.

I don't know. LEO have to go back to the predictions episode.

Maybe I did predict this, Yeah, well we should prediction EPI. Yeah, we did a predictions episode and then we revise it every week. Yes, to do that something? Yeah, yeah, that's how Yeah, exactly.

Yeah, that's the only other option.

Yeah, and I'll for all you, for all you listen, go back to the episodes. We actually changed every single episode if you go back.

So that's that is.

What Skip Bayless does.

Skip Bayless has said everything once and so he was always like I've been telling you forever.

Like now he's like a lebron fan. I'm like, how have you pivoted? How have you been able to pull this off?

Pull the tape up from two thousand and two, not stop can't win.

But the league's definitely more fun when the nets are good and the nets are absolutely on a tear. I was wondering, like, because this does feel like are we seeing the same thing that we saw with the Celtics last year where they were like kind of subpar for a little bit of the season and then put it together. But I was like, how many What was the most the Celtics won last year? And nine was the most they want in a row, So twelve twelve is pretty

Yeah, I mean even killing him. Pope was in the house watching being like, oh, little basket balls.

There's this one shot where like Katie just you know, hitting the easy jump shot or whatever, and like the way killing him. Bope, the soccer players on the sidelines, he was like rubbing his mids.

He's like, whoa, yeah, maybe he just like doesn't know that scoring is much more common. You know, it's just crazy. Every time.

Guess good sick he had just he had had.

Tricks held Chamberlain stats had just popped in at.

Pope.

All right, let's take a quick break.

We'll come back right after this to talk about some other outstanding performances right after this.

And we're back.

We're back.

Does everybody just want to take a turn saying it as Trump Miles, I think you had the best one before we start a recording.

Well, we love them, tony folks. Victor Wembright, I think I did a better one in the warm up, but I was better in the warm up. But hey, it is what it is.

This.

Uh So, this is Miami game, Like every every preseason game feels like an event, unlike anything I've ever I'm typically kind of a don't get too excited by the preseason person just because I've because my team just for the past few years have been the seventy six ers, and so it's just like I can only take so much, you know, I can only invest so much of myself into that team. But this is like, I can't think of a time when I've ever been this excited about

Step from the like basically the three.

Come on, man, what Yeah that one was wild.

He's not shooting great from three. He is blocking. I really think he's whether they give him Defensive Player of the Year or not, I think he is going to affect more shots than any And this is crazy, Like I've gone from being like I've got this crazy idea that he could be defensive Player of the Year to be like, it's a given, this guy can be defensive player of the year.

And I was saying, like, even without maybe the stats I have, Like it looks like what everyone's been saying even when we first saw him. And at some it's like he's just going to change the subconscious of offensive players.

You could just see it. Every time the other team has the ball and he's in there, like they're just like you can see that they're worried about where he is and like not taking shots they normally would take. And like even in that first preseason game win he only had one block. It was like the one the one time that somebody was willing to shoot with him around was when they thought they had beat him by like five steps, and they had to beat him by five steps and he still blocked them.

Yeah, so like that okay, Yeah, Jalen literally put him in a spence CC Like there's a point when Wimby's back is turned to a driving Jalen Williams and he takes like two strides and punches it out of him.

And it seems like it seems like Miami, you know, in a couple of ways were like, all right, guys, like don't don't let it get in your head, like he's not going to block everything. You're just like and they were taking shots that they normally would have taken if there was a seven footer on the court, and he was blocking them at like like one of them was kind of like a floater that he blocked at the peak of the balls like arc in the air.

Never seen someone block it at that point.

Yeah, it's how what's his wingspan eight feet? His wingspan is eight feet?

Is eight eight feet?

Like I guess, I guess I had heard that, but like to see it in motion is a whole other thing.

And hands straight up it looks like he's like got a nine to seven nine eight reach when you didn't measure it that way, or it.

Looks like when someone's yeah, working with like a shooting coach and they have to they use like a broom to simulate like a like a defender, except he's like holding two.

Brooms, Like that's what the length looks like. I'm like, is that serious?

I feel like he's gonna First of all, the Cornet contest is now a legitimate like you know the thing we alway talked about last year that Luke Cornette from the Celtics would like stand in the lane and just jump while someone was taking a three and it would be distracting and like people, you know, it's the same like Shane Batier used to cover people's eyes as they were shooting, and like it affected their shooting percentage more

Yeah, completely, I mean, are you are You're I'm guessing you seem excited dragonfly, like are you? I know a lot of people again, other people are doing this with Wemby.

It's preseason, man.

That's there's the preseason right there, Come on, preseason man, guy.

It is actually a lot of people don't know that. But his cousin is the defense guy. Yeah, exactly, can tell. You can tell that they've been a lot of time talking to each other.

With the hater kingdoms what about defense? And it only preseason, man, got it great?

I am super excited about this because the one play that made me literally drop my phone in disbelief, like what I was watching my bed, Yes, and I got my phone and this like what did I just watch? When he dunked on Thomas Bryant from outside the restricted area? And I want to be clearing for the listeners. He didn't jump from outside the restrict area.

His entire body was outside when he dunk.

When he dunked on somebody who is also standing outside of the restricted area, like Thomas Bryant's feet are like right at the edge of the restricted area and he dunks on him.

Like so he's what And Brian NBA player is like, what just happened? What what do y'all expect me to do with that? And b we're with you. What can you do with that it's the shell walking.

It down the way everything with a less him handed right over the shoulder of Thomas right now, thank you.

It's like a it was like a like an old Looney Tunes cartoon, like it was a space damn dunk Man the dunk when when the game with those.

Brian's performance in this moment is one of my favorite performances. Like just like if you could give an Academy Award to somebody, like not that he's acting, but just like everything about his what he's doing with his body and faith is so perfect. And he didn't even have like the opportunity to act, like, you know, have his ego be like okay, let's just shake it off. Shake it off, you know like.

Most play players and they get absolutely posterized.

They're like, okay, keep it moving, don't don't acknowledge the l you just he is so sincerely confused, Like it's almost like it's half like looking at his teammates like hey, why do y'all let him do that to me kind of thing, and then also him fully just like like he's.

Like a human should not be able to do this. Yeah, there's that element of it too. It's like the best breaking up the fourth wall since Andrew buying him. Laugh at us, laugh with us when Blake dunked, remember that.

Yeah, Yeah, he's gonna like he.

Spikes the camera like Jim in the office, Like, uh, it's really amazing.

Shell shocked.

Like it's like it's remind me like Tom Tom Hanks in the beginning Private Ryan where he's like, yeah, even hearing the crowd, it's like.

Yeah, yeah, yeah that like high pitched wine. I do like, I think we need to think, uh seriously about making Thomas Bryant our patron saying of the business decision because not that not that he like really had an option there, Like yeah, he didn't have a chance to make a business decision, but his reaction to being posterized was like he was martyred so that others could live.

So that others could learn. Maybe this ain't this might not be the guy to try it, but what.

Do you do?

Like he stopped them outside the restrictory.

You're like it was supposed to be jump hook time, not.

Watch this young man just put that in over your head. It was like, let me get right by your thank you.

Yeah, going the way, It's like it's truly. Yeah, his confusion I think embodies everyone. That's why I'm like when people are trying to throw cold water on I'm like, y'all, he's leaving players on the court confused and just oriented by his size and what he's doing like that, to me is the greatest indicator of like everyone, like.

Okay, so this is a problem. Yeah this is not what do we do now?

Because I don't even know, like where is this going? But yeah, not everyone. You know, when they get those, it's time to decide do I get out the way or maybe jump up with somebody and can test is dunk? I think there there could be a plenty of poor business decisions this season.

The mid range game is suproducer Jabari was calling out the mid range game is like really crazy right now, Like and by the way he can dunk from the mid range like that, I'm including that, but like his mid range jumpers and like just beautiful footwork. It really is beautiful.

Like it's like like we haven't seen a seven foot guy you know, moved away like that with the in the mid range, with the with the mid range you know jumpers and all that, like KD like that's what he reminds me of when I see that.

Yeah, except seven to five, right, unbelievable, Bro, It's un Yeah, I can't I mean, I just can't wait to just see every single game now because.

I'm just feel like I'm seeing new kinds.

We're seeing the sport evolve in like it's minor ways, but we're definitely at the dawn of something very new.

And that's the That's all we.

Want is fans, you know what I mean, Keep it exciting and keep elevating.

And here we are.

The ant Man came with forty four, six and four versus the Rockets, and this brings us to our best and worst business decision of the way the week.

Yeah, some real business decisions were made.

We also have to go back in December to analyze another poor business decision or great business decision.

But who would you like to start with? Mister Anthony Edwards.

We are he uh he dunked on al Shngoon in a way that seemed premeditated. I think I think it would qualify as a first degree I.

Gotta say, Schengers, my man, you gotta jump a little bit more than that.

Yeah, just a little bit more.

You're going You're trying to you're trying to rise up with Anthony Edwards.

You've got to give me a little more.

Than like a very light, like volleyball block type elevation.

But I get it.

Yeah, well you know what I like his attempt at verticality. Yeah, basically it was that, and he got used Anthony Iwarys used him to like, you know, he was like it was like a pommel horse a little bit, you know, and just pushed up a little bit. Because when you see like the start of his jump, he's jumping from like inside the circle, like a under the free throw line, and then just like kind of grabs him and like pushes a little bit and then violence ensues.

Yeah, it's just yeah, when you slow it down like that, No, just that, like right when it's about to go in, you're like, schengers, my man, poor business decision there.

It's not caught twice?

Right, it was twice yeah yeah yeah, And then the second one was with both hands and it just seemed Yeah, it was just like he was like, oh, I now recognize that this man is not functionally, this man is not here, so I can just do this. I can to go through him with the ball and dunk on him and sure enough at.

As sharp as to be defensively.

Shanger, big shanky, my man, sir, you got you gotta look out below.

You know this man is it combo though he floated on that. Yeah, yeah, two hands, look at that it's.

Body and yeah shanngers, you gotta get up, my man.

And he's looking back like, yeah, wait did he make that? Did it go in? Ah? Man, that's that's gonna oh man, good highlight for him.

And look at Anthony Edward's body position in the rim with his leg all up.

He's like he just had a party at your in your house right there.

Yeah yeah, but you know again, but you love to see it, like you know, he wasn't shying away.

Yeah, I do love to see it, miles.

I am.

Also, we're still looking for nominations for the person who could be known as business decision, the way that like you know, some people street clothes with this is somebody we want to call business decision because they're very smart about the way they get out of the way when someone's about to dunk on them. Who has the best moves when it comes to making a smart business decision? We have the opposite of that in a from last month.

Yeah, with dry Sham Landry. Look, it was a tough go. He goes for a game winner, it's not to be. And then Aaron Gordon he's coming, He's he's coming for you, sir, and you got to decide. You got to make a business decision. Do you want to be on a poster? Do you go up possibly injure yourself terribly. We'll just see how this one played out.

Miss here he does Gor's coming and oh.

Shammit, you could have got real hurt there and calling off.

There's but they didn't. It ended up counting.

Yeah, they it got challenged and reversed. My man, he got dunked on then landed on twice somehow like a wrestling move like off the top roof. That was just like whole Colgan leg dropped him or that was wow. I mean, look at the way he tries it. He tries to absorb this, He's like, you know what, this is a screen. But the way his spine curves when it makes contact with Aaron Gordon, I thought he was high jumping right here.

The way he's arching that back Aaron is yeah.

Yes, he is horizontal to the court.

Then on the way down, his head is right underneath Aaron Gordon's feet, where like he could have arrently just landed and I used that pun very intentionally, uh like straight on man's skull.

But he, like luckily, was like, oh gosh, He's like, young man, you gotta be careful.

Man.

When I go up like that, I could have really hurt you.

It's a poor business decision.

He had to do it right. So the context of the game is there's less than a minute left and over time there's mere seconds. Chammit had just missed a shot down one. Then he comes down and it's a breakaway.

So do you want them to run away or is it when they jump and they're like no, when they kind of just turn yeah and just do.

What is more what would be more like I guess the beholder.

You know, you'll know when you see the the ultimate business decision, like the Supreme Court says.

More is it is it just a back turn to be like I never.

I never wanted part of this, or is it a full on vacating the premises.

It's not theatricality like if they build an excuse in where they like go down to tie their shoe, you know, oh wow, they're like, oh no, I've slipped right or something like that.

I mean, I think you're going to get somebody who's going to pull on for at gump out of that point and out of the pain, like yeah, just keeps running.

The total right right right, or someone's just going to pretend to like you know when you see sprinters and like qualifying heats and stuff like sometimes they pull up lame when they know they're not going to have race this is ahead and be like no, I'm not gonna get cooked right now. Someone's goes ah no, no, no, no no, it's just like limps away to be.

Like have clear the second hamstring pool.

Yeah, but again, let us know if you have a famous business decision from years past, please put that on our radar because these are the kinds of things, These are kinds of issues we tackle on.

This show, important issues. To your point about adrenaline. My dad was an NBA coach and one time I had a friend come with me to a game and he came back to the locker room after it was a win, and Tony Batti was on my dad's team, and he went by Batman and my friend was wearing a Batman shirt and he was like, oh, hi, Ryan, I see you my dad And my friend was like, look, I wore the Batman shirt, like you know Tony Batti Batman. What do you think. My dad said, I hate it.

Yeah, it's tough. It's tough.

I mean, like, the last thing I'll say is like if the most cynical reading of it is like it was spot on, it was that simple. And suppose answer is like you got caught serving like a store bock cake at a dinner, like as if you baked it.

Is this a store box? Oh my gosh, you think this is a store bock cake.

Wow, that's something who doesn't know anything about baking would say, yeah, because no, this.

Is funny, Like that's obviously the funniest possibility there, but sadly the most likely it's probably just like he was agitated and he went a little I mean, he went a little too little.

Yeah, you know how things are.

I work for bleacher Whore. You know you watch those press conference take clips out like not that like in my job, you know, I purposely make sure I'm not taking things out of context. But like you can't just get embarrassed in press conferences anymore, and like no one hears about it. You know it's like, yeah, I don't know, kind of embarrassing someone like that and then making those rounds online when like you know that it's not the best, but I mean, it's nothing to like, it's not a

Especially as she opened up saying this is probably oversimplifying it. Oh oh gosh, maybe maybe that made him feel comfortable to just be like, yeah, it is oversimplifying it. And we we did talk about a clip earlier in the playoffs where somebody asks Spoe like, so, how do you

Yeah, but you know that's why, like your point about your dad and the story and everything, like, that's why I personally have never been someone who like is mad when a player skips press availability. That being said, if they're doing it every single game, like at that point, it's you know a problem or even frequently, but like after like a high intense to your high stress like situation, it is okay in my opinion to be like I I can't do this right now. I don't want to

Yeah, especially when the questions are sometimes like so that bad thing that happened where you like, did your job bad like happen? What was going on for your mind?

And like.

You know, this is how you feed your family. A lot of people saw that. Man, Well your thoughts? Does that make you panic? Does that make you panic?

Oh?

I think you don't be messing it up?

No?

Okay, all right, all right, let's reach if you take a break.

Yeah, let's take a break. We'll come back, finish up talking about just strategy in this series and then talk about Wemba Yama when Bama wo. We're enjoying the French, the French commentators for sure. And we're back and it is time for the fastest segment in podcasting. This is the rapid fire segment of Miles and Jack got mad boosties with Jabari Davis.

Uh, oh no, who got the most boosties of the crew before we get to this rapper fire? And what is that cumulative boosty? Is it over forty in just combined combined?

Maybe? Okay forty five? What do we got?

I could get net the last time I tried, which was like ten years ago.

So I add my fifteen to it. I'm add my fifteen.

There we go.

I got well, get us over the hunk.

I think I can still get the back.

Wow, Okay, it's sad.

My sixty seven year old dad is going to do his birthday dunk next week and uh he could jump higher than me.

So wow, y'all shouldn't feel bad. Hey, you know Pop still got it though. I actually look forward to those birthday dunk posts each year.

So every year it's the same thing.

Around this time, it's oh man, this year, I talked him a couple weeks so like, look, you're gonna do it.

All my hips are JANKI I can't do it.

I've been I've been working with the Buck staff though, the medical team to try and get him right. Then I saw him on his birthday last week. He's like, yeah, we're doing the dunk like I'm ready, I'm locked in. I'm like, we're gonna see like, you know, be humble, all right, just be humble.

Get it in.

I do have to admit that the net that I could reach was extremely long.

It was.

It was one of the longest nets. Basket, Yeah, but you know I made sure of it.

I'm banging out on the eighth foot though, I don't even.

Yeah, my kids at my kid's school, they have a little a low basket that I just go there. I'm goal tending dunking on kids. Yeah, absolutely, all right, Josiah, you've been here before. It's the fastest moment and podcasting. Uh no thought whatsoever given to these just your instinct. We're going off instinct here.

Trying to get me packed up. But I'm ready, you know, go what do you mean? It's like, dude, okay, I didn't have time to think about all that.

Let's just get it.

All right, Jabari, you start off all right, Josiah, if you wait, are you sure you want me to go first?

Yeah? Yeah, yeah, yeah, I desperately want you to go first.

Joe, who would you like to go first?

We just have to make sure you know you got it, Jai, go ahead, all right, let's do.

It, Josiah.

If you can bet on any fan base to make the in Arena challenge shots, you know, the lay up, the free throw, the three pointer, and a half court, which fan base or fan bases would you bet on.

I'm gonna go with the Lakers because I've seen it happen several times.

Now, you know why is that?

Yeah, they're so good.

Every time you can see Janie's face and it's like, oh, we don't have this bag to give y'all up though he's like, oh damn, matt Ryang gonna get booted. Or every time you know, somebody somebody like no, you know, he's smiling, but he's like, damn, all right, there's my walking papers. But I think the Lakers fan base I probably seen the most hit the half quarters. And I forget what team it was, but they had the Jank one where like they hit a half quarter and won like.

Five hundred bucks.

Those the Indiana Pacers. That's what made us come up with this question. For that was our questions like is it so commonplace? Is everybody just so pure born with a basketball in their hand? In Indiana that like it's They're just like, yeah, we'll give you five hundred bucks whatever, that's fair.

It is the HOOI state.

It is all right, dreams scripted basketball movie to commit. You know, we just found out about Air, the movie starring Matt Damon and Ben Affleck somehow about the invention of the Air Jordan shoe, that they didn't even cast anyone as Michael Jordan. He's just like a presence, a gravitational black hole in the yeah.

The back of a fort, like the back of the head, at.

Least the back of the head. Yeah. Like there's a shot in the trailer of the back of the head with him walking into the Nike offices. And then I so, I was like, who they get to play Jordan? Because you that that seems impossible, right, He's just like so iconic, you can't get anybody, You can't cast anybody to play him. And they said they specifically didn't cast anyone. He's just this presence.

But they should have got never started to play Larry Jordan. It's going to be flex Alexander.

Hey, the Michael Jordan Lifetime movie was one of the greatest things. No no names on the jer I mean, come on how do you how do you not appreciate that beautifulness?

Do you have a dreamscripted basketball movie you want? You want to pitch?

I would love to see a movie on Uh.

He's my favorite basketball player in the league right now, representing the South Sudan, A man who is gone through trying to tribulations, walking in the shadow of his father.

Was another great baller, none of it them Bowl Bull. I'd love to see a Bowl Bull movie.

Yo, this is a yeah or the I mean the minut Ball store, like you could use the perspective like stuff that they use for the Lord of the Rings. So you know, that would be very cinematic, very amazing.

Flashbacks to Bowl Bull like that latest screen movie, but obviously done in a tasteful way.

Right, are all right?

Keeping it going?

We're gonna play getting in or headed home? In mid April, the Brooklyn Nets, the team is still nine games over five hundred.

They hold a seven game lead in the lost column over the current ten seed with under twenty five games left.

Are they getting in or they going home?

Yeahst they're getting it.

Yeah, they're getting it fair enough.

All right, here's one the Pelicans because many of us you know, we anticipated a big year for New Orleans.

Some were a little bit higher on them than the others.

But the team finds itself currently just a game and a half up on the eleven seed out West, and reports are that Zion could miss a good chunk in the Remainian schedule due to reaggravating the samstring.

Are they getting in or they going home? Well, they might be at the crib. But you know, I love Zion, love be I love that crew, love CJ. McCollum, and uh, you know, even what they did last year trying to you know, sneaking into too the plane. But I might I think I might be at the crib because the Lakers are getting in.

Someone's gotta go. Someone's gotta you know, look around, look to your left, look to your right. One of one of them can't be there, maybe both of them. So they gotta They gotta leaf frog the Thunder, the Blazers, the Jazz, which I think the Jazz are probably on their way out, The Warriors, the Wolves, New Orleans. I mean, who who's gone? I can't figure it out. Like it's gonna be tough. He speaking of the Wolves. Anthony Edwards recently acknowledged a three bag per day habit of hot

So I think about this often and uh and just what we were able to accomplish back in those days. But a bag of chili cheese free dos. And this is a regional thing. They do it like in the South. They do it, but they turn the bag the wrong way. We like to bag straight up. But you can eat do it with doritos too, But take the free dos. You actually put some cheddar cheese, some chili in there.

You were doing that before tournaments?

Yeah, the amount of basketball I played with just hot dogs? Am I sister? Just nothing? But like you know those concession stand hot dogs, like the.

No water rental jankie. You know you get like the hundred bucks of hot dogs. Yeah, five bucks, like.

Yeah, no water, drinking soda all day?

Yeah, chips.

What was the wildest thing you witnessed diet wise? Did you ever like play with someone who was just like, you know, an amazing athlete despite the fact that they were surviving off of gummy candies.

So my college teammate TJ Cummings, uh, sanitary Cummings. But TJ could eat like a whole BJ's pizza. And I'm talking about like the bigger like you know, big hole pizza, like two big pazukis, you.

Know what I mean, within like.

The pazuki with like the big you know, we used to finish Bja's in Westwood back in the day. It's my birthday today, Like you know, my birthday probably sixty five times every time you go into bj because they had to give you a free pazuki.

Then he would put a pazuki on top of that.

But he could take that down and still you know, go out and drop twenty.

Like like it was wow, amazing.

I'm impressed by that of that alone, two pazukis beyond before the even without the pizza, the two pazukis would have me done.

Yeah, Like you know, I've never seen him be able to eat like that. Like if I ate those two pazukis, you know what I mean, if I looked at those two pazukis, I was gaining five pounds.

So all right, Josiah, we ask everybody. I think I believe you've been here for one of these questions.

In the past.

But Jack or Jabari one on one, you gotta pick.

It's it's up to your interpretation.

Jack got the NBA, len Is Jabari, so I'm gonna be be.

Wow, Yes, yes, great, A couple of he's getting okay, he was reading.

He was reading the Almanacs back in the day, looking at place. She's making correction. But if you slide him over here like you know what.

I mean, so it be your own.

I forgot, I forgot.

My Oh wow, wow, I got to give it.

I got. I'm sorry. I can't. You know, I gotta. I gotta be able to keep the car. You already know.

But March first. You ask me again March first, and the answer may be different.

There we go, all right, we'll have to as I appreciate the reparations.

Also, I was as a kid, I skipped Doctor J's last game playing against uh my grandfather Jack Ramsey. I skipped his last game because Jaws two was on TV. So you had me wrong, by the way, that was stolen valor when I was like six or seven years old. That's that's what I was about. I was just a I was not I was not a basketball head on Josh just two on cable his last game.

But back in the day, though, we didn't really have access like that.

We didn't have streaming and all that, so we had to get it when we could get it.

And I mean the electric the dang shark. It's pretty cool.

Keep it quick, keep it right, keep it tight. Are you ready? Brian?

Start the clock bright? I'm sorry he yelled at you.

Me too.

Brian's okay, he's he played in a lot of bands, so his hearing isn't great.

That's why I do. It's not it's not anger. It's a volume thing. Okay for a rapid round.

You sure are wading into this, Swowa. We're gonna get to that at some point. Lord, what is happening?

You know what? Okay?

No, you know what.

I appreciate that. I respect, I respect your game. I wasn't familiar with your game. I'm sorry about that.

Huh.

Okay, here we go. Question number the first, Why you go?

Actually?

Are you all right?

Yeah?

Yeah? Yeah? Lake?

Are you ready?

I just want to make sure.

Already that you asking Brian.

You're ready, Brian, let's hold, let's get a confirmation, gonna make are you with us?

Can you just put in the chat?

Sorry? Sorry sorry sorry? Okay, Blake coming up first.

I don't know if Brian's ready.

Hold on?

Oh, please keep this Okay, this is the whole show, This has always been the show. All right, So we're good, We're good, We're good. Let's go all right, Lake, Yeah.

Give us your best hot take for this NBA season.

I know it's already started, and you can kind of get away with cheating and acting like you made it at the beginning.

Yeah, give it to us. Fire it off. The Wemby will not win Rookie of the Year.

Oh oh, I like that. I don't think that body is gonna hold up. I think he's gonna miss some game. I hope he doesn't. I hope he's healthy the whole season.

Yeah.

I think who's winning?

I'm not going to be chat Uh it's I can't I can't think because a lot of people are pitty picking Ice. I guess Chet Homeroom is probably the second most favored, but the kid not Barn Scott. Yeah, yeah yah yah yeah yah, yeah yeah yeah, I got you.

Yeah, all right, you here is winning. Okay, Like you know Philadelphia pretty well, don't you. I do? Why why I'm from, I'm from. I'm also living here currently.

Okay, yeah, fine, fine, I guess I'll take that as I guess I'll take that as evidence that you know, something's kind of of you.

How about this one of these gotta go?

The Philly cheese Steak, Tasty Cakes, Barrita's water ice.

He stuck the landing on the water too. I want tasty cakes out.

Oh wow, you don't like to take for me.

I just think it's it's just what they almost killed Bill Clinton and that's why. And I don't want to elaborate, but I will. He had I think he would have them flown into uh DC, and that's obviously not why.

I just like the other things a lot more.

For me.

It's cheese steaks, Rita's, and then Tasty Cakes.

I was gonna say, like, I didn't know what else to put, to be honest, if I was, if I just can be transparent about how I was forming this question, I didn't.

Know if to put like a HOGI also because obviously that's all.

That's a staple thing or like like one of like a roast pork, you know, I know that's another that's another thing you guys like out there.

But I okay, I'm glad unwarranted aggression if you want, I wanted to go, or.

Hostility towards the members of your sports teams, one of the one of these Philadelphia staples has to go.

Okay, Okay, Like I really appreciate your thorough answer there, but I gotta be honest with this is the rapid that's right.

Yes, I'm sorry, it's weird. It's not Blake's breaking Sorry, okay, not.

The breakdown, even though that's you know what. Let's pitch that.

That's happening off Mike. I'm an.

You can go back in time. You can permit either A there's a there's one right answer here.

Okay, yeah, you can permit either AI for Philly Chuck to make a run with this particular squad, which one are you choosing to take that ride?

And don't get this.

Wrong, it has to the AI. That has to Brian.

Brian cut his Mike, Let's get the hell out of here.

You're going with Barkley.

I'm a I'm a Barkley stand, so.

That I'm telling you, I'm I'm with you.

Blake, I'm a Barkley stand. That's just no one can touch a. I Also, Bubba Chuck is one of AI's many nicknames, so I thought, I'm.

Like, wait, it's Philly Chuck.

Do you want to call him Billy Chuck for aid.

Of Chuck when he was in field the round bound rebound? If you will?

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, and I will right and and.

And why Ai?

Why this?

I believe his name is Alan iver Person. Sure for sure?

Sure to me he is, Yeah, he's now Yes, the vice president of rebok Basketball, Allen Iverson. Congratulations to him, Which that is a cool story. I really like that a lot. But Ai is one of the most I would say it's hard to find a more interesting athlete, not even just in basketball than he is. Where what he did bringing like like to the culture in the NBA and how people hold him on a pedestal where I've never seen when you see him.

Yeah, we got to really keep this moving, Blake.

So the next question, so if you go back in history, no, I believe the genesis of this was.

We have to keep this moving because you are You're putting this.

The lawyers are calling you right now. They're like, this is not I don't want to get you in trouble. Yeah, okay, okay, the next one.

Next one.

If an alien came down.

Right up to your door, knock knocked, yes, who you open the door, and the aliens like, you need to prove you are a Sixers fan. I don't know how you prove this to me, But prove to me you are a Sixers fan, or I am taking you away in this yere spaceship. What do you do or say to show them, prove to them that you are in fact a.

Philadelphia six Ers fan.

And they go, okay, I like you flip the off. I would open my robe to reveal the fact that I'm wearing an Eric snow jersey, and then I'd say good day, sir, and I'd shut the door that you want to see.

The alien would say, all right, you got it, Yeah, I have a trip to go.

Yeah.

Second thought, the Philly freezer. Second thought, you.

Want my spaceship.

I realized I'm not built for any of this anymore. Ship to my core, it tosses me the keys. They have keys. Yeah, it's the Mazda. Wait what.

All right? You're doing?

You can take two players from all of history to create your special edition mad Boosti's NBA Jam team.

Which two players are you taking? Beyond you know, Charles Barkley.

Of course, beyond Barkley. I'm taking the glove, Gary Paide because he will get you the ball back, the swipe, his ability to get steals.

From half court.

They called him the glove. I called him the swipe.

Of I would go iverson and then wait, is there an I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I meant, I meant Gary paid, Gary paid. And you know what, I'm going camp too. I'm going to keep it in the family. I'm going to keep it on the nineties. They were so much fun to play with. What if I was like a debt left Shrimp and Dirk Navitski to be.

I would say, oh, I see what I see? What time it is?

Rig Smithmarcas?

Yeah?

Yes, oh man okay? And last question, Yeah, this is important, man. I want you to look us dead in our eyes when you answer this. Pick one, Jabbari or Miles, go right now, go John Miles.

What does that mean? I'm going to I'm going Jabbari because he books this.

Here it is I mean, it makes this to me.

I don't know, Jack still catches strays out here. Look, look how replaceable this show is.

Like people on the shirt Jack, you can just have anyone come in, you know, whereas like, wow, yeah, anyway.

It straight everybody's yeah, no one's safe. When the street sweepers out, Miles was just available. Yeah wow.

And I think I saw you say that the detail of you know, your character and white man can't jump Raymond sticking people up, but being you know, so somebody who hangs around there and is like sixty eight, uh's seven right, yeah, And he was so and they're like, not again, you're the same foot person I know.

Right, He's like, no, this ain't me, This ain't me, This ain't me.

So you really did pull that sneme directly from his life.

Yes, they pulled that directly.

For that was one of the first folklore tales that they would tell you back in the seventies when you got to the league.

Take the story about Reggie Hardigan and the and.

The ski mask robbing the liquor store seven feet and the you know this ain't me. And so that was one of the first things that you heard, and it was funny back in the day. It's a funny story, but when you look at the background and do a little bit more digging in terms of his history, it's

Dope, and they got to.

The point where they got so pissed off at it because the knew it was him seven feet with a ski mask that he came up to a dope hop the house to rob it and two shotgun blasts hit.

Him in both legs and he was hospital. Just a crazy, crazy light that.

Wow, colorful crazy life that crossed passed a lot of great great NBA all timers.

So it's really a fascinating story.

Yeah, it sounds amazing. Somebody needs to buy that screenplay post haste. Yeah, I mean it's appropriate like that that you were on our anniversary episode. You are somebody who still condunk, and you know, so you still have the mad boosties that you had in your career. I still have the same ability to dunk that I had in my career, which is which is none I was, but I can still I think, touch the bottom of the net. Uh So in that way we are similar. You can you talk about that like you you dunk?

Is it?

Every every year? On your birthday?

You get my son Josiah thinking of NBA Twitter.

Yes, we said that, James.

He he brought the idea to me the year that Blake Griffin jumped.

Over the Kia.

Oh yeah.

I was about fifty four.

Fifty five years old at the time, and you know, could dunk really easily back then, and so we get we got some matchbox cards or something. Judge, you know, jumped over one to you know, I'm doing the same thing, Blake.

I'm a jump over a car.

Yeah, and that kind of that created a monsters every year after that. I'm sixty seven now, so for the last thirteen years, every year he's like, come on, damn, we gotta do it?

Got to do it about Joe? Joe, I don't know.

I only I only dunk once a year on my birthday, around my birthday. I never tried any other time, so I don't know if I could do it or not. And got some hip issues. So this year was a little, you know a little challenging, but I was able to pull it off and we got it done. So but next year, I'm not sure. I may have a hip replacement done by that time, so may this may have been the last one.

But it's been fun.

What it does is, man, it keeps me in shape, keeps me working out, gives me something to shoot for, a goal to shoot for, to stay stay in reasonably good shape. At sixty seven years old, I work out six times a week, six days a week, and I mean nothing, you know, like an hour and ten minutes, nothing crazy, but just enough to stay in reasonably good shape. So it's been the impetus for that. So that's been a good thing, good positive behind it.

Hey, well I give you credit because you're doing something at sixty six. I wasn't able to do it thirty six, so yeah, I appreciate that.

Yeah, So I mean, let's talk about the current NBA, the purported subject of the of this podcast. You get an close and personal look at the Bucks, and I feel like they are a lot of smart people's pick for the title this year. There's actually an interesting conversation happening around Jannie with Isaiah this week. I'm not sure if you if you saw this, no.

I haven't tell me about it.

Well, actually it's from earlier in the year.

It was basically it was surrounding the conversation with Giannis where people were saying he might struggle in the eighties, he would come off the bench in the eighties or nineties, whatnot.

Charles Oakley in particularly Charles.

Oakley in particular and Zeke you know the to his credit, I'll paraphrase, and he basically was saying, hey, guys, you guys need to be quiet because you would.

Dominate in the eighties.

We've never seen anything like him come into our league, uh, you know, and and and basically he's one of he's one of the quote unquote old heads that definitely shows love.

So I'm interested, where do you you see him up close?

And personally you've seen him, you know, for the bulk of his career, definitely the great moments.

How do you think Giannish would fare?

You know, man, I mean, greatness transcends eras and traits will figure out how to excel in different eras and it goes both ways. And so you know, people talk about how we couldn't have played in today's NBA from the eighties and nineties and then cash them from even seventies. I mean, but the great players would figure things that would me. They'd like to point to my three point field goal percentage. Well, that's why I like cleaning the glass because they they don't count heaves and.

In the corner shots and all that.

Both of my stuff was in the shot clock, in the quarters, those types of threes, and so you know, but if I'd have worked on a three point shots, I'd shoot thirty seven, thirty eight percent. I know that hands down. But when Janni's yeah, that buzz mean now now people are coming around, Charles Barkley calls them the greatest player on the planet, So that that's a definite feather in Giannie's cap to have that happened.

I mean, I remember James Harden coming out and Sandy we should see was seven feet and all the he was. Jannis is an acquired taste, and you know, watching him when.

I first got to the Bucks eight years ago, he was coming off a season where averaged about sixteen a game, seven eight rebounds. I didn't know if he would be a solid NBA player for the next ten years at that time eighteen nineteen topping out at that or would he be an All Star. I certainly didn't think he would be this, this, this transcendent player who would be a two time MVP that would drop as piece in.

A close out finals game. I didn't think that. I didn't. It just didn't look like he was on that trajectory in.

Terms of his his skill package, and just didn't look like he was going to be that kind of a guy.

But that's where his background, his motivation, his inspiration, his.

Diligence to working out, his desire to be the best, that's where all.

That comes into play. And I saw that early.

I saw him have great games and I'd see a shadow we figure after he had a great game and we won, running through a crowd of people that right after.

The game, and then ten degrees below weather in Milwaukee, and.

I'm thinking to myself, who is that crazy brother right there with the with the T shirt and the cutoff sweats.

What is he doing then?

A look closer, man, that's Shiannas. Where the hell is he going?

Watch him?

He's going to the practice facility across the street to work with the street throws and its tinuing. That's just forty plus point games. We have a flight to another city that night on a team plane. He's sitting in the back of the plane with Sean Sweeney, the assistant coach at the time for the Bucks, going over film and video in terms of what he could have done better even though he just dropped forty points on that opponent that night.

That's Siannas, I mean, and so he could have played in any era.

He is such a unicorn, as the popular way of describing a guy like him.

Think about it.

He's seven feet two point fifty, so he's strong enough to kind of with handle with standard pounding back in the day, but he's also got this His separator is this handle. He's able to get to where he wants to go with his ball handling like no other seventh footer. I'm trying to run my mind through the course of history to think if there's been a seventh futter that

Big men shooting outside shots.

Back in the day, if you were a Jim McDaniels from Western Kentucky who averaged thirty a game in college, you get to the pros, you're saft because you shoot jumpers to seven feet. My teammate at UCLA, Richard Washington, the most outstanding player in the NCAA Tournament nineteen seventy five, twenty eight against the Louisville twenty eight against.

Kentucky, great jump shooter six to eleven. He got to the league.

You're saft.

Get your bigs inside, pounding, pounded inside. That's for the small boards and guards to shoot the jump shots. So it's a different era, and so there is a more more of a premium put on big men, the stretch forward that can knock down jumper.

So that helps him, but you know, he just knows how to play.

How to score.

This finishing is so much better than I've ever seen it before. This year, but his ability to handle the ball to get to his spots, and he studied defenders and knows how to attack angles and body positions to draw files.

And even though he's shooting.

Sixty five sixty percent from Freako line, a lot of guys would back off and get into the Freekro line because of that, he embraces the challenge and gets to the freak A line even more, probably shooting more goes this season than he's ever shot. So that's his mindset. It's just different, which I think would transcend any error and then lead to success.

Oh right, that has been our Mad Boosti's Best of twenty twenty three wrapped.

Yeah, and we'll be back next week with

All new episodes and happy twenty twenty four