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Welcome in episode one thirty nine What's Right with Nick Wright's podcast YouTube show Huge Show Today, Fresh Off and National Championship.
We'll get to the men's side of things shortly.
We'll discuss some of the women's tournament, which was outstanding. But first also little house keeping announce of you have seen on this show my son Demanse, he's been my co host from day one. You've seen on this show my wife Danielle, she is intermittently co hosted. You've seen on this show our youngest daughter, Deanna. She co hosted one time today, making her What's Right debut at the tail end of the show. With respect to my other children,
my apologies. The most talented of my children and the most unenthusiastic about the family business. One Diora will join us as she will be taking over for Demanse for about four weeks starting next week. You will see her at the end of today's show. But before we get to that, let's get to what is not on today's show. Not on the show thunder fans still being so sad about Durant leaving. Durant left them in July fourth, twenty sixteen, seven years ago. Endeavor acquires the WWE and the Titans
are considering trading up to the number three pick. But none of that's really on the show. What is on the show is some college hoops and also demand do you know what week it is before it starts day after tomorrow.
The second week after MLB opening Day?
That is true, But do you also know what week it is?
Uh?
What is it? Oh? Is it draft? No, it's not draft week.
Oh it's Master's week, buddy, right before you leave the Masters the Green Jacket Augusta National, Yeah, buddy, all of it all right, Demonse, Let's talk some Kyle every weekend after the Final Four. The reason they can't ever move the Final four is because CBS has the Final Four and CBS with Jim Nance's dulcet tones while he's leaving the Final four, ever leave Augusta National.
Are we still.
We will be talking masters? All right, let's go, let's get to the show today.
Go ahead? All right?
So, uh, Yukon obviously crushed San Diego State. But the real story, by the way, we realized there's a kid. Yeah, he went to basketball camp with a very long time ago. He got a lot bigger Jayane.
Lee from San Diego State. Demonti said this morning. He was like, is the Jaydan Lee kid from Houston? I think it's j pardon me that.
Yeah, and I definitely went to a camp with him, like a long like I feel like my freshman year of high school or something like.
That good friend that kid turned into a ball or go ahead?
But yeah, So the real story is obviously on the women's side where Uls you beat Liaha And the most fun part of the tournament was Caitlyn Clark talking her trash, but then she got a little bit of taste of her own medicine. Inel rees or your thoughts on the how the moment was handled by the players in the media.
Okay, so first let me say something about the men's tournament because it ended last night.
Yeah, and then we'll get to the women's.
Side of it. Props to Yukon, it's their fifth title in the last twenty five years. Well, no, you're fine. More on that in a second, because you're absolutely right. Yukon now has a weird claim, like are they amongst in college hoops? You have the blue bloods, which are the programs that have essentially been good for decades that have won a disproportionate number of titles. So you have used CLA, Kentucky, Duke, Kansas, Carolina, Indiana, those six programs.
But now Yukon has as many titles as Indiana has way more titles in the last quarter century in the last thirty years than Kansas, and Kansas has two they just won one last year and they won to O seven since nineteen eighty eight they have two or eighty nine. Kentucky, I'm sorry. Kentucky obviously was historically great under eight Off Rupp, then was great under Rick Patino, then was great under Tubby Smith, then was great under Calipari, but they have
fallen off. Carolina had Dean Smith and Roy Williams and still is there and Duke with coach k was great for so long. UCLA has kind of been in a downslope, but they won a dozen championships with John Wooden almost they had undefeated seasons all of that. Indiana had Bob Knight. Now Yukon, with three different coaches, has won five titles Jim Calhoun, Kevin Ollie and now Hurley. So credit to them. I don't know if it really makes them a blue blood program. I don't know if you can get new money.
BUTMANI was talking about this into the blue bloods. But I think for young people, Yukon has considered a far better program than Indiana. I don't think you thought of Indiana as some great basketball school, did you. No.
I knew that they were good, like I know that there are a history.
But yeah, the I think for young people, Gonzaga is considered, you know what, I mean, a more prominent program than Indianas. But now to what you said about the game. Fact of the matter is this, right now, the women's game at the collegiate level is better than the men's game. Because you don't have your best players turning pro you do have the continuity and the shop making and skill level of the women's game makes for a far more attractive product. And what we ten million people watched that
championship game. That is more than watched any game of the twenty twenty one NBA Finals. Some of the women's championship game. LSU scored one hundred and two points in a forty minute college game. Here's what I know about the viewing public. Is there a bye against women's sports?
Yes?
Will people watch though if the product looks awesome, Yes, people watch women's tennis.
Why our female tennis players.
Would the best female tennis player in the world lose consistently to the tenth best male tennis player. Yes, they would. The strength and the power and all that. There's no overcoming it. However, men's tennis, because it became so much about who had the strongest serve. What is most attractive to watch on tennis is serve and volley, to serve, the return, the long points, the back and forth right even demands. He was not a big tennis guy, picked
that up when we were watching the men's game. Doesn't happen nearly as much as the women's game. So the women's game plus some big personalities. Serena, you know, is the obviously the forefront of that kind of propelled this to TV ratings alongside the men's Now you go to women's college basketball, there is not the athleticism, There is not the level of physical dominance that you see in
the men's game. But because there is not big money in women's professional basketball in the United States, these teams stay together that you develop dynastic runs, you develop personalities. Caitlyn Clark can be a National Player of the Year candidate as a freshman, and then it is a sophomore, and then when it is a junior, you have what they were building in South Carolina and people are into it. And it was a hell of a product in a hell of a game. And what Caitlyn did all tournament
was remarkable. A forty point triple dobble in the Elite eight, a forty point performance against an undefeated, dominant South Carolina team, defending national champion in the Final four, where she scored or assisted on every bucket the fourth quarter. And then you run into LSU who is Angel Reese, who was a unanimous All American who had thirty one double doubles
this year and LSU catches fire. There's some horrid officiating that I think l she was the better team, but it threw off the flow of the game entirely for both teams and LSU wins. And it should be just one of the best weekends in the history of women's sports in this country, right like it was, and Caitlyn Clark helped do that. South Carolina being the dominant kind of end boss all of that. Unfortunately, as Demands tweeted because he had taken a nap, I just woke up
to racism. Was I think the tweet there was the reaction to the end of the game. So I will set the scene quickly for you. Caitlyn Clark is an awesome ballplayer and a legit trash talk if we're just gonna do the white white comparison, a la Larry Bird talks as much trash as anybody and backs it up.
She talked trash to that Van.
Lift girl in the Elite eight, did the you can't see me to her in this against South Carolina, got dared the girl to shoot, told oh, told the Van Lift girl shut up, You're down.
Fifteen the whole nine. Angel Reese at.
The end of the at the end of the game does the you can't see me to Caitlin Clark does the Steph Curry pointing it points at a ring finger and people get very, very mad. Before I get to my thoughts or Demanse's thoughts, public service announcement. Here to our wonderful listeners, viewers, We're gonna talk about this and race is gonna be a component of it. And if the discussion of race makes your head pop off like a cartoon mouse, pause the show and come back to
us in a few minutes. If you're open to having listening to an open discussion, stick with us.
Demonse, why did you tweet I woke up to racism?
Uh so, obviously I I did take a nap during the game like an idiot. And all I did was I woke up and I saw a bunch of I saw the clip of Angel Reese doing the same exact thing that Kaitlin Clark did, and everybody hated it, like in the in the words like the uh what was it?
Uh? Worthless?
Or class classless, class list.
It's just like, I don't know, man, and once I looked at the game and saw what actually happened she did, it wasn't the exact same thing Angel Rees did kind of follow her around, you know, made it a big deal. Wasn't the same thing. But definitely what she did was not warranted for the feedback that she got. Like the things that they were saying about this college female athlete was just crazy, Like it's just not that.
So why did you? And I'm sorry to put you on the spot here, And you know, because I've talked abou this on TV, I agree with you on well, I haven't heard you talk about it entirely, so I don't know if I totally agree with you, but you know, you know where I stand on this. Why did you call it racism?
Because nobody said anything with Kaitlin Clark did it. Nobody had a problem with it.
So here's the deal. And this is why I probably shouldn't I wish I probably shouldn't do that little public service.
Announcement we're gonna talk about race. Tune out.
These people shouldn't tune out because we've got to be able to have honest discussions about this and that IOWA team is an essentially all white team. And that's South Carolina team that was the defending national champions that was undefeated, was essentially an all black team. Same with the LSU team. The moment you have in sports an all white teaming, it's an all black team. There's a racial component to how the game is covered, to how the game is discussed, to how the game is viewed.
And seemed like they wanted to say something else, Man, what.
Do you mean like in the in the in the comments and the quotes like that guy from barstool.
Oh, that guy you just seem like much of course, and he's got a long bad history the and that's a separate thing entirely almost, But let me get back to just even pre taunt.
Okay, the dynamics here, there is.
A knee jerk reaction in media to treating the white athlete like an unathletic underdone. This is not, by the way, my opinion, this has been. There have been university studies that have used that have documented all of the commentary about draft prospects in the NFL and the adjectives we use to describe then and white athletes consistently get described
by earned attributes, smart, hardworking, those types of things. Black athletes get described by given attributes, talented athletic god given abilities. There is there is an undercurrent and that is again that's not my opinion, that is documented, studied fact that we have a long history of that, and you see it all the time in sports. A great white athlete gets called, you know, faster than you'd think, sneaky athletic coach on the floor.
Which means smart, sneaky athletics the year at all.
The time it was I'll take one of the best athletes of the last twenty years, one of the most physically imposing freaks we've ever seen, JJ Watt. They tried to turn into an overachieving underdog. Jj Watt. The dude had sixty sacks in three seasons. Well that he had three separate twenty sex seasons in a four year stretch, one defensive player three times. His brother is a freak defensive player of the year. His younger brother's a fullback.
My guess is they got some good athletic jeans in that family produced three NFL players, two of which are potential Hall of famers, one of which is no doubt Hall of Famer still though, because he's white, you're described with again earned attributes. So how does this impact the LSU South Carolina. I'm sorry that Iowa South Carolina the Iowa LSU game.
There's an element of we allow and encourage Caitlin Clerk's.
Swaggery nature in a way we normally wouldn't because we are conditioned to look at her as the underdog people. And by the way, all get real complete, kind of real galaxy brain.
Here.
A similar thing happened with Steph Curry. And he's black, but he's not big and physically imposing. He's also light skinned and he's and he was considered this guy of And I know for a fact this really really rubbed Lebron the wrong way, that Steph was considered the underdog story when it's like, hold on, you mean the guy whose dad played in the NBA, the guy who why because he went to Davidson, He's an underdog that you know. I was damn near homeless growing up, grew up with
one parent who dealt with her own struggles. But because I'm big and imposing, you know what I mean? My ride here and again that you it's earned attributes versus given attributes. Oh, he had to work for his skill. I just was I was just born with mine. Give me a break. You see that in sports a lot, particularly when you have when you have cross race comparisons. So America typically doesn't like arrogance. We like our athletes.
We prefer false humility to honest arrogance. We prefer athletes who we know, they know they're awesome to just thank God, thank their teammates, Oh wow, amazing to be here. We don't mind it quite as much when it's a white athlete because subconsciously or consciously, many of us feel like, wow, they are the underdog because you just naturally think they're they're they're in a rougher spot. So that's why Caitlin Clark didn't catch For all the trash talking, but the moment, it is.
Not only a black woman doing.
A bigger, more physically imposing black woman, and she's doing it to a white girl.
Oh boy, folks get upset.
Because you cannot convince me if that were South Carolina there instead of Iowa and Angel Reese did that.
So here's the thing.
Everyone's talking about this from the perspective of just you got mad when a black girl did it, not when a white girl did it. I'm here to tell you it is deeper than that, because if South Carolina was in that game, not Iowa and Angel Reese had done it to a Leah Boston, people would not have been as mad. It was not just that she it was a black girl doing it. It was that it was a black girl doing it to a white girl. And people reacted like she was bullying. And nobody likes bullying.
And I'm here to tell you you know who didn't think she was getting bullied Caitlyn Clark, because Caitlin Clark knows.
Man, I'm better than you.
You got me, but I'm not.
I'm not worried.
We are athletes. We are two of the best in the world of what we do for real, first team All Americans. I don't need anyone protecting I don't need any want pearl clutching for me.
But the public does bad with that.
I'm gonna say one other thing where the media does bad. We probably don't need to amplify.
These as much as we do.
Now.
I quote tweeted someone, but I quote tweeted another media member, guy that covers baseball for a living, who said Caitlin Clark's parents at least know they raised her right. That bothered me. Give me a break. She was doing the exact again, like the exact same thing.
One of the less unhinged takes. Though, yes it.
Well, Keith Oberman called her an a hole.
I think Portnoy, who's out of his mind on a lot of stuff, was way out of line and we all know it. So it wasn't It wasn't a straw man.
It wasn't.
Oh, this is just folks with seventeen file were trying to inflame a race war. It was actual influential people being a part of it. But it was not the volume that probably a lot of us treated it as to where it was the story. But then becomes self fulfilling because then angels asked about it, she talks about seeing it on Twitter, it becomes a you know what I mean, Then it becomes a story.
The timing of it is also crazy, though, how Kaitlin Clark, It's not like this is something that happened last year.
Now. I don't even see how people could take.
To Twitter with the way that they were talking, given that Kaitlin Clark did that same thing six days ago.
Six days ago, and evidently I didn't see it, but that did it at one point to her own bench, different against South Carolina, forget against Louisville six days ago.
Go ahead, sorry, no, no, no, that was it.
No, it was right there, and it's who we were celebrating.
They're also there's a lot of.
Odd dynamics with women's college basketball that so, Page Buckers, I might have misproound the last name wrong.
I apologize.
Who was the best player in the sport plays for Yukon blew out her knee, but unbelievable from the moment she got there. She won a major award last year and at her speech she said, this is a sport carried by black women that white women tend to usually get these awards and so, and she was trying to say, we need to make sure we shine a light on the great black female players as well. So it's complex in this regard. If you were to get so, it is a women's basketball not as much at the collegiate
level as men's basketball. But if you were to get it is still a majority black sport, but the greatest players of all time are disproportionately white. So forget Caitlin Clark and Page Brianna Stewart might be the best ever.
She's white.
Diana Trazzi, once upon time was considered one of the very best ever white. Sue Bird might be the best ever white. Now you have Kitlyn Clark, you have Paige all that right Now, that's not to disregard Cheryl Miller or Cheryl Swoops or Lisa Leslie or Candace Parker, but it is the ten best players is a whiter group than just the general kind of population of players. So
why is that? That's a more complicated topic. But there is a level of simmering animasi's wrong words, but tension within the sport about who gets celebrated who doesn't if we're both A plus players. So everybody now knows Caitlyn Clark's name. That's in large part because she had one of the greatest tournaments ever. Aliah Boston won an actual championship last year, team was undefeated this year. She also does not look like Caitlin Clark, does not play like
Caitlin Clark. There's a lot of factors here, right, And so my point is it is never as simple as I think people try to make it out to be, even though this one at its base level was very simple. People got angry at the black girl, furious with the black girl for doing something very similar to what people celebrated the white girl for doing.
You know it was go ahead.
Also, like what's up with like the level of anger? I just feel like some people's level of anger with certain things is just unacceptable. Well, you don't have to be that angry about it, you know, to call somebody out of their name.
It's not like it's it was in front of the sport so like she dragged it.
No.
So I two answers there.
One is I think social media inflames everything and people are on a ten when they could be on a five. I think the other one is this, there are a lot of people very angry about racial dynamics in this country, and there are people of all colors and creeds angry about it. There are white people who think the country is being stolen from them, as if it were was rightful claim of white people. And there are black people who feel like we are going in the wrong direction
on very important racial justice topics. So when race comes into it, knowingly or unknowingly, people run hot, man, they run really hot, and people the people they're talking about stop being people and start being symbols for what they're mad at, and they start being pawns in their bigger game of you know what I mean, taking my country back whatever it is. And that's I think what happened.
Uh, Okay, you want to talk about the Warriors.
Let's talk about the Warriors.
Okay, let's do it.
Go ahead.
Warriors lost to a Yokich listen Nuggets over the weekend. Yeah, you said the Warriors winning the title would be the death No, for the regular season. You've written off the defending champs at this point in this season back on back to back years. Now you're saying the Lakers are going to win the title because they are.
Yeah, all right, So when the Warriors.
Winning the title and Steph getting his fifth ring before Lebron be the actual worst thing that's ever happened to you in your career. No, I think it would be the absolute worst thing to happen to you in your career.
Well, these are two separate things.
Little rancor thing that we did a while back might have to get shifted a little bit where we moved on, No where Steph is, but he's going up where.
Steph at was he top ten.
He was tenth of the last fifteen tenth so is he he was?
So he was number ten exactly? Yeah, okay, and who was? Who is eight?
And I mean Jack, you jump bass Shack.
I think you just have to switch him and Lebron.
Okay, stop it. That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. All Right, it is. Well, then let's just let's just put Russell one and Kareem and Jordan two. We're just gonna count the rings. Magic's three steph than ties or four magic. That's all we're doing.
Towns people counting him out, you know, like he's he's down in the gutter right now, He's not down in the gutter.
Arguably, this is.
Like the same thing as Lebron's like twenty thirteen Calves team or whatever what caves Okay, sy dragged to the finals or whatever.
Okay, Okay, twenty thirteen, Lebron played for the Heat.
Okay, so before.
That, if you're talking about against the Spurs in two thousand and seven.
Or he had that team of nobody that was the.
Spur was Lebron was twenty two to two thousand and seven, first of all, okay, which is why they can't win the title. I got massive respect for Steph Curry. Him winning a ring does not all of a sudden catapult him to Lebron's status. I'm not even having the argument. Lebron has four finals MVP Steph has one. Lebron has four. Regular season MVP Steph has two. Lebron has scored the most points of anyone. Ever, Lebron's a better defender. I'm not having that argument that is not available to us
on the take platter, because Steph greater than Lebron. Now, the reason I said it would be terrible for the regular season if the Warriors won the title, Andrew Wiggins is just gone for two months, comes back for the postseason. The Warriors this year are two and twenty on the road against teams five hundred or above. They they've been a five hundred team at every turn. If they end up winning the title, why would any anyone.
Care about the regular season? Ever?
Again, right, it has to matter. You're saying it would suck for the sport.
For the sport, that's what I mean. It would be it would just be like, Okay, everyone can just chill all regular season. It's five months that doesn't matter at all. That would be terrible for the sport.
Scott Foster enters the change, right That's.
The point that I was making there.
Now. The reason I believe in the Lakers right now is they've number one deep into the league since trade deadline, since the All Star break. I think they're fourteen and six. Eight is playing out of his mind. They have a rotation that makes sense. Lebron is ramping up they Now. What's really interesting is the Lakers, Clippers, Warriors, and Pelicans all have thirty eight losses.
The Lakers actually control their destiny of those teams if they went out, they get the five seed. Don't nobody want the five seed? The five seed plays Phoenix in round one. The sixth seed plays Sacramento. Now I believe in lighting the damn beam, but Sacramento's probably an easier matchup than Phoenix. With Golden State, the seventh seed gets Memphis, the eight seed gets Denver. But if you go to
the seven line, you're in a play in tournament. You gotta play an extra game and you can get eliminated. So everyone's gonna want the six You can't really position for it. But the Lakers are winning the title. Lebron's getting to Ring five, and it is putting the goat debate to rest.
I believe in that.
I really believe that if Lebron does get a title, it puts the goat debate to rest.
But now you want to know, here's what you don't understand about media. Sorry to point at you and say what things you don't understand? You want to know what's actually bad for my career Lebron putting the goat debate to rest? That's actually that for my career? Oh yeah, yeah, that I that It is in my interest for that to be a hotly contested debate as long as I'm doing media. It's not in my interest for everyone to come around and be like, hey, Nick was right, what's next?
So this is a lose lose ree No if Lebron wins.
No, because but no. But if I'm telling you right now, people won't call him to go. If Lebron went yeah in your twenty, people will say they'll find a way. People have just decided that it's not available to him after the MAVs series in twenty eleven. Next, speaking of the MAVs.
Speaking of bad title picks, okay, let's talk about the MAVs. After an overtime lost Atlanta, there reports the MAVs might shut down Luka and Kyrie.
As a whole. The move would be The move.
Would be to helping sure Dallas keeps their top ten protected pick, but would also show they have no faith in Luca's ability to win if they go down this path. Is there any te Is there any hope of saving the Luca MAVs relationship.
It's a bad versill is bad pick by me?
Yo.
I overheard you saying something about nobody can win with Kyrie.
I don't know what was going on. You said Kyrie, it's like a plus minus thing that I got sent.
Oh are they really good with him on the court.
No, they're really bad.
Like it's his versus kyrieesh, who's his? Luca Luca versus Kyrie? Luca dontris is minus twenty two on the MAVs. I guess Luca's been on the MAVs.
Can I see it?
Can I see Region hoops or league past fifteen games? Luca's minus twenty there minus twenty two with Luke on the court. They're plus six or two with Kyrie on the court. So yeah, the past. Listen Passifian games. I'm in the best for Luca. My born on Kyrie is very very simple. Kyrie in twenty sixteen was the second best player on a champion. Twenty seventeen, he was the second best player on an even better team. They just did win, but they were going. They had been to
three straight finals. He demands out of that situation, goes to Boston. His first year with Boston, they make the conference finals, but he does not play. He is injured in that playoff run. He then does play the next year, they lose in round two. He demands out of there. He goes to Brooklyn, they make round two, he gets hurt. The next year he's there, they get swept in round one. Now then he demands out of there. He goes to Dallas. They are the four seed when he arrives, they are
going to miss the playoffs. That is a seven year downward trajectory.
So when Luca first, I mean Luka, But when Kyrie first left the Cavs, when after they won the finals.
With the well, it was the year after the finals they had just lost to Katie and the Warriors.
Is this something that I'm missing? Was there something going on with this contract, Like no, he he he just wanted.
He wanted to run his own team.
Okay, I think made one bad, Like I think he's like a little tantrum and then like it's just like winning a downward spiral wherever.
Well, yeah, he also went a little.
I think had he not left the Calves then well, yeah, none of this would have.
Maybe I don't know, but he wanted to go run his own team and staid he went to Boston. He'd walk into UH team meetings and Brad Stevens would say to him, how are you doing today? And he would literally say to him, what does the word government mean to you? And then he would start talking about the Earth being flat and then he would start talking about you know, I'm not and I'm not anti vax, I'm
just pro freedom. And then and by the way, some of the stuff Kyrie Dove is really really good off the court, incredibly charitable, really really loyal guy, all those ever and yeah, I mean so, I mean just whatever, I don't think you win with him, and the MAVs are stuck. They traded their best defender, they trade assets, he's their guy. It obviously doesn't work. Yeah, I mean the day they traded for him. I said this will be in the first paragraph of the story, when Luca
eventually demands a trade the maps of Luka. Doncic has a chance to be one of the five greatest offensive players in the.
History of the sport.
This season hurts him. Now, it should be noted a Key missed the playoffs in his prime. Kareem missed it back to back years in his prime. All time greats missed the playoffs occasionally in their prime. It doesn't usually happen to Kobe missed the playoffs once in his prime. Doesn't usually happen, but it does happen, but it's not good for him.
How funny would it be if Luke ended up going to play with Lebron?
Well, Bill Bill Simmons speculated that Lebron's gonna go to Dallas. Lebron and Dramont going to Dallas.
Disgusting.
Okay, all right, next, all right when it comes to MVP, A little bit confused. So we got Giannis is the clear best player in the league. Yeah, bullied everyone's pick for MVP. Yeah, why are we not just giving the MVP the honest Well, the last time he played the Nuggets was in January?
Correct, the last time well.
Yanni's played the Nugget.
I don't know the last time they played, but I'm pretty sure.
I mean, they'll only play twice a year because.
So listen.
My opinion on this is very simple. Jannison Embiid.
What happened they played a week ago? I can said I didn't know they played a week ago? That the Bucks versus the Nuggets.
Oh, in a game Yogic didn't play though, right, that's the game Jokic sat out or am I tripping?
I I I could be wrong on that. Let me Oh, they.
Both both played.
Yeah, I'm I'm out of my mind as well. They're my apologies. Oh no, I'm sorry. I'm getting Yiannis and Embiid confused. Embiid sat out against Jokic on the the Nuggets beat the Bucks. I'm looking at it now. Janni's had a great game. Jokic had a great game as well. Yeah, and the Nuggets beat the Bucks. But set that aside.
Here's the deal. Jokic is now sitting out games. He's won two in a row.
Maybe the what go Ahead beat the Warriors?
That hurts his MVP to eight.
I don't know if it should, but it does. They beat the Warriors without him. Everyone's like, ah that he's carrying this terrible team.
They the Warriors suck on the road, So I shouldn't.
The Well, no, I just I it's not nothing. I think it's right now down to between Yiannis and mb Yiannis is the best player. However, if it is, I am and I don't want.
We've gone so long, we don't have to spend more time on this.
If it is a coin flip, giving it to the guy who's never won one is totally fine with me. And Drew Holiday came out and said, you know, Yannis has been MVP too much and people are.
Bored of it.
Blah blah blah. I get it, but Yannis's second MVP. He benefit from that because in twenty twenty Lebron the Lakers are the best record in the league. Lebron changed positions and won the assist title, did all of that in the tougher conference at the time, and came in second. Because people have been sick of Lebron. Lebron already had four, Janis had just won one. They gave it to Giannis.
So now if it's a coin flip between ya.
It's to call it a three headed coin between Giannis, Embiid and Jokic. Embiid's averaging more points per game this season than any center in forty five years. He's averaging more points per game this season than any player in forty years other than Harden, Kobe, and Michael. He's never won one.
Embiid's got your, Jokic has two, Janis has two. Let Embiid win it.
Take quick break come back. Also, by the way, put in your questions for me to ask Diora, for Diora to ask me as my daughter, Dura makes her What's Right debut in about fifteen minutes. What's Right.
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All right, welcome back in What drav with Nick Write episode one thirty nine. We went forty minutes in that first segment, and I've got got a busy.
Day to day.
Leave here do the Herd and I don't host, but I go on with Colin. Then I do my show, then I do Collins podcast, doing just wall to wall media. Then I watch the Lakers win again, maybe watch the Warriors loose to the thunder. Oh boy, what a night ahead. Also, by the way, the Lakers is such bs. Lakers play the Clippers one of the biggest games of the year. Tomorrow.
The Lakers play tonight. The Clippers will have not played since April.
First, the Clippers get four days off, the Lakers on a back to back before Game eighty outrage. All right, next, demons, what are we talking about?
A new NBA.
CBA goes into effects starting next year, and there's some major changes. Yeah, positionless all NBA sixty five game minimums for award eligibility. Yeah, and end season tournament highlight. A few of the reported big change or a few of the reported big changes. Sorry, even Lebron may be able to get another star. Now that teams can have three max players, that's three max contract.
Oh so, like there's rules about how many guys on a super Max you can have. You still have to fit it under the cap. It's complicated. It's just it's to encourage teams that draft well to be able to max out their all their guys. So that is I'm trying to think of the team that is particularly good for like the Caves. So they draft Garland, they drafted Mobile, they traded for Donovan Mitchell. Donovan Mitchell's already on a Supermax.
Now you'll be able to max out those guys. There's some other things that are good for the Celtics, the raises you can give help them, maybe keep Jalen Brown. All of that. The sixty five game minimum for award eligibility, I think is interesting. I do wonder if guys will sacrifice their overall averages. Like let's say they're at sixty three games and they want to rest the final two
games of the year. Well, they check into a game for one minute and check out, so they get a game played, but then they get zero's across the board, right, you know what I mean. So we'll see how that works. But the thing that kills me is the positionless All NBA. There are two people in the world that seem to care about this, Me and Bill Simmons. It's an It's horrible for historical snapshots. So I understand the idea behind them.
So let me tell you the idea behind it. The idea behind positionless All NBA is people were upset that last year. For example, for the last two years, Joel Embiid finished second in MVP voting and was not first Team All NBA because the guy who finished first was a center, same position.
Nikola jokis right, And.
People didn't like the fact that if we go back to, for example, the mid twenty tens, when there were no centers in the league, guys like Andre Drummond Al Jefferson were making All NBA teams when great players were not because we didn't have enough good centers. They'd be a third team center. That's why they did it. So now they're like, just I have the All NBA teams be the fifteen best players. The problem is that ruins our ability to use this as a snapshot of each season.
Who was the best at each spot. So let me tell you why it's bad, then give you the solution. So there's no way to watch the nineteen you know, early nineteen sixties basketball. Really but and go back at the All NBA list, Wilton Russell?
Who is better that year?
Well, in sixty they were the two best players in the sport for a decade, right, only one All NBA spot. Nineteen sixty It went to Will sixty one, It went to Will sixty two, It went to Will sixty three to Russell sixty four, to Wilt sixty five, to Russell sixty six to Will, went back and forth. Now let's go to the mid eighties, right, So the mid eighties
you have Magic and Isaiah playing guard. So in nineteen eighty six, nineteen eighty five, for example, Magic and Isaiah first team rookie, Michael Jordan second team.
Was he better than Bernard King that year?
I don't know who made first team at the forward, I don't know, but he wasn't better than Magic and Isaiah. The very next year, Magic and Isaiah again, Jordan was hurt. The next year, Magic and Michael Isaiah even though he's about to go on a run, of three straight finals, relegated to the second team. UH eighty eight, Magic and Michael again, Isaiah not on any of the teams, and now it's center by the way, a chem Elajau on first team, Patrick Ewing's second team. It is Simmons brought
this up, and he's right. Early two thousands, who were the we have in the league playing power forward? Playing forward Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Chris Weber, Tracy McGrady, Derk Novitzky? Right, who were the two best forwards that matters well? In two three, who's Duncan and Garnett. Dirk and c got relegated to second team. In four it was Garnett and Duncan again, in five it was Duncan and Dirk. Now Lebron's into the fold. Now Len now the best forwards.
We've got Lebron involved. Shortly thereafter Kevin Durant comes involved well, So those two forward spots are just locked up every year. So I don't care how good you are, Blake Griffin, You're not better than Durant or Lebron. Like So here's the solution. Because third Team All NBA has only existed since eighty nine. First Team All NBA, two guards, two forwards, one center. Second Team All NBA two guards, two forwards, one center, Third Team All NBA, the five best guys who didn't.
Make one of the first two teams.
Yeah, that way we still get the historical snapshot. You don't have the problem of a guy who's the thirty first best player in the league, but the third best center stealing a spot.
And we do it that way. That's not how they did it. So I hate it.
I know.
Again, I think it's only me and Bill Simmons who care. But I care a lot and it bothers me. So Like the other thing is, so Kobe for a half decade had a lot on First Team All NBA.
So that means all.
The other guards in the league, it's only one spot available. So who's it gonna go to? So like, oh six, it's Nash oh seven, it's Nash oh eight, It's Chris Paul, oh nine, it's d Wade twenty ten, It's d Wade twenty eleven, it's Derek Rose twenty twelve, it's Chris Paul again, twenty thirteen, it's Chris Paul again. Then Kobe's done now just guards, right, twenty fourteen, Harden and CP three. Then twenty fifteen, Steph Lay's claim to a spot for a
half decade, So who's gonna be the other one? Twenty fifteen it's Harden, twenty sixteen, it's Russ. Twenty seventeen, it's Harden and Russ because Steph got penalized because Durant was on the team. Twenty eighteen, it's Harden than Lillard. Twenty nineteen, it's hardening Steph again. Also the forward position, Lebron's got basically one first team spot on lock for twelve years,
So who's going to be the forward alongside Lebron? I'm gonna do that real quick and we can move on because starting in O eight, Lebron was first team forward every year. So in O eight, it's Garnett relegated to second team, is Dirk and Duncan. In O nine, it's Dirk relegated to second team, is Duncan and Pierce. In twenty ten, Durant comes into the league. Now Mellow and Dirk are relegated the second team. Twenty eleven, it's Durant again. Twelve,
it's Durant again. Twenty thirteen it's Durant again. Twenty fourteen, it's Durant again. Twenty fifteen, Durant's hurt. It's Anthony Davis oh Ad popped up. Twenty sixteen, Durant's healthy. Lebron's got one of those spots available. Is Durant first team that year?
Nope?
Kawhi Leonard took the spot. Twenty seventeen Durant healthy. Does he have that spot alongside Lebron? Nope, Kawhi Leonard has it. Twenty eighteen, Durant takes it back. Twenty nineteen, Lebron gets hurt. Yannas steps into the fold. Now Yanna's is first team every year?
You laughing at me?
No, I mean this is this is a bit.
It's just this is how we can talk. It's it's important for this history of the sport. So twenty twenty, Yanis locks up one of those forward spots. So now the question is who's gonna have it alongside Giannis Lebron in twenty twenty, Kawhi in twenty twenty one, them in twenty twenty two. This year, probably Tatum again alongside the honest this stuff matters.
It bothers me.
Next, Oh, I think that the fix that you you provide, it's a it's a good one.
It's a good fix. They should have done it, all right.
Many consider March Madness the best event in sports. Yeah, even if you're a hater.
There's only one.
There's only way, one way to determine the true number one postseason slash tournament in sports. Yeah, with a bracket to unpack it. So we've got best postseason's ish bracket is what we're calling it.
Oh, okay, I like it.
So there's probably gonna be a graphic if you guys are watching on YouTube. Yeah, for those listening on the podcast, I will list them. Uh so one through eight.
Yeah, so here they are.
Yeah, it's the seeded as following NFL playoffs, March Madness, World Cup, NBA Playoffs, the Masters College Football Playoffs, Wimbledon. And the number eight is the World Series, which I assume means the World Series of poker, because the World Series.
We don't talk baseball in the shows. So who cooked you?
So I think we were?
Yeah, No, it's all right, don't worry about it. So it's one versus eight. So the producers did a very interesting thing. Initially they had the one seed as the Super Bowl. They smartly changed it to the entirety of the NFL Playoffs, which does complicate things a bit, But the NFL Playoffs obviously beats the World Series of Poker. I love the Masters. The Masters is only four days. The NBA Playoffs is the best two months on the sports calendar. So then we have the NBA Playoffs on
one side of the bracket against the NFL Playoffs. These should be the top two seeds. They should be meeting in the finals. Let's go to the other side of the bracket if we can March March madness.
No, I mean in college football.
No, just look at the screen, buddy, March madness against Wimbledon.
Yeah no, no, no, I was just staying the winner.
Oh I got.
Oh no, Wimbledon.
Yeah.
I see Wimbledon far more than I enjoy March madness.
Okay, I do.
It's a higher level, it's higher quality, it's the best in the world. It's not a bunch of misshots. San Diego State had like twelve points at the under eight yesterday.
Give me a break.
Wimbledon, and I like the World Cup more than the college football playoff, but it's only every four years.
We'll still advance the World Cup.
So now our semi finals are the NFL Playoffs against the NBA playoffs, America's games, and Wimbledon against the World Cup the World's games. This is a tough one, but my favorite two months of the year, the ones that are starting in two weeks we're advancing the NBA playoffs. Here's the deal with the NFL regular season is far superior to any other regular season by a mile, But
there are only thirteen playoff games. By the way, in any single elimination tournament, do you know, everybody out there, any single elimination tournament, do you know how to determine how many games are played? So like March Madness has sixty eight teams, how many games are there?
Do you know March Madness says sixty eight sixty.
Eight teams, or how many games do you think there are? Keep this, keep this it might stop stop stop stop stop. The NFL playoffs is fourteen teams. There's thirteen games. However many teams there are, there is one less game.
You know why. Everybody's got to lose once except for the champion.
So for however many teams, I don't get if you have one hundred and twenty eight team tournament. You know how many games you're playing one twenty seven? Do you have an eight team tournament? If it's single elimination, how many games you're playing seven? Because everybody's got to lose once. That's the answer there. The NFL Playoffs gonna do with sin coast ten sign co sign tangent.
I don't think so, but I'm not a geometry guy, so I'll be I do like sin So.
NBA Playoffs beat the NFL Playoffs. The World Cup beats Wimbledon, and we have the NBA Playoffs against the World Cup, and the NBA Playoffs are winning just two months of greatness every single year. That's my winner, my champions, the NBA Playoffs. I would have had the NBA Playoffs meeting the NFL Playoffs in the finals, but these bracketologists, way overseeded March madness, give me a break, way overseeded March madness, and we are.
Yeah, there it is. It's the NBA Playoffs, all right.
Listener questions for me and making her What's Right debut Diora, that's next, What's Right? Welcome back? In episode one nine? What's Right with Nick?
Right?
So for loyal viewers and listeners. You know Demanse moving to LA ten days from now. Apartment locked in, job, locked in, job's been locked in working for Fox. He will continue doing the podcast from LA once football season gets going, maybe a little before then. But as you guys know, there's a family business. One member of the family has not been on the show before. I'm not being allowed to or this is high energy, something your brother struggled with for months, and something you are going
to learn. This is Diora, my middle child. Once upon a time I publicly called her my favorite child.
She has lost that designation.
Oh, they's just it is, you know, let me rephrase it. It's up in the air. Your brother's done. It's such a wonderful job with this this last year. It's been so helpful, so eager to do it. You, on the other hand, I had to twist your arm to be a part of this as your bridge project for school.
You don't remember what what do you not remember?
I think you're making things up?
Actually, what do you think I'm making up?
You never asked me to do this before.
Oh okay, you're starting your broadcast career with a lie. That's how you want to start. I understand that you're an actress, and so Door is a theater majors. She'll be going off to college next year, so this will be wonderful time for us to spend together. You were sitting there watching the YouTube stream, reading the comments. What was well before we even get to those comments, would
you like to introduce yourself to the audience? Sure, okay, go ahead, right, look just look at me, just keep talking to me.
So my name is Diora. Right, I'm seventeen years old, and I'm going to college this year, and I'm going to be doing the podcast for like the next month or so.
Yep, maybe a little bit more than a month.
But yeah, what are your interests? Likes, dislikes?
Okay, so I like hang out with my friends. I dislike my father.
Let me think, Uh, are you a big sports fan? People?
No, I'm not.
Do you play any sports? People want to know?
I play volleyball?
Wow, I mean you're in the arts.
What does that have to do with literally anything? Well?
Not everyone can have everything. Your brother, I'm on track.
I'm on track.
I did volleyball this year.
That is true.
That is true, But I wouldn't if we were describing you to the audience athlete was not the first thing that would come to mind.
Yeah, I didn't bring up sports.
You do.
Do you watch any sports?
I watched basketball?
Do yours into basketball? Likes going to nets games?
Yeah?
Which is what It's good.
You're going to be a part of us when the NBA playoffs are starting. You and I are gonna be able to watch a ton of basketball together. See, you weren't in it. You don't sound excited about it. Your brother wasn't excited about watching football with me end up being one of his favorite things. Do you think you will gamble on the sports the way your brother has? No, No, you won't gamble on the sports.
No, okay, all right, you ready to answer some listen? Is there anything else you want to say?
No?
Door is the You're real quick. You're going to college to major.
In theater, theater, acting, acting for stage and screen.
Right, and so one of the reasons she's doing this is because it gives you. I was forced screen presence, interacting in front of a camera, things like that, right, Okay?
Uh?
From uh Anthony Phillips, do youorra what's your favorite role you've acted in?
Any role in the future you want to.
Play hm hmm.
I think one of my favorite roles that I've played is I recently did the play named Amily, and I played Elton John in this musical and it was just like a small snapshot, but it was my favorite song that I've sang before. And one one musical I've always wanted to do is Rent and I've always wanted to be either Maureen.
Or Yeah Maureene.
Yeah.
Question.
Can we tack your Elton John solo onto the end of this show?
Can we do?
Oh?
I don't know about that later.
Maybe a later thing.
Diora crushed it as Elton John did great.
Sound like the Frosted Flakes guy when you said.
That, Okay, thank you appreciate that.
Uh.
Shane Coates asks is Nick the same on and off the show or just a little bit acting different?
How is he?
Unfortunately, yes, he's just loud. It's a little bit of acting. He tries to be cooler around his audience, but I guess you could say he's kind of the same.
What do you mean, try to be cooler around my audience, try to.
Like just act like, oh no, it's all fun, Like you know, guys, I'm just I know what I'm talking about. He doesn't know what he's talking about all the time. But that's okay, that's okay. None of us can be perfect.
When I'm talking about this stuff, I know what I'm talking about all the time. That's my job is to be prepared, buttoned up, to be the expert.
Okay.
There's two ways to get into my field. You either lived it or you loved it. You lived it, you were a pro athlete. That can be like, this is what's happened in the locker room. Here's what the coach is saying. You loved it, you learned everything you could about it, and you become an expert opinion.
Okay.
Uh, Tim g asks, do any of your friends ever find out who Nick is and want to meet him or talk to him?
It wasn't really much of a thing until more recently, but most of the kids at my school do know who he is. And it's just like the casual like passing in the hallways, like tell your dad I said hey, or tell your dad that I think blah blah blah, tell your dad he should come to our basketball game on Friday. Stuff like that. But it's never really anything serious until It's like something I post on Instagram or something and some random strangers just like yo, can I meet your dad?
Or like no, the let me read another one of these here. Uh, this is from Matthew Cook. Do you were what skills are you hoping to get from being a part of the show, Like, what do you have to report on for school?
So?
For school? For my bridge project is what it's called. It's like student run projects kind of. I just told them that I was doing the podcast to learn how to gain a state like a screen presence and be able to put my name out there.
Basically, Uh, all right, question for me, are you going to read the comments post appearance? Of course I would strongly say you should.
Wow, I don't.
Here's the thing I think most people, Here's here's my opinion. The vast majority of people will be nice. You will disregard all of the people who are nice, and then the selestruct who are mean. It will not be constructive. It will be hateful directed towards.
Me, and you will be shrapnel for it.
Also to someone the handful of people who wrote uh gus, most notably Nick, do you do this just to prove you're down for the cause. So by that I assume the cause they mean black people and to prove I'm down for it. Here's the thing.
This is my goddamn family.
So I there's no there, there's no like. I'm not bringing play actors. The door doesn't leave and you go to go, so go somewhere else. This is just this is my You guys have met my wife, my youngest daughter, my oldest son, and now my middle daughter. Uh let me read a couple more of these and then we'll move on. By the way, our YouTube comments typically are quite nice, but what were Were there any comments you saw earlier from me and demonse that you wanted to chime in on.
No, no, you're good.
Uh, all right. Justin Dubail asks, as they're just getting to know you, and then we'll do you know, when dor is in deceeat full time, we'll do more straightforward shows. But this is a good introductory. Justin Dubail says, what's your biggest pet peeve when it comes to your dad?
That's a good one. Do I have to pick one?
You know what, Let's just see where you take it.
Go ahead, one of my pet peeves, I don't know allowed to say that?
Go ahead.
He spends like an hour on the toilet.
Okay, Well that's really it's a hell of an introduction.
Yeah, you know what, that's my introduction.
One.
Another one is how you're always right on everything.
Well, that's I understand why that's frustrating.
Sometimes he's not and he doesn't know if he's right yet, so he just he he gains that like he's like, I know it. I know it, even if he doesn't actually, but he just didn't.
I come to you in the kitchen just the other day and say, hey, that thing I don't even remember what it was that we were discussing the other day. I was wrong and you were right on and you kind of looked at me like I was crazy, Like why are you telling me this? And I was like, I think it's important to acknowledge when you're wrong. Yeah.
It was so passive aggression. It was so passive aggressive. I feel as if it's important when I tell you when I'm wrong, because it doesn't happen that often.
Well I did say it doesn't happen that often, but this is a skill. You. Here's the thing, whether you want to acknowledge it or not, that I'm always right even when I'm wrong, I believe I'm right.
You got that exact trait for me.
And you get mad, well, because you're not right as often as I am. You're seventeen. You understand you don't have the wisdom of years in front behind you. It's all I mean. Listen, there are so many things, and I think the audience will see it. So do you ever thinks I'm annoying and.
Whack and all these things? She also adores me.
However, so many of your best and least best, we'll call it traits you got directly from me.
I wouldn't give yourself that much credit.
You wouldn't. No, Okay, somebody asked, can you gamble at seventeen?
You can't.
But she turns eighteen in three and a half weeks, which is a wild situation. Eighteenth birthday coming up, prom coming up, yeap, graduation coming up, all in the next like three months, all the next three months, your national television and podcast debut.
You know.
Sometimes these shows are all on FS one.
They broadcast them like overnight.
You never told me that.
Yeah, well there you go.
Maybe you can get your SAG card early. All these things. This is gonna be great. Scoot by the way, I call her Scoot. So what it's not allowed?
Okay, I'll try.
I'll do my best, but if I refer to you as that, I want them to know who it is.
I have a hug this one. No, this was so special for me. This was great.
Oh, Demont's taking a picture. This is so great. Aren't you happy? I'm so happy right now. Now everyone in the family's been on the show. You're gonna be amazing at this.
He's gonna make a speech about this at what do you mean you're little guys. I just want everyone to know that I just I really appreciate all of you guys, and this past week is just it just really warms my heart.
I do give sentimental dinner toasts.
He just but it's not a toast. He just decides, like every once in a while, he just wants to do like some just like random, just like dad, like really hardcore dad moment.
Isn't that nice?
Don't you think you're gonna think back on that when you're older and be like, ah, my dad really loved me.
I think I'm definitely gonna think back on it, But I don't know if that'll be What's going What.
Right Episode one Thursday. Duor will be here Demon's to see you guys.
Then