Best of NBA News Part 1: Unc FURIOUS at Byron Scott DISRESPECTING LeBron James LAKERS LEGACY! Unc & Ocho FLAME the WNBA for being CHEAP after the STARS SHINE with UNRIVALED

This is the biggest night in podcasting. The countdown is on to our 2026 iHeart Podcast Awards. Live from South by Southwest, March 16th, we'll honor the very best in podcasting from the past year and celebrate the most innovative, talented creators in the industry. It's truly a who's who of the podcasting world. Creativity, knowledge, and passion will all be on full display. And the winner of the iHeart Podcast Award is... See all the nominees now at iHeart.com slash podcast awards. Audible is a proud sponsor of the Audible Audio Pioneer Award. Explore the best selection of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals all in one easy app. Audible. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free trial at audible.com. Hey guys, it's your favorite Unc here. Go ahead and click that subscribe button below so you don't miss a single episode of Nightcap. That button right here. Come for the sports, stay for the story. The Cavs showed their toughness today when they beat the Nets 106-102. James Harden scored 22 points in his return in the lineup with a broken thumb. Keon Ellis also played with a fractured finger today and still was able to put up five blocks and three steals. The Cavs got a defensive menace at the trade deadline from the Sacramento Kings. Yeah, look. The thing is that I think it's on his non-shooting hand. James is a lefty, and I think it's his right thumb. Right, yeah. He played well today in return. I think he had 22 dying in seven, something like that. The bigs played okay. I thought Evan Mobley played well. You look at this graph, I don't know if you guys can see it, but Detroit, 45-14, the one seed currently. Boston, 40-20, the two seed. The Knicks are 39-22, the three seed. The Cavs are 38-24, the 4th seed. Toronto, 35-25, the 5th seed. So if the season ended today, Cleveland would face Toronto. The Knicks would face the 76ers. Boston would face the Magic. And Detroit, well, would play whoever wins out of the 7-10 matchup. But, look, it's close. Obviously, it's not as, you know, what is three and six? Three and six is a bigger separation than what it is in the Western Conference because it's only two games separating three from six in the Western Conference. And it's about six games separating, five and a half separating three to six in the Eastern Conference. But Detroit, Detroit has looked well all year. They played really well. they got an all NBA selection and Cade Cunningham I think Dern is going to be an all NBA selection also he might make the all defensive team hell Cade might make the all defensive team because he's that good the problem they're going to have is that Dern is going to get a max contract five years over 200 million dollars and it's better it's kind of like football it's better to sign these guys early than late because in basketball they don't give discounts And teams don't even ask them. In baseball, they don't give them no discounts. Ain't nobody with Darren Judge and say, hey, Judge, check this out, man. We trying to put a team around you. Can you cut it? No. The players association won't let you do it. Shohei ain't cut no deal. The only deal that he cut is that he's like, you know what? I'm nice. I'm nice like boss. Give me $2 million a year. And then the other $68 million. So he's only costing them $2 million a year. That's why they're able to just stack players on top of players. You get a Brady Freeman, you get a Betts, the guy that just signed for $60 million a year. You get those kind of guys because you get guys taking deferred compensation. Now, they'll do that, but it still keeps the market up here. Right. But it's going to be very, very interesting. The NBA has kind of been quiet this year, Ocho. In terms of what? Well, Steph has been out because you can see the shift coming. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. The shift is coming. The young guard is coming. The old guard is going to move on. Steph is going to move on. Katie is going to move on. You know, and so things are going to be different. Things are going to be different. The league is transitioning away from those guys, and that's okay. The league is in great hands. It moved on from Dr. J, Larry, and Magic. It moved on from Jordan. It moved on from Kobe and all those, Shaq and all those guys. The league will be fine. The league will continue to prosper. It'll be fine. I'm trying to hold on. I'm trying to look up these stats right quick. I think, I mean, the NBA, obviously, the new guard that is coming in, they have a lot of excitement. Obviously, players that can put butts in the seats that a lot of fans, regardless of what team you support, you look forward to watching them. Obviously, Ant-Man, you got Wimby. I'm not sure if you would put Zion in that due to the inconsistency of actually being healthy and actually playing. You know, Ja could have been in there. Hey, Cade, Cade. Yes. Obviously in that conversation, Jha, I'm not sure what's going on with Jha. You got Wimby. You got SGA. You got Ant-Man. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. You know, you got Yoke. Obviously, we mentioned we got Brunson. JB, JT is out. But, you know, the young guy, I mean, there are a lot of under 30 guys that's going to, you know, the league is going to have to carry the league like those old guards, like Magic and Bird and Doc and Jordan and then Kobe and Shaq and here come LeBron and KD and Steph and all those guys. Harden is going to move on also. But those guys, you know, go ahead. You know what's funny? It's obviously with the new guard coming in and all the great names you just named, who the hell is the face of the NBA now? Once the old guard moves on, who's the face? They don't have one. and they want Ant-Man, but Ant-Man said, nah, let Wimby do it. Ant-Man want to be Ant-Man. Ant-Man want to go, you know, Ant-Man don't, because there's pressure that comes along with that. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. So you have to, you know, your image and everything and where you're going, how you conduct yourself and things like that. And Ant said, nah, that ain't me, cause I ain't finna hold y'all. You know, I ain't really try to, you know, when I'm in Atlanta, y'all see that collab that's going on with Magic City and the Hawks, you know, I'm trying to be down. I'm trying to get on them lemon-pepper wings. hey the collab is March 16th we going right? you and Joe going okay okay okay me and Joe we'll tell you about it yeah we'll tell you about it I might hit Madge up and say Madge let me get one of them hoodies they got a Atlanta Hulk Magic City collab hoodie I might take a look at that but right now I don't think they got a face of the league and you know obviously all things being equal who they want to be the face of the league that's not what he wants to be and you know you want somebody to embrace that guys used to embrace you know Magic and Bird and Kobe and Jordan and LeBron and Steph they embraced it and there are guys that are willing to embrace it but the NBA is like nah we don't kind of want y'all to be the face we want him to be the face right, right, right, right but I think eventually it might have to because it's becoming such an international game and some of your best players are international if you probably had to take a pick your top five players in the NBA maybe top seven are all international players so it might be your face of your league it might have to be someone that's not even from here yeah, yeah because if you look at I mean, if you look at baseball it's one of two players. It's Aaron Judge or Shohei. And if you take a poll, they're probably going to say 90% of them say Shohei. Yeah. But the MLB, Ocho, has always had that. They've always had Dominican. They've always had Cuban players. They've always had players from those countries. That have dominated and been the pace. Yeah. And so now, and the Asian-born players, whether it be Nomo or Hideki Matsui, Ichiro. Ichiro, yeah. They've also, some Korean players. So they've always had that. Basically, this shift that happened, yeah, there were a few foreign-born players. Like I said, I think I read somewhere it might have been nine players that was in the NBA in 92. Right. And now you might have, every team that play in the Olympics might have three, four guys. Look at Canadians. Damn near the Canadians' whole team is in the NBA. The Slovenian team have players in the NBA. The Serbian team, Jokic team, Greece. So it's a lot more. So now it might be, it might, you might not have a choice, but to have a Shea or a Giannis or, you know, one of those guys, you know, a yoke as the face. It is what it is. It is what it is. Because right now, Cade is coming. I think he's a couple, I mean, Ant-Man, but it's Ant-Man that has the charisma. He has the personality. Yeah, he has the shoes. He's perfect. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He is. He is. He has a game to match. But Ocho? Yeah. You have to want someone to want it. He has to want to be it. Yeah. You can't force it on him. It comes with too much pressure because you have to conduct yourself a certain way, not only on the court, as an example, but even off the court. And Ant, I mean, if you know Ant personally, that ain't happening. That definitely ain't happening. You look at the quarterbacks. You look at them. that's been the face of the league. You know, you look at be it Marino or Elway or Montana or Brady or Manning or Mahomes. You see Josh Allen, the way they kind of lead to that. Josh Allen's like, man, I want to be the... Baby, we've been doing this thing. We've been dating for like six months. You want to get married? You know what I'm saying? You want to get married, don't you? You see the quarterback, they don't be wasting no time, don't you? Oh, no. Quick. Quick. They don't play. So we will see. I think there's some American players that's getting better. Like I said, Kay Cunningham is getting unbelievable. We got Ant-Man. We got JT. We got JB. JT would gladly, gladly accept that role. The problem that he's having is that he's getting pushed from a teammate. Right. It's hard to be, hold on, how are you the face of the league and you're not even the best player on your own team? Ooh, that's something someone's saying. Now, that all depends on what you ask. That's my point. Right, right. And so, you know, normally with the guys at the face of the NBA, you got to be the one guy. Yeah. On your team, yeah. So it's going to be very interesting in the next. I think, look, we do all this talking all we want to. Until 23 for the Lakers League, he's still it. You think so? Still? He's still it. He's still it. Right. you look at his social media you look at his engagement you look at who moves the needle right it ain't no question no question understandable this is the biggest night in podcasting the countdown is on to our 2026 iheart podcast awards live from south by southwest march 16th we'll honor the very best in podcasting from the past year and celebrate the most innovative, talented creators in the industry. It's truly a who's who of the podcasting world. Creativity, knowledge, and passion will all be on full display. And the winner of the iHeart Podcast Award is... See all the nominees now at iHeart.com slash podcast awards. Audible is a proud sponsor of the Audible Audio Pioneer Award. Explore the best selection of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals all in one easy app, Audible. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free trial at audible.com. The Knicks snapped the Spurs 11-game winning streak with a blowout, 114-89. Mikael Bridges had 25. Jalen Brunson had 24. The Spurs couldn't overcome 22 turnovers that led to 24 points, and they were out-rebounded 54-41, something that they're really not because of Wimby. Wimby played well, but they went on the run. I think the Knicks went on a run, outscored them 22-0, and they could never get back in the game after that. They never could. But they played, look, you got Mikael Bridges and Alvarado. He comes in the game and he's a smart plug. And you knew he would be that type of guy that the Knicks crowd would love because he plays with a lot of energy. They like that. A lot of hustle, a lot of grit. He's going to make a big shot. He's going to get you a couple of turnovers. He's going to get the crowd energized. I'm not surprised that the Nick on base love him as much as they love him. I'm trying to pull up this. No I don want this game Scores here Where is it at? Oh, here it is. Yeah, Champagny, three points. Wemby was 25 and 13, but they shot terrible from the three. 9 of 34, what's that, 26%, 42% from the floor. And the mere fact that they only had 89 points, less you know. But OG had 12. Cat had 12. Josh Hart almost had a triple-double. He had 10. Mikael Bridges had 25. Brunson had 24. Diwari had 14. But they got overall contributions. And look. From everybody? Yes, they did. And you know the Knicks want to play. They got Mikael Bridges, who's a wing defender. They got Josh Hart, who can defend. They got OG can defend. Mitchell Robinson comes in. He can bang, and he can defend. But they do a great job. They do a great job of creating chaos and turning turnovers into points. And that was really the difference in the ball game. They just kept turning the Spurs over. The Spurs couldn't protect the ball. And they're going to have to do a better job of that. Look, they had won 11 games, had been playing really, really well. and to play at the level, I don't think they were going to go undefeated heading into the postseason. But I think the coach is pleased with the way they played thus far. But today was just one of those games, a nationally televised game. It's an early game. They don't normally play that early, Ocho. But give those guys credit. The Knicks played an unbelievable game today and they got the win in blowout fashion. And the Knicks needed this too, aren't they? They needed this. They haven't been playing too well, especially as a group collectively. the way they played today is how they can play it. They can find some type of balance, you know, not too high, not too low, but find an even-keeled way to play collectively as a group the way they did today. They can make some hay and make some noise similar to what they did last year. I know I've been watching Stephen there. He's been upset with the Knicks the past few games and what they've displayed out there as far as the product is on the court. But, I mean, shockingly to me, you know, knowing that the Spurs were playing the Knicks, I thought obviously the Spurs would run away with this game, and the Knicks look completely different, you know, a completely different team, you know, watching them play today. Well, they swore on Wimby. Wimby has seven turnovers by himself of those 22. You can't turn the ball over like that because now you create, you get runouts, things of that nature. And like I said, the Knicks can cause you that type of problem if you turn the ball over because they got really good defenders. OG can defend at a high level. We know Mikael Bridges can. We know Josh Hart can. So they got guys that can clamp the ball and keep the ball in front of them. And so when Mitchell Robinson comes in, obviously Cat is seven foot, and he'll block a shot here or there, but that's not what Cat is known for. He's known for being a perimeter big that can shoot the ball extremely well. We know Brunson is Brunson. He's going to get you buckets. He's going to make clutch shots. He's as clutch as any player that we have in this league, so we know what he represents. It's that when they play defense like this, they force you into turnovers, and they make you shoot 26% from the three, you're not going to beat them. And they made 17 threes, you made nine. So now they're plus 24 from the three-point line. So if somebody's plus 24 from the three-point line and they force you into 22 turnovers, this is probably what's going to be the outcome of the game. You're probably going to get blown out. It's really that simple. And so give the Knicks credit. I mean, I'm sure Stephen A is happy about this. happy but not satisfied. Right. Because he knows they got an uphill struggle because Boston has played well. Boston is playing extremely well. Toronto's putting that thing together. Toronto's better than people think. I watched them the other night. You know, Scotty Barnes and B.I. Those guys are playing. R.J. Barrett, they got some scorers over there. They're playing really well. Yaka Portal. or Portal, they're better than you think. Now, do I think they can beat the Knicks in the seven? Nah, I don't. I don't think, you know, when it's all said and done, it's probably going to be Boston and probably the Knicks. Looking at how everything is kind of like shaping up Ocho, look like it's going to be Boston and the Knicks. If I had to bet anything, I like Philly, but I just don't know if. Embiid Embiid's going to be healthy enough Tyrese Max is going to be Tyrese Max Edgecombe is going to do Edgecombe things They probably I don't know if and when PG is coming back But if I had Who do you think is going to be In the Eastern Conference Finals I'd probably say Boston Boston and the Knicks And that's an old rivalry When it happened last year I don't know if we'll ever get those 80s rivalries like it once was. But we'll see. The Knicks play well today, and they needed this ball game. They definitely needed this ball game more than the Spurs. The Spurs needed it to try to keep place with OKC. Because the thing is, all things being equal, I think they probably need the home court more than OKC, because the type of ball, the OKC play, it does travel. They got a lot of wings. They got five, six guys that can defend at an elite level. Shea, you already know, Pimson Shea in for 30. He just fills him in for 30. Automatically. You know he's going to get there. Yeah. And so now you get a couple of those other guys that come along with him. You get Chet. You get J-Dub. You get Wallace. You get some of those other guys. Isaiah Joe. You get some of those others. And Caruso. He always shows up in big games. He's going to make the right play. He's going to create chaos. He's going to create turnovers. He's going to knock down a big three. He's going to get a big steal. He knows what these moments mean. Having played on that Lakers championship team and before that and last year, He was a big reason why they won the championship last year. Some guys just understand the moment and they can rise to the occasion in said moment. And Caruso is definitely a, is one of those guys. So let's first look 11 straight games. Ocho to get back in this thing. And they're the team that gives OKC the most trouble, but you never know in a seven game series, you never know an injury here or injury there. And it completely flips the series. This is the biggest night in podcasting. The countdown is on to our 2026 iHeart Podcast Awards. Live from South by Southwest, March 16th, we'll honor the very best in podcasting from the past year and celebrate the most innovative, talented creators in the industry. It's truly a who's who of the podcasting world. Creativity, knowledge, and passion will all be on full display. And the winner of the iHeart Podcast Award is... See all the nominees now at iHeart.com slash podcast awards. Audible is a proud sponsor of the Audible Audio Pioneer Award. Explore the best selection of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals all in one easy app. Audible. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free trial at audible.com. Yeah. Former Laker Byron Scott wants LeBron James off the team. Scott said, I think he should be his last year here. he don't have to go home, but you got to get the hell out of here. Ocho, are you surprised to see Byron Scott publicly calling for LeBron's departure? That wasn't AI? Byron Scott really said that? You heard me on? Byron Scott really said that publicly? That's what he said, yeah. You're on his podcast. That's crazy. And obviously, maybe, maybe I doubt that Byron Scott would really feel that way, or maybe he actually does because LeBron is not the same LeBron of old. But but but but saying that he needs to leave L.A. and Luke would just be the only person there that that is somewhat consistently outside of Austin Reeves makes no damn sense. So why is LeBron being the one that's being called out from Byron Scott when all the other issues that even Ray Charles can see that they have going on with the Lakers right now? I don't know. I think the thing is, and I don't know when this started happening, that guys from an organization, great guys from an organization would all of a sudden call out guys that's currently within the organization. And maybe this is a Kobe thing. LeBron was never really accepted, even though he really revitalized the Lakers organization. I don't care what anybody says, and I think the fans understand. They know that. They know what the Lakers were, Kobe, the last three years. And when Kobe left, they know what the Lakers were. I don't know. What is this? Right. What are we talking about? If LeBron doesn't come, the Lakers are not selling for a billion dollars. Right. You're not going to be able to get Luka because you don't get AD. AD is not coming to L.A. Mm-hmm. I don't know what LeBron did to piss so many great players off. Yeah. Oh, no, he didn't. No, he didn't. I get it, Ochoa, and a lot of times, we talk about this on the show all the time, Ochoa. These guys currently in the NFL get privileges in things we didn't get. But I don't begrudge them because we got things in the 90s and 2000s that guys in the 70s and 80s didn't get. And they got things in the 70s and 80s that guys in the 50s and 60s didn't get. It's this thing called evolution. The game grows, the game evolves, and people get more things. It's okay. But this notion that LeBron James is the only one that's ever had power within an organization. Do y'all realize that a man won a championship and Magic had a falling out and he says, it's either him or me? And Dr. Buzz fired the coach that won an NBA title. Yeah. That happened. Ladberg did the same thing. It happens. But for some reason, anything that goes wrong, that is the reason why. that's what free agency was meant to do so you be to tell me you want free agency and then want guys to stay if that was the case what was free agency for what was free agency for Ocho if guys are not going to move around yeah I get it teams team will trade a player like it's nothing don't perform in what they do even if you do perform if they think they can get better they'll move you but now players say you know what I think I've gone I think it's gone about as far as it can yeah I can't carry no move yeah But LeBron, there have been a lot of guys that's moved, but nobody has caught the criticism. And LeBron James has never asked for a trade. Every time LeBron James has moved, Ocho, he's played his contract out. He played his contract out in Cleveland. He went to Miami. He played that four years out. He went back to Cleveland. He played that four years out, and he headed to L.A. I just don't get it. I don't know. I've never heard so many great players, championship winning players, take shots at LeBron. You have to understand. It comes with the territory. He sits at the top of the mountain. He's the great one. He's the chosen one. He's the one with the moniker, the king. So what do they do? Regardless of his accomplishments, regardless of his accolades, they argue that you're in LeBron debate. We're talking about the greatest basketball player of all time. So what happens when you're the greatest at what you do, regardless of what you've done, even those that have played your sport, they're going to have something to say, whether it's good or bad, because what you've done is not enough to them. Despite what we may think on the outside, despite what you may think and understanding how great LeBron is and what he's done for organizations to date. Again, he moves the needle. So what's one way to move the needle on a platform we want eyes and viewers to listen? You talk about the one all the way at the top. Yeah, but I think LeBron is smart enough to know Ocho. He knows there's nothing he could do to topple Kobe. That's not what he – just because I'm trying to achieve something, that doesn't mean I'm trying to take his statue down. Why can't we both be great? I think he understands that in Miami it's Wade County. He understood that. Do I believe in Dwayne Wade knows that LeBron is a better player? Yes. But if you might ask Miami Heat fans, they'll say D-Wade. Right. So he knew no matter what he did, he could not win enough championships to overcome Kobe, Magic, Kareem, and Shaq. That wasn't going to happen. No. And I don't think he was that naive to say, man, you know what? And I don't think he went in with that mindset. He didn't go in with that mindset. Kobe came there as a 17-year-old kid and left as a fully grown, married father of three, four kids. Yeah. Rest his soul, and Gigi. That's what he did there. And that's okay. Same thing with Magic. Magic came there and never left. Magic was a 20-year-old. now mostly the other great players obviously Shaq spent four years if I not mistaken in Orlando Kareem spent I think six years in Milwaukee But, you know, you look at James Worthy, you look at Jerry West, you know, and Elgin Baylor. Those guys, you know, spent their careers there. But I just don't know what LeBron did to piss off so many people. Hey, a lot of them. Ocho. Yeah. I believe I can like Travis Kelsey without constantly taking shots at Gronk. Constantly taking shots at Gates or Gonzalez. I believe I can do that. But it's almost like I wonder if he was anywhere else other than the Lakers. And I love B. Scott. I used to see B. Scott all the time in the gym. We used to see the gym, Equinox. And I used to see B Scott all the time. We always talk hoop, and he's a great guy. But I wonder if LeBron wasn't on the Lakers, would he still feel it's time for LeBron to leave? No, absolutely not. Because, I mean, his love for the Lakers, it'd be different because it's not on my team. It's not a team that I was a part of. You didn't do a whole lot talking about the Lakers when Kobe hit Kobe last years. Did you hear anything about the Lakers? You know damn well nobody would dare say that, huh? No, but I ain't talking about talking about Kobe to leave, but he wasn't even mentioning the Lakers. The Lakers ain't have no chance. Ain't nobody talking about Lakers and a chance to contend for a title. Nobody mentioned that. And then when Kobe left, ain't nobody mentioned Lakers and contend for a title. Right. The mere fact that you even think is possible for a team with a 41-year-old to get to the championship lets you know just how great this man is. Tell me the time in history. Another 40-something-year-old has played, and you know what? They have a chance to get to the championship. or they had a chance to contend for a title. Outside of time, leaving New England to goddamn... I'm talking NBA. Okay, not. Not Jordan, not Kobe. No. His longevity is different. Yes! It's different. But look, he got his reason for whatever it is. I don't know. I don't know, so I don't want to get into speculating. There was something to say. I don't know. And I know B. Scott loved his Lakers. And if you played in this organization, most especially, he spent most of his years there. Yeah. Mm-hmm. But B. Scott, you know now, you know that there was a transition that when Kobe won the championship in 9 and 10, they didn't come close. They didn't come close. And nobody said a thing. Ain't nobody said. So 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18. So eight years. Nine years. Like if they come close. Yeah. Mm-mm. And y'all had Kobe. So you had Kobe 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 15, 15. Hey, but they ain't had nothing to go with him, though. It was the main course with no side. Why would you need nothing? Because when LeBron didn't have nothing to go with him, y'all would say if he was great, he would win. That's what y'all did with LeBron now. They did this. When LeBron, you never did that with anybody else. Yeah. You didn't do that with, like, you see what you said? You see what you said on show? They done got you convinced of that. Oh, no, I'm just being honest. I'm just being honest. I mean, Kobe's the main dish. There was no size to go with it. There wasn't no dessert. So the chance of winning was slim to none. I thought you were so great. That's what you do. You don't need nobody. Who needed teammates? That's what y'all tell me? Because every time I turn around, he couldn't win a championship without D-Wade. He couldn't win a championship without Kyrie. He couldn't win a championship without Anthony Davis. And you just told me Kobe ain't have nobody to go with him. Last I checked, Shaq's in the Hall of Fame. Last I checked, Pau Gasol is in the Hall of Fame. Last I checked, Scottie Pippen's in the Hall of Fame. Dennis Rodman's in the Hall of Fame. So in other words, what you're trying to tell me is that no matter how great you are, you need a teammate or two. Yeah, absolutely. Oh, okay. I'm just checking. I'm just, you know, just clarification. you got to have a two-headed monster. If you got three, it'd make it that much easier if you got three. Yes. But thinking you're going to get it done with one man, you got four, you know, just four partners out there just going through the motion. It's not happening. Duncan. Definitely not happening. Duncan had Manu, had Manu and Tony Parker. And then the last one, he had Kawhi. Mm-hmm. Hey, boy, Kawhi was crazy at what the Spurs were. Oh, after Timmy left? What? After Timmy left. My goodness. He knew he had to take on more of a role. He had to take on, you know, he was perfectly tip, playing the backseat, you know. Hey, I let all, hey, let Manu, let TP, let Timmy. Pop said, nah, bro, it's time for you. He's like, okay. I'll give you 25, 26 a night and lock it down on the other end. But I'm surprised. I think the thing that's surprising is that people say, look, People might feel a certain way and might say things in private, Ocho, that never get public air. But to say this publicly, I'm a little surprised. You know what? And you know what we don't know also? What? There might be things that go on behind closed doors. There might be things that are said that go on behind closed doors that we don't know about that also make Byron Scott say something like this publicly that has nothing to do with anything that we know. Okay. Scott also seemed to take issue with LeBron saying today's game is harder to play than in the 80s and 90s. The game is different. I want people and our fans to understand that playing 82 games in the 80s and 90s is not the same as playing 82 games in the 2020s. It's just not. The way we play, the level of pace, the level of speed in which we play, it's a different game now. It's a totally different game. It is. It is. when B Scott played in the 80s and the 90s, they might have had two guys per team that can shoot the three. Now, on a 12-man roster, they got 10 guys that can shoot the three. And you have to guard them all. Bless you. Everybody is a viable option. There wasn't no such thing as no stretch five, no stretch four. Right. they have that now the pace is increased the pace has increased and you have to guard multiple for the most part again it's evolution the guys are more skilled the guys are skilled you ain't have no Kevin Durant you ain't have no damn Wimby's you didn't have that you damn sure ain't have no Steph Curry's Listen, it's okay. It's okay. It's a different game now. The NBA is different. The NFL is different. It is. I mean, the game has become, the guys are doing, Ocho, guys are doing more exotic coverages now than when you and I played. That's okay. It's okay to say that. That's not to diminish our error. That's not to enhance their error. It's just facts. You know more. The scouting departments have gotten better. You think scouting now, back, you think when they started scouting players with Cleveland Browns, when they first started, the thing is that Paul Brides reported that Paul Brown, the reason why they timed the 40-Ocho, because that's how far the punt went. So how fast could somebody get down there to get him? The ball normally hung up there by 4.5 seconds. Right. Hmm, 4.5 seconds. You can run like that because you're running pretty good. So then the Dallas Cowboys and Gil Brandt took it a step further. Because, Ocho, you know they used to draft players and never work them out. They just look at the scouting thing, look at them in college. Well, you know, you can't play, son. Come on. We're going to draft you first. We're going to draft you the second round. We're going to draft you in the 15th round, the 17th round. Then the Cowboys take it a step further. Gil Brand, Tex Tramp, they're actually a brain player. They put them through everything. Hence, a combine-style workout. Right. So you think the way they started scouting players in the 60s is the same way they scout players now? No, absolutely. They got these scouts on the road every day on weekend, Ocho. Every week they find somewhere looking at players. They didn't do that in the 60s. As a matter of fact, they didn't even have a combine. They just drafted a guy based on what his college numbers were, how he looked at college, and they drafted him. So things change, people, and it's okay. It is okay. That doesn't mean that doesn't take away anything from the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s, and so forth and all. It's just that's just the way it is. It is. It happens. Technology changes, Ocho. Look at the cleats. Look at the helmets. Look at the basketball shoe. Look at the way they train horses. They've changed. I don't know why people can't see that evolution. It's going to happen with your blessing or without it. Or not, yeah. Or they don't care. One or the other. They complain about it anyway. Everything gets better over time. Tonight, LeBron moved into fifth place on the Lakers all-time assist. surpassing Michael Cooper. Magic is one. Kobe is two. Jerry West is three. Storm and Norman Nixon is four. LeBron is five. Koop is six. Kareem is seven. Elgin Baylor is eight. Excuse me. This is LeBron's eighth season with the Lakers. Obviously, we know Kobe spent 20 years there. Magic, I think, from 79. I think Magic played about 12 years. uh Coop played we know Kareem played I think 13-14 years there uh and I saw LeBron is the second Laker to make a thousand threes only behind Kobe and obviously you would know Kobe played 20 seasons with that organization um and was great um and LeBron is already second Obviously, they shoot more threes now than they did back when Kobe got into the league. Ocho, how do you think LeBron would be remembered as a Laker? You think he gets his jersey retired? You think he gets a statue out front? You know what? I don't think he gets a statue out front, but I think he gets his jersey retired. I mean, what he was able to do once he came to the Lakers and helping that franchise obviously win a ring, a ring that a lot of people put an asterisk behind because it was a bubble ring or whatever it may be. Because LeBron wanted it. Somebody else wanted it. They wouldn't put no bubble behind it. They wouldn't put no asterisk behind it. Yeah, I understand what you're saying. But people have to understand and take whatever hate they may have for LeBron to understand what he was able to do during his time, during his tenure with the Lakers, with what he had to work with. Outside of that, I mean, being one of the greatest, arguably, the greatest, the one or two basketball players to ever play this game, I think he should be acknowledged in such a fashion, in such a way, based on that alone. Whether he gets the statue or not. But retiring a 23 jersey for the Lakers, it would only be right. And not to do so, it'd be ridiculous. It'd be damn egregious. I mean, imagine. Ocho, just think about this. I want you to picture this. Tom Brady is one of the three greatest high school football players ever. Yes. He goes to college and he's one of the three greatest college football players ever. And the next big thing, and he comes to the NFL, and even as a great high school player and a great collegiate player, he's even better in the NFL. Well, that's what LeBron James was. Yes. He was one of the three great high school players ever. and whatever you may have thought he could have been, he superseded that. He exceeded it completely. He's exceeded it exponentially. Nobody thought this man would be a four-time league MVP. Go to 10 NBA Finals, win four of them, four finals MVPs, win two three All-Star Game MVPs. He's the all-time leading scorer. He's the fourth leading assistor. He's a top 30 rebounder. He's a top 15 or 10 assists guy. I mean, a steals guy. Nobody thought that. Whatever you thought LeBron James could be based on what he was in high school. And they've been a lot of great high school players. Right. LeBron is Ocho and his name hadn come up on any crime blotter He hadn been a source of tabloid speculation He been squeaky squeaky clean Yeah most definitely Most definitely. And still people find fault. Well, he flops. All great players hunt calls. They do. Just like every time the quarterback gets hit, what does he do, Ocho? Look to the record. You ain't going to throw no flag? Yeah, something. I just saw that man hit me. I know we're playing football, but he wasn't supposed to hit me. He wasn't supposed to hit me, hit me. You know, he's supposed to lay me down. You know, I ain't got no pillow. Hey, you got to go to the sideline and get him a pillow so he can throw me on a pillow. People always complain. It just depends on who's doing the flopping. It always depends on who's doing the hunting. Then they turn a blind eye. Depends on who it is. That's all it is. True. I agree with you, though. I don't think he gets a statue, but I do think they, based on what he's done, the All-Star games. So he's been the 8th All-Star. He's been what? He's been a seven-time All-NBA selection. So if you cut his career up in sevens or if you cut it up in eights, he's a Hall of Fame player every eight. Every eight, he's a Hall of Famer. That's crazy. And I know they're going to miss him when he's gone. Let them tell it. The game will continue to go on. It is going to go on. Yeah, it's going to go on, but it won't be anything like that. We won't see anything like this for a very long time, if ever again. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. A guy that played this long and played that great this long. Yeah. It was a big night for the unrivaled semifinals. KP Kelsey Palm hit a game winner to go to the championship. She finished with 31.6 rebounds, five assists. And then Arike Ogumbawale also hit the game winner. Fans started chanting, play the players, play the players. Let's take a listen to this, guys. Let's take a listen to this, guys. KP, she was the women's all-time leading scorer at one point in time until Caitlin Clark broke her record. She's the number one draft pick. So KP can get it. KP got boogied. KP a hensie on you, and she quick to try to get to the rim with that left hand and go all the way up underneath. Or, hey, she'll go up with the right hand. Arike Ngumboale, she been making shots like this. Go back and check out at Notre Dame when she hit that buzzer beater. This is what Arike do. This is what Arike does. Yeah. This is, I'm not surprised when they say, oh, man, Arike hit a game. And tell me something I didn't know, that Jeff Bezos sold bean pies at a truck stock when he was a kid. That's something that I didn't know. But you're going to tell me Arike hit a game with him. Okay, and. Right, right. Hey, look, the Unrival is doing a great job down there in Florida. I love watching those girls come out and compete on a night-to-night basis. I love what they did with the 1v1 setting. But, Unk, you're right. KP, she the real McCoy, man. That girl got some game. And she tough as nails, too, bro. Tougher than wet leather. Oh. Tough as I don't know what. She be out there getting to it. Oh, Joe. I'm talking about them girls. Hey, look. Do you see the crowd? It's sold out up in there. It looks like. Yes. So, they talking to the WNBA when they say pay the players. Yes. I think the Unrival is doing a pretty good job in hosting the girls, obviously the pay. Barclays was packed. Joe, think about this, Joe. The sad part is this is happening in unrival, not the WNBA. Yeah. Imagine, imagine Joe, we getting plays like this and the players, it's not the NBA. Yeah. This is what you should be having in your league. Absolutely. Absolutely. This is what we, this is what we should have. This is what should happen. Absolutely. I don't want to get into the minutiae because I don't know enough on either side. All I know is that I hope they don't mess this opportunity up because the women's game was starting to grow. And whoever was in charge for it, I don't care. I don't care who wants to get the credit, who takes the credit. All I know is that there was a level of interest in the women's game that wasn't there before. And people started talking about it. We were talking about it. We were talking about it on ESPN and we were talking about it on here. And so people started to talk. So I don't care who wants to get the credit or who deserves the credit. I just want the women, I want the game to grow and everybody to be happy. Me too. Hey, so Caitlin Clark, she's not playing in this, right? No, she doesn't play in Arrival. For what? She does $6 million off the court. Why does she need to play? These women, there are only a handful of women that's making bucks. Asia makes money off the court. Sabrina Onescu off the court. Caitlin Clark is the Moby Dick. Yeah. Is the white whale. He makes money off the court. But all these other women, and to keep from going overseas and being held, being captain, they're like, okay, let's start this. And they're doing a great job. Hopefully the women now all of a sudden can make $750, a million dollars a year, as opposed to women taking pay cuts, especially with NIL. Caitlin Clark took a pay cut. Oh, yeah. Yeah. They're making $70,000. Yeah. They definitely all going to be making some ends in the next some odd years. Hey, look, and it's going to get better because if you can get those big guns to join, like the Unrivaled, I don't know if they would. But if you can get those big guns to join, it'll take it to a whole nother level. You know what I mean? Like, you got to look at girls like Juju Watkins who will be coming into the WNBA or playing in the Unrivaled maybe next year. Oh, Juju. Yeah, she's not playing. a junior year. She's going to be the first player selected. Oh, yeah. And them ladies that can go one-on-one, Paige Beckers. Yeah. Chelsea Gray. Yeah. KP. Yeah. Although, Juju. Yeah. Caitlyn would love to see Caitlyn play, but I don't think she's going to play. Asia has other interests going on outside of that, so I don't think Asia is going to play. But it was an unbelievable scene tonight. It was an unbelievable setting. I mean, I hated to see KP leave Vegas, but, I mean, she was the third option. Yeah. Yeah. She was the third option. Everything's going to run through Asia. Everybody understand that. We talked about the greatest. Well, if she's not the greatest, she's top two. Right. And she ain't two to me. But anyway, that's nothing there. But with that being said, she understood. You got Chelsea. You got Jackie Young. She's like, you know what? I want to do my own thing. I want to start my own thing. And more power to it because she played unbelievable. I love her game. Like you said, Joe, she's extremely tough. She's passionate about the game. They play. Hey, they're pure. Hey, I mean, I can't say enough about them. I love watching them play. Rike, she's phenomenal. Hey, y'all do know Chelsea Gray, when she won a one-on-one tournament, she got $200,000. That was more than her salary for the WNBA. Yes. Yes. Yeah. Yes. I know. And so, you know, she won the MVP. She can play. But like I said, so many of these women, especially now, and it happens when the NFL started, guys making, you know, $100 a game, Ocho, and each year generation. And hopefully guys look back, because I'm very thankful of the guys that were in the 70s and 80s, 60s, 70s, 80s, that gave me an opportunity so I can make the money that they didn't make. and the guys that came after us that's making the money that we couldn't make. So hopefully guys are appreciative and know that there are a lot of sacrifice. There are a lot of guys that got injuries and down on their luck that didn't make it. Well, you should have saved them. Saved what? You weren't making no money back then. Hey, you making $12,000 a year? That ain't a lot of money. Right. Chelsea Gray was named 2026 Underrival League MVP In her second season with the Rose They got put out by Paige Becker's team I think Paige Becker's team Yeah, I think that's who beat them In her second season With the Rose BC, she averaged 24.2 Career high 5.6 rebounds, career high 6.1 assists Career high four game winners. You know why I think it's so fun to watch? Because it's three on three, full court. It's not a traditional full court. Obviously, the floor has shrunk a little bit. Right. But that's fun to see the change of pace, the three on three. There's not a lot of help in situations like that. Like, you really got to guard your yard, guard your man, you know, hold your own. That's what I love about it. Yeah. Yeah. And they can play. a game like this is tailor-made for, like, Chelsea, who can handle the ball, pat the rock. She got the game one-on-one. Kelsey Plum, one-on-one. Paige Beckers, one-on-one. Absolutely. Reek, women that can handle the rock, one-on-one is always going to be their thing. Absolutely. If you can get by your man, you can get a bucket, you can create off the dribble, can't nobody stay in front of you, this is your this is what you do. You can't stop that. They got that handsy? Oh, man. That handsy gonna get you every time. Oh, man. Them girls nighty. They gonna get you every time. Oh, Joe, we found the video. Let's check it out, Joe. Let me see what he got going. Ain't no sound? I don't know what you got the pants off, bro. Looking like Jack is doing a curtain. I had to get him I had to get him pants off, boy. Ooh. I'm hurting. I'm hurting. I'm hurting. Hey. 24. 24 with a little incline on there. Hey, the funny thing about it too, Unc, is I could do it assisted, but if I had to do it on my own, like free will, I'd never run that fast. No, no, no. That's old speed training. Yeah. Because we do that. We did it on the treadmill, and we also did it with a band. With a band? Yeah. Because pulling you along, it's kind of like- Oh, pulling you along. I thought you meant someone pulling you back. Yes, yes, yes. And then they release it, and then you run it on your own. Yeah, so it gets you used to running at that speed. Because like you said, you're not just running that on your own. Hell no. So I can just imagine, because they say Usain Bolt could get up to 27. So if he can run 27 on his own, he'd probably go crack 30, 31 on the treadmill. Easy. Easy. Damn. Body dough. Hey, man, when you run like that, it keeps your hips open, right? Yeah. Well, the thing is, it gets you used because you can't stride now. Hey, Joe, you got to turn over. You got to turn over. You got to stay with the treadmill. If you don't stay with the treadmill, your ass going to fly the fuck off. Boom. Yep. That's exactly what's going to happen. So you get guys, and so it's teaching you to turn over. Damn. Ocho, you was moving, Ocho. You was moving. Hey, the funny thing about it is the place that was the place where I'm at now, I'm back on the treadmill again, but I ain't got nowhere near no 24. Hey, how were you then running on the treadmill? I wasn't even playing no more. I wasn't even playing no more. That was the, I forgot what year that was. I forgot what year that was. I definitely wasn't playing. This is the biggest night in podcasting. The countdown is on to our 2026 iHeart Podcast Awards. Live from South by Southwest, March 16th, we'll honor the very best in podcasting from the past year and celebrate the most innovative, talented creators in the industry. It's truly a who's who of the podcasting world. Creativity, knowledge, and passion will all be on full display. And the winner of the iHeart Podcast Award is... 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