Transcript of LeBron James on Playing in the NFL, Jordan's Pick-Up Games and Favorite Career Milestone | Ep 123

Wndyri Plus subscribers can listen to New Heights early and ad-free, plus unlock access to exclusive episodes of the show.

Join WNDYRI Plus in the WNDYRI app, Apple podcast, or Spotify today.

I'm Afwa Hirsch.

I'm Peter Frankerpen. In our podcast, Legacy, we explore the lives of some of the biggest characters in history.

This season, we're looking at the life of the most famous Queen of France, Marie-Antoinette. Her death is seemingly more well known than her life, but her journey from the daughter of the Austrian Emperor to becoming the most hated woman in France is just as fascinating. We're going to look at the ways in which her story was distorted during the French Revolution and dig deeper into her real experience is in a troubled, difficult time.

Marie-antoinette is one of the most well-recognized but least well-understood names in history.

We're talking about how her death led to the way that she was spoken about in the 19th, 20th, and 21st century. Countries.

Follow Legacy now from wherever you get your podcasts.

Or binge entire seasons early and ad-free on WNDYRY Plus.

Dude, I'm pretty pumped. I'm nervous, but I'm pretty pumped. I've always wanted to ask him just everything on my mind.

I know. It's going to be hard. You're not going to have that much time.

I'm not. I don't even know what's on the rundown.

I'll take care of the rundown. You just free-ball it.

Lebron, do you think I could play in the NBA?

You don't want the answer to that.

He saw me trying to dunk last week. Yeah. All right, let's fucking go. Welcome back to New Heist, ladies and gentlemen. A WNDYR Show, produced by Wave Sports and the Entertainment, and brought to you by Reese's. New chocolate lava Big Cup. Big Ed, Kelsey's going to go fucking nuts over that.

Ed's salivating right now.

We're your host. I'm Travis Kelsey. This is Jason Kelsey out of northeast, Wow. Cleveland natives. Bearcat alumni as well. Shout out to the Bearcats. Hopefully, they can get it going here. Boys basketball, women's basketball here in the old Big 12.

Come on now. Come on now.

Subscribe on YouTube, 100 plus wherever you get your podcast. Follow the show on all social media at New Heights show with 1-S. Jason, tell the people what we got coming.

92% as we got a banger. We got a banger. We got a guest. It's been a long time coming. And with the playoffs here, the stakes could not be higher for him to come on the show. He's the king himself. King James is here. That's right.

Northeast Ohio's finest.

Get ready for some fun.

Yeah. He's going to help us recap the Wild Card Weekend. We'll talk a little Cleveland, lots and lots of other fun because I've always wanted to talk to the King about everything Cleveland and everything basketball, man. This is going to be a fun one, man. This is going to be a fun one.

Yeah. Before we get into LeBron, we just wanted to take a second and stop down and And say that our thoughts with everybody in the LA area. I think we've all seen the footage. It's insane. At this point, no people personally who have been affected by these fires and this tragedy. Our thoughts are with you. There will be a link in the description if you want to support. That's redcross. Org./nfl. I really don't know what's going to happen in even just the coming days, let alone the coming weeks, and how this is going to get rebuilt. Just let you know we're thinking about you.

Everybody, yeah.

We know this is not easy.

Did Did you feel special out there in Arizona at the Rams game?

I was walking through. Normally, we're out on the field, and we're not in the Concourse area. But because of transition, we couldn't have that set on the field in Arizona. When I was walking through the Concourse area, I saw the LA Fire Department hat that the Rams were cosigning with. I'm like, God, dang, man.

I don't know.

It just hit me right in the moment. Oftentimes, football can be a distraction from some of these things. I always enjoy playing when there was crazy things happening outside of the game. It was a way to just not have to think about it for a little bit. I don't know. Hopefully, the Rams went in on Monday, gave the fans and some of the citizens some much-needed escape from the things that are happening. But shout out to everyone that's involved in helping prevent, rebuild, just the emergency responders that are there, helping out the people that are in need. It was pretty powerful seeing a lot of the LA fans in that place. I really thought Bigwit killed it in his speech. That is the first speech I've heard from him, and he always kills it. He's always away with words, and he's obviously really personally connected to all this stuff being out there in LA. So, yeah, Let's get on to LeBron. Let's pick up some spirits and get this conversation going. Joining us today, the 6ix9ine, Bored from Akron, Ohio, the number one pick of 2003 NBA Draft, 2004, Rooky of the Year, 20-time NBA All-Star, four-time NPP, four-time NBA champion, three-time gold medalist, and the NBA all-time leader in career points.

That's right, 92 percentters. Please welcome Northeast Ohio's finest, Mr. Lebron James.

Let's go. Oh, my God. Jason, that might be the greatest introduction of all time, following at the end with the powder. Oh, my goodness. You guys are fucking unbelievable. This dude is just wearing the powder, too. He just have to own it.

Who's going to clean that shit up now?

Kylie is not going to be happy about this.

Jason, you got to blow the powder away, Jason. You got to study the technique, man.

I put way too much in there.

All right. This guy looks like a fucking ghost, man. That shit's great, doc. You started doing the powder, what Was it your rookie year?

No, I don't remember if it was my rookie year, Trev. Man, I think it was maybe second year, maybe third year. But I used to just go up to the counter, man, go up there, put a little powder because I like the resin on my hands to make my hands stick with the ball. Was that like a shirt? Yeah, I just went up there, do a little bit of something, and then just went to the game. And then I started doing a little bit more, and then started doing that towards the scorer's table. And I see them getting ready for me to do And then I started doing like this, and I threw it up a little bit one time. I got a little bit more excited. I was like, You know what? Fuck it. I'm just going to...

It's iconic, man. It's fucking iconic.

Hell, yeah.

All right, well, we're going to get into this right off the bat, because I think this is incredible. Super wild card weekend, LeBron. You've been working with DraftKings. You went five for six. Look at this pitch.

Look at this pitch, Trap. This guy knows some football, baby. He's got to know some football.

He has the Chargers to win, Baltimore to win, Buffalo to win, Eagles to win, Commanders to win, Rams to win.

That's crazy. We know you played football back in the day at St. Vincent, St. Mary, man. Yeah.

Has it ever actually crossed your mind what you could possibly do in the NFL? No, absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely.

Have you ever taken it like a serious thought? Man, what if I just did one year?

Yeah. The only time I've really taken it like super I believe it was, I think it was 2011 when we had the NBA lockout. And I didn't know when we were going to make the deal with the owners and get our league back going. So I actually thought about it a little bit back then. I was still young enough to get out there with you all. But that's the only time I've actually seriously considered it. I've had serious dreams about this shit all the time. All the time, And my dream never, actually, the ball has never kicked off. It's like me in a warm-up. It's me coming out, running my routes. And then right when the game started, I was like, fucking wake up or some shit. I'm like, okay, that lets me know I'm not supposed to be out there.

There you go.

Time out.

Come on out. It's all the dreams. Yeah, we know exactly where.

Just to let you know, you're still young enough to get out there.

We can see how you can get up and down the floor.

Who do you think your biggest comparison would have been in the League. Everyone always likes to say Gronk or maybe even Calvin Johnson.

Do you think- I'm about say Megatron, probably the closest thing.

It's probably like a mix between Gronk or Randy Moss a little bit, but he's a lot smaller than me. He runs a lot faster, but he's a lot smaller than me. But Megatron, we have that same stature as far as build or whatever the case may be. Tony Gonzales, him and his size, and obviously, he played basketball as well. I used to love his celebration when he used to dunk on the goal post, too. I'm always trying to say. Actually, I saw you do it, too, by the way.

Oh, here it comes. I tried. I tried, I just smacked the backboard on that one. I don't know why I got up to here. Just smacked the glass.

Oh my God. I used to be able to fly. No, the NFL had a nerve to find you for that shit. I'm like, Come on, man. Relax.

You already know, man. Relax. It was find well-were they. Actually, Tony G helped me out with that one. But instead of throwing any money at me, I just told him to send it to the foundation. Yeah, send it to the foundation.

There we go. There we go.

So shout out to Tony G for that man.

Give it up for Tony G, for sure. My dog.

The only game you missed in that parlay was the Texans Chargers game. We know you're a big football fan. How do you watch the games? How do you stay knowledgeable of all this stuff? You're a busy dude, man.

I try to watch as many NFL games, college games, high school games. And yeah, I'm very knowledgeable about the game. I remember playing it, obviously, but just watching you guys out there and seeing the way you all play, it's not just as a fan, which I'm a fan of the sport, but also my IQ about the game. So the Chargers Texas game, I was off on that. I felt like the Texans, they hadn't played consistent football all year. And obviously losing Stefan Diggs and losing Tank Dale. I just felt like- Big pieces. Big pieces. My boy C. J. Stroud has been struggling a little bit this year. He had a rookie of the year last year, Ohio State alum, but he was struggling, too, losing those big guys. And I felt like the Chargers was coming in on so much... I feel like they had it. I feel like they had an opportunity. Coach Harbault has been coaching those guys really well this year, but turnovers. We all know the name of the game in sports, especially in football, man, is turnovers. And that defense for the Texans, they turned them boys over multiple times.

That's the game right there. Yeah.

Their defense balled out.

Some tough ones for Herbert, too, man. Threw some hands and deflections. Those are just daggers, man. You mentioned Ohio State, man. I got to ask, man, did Trussell ever come and knock on the door?

No, absolutely.

I know basketball was always there, but did Trussell ever come and knock on the door?

Absolutely, man. Trussell knocked on the door plenty of times. They wanted me to come up there and be a two-sport player, I. E. Travis Hunter. We saw him with Travis Hunter did this year with Colorado, but definitely, they knocked on the door. It was like, If you come down Ohio State, we want you to play both sides. And I would have definitely thought about that. My best friend at the time, Sheehan Cotton, went off to Ohio State, full ride to Ohio State. And he played for Ohio State football, so that would have been super dope. I could have roomed with him, played football during the fall, basketball during the winter and spring. So that would have been dope.

Man, Buckeyes, man. That would have been crazy to see you in a Buckeyes jersey.

That would have been dope.

Maurice Claret was coming from around that northeast Ohio area, too. I believe they had just won it. Yeah.

It was crazy. Ohio, Mr. Football, when Maurice Cleret won his senior year, I He was top three in runnings for Mr. Football as well. But he went crazy, man. He went to Warren Harding. Warren Harding. Yeah, Warren Harding. Yeah, he went insane his senior year, and then his freshman year went on to Ohio State, and they were able to beat that jogging out of the Miami Hurricanes that year for the national championship. But Maurice Carre was a beast, man.

Was that?

Absolutely. 2002, right? This would have been 2004. Yeah, 2004.

Man, oh, man. That team would have been nasty.

Very nasty. That was a fun game to watch. Something that happened over the weekend is we thought we could relate it to you because you're a big book guy.

You're a big book guy. Aj Brown was seen reading a book on the sideline of the game.

Did you catch this? I did catch that. I was watching the game and I did catch that. I can say I've watched the NFL for 35 plus years of my life. That's the first time First time.

First time.

I've seen guys eat Skittles, Marshawn Lynch. I've seen guys with the oxygen tanks. I've seen guys meditate. I've seen guys slam helmets. I've seen a lot of shit. That was the first time I've ever seen a book been brought out on the bench first time.

You ever seen that in the NBA?

No, no, never. No? No.

No, no. Just something to ease the mind. Just go ahead and read a few passages.

By the way, when A. J. Brown said the reasoning for why he did it. You know what? It was great. And then they showed the clip when Saquan had the shutdown run and he slid. And you see Devante and A. J. Messing around with him like, Man, go score that. He's like, No, man, no, chill. I was like, The chemistry is still there. Oh, it's So the cameras are still there. They've been playing good football.

That's all that matters.

I think that's 10 in a row for them. They got it going. So, hey, if it's working for them, let them keep going, man. Whatever works.

I'm with you on that.

No doubt. What about this Bill's Ravens game, staying on the topic of these playoff games. We got Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson. You had the tweet during the game. Henry, King Henry.

Yeah, man.

There's anybody that can call somebody a King. I think. What do you like in this game?

I mean, it's a tough one, man. Obviously, I think Buffalo has... I don't want to say it's not surprising anymore, but they lost a lot of pieces in the offseason, and a lot on the offensive end, too. And then they lost a lot in their secondary, too. Michael Hyde left, and Poir left, and Tudavia's White left, and all those receivers there. So it was a lot of like, Okay, will they be able to get to this point where they are? Well, they still got Josh Allen and Josh Allen. That's He's been unbelievable. So for Lamar, listen, this is what they want. This is why they grabbed Derrick Henry. This is why they made the change with the Office of Coordinator, to be able to get to the point where they could play either Buffalo or play Travis and them boys. Listen, if you want to be crowned, you have to beat the top teams in the AFC. And the top teams in the AFC over the last three, four, five, obviously 20 10 years if you're talking KC, these fucking guys, it's Buffalo or it's KC. In order for Lamar to get to where he says he wants to get, he has to go through Buffalo, he has to go through KC.

So let the games begin.

I can't wait to watch that one.

Yeah, he's been knocking on the door, man. He has been knocking on the door for sure.

Yeah, he been knocking on the door.

Henry definitely helps, man. He was like a Clydesdale running through that hole. He was fresh, and I've seen him all season. I don't know how.

Man. That was amazing. Absolutely. It looks super fresh. Absolutely.

King Henry. I've been loving the commercials of you and Kevin Hart, man. I'll tell you what, just when I thought, because it was a celebration one in the middle of the season. I was like, man, every time it came on, I was dying laughing. But the new ones, you guys got some heat, man. You and Kevin are absolutely hilarious together, man. I can't wait to keep seeing these things unfold.

No, absolutely, man. Me and Kev, this is one of my best friends, man, when it comes to this. When we get on set, we have a script, and then it gets to the point where we just like, Man, let's just rip, and let's see what comes out of it. Let's just do it. And whatever comes out of it because of our chemistry, it's great working with KF, working with DraftKings, being able to do things like that where it's just easy for us, and we knock those things out very easily. They're happy that people love them because it's definitely fun.

For sure, you already know. I can only imagine how fun it is.

The Philly Cleveland connection is great.

Always. Exactly. Always.

All righty, thanks to our presenting sponsor, Reese's.

Guys, let me tell you about their newest creation that has my entire mind blown. These Reese's chocolate lava Big Cups.

Reese's. Sorry. Reese's. I keep forgetting they pronounce it differently than I've always pronounced it. Did you know that?

Nope. I thought it was Reese's my entire life. It's not. Why did we get that from?

It's clearly reading it as Reese's, but we've always pronounced it Reese's. Is that a Midwest thing?

It might be a cola versus a pop. It might just be whatever you grew up saying it.

Reeses has told us that the brand says Reese's, so I will continue to call it Reeses because whoever tells me to say anything anyway. Picture your favorite Reese's, but now imagine taking a bite and discussing Sovereign a layer of chocolate lava-inspired filling that takes the experience to another level. This does sound so good. I can't wait to try this out.

They literally took perfection and somehow made it even better than perfection. I didn't even know you could have perfection, let alone something better than all your peanut butter chocolate dreams in one cup.

Buy Reese's chocolate lava Big Cups now at a store near you, found wherever candy is sold. All right, before we get back to more LeBron James, it's time for a little look ahead. Look ahead is brought to you by DraftKings. Joining me now is Intern Brandon. Come on in here, Intern Brandon. I'm here. What's up, bubba? How are you doing? Hey, buddy.

Thanks for helping out with this. You're in the middle of talking to LeBron.

It's pretty crazy. I know.

It feels weird to interrupt LeBron James. It certainly does. I'm not going to not say that.

All right, we've got eight teams left heading into this weekend's Slate of Games. Let's have you, Intern Brandon, construct same game, parlay, extra for your favorite picks for the weekend. For those who are unfamiliar, same game Parlay Extra is also called a SGPX, and it is a parlay where at least two of the bets are from one game, and at least one pick is from a different game.

First pick, I am looking at the Commander's Lion's game. I am going to be honest, the lions have not scored under 30, I think, since November. I'm going to go with the lions in this game. I feel very confident in them. I am concerned about their defense. Jason, should I be concerned about their defense?

The Lion's defense?

Lion's defense.

I mean, they're banged up, but they're still healthy in the secondary, and they play man-to-man coverage, which allows them to load the box. They looked really good against Minnesota. They'll double McCloren a lot, and they're going to pack the box to stop the run. So I think the lines will win this game pretty handily. I just think that they're a much more talented team up front. But I've been wrong about the Commanders all season.

I feel this exact same way. I feel the Exactly. I'm excited to watch it. Next pick from that same game. I am going to go with Jamir Gibbs to score a countdown. He has had TD in five of the lines, eight home games this year, and I don't know if I trust the Commander's D-line. I love the way the Lions use him. If it's a rushing or receiving countdown, I feel like he is an incredible red zone weapon where you don't know where he might be springing from.

Yeah, I'll be surprised if he does not score a countdown.

Let's see, last pick. Last pick, we are going to look at the game I think we're all waiting for. This is Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen. It's at home. It's in Buffalo. I'm going to go with Josh Allen over on passing yards, 250 and a half. 250? 250. I know. He didn't crack 200 last time they played.

I wouldn't say the way their offense functions that I'm expecting a big passing yards number, but I think the game is going to be close, and I think that Alan is going to have to throw for over 250. So I bet he probably goes north of it. But this is a game where I'd go over Alan's rushing yards if that was an option, because I feel like in games where he has to win, he usually rushes for more. They're going to have some designed runs in crucial situations. Isn't it going to snow?

I don't know. I didn't check the weather. Oh, you're right. I should check the weather. I'll check the weather. If I see snow, we're flipping passing rushing. We'll flip passing rushing. You can check out all of those odds for the playoffs, those games, any games over on DraftKings Sportsbook. Jason, do you want to take us home?

All righty, now that everyone knows about some of the awesome bets that are available at DraftKings, you're ready for the big game. That's right. Those of you who haven't checked them out yet can get a new customer offer. That's right. All new customers who bet $5 will get $200 in bonus best instantly. Download the DraftKings app and sign up using code New Heights. The Crown is yours. Once again, look ahead is brought to you DraftKings.

Now back to LeBron James.

Gambling problem? Call 1-800 Gambler. In New York, call 877-8openY or text Hope & Y 467-369. In Connecticut, help is available for a problem gambling. Call 888-789-7777. Or visit ccpg. Org. Please play responsibly. On behalf of Boot Hill Casino & Resort in Kansas, 21 and over, age and eligibility varies by jurisdiction, void in Ontario. Bonus, bets expire 168 hours after issuance. For additional terms and responsible gaming resources, see dknv. Com. Cribs. Com/cribs. Com.

Well, let's move on to your football career a little bit. We talked about a little bit ago, receiver at St. Vincent, St. Mary. I believe you ran a 4-4, right?

Yeah.

The highlights are incredible, but we need to settle something. We've started this debate, and I'm sure you're aware of what we're about to ask. What is easier to do? An NFL player going to the NBA or an NBA player going to the NFL?

From a guy that literally could have played both, you are Everybody knows you could have done both.

So I respect this decision. This is a great debate. And obviously, I've been hearing and seeing people's responses and seeing people's questions or whatever and going back and forth. I want to say that I think it's easier for a basketball player to try NFL- That's no question. Over the NFL player trying to get into the NBA. And I know we got some great athletes. I've seen Keion moments highlights when he played, and it's a lot of guys that's played basketball. I've seen Zay flowers play his high school highlights as well. Zay flowers, yeah. Zay flowers is super athletic, fast, quick guard. But I would say basketball to football. An NBA guy decides to go play the NFL, yes, it's going to take a transition period. For me, it would have been getting used to being hit again. I remember just in high school, I was to go from summertime playing basketball, playing AAU ball, and then going into the fall, I had to get used to getting hit again. That shit. Those first three practices, you start to fit. Those first three practices, once you put on the shoulder pads and the helmet, getting hit again is the most important thing.

And then getting the cadence back, getting your routes back and all that. But once you get into a groove, you're like, Okay, I got it. It's like riding a bike. Football, going to basketball, it's such more coordination and running and jumping it. And it's like, It's consistent. It's consistent.

It's a way different.

It's consistent. With football, you say hike, whatever your cadence is, boom, it's quick, quick twitch. And then settle back, reset, quick twitch, settle back, reset, Six seconds at a time. Yeah, exactly. Six seconds at a time. But in basketball, you can go on for four or five straight minutes with no timeouts, no breaks. And you got to keep your mind fresh. You got to keep your eye, you got to breathe. Jason isn't built for that one.

I was about to say, listen, I could have definitely played in the NBA, no question about it.

I got to know, if there's one player outside of yourself who you think would be able to make the cleanest transition into the NFL, who would it be?

I would Off top of my head, I will say Russell Westbrook or Anthony Edwards. I think Russ would be an unbelievable strong safety or free safety. His ability to-You think he's playing defense? I think so. And Russ, He comes with that natural aggression off top. He does. You're right. I can see it. He got that Derwin James type aggression. He's trying to hit somebody. And I think Anthony Edwards, I've seen a lot of his Little League football highlights, and also I think he played in high school as well.

I got to check those out.

He look like he can make the transition as well. But off top, I think Russ for sure.

Anthony Edwards has a bit of that mentality as well. Yeah, for sure. From what I've seen, too. Yeah, for sure.

As a fellow of Iolians. We got to talk about Cleveland. Did you know Trav saw you play when you were in high school?

Oh, yeah, baby. Cleveland State, baby.

Have you guys ever talked about this?

Yeah, I did. We talked about this a couple of times. He came to Cleveland State and watched me rock out, man.

Man, I was in middle school, man. I was just trying I was trying to see the king, man. I was trying to see before it went pros, man. I wasn't sure if you were going to land in Cleveland. Luckily, you did, and I got to see you play a countless amount of times up at the Gunn Arena, then the Quicken Loans Arena. But yeah, man, saw you down at Cleveland State. How many times did you I played at Cleveland State? I can think of two off the top of my head, but- Yeah, I think I played at Cleveland State probably about five times.

I know I played a few times early on in high school, and then definitely a couple of times in my senior year. So it was definitely a fun time being up in Cleveland, playing up there. I even played at the Gunnerina, too, my senior year. We played against Warrantsville Heights, my senior year. I don't like to talk about this too much, but my game, my senior year had more fans than the Cavs had that year. They did. There's no question. I think the only time they had more fans was when MJ played in Cleveland. That's too funny, man. That was good.

I'll tell you what, man, For whatever reason, man, I was still one of the biggest Cavs fans, even though they were the worst team in the league. Darius Miles, Boozer, all those guys.

Ricky Davis, man, all those guys.

You always get a few highlights a game, man.

It's still me. It's still You're right. Yeah, for sure. You knew they didn't win a lot of games, but they're going to give you a couple of players here. Ricky D, D Miles, Smush Parker, Boos, all those guys was on that team. It was fun to watch, even though they wasn't that successful there, but it was fun to watch.

Well, you turned them up, baby.

But you bring up a good point with you bringing more fans to the gun than the Cavs. I don't think people now realize just how big you were in high school. Unless you grew up in that, it was so So crazy.

Oh, man.

The level of expectation and Fame that you had at St. Vincent, St. Mary's. I've never seen anything like that to this day.

No, you're right, Jason. The funny thing is, you say, and this is before social media, so you couldn't really-That's what it is. Unless you was there in real-time, you didn't know. It was just word of mouth. It was like, Okay, I heard about this kid from northeast Ohio. I heard about this kid. It was like, Okay, well, who's trying to make a trip to Akron, Ohio? Who's trying to come to Cleveland? If you happen to be going to the Kent Football Hall of Fame, or if you happen to be going to Cleveland to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, or if you happen to be in town, and I happen to be playing, then you understood what the hype was all about, why it was so much conversation. So I can only imagine if social media was around there. It would have been too much for Northeast Ohio at that point.

That's interesting. Yeah.

It's really like you were the last of that legend era of word of mouth.

Yeah, for sure.

Man, back when you were playing, when I was playing, guys had to literally be the absolute best to get some highlight tape. There was nobody just out here just putting their highlight tape on YouTube and getting looks or getting clicks.

No, no question, Treyf. Right now, you could be anywhere in the world now. And because of the phones and because of the things you can capture, you could be recruited and get accepted. Back then when we played, if you didn't have a coach to come see you live, it was going to be hell getting a college scholarship. And you showed up that day. And you had to show up because they was all over the place. They was not just going to come and keep coming back if you didn't show up. And you had to perform in front of those coaches, and you knew those games that those big-time coaches was there, too. So it put even more pressure on you to show out. So, yeah, absolutely. You're right about that, man. We had to... Like us three being Northeast Ohio kids, we had to show out when those coaches was there or we didn't know if they was going to come back.

Just missed the train.

Yeah, you missed the train.

Not only were you from the Northeast, you end up going to the Cavs, you end up bringing the first title to Cleveland. What was it? Like 50 years whenever we were in the range.

I think it was 57, 57 or something crazy.

Yeah, exactly.

I wasn't alive yet. Why do I get this pressure?

That's crazy, man.

I do got to ask, of your four championships, where does the one in Cleveland rank? I mean, it's hard to top the first one.

Ain't that the truth?

Yeah, we all remember our first one, and we know the feeling that we had when we won our first one because of all the disappointment before that. All the hard work, the dedication, the things that people don't see, the nights that we cry about what the fuck we could have did better in order for us to get that first one. And then you were able to prevail. That first one is so, so special, so, so dear. But man, there's nothing better for me than that Cleveland one just because of everything. Like you said, the 50 plus years of no Championship in northeast Ohio. The seven years I was there beforehand, and it took me to leave and to come back to it, to understand or appreciate even more being down 3-1 with the greatest team, 73 and 9 warriors with Steph and Clay and Draymon and coming back and winning that game and winning that series for the city of Cleveland, for Northeast Ohio. That's why you saw the emotional Cleveland.

You're getting me fired up right now, man.

You're getting me fired up right now, man. You saw me crying on the court. It was all just like, whewf. That one. 2016, I would become an old man someday. We will all become an old man. We got great beers. They're going to be all great at some point. Coming in on the size.

That year, That's one year I would never forget, 2016.

It was an unbelievable time.

I came back and went to the parade, man. It was absolutely epic, dog. I appreciate you again for doing it. I know I told you a million times, man.

It's the greatest parade, man. Absolutely.

For Cleveland one time, baby. Cleveland would be the only sports town to win a Series 3-1 and then baseball the exact next series.

Lose 3-1. We could have been on top of the world forever, man. We could have been on top of the world forever, but it's all good. Cleveland, by the way, the Cavs look amazing. Season right now as well. They got another opportunity.

We are rolling.

Yeah, I hope they keep it going. They got an opportunity to do something special. So I'm glad I was able to put on first, set the trend, and hopefully, we keep it going.

We go Cavs. There you go, baby.

Well, now that we're in the NBA, you went viral a couple of weeks ago, I guess now. Who owns Christmas? Because according to you, I love the NFL, but Christmas is the NBA. We are trying to... We are sneaking in on Listen, I saw the fucking numbers after the fact.

You guys kicked our ass, all right? From a viewership step, you all kicked our ass. The games weren't as great as they should have been.

They shouldn't, yeah.

But when you have fucking Beyoncé come out there. I think it was different. I think Beyoncé. I thought it was a bigger game. I think it was a bigger game. And Travis, you guys go there and kick Pittsburgh's ass. Beyoncé comes out But when you go out there, you got your little brother, and he may get beat up one time. You're like, Hey, we didn't lose that fight. We're staying here.

We didn't lose.

That's how I felt. I had to stand up. I had to stand up for the NBA.

Take care. Hell, yeah. You've had a couple of huge milestones recently. Recently, past Kareem Abdul Jabbar, for most points in your career. That's crazy stuff right there. Obviously, you and Brian became the first father-son duo ever to play in the game. What career achievement means the most to you? Besides the titles, we already talked about the titles. This type of stuff, which one is the biggest deal to you?

I think besides the titles, obviously, the titles ring right up there. There's something that you When you get into it, that's all you play for. When you're able to get with a franchise and you all believe in the same thing. It's like- Special, man. Yeah, we are competing for championships every year without a question. And when you're able to accomplish that, that's exactly what the hard work and dedication for. For me, obviously, when it comes to the titles, that's one separate thing. But to be able to be in this league and play in this league and also being able to do it alongside Bronnie right now, that's one of the biggest accomplishments and probably the number one accomplishment I've ever been able to do. To work with your son. That's so crazy. I've heard it from a lot of people, not only sports, but I've heard it in business and walks of life. And this is the greatest thing you could ever, ever have. To see him every day grinding and going through the process of trying to become who he wants to become while I'm sitting there and just watching him and doing the things that he wants to do and being able to just take it all in.

It helps me get some of the minutes and hours and years back that I did not have with them because I was playing so much and on the road and doing my own things. For sure, traveling. Traveling, exactly. To be able to get some of this time back now, man, it's pretty special.

He's handled the hype and the scrutiny and everything so perfect and so well. Yeah. You had the hype coming out, but there wasn't the expectations of being as great as you.

Yeah, and I didn't have to deal... We go back to the social media. I didn't have to deal with the social media trolls either, growing up.

Oh, that's interesting.

And I didn't have to deal with my father being this fucking guy that's on the pedestal. I have to deal with that. Bronnie has to deal with all of that. And if you ever meet Bronnie, then you'll realize, you'll be like, I'm such an idiot to look down on him or not want him to do great. He's the most chill, easy, fun kid in the world. He goes to work, he goes home, he takes care of his body, he plays his video games, he reads a little bit, and then he comes back and does the same thing. He's like the best big brother that his little brother and little sister could ever have. But he's dealing with all that, too. But that's going to make him, I think it's going to make him to be even greater because having to deal with all of things that he's dealing with and still being able to come back from a life-threatening situation and still have the motivation. He didn't have to. Brian doesn't have to play basketball at all. It's not like he needs the money. Yeah, I did.

Andy, he's a smart individual. He can do whatever he wants to do.

He can do whatever he wants to do. If he wants to be the CEO of my company, he could be that. I'll give that to start teaching him right now to be that if he wants to. But he's like, This is my career, this is my goals, and this is my aspirations, and I want to play ball. This is something that I love. And I love that kid. He's awesome. He's awesome. Can't wait to see him.

Keep going, man.

Man, appreciate it.

At what point do you even realize that that's something that can happen? I look at my kids, I'm like, Bro, that's insane. You're playing with your son in the NBA.

Yeah. You also had your first daughter when you were like 30.

That's fair. But either way, I just think it's amazing. And I don't know. It's got to be like, at what point do you like, I might be able to actually play in the NBA with my... Was there a moment?

You know what? It's a video clip of me that somebody sent to me not too long ago. I think it was about seven years ago, and it's so weird. It's either seven or five years ago or whatever. I think Brian was either in the seventh or eighth grade, and it was my 15th year in the NBA, and I felt incredible. I think that was the year I played all 82 games. I played every playoff game. I think I played like 105 games total that year. And I came out of that season, I felt so damn good. And I think somebody caught me like, Do you ever think that it was a possibility that you may stick around to possibly play with one of your kids? I was like, The way I feel right now, there is a possibility.

It just hit you right there.

It hit me right then and there. And God willing and damn bat crazy shit to me, it happened.

Yes, absolutely.

It absolutely happened. But yeah, it's pretty cool, man.

Dude, yeah, that's awesome. Thank you to our sponsor, Accelerator. Trev, what flavor are you sipping on over there?

I'm sipping on a cherry ice pop.

I got the O-G, the Rocketpop.

I've got it At my house, I've got it at my house. I've got it at the facility. I got a lot of the guys on the team chugging these things. Everybody needs to get accelerated in their life. What better way to get natural, healthy energy than Accelerator baby.

If you want to be energized like us with zero crash or jitters, try it now. Zero sugar is proven to increase your metabolism focus and is proven to burn 165 calories per every can you drink.

That's why I'm drinking these things all day, every day, baby. I'm up to 10 a day. You can go find it at HiV, Quick Trip. And of course, Amazon makes it too easy, way too easy. You can get it right to your front door.

Thank you to Intuit TurboTax for sponsoring today's episode.

If your schedule is as unpredictable as ours, trying to lock down an in-person appointment with your tax pro can get a little bit tricky. But now, taxes is matching with a TurboTax Live expert on any device.

They do your taxes for you and get you your maximum refund all while you go about your day listening to your favorite podcast. How about that?

Who wouldn't love to kick back with a cup of coffee, feet propped up while a tech-savvy tax expert makes sure you're getting every dollar out of those business trips. I mean, that sounds like a dream.

When you match with a TurboTax Live expert, they have cutting-edge tools for any tax situation.

It's 2025. It's time to file like it.

Now, this is Taxes, brought to you by Intuit TurboTax. All right, well, we're going to get to this. We got to ask, but you don't have to answer section. We're going to rattle off a bunch of questions. Feel free We'll tell us to fuck off.

Just tell us to fuck off, man. But we got to know the answers to these ones.

Yeah, we usually end all of our conversations with this. We got a list of questions. Again, you do not have to answer, but we do have to ask them. There's a story about you playing in an infamous pickup game with Michael Jordan when you were 16 years old. What was it like? Is that true? Can you tell us how you played? Yeah.

When I finally was able to get on the court, first of all, DJ, Antoine Walker, and the rest of those guys did not let young guys get on the court at all. And I was 16 years old. I was sophomore high school, and it takes a while to get on the court. It's usually when the older guys, they get tired and they don't want to play no more, they're like, whatever. But I did, and I was able to get on the court alongside. I was on the court with Michael Jordan, Antoine Walker, Penny Hardaway, Ron Artest, Michael Finley, all these guys. Who guarded you? Nobody. I was I was unguardable. Listen, I was 16. That's all I find this, baby. There's a... Was 16, the baby fro? Yep, that was the baby fro. I was in Chicago at MJ's Court, it was called Hoops. There's a clip right now of actually Metta World Peace talking about that moment as well. Oh, man, I got to check it out. When I finally got out there, I was like, I'm busting ass, man. I was nervous. It's time to show up. I was nervous as I'm being out there with MJ and the rest of those guys.

Are you kidding me? I was like, Oh, I'm about to go crazy. And I did. I did, man. That's awesome, man.

I did. That's awesome. Man, I wish I was in that gym that day. That's crazy stuff, man. Well, you see all these shoes behind me, man. You already know I'm a sneakerhead. I know. I've collected them over the years, man. Was it always Nike? You used to wear the T-Max at St. Vincent's Saint Mary. I think I've seen you wear the old Iversons. Was it always Nike?

Trav, no, it was It was not always Nike. It was Nike when I was a young kid, when I was a young lad. Obviously, I've been in love with Michael Jordan my whole life. Come on up. I saw him, Penny Hardaway, King Griffy Jr, Bo Jackson. I watched all He's an unbelievable sports figures. So as a kid growing up, it was Nike. Once I got into the AAU program, started playing basketball, Adidas took us over. And it became Adidas. It was Adidas from seventh, eighth to pretty much my junior senior year. They sponsored us every year. We played in all the Adidas tournaments, big time tournament in Vegas and all over the United States of America. So it was Adidas. And then my senior year, the process began. The recruitment, the Nikes came in, and the Adidas was still there. Reebok came in and won. All these companies came in, and I took on three pitches. I did a Adidas pitch, I did a Reebok pitch, I did a Nike pitch. The best pitch that I got, where I thought I was going to end up, was actually Reebok at one point.

Reebok?

I went to their meeting, and I sat down across from their CEO and the guys that was running basketball. At the time, I don't know if you guys remember this, but Reebok had the NFL as well.

That's what it was when I first got to the lead.

Yeah, they had the NFL as well. So they knew what They knew my love for football as well. So they had all the NFL jerseys, all the Pro Bowl-looking jerseys that was going to be the next year. And I'm sitting across from the table. I'm a senior in high school. I actually go to have... I'm going back to class the next day. They flew me in. I'm going back to Save Business, St. Mary the next day, my senior year. And the guy slides over a check to me at the end of the table. It was me and my mom and Maverick Carter at the end of the table. And he says, If you don't go talk to any other companies, this is yours. And I look at it. I look at it. Ten million fucking dollars. 10 million.

Just right there as an 18-year-old, I was still stealing change out of my dad's fucking piggy bank.

To go get some candy and shit.

I was a high school senior, man. They gave me a check for $10 million. If I promise not to go see anybody I told them I need a break. They stepped out. I need to fucking break a time out.

I can't believe it. I can't believe it.

I sat there. I need a time out. My mom looked at it. Me and my mom, we're living in an apartment, Section 8 housing in Akron. I'm going back. I don't have shit, whatever. And my mom looked at me. She said, Son, trust your gut. If they're offering you this, then who knows what the other companies may offer you? Okay, mom.

Yeah, mom.

She's composed. Yeah, she's super composed. She's like, We ain't got shit already. So it's not like it changes our life at this moment. Yes, maybe in the future, but I want you to trust your gut and do what you think is right.

That's awesome advice, man.

So they came back in. I said, Thank you. I will definitely like to continue our conversation, but I would be remiss if I did not take those other pitches from the other companies. I may have cried on the way home because I had to leave it to me.

You're questioning. Man, I hope I just made the right decision.

I was like, I could have bought the building that me and my mom was living in for that goddamn money.

What? Easily. You already know. I got similar, my rookie year or my rookie contract. I'm coming up on redoing my rookie contract. And I decide, potentially, I'm like, Okay, I think I might do this myself. I might forego it, just be my own agent, negotiate my own contract. And thankfully, my agents were like, they talked me into like, no, no, no. You're going to want an agent. Trust me, Tiff. They sent over the first offer, and I was like, all right, where do we sign? They're like, No, we're not doing that. We can go high. We can go high.

Oh, man.

That's funny as shit.

Yeah, that first time you get a check like that thrown in front of you.

Oh, for sure. You never forget. You never see that many zeros in your life. Never, never, never. Yes, for sure.

Man, that's too funny.

Have you seen this tweet from 2015. Lebron is 30. This fuckery won't go on for much longer. Thank God.

Yes, I saw that tweet throughout all of my 30s. All of my 30s. And I laughed at it so hard.

You put it up in the locker and you just put it right there.

And you know what? You know what's funny? When I turned 40, the same fucking guy said, LeBron, turn 40, this fucker won't go on much longer.

That's fucking gold, man.

So good.

So good. Look at that. That's so good.

Oh, my goodness. Oh, my goodness. He's going to be really upset when I turn 50. No doubt. That shit was fucking classic, man.

Ron, did you ever hoop in a Heights gym?

I don't think I hooped in Heights gym, man. I don't think so. You know what? I was actually thinking about that. I know it was never a game. I never played Cleveland Heights in Cleveland Heights, but I might have been there for maybe a summer league game or just for a run or something. Man. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Either way, man. You're with East Ohio forever.

I want to ask one more question, and I know you've talked about this before. How did you do this? From the expectations that were on your feet, Trav, you touched on this. I just never seen anybody, and I don't know that I ever will, handle every step of the way with such just class and grace. I don't know, man. It's just been remarkable to watch the whole journey and to see the whole thing happen. And I know it's not over yet and we keep on going.

I appreciate it, man.

What is the wisdom? What's the wisdom to anybody else?

Listen, Jay Traff, man. One, knowing where I came from. You come from Hacker, you come from Cleveland, you come from northeast Ohio. You know that you are one or two and three in a billion. And if you get that opportunity, man, one, you can't fuck it up. You just can't. Yeah.

Got to lock in, man.

Being from a single parent household and just me and my mom, I have no siblings, seeing the struggle that my mom went through and things of that nature, that was another thing that I was like, Okay, you can't fuck her up. You just can't because now you're given this opportunity. Then I started thinking about my career. I was like, What do you want to be? How do you want to be remembered? Do you want to just go out and just play ball, or do you actually want to be remembered when you're not playing ball? So I took that into consideration. I took that into serious account. I was like, I want to be the greatest that anyone has ever seen in the sport ever. And then I was like, okay, but in order for that to happen, not only do I got to put the work in on the court, I have to make sure that I take care of the business off the court as well. You can't be a shit show. You can't be a piece of shit. You can't be doing things that affects anything that has anything to do with your profession and being available to your teammates, being available to the franchise, being available every time you get out there that caused a distraction.

I felt that. And when I started to start my family, that was another part. I knew Savannah was the one. I started having kids. I was like, I didn't have that male influence. My dad wasn't around. I was like, okay, I can't fuck that up. So all of this is like piling on, piling on, and piling on. And yes, with the weight of the world on my shoulders. I remember I did an interview. I wasn't even in the NBA yet. I think I had just got drafted. I did an interview with Bob Kostis or something I think it was him. And he said, How does it feel to know that if you're not a first-round Ballet Hall of Famer, people will look at you as a failure? I was like, God. I said, First Ballet Hall of Famer? I'm like, 18 years old. I haven't even played the game yet. People look at me as a failure. I was like, oh, shit. I haven't even thought about that. I haven't even thought about that. Oh, my God. There's people out here that really want me to fail. Oh, my goodness. And I use that as motivation.

I was like, I got something for I got something for you all. So, man, it's a lot. But it's also just to the young guys out there that feel the pressure, that feel like it's maybe too much. If you just put the work in, don't be an asshole, be a good person, and dedicate yourself to the craft. The game will always be kind to you. That's always. Take care of your body, eat well, give your faith to the higher above, because we're nothing without them, obviously. And just be a good person, man. It's not hard. It's not hard to saying, Thank you, you're welcome. How are you doing? Have a good day. All that type of good shit. Oh, yeah. It's not the wrong thing.

Not the wrong. Leading your life in the right direction, baby.

There it is. You get rewarded. Yeah, you get rewarded every time.

It's been inspirational the whole way, not just as a player, but off the field, what you've done from a business side. I know you know this, but the impact you've had on players, not just in basketball, but other sports who have seen the success you've had all walks of life.

The empire you've created around yourself, the trust you've been able to have with the people around you. All that stuff. I've taken notes since the jump, man. I keep a lot of people very similar to me. It's close to me and around me in the business profession. I took notes from you on it. I appreciate you doing the right things always and forever. I appreciate you coming on tonight. Let's go, man. Yeah, baby. Thank you for taking the time. This is an all-timeer for us.

All-timeer. That's our New Heights went to a new height today, baby. Let's go, baby. Let's go.

Got the king, man. Let's go. Thank you very much, dog.

Hell, you're all going to tell the family we said hello, man. Absolutely. So much love for you. Best of luck to you in the next game, man.

I'll be watching. You know we get after it.

Yes, I already know. I already know. I love my guy's love.

This new year, healthy habits don't only apply to humans. Give your dog a fresh start, too. The Farmer's Dog makes feeding real healthy dog food easy and convenient, and your dog with Absolutely love it.

The pre-portion meals are personalized for your dog's needs, which makes it simple to help your dog reach and maintain a healthy weight. If you've ever thought about making the switch, now is the time.

What makes them so different is that food from the Farmer's Dog is developed by onboard certified vets and veterinary nutritionists to be complete and balanced.

It's made from human-grade real meat and veggies that are gently cooked with the safety and quality standards of human foods.

The Farmer's This dog delivers their freshly made healthy dog food right to your door on a schedule that works for you and can be adjusted at any time with their 24-hour customer support.

The food is pre-portioned specifically for your dog, which makes it easy to help your dog maintain their ideal weight.

It doesn't matter if your dog is young or old, it's always the right time to begin investing in their health. That means more healthy, happy, full years together.

You might not know this, but 60% of dogs in the US are overweight. Get 50% off your first box of fresh healthy food at thefarmersdog. Com/newheights. Plus, you get free shipping. That's thefarmersdog. Com/newheights. Thanks again to our participating sponsor, Audible.

This new year, let Audible expand your life by listening. Explore over 1 million audiobooks and exclusive Audible originals that will inspire and motivate you all in one easy app.

Maybe you want to kick a bad habit or start a good one. Listening to Audible can help you reach the goals you set for yourself. Health. All you have to do is open the app and whatever your focus or interest is, you'll find titles for.

That's right. Like Atomic Habits by James Clear or Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity by Peter Attia.

Get advice or insight from leading professionals and experts on maybe health, relationships, career, finance, investing, a whole lot more. There's so much opportunity to learn and more to imagine when you're listening.

That's right. Start listening today when you sign up for a A free 30-day trial at audible. Com/newheights.

Holy shit. Man, it's just never enough time with my guy, man.

I mean, that flew by.

I just want to just grill him. I just want to grill. And I never want to grill him whenever I'm hanging out with him. I I don't ever want to just bring up.

I'm not bringing up nothing.

So was Nike always... You know what I mean? Just like...

Put him on the spot.

If you had any advice for someone getting into business venture...

Perfect. That's what I was going to do.

Just keep grilling them.

Man, he's the best, though, man. No doubt. What a good dude, man. That was the Cleveland kid in me. Whenever we talk to just some northeast Ohio guys or girls, it's just It just comes out of me. I feel like I'm like, 15 all over again. It's fun stuff right there.

There is flour everywhere.

Hilarious. Absolutely hilarious. You're like George Washington.

Look, it's George. Coach.

Quick divisional round. Look ahead. Let's talk a little football, even though we just talked the previous week with LeBron and DraftKings. Any surprises from you, specifically, on last week's matchups and the outcomes?

Nothing that's-I mean, in the playoffs, anybody can win. That's why it's the playoffs, right? So nothing that surprising. Playoffs. Tampa was one of my sleeper teams. I really thought Baker Mayfield. The only part of the season where they dipped down a little bit was when Evans and Godwin got hurt.

And they weathered that storm pretty well.

I keep thinking Washington doesn't have the roster this year, and they keep proving me wrong. So I'm going to stop thinking that. You know what I mean? I keep thinking they're just a year away from having the guys to really get it done. But, man, Dan Quinn, Jaden Daniels has been playing out of his mind all year.

He's taking care of the ball, man.

And they're stopping the run. I thought Bucky Irvin was going to have a hell of a day. And he played well. But I don't know. I keep thinking that somebody's going to have a game where they just dominate the trenches on both sides of the ball, and it's just not happening. Tampa Bay didn't play bad. It was a good game. They had a couple of mistakes at the end that really hurt them. But Washington also was... I mean, they had a couple of fourth down calls that kept Tampa in it. You know what I mean? I think the Washington punt? No. They're punting like what? None?

No times. No punts, no turnovers.

They were moving the ball. They were putting together sustained drives. I've been impressed Washington all year, but I didn't think that this would be their year to compete with the big dogs. And I've been proven wrong, clearly. Jaden Daniels has had a tremendous season. Their whole defense has been galvanized on an organization and team that I think has lacked a lot of hope and leadership a little bit with the whole Dan Snyder thing. And I think Rivera is a phenomenal coach. It felt like that organization was missing something. And for this to turn This background this quickly has been remarkable. Shout out to all those guys, man. And Bobby Wagner still playing lights out. It's been awesome to watch my man, Zack Hertz is out there balling. Hertzy.

Man, I love seeing him get after it, still in his career, man.

For sure. Shout I got to bake around a great year. I know it's not the way those guys wanted it. I'm just happy that he's found a home down there in Tampa playing well.

I'm right there with you. I thought that was the one upset that I didn't see coming. They got to really... I think they're the ones playing the They're playing the Lions, right?

They're playing the lines this week. This will be a big one.

If you can stop the run.

Well, this is the one... I don't know, man. They play so well. They're so well-coached on offense and defense, Washington and Detroit. But every time I think they're going to get run on, Dan Quinn and this defensive line shows up. Bobby Wagner starts making plays. The Eagles had a couple of big counter runs on them early the last time they played Washington. Saquon had a big run. He was over 100 yards in the first quarter damn near. And then right after that, you see Bobby start scraping over the top of the tight end and ruining that play.

It's a vet, man.

To put it in... Jonathan Gane used to use this word all the time. They're salty, man. They find a way to get it done. They're a resilient group. And now they find themselves playing in the divisional round. And it's been an incredible year for Washington. I mean, I would be beyond shocked if they get it done against Detroit this week, too. But I mean, at some point, it's just they're having a great year. The quarterback is playing really well. They're well-coached, and it seems like they're a great group together. So kudos to Washington for getting it done.

Shout out to the commanders, baby. Speaking of next week, let's go ahead and talk some divisional around football, baby. Okay.

Well, we got Chief's Texans. How do you feel? 25 days since you last played on Christmas. How about that? Got to feel pretty fresh.

Well, I mean, I've been getting after it. I've been getting after it. Never too fresh. You got to keep the wear and tear on the body. You can't let your body get out of the zone. You know what I mean? You got to stay in the zone. That's why we were in pads this week. We had one practice in pads, and we got after it once on ones, a a little bit. That keeps you in the groove, right? That keeps you feeling football. It keeps you having that endurance, that muscle memory that you need to come out and play fast, man. But the Texans, you want to talk about playing That D-line, that defense, it's a real deal right there. They showed it this past weekend against the Chargers on what they can do, and they can create turnovers. They're a tough team. They're a tough team, man. I'm excited for the challenge, man.

Their secondary is very good. They can match up with pretty much any team in the league. Their defensive line plays very aggressive. They're well-coached with Domingo Ryans. Matt Berk. Dude, it's crazy how many staff members I know for the Texans. Tomiko Ryans, I played with. Berk, the DC, was with me in Philly with Jim Schwartz. Cory Unlin was with me in Philly. Billy Davis was the DC with Chip. Nate Ollie is the defensive line coach. Like, dude, I know the entire fucking defensive staff. I was doing one of the games, and you just kept walking by. I'm like, God damn, you all motherfuckers are over here. They're well-coached. They play physical. They play fast. They got a great group, really do. So it's going to be a challenge for you guys. Shout out to Houston, and good luck this week. What's the keys to victory?

The keys to victory? Man, I haven't heard about that. What's the keys to victory? I haven't heard about that. Play physical. Just give the generic- Don't turn the ball over.

Don't turn the ball over. Get out to a fast start. Start fast and strong. It's like the head coach for the keys to victory just has a running seven list of what it could possibly be, and it's just, how do I rearrange into three keys? Turnovers is always there. Take care of the football.

Which, I mean, play of football.

Got to control the line of scrimmage.

There you go. It's your big boys up front. You guys control this thing. That's going to indicate the outcome right there. No, man. Got to play complementary all three phases. Got to play together. It's football. It's not that hard, ladies and gentlemen. Everybody knows that those are the things that you got to do.

Okay, so the same thing that works every week for victory is gone. Okay, do those.

That's the one, Jason. That's the one. No. Obviously, this team plays very, very well together, man. It's going to take all 11 on the field. Yeah. It just said these. Another one of them right there.

You can't stop. It always comes out to that.

It's just the same thing every single time. No, man. Got to punch him in the mouth.

Got to punch him right in the mouth.

Let's talk a little eagles, Rams. Yeah. The Rams coming into town. You think Saquon scores instead of slides this week?

Dude, I was like, Just go score, baby. He's like, I didn't want to put the defense back out on the field.

Is that was the-I mean, yeah, you never know what happens. It's very unselfish. I remember a similar play happening where we ended up scoring a countdown. The defense goes back out there and somebody gets banged up and misses the next week. So it's like, yeah, I mean, I get it. I'm going down at the one, though. Yeah.

Get all of my yards I can. But then I mean, I don't know. Man, that's where he's at. I'm here. Anyways.

Selfless. Absolutely selfless, man.

And he's been like that the whole year. So he's just the ultimate team player. I expect nothing less. Definitely would have scored if it was me. But that's why I don't play running back in the NFL and get 2,000 yards.

There you go. You did average nine yards of carry, though, in high school. Oh, yeah.

I ran all over that turf over in Lakewood. I was flying on that Astro turf.

These kids nowadays don't know what turf is. You ever heard of Astro It's carpet over a parking lot.

People don't even know.

It's carpet over a parking lot.

People call, Well, we play on now turf, an Astro Turf. I'm like, No, this is different. This is field turf.

No, this is completely different. This isn't carpet.

You don't have to put strips of tape so that your skin doesn't get scrubbed off.

We bring extra bottles. When the trainers bring extra bottles of, was it peroxide? Yes. Because we're fucking all day just fucking dumping it on wounds. Everybody leaves with a raspberry. If you didn't leave with a raspberry, I don't want you playing.

But I'll tell you what, when you're young and it doesn't hurt your joints, it's fun because you're fast. You are flying on that stuff.

She are fast. Everyone brings tennis shoes instead of cleats. It's like a reminder to everybody the day before, and don't come with your cleats tomorrow, guys.

I had those little nubs. I had actual AstroTurf cleats.

Dude, yeah. Those are the best. Yeah. That's impressive. Yeah. I just had basketball shoes.

It works, too.

There you go.

But yeah, no, I'm excited about this game. I mean, the Rams, obviously, I was just there this Monday. They played a phenomenal game against the Vikings, Matthew Stafford. They're clicking on all cylinders right now in LA. So it's going to be a great game. It's in the link. The Eagles got the better of the Rams last time they played, but the Rams have been getting better. They played so fast this past week. And I don't know if it was having the week off, the week before where they rested some of their starters. But they look like a very, very good football team right now. Oh, yeah. Matthew's still slinging that ball as good as he ever has.

Slinging it around out there.

It's going to be a tough game for the Eagles, but, yeah, it'll be a fun one.

Let's keep this thing moving, man. Hopefully, we can get this dub this weekend, man, and keep our play of hopes alive, baby. Hey, yo. Our Super Bowl hopes alive.

Finally, last week, we promised we would do a blind ranking of Will Farrell movies this episode.

Oh, yeah. Let's get it going, baby. That's right.

So, intern Brandon, please do the honors. I'm trying to remember all of Will's movies. He's got so many.

So pulled these off of his top 10 on IMDb.

Is this in order? Are we seeing one?

No, you're seeing them. These are just numbers. These are just numbers don't mean anything right now. Just the first movie. Please.

I feel like you would have gone in order.

You're sneakier than that. Give me some fucking credit. Movie number one, Step Brothers.

Fuck.

This is definitely a top. If not one, it's top three. I'm trying to think of what's better than Step Brothers.

Dude, it's so fucking good. I could watch it right the fuck now, which is damn near every movie Will is in.

I know.

I'm going- Fuck.

It feels weird to put the first movie we see at number one.

That's a risk. But we wouldn't be wrong.

No, it's definitely not wrong. I mean, this is a lot of people's number ones. It might be my number one. I'm trying to... I love old school. I really do love old school, Step Brothers.

But I feel like that wasn't as much- Teledega Nights gets better and better every time.

And Anchorman- I'm sorry.

I'm sorry. I'm putting Anchor Man- I'm also... I'm sorry. I'm putting Anchor Man. If this is Will Farrell A movie like Old School, he wasn't the lead.

That's fair.

That's fair to say. You know what I mean? Although he did- I will say this. Although he made probably the most impression on me as a kid as Frank the Tank.

Does he get considered as Wedding Crashers, a Will Farrell movie, even though he's not the main guy? Wedding Crashers. He's like, Mom, the meatloaf.

Oh, yeah. No, you can't put him in there. He's in a lot of one- When I think of Wedding Crashers, I don't think of Will.

Yeah, you think of Vince Vawn. I think of... God dang, what's the other guy with the Crooked Nose? Wilson. Owen. Wilson. Owen Wilson.

The Crooked Nose. Jesus, Jason.

I'm going to put it at two or three, just because I think Anchor Man is my favorite movie. Anchor Man is my favorite.

I love it. Let's go two.

All right, Second movie up.

We're going to forget about one. Talladega. You're in my wheelhouse right now, Brandon. Why did I do this? You are in my fucking wheelhouse.

I mean, it's got to be three. If we're going Anchor Man's one, it's just got to be three.

It's so good. It's one of those that every time you see it, it just gets better. Fuck, you're right. God, it's so good.

It's got to be three. It can't be one.

I'm just curious what else is on this list. He's had so many movies. It's hard to remember all of them, all off the top of your head. I think it's either three or four. I can't It's a little lower than that.

Yeah, it's three. I'm going three. It's two if it's not one.

It's so fantastic.

So it's got to be three.

I love The Ballard of Ricky Bobby.

Next movie.

Oh, so good.

The Other Guys.

Great movie. Great movie.

God damn it. Does this go four? Fuck.

There's so many good ones. This one's more of an underrated one, and I don't exactly know why because it's absolutely incredible.

Dude, it is so good.

I'm going to say it's below Elf and Anchor Man for me. I also think it's probably below old school, even though he's not the main in old school. It's just more of an iconic movie. This one never got the level of notoriety that all the other ones did, for whatever reason. I don't really know why.

I don't really It was absolutely hilarious. I don't really look at movie reviews or ratings. I just watched the movies, and this is up there for me.

I'm going six.

No, that's got to be five. It's got to be five. I'm missing so much.

I'll concede.

His These movies are so good that I can't even imagine putting anything at 10.

This is where we're going to have to start putting some of these movies down there, Travis.

We have to. All right, next one.

Next movie, Old School.

See, just because it's... God, he's- Frank the tank. He goes stringing to the quad.

You're fucking crazy, man.

Do you think KFC is still open?

You're fucking crazy. I love you.

We're going streaking.

But you're fucking crazy. Yeah, Frank, the whole town knows you had a good time last night.

I think Elf and Anchorman are one and four. Those are the two that we got to leave.

No way, not four.

No. No, I'm saying Elf and Anchorman are one and four.

I'm saying seven. I'm saying this is seven. Old School is seven? Yeah, I'm saying seven.

Just because he's not the main? Yeah. If I'm just rating the movie, I'd put it up higher. Can we go six?

No, dude. There's so many good Will Farrell movies we're missing.

But this movie is fantastic. It is. It's Vince. The cast is incredible. The movie is great. Are we rating this on a Will Farrell scale or just the best movies that Will Farrell has been in?

I've been going off of a Will Farrell scale.

Come on now. Give me a number.

Just go seven, dude.

Oh, Seven. I will reluctantly...

I just disagree with it being seven. All right, then go six. Fine, six.

I want to go four.

Then go four. Fuck it. Just get me through this. Jesus.

All right.

We'll lock it in at four.

Next movie, A Night at the Roxbury.

That's what I'm talking about.

Well, this is a guilty pleasure for us.

This one is- I'm so pissed that we didn't talk this because it started off on SNL, and it fucking became a fucking Full-on movie. Then I used to work out at Jake Lazard's Gym, Unbreakable, on Roxbury Road.

There we go.

Shout out to Jake Lazard in Unbreakable. Okay, Larry Legend. Shout out to Larry Legend.

I love this movie. It's That is an all-time favorite of mine, Chris DeTan, Will Farrell. It is so fucking good. I feel like Night at the Roxbury, even though it's one of our favorites, objectively not one of his better films. I think you got to go seven or eight.

I'll go eight.

Eight? All right, eight.

We're locking in at eight. Next movie, Elf.

This is where we've ran into troubles. We have to leave one open for Anchor Man. I got you a little bit.

No, 100. I front loaded it.

I got you.

So I say six. Cool.

Kicking and screaming.

See, this is what I'm This is what I'm fucking saying, man.

It's a good movie, but I feel very confident this is outside of that top six we have right now.

All right, seven then, because it's up there for me.

You're putting this in seven?

Seven? Dude, I love Kicking and Screaming.

Is it better than Blades of Glory? I don't know. Is it better than SemiPro? No. I think this one's 10 for me. All right. I think it's a good movie. I mean, listen, there's not a bad Will Farrell movie.

90 of the Rocksbury should have been 10. Wait, where did you put that?

Ten.

Ten.

This is 10. Interesting. I love that. Fuck. Next movie.

He's so good.

Semi-pro. I'll go nine Semi-Pro.

Nine. We're on the same page. I fucking love Jackie Moon, though, man. What a character.

Jackie Moon is electric. All of these movies are fantastic.

Next up, we have Blates of Glory.

Seven. Dude, if you do not have Anchorman with this last film-He's such an asshole if he doesn't have Anchorman. He did IMDb top 10, so it has to be Anchorman. I don't even need to see it.

All right. Last movie, Anchorman. Yeah!

I feel good about this list.

Do you remember Anchorman, too?

Yes. Oh, yeah.

Dude. It's actually really good.

It's so you want to talk about a movie that gets better as you get older. That movie is so fucking funny. Oh, my God. That shit is fucking gold.

Look at that cast.

Man, I got to have fucking grill my guy Paul Rudd about that movie, man. I need to know I feel pretty good about this list. It's a solid list. This is a pretty solid list.

Would we change anything with it not being blind?

I'd probably switch Night of the Roxbury and either Kicking the Screaming or SemiPro. I think that one was just a silly one where these ones actually the character was like... I don't know. I just felt like those characters were better. Night of the Roxbury is a guilty pleasure of ours, though.

People are going to want Elf higher. Elf Elf is going to get some tweets.

Well, initially, I was waiting Elf for four, but he's got so many great movies. I don't think Elf is better than... I mean, I might put it above other guys.

Probably other guys in old school for me.

I'm not putting it above old school. Old School. Old School is too iconic to me. God damn it. I love Talladega Nights with a passion. I feel very confident Anchorman and Step Brothers are one and two, though.

Yeah.

I think we killed the top three.

Any issues with the list, please tweet @jchat85. I think that was Jake Seng. Please let him know.

Tell us how you feel in that.

Tell him specifically how you feel. Tell him he fucked up.

Get him. That wraps up another episode of New Heights. That's how I thank you to LeBron James for showing up and coming out. Yeah, that was incredible. The best. Still crazy that that even happened. Make sure you subscribe on YouTube to the New Heights channel and follow New Heights on the WNDYRY app or wherever you get your podcast. We will be back with another New Heights WNDYRY exclusive episode dropping tomorrow. You can listen to new episodes of New Heights early and ad-free right now by joining WNDRI Plus on the WNDRI app or on Apple podcast.

Once again, New Heights is a Wondry show, produced by Wave Sports and Entertainment, and brought to you by Reese's. New Chocolate Lava Big Cup. How about that? Man, that Kelsi's going to have a fucking time of his life. Follow the show on all social media at New Heights Show with one ask for fun clips throughout the week, guys. And thank you to our production for always making us look great and getting guys like LeBron James to come through, man. Golly, what a guy. And thank you to the 92 percenters for tuning in. Hope you guys had a good one. And thanks to our production crew for always... Thank you. Did I say thank you?

It'd be really funny if I just didn't edit any of that.

I'm an absolute imbecile. Thanks, guys, to everyone.

The end.

Leave it in. Who knows if people even fucking watch the end of the clips?

Everybody's already logged off of their computer.

They're already tweeting about what LeBron said. They abandoned us long ago.

Follow New Heights on the WNDRI app or wherever you get your podcast. You can listen to New Heights early and add free Plus, enjoy exclusive episodes of the show by joining WNDRI Plus in the WNDRI app, Apple Podcasts or Spotify today.

Before you go, tell us about yourself by completing a short survey at wundri. Com/survey.

On January fifth, 2024, an Alaska Airlines door plug tore away mid-flight, leaving a gaping hole in the side of a plane that carried 171 passengers. This heart-stopping incident was just the latest in a string of crises surrounding the aviation manufacturing giant, Boeing. In the past decade, Boeing has been involved in a series of damning scandals and deadly crashes that have chipped away at its once sterling reputation. At the center of it all, the 737 MAX. The latest season of business wars explores how Boeing, once the gold standard of aviation engineering, descend it into a nightmare of safety concerns and public mistrust, the decisions, denials, and devastating consequences bringing the Titan to its knees, and what, if anything, can save the company's reputation. Now, follow business wars on the WNDYRI app or wherever you get your podcast. You can binge business wars, the unraveling of Boeing, early and ad-free right now on WNDYRI Plus.