Transcript of Are the Philadelphia 76ers Villains? | Hour 1 (feat. Nick Wright)

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We got some brutal news here locally. Uh, Alan Bailey, who was a Hurricane, played in the pros for a while. Nick Wright's gonna know who he is because he played for the Chiefs. A really unusual story how he even became a football player in the first place. Uh, passed away at the age of 37 years old, and I want to have a brief conversation about that. We had a broader conversation with Nick about the fact that the Kansas City Star says that there have been 6 football and weather-related deaths in the Kansas City area since 2018. The Jalen Hurts story makes people feel like, you know, the NFL and the Eagles actively put Jalen Hurts' life at risk. I am not saying that football had anything to do with Alan Bailey's death early, but when football players do die young, it is something I always wonder about. But his story, Mike, like, how will you remember him? him as somebody who was loved at the University of Miami.

Well, he was tremendous at the University of Miami. He had a decent career for the Kansas City Chiefs. I'm sure Nick is very familiar with Alan Bailey. Alan Bailey grew up on an island that had 55 people on it off the coast of Georgia, and everyone on that island was basically direct descendants of slaves. He would have to hop on a ferry to go to practice. Sometimes the ferry would leave him behind and have to come back for him. He only started playing football around 7th grade. Randy Shannon famously got on a boat to recruit this young man who didn't really follow football all that much when Alabama was interested. He asked, who is Nick Saban? And he turned himself in. If you see his body, he's Mount Rushmore bodies at the University of Miami, like up there with Andre Johnson. Just a hulking dude. I think his nickname was Hulk. Really productive at the University of Miami and because of his climb and his family and his story, the Alan Bailey Foundation, which has got a website, you can go visit it right now, did such great work in the community getting school supplies to underprivileged children in the area and getting them access access to sports, which was very difficult for him to do growing up on an island of 55 people.

Really sad, really devastating, and a big loss for the Miami Hurricanes family.

Nick, welcoming you in on a somber note. We will talk about the silliness of the sports happenings here in a second, but your thoughts when you received this news?

I mean, so I'm kind of receiving it from you. I saw about an hour ago, shortly before I hopped on, so maybe a half hour ago, a Chiefs account write, RIP Allen Bailey, but it didn't— I don't, you know, it was just a random account and I don't know what to trust on the internet. And so I, so I guess I'm not totally receiving it, but I wasn't, you know, confirmed. I didn't look further into it. And listen, he was, he was drafted by the Chiefs when I was still living in Kansas City covering the team. It was shortly before I moved to Houston that he was drafted. And he was— he had a very long and, you know, a productive while never being a star career. He played, I think, 10 years. He was on the first great Chiefs team of my life. His final year in Kansas City was the first year Mahomes took over as the starter and they made the AFC Championship Game. He, he was in the same draft class as Justin Houston. And, you know, so I didn't— I, you know, I knew him, I guess, as a rookie when I was in the locker room covering the teams.

I did not know the story Mike just told about how he came up, and I have not— you know, this is all happening live. I don't know the circumstances surrounding his passing at all. Um, I just— and so, yeah, I mean, obviously, I mean, the guy's 5 years younger than I am. Like, it's incredibly Incredibly sad. It's brutal. It's brutal.

So I want to talk, though, about— you mentioned not trusting the internet. I've been fascinated in the last couple of days. I cannot think of an American product that is sort of as beloved as the NFL that is also as distrusted as the NFL, because everyone is jumping to the conclusion as it relates to Jalen Hurts that a whole lot of people were irresponsible with his life. They were irresponsible by letting him fly, which is something we all understand with blood clots. But somehow we don't understand the dangers of blood clots when you're playing football. And so when I mentioned that the Kansas City Star is reporting there have been 6 football-related deaths since 2018 in that area that are both weather-related because of how hot it is getting in and head trauma-related, and I pair it with the thinking nationally, the presumption nationally that the Eagles were willing to put Jalen Hurts' life at risk to win a football game. Your thoughts are what on all of that?

So I think that if— there's a lot there. I think put his life at risk to win a football game is probably a touch stronger than I feel like is fair, other than just by simply playing an NFL game, everyone in some capacity is putting their life at risk. I mean, it is, it is a wildly dangerous, violent sport. And so there— so I don't— I wouldn't say that. What I would say is there's some of the bending over backwards by folks who consider themselves NFL insiders to try to explain this away while consistently having information that they then had to go back and change, I thought has been a really interesting window into what the hell is the information flow currently from NFL team via insider to consumer. I mean, I don't want to, to pick on the guy too much, but Schefter's whirlwind of They haven't even had discussions about placing him on IR Saturday morning. To Saturday afternoon, he's on IR. To Monday, the agent releases— not the team. Now it's with the team, but the agent releases— actually, he has bilateral pulmonary emboli, so blood clots in both of his lungs.

He has to go on blood thinners, and essentially his season is over. That was— Puzzling to me. The, the reportage of he was told not to sleep— no, actually, my bad, his sleep— he wasn't told anything differently about his sleep than everyone else on the team, and it was just about jet lag, but he didn't have sleep because he went to the hospital. That part I was obviously uneasy with. And folks credibly saying Or implying the doctors actually thought it was better, given the fact that he had a blood clot, to play in a football game because you staying in motion and exercise is good is one of the most incredulous things I've ever heard in my life. As it— like, I understand the idea of if you have a blood clot, they want you to, you know, be moving, maybe on a treadmill, maybe take your dog on an extra long walk. But it was reported initially as if doctors would have a civilian come into their office, see a superficial blood clot, and have the prognosis be, well, listen, it's going to be hard, but the first thing I would try to do is see if you can try out and make your local professional football team and get some snaps this weekend.

That's the preferred treatment. The preferred treatment protocol is see if you can get on the field of an NFL game That clears these things right up. That was ridiculous. But this does come from a place of distrust of the NFL Insider where every surgery went better than expected, every injury— watch the Lamar Jackson reporting. Like, every, every— they, they give us injury information and then you have to put your own 30 to 50% more pessimistic translator on it. If a guy is, is likely to play this weekend, he's a coin flip. If he could play this weekend, he's probably 25%. If he's unlikely to play this weekend, he's gonna be out multiple weeks. If, you know, serious injury but avoided, you know, worst-case scenario, he's out 3 months. I don't know why we, we can't just get the accurate real information.

So you're blaming the reporters. You didn't mention Tom Pelissaro by name. He's the one who reported initially, and this led to the initial suspicion. The initial suspicion— everybody's reaction was his report was they asked him not to sleep for 36 hours before the game.

But he's not the only one who got this wrong. He, he was the first one on this, on the sleep report, and then he walked it back and Now, every— that he said the agent, you know, called him and said that was wrong and he corrected it. But it was very clear to me that Schefter and Rapoport were getting updates from the Eagles downplaying this, where that, you know, on Saturday morning there's been no discussions about putting him on IR. And so if you want, I can, I can shift it more to the team. I'm not trying to, you know, Avoid any of this. I think obviously, obviously it is pretty outrageous. Let me put it like this. If I were traveling, what I would want to know is this. If I showed up in Europe on vacation and I'm like, man, something's wrong with my leg, I go to the hospital and they're like, oh, you have a superficial blood clot in your leg. And I said, okay, I'm flying back day after tomorrow. Would the doctor say, yeah, no problem, and then after you get back, wait a couple days, then get another— have it checked out?

Maybe they would say that. That's hard for me to believe. I would think the doctor would say, okay, do not do that. Stay here, and then in a few— let's monitor it here. That's the part for me that I am most— Intrigued by. I do— I don't think that the playing in the football game in the, in the interim was the part of this that was incredibly risky and exacerbating the condition. I think the getting back on the flight right after, so in theory he would be able to play in the next football game— that's how I read it— that's the part that is most disturbing to me.

He wasn't on the injury report in any way for Sunday, correct? He wasn't even listed. Anywhere, was

he? So that's— so, so he popped up on the injury report Friday with a calf. He was a late add, but— and this is an important distinction— but he had no Sunday designation, which I find outrageous. If the— you have to add a guy to the injury report if Saturday night they come down with a cold because there's a chance they won't play. The moment that Jalen Hurts has to go to the hospital to have his leg looked at at 3 AM Saturday, or until 3 AM Saturday, he certainly becomes questionable. If for no other reason than, and he alluded to this, that if he was not going to feel like he could play because his sleep schedule was thrown off. Them not including him on the game day injury report, to me, is outrageous. And I'm very— I'm surprised that they're getting a pass on that from the league. Like, you can't— your starting quarterback has— you can't fudge the numbers on his play probability. Pardon me.

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Going for 2 when you're up by 5. Switching to zone when man isn't working. Oh, and building your new stadium in the state your team actually plays in. In sports, some things just make sense. You know what else makes sense? Drinking Jägermeister shots. Ice cold. Drinking it any other way would be like punting on first down! Or letting your worst hitter bat first. Or like going for 2 when you're down 3 with a second to go. It wouldn't make any sense. So don't let the team down when it comes to Jägermeister. Drink it cold or don't drink it at all! Jägermeister. Damn, that's cold. Drink responsibly. Jägermeister liqueur, 35% alcohol by volume, imported by Mast-Jägermeister U.S., White Plains, New York.

Dan Levitar. I want to address, uh, Tony and all men who would wear that shirt in public. Greg Cody. Don't do it. This is the Dan Levitar Show.

So, Nick, I want to ask you, though, where it is, because we're, we're talking about the reporting here. And I can also make the argument that America's love of a conspiracy theory also makes this so. But I believe that the reason that the conversation— while you might think it be overstated that the Eagles risked the life of Jalen Hurts— I think that's the prevailing opinion of where a lot of people arrive today than when they get outraged. And the reason is because they know that everyone involved— the doctor, the coach who's in trouble, the teammates— and the culture of you have to play hurt. You don't play injured, but you have to play hurt. I think that everyone knows football enough to distrust that health is actually the most important thing. I think that rises above both the reporting and our love of conspiracy theories here. The distrust of the NFL because we know a little bit too much about what this beast is.

So, so this is where you and I might differ on how we feel about this. In most circumstances, I am actually okay with that because I think, for lack of a better term, it's consenting adults, all of whom have made this decision. I— people— I think people try to frame it as if the team and the doctors are working at cross purposes with the player. That the player would like the most cautious preventative medical care possible while the team and the doctor want them on the field as quickly as possible. When in the vast majority of cases the player themselves like, I want to be out there too. That's like—

that's what I'm saying. Nobody is incentivized to actually put health first. No one in this equation. In the consenting Adults, right? There's no one who's incentivized to put health first.

And where I'm saying you and I maybe differ, I don't know if we do, is I think that's okay. I think if— I think that if somebody has decided, I am a professional football player, I am— I know that this likely lowers my life expectancy. I know the long-term brain risks of this. I know the aches and pains if I get If I dodge the brain piece of it, what it does to my body, I'm signing up for this. This is what I love. This is what I want to do. This is how I'm going to provide for my family. I think I'm okay with them saying, and because of that, I'm going to make some riskier health choices than most. Where that— where I get off that train is when you go back to, you know, a decade ago. Wait. Did the Commanders team doctor find potential cancer on Trent Williams and keep it from him because they wanted him to play? I don't think Trent would have signed up for that. What I would like to know, and this— the, the blood clots piece for Jalen Hurts is potentially in that bucket rather than the former bucket.

I would want to know, did What was communicated to Jalen about the risks and about all of these things, and then how much was he a participant in the decision-making process? That's the part we don't know. But my concern for the Eagles and the relationship is the last statement coming from the agent makes me— and the initial statements pretty clearly being, you know, fed to the reporters by the team makes me think there's a disconnect. And if Jalen feels like— and I have no idea, obviously— if Jalen feels like they didn't give me the straight story here, that can obviously torch a relationship the way it torched Trent Williams with the Commanders so long ago.

Well, I don't think anybody feels like they're getting the straight story here. And we can agree on consenting adults making adult decisions. I understand many of the health risks. You do, too. I'm objecting to the idea that everyone out here is still saying health is obviously the main priority when it's not. Like, stop telling me, stop telling me that that's the main priority. It's not. Getting him on the field is the main priority.

Yeah, if you're, if you're taking issue with them paying lip service to the health and well-being of our players is our number one priority, well, yeah, of course. I mean, that's just, that's just like a thing people say. That's like, that's like, yeah, I mean, I'm just telling, like, I don't, I mean, maybe I'm just numb to it. Like, it almost goes without saying, without saying, like, if that were the main— if my number one most important, you know, priority in life was health and well-being of these people, I'd probably, you know, not run a football team. Like, I'd be in a different business. And so, yeah, I mean, I agree with you there that there is some, you know, obvious hypocrisy And just add it. I, again, in my brain, I put it in the same bucket as people that are like, man, you know, like, I'll pray for you even if you don't, like, believe in God. Like, it's just like a thing you say. So I don't

know. Where are you? Where are you on the basketball last night? Are the Sixers going to be villainous all season?

Villainous? Why are they villainous? Why? Because LeBron told that lady he's not— or whoever it was, I'm not from the West Coast. Give me a break. They're not villains. They're beloved. People love Embiid. Bron's, you know, Bron's given more to the sport than literally anyone in the history of the sport. You couldn't, you couldn't help but love Maxey. Edgecombe's downright adorable. Jaylen Brown, he, he all of a sudden he's bringing in the harpist community, uh, to the NBA. Didn't see that coming. No, give me a villainous. No, they're great. And I've, as I've told you, I'm a proud season ticket holder. I'm actually leaving the TV show early. I'm doing half a shift to the TV show tomorrow so I can hop on the train to see the opening night. How long is that cross-country flight? Good one. That's a good one. That's a callback. You know what I would have rathered rather than one little chime in from Zazz with his backwards cap? If I could have chatted with my buddy Greg Cody this segment, but you guys pissed him off. One of the main things I'm excited for on Wednesdays is to talk to Greg Cody, and then I have to sit here and watch you guys offend him.

Um, one other basketball note. Can some— listen, I get it, Victor Wembanyama has solved basketball and he knows what ethical basketball is, and he has decided that he is, rather than try to create a rivalry with the other great players in the league, he's just gonna pick on Chet Holmgren. It's all cool and all, but can somebody please do the The hypnosis thing people do to quit smoking and hypnotize him and convince him he's 7'7. Get— can they— you can't— Vic, Vic, you can't have the Finals you had and then start this next game 0 for 12 because you just desperately want to be Kevin Durant. You're not Kevin Durant, bro. You're a half foot taller than him. You're stronger than he— right now you're stronger than he was at any point in his career. You got to live near the basket a bit. You got to come on.

Well, so this, this was interesting last night. LeBron in the Finals when JJ Barea was someone he was afraid to post up. The shame of that.

That's just such bullshit. Hold on a second.

Just hold on a second.

Afraid to post up because you saw one picture ever. It's just not true. But go ahead. Tell you.

Oh, so wait, it's not true that the last 5 minutes of that final, he was passing it around the perimeter because he knew the world was going to cave in on his head because he had failed?

That part's true. Okay. That part's true. So the fact that JJ Jay Barea did it because you, because you got, you got internet, you got internet brain worms because of one picture is not true. That part is true. But go ahead. That changed him. Yes. Go ahead.

He spent the offseason suffering and came back with a revolutionized game that eventually had him shooting 58% from the field because he finally listened to everybody after the shame caught him. Wembanyama has that offseason and comes back and starts 0 for 12 from the field. 0 for 12?

Yeah, that's my point. That, that, that's why, that's why every— listen, the, the idea behind Vic, the, the fact that he is a good but nowhere close to great, and, and good is borderline, above average is more accurate, 3-point shooter needs to be a fun wrinkle of his game because he's 7'7. And not the, the something he is consistently trying to prove to you, I can do. And he is— he does not want to play near the basket nearly enough. And so I think, I think it is— I— everyone is enraptured by what he could be and the flashes we've seen. I'm very interested in how he looks this year after that embarrassment that happened after he thought he won a championship.

You don't think this is a byproduct?

Celebrated like he won a championship because he thought he won the championship because he thought the Knicks were going to be easy work, and then they just melted down repeatedly. Sorry, go ahead.

That's okay. You don't think though that he's just a product of the age? I'm still not used to— and I know it's been years now— watching the end of that Sixers-Knicks game and the human beings, Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns, who shooting from 40 feet from the basket, the size of those human beings. I know that it's normal now. You don't think that Wembanyama is just a byproduct of this is how we play basketball now? Even our 7-footers at the end of the game are going to be heaving up 30-foot shots.

Okay, well, so 2 pieces of that. One is Karl-Anthony Towns famously— just ask him— is the greatest shooting big man of all time. And statistically, he kind of has an argument for court. He's a great 3-point shooter. Joel Embiid is an elite mid-range shooter. Wemby is not any of that, and he's a half foot taller than those guys. It's— he's a worse shooter and dramatically bigger than them. It just— but, and this goes back to like, nobody— if you, Victor, if you look at Victor's International stats. He wasn't a great 3-point shooter there, but everybody got, uh, you know, caught up in, oh my God, this guy blocked a 3 on one end and hit a 3 on the next end. Victor Wembanyama, in his final full season in Paris, shot 27% from 3. The year before, he shot 26% from 3. His rookie year, he shot 32% from 3. The next year he shot 9 a game and was up to 35%. Last year was right below 35%, and I believe was worse in the playoffs. Yeah, right at 34%. It's not the right way for him to play. It needs to be his 3rd pitch or 4th pitch, but it's— he wants to, he wants to be Durant when he should want to be Kareem.

And that's a concern. Yeah, go.

Nick, can he drop the tough guy act too? Like, he, he got into the scuffle yesterday, got pushed 4 feet by Kayson Wallace. Dude, he flew back. Come on, man. Come on. You're not, you're not the tough guy.

Listen, I, I found it interesting, and I talked about this with you guys last year, that the, the, you know, a lot of my sports commentary these days is media criticism. Uh, I don't know if that's good or bad, but it just is what it is. That— I mean, he elbows Naz Reid in the throat and he comes back and it's his hero's journey, his hero's return. He, he does this like I'm in your head in a Finals game that his team blows a historically big lead and nobody— like, I've never quite seen— typically, fair or not, The arrogant French kid who hasn't won anything yet is not just universally beloved by everyone covering the sport. That hasn't been the case with Victor. And you add that he's trying to add this mean streak, but I don't know how much anybody takes it seriously. Is, uh, I don't know, it's very interesting to watch. I thought the Spurs were gonna kill him last And instead, Victor made one basket and didn't make anything in the 4th quarter, and they got blown out.

Down levitar! Can't trade Marino! Nice hat! It's what he's most known for!

It's not like I'm holding on to it!

Greg Cody! Nice hat!

They were 9-2! But it's Marino!

Nice hat! And then the next time we saw Marino after Greg Cody traded him, he threw for 5 touchdowns! Nice hat! And he was Dan the Man on the COVID of Sports Illustrated! You can't trade Morino! Nice hat, asshole. This is the Dan Le Batard Show. Nick, I want to go back to the Sixers with you. How many games do you think— number one, how many games do you think their projected starting 5, like last night, are going to actually start together this season? And number two, We know their MO is going to be to be healthy, manage regular season, be healthy, and have all these guys ready to go for the playoffs. And I don't think that's how you can win. Like, I don't think you could piecemeal it together in the regular season and, hey, we're all here and ready for the postseason and let's win at the absolute highest level. Like, I don't think this league works like that anymore.

Okay, well, there's only one guy on the team that's an injury risk at all, and that's Embiid. And that's like, Embiid is a real injury risk and a real— Oh,

but like, how many games do you think LeBron's gonna play this year?

I don't know. LeBron in the last— LeBron since he turned 40 has played as many minutes as Iron Man Jaylen Brown. So I think LeBron's gonna be available. LeBron last year missed the first 10 games with sciatica and then played 60 of 72. LeBron the previous year played 70 of 82. LeBron the previous year played 71 of 71. And what I— or 71 of 72— of 82, pardon me. And what I know about LeBron James is no matter what his health status is for the regular season, Um, in the playoffs he's going to be available because his teams in his career have played in 302 playoff games and LeBron James has suited up for all 302 of them. So I— this is one of these, like, the— I, I've got to look at all these preseason lists and projections and people are like, oh, watch out about the Raptors now that they have Kawhi, the Warriors. I, I got to hear about Steph. LeBron plays more than Steph. LeBron plays more than Kawhi. Look, LeBron last year was in a playoff series with Kevin Durant. I know who was available, I know who was not.

LeBron's gonna be there, Maxey's gonna be there, Edgecombe's gonna be there, Jaylen Brown's gonna be there, and then you'll see on Embiid. Like, but luckily, what— but come the playoffs, what the Sixers have is a 42-year-old in year 24 who, if the center's not there He'll be like, I know I've been playing point guard all year. Don't worry, guys, I'll play the 5 tonight. And so they're certainly dangerous. They are certainly dangerous.

Nick's so damn good at this. He just made LeBron missing a quarter of the season last year a virtue.

Well, tell me again.

Like, you were arguing your point on how he's going to be there and he missed like 22 games. It's incredible.

No, he missed the first 10 games of the year with sciatica and then—

And then he played 60 of 72.

Yeah, exactly.

That's a quarter of the season, dude. This is like a logical question.

The, the— but it's not though. It's, it's, it's a logical question in a way. I— again, over the last 3 years, check minutes played and see LeBron has played in the last 3 years more minutes than Donovan Mitchell. Is Donovan Mitchell's availability the big question mark for the Cavs? Of course not.

No, it's not.

Of course not.

But Donovan Mitchell's also not north of 40, and also he did not back down JJ Barea. It was a tipping point. And while that whole 4th quarter was going on and he was swinging the ball around, he had an opportunity to post up JJ Barea and he opted out.

And there's—

yeah, well, that was one frustrating play.

It was one play. Yeah, and it was indicative of everything that we saw. The idea— what happened to LeBron in that series— Are you not familiar with the word microcosm? LaBrea got the better— JJ LaBrea. It was a microcosm. LaBrea got the better of him. It wasn't that. It was that play was a microcosm of America's most successful child star ever finally having his one dark moment of the, of the movie. But instead of being on Skid Row hooked on drugs, he averaged 18, 7, and 7 in a Finals which, if you're Kawhi Leonard, wins you a Finals MVP. And then he comes back from it and everybody sends me the JJ Barea picture like it's indicative of anything other than how dumb they are. And now you're referencing it. Dan's bringing it up. I don't like it. It was 15 years ago. Find a new slant.

Well, the slant that JJ Barea found was that he was stuck in LeBron's ass crack and LeBron wasn't doing anything about it.

LaBrea. All right.

You know, he's the host of FS1's First Things First and What's Right with Nick Wright, the podcast. He's exceptional. Thank you, Nick. Good talking to you. All

right, see what— oh, that's me on the Acela. Quite the neck. All right, that's really good. Yeah, I look great. Tell Chris Cody that I'm on his side. See you guys.

See you later. Uh, speaking of LeBron last night, because I don't want to actually lose sight of this, um, the reasons that there are going to be questions about LeBron James's availability is because at this age there has never been a player in basketball who is doing what he was doing at the end of the game last night, which is not just guarding Karl-Anthony Towns, it's not just putting up close to a triple-double statistically. It's also when Mikal Bridges is trying to go to the basket, he's sweeping across and blocking the shot. He's 42 years old.

No, it's a crazy question for me. It's crazy.

But it just doesn't make sense that at that age you're trading 5 first-round picks to get somebody and at the end to be a missing piece. And he is your missing piece. You win the championship. And at the end of last night's game, Bridges is breaking free, open to the basket, looking to put it off the backboard. He has to adjust his shot and comes swooping in LeBron James. Like, that's nuts at that age. He's the oldest player in the league. I don't know how many people are talking about that play. They're talking about the fact that he won. They're talking about the fact that almost 25 years into his professional basketball playing career, he's still the dominant storyline on night one. and guarding both Karl-Anthony Towns and Bridges for you.

You see LeBron mixing it up, arguing with fans courtside at MSG last night. They're like on the free throw line here, and you see, uh, LeBron's got all the time to defend his toughness with the, uh, MSG fans. Why is he so mad?

If I were from Cleveland, I'd eat that up.

Why is he so mad?

He's in Madison Square Garden. Uh, he's headed into another season. Nick Wright is obviously somebody who is always very pro-LeBron, as am I. But I'm surprised to hear him say that he doesn't think that's going to be a villainous team this year.

Oh, that's shtick that Nick is doing there. Yeah, of course they're a villainous team. Embiid, with all the flopping and the bitching and whining and moaning, is incredibly unlikable.

You don't think the harp thing turned things around for Jaylen Brown?

No. Jaylen Brown, his favorite season is when his team gets bounced in the first round of the playoffs, an historic embarrassing loss. LeBron, you don't need me to explain why LeBron is unlikable. It's going to be a very unlikable team. And oh, the fans are so pleasant in Philly. No, no, very likable.

I don't think that LeBron is unlikable, but I also don't agree with Nick that the grand majority of people think that Embiid is likable. Is that something like— I

happen to have been bit down.

I don't think Embiid is unlikable.

I like Embiid. The histrionics and the lack of availability and also being bigger than everyone else. Nobody loves Goliath.

Everyone hates a floppy. thing.

Yeah, it's constantly whining.

Everyone hates O'Flopp.

Every time he shoots and there's any kind of contact, he falls to the ground.

I'm sorry, I hate him now.

Good, there you go. That's all it takes.

I do like Maxey.

Embrace the bait.

No, everyone likes Maxey. I like Maxey. Everyone likes Maxey.

Good kid.

Good kid.

Everyone likes Maxey.

They can like Maxey. He's not Teebo. He can't cover up for everything else. He can't? No, he's gonna try. He was great last night. His quickness, his quickness is intoxicating. I don't know that there are a lot of players in the league who are any faster than him at all, and they're going to be formidable Again, if they, if they stay healthy.

I'm just remembering Nick Nurse's fit yesterday. That was crazy.

So you see last night the crowd when LeBron was on the free throw line too, you know, LeBron made the whole thing where, oh, you know, he was definitely gonna go play for the Knicks, but you know, they won the championship. Crowd doesn't want him, Dan. Can I just say something about LeBron? The crowd chanting, we don't want you, we don't want you.

Can we chant back, yes, you would've?

Can I just say something? You know, LeBron with the whole thing, how much he loves New York, you know, he's living there right now. He— the dream was to play for the Knicks. He was definitely gonna go to the Knicks if they didn't win the championship. If the dream was to play for the Knicks, he's changed teams 4 times. Why didn't he ever play for the Knicks? That's the dream. He could have played for the Knicks, instead he went to Miami. Could have played for the Knicks, instead he went to Cleveland. Could have played for the Knicks, he went to Los Angeles. Could have played for the Knicks, but, uh, I was down to play for you guys, but you won the championship, it would look bad if I went, so I went to Philly. Play for the Knicks!

You think LeBron is unlikable?

Am I being punked right now? Is this— is Ashton Kutcher about— is Kutcher about to chop— jump out here? Where's Ashton Kutcher?

Ashton Kutcher is not about to chop you.

Be quiet.

You think he's unlikable?

Yeah, I think LeBron's unlikable. Yeah, a little bit.

What's unlikable about him?

I mean, he's a— he's a massive hypocrite. He's constantly lying.

China, China, China.

Yeah, every time he's reading a book, he's on the first page. Let's be honest.

All right,

and he left your team that one time.

Oh yeah, that too. Forgot about that.

Put this on the poll at Levitar.

And we thought we were getting him again. You know, he didn't come.

Are the 76ers villainous and is LeBron unlikable? I don't think he's unlikable.

The Godfather's his favorite movie. Hey, what's your favorite scene? Oh, there's so many, I can't name them.

Put the poll up parenthetically, China.

That's the reason that he's unlikable, because The Godfather's not his favorite movie and he's saying it is.

You sus!

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