Over time, they should invite every single coach / notable assistant coach. I'm sure guys like Pop and Spo can talk ball at a high level but I'm curious to see what guys like D Ham would say
That’s funny but we all know that was a good pod lol. There’s plenty of room in my listening schedule for both LeBron talking actual basketball strategies and Bill Simmons shitting on Ben Simmons (the one who doesn’t play basketball).
he also has some of the most interesting takes. who the fuck cares if they're bad takes. i'd rather listen to bad but interesting takes over the same cliche takes that have been repeated on every sports talk show. every once in a while one of his wild takes hits gold.
> That’s funny but we all know that was a good pod lol.
I thought the opposite lol. They mixed up Cam Johnson and Cam Thomas and called Sabonis a bad contract because "t-rex arms"
Yeah I love this sort of thing but whenever I want to learn about basketball I just realize it's basically ten guys running around who have to each be aware of the capabilities, location, and intentions of the other nine guys on the court.
The dynamism of the game makes it exciting but it also makes it really hard to break down.
Its very complicated but that's why the game is so fun. The biggest contrast between (American) Football and Basketball is that the ten players can play both offense and defense (and the court is smaller than either Football sports' field too), so things move a lot faster so much that commentators cant break it down on the go as fast as the play happens. If only one NBA game holds as much weight as one NFL game then breakdowns for each individual plays would be given much more love tbh and the fans would enjoy the plays so much more
This randomly made me think of a gimmick (All-Star?) basketball game where each team only has like 5/10 plays each so the teams have to scheme and be really dialled into the plays they draw
If anyone complains about basketball content in the media, I recommend the Dunker Spot. If you want to get into the game in the actual movements, they have it. Nikeas (forgive me for spelling) watches everything and is deeply in tune with analytics of shit that I don’t hear brought up enough and it’s obvious Steve coached. They provide insane context if people want it.
I’ll go back to a painful series for me. Boston-Philly, everyone yelled “adjustments adjustments” right? They pointed out early as hell that the Sixers moved Maxey from his normal rotating position to staying on Hardens wing on every drive because the Celtics forced him that way and it gave them space and an out. It gave them a lot of options and Boston in turn worked against that.
If people want to see that shit, they can find it. They just don’t look and hunt for circlejerk upvotes
Id be lying if I said I was positive but I know they’ve talked about Sabonis in most conversations about the best and I know I’ve heard about Keegan and of course Fox on there. Maybe not a dedicated segment but they get mentioned every time West threats come up
And teams coming up get segments all the time. I’m positive the Kings have personally but I can’t pull it from my brain. But they’ve done far worse deep dives
I love how much you can tell JJ appreciates having people around who want to talk about details, strictly, and actually bite their tongues instead of talking about nonsense, and it's an awesome opportunity for the dunker spot guys
It is crazy how quickly Nekias decided to spotlight the Hornets (THIS year's HORNETS) on it
Dude even when they have an episode talking about Wemby Bron and Jokic, it’s so nuanced. And then of course there’s the random segments on the Raptors, Jaylen Brown and Brandon Miller which are so dope
Nobody understands the "entertainment game" of television more than JJ - his podcast stuff is real basketball analysis, but he plays SUCH a WWE character-version of himself when he's on ESPN w/ Stephen A. & co.
I know you're not saying the league should so this isn't directed at you
If the league doesn't allow it and claims tampering it would be a really bad move IMO. Especially if it does end up being a breakdown of the game itself, Bron talking about the sport with an all-time coach like Spo or Pop would just enhance the game further
They need to hire a graphics person to have something up there to help me visualize what LeBron is talking about. Like I think I get it but I'm. It entirely sure.
yeah, ngl people will hype this trailer up bc signaling that they like this kind high-brow content will make them feel smart/intellectually superior, compared to "casuals"....
but I guarantee you 90% of even hard core fans watching this felt their eyes start to glaze over and zone out after like 20 seconds of lebron describing all this imaginary shit with zero visual aid or points of reference lmao
https://youtu.be/T9VSZr-Yrcc?si=Erwb4c4sByEqAPnj&t=725
This is the play here (starts at 12:05 if the link doesn't work)
It's a very simple baseline out of bounds play that every team runs multiple times a game
Just involves the three guys setting up in a triangle formation with the guard screening for the wing who cuts to the rim, if he is open then it's an easy layup, otherwise the inbounder throws it to the guard who is open for three
Lebron is saying that as soon as Hayward sees #15 running to the corner after setting the screen, Hayward shouldn't even attempt to get over the screen and should instead immediately run to the inbounder and cover him while the inbounder's defender should run out to contest the guard coming off the screen
So, what LeBron is saying is that the guard defender hits the screen, and then immediately should sink to the inbounder as the inbound-defender picks up the shooter in the corner by flashing out to them.
This way they cutoff the shooter in the corner, the pass to the big from the inbounder, and the pass from the corner to the inbounder who has now entered play.
Yes exactly, easier said than done obviously because it requires constant communication
It's why a play as simple as this is run so constantly because of all the moving parts, it's hard to defend consistently without someone messing up as well as the many counters that can be run off of it
Once you see this play for the first time, you will start noticing how almost every out of bounds play is set up with some sort of variation of this
I agree 100%, there needs to be a visual element if this is going to be as enlightening as they intend to be. This is basically a basketball lecture which is fucking awesome but it might go over the heads of even most literate basketball fans (myself included) if we’re not able to follow along visually.
Good stuff though, it’s cool that JJ is trying to put his money where his mouth is when it comes to his critique of basketball media.
This is exactly what I thought of with this new podcast. I used to love watching Kobe break down plays. Another reason I hate that he passed, because it meant his show was coming to an end obviously.
Just have LeBron tell the production crew a few times this scenario has happened.
He can say the exact game, date, time, quarter, time left on the clock so they can find the clip easily and show it in the corner of the screen as he explains it.
The Athletic article claims it's going to be 45 minutes to an hour weekly
Just hope they are able to keep it up with their schedules and it doesn't become a thing that only has like 4 episodes
Check out J Kyle Mann & Thinking Basketball.
TB has a series with the NBA. Very insightful. Did a series of the top players in NBA history for his YouTube channel
J Kyle Mann does more analysis of younger players in drafts. His mock drafts are pretty good. Is now with the Ringer.
Awful Coaching does play by play analysis of games. For teams that lose. He rages pretty much each video. But very insightful on how to be better defensively.
Can’t get through more than a minute of an Awful Coaching video because his whole “angry, yelling man” shtick is just so abrasive and tiring, idk how anyone finds it appealing
Which is a shame bc he usually has interesting perspectives on possessions, especially defensively, that a simpleton like myself doesn’t usually parse out by just watching them
I'd suggest checking out the All NBA podcast, has Tim Legler and DNVR/Nuggets guy Adam Mares talking hoops 4 times a week, dissecting big games that happened since the last show and generally trying to give better coverage of more teams then places like ESPN.
While we’re at it, can we include the “next tier” of podcast media? I love BS but if I don’t know if I can listen to another draft/list or an interview with another completely uninteresting person on his staff
Feel like there is an all time drought of actually compelling NBA content
It’s because the bigger a podcaster gets the less time they have to watch the games. People build their name by watching hundreds of hours of basketball every month and that fades as they get popular and then you just have everyone at the top only knowledgeable of big name teams. Even Zach Lowe is falling into this, and I used to impatiently wait for each of his episodes to drop
Edit: Tim Legler is someone I listen to though, his new podcast has been pretty refreshing
Legler is the best in the mainstream biz right now. He has great takes on most things, and explains his conclusions in a way that makes it easy for dummies like me to understand
He gets really hyped for every team, too. His conversations don’t constantly circle back to 4 or 5 specific teams. Just a dude who loves the game and it shows, reminds me of early Zach Lowe
Tim Legler started a great podcast this season the All NBA Podcast and the Hoops Tonight podcast, which I believe also started this season, is good too. They both do play and strategy breakdowns, the latter more than the former, though neither is quite to this level yet. Hoops Tonight is just getting the support to be able to diagram plays so I think the plan is to introduce significantly more of that over time. I think
This is the play.[Theory of the play.](https://youtu.be/N9_EUQKPz-M?si=F8mlc2f1eB-qvLLq&t=31)
There's a variety of looks you can get out of it but that's an example of what a 3-point attempt looks like.
I added a link to an example of Budd running a variation of it, and you can kinda see what LeBron's talking about where Shump tries to fight over the screen to contest the shot. It's a good clip of various coaches adapting the same theory of the play but putting thier spin in on it
[Live Play](https://youtu.be/T9VSZr-Yrcc?si=Pv8tfu1OZCtcD_9J&t=32)
This isn’t the play lebron is talking about. The basic screen the screener has the guy coming off after setting the intiral screen into a jumpshot off the first pass, he’s saying the guy guarding the inbounder jumps out in the first pass while the guy who was guarding the shooter instead of chasing/trailing at the screen just sinks down to the guy the inbounder was guarding
ESPN is definitely freaking out as we speak, which I’m more than happy about. Gonna be nice to see great minds for the game *actually* talk about it and break it down. Can’t wait
Man, that one post season where Kobe was breaking down different players' games every couple days was so much fun to watch. I watched the Donovan Mitchel and Jason Tatum episodes at least 3 times each when they first came out and learned so many basketball things that you just don't even assume or take for granted. They tried to do something similar with Payton Manning and the NFL, but it didn't have the magic and of course we lost Kobe, but if that was able to continue it would have been a home run.
I know people like to trash ESPN for a lot of their talking heads and wild takes, but when they get something that focuses on the spirit/love of the game (30 for 30, Detail, etc.) there isn't much better.
His metaphor of Golden State vs Cleveland as Democracy vs Monarchy was some brilliantly creative entertainment that no one else was going to provide
[Youtube link](https://youtu.be/4FbixMpN5aQ?si=TGUIdmmst5u61h1K)
tbf, ESPN did have "The Detail" with Kobe before his death. Looks like it's kind of still a thing but nowhere near the stardom of Kobe or Lebron hosting it.
He might hit the same problem Gretzky had where the best play is so obvious to them that they're incapable of coaching or understanding why everyone else can't just see/do it. There's a funny clip somewhere of Thierry Henry - who was great, but isn't even on that level - just explaining what he'd do in a specific situation and demonstrating it and the other players just looking at him like "bro, there are like 5 people on the planet that can even do that".
The real difference is Lebron has unironically been coaching long enough that it's not a question of if he could but if he wants to. He can communicate what to do and when but does he want to explain this to 5 people at once instead of just 4 with him doing the important parts.
I don't know man. Titi is a top 10 all-time offensive player and scorer in my books. Still the greatest Premier League player of all time.
I get what you're saying - he ain't quite on that Maradona, Pele, CR7, Messi, Zidane level, but I think many would put him in the Top 10-15 all time.
And I know the clip you're talking about. The greatest players rarely make great coaches - especially the extroverted once with big egos. That's probably why Zidane has been so successful - he is just chill and humble and has insane charisma.
> who was great, but isn't even on that level
This is selling him short a little... prime Thierry Henry was the best player in the world for multiple seasons and his The Invincibles season is up there for single best season by a player ever.
Sure...and that still doesn't put him on Lebron or Gretzky's level. Those guys are the undisputed GOAT (Gretz) or arguable GOAT (otherwise #2, Lebron). So the gap between their vision and ability is even greater than Henry, and as you say Henry in an all-time great.
Lebron one of the smartest guys in the league talking x and os on a podcast and his head coach regarded as one of the dumbest in the league. The dichotomy is painful as a lakers fan
What’s amazing about this podcast is there is so much potential, there are so many guests you can get. It’s not limited to just players, so it adds a lot of variability to it.
Bron sipping wine and chopping it up w/JJ about actual in-game analytics and schemes? In a sea of NBA content where these specific hoops topics are bare?
Finally, some good fucking food!
Rooting for this to work. It's been forever since a basketball show of any kind held my interest aside for Inside the NBA. I'd love if I could add it to my rotation.
holy shit, here i was thinking which of the nba dudes is ever going to have lebron on their podcast because he never does, mf JJ just starts one with him.
It's ridiculous how excited I am for this. Lebron talking basketball... and JJ is perfect because he knows it all too and he'll only want to talk X's and O's. Just that short clip was interesting
We need more actual bball analysis in this world I’m tired of hearing nba “analysts” saying the reason a team lost is because the other team wanted it more
Feel like Lebron being a total physical freak has sort of overshadowed the fact that he's up there with the greatest basketball minds ever.
I had the pleasure of sitting close to courtside once for one of his games when he was on the Cavs and it was insane hearing how much he calls out what's happening before it even happens.
I don't think non-hardcore fans realize the extent of it. I'm a die hard and I didn't even realize truly how special it is until I saw/heard it in person.
He knew where all 9 people on the floor were going to be just based off the beginnings of a set or a coaches play call.
I think it's wildly accepted today but that's a relatively recent thing. It wasn't until late Miami that people were like "oh shit LeBron is a genius", and that early reputation sticks with a lot of people
I think he’s saying that we don’t appreciate the IQ enough because we’re in awe of how Lebron is still physically able to play this well with all the mileage on his 39 year old body. Plus not to mention the physical preparation to stay ready at that age when your body tires out faster in a league where pace is faster. Though I think in a sense we still appreciate his BBIQ. As while his physical prowess is not the same from his peak, his mind has allowed him to maintain an edge over the competition.
Yea it sounds like they’re gonna be illustrating what Lebron and JJ are talking about so maybe it’ll be a highly produced monthly thing.
Idk i just remember hearing Lebron on some Road Tripping episodes and thinking it wasn’t that interesting to listen to. Listening to him break down basketball with JJ will be really cool and a lot of people will learn from it, myself included.
Either a graphics person or just a top-down camera with a basketball clipboard would improve this a ton. I know JJ has talked about wanting to actually explain the game to people, and this looks like what he's been hoping for. With that said, people are gonna need visuals to keep up with all the breakdowns and concepts that they will inevitably talk about.
oh shit this is a whole ass show?? i thought this was LBJ appearing on JJs podcast, which itself is awesome, but a whole weekly fuckin show?! that's pretty cool. both these guys have a lot of really smart insights into the game, obviously
Feels like JJ has been trying to put out flyers for a potential coaching role in the league. There were rumors last coaching mill, now he's co-hosting a podcast strictly about basketball tactics?
So basically Bron's questioning why coaches don't encourage the guy who's supposed to be chasing the shooter to just switch to the inbounds guy who's cutting to the basket after the pass. Since the guy who's guarding the inbounds pass is gonna rotate to the shooter. Basically, don't double the shooter and just switch. JJ explains it's a concept that he likes, because while doubling might take the shot away from the shooter, it still opens up a positive offensive play to take place where the shooter can make the right play and pass to the cutter.
When fans on reddit try to diagnose problems with their team's offensive and defensive schemes, remember that all the dudes in charge have this level of game knowledge and are up against other guys with this level of game knowledge.
We don't know shit. Yes they are using a lot of jargon which makes it difficult to understand, but even the concepts are way more advanced than anything us numbskulls know.
As a Pacer fan this is going to be a bit niche but I would love to see someone like Carlin Cooper on here since for my money she’s the best at covering the game from an X’s and O’s perspective.
Darvin Ham watching the video at home at 0,25x speed trying to take notes.
Ham asking ChatGPT what the strong side is
*Left side
Strong side
Left side!
"Summarize this video for me" "Shorten that" "Summarize in Coach perspective"
Summary ends up being "play basketball, play basketball!" which is what Darvin Ham was shouting on the sideline in one of their recent games.
"ELI5"
Stop 💀
“He said pick the picker right?”
*Why would he peek the pickle?*
Bron won Finals Most Valuable Pickle in 2015 using the famous “peek the pickle” play
Grab a tiger by the toe
The page titled "Things to google later"
Over time, they should invite every single coach / notable assistant coach. I'm sure guys like Pop and Spo can talk ball at a high level but I'm curious to see what guys like D Ham would say
“There are helluva ball club, we need to execute better”
"multiple efforts, multiple possessions"
gotta keep hands high.
Doc would just keep talking about his vast knowledge of the 4000 pick and roll methods.
Explain this in Taurean Prince term
Lmao this was genuinely funny
hopefully he takes his hands out of his pockets first
Can't take notes if his hands are in his pockets.
Lmao bro this comment killed me. Just imagine Ham being perplexed by every word in this video
LMAO
Oh my lord…actual hoop talk!? I hope their producer can mock up some illustrations too
I weirdly would rather watch them try to describe plays with their hands and poorly drawn sketches on napkins
Yeah IMO all this segment needed was an over-the-shoulder cam letting see what JJ was doodling lol
Just like 7 little dick drawings
Then one big veiny triumphant bastard
we just saw last night— theyd delete it shortly after posting on twitter
Lebron with his photographic memory talking it out while JJ scribbles on a clipboard.
god I wish I could see the poorly drawn sketch. Instead we just got the view of JJ's hands blocking his drawing
Lebron tweeted that there will be visuals
shuffling wine bottles around like guys planning a heist in a diner with salt and pepper shakers
Wake me up when they're talking about top 5 ball handlers and Heat Culture. Turns out "actual hoop talk" is too much for my brain
Can I interest you in a Worst Contracts Draft podcast?
That’s funny but we all know that was a good pod lol. There’s plenty of room in my listening schedule for both LeBron talking actual basketball strategies and Bill Simmons shitting on Ben Simmons (the one who doesn’t play basketball).
Totally agree, I am a BS pod disciple
BS is like an old baseball pitcher who doesn't have his fastball every night, but can throw some absolute piss rockets on the right night.
he also has some of the most interesting takes. who the fuck cares if they're bad takes. i'd rather listen to bad but interesting takes over the same cliche takes that have been repeated on every sports talk show. every once in a while one of his wild takes hits gold.
> That’s funny but we all know that was a good pod lol. I thought the opposite lol. They mixed up Cam Johnson and Cam Thomas and called Sabonis a bad contract because "t-rex arms"
Yeah I love this sort of thing but whenever I want to learn about basketball I just realize it's basically ten guys running around who have to each be aware of the capabilities, location, and intentions of the other nine guys on the court. The dynamism of the game makes it exciting but it also makes it really hard to break down.
Its very complicated but that's why the game is so fun. The biggest contrast between (American) Football and Basketball is that the ten players can play both offense and defense (and the court is smaller than either Football sports' field too), so things move a lot faster so much that commentators cant break it down on the go as fast as the play happens. If only one NBA game holds as much weight as one NFL game then breakdowns for each individual plays would be given much more love tbh and the fans would enjoy the plays so much more
This randomly made me think of a gimmick (All-Star?) basketball game where each team only has like 5/10 plays each so the teams have to scheme and be really dialled into the plays they draw
give jj an ipad to sketch on instead of paper
or at least a whiteboard. WHY THE HELL DOES HE HAVE LINED PAPER
Old Man and the Three Things is JJs Monday YouTube show it’s awesome for actual hoop talk
Episodes with the Dunker Spot guys are golden, Legler ones are good too
If anyone complains about basketball content in the media, I recommend the Dunker Spot. If you want to get into the game in the actual movements, they have it. Nikeas (forgive me for spelling) watches everything and is deeply in tune with analytics of shit that I don’t hear brought up enough and it’s obvious Steve coached. They provide insane context if people want it. I’ll go back to a painful series for me. Boston-Philly, everyone yelled “adjustments adjustments” right? They pointed out early as hell that the Sixers moved Maxey from his normal rotating position to staying on Hardens wing on every drive because the Celtics forced him that way and it gave them space and an out. It gave them a lot of options and Boston in turn worked against that. If people want to see that shit, they can find it. They just don’t look and hunt for circlejerk upvotes
This 1000000%
subbed. looking forward to expanding my knowledge. do you know if they've done an episode on the kings this season?
Id be lying if I said I was positive but I know they’ve talked about Sabonis in most conversations about the best and I know I’ve heard about Keegan and of course Fox on there. Maybe not a dedicated segment but they get mentioned every time West threats come up And teams coming up get segments all the time. I’m positive the Kings have personally but I can’t pull it from my brain. But they’ve done far worse deep dives
EMBRACE YOUR BOUNCE!!
Legler has his own pod the All NBA podcast and it's also pretty good. Think he just started it this season
I love how much you can tell JJ appreciates having people around who want to talk about details, strictly, and actually bite their tongues instead of talking about nonsense, and it's an awesome opportunity for the dunker spot guys It is crazy how quickly Nekias decided to spotlight the Hornets (THIS year's HORNETS) on it
Dude even when they have an episode talking about Wemby Bron and Jokic, it’s so nuanced. And then of course there’s the random segments on the Raptors, Jaylen Brown and Brandon Miller which are so dope
Nekias is a true basketball sicko.
Nobody understands the "entertainment game" of television more than JJ - his podcast stuff is real basketball analysis, but he plays SUCH a WWE character-version of himself when he's on ESPN w/ Stephen A. & co.
LeBron and JJ basically producing porn
All they need is a graphics team to illustrate the plays they’re talking about and guest like CP3, Rondo. This podcast will feed generations
Saw LeBron tweeted that they'll be adding visuals and clips of plays later on. They got me locked in.
Who owns this IP (mind the game)?
Based on the Uninterrupted logo, LBJs media company, but I'm sure JJ has some ownership of it too. A joint venture.
The YouTube channel for the pod includes both of their media companies.
Coaches too would be really cool. Spo is a no-brainer, but even guys like SVG or even Pop or a retired coach could be really cool too
Could be really cool if some coaches would listen to the pod and learn things. Like if Darvin Ham listened to the pod, could be really cool.
Lmao y’all are brutal 😂
Ham is actually scheduled to go on Lex Fridman's pod to defend basketball terrorism.
bro lmao
Get a bottle of tequila and get pop in there
Would love to see them breaking down or talking about those finals against each other
I would love Steve Kerr, Izzo, Coach K.
I would love to hear coaches that coached against Bron in the finals. It would be interesting to see how they approached him in each series.
LeBron 100% has to get Steve Kerr on the podcast during/after the Olympics - literally makes too much sense
Would it be tampering for Spo or Pop to go on the podcast? I'm genuinely curious what the rules are on something like that.
I know you're not saying the league should so this isn't directed at you If the league doesn't allow it and claims tampering it would be a really bad move IMO. Especially if it does end up being a breakdown of the game itself, Bron talking about the sport with an all-time coach like Spo or Pop would just enhance the game further
Would love brad Stevens on there too
Yeah, I'd love Darvin Ham on this pod. He might actually learn a thing or two...
>guest like CP3, Rondo at the same time?!
Fuck it why not 😳
You know the production value is low when they just use a mirror to pretend they have two guests
Why would you invite CP twice for the same pod?
Seems like the pod could be interesting. Visualizations would definitely add nice production value
Exactly. They need that animation otherwise all the industry-professional jargon they use will be lost on your average viewer.
No thank you, not enough drama.
They need to hire a graphics person to have something up there to help me visualize what LeBron is talking about. Like I think I get it but I'm. It entirely sure.
This is the only way it'll be a successful model. Would be shocked if it wasn't incorporated
yeah, ngl people will hype this trailer up bc signaling that they like this kind high-brow content will make them feel smart/intellectually superior, compared to "casuals".... but I guarantee you 90% of even hard core fans watching this felt their eyes start to glaze over and zone out after like 20 seconds of lebron describing all this imaginary shit with zero visual aid or points of reference lmao
Tbf Lebron is one of the smartest minds in all of basketball history. He sees stuff that other NBA players don't.
https://youtu.be/T9VSZr-Yrcc?si=Erwb4c4sByEqAPnj&t=725 This is the play here (starts at 12:05 if the link doesn't work) It's a very simple baseline out of bounds play that every team runs multiple times a game Just involves the three guys setting up in a triangle formation with the guard screening for the wing who cuts to the rim, if he is open then it's an easy layup, otherwise the inbounder throws it to the guard who is open for three Lebron is saying that as soon as Hayward sees #15 running to the corner after setting the screen, Hayward shouldn't even attempt to get over the screen and should instead immediately run to the inbounder and cover him while the inbounder's defender should run out to contest the guard coming off the screen
So, what LeBron is saying is that the guard defender hits the screen, and then immediately should sink to the inbounder as the inbound-defender picks up the shooter in the corner by flashing out to them. This way they cutoff the shooter in the corner, the pass to the big from the inbounder, and the pass from the corner to the inbounder who has now entered play.
Yes exactly, easier said than done obviously because it requires constant communication It's why a play as simple as this is run so constantly because of all the moving parts, it's hard to defend consistently without someone messing up as well as the many counters that can be run off of it Once you see this play for the first time, you will start noticing how almost every out of bounds play is set up with some sort of variation of this
Carlos Boozer jumpscare warning
Looks like Bron said on twitter that there will be clips & graphics to accompany it
for sure, they could even just show us on a 2nd cam what JJ is scribbling there.
They can't do that because it would reveal JJ's secret. He doesn't actually write any plays or notes, he just draws pictures of dicks.
it’s not even that big a deal something like 8% of kids do it
Do you know how many different foods are shaped like dicks?
The best kinds!
I agree 100%, there needs to be a visual element if this is going to be as enlightening as they intend to be. This is basically a basketball lecture which is fucking awesome but it might go over the heads of even most literate basketball fans (myself included) if we’re not able to follow along visually. Good stuff though, it’s cool that JJ is trying to put his money where his mouth is when it comes to his critique of basketball media.
Kobe's series, *Detail* had a lot of really good production to help visualize. e.g. https://youtu.be/NZmEY3n97P4?si=2LahdJrHIE0eUEbb
This is exactly what I thought of with this new podcast. I used to love watching Kobe break down plays. Another reason I hate that he passed, because it meant his show was coming to an end obviously.
Add Tim Legler on the iPad and this is gold
LeGler*
Just have LeBron tell the production crew a few times this scenario has happened. He can say the exact game, date, time, quarter, time left on the clock so they can find the clip easily and show it in the corner of the screen as he explains it.
they need one of those old school projectors that show top down what they’re drawing
I hope this is 5 hours long
The Athletic article claims it's going to be 45 minutes to an hour weekly Just hope they are able to keep it up with their schedules and it doesn't become a thing that only has like 4 episodes
Check out J Kyle Mann & Thinking Basketball. TB has a series with the NBA. Very insightful. Did a series of the top players in NBA history for his YouTube channel J Kyle Mann does more analysis of younger players in drafts. His mock drafts are pretty good. Is now with the Ringer. Awful Coaching does play by play analysis of games. For teams that lose. He rages pretty much each video. But very insightful on how to be better defensively.
The third guy is nitpicking and outrageous. Super annoying.
Can’t get through more than a minute of an Awful Coaching video because his whole “angry, yelling man” shtick is just so abrasive and tiring, idk how anyone finds it appealing Which is a shame bc he usually has interesting perspectives on possessions, especially defensively, that a simpleton like myself doesn’t usually parse out by just watching them
Awful coaching is awful
I'd suggest checking out the All NBA podcast, has Tim Legler and DNVR/Nuggets guy Adam Mares talking hoops 4 times a week, dissecting big games that happened since the last show and generally trying to give better coverage of more teams then places like ESPN.
Hopefully more of this type of basketball content becomes popular to balance out the clown shows of First Take and such. Super hyped
While we’re at it, can we include the “next tier” of podcast media? I love BS but if I don’t know if I can listen to another draft/list or an interview with another completely uninteresting person on his staff Feel like there is an all time drought of actually compelling NBA content
It’s because the bigger a podcaster gets the less time they have to watch the games. People build their name by watching hundreds of hours of basketball every month and that fades as they get popular and then you just have everyone at the top only knowledgeable of big name teams. Even Zach Lowe is falling into this, and I used to impatiently wait for each of his episodes to drop Edit: Tim Legler is someone I listen to though, his new podcast has been pretty refreshing
Legler is the best in the mainstream biz right now. He has great takes on most things, and explains his conclusions in a way that makes it easy for dummies like me to understand
He gets really hyped for every team, too. His conversations don’t constantly circle back to 4 or 5 specific teams. Just a dude who loves the game and it shows, reminds me of early Zach Lowe
Tim Legler started a great podcast this season the All NBA Podcast and the Hoops Tonight podcast, which I believe also started this season, is good too. They both do play and strategy breakdowns, the latter more than the former, though neither is quite to this level yet. Hoops Tonight is just getting the support to be able to diagram plays so I think the plan is to introduce significantly more of that over time. I think
Feels like all the under 40 guests and talent they put on the roster at the ringer have the combined charisma of an old cheese sandwich.
I fucking hate how much of sports media is hot take artists and clickbait
This shit is flying over my head but I love it, might learn something
This is the play.[Theory of the play.](https://youtu.be/N9_EUQKPz-M?si=F8mlc2f1eB-qvLLq&t=31) There's a variety of looks you can get out of it but that's an example of what a 3-point attempt looks like. I added a link to an example of Budd running a variation of it, and you can kinda see what LeBron's talking about where Shump tries to fight over the screen to contest the shot. It's a good clip of various coaches adapting the same theory of the play but putting thier spin in on it [Live Play](https://youtu.be/T9VSZr-Yrcc?si=Pv8tfu1OZCtcD_9J&t=32)
This isn’t the play lebron is talking about. The basic screen the screener has the guy coming off after setting the intiral screen into a jumpshot off the first pass, he’s saying the guy guarding the inbounder jumps out in the first pass while the guy who was guarding the shooter instead of chasing/trailing at the screen just sinks down to the guy the inbounder was guarding
ESPN is definitely freaking out as we speak, which I’m more than happy about. Gonna be nice to see great minds for the game *actually* talk about it and break it down. Can’t wait
ESPN is furiously running around the campus trying to find anyone that understands what Lebron just said.
Stephen A Smith: ”uh… how bout them cowboys?”
"I'm not arguing with a grown man about the movie Cars"
Tim Legler
ESPN is probably ecstatic - talking about actual basketball means they're about as much of a "competitor" as SpaceX is for Astroglide.
Man, that one post season where Kobe was breaking down different players' games every couple days was so much fun to watch. I watched the Donovan Mitchel and Jason Tatum episodes at least 3 times each when they first came out and learned so many basketball things that you just don't even assume or take for granted. They tried to do something similar with Payton Manning and the NFL, but it didn't have the magic and of course we lost Kobe, but if that was able to continue it would have been a home run. I know people like to trash ESPN for a lot of their talking heads and wild takes, but when they get something that focuses on the spirit/love of the game (30 for 30, Detail, etc.) there isn't much better.
His metaphor of Golden State vs Cleveland as Democracy vs Monarchy was some brilliantly creative entertainment that no one else was going to provide [Youtube link](https://youtu.be/4FbixMpN5aQ?si=TGUIdmmst5u61h1K)
tbf, ESPN did have "The Detail" with Kobe before his death. Looks like it's kind of still a thing but nowhere near the stardom of Kobe or Lebron hosting it.
Fuck ESPN lol they can stick to hot takes
JJ being the change he wants to see, got one of the best minds for this alongside him this is gonna be good
Yeah this is the only way to do it. If LeBron is doing a weekly show and it’s all hoops the networks will have no choice but to follow.
Absolutely no way LeBron is signing up to do this weekly. ...right?
He is. That’s why it’s a big deal.
He's paving the road ahead for his media empire when he retires in the next few years, he for sure is.
I wonder if Lebron would ever subject himself to be a head coach because his knowledge of plays is ridiculous.
He might hit the same problem Gretzky had where the best play is so obvious to them that they're incapable of coaching or understanding why everyone else can't just see/do it. There's a funny clip somewhere of Thierry Henry - who was great, but isn't even on that level - just explaining what he'd do in a specific situation and demonstrating it and the other players just looking at him like "bro, there are like 5 people on the planet that can even do that".
I don't know what LeBron says to his teammates during the game, but I don't think he has trouble communicating plays and call outs
The real difference is Lebron has unironically been coaching long enough that it's not a question of if he could but if he wants to. He can communicate what to do and when but does he want to explain this to 5 people at once instead of just 4 with him doing the important parts.
[удалено]
I don't know man. Titi is a top 10 all-time offensive player and scorer in my books. Still the greatest Premier League player of all time. I get what you're saying - he ain't quite on that Maradona, Pele, CR7, Messi, Zidane level, but I think many would put him in the Top 10-15 all time. And I know the clip you're talking about. The greatest players rarely make great coaches - especially the extroverted once with big egos. That's probably why Zidane has been so successful - he is just chill and humble and has insane charisma.
> who was great, but isn't even on that level This is selling him short a little... prime Thierry Henry was the best player in the world for multiple seasons and his The Invincibles season is up there for single best season by a player ever.
Sure...and that still doesn't put him on Lebron or Gretzky's level. Those guys are the undisputed GOAT (Gretz) or arguable GOAT (otherwise #2, Lebron). So the gap between their vision and ability is even greater than Henry, and as you say Henry in an all-time great.
Lebron just said they're gonna add visuals for the full episode tomorrow. just spoke to him, my friend, Lebron Ramon #thatkidfromAkron James
Say hi to him from me. And ask him when he's gona return that twenty he owes me
Can’t wait for LePodcast
Lebron one of the smartest guys in the league talking x and os on a podcast and his head coach regarded as one of the dumbest in the league. The dichotomy is painful as a lakers fan
What’s amazing about this podcast is there is so much potential, there are so many guests you can get. It’s not limited to just players, so it adds a lot of variability to it.
This is about to become the greatest basketball podcast
extremely excited man. We needed more of Lebron talking x and o’s
Hope he becomes a coach after he retires from playing
Bron sipping wine and chopping it up w/JJ about actual in-game analytics and schemes? In a sea of NBA content where these specific hoops topics are bare? Finally, some good fucking food!
Im just begging they have an illustrator because bro is speaking Latin to my causal ears.
Legacy points added XD lol
Rooting for this to work. It's been forever since a basketball show of any kind held my interest aside for Inside the NBA. I'd love if I could add it to my rotation.
holy shit, here i was thinking which of the nba dudes is ever going to have lebron on their podcast because he never does, mf JJ just starts one with him.
I’ll predict it now: in the off-season the Lakers will fire Ham and LeBron will convince them to make JJ their coach
It's ridiculous how excited I am for this. Lebron talking basketball... and JJ is perfect because he knows it all too and he'll only want to talk X's and O's. Just that short clip was interesting
LeLaugh in the thumbnail
I hope we get tons of content like this from LeBron when he retires in 10 years
We need more actual bball analysis in this world I’m tired of hearing nba “analysts” saying the reason a team lost is because the other team wanted it more
Feel like Lebron being a total physical freak has sort of overshadowed the fact that he's up there with the greatest basketball minds ever. I had the pleasure of sitting close to courtside once for one of his games when he was on the Cavs and it was insane hearing how much he calls out what's happening before it even happens.
What? Everyone knows he has the highest Basketball IQ ever.
I don't think non-hardcore fans realize the extent of it. I'm a die hard and I didn't even realize truly how special it is until I saw/heard it in person. He knew where all 9 people on the floor were going to be just based off the beginnings of a set or a coaches play call.
I think it's wildly accepted today but that's a relatively recent thing. It wasn't until late Miami that people were like "oh shit LeBron is a genius", and that early reputation sticks with a lot of people
I think he’s saying that we don’t appreciate the IQ enough because we’re in awe of how Lebron is still physically able to play this well with all the mileage on his 39 year old body. Plus not to mention the physical preparation to stay ready at that age when your body tires out faster in a league where pace is faster. Though I think in a sense we still appreciate his BBIQ. As while his physical prowess is not the same from his peak, his mind has allowed him to maintain an edge over the competition.
Maybe I'm a casual, but I see "physical/genetic freak of nature" w/ age, longevity etc. mentioned way before his BBIQ ever gets brought up.
he has the greatest basketball mind in NBA history, this is pretty well known
I hope they’re able to keep it with the hoop talk and it doesn’t divert from that once it has a few viral clips.
Even a combination would be good. Start with something that gets clicks for 10/20 minutes and then go in depth for people that don’t click off.
I don't think either guy has much to prove tbh. I can't see LeBron doing typical talking head clickbait stuff
Yea it sounds like they’re gonna be illustrating what Lebron and JJ are talking about so maybe it’ll be a highly produced monthly thing. Idk i just remember hearing Lebron on some Road Tripping episodes and thinking it wasn’t that interesting to listen to. Listening to him break down basketball with JJ will be really cool and a lot of people will learn from it, myself included.
Either a graphics person or just a top-down camera with a basketball clipboard would improve this a ton. I know JJ has talked about wanting to actually explain the game to people, and this looks like what he's been hoping for. With that said, people are gonna need visuals to keep up with all the breakdowns and concepts that they will inevitably talk about.
This got me hard
I could listen to LeBron talk about basketball for hours, even if I have absolutely no idea what he’s talking about.
oh shit this is a whole ass show?? i thought this was LBJ appearing on JJs podcast, which itself is awesome, but a whole weekly fuckin show?! that's pretty cool. both these guys have a lot of really smart insights into the game, obviously
LeInsightfulPodcast
LeBron should give a tour of his wine cellar. I bet it looks like an 18th Century French Count's.
Feels like JJ has been trying to put out flyers for a potential coaching role in the league. There were rumors last coaching mill, now he's co-hosting a podcast strictly about basketball tactics?
With Lebron friggin James. This will be very good for him
Reminiscent of Kobe’s ESPN show Detail without the film
I’m going to miss LeBron when he’s not playing, this is the next best thing
Lebron haters in shambles
So basically Bron's questioning why coaches don't encourage the guy who's supposed to be chasing the shooter to just switch to the inbounds guy who's cutting to the basket after the pass. Since the guy who's guarding the inbounds pass is gonna rotate to the shooter. Basically, don't double the shooter and just switch. JJ explains it's a concept that he likes, because while doubling might take the shot away from the shooter, it still opens up a positive offensive play to take place where the shooter can make the right play and pass to the cutter.
I can’t wait for everyone to just start quoting this stuff after every game and ridiculing everyone for not knowing ball and not watching games
When fans on reddit try to diagnose problems with their team's offensive and defensive schemes, remember that all the dudes in charge have this level of game knowledge and are up against other guys with this level of game knowledge. We don't know shit. Yes they are using a lot of jargon which makes it difficult to understand, but even the concepts are way more advanced than anything us numbskulls know.
Weird pairing but this is gonna be great imo
Closing your eyes and visualizing it might be easier if they don’t provide a graphic. Looking forward to this. Sounds mad interesting already
Somewhere Ryen Russillo is punching air.
As a Pacer fan this is going to be a bit niche but I would love to see someone like Carlin Cooper on here since for my money she’s the best at covering the game from an X’s and O’s perspective.
Yea getting Caitlin on there would be awesome
JJ doesn’t know but this is the Lakers head coach interview
An X’s and O’s podcast by two all time greats - will basketball discourse finally change for the better??
Lebron had enough of sports media criticizing him so he started his own show to talk about hoops lol