It is the JR Sportbree Show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. I'm coming to you live from Atlanta, Georgia.
Thank you to everybody tuned in, locked in all over North America. I hope you're safe. I hope you're well. I hope you're amazing.
I hope you have had a tremendous Wednesday. If not, I'll try my best to make sure that you can have a good time here on the Infinity Sports Network for the next three hours. This show does get started every weekday at 6 p.m. Eastern, 3 Pacific. I'm in Atlanta, Georgia. Thank you so much to our producer in New York City holding things down, Ryan Botcher. You can always listen to the show on the free Odyssey app, your local Infinity Sports Network affiliate. If you got Sirius XM, it's channel 375. And if you got yourself a smart speaker, be smart.
Ask it to play the Infinity Sports Network. The NHL Stanley Cup Finals about an hour from puck drop up in Edmonton, Canada. We got the Oilers hosting the Florida Panthers who won last year's Stanley Cup, and they beat the Oilers.
So the Carolina Panthers are looking, or excuse me, thinking about Bryce Young. The Florida Panthers are looking to go back to back and beat the same team that they beat last year. We'll keep you up to date on that one as that game gets started. Thank you so much to Mick Kern from Sirius XM for joining us last hour to break down this year's Stanley Cup Finals. Hey, we talked about the new format of Team USA basketball versus the world in this upcoming NBA All-Star game.
We had Adam Silver break the news earlier today on Fox. Ryan Day, he's trying to break the mold. He wants further adjustments to the college football playoff. He wants four teams from the Big Ten. He wants four teams from the SEC.
Ryan Day, he's like, man, we won the championship. We can still make some adjustments. And so we have so much more to get into as this show continues on. If you want to be a part of it, it's really simple. Here's the phone number 888-710-4ISN. That's 888-710-4ISN. You can find me online. I exist on the internet. I am everywhere at JR Sport Brief. That's everywhere at JR Sport Brief.
It is Wednesday. If you're new to the show, every single Wednesday I bring you a new top six list. And with the news today that the NBA is taking its All-Star game to an international format, USA versus the world, I think this is a good opportunity next hour to give you a top six list of the best international stars that the NBA has ever seen.
Yeah, I got that top six list coming your way in about an hour from now. Of course, at the end of the show, we'll talk about a few things that took place this day in sports history. There's a lot of crazy fans out here, internationally, locally. We'll get into that. Some of the stories that I'm hearing are nuts. Now, I'll give you a preview.
It was a group of fans in Europe who decided to hide out in a very interesting place in order to see a very big game. And we'll talk about that later on in the show. If you want to call me up, the number again is 888-710-4ISN. That's 888-710-4ISN.
Thank you to everybody for tuning in wherever you might be. Now, speaking of international, I don't know if you'd consider Phoenix, Arizona to be an international city. Certainly a vacation spot, a destination for people here in the United States of America. We had a lot of people who make Phoenix, Arizona their home base. They make it their home. They retire there. They relax.
They party. They do it all. Everything from Phoenix to Scottsdale.
All of it. Except for Kevin Durant is trying to leave. And I don't blame Kevin Durant for trying to leave because the Phoenix Suns are a train wreck. They slapped together a team with Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, and Devin Booker. And they said, everybody else on the team, they might as well just add eight other JRs.
Like that's not good enough to do anything. And so the Suns and their new owner, Matt Ishbia, this man went swinging for the fences and he missed. This man got himself a fancy new toy. And he said, I'm just going to buy everything that I can. He bought a lot of style.
He didn't buy substance. He brought on Bradley Beal with an injury history. Who's not a point guard. You already have Devin Booker, who's a shooting guard. You have Kevin Durant, who's one of the best scoring players that the league has ever seen, especially for a guy who is seven feet tall. And so the Suns after going to the NBA finals with Monty Williams, winning coach of the year, have brought on Frank Vogel who lasted one season, brought on coach Budenholzer, gave him the boot. Try to get rid of Kevin Durant in order to get some assets back.
Try the swing in Jimmy Butler, unfortunately couldn't get Bradley Beal to wave his no trade clause. And so naturally the only guy you can get anything for is a 37 year old Kevin Durant. He's still a great scorer. Still a great jump shooter.
But come on, man. He's not one of the top, top dudes in the world. Still one of the top scorers.
If he's healthy enough to go out there and play. And so the Phoenix Suns, they're a disaster. When most people are looking to, you know, move into Phoenix, Arizona, Kevin Durant is looking to move out. But at least today, the Phoenix Suns, they got their hands on a brand new head coach.
His name? Well, take a listen to this report courtesy of CBS Sports HQ. Breaking NBA news for the second straight day. It's head coaching news. The Suns naming Cavs assistant Jordan Ott as their new head coach, according to ESPN. He's been an assistant in the league for about a decade, most recently spending one season in Cleveland on Kenny Atkinson's staff. He replaces Mike Budenholzer, who was fired back in April.
Suns missing the playoffs last year. Who? I think that's what most people say. When I heard that guy's name, I said, who? Ryan Botcher, did you know who the hell that guy was? So I didn't know his name, but he has an odd look to him and he looked familiar.
So I was like, okay. Yeah. He was the Nets like bench guy that they'd interview after halftime just to get like a quick word on how the team is. So he was with the team, I don't know, six years ago, seven years ago. And he just has that odd shaped head.
And that's how I remembered him. Wow. Wow. Okay.
Wow. I don't know if he'd want, I don't know if he or his parents want to be known as having a kid with the odd shaped head, but that's one way to remember Jordan Ott. This man was a associate coach with Kenny Atkinson for the Cleveland Cavaliers last year. You mentioned him working with the Brooklyn Nets.
Obviously Kenny Atkinson was there. He also worked for the Hawks here in Atlanta, Georgia. He worked for the Los Angeles Lakers and now Jordan Ott, the man with the odd shaped head that most people have never heard of in their lives. He's now the head coach of the Phoenix Suns. And there's only one thing that this means. Unfortunately for Jordan Ott, this man is going to be a glorified babysitter.
That's it. He is just going to steer the ship for the Phoenix Suns as they go through some rocky seas. There is no way in hell offloading Kevin Durant for I don't know who they give up or what they get back. I assume it's going to be a mix of young assets. It ain't going to be Kevin Durant. And understand this man is 37, can still go out there and get you close to 30 a night, 27, 28 a night.
I get and understand all of that. You ain't getting no championship team in return. And so if you think about all these coaches, I mean we talked about it yesterday, that have already been fired, that have won championships. Damn it, if you think about the Suns, they were in the NBA Finals a few years ago with Devin Booker, Chris Paul and DeAndre Ayton. They have a completely different team still anchored by Devin Booker.
And let's be real, he's probably going to be the last man standing unless he wakes up and says, I won't be here either. And apparently Devin Booker had a lot of input as to the hiring of Jordan Ott. Now, if I'm a player in the NBA, do I want to bring on a coach that I think is going to challenge me? Do I want to bring on a veteran with a reputation? Do I want to bring on someone that is going to be my boss? Or do I want to, as a player, work with a coach and under a coach who is just going to be my quote unquote partner?
Someone that I can work with, someone that I can have input on. I mean, you got Matt Ishbia, the owner, saying that Devin Booker, yeah, he's one of our guys and I'm communicating with him. Devin Booker might as well run the team then, okay?
I feel bad for the Suns fans. Matt Ishbia swung for the fences. You had James Jones who was running the organization before Matt Ishbia was there. And he took his time, did not want to acquire and give up picks for Kevin Durant, didn't want to do the same thing for Bradley Beal. New owner comes in and you just, you just did what he wanted to.
He said, I need the fancy new toy. And now the Phoenix Suns have paid for it. They're paying multiple coaches for it. And now they're bringing in a new guy who's just there to eventually take a beating. And even with younger head coaches, come on now, we've seen Taylor Jenkins help turn the Memphis Grizzlies around and then get shown the door.
We've had veteran coaches who've been on multiple teams, guys like Mike Malone who worked out in Sacramento with the Kings and then actually helped take the Denver Nuggets to a championship. He got fired. And so, I mean, you start thinking about whether or not Jordan Ott is going to last.
Let's just be real. The odds are not in his favor. Nobody knows who the hell he is.
He has no resume. I mean, he may end up being the next Eric Spulstra for all we know, but the odds of that very, very low. We've entered into a new era in sports and not just the NBA where the players make so much money. The coaches with a chance and time to develop a team or roster, yeah, those opportunities are going to come far and few in between. Jordan Ott will be lucky if he can see through the growth of a team, post Kevin Durant, whoever the hell comes in, and then also maybe some playoff success. At least maybe Jordan Ott needs to be happy if he can grow the team into a playoff contender, if they can be consistent, at least he won't get treated like the Knicks treated Tibbs yesterday. So congratulations to Jordan Ott, the newest head coach of the Phoenix Suns, the man with the odd shaped head.
Good for him. And let's just see where Kevin Durant goes. I think that'll be a little bit more important to the Suns future as well. And then speaking of Tom Thibodeau, yeah, he's been fired for more than 24 hours now.
I'm sure he's in Connecticut somewhere. He hasn't identified a beach as of yet, but apparently the New York Knicks have already started to think about his replacement. And of course you don't fire a guy unless you feel strongly about his replacement. And one of those names that has been thrown and bandied about is Johnny Bryant, who was on tip staff and then was also in Cleveland alongside Jordan Ott. And so apparently Johnny Bryant was up for the Phoenix Suns coaching position and Jordan Ott got it. And so Johnny Bryant is still available, used to work with Tibbs.
I'm not going to say that where's loyalty. If he gets offered the job, I'm sure that he is most certainly going to go ahead and take it. And you know what, let's listen to Ian Begley. He covers the New York Knicks and he was on SNY TV. That's the sports station in New York. And Ian Begley was talking about whether or not Johnny Bryant will get the gig.
Listen to this. Well, look, the timing is interesting because he reportedly is a finalist for the Phoenix Suns job. And so Phoenix may be making a decision soon, but I wouldn't necessarily connect those dots and term Johnny Bryant a strong candidate.
I don't think that's the case at the moment. I think the Knicks are more likely to take their time. I don't think they're trying to beat the buzzer, beat Phoenix to a decision here.
I think they're going to more likely to take their time and talk to different coaches. And look, if Bryant is an option after the Phoenix thing, maybe he continues to be on their radar. But I don't think they did this with the idea that we need to beat the Suns in hiring Johnny Bryant. Come on. Johnny Bryant might have a little bit more of a name than Jordan Ott. But let's be real here.
Does it matter? I mean, if the New York Knicks, well, I don't think it's the smartest idea. I think getting rid of Tom Thibodeau was actually a dumb idea if you're the New York Knicks, because what are you doing? You're making either a lateral move and bringing in just another recycled coach with the name, or you're bringing in a younger coach who is now going to have more pressure on him to now exceed what Tom Thibodeau did.
It's just ridiculous. The Knicks' largest issue wasn't coaching. It was the roster.
And that hasn't been adjusted yet. That won't be able to be adjusted until we start getting into the draft and the off season and free agency and able to move pieces around. And so when you think about some of the other names that have been tossed around to potentially replace Tom Thibodeau as head coach of the New York Knicks, these names are, I don't want to say hilarious, but it's like, this is why the Knicks are a joke. You have Mike Malone.
The man is from New York. He won a title with the Nuggets. I don't want to call him a Tom Thibodeau clone, but people will look at him and just go, does he play the bench? Isn't one of the reasons that he just got fired because he didn't dive deeper into the bench and play young guys? Why the hell do you want to bring him on? Because he won a championship? Is he bringing Jokic?
I think the answer is no. Okay. I've heard this name. Jeff Van Gundy.
Come on now. Jeff Van Gundy spent last year with Ty Lue with the Los Angeles Clippers. Ty Lue used to play for him with the Houston Rockets. Why would Jeff Van Gundy, why would Jeff Van Gundy who's good friends with Tom Thibodeau and quit on the New York Knicks about 24 years ago, the way that they just treated his buddy Tom Thibodeau, why would Jeff Van Gundy say, I need to go back and scratch an itch with the New York Knicks, even though they just ditched one of my best friends.
Why would he do that? You know, I could see the New York Knicks bringing in Taylor Jenkins, but where's the excitement in that? What, just because he's younger? Is the roster going to get better?
And then in the case of Johnny Bryant, big freaking deal. I think that that would be a weak move. Like the Knicks are going to put their their eggs in a basket of a rookie head coach. Like you fired someone who just, Tom Thibodeau, forget taking four out of five years, the Knicks to the playoffs, and he's been multiple time coach of the year. All right. People say that now he's stuck in his ways and he doesn't change.
I don't know. When Kobe Bryant was alive, Kobe Bryant certainly appreciated working out with him in Philadelphia when he was in high school. I mean, you hear guys like Kevin Garnett. I mean, people, legends of the game have described him, winners of the game have described him as being one of the most meticulous and smartest individuals that they've ever been around. But for the New York Knicks and their loser players, I guess Tom Thibodeau was just not clear enough on what he wanted.
Maybe they just needed some better players. Yeah. Wow. Good luck to the New York Knicks. It's the JR Sportbreeze Show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. 888-710-4ISN.
That's 888-710-4ISN. We come back on the other side of the break. I do want to get the thoughts of our producer, Ryan Batra, as to what he believes the New York Knicks should do when it comes down to their coaching search. And then speaking of younger coaches, Mike McDonald, remember him? The Seattle Seahawks? This man is now leading a team with Sam Darnold as his starting quarterback. And we are in June.
He is already having to defend his starting quarterback, Sam Darnold. We'll hear what Mike McDonald had to say. If you can call as well, 888-710-4ISN. It's the JR Sportbreeze Show on the Infinity Sports Network. You're listening to the JR Sportbreeze. It is the JR Sportbreeze Show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. 888-710-4ISN.
That's 888-710-4ISN. Right before we went to break, we talked about the brand new head coach of the Phoenix Suns. His name is Jordan Ott. Nobody knows who he is. Nobody's heard of the guy. Maybe you've seen him here.
Maybe you've seen him there. He was an assistant with the Hawks, the Nets, the Lakers. Our producer, Ryan Batra, remembers him being an assistant with the Brooklyn Nets. And now he's going to run the show for the Phoenix Suns. Well, the Phoenix Suns are certainly a team, I don't want to say in turmoil, but certainly in flux as Kevin Durant is likely to be moved after the Suns attempted to trade him this past season when Bradley Beal didn't want to leave or wave his no trade clause.
The Suns have no depth and it's almost any uncertainty that Kevin Durant is going to be moving on and Jordan Ott will be a glorified babysitter for Devin Booker and Bradley Beal for however much longer he will be sticking around in Phoenix, Arizona. Good luck. A lot of luck to Jordan Ott. And at least the check is good.
At least this is a start. You know, I can't look at this job as a bad one. I think all things considered, he's going to be a head coach. And if he has any type of success, he's still going to be looked upon as a coach. People, you know, these coaches get recycled and so it may not be the worst job in the world, but to think that he may walk away or lead this team to a championship, you can throw that on out the window. And then we talked about the New York Knicks and this Johnny Bryant conversation and Mike Malone or Taylor Jenkins. Botcher, what are your thoughts on what the Knicks should do now that they've relieved Tibbs of his coaching duties? Well, the perfect world is Jay Wright, but of course he's shown zero interest in the NBA and probably will never coach again at his age. But yeah, I think as an overall, why would you join the circus? Like he's such a classy individual and yeah, there's nothing but glowing things to say about him.
I couldn't see, he's not a dummy. He knows if I go into Madison Square Garden, it's just going to be a, it'll be a blight. I mean, the opportunity to coach your former players led by Jalen Brunson sounds great, but yeah, you're right. That ain't happening. Yeah, they would have to give him an insane amount of money that even the NBA won't do. But I think the Knicks need experience here.
Johnny Bryant great was with Tibbs. I think you have to go for either one Taylor Jenkins or Mike Malone. Mike Malone has the championship. Taylor Jenkins, you could say probably succeeded with less talent. And I think Malone is the fit. If they don't get him, I think you're playing with hot water.
Yeah, you have to you have to look at experience. And then still, it's just a matter of, okay, we have brought in a new voice. And so who else is Mike Malone going to go out there and coach that was different than this year. So we'll see what the New York Knicks do. It's not like some guys walking into the building and it's going to move the Knicks, you know, any closer, or let me know how they say any closer. It's not like they're going to hire anybody who's going to make anybody go, oh my God, we are definitely winning a championship. As Ryan said, the Knicks either way, they've made their decision, they got to live with it.
The New York Knicks are playing with fire. Different situation than the one Jordan Ott is stepping into with the Phoenix Suns. On another sport, I did mention a head coach. Last year was the first season that Michael McDonald, Mike McDonald had a chance and an opportunity to coach an NFL team. Mike McDonald, to the shock of certainly me, he went 10 and 7 last year. His first year as a head coach with the Seattle Seahawks, they went 10 and 7.
But things are different, okay? Geno Smith is gone. And in, DK Metcalf is gone as well.
Let's let's keep that in mind. In comes Sam Darnold. Yes, Sam Darnold, who was a candidate, was very close to winning Comeback Player of the Year. What did he come back from?
Just being bad. Sam Darnold getting all this money now to be the new starting quarterback for Seattle. And you think about the year that Sam had with the Minnesota Vikings, 14 and 3, 4,300 yards, 35 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, and then he stunk against the Lions. And then he found out about the playoffs and he stunk against the Rams. He was sacked 48 times last year. And before he got to Minnesota, well, Sam Darnold is and was a backup. He was a bruised quarterback with the New York Jets, 63 touchdowns, 56 interceptions before he became a minute, or excuse me, before he became a Minnesota Viking. Who's to say that Sam Darnold doesn't join Seattle, even though Clint Kubiak is the new offensive coordinator?
He worked with Sam Darnold in San Francisco. Who's to say that Sam Darnold doesn't just turn into a pumpkin? I mean, you think about that, well, his old ass movie. Bontre, it was Cinderella where she turned into a pumpkin or the cart turned into a pumpkin? Yeah, the cart, the carriage turned into a pumpkin. And then she became the bum-ass sister again, too, right? No, she just lost the dress and whatnot. Oh, but she was no longer a bum?
She was never really a bum. She was just poor. Well, they had her upstairs. The sisters were living her life. They had her scrubbing the floor with a toothbrush.
Yeah, because she was the stepsister. Well, is Sam Darnold, is he going to be the bum upstairs scrubbing the floorboards again, or is he going to be a top quarterback in the NFL? We don't know. Midnight, my last, it's a questionable mark for the Seahawks because they're not that good.
They're not. And so I think Sam Darnold just had a career year, got himself a nice deal here with Seattle. And so because everybody knows Sam Darnold, pre-Minnesota Vikings, Sam Darnold was, well, I just told you, he was mediocre.
He was average. There was a threat when Sam Darnold was coming out of USC that he would just be a turnover machine. And that's what we've seen. I mean, he's with the New York Jets and granted the New York Jets. I know there was a lot of conversations last week from Caleb Williams about whether or not he wanted to go to Chicago. Chicago's where quarterbacks go to die. Well, Sam Darnold was in New York looking at Bill Belichick talking about seeing ghosts. He's on a three-year, $100 million contract. Let's be real. Sam Darnold is unlikely to see all of that money.
I think about half of it is guaranteed. But because everybody knows about Sam Darnold, everybody knows that they just also drafted Jalen Milro. They also have a Drew Locke, just in case they need to break the glass in case of an emergency. I guess Drew Locke didn't like his time in New York.
He's like, hey, let me just go back elsewhere. Mike McDonald, heading into his second year, was already asked. He has already been asked about whether or not Sam Darnold is going to keep the job.
Is he the starting quarterback? Mike McDonald is already too through with this, and it's June. You guys are crazy.
There's no way to ask the question without sounding like an idiot. I respect you're going to ask it, but you guys, this is a crazy question. Sam's our starting quarterback. We love him.
He's doing a tremendous job. I think it's funny that the media is out there for the first day and all of a sudden they know exactly how good we're going to be and how good all the players are and all the tempos. We haven't even put on pads yet.
We haven't made one tackle. And it turns out in practice, it's a great way to build culture by letting guys know that they can't make mistakes. That's exactly what we're shooting for. So go out to practice, be tight, make sure you don't make a mistake because then God forbid you're the worst player of all time because you made one bad throw or one bad decision.
That is not what we're trying to build. We want these guys to go prepare the right way and then when they go out on the practice field, go freaking let it rip and then we'll go fix it. We'll go. We got time.
It's June. I mean, Sam made a grill. I bought a lot of great throws yesterday. He's gashing us on third and goal to start the day out too. So yeah, that was kind of a crazy question. Yeah, but when you're Sam Darnold, it's natural for people to ask questions because people are just waiting on this guy to be a failure. They're waiting on him to throw an interception. I remember vividly watching him as a rookie with the New York Jets.
I remember watching the whole beginning portion of his career and it's just a matter of when. Not if Sam Darnold is going to be the football away to the other team. Some of his throws have been maddening and so there are.
Let's be real. And by the way, Mike McDonald was having a chat with some Seattle sports radio hosts. Are there any expectations for the Seahawks? OK, we know DK Metcalf is gone.
Jackson Smith and Jigba really started to supplant him as the number one receiver last year. Cooper Cup. He's in the fold now as well. Cooper Cup basically back home in Washington. Marquez Valdez scantling. No offense.
Zach Charbonnet is there as well. I mean, come on now. Seattle. I don't want to say that they're doomed. I'd be shocked if they go 10 and seven.
I mean, I think everybody was shocked last year. Taking a look at Sam Darnold and going 14 and three and replacing JJ McCarthy. Mike McDonald.
Good luck. I feel I used to talk about lateral moves. Tom Thibodeau, whoever the hell they replace, if they decide to put Mike Malone in that spot with the New York Knicks, we are looking at another lateral move here by putting Sam Darnold in a spot with Geno Smith. A matter of fact, I think.
Well, I don't think I know. More recently, you want to go by track record? Geno Smith has been more reliable and Sam Darnold, well, he got his shot last year because JJ McCarthy had a torn meniscus in his knee. Otherwise, that dude would have been riding the pine. And who knows, maybe JJ McCarthy would have stunk. We're going to find out about that sooner than later. But Sam Darnold, oh, he hit the jackpot.
Good for him. If you're in Seattle, just don't expect anything more than what you already have. I need you to thank O'Reilly Auto Parts for all of your car care needs.
Get guaranteed low prices and excellent customer service from the professional parts people at O'Reilly Auto Parts. It's the JR sport re-show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. If you want to call me up, the number is 888-710-4ISN. That's 888-710-4ISN. Yeah, if you got faith in Sam Darnold, knock yourself out.
Feel free to give me a call. At the top of the hour, I told you we have a new top six list coming your way in about 30 minutes. We'll talk about the top six international players that the NBA has ever seen. Yeah, the NBA All-Star game is going USA versus the world. When we come back, we're going to talk about the NBA Finals.
You have members of the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers. They sat down today with the media ahead of Game 1. And of course, we know that in about 30 minutes, we have Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals. So we have a lot to talk about.
We have a lot to do. You're listening to the JR sport re-show on the Infinity Sports Network. And right now, this minute, this second, it's time for a news flash with Rich Ackerman. You're listening to the JR sport brief. It is the JR sport re-show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. 888-710-4ISN. That's 888-710-4ISN. That's 888-710-4ISN.
888-710-4ISN. At the top of the hour, it's going to be time for a new top six list. We are going to take a look at some of the best international players that the NBA has ever seen. Today, the NBA announced, the commissioner Adam Silver announced that the NBA in its next All-Star game in 2026 is moving to a format where it is Team USA versus the world. International players like Viktor Wimbenyama, Jokic. I don't know about Embiid.
I have no idea about him. Luka will certainly be out there representing the world in the All-Star game if he's healthy. We certainly hope he is. And so at the top of the hour, I'll be giving you a new top six list. Of course, at the top of the hour as well, the NHL Stanley Cup Finals. The puck will get ready to drop in a little more than 25 minutes or so. We'll keep you up to date here on game one between the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers. Speaking of international players, I think it goes without saying, or maybe it does need to be said, that one of the biggest international players in the league right now, or certainly the most active international player, is Shay Gilgas-Alexander. Yeah, the Stanley Cup Final starts tonight, but we have to wait until tomorrow for tip-off between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers.
Now, producer Ryan and I, we talked about this yesterday. We both believe the Oklahoma City Thunder will take care of the Pacers. Maybe the Pacers win a game.
Maybe they get off too. I don't think it'll be a sweep. The way that they both get up and down the court, you know, I think it's bound to happen for the Pacers to at least get one, but I don't believe in their size. I don't think they have the same depth.
I don't think they have the same consistent offensive firepower. Yeah, you might have Pascal Siakam, who's an international player in his own regard, but SGA is the MVP for a reason. He's surrounded by an all-star in Jalen Williams. He's surrounded by, it looks like, a future all-star talent in Chet Holmgren. Yeah, that OKC team is deep, and so last night I shared with you that the Pacers actually had trouble getting into Oklahoma City.
If you know anything about Oklahoma City, oh, it's flat. Yeah, they get a lot of tornadoes out there, a lot of thunderstorms, a lot of bad weather in that flatland, and, well, the Pacers, they didn't get in until last night, but today they did. They spoke to the media. They spoke to the press. Both teams spoke to the press, and you know what? We did all this talking about coaches, Tom Thibodeau and Mike McDonald of the Seattle Seahawks. Let's listen to the head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Let's listen to Mark Dagnall talk about this opportunity for these Thunder to be back in the finals, something they haven't done since 2012. It's awesome. You know, it's awesome for everybody. There's every single person that's participating in this, whether it's coaches, players, staff. There was a time in their life when this was just a dream. This wasn't a foregone conclusion for them, and that's every player that's participating. There's a time where they were in their driveway shooting 1 on 0 with a basket counting down the end of a game, and so that's what makes it so special to participate in. That's why it's such a great opportunity for everybody. We're all very humbled and grateful to be a part of it.
Oh, wow. I mean, we talked about Jordan Ott being named the new head coach of the Phoenix Suns. Nobody knows who the hell Jordan Ott is. When Mark Dagnall was named the head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder, I could say similar. Nobody knew who the hell this man was, and now here he is with a young team that was stacked full of picks and trades. I mean, it was a great thing that Paul George wanted out and wanted to go to Los Angeles to be with Kawhi. It's great that Kawhi wanted him. It worked out all great in the favor of Sam Presti, but Mark Dagnall is the head coach.
He's a recipient. In all likelihood, this man is going to end up with an NBA championship unless something goes horribly wrong. The coach on the other side, Rick Carlisle, he is an NBA champion. He won a championship coaching the Dallas Mavericks, and so a little bit unusual for Rick Carlisle.
He's back here in the NBA Finals. He's an underdog with this Indiana Pacers crew. Oklahoma City's a great team, and we're aware what's expected here, and so we've got a lot of work cut out for us. A lot of our guys have been through a lot of situations where they've been underdogs in the past, and it's simply going to come down to us being able to play our game at the best possible level. We're going to need to take care of the ball because these guys turn people over at a historic rate, and we're going to have to make some shots.
Man, let me tell you, forget underdog, okay? I mean, Tyrese Halliburton, just right before the playoffs really got rolling, this man was voted as the most overrated player in the entire game. Now, we've seen him hit some big shots throughout the course of the playoffs. Go ahead and ask the Milwaukee Bucks.
Go ahead and ask the New York Knicks. I don't think people are going to run around calling him overrated next year. Maybe it's his dad. Maybe it's his behavior. Maybe it's his attitude. He's just kind of a nerdy guy. Ain't nothing wrong with that.
He ain't bothering anybody. But Tyrese Halliburton, you want to talk about being underrated. I guess you're underrated when everybody calls you overrated.
The guy just won a gold medal, is sitting on the bench next to Tatum. Tyrese Halliburton talked about facing a great team like the Thunder. Yeah, I mean, they're a great team. They're historically great on both sides of the ball. They have the MVP. I mean, there's so many different things that you could name down the list of why they are so great at what they do and why they're such a great team.
We know that this is a great team. If we were to win a championship, I don't want to win any other way. I don't want to go around or go over. I want to go through. You want to go through the best team. You want to go through the best challenge.
This is the best challenge. This is the best team in the NBA. It's been the best team in the NBA all year. They're well coached.
They just do everything so well. There's no shortcuts to beating this team. We know the odds are stacked against us, but it is what it is. We want to be here. We want to play against the best, and this is the best. We're forward to the challenge as a group.
Good luck. They know they're underdogs. Like Batra, Amare, he's talking like an underdog, like he knows the odds are stacked up against them.
I don't know. I don't think this is a matter of let's be humble and hit them with our best shot. They know it's going to be an uphill climb.
They're not stupid. Yeah, so I see every media post here by the Pacers where it's Carlisle, Miles Turner, Halliburton. They're all in defense mode because they look at the media.
You could tell Tyrius Halliburton is a big social media guy, so he's seeing that they're underdogs. They're not going to win, so he had to say that because it builds his ego. Well, we both believe his ego is going to get smacked down, huh? That's true, but yeah, you can't not say you're going to face the best team and be like, yeah, I'm going to do it. I'm going to take the shot.
Yeah, I think you play it even. I think you gave him too much credit, and I get it, and it's nice. Look, this is the same guy who went into a series with the New York Knicks and is throwing up the choke symbol and all of that. Tyrius Halliburton is the same guy popping up on WWE television, he's selling t-shirts, and selling himself in the video game. The guy certainly knows the art of promotion, and realistically, they know they have an uphill climb, and they may get a game or two. Let's see what they get out of it. Shay Gilgas Alexander, he don't say much or nothing.
He's a quiet Canadian killer. This guy's going to go to the free throw line tomorrow. He's going to run and dominate the game. Tyrius Halliburton is going to have his moments, but I expect Shay Gilgas Alexander to walk away with the NBA Finals MVP. Man, he could pick up an NBA MVP for the season.
He could pick up a Finals MVP. This is what Shay Gilgas Alexander had to say about how they plan to play, and it's within themselves. Yeah, I don't think we have a choice. Staying true to who we are is the reason why we're here, and we'd be doing ourselves a disservice if we changed or tried to be something we're not once we got here. We've had success doing so, and if we want to keep having success, we have to be who we are.
And it's organic, so it's nothing like we have to think about our force. It just is who we are no matter the moment. Yeah, it's real simple. You know, here they are in the NBA Finals.
Don't fix it if it's not broke. Like, what is it different for them to do? And this is why with the Knicks coaching change, it's just hilarious. Look at the Oklahoma City Thunder. Look at them. Look at their roster. Look at their depth. Look at their size. Look at their youth. Look at their athleticism.
Look at their best player. The Oklahoma City Thunder. It is felt for a long time that they would represent the Western Conference. I don't think a lot of people expected them to be going up against the Indiana Pacers, who, by the way, since the clock flipped over to 2025, they've been one of the best teams in the entire NBA. Second best record, I believe.
But I think, well, we talked about Cinderella not too long ago. I think the clock is going to strike 12. I think time might be up for the Indiana Pacers. Okay, today was media day in the NBA for the Finals. Tomorrow will be game one. Let's see what that first shot looks like as the Pacers try to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder at home. It's the JR Sport Reshow here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. We're minutes away from the puck dropping in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, as the Oilers are hosting the Florida Panthers in game one of the Stanley Cup Finals. We'll keep you up to date on that game as it gets started. And of course, at the top of the hour, it's going to be time for a new top six list. The NBA is going international with its all-star game Team USA versus the world. I'm going to give you a top six list of the biggest international stars the NBA has ever seen. It's the JR Sport Reshow, Infinity Sports Network.
