You're listening to the JR Sport Brief.
It is the JR Sport Brief show here with you on the Infinity Sports Network. I'm coming to you live from Atlanta, Georgia. Thank you to everybody tuned in all over North America. I hope you're safe. I hope you're well. I hope you are absolutely amazing.
I'm gonna be hanging out with you for the next two hours. This show gets started every weekday at 6 p.m. Eastern, 3 Pacific. You can always listen on the free Odyssey app, your local Infinity Sports Network affiliate. If you got Sirius XM, it's channel 375.
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We talked about a lot. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. not getting that new contract from the Blue Jays. He says at the end of the year, he's gonna be a free agent unless the Blue Jays decide to trade him. It'll make things real interesting. We heard about T Higgins last night. Looks like he's gonna get tagged by the Bengals. Let's see if they can come to terms on a long term deal. We learned that Netflix is looking to add even more NFL games into the future, not just on Christmas.
And then we heard from Cam Ward, who, despite not having yet thrown one pass in the NFL, he says a team that passes him in the draft is going to regret it because they're going to have to face him the rest of his career. Damn, those some fighting words. Those some serious fighting words. We have more to get into as I continue to hang out. If you want to be a part of the show, you can. The phone number here is 855-212-4227. That's 855-212-4227. You can also find me. Get a hold of me. I'm all over the Internet. I exist at J.R. Sportbrief on Twitter, on X, on Facebook, on Instagram, TikTok.
I'm at all the places at J.R. Sportbrief. You know, right before we went to break, a couple of NBA points that we got into, we just heard Tim Hardaway Sr. called Jimmy Butler a baby, a crybaby for how he handled his exit out of Miami. I happen to agree. And, you know, to Jimmy Butler's credit, he hasn't come back and hit out at anybody because he knows he was a jerk and he acted like an ass to get his way out of Miami. Now he's playing with Steph Curry and we'll see how things go. Earlier in the show, we talked about a suggestion from All-Star Darius Garland of the Cleveland Cavaliers. He's just like, you know what, forget the All-Star game. How about the NBA just add a four point line for us to play with to make things interesting? It's just everybody has these ridiculous ideas at this time of year, especially while there's actively no basketball.
We got to wait two more days before we see NBA basketball and NBA action. And so naturally, everybody has suggestions how you fix the All-Star game and how you fix this and how you can get people to watch. You know, we heard for almost the entire All-Star Sunday night, Draymond Green trashed the product that he participates in. We've heard it all.
And so naturally, you know, earlier today I saw this kind of go viral and end up online. There was a full conversation about what happens next in the NBA. Who's the flag bearer? LeBron James did not participate in the All-Star game because of his sore foot and ankle and leg. He's not going to play for the next 20 years. We don't have another 20 years of LeBron. And so naturally, people are starting to think about who's next?
What's next? Who are the next torchbearers? You know, you can naturally look at someone like Anthony Edwards. But then I think about Anthony Edwards and I say to myself, can he get through an interview without cursing? You know, are we going to go through another week where Anthony Edwards isn't in the news because he's being sued by a woman for fathering a child?
I don't know. That's just Anthony Edwards. And what you do in your personal life to a certain degree shouldn't have bearing on how you're presented personally. But it is.
That's just the facts of life. And so Anthony Edwards himself is only 23 years old. We saw what he did in the postseason last year. He's a product from right here in Atlanta, Georgia.
He hasn't even scratched the surface on what he'll be able to do. There's another face of the league, potential future face of the league that the NBA has been pushing now for years. They were broadcasting his games before he was even in the league.
And that guy's name is Victor when Benyama. Now we know the NBA dating back to David Stern. They have I'm not going to say tried, but they've made plenty of inroads in growing the game in Europe, growing the game in Africa, trying to get as many people all over the globe to pay attention. I mean, after you take a look at at soccer slash football, we call it soccer here. Basketball all over the world is something that everybody plays.
We got your league basketball. They played in South America. The NBA is growing a game in Africa.
They played in Asia. People love basketball. You don't need a lot. It's just like soccer. All you need is a ball and a net. Basketball is no different. You can go out there and practice by yourself. You don't need a lot to just go and play basketball.
I mean, damn it. When I was a kid, if I was in the alley next to the house or somebody's house, if we would shoot, we would shoot the basketball into garbage cans, empty garbage cans. We shot the ball.
You don't need a lot. And so the NBA has grown the game. And you can look at it when you have MVPs coming from Cameroon, like Joel Embiid. Hello, U.S. citizen, Joel Embiid. We saw you steal that gold medal.
We saw you. Giannis Atetokounmpo coming out of Greece. Jokic coming out of Serbia. Would anybody be surprised if Luka Doncic ends up with an MVP or two? No.
Coming out of Slovenia? No, not at all. But I saw this clip earlier today from Stephen A. Smith. It was on ESPN as he and you, Don is Haslam.
Also, you take a look at at Shannon Sharpe. They were having a conversation on who the next torchbearer is for the NBA. And Stephen A. Smith always opinionated. That's what he gets paid for. He doesn't believe that an international player can represent the NBA at the highest level.
Take a listen to what he said. My personal opinion is I don't believe an international player can be the face of the NBA. I know their global iconic figures, their popularity extends globally. But the NBA is an American born sport and it needs to resonate in America. And if it doesn't resonate in America, then it's not going to matter to America what you how you resonate beyond.
I don't I don't agree. And, you know, a big part of this right out of the gate is that it's a it's an American league. It's not an American sport. I mean, all of my friends in Canada will tell you right out of the gate, Dr. James Naismith. Well, he was Canadian. I mean, we can go back to Springfield, Massachusetts. We can tie things together. But bottom line, yes, the NBA is an American league.
The world has changed. Why can't someone like Victor when Benyama be the face of the NBA? Why can't he be the international face of basketball? If Victor when Benyama is whooping ass, if Victor when Benyama is showing up, if Victor when Benyama is doing what he's doing this season, a first time All-Star in his second year, Victor when Benyama is 21 years old and Victor when Benyama is different. OK, Victor when Benyama. Twenty four points a game, 11 rebounds, four blocks, almost four assists. We haven't seen numbers like this since Kareem Abdul Jabbar in the 70s. OK, Victor when Benyama, let me say it again, is 21 years old.
If I'm an American basketball player or I'm a young basketball fan and I'm watching the game, I'm a teenager, I'm in my early 20s, I don't know how old. If all I've seen over the past few years are Giannis Atterakounmpo coming out of Greece, if I've seen Joel Embiid coming out of Cameroon, if I've seen stars, reluctant stars like Jokic coming out of Serbia. Why would I care what Victor when Benyama is doing? Why would I care where he's from? He's from Paris.
Big freaking deal. I see a seven foot three giant who can shoot threes, block shots. It's not like the guy is not speaking English. What about Victor when Benyama doesn't relate to an American audience where the language is basketball? I'm not asking Victor when Benyama to tell me his favorite place to eat in Houston. But the other thing about Victor when Benyama that I think makes him plenty relatable is that he's embraced American culture. I mean, early on when he first got here stateside for the NBA draft. God bless him.
Yes, it's all marketing. Victor when Benyama got on the train in New York City stuffed his big ass onto a train. Victor when Benyama more recently was back in New York City and stood outside sat in the rain.
All seven foot three inches all seven foot four of his big ass he was sitting outside playing chess with the fans. He's been relatable. He's been affable. He hasn't been a diva. He hasn't ticked anybody off.
Yeah, sure. He tried to cheat and get a leg up in a skills competition. Why can't Victor when Benyama be the face of the league and he's different. I think Victor when Benyama is going to be a plus continue to be a plus for the NBA and God bless him. He's been healthy over his first two years 21 years old. We know he has to put on weight. He hasn't had this major foot injury. He's not fallen all over the place. He's not getting hurt like other Giants playing in the NBA.
Hello, Oklahoma City Thunder is sorry about that. But the fact is Victor when Benyama still has room to grow and he's dedicated to everything that he's doing. This man is going to sleep and turn in his phone off. God bless him. He doesn't want to be bothered past nine o'clock at night.
Great. I've heard interviews where he talked about the power of his mind and just putting his mind to work great. He reads books.
I mean this past Sunday Victor when Benyama walked into the locker room, the All-Star Locker Room in the color. Jokic who loves horses. We all know this guy loves horses.
He loves horse riding in Serbia. This man is sitting on a chair and he watches young Victor when Benyama come in with a book and he goes, you really brought a book to the locker room. Jokic thought that this was a joke. Listen to this book. Yeah, I read before every game.
As simple as that. And Jokic continued on just kind of put his head down in his hands and laughed. This guy really brought a book into the locker room. If you asked me, that's that's impressive. This guy is determined.
This guy got one track on his damn mind. Let me remind you, Victor when Benyama wasn't able to buy a drink, even if he wanted to. He wasn't able to buy a drink until about a month ago. He just turned 21. He has more to do. He has more to grow.
And so I don't think the face of the NBA has to be someone who was born in the United States of America in Major League Baseball. We got a guy who happens to be from Japan. He doesn't speak English publicly.
This man just had a 50 50 season. His name is Shohei Ohtani. Most I've heard him say is thank you, Dodger fans. We love you. That's the most English I've ever heard come out of this guy's mouth. You want to tell me that Shohei Ohtani is not the face of baseball. People appreciate talent. You know, last night we talked about David Robinson as we did our This Day in Sports History segment.
February 17th, 1995. David Robinson had the fourth quadruple double in NBA history. 20 plus points, 10 rebounds, 10 blocks, 10 assists, triple double. If Victor Wenbanyama continues to grow and he's blocking shots and he's hitting threes, he's flying over the court, he's scaring the living hell out of everybody. Wenbanyama speaks English.
He speaks French, but the most important language that he speaks is basketball. And if he's not going to be a jerk or devolve into being an ass, there's no doubt in my mind that Victor Wenbanyama could be the torchbearer for the NBA over the next 10 or 15 years if he can stay healthy. How a guy's 7-3 moves around and can last in the league? The league hasn't been kind to Giants.
Giants and their bodies break down. Is Victor Wenbanyama going to buck the trend given his body type and style? It's to be determined to be seen. But I think he has the temperament. I know he has the talent. And let's see if he just has the body and health to last. The future star of the NBA, the torchbearer of the NBA. Well, it was Michael, it was Kobe, it was Magic, it was Bird, it was Jordan, it was Curry, it was LeBron.
Why can't it be a Frenchman who's embraced everything about American culture? But more importantly, he's embraced the game. And he is absolutely amazing at it. I hope Victor Wenbanyama is the future.
Because maybe if people follow him, we'll have people who play hard and appreciate the game and appreciate what they have more than a lot of players do now. It's the JR Sportbreeze show here with you on the Infinity Sports Network. 855-212-4227.
That's 855-212-4227. It's a simple question. Can an international player be the face of the NBA? Can Victor Wenbanyama be the face of the league? Jokic doesn't care. He got what he got.
He's receiving what he receives. He'll go down as one of the greatest big men ever. People will love him. People will hate him. But can Victor Wenbanyama be the face of the league?
I see no reason why not. The guy speaks the most important language. It's basketball. I'm gonna get some more of your calls on the other side of the break. 855-212-4227.
That's 855-212-4227. It's the JR Sportbreeze show on the Infinity Sports Network. You're listening to the JR Sportbreeze. How you doing JR?
Let me give you your flowers right now. I appreciate what you do and I know there are young people who hear you and they want to model themselves behind what you're doing and you're doing it so well. I know we'll end up with some really good people out there on the air in the near future.
Call him now at 855-212-4227. It is the JR Sportbreeze show here with you on the Infinity Sports Network. Right before we went to break, I shared some comments from Steven A. Smith earlier in the day. Everybody has an idea. Everybody has a thought. Everybody has a concept on how you can improve the NBA. Everybody has an idea.
Well this morning, because what the hell else are they gonna do? There was a conversation about the face of the NBA and who's going to carry the mantle past LeBron James. We've had LeBron for 20 years. Twenty years we've had LeBron James. And along the way he's had to share it with Kobe Bryant. He's had to share it with Steph Curry. LeBron James ain't playing another twenty years. Steph Curry is close to the end. We see all of the young stars that the NBA is attempting to highlight.
Whether it be someone like Anthony Edwards who unfortunately is just getting fined every time I feel like he opens up his mouth. We have a guy in Shay Gilgus Alexander. A lot is going to be said about what he does and what he says over the next several months as he has his team try to compete for a championship. Jason Tatum has been here but I don't feel like he's widely accepted. Maybe it's because he's a Celtic. There's a feeling that you know he's a little corny. I don't know why people don't like him. I love him.
I enjoy watching him play every time he comes here to Atlanta. But Stephen A. Smith made a point that an international player can't be the face of the NBA because the NBA is an American league. And I'm like what? I'm like basketball is international.
The guy who created it was a Canadian and he helped build it and bridge it out in Springfield, Massachusetts. I've been. What are we talking about? And I look at Major League Baseball. The face of baseball is a guy who doesn't even speak English.
Come on. And Shohei Ohtani. I think fans in the United States of America, regardless of what the sport is, they care about the talent, who's playing, how hard they're playing. They need to be respected.
They need to be feared. Victor Juan Benyama is 21, has all the potential in the world. There's a reason that the NBA has been promoting him inside the United States of America before he even got here. So I think it's ridiculous what the man said, that the face of the NBA doesn't have to be a guy from Chicago or Atlanta or North Carolina or I don't know, Rhode Island. I don't know. Maybe Cooper Cup will be the face in a couple of years. I have no idea. But to say that an international player can't.
Victor Juan Benyama looks like basketball goal to me. 8 5 5 2 1 2 42 27. That's 8 5 5 2 1 2 42 27. A very simple question.
Do you believe an international player can be the face of the league in, quote unquote, carry the torch? Let's go to the phone lines. Brent is here from Omaha.
You're on the J.R. Sportbreeze show us up, Brent. What's up, J.R.? How are you? I'm very well. What's on your mind? Hey, I'm just following up on your question here about an international player.
And I think one thing that you've got to have a little bit of is relatability. And I'm a big Luca fan. Love the Mavericks.
Been cheering for them my whole life. Hate to see him go to the Lakers, but good for him. He was relatable a little bit from a physical standpoint. Not hitting on the weight thing there.
I think his weight is not an issue. He's also 6 foot 7. I don't know how relatable that is. Sure, but you add another 8, 9 inches of that and Wimby is, you know, I love Wimby. And as a Mavericks fan, that means a lot to love somebody from the Spurs. 7-3, that is not relatable.
Wimby's a freak. I'm just going to say it. But I definitely, to follow up, though, I definitely think an international player can be the face of the league for sure. OK. Thank you, Brent, for calling from Omaha. 8 5 5 2 1 2 42 27.
That's 8 5 5 2 1 2 42 27. Can an international player be the face of the league? Now, I don't I don't know if I necessarily agree with Brent on that one. You know, I'm around NBA players more than than any other athlete, really. I'm going to all the basketball games that I can get out to. I've grown up a whole lot closer to basketball in the NBA. You know, me being around a 6 foot 9 guy, 7 foot guy. Don't don't do too much for me. These guys are a foot taller than me.
Don't do too much. But having said that, relatable was was Michael Jordan relatable? No, he was he was mythical. Is LeBron James relatable?
OK. Yeah. LeBron James can go on Twitter or X and Instagram and some people love him. Some people hate him. I don't know how relatable LeBron James is. I mean, he has a family. God bless him. You got a wife. He got kids. He's relatable in that regard. Right.
OK. But thinking about his life from 18, I was reading about LeBron James in the physical newspaper. First time I ever read about LeBron, I had ink on my fingers when I closed the newspaper.
Now I can just scroll on my phone. I don't know if a star has to be relatable. We're not talking about selling shoes here. This is not Allen Iverson. You know, relatable guys, six feet busting ass. I could be like Allen Iverson. This is not like every kid saying I can shoot like Steph Curry.
Let me get Steph shoes. Victor, women, Yama, they are marketing him. Nike is selling him as an alien, which he is like this is like Space Jam. You want your stars to be larger than life. Michael Jordan was larger than life.
If I got to think about another Michael, Michael Jackson was larger than life. These guys weren't relatable. They might come from relatable beginnings. But when you think about what they accomplished and where they went, you just got to go, wow. And Victor, women, Yama is all walking.
Wow. And he becomes relatable when he's playing chess outside against fans. He becomes relatable when he's on the subway. That's how you become relatable when you're playing a seven foot three.
You'd be a human being, not an ass. Eight five five two one two forty two twenty seven. That's eight five five two one two forty two twenty seven. Chris is calling from Toronto. You're on the J.R. sport re-show. What's up, Chris?
Yes, what's up? Let me first say great show as always, my friend. OK, obviously I want to talk about Vladi, but I'm going to talk about women Yama. Listen, definitely can be the face of the NBA. At the end of the day, I've been watching basketball my whole life and it all comes down to the talent and the excitement that you bring on the court. The only thing that will prevent this guy from becoming the face of the league is hopefully what what happened or happened to Mike Trout. You can you can have all the tools, but if you are not winning a World Series or making it to the World Series or receiving the NBA final or receiving the conference finals a lot, that's what's needed as well as the talent is we need to see your face up there in the final in the in the conference finals. Then that's the way you become a household name and that's the way you become the face of the league. Did you want to comment on that before I talk about the baseball thing? And in the game of basketball, a whole hell of a lot easier than baseball.
One thousand percent. But everybody always asks, how come Mike Trout is not a bigger star? You know, it's injuries. It's injuries in the team that he played for in basketball. In basketball, you don't need you know, you don't need eight other guys on a diamond with you to go out there and compete. If you got to come on now, the Dallas Mavericks with Luka Doncic took two stars onto the basketball court last year and a couple other guys who could run and slam dunk the basketball. And they went to the finals.
But what else you got on Vlad? So I'll tell you right. So today, obviously, spring training started so glad he had an arbitrary deadline and the Blue Jays have passed that deadline now. So I just wanted to call in and express my extreme disappointment that, you know, I don't know why they didn't sign this guy. They worked with him for four seasons on an extension. I don't really know what evaluation you're looking at that doesn't sign Vlady.
Obviously, he's asking for some astronomical number, you know. But now, just like Vlady said, which was a piercing in my heart, he said when it comes to the summer, they're going to have to compete against 29 other teams. So if you think you're going to sign Vlady for less money in the summer than you're going to sign him today, I don't really understand how that works.
Yeah. We had talked about that earlier on in the show, Chris. And I would think Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who last year in his final season of arbitration, made approximately $30 million. He was already the highest paid first baseman in the league. When you think about position players, Alex Bregman with his new contract and Aaron Judge, they both make $40 million a year. Now we know Bregman, third base, second base, whatever, Devers doesn't end up. And we know Aaron Judge is typically going to be in centerfield or right.
Well, when you got a guy at first base and he looks around and goes, well, I put up similar numbers and I play every single game just about. Vladimir Guerrero is playing 159, 160 games every season. He's going to expect to get paid. And then when you look at the contracts that are going to Soto, when you look at the contracts that have gone out to Shohei Ohtani, when you think about the Jays having competed for these guys, if I'm Vladimir Guerrero, I'm going, is he asking for 700? I don't think so. But if he is, yeah, he's nuts. I would think he's asking for less. The Blue Jays could have solved this a long time ago, Chris. And if they stink this year, I wouldn't be surprised if they moved him.
I hope that's not the case. I appreciate you for calling from Toronto, man. Thank you so much. Eight five five two one two forty two twenty seven. That's eight five five two one two forty two twenty seven. Damon is here from Alabama. You're on the J.R. sport show us up, Damon. Hey, man, what's going on? How are you? I'm terrific.
What's up? You asked the question and it was a simple question for a simple answer about Victor Wendy. And I will tell you, yes, you can be the face of the NBA. If you look at player playing ability, jersey sales, television, attendance, commercial victory, check all those boxes.
Not to mention his jersey has been number one, I think, this past season. So, yes, you can be the face of the NBA. OK, well, thank you, Damon, for calling from Alabama.
I don't disagree with anything that you just said. Eight five five two one two forty two twenty seven. Isaiah is calling from Boise, Idaho. You're on the chair. Our sport brief show.
Hey, Gary, thank you for the time. Yeah. As a very big basketball fan, I feel that we need an international an international face. It's hard to get to to go from the Super Bowl to now.
A lot of people are integrating into watching basketball. And without a face of the NBA, such as a LeBron, it is hard, you know. But if we can integrate into the international, getting more fans out there, the NFL itself is expanding and doing Germany games. What if we had, you know, five games in France, five games in Slovenia? The money that would come in from having an international face of the of the of the NBA would be huge and astronomical. We see that one thing.
Hold on, Isaiah. We we see that already. We see that the NBA has regular season games, preseason games. Victor, one being Yama just came back from playing in Paris. They play two games in Paris. We see games that are taking place in Mexico City like the NBA is playing international games. It's Stephen A. Smith's point, which I think is a wrong one, is as simple as, well, the NBA is an American league.
It needs an American face is like, ah, what are we talking about, man? Yeah. And I disagree. I totally disagree. I disagree because there are there are players that are so good out there in the international in the international leagues. If we're able to get those fans to come and integrate into the NBA to cheer on those teams and cheer on whatever respective team they end up on and bring that money, it'll it'll bring the state of basketball to a different realm, I feel like, because you know what?
It does feel like they are playing second best to second fiddle, you know, to the NFL. And it's hard. We I love I love the face of the NBA being international.
Thank you again. Thank you, Isaiah, from calling from Boise. Well, listen, man, we're already there. If you want to talk about the exposure of the game outside of the borders of the United States of America and Canada, it's already there. I mean, before Victor, when been yet when Benyama got to the United States of America, which has only been a season and a half, think about how many San Antonio Spurs fans would relate or excuse me, French fans were Spurs fans just because of a guy like Tony Parker. You know, how many how many people in South America, how many people would look at Argentina and be like, hey, I'm a fan of the Spurs because of Manu Ginobili. How many fans in Germany are Mavs fans just because of Dirk Nowitzki? Like we've seen the globalization of the game. We see that.
But to say that the face of American basketball after LeBron needs to be an American player to grow the game. I think that's garbage. I think it's hot garbage. I'm going to get some more of your calls on the other side of the break. That's 855-212-4227. 855-212-4227.
Does the face of basketball does the face of the NBA have to be an American? More your calls on the other side. You're listening to the J.R.
Sport Brief. Hi, J.R. The magnificent one. Always a pleasure being on the line with you. Thank you very much for taking my call. J.R. wants to hear from you. Call him now at 855-212-4227. The J.R. Sport Brief Show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. 855-212-4227.
That's 855-212-4227. This is something very important. I'm going to let you know about the Defensive Player of the Week sponsored by the Navy Federal Credit Union, who proudly serves the armed forces, DoD, veterans and their families. Members are the mission.
You can learn more at Navyfederal.org. It's easy. It's Victor Wenbanyama. There ain't been no other sports going on. I told you about Victor Wenbanyama. He did play in that crap All-Star game in that 41-25 loss to Shaq's OGs. He still had 11 points, three rebounds and a block, seven and a half minutes of court time for the season.
Victor Wenbanyama, he's been balling out, blocking all of the shots. I told you about his numbers. Twenty four points, 11 rebounds, four blocks and four assists a game. He is 21 years old. Right before we went to break, I responded to some comments made by Stephen A. Smith that an international player cannot be the face of the NBA. Because the NBA is an American League.
OK. All right. I don't know what that means for Shohei Ohtani in baseball. Last time I checked, he was Japanese, doesn't even speak English. He doesn't seem relatable at all. He seems like a recluse. The guy pops up at what is that stupid thing called Crypto.com Arena. And I have to say, he's a human. Like Shohei goes outside. He breathes air. You can find him somewhere besides the baseball field.
I had no idea. Victor Wenbanyama speaks English. He's getting on the train. He's playing chess with fans. He's he's reading books.
He seems a little bit more normal, more down to earth. Eight five five two one two forty two twenty seven. That's eight five five two one two forty two twenty seven. I'm going to get some more your calls.
And then how about this? Speaking of another international player, Shea Gilgas Alexander. Just made the decision to drop his representation. He will be serving as his own agent.
It's kind of crazy. Earlier today, Nick Castellanos with the Phillies, he dropped Scott Boris and he's serving as his own agent as of the end of last year. We got a story from Steve Cohen earlier today regarding Peter Lonzo rejoining the New York Mets. And Steve Cohen is like Boris didn't even have a word when I when I sat down with Peter Lonzo.
So I don't know who needs agents in the world of sports. All this money flying around. We'll get to that next hour. We'll talk about a few things that took place this day in sports history. We got so much to get into. Eight five five two one two forty two twenty seven.
That's eight five five two one two forty two twenty seven. Eric is curling from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. You're on the chair of sport we show us up, Eric. Hey, thanks for taking my call, J.R. I want to kind of point out, of course, we can have an international star as the face of the league and the idea that these players have got to be relatable.
The average NBA salary is eleven point nine million. The lowest paid guys are one point one. We haven't had relatable people since Larry Joe Byrd was shoveling his mama's driveway in the off season. It makes no sense to me to make that argument. OK, is that it? That's it.
OK, well, thank you, Eric, for calling from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. You know, when you can look past the money and for some people, maybe maybe it's impossible. You know, they're still humans. They are. Some of them act like it and some of them act like they're better than others.
That's the point. I can I can go down an entire line of professional athletes who who I know and who I met and they act like normal guys and some dudes act like they're too cool for school. So for me, when I think about relatability, it's not just financial. Yes, obviously. We know that maximum salary players are going to be making a 60 and 70 million dollars. That number is going to continue to go up. I mean, if that automatically X's you out from being relatable, then then I certainly understand and get it.
But you do have some guys who carry themselves like like they're human beings and other guys who just their asses. Eight five five two one two forty two twenty seven. Larry is calling from Alabama. You're on the JR Sport Brief Show. Yeah. Hey, what's up? Listen to you.
Almost every night I'm a door dash driver. Well, thank you, man. What you be delivering? I'm hungry, man. You think you could get over to Atlanta?
Oh, yeah, I click payback time. So if you order something from here and deliver to Atlanta, I'll wait for you. All right. Yeah, it'll be a little too late, but go ahead. Yeah.
Be able to expensive. So I I believe you're going to be like that. You can't have an international player. I would argue that you have to right now because I'm about to ask you to name the top NBA players. You would get to five or six for you. Somebody born in America, I think. Do you want to do that exercise right now?
I would go. I mean, in no particular order. Giannis, Victor Shea, Jokic, Jokic. And then there's Anthony Edwards. Yeah. Yeah. Well, depending on what you want to talk about, popularity or the best of the best. I don't know if I put Victor up there right now, but he's certainly an all star. Yeah. I mean, you you can't you can't name the top players without coming up with, you know, fingers with the international players.
Well, I mean, let's let's take it a step further. If we take a look at the past several years of the NBA, I think we got to go back seven years before we have an MVP who happened to be American. And that lets you know all you need to know, whether you have to look at Jokic and Giannis and then also Embiid is in there that that says enough.
We're talking about Greece, Cameroon, and then we're we're going into Serbia. Right. Oh, no.
The other thing is, I want to applaud you for standing up for what I would call the better angels in the American psyche. And I think Stephen A. downplays is that we can't accept an international player. We're not all crazy enough. Oh, you know, we can accept an international player.
Yes. I think Stephen A. sells us short. Well, in our ability to be open minded and that he might that are different.
He might. Yeah, I think it's like, who cares? Like, I'll tell you, I got no problem with it. I don't speak multiple languages. I speak a little Spanish. I know enough German to get around Germany, but I'm not someone who's going to sit around. I find it quite admirable when we have people who come from outside the United States of America and they speak multiple languages.
Well, we got people here in the United States of America who only speak English, but they want to judge somebody for for not speaking English. I mean, it's a it's a but even even outside of that fact, like I would love it. Oh, Tony, without a shadow of a doubt, is the face of Major League Baseball. We know he's Japanese. I would love it if he spoke more English. But if he doesn't want to, that's look, the guy's making seven hundred million. What does he need to do extra?
You know, but hey, that's that's that's my own preference, but doesn't change the fact that he's the face of a sport. I think he found out that Rosetta Stone might be seven million dollars cheaper than an interpreter, though. You listen, how about that? That interpreter sitting in prison?
What a world. Hey, Larry. It was a good one.
Hey, drive safe out there, Larry. OK. Yeah, I really appreciate it. Yeah. Thanks for taking my call. I'll talk to you later.
Call anytime. Shout outs to Larry for calling from Alabama. Yet I found that statement from Stephen A. Smith just to be to be nuts. Face of the NBA has to be. I think it has to be a player born in America because the NBA is an American league.
Does it? I don't think so. We live in a pretty wide world. Basketball is played all over the place. I mean, if we look at the popularity of soccer, the best players come from all over the world. They compete in a lot of cases in England, in Germany, in Spain. They come from all over the world. I don't think a soccer fan. I've never seen a soccer fan all over the world give a damn where anybody was from at all. I'm going to get some more of your calls. We're going to talk about some of these agents getting dropped like flies. It's the JR Sport Reshow, the Infinity Sports Network.
