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Not available in all states. This is the Rich Eisen Show. He looks hurt. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. Thunder fans feel this moment.
The final chapter reads the Oklahoma City Thunder over 2025 and NBA champions. It doesn't feel real. The Rich Eisen Show.
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Now nobody can say anything. Today's guests: ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Phyllis. Eagles tackle Leighton Johnson. Creator and host of Somebody Feed Phil. Phil Rosenthal.
And now. It's Rich Eisenhower. That's right. Welcome to this edition of the Rich Eisen Show. We're live in Los Angeles, California, fresh back from Fanatics Fest in New York City, where Overreaction Monday and No Contest Wrestling had live performances, if you will.
And those are ready for you to take in overreaction Monday just posted. And Chris Brockman is about to join us in the studio here because he is currently stuck in traffic. There's been a massive traffic jam here on the 405 today. Rich Eisen show traffic and weather together on one to kick things off. Brockman's not sitting in his chair, but he will shortly.
Good to see you today, Jay Felly. Good to see you, sir. How are you? Good morning, Rich Eisen. And good to see you, TJ Jefferson, fresh back from Fnatic's Best Yourself.
Good to see you, sir. It took a while to get back, but it was an awesome experience.
Well, and we were all flying back from New York yesterday and making our way back to Los Angeles. We both got back here around midnight. Awesome. At midnight, we're going to let it all hang out. Guess what?
We're all sitting here today. Jay Billis is going to join us in about 18 minutes' time to give us his two cents and what he saw in game seven of the NBA Finals on Sunday night, and then get us ready for The NBA draft right around the corner. That's what happens when the NBA finals go seven games as soon as the season comes to a. A finish, clean up all of the Confetti, hand out the trophy and place it in a case, have a parade, now hold a draft. And Jay Billis obviously is going to get us up to speed on all that.
Kevin Durant is going to be right now a Houston Rocket. That happened at Fnatics Fest as well.
So there's really lots to hit with Jay. Lane Johnson, a Super Bowl champion protector of Jalen Hurts, an MVP. Of his own right. He is going to be lane on this program at hour number two. And then Phil Rosenthal will join us here on this program.
The latest season of Somebody Feed Phil is streaming now exclusively on Netflix. It's the longest-running original Netflix unscripted series. And we will ask Phil for his two cents on the story Ray Romano told here last year about him not being into the title called Everybody Loves Raymond, and he wanted it changed. And he was promised it would be changed after the pilot. And then it was a hit show.
And Phil basically told Ray, we can't change it.
So I can't wait to ask Phil his end of that story. We've got a great start bench cut, food-wise.
So the table's all set here on this program. Man, there's so many ways to go uh about the um uh final game of the NBA season. And there's so many different ways to figure this thing out. From the Pacers' point of view, in a remarkable season. Um where they had the second most wins In the NBA, since the calendar turned to 2025.
and had one of the most incredible runs of all time from beginning to end. With the Oklahoma City Thunder, and you saw what the Pacers did in the playoffs. all playoffs long where nobody thought they could do it, and Tyrese Halliburton kept leading all these comebacks against the Bucs and the Cavs and the Knicks and potentially on the Oklahoma City Thunder. And Tyrese Halliburton's Achilles pops at the end of the first quarter after he scored. Not one, not two, but three three-pointers, and it looked like this was going to be a game seven.
For the ages, between two teams that a lot of people thought weren't going to provide us an entertaining NBA Finals. And here we were. For only the fifth Game seven of this century, and Halliburton goes down, and you could tell right away.
Well, that looks horrible. Right away! That this was his Achilles. We've seen it before in the finals with Kevin Durant, former Oklahoma City Thunder who got traded to the Rockets earlier in the day. I mean, this is the sort of stuff you cannot.
Make up. and you don't ever want to see. Yeah. And then the game begins to unfold. And the Pacers do pacers' things like.
Hanging in there and rallying and being resilient, which has been their mantra. All playoffs long. And everybody's counting them out, and they're right there to pull themselves back in. And it looks like this is going to be the ultimate edition of that Pacers story. In the story book, in the fabled story book.
Because they took a one-point lead into halftime after watching Tyrese Halliburton go down. And everybody knew it was there. Worse nightmare for him and his family with an Achilles pop. And then the third quarter hits. And the Oklahoma City Thunder team that won 68 games.
Because they had the MVP of the league. because they had a defensive Unit That had Gonzaga's Gumby. Right there in the middle. Blocking shots. creating havoc.
Lou Dort creating havoc. Alex Caruso creating havoc. Maybe You know, on occasion, maybe grabbing the wrist of a player and not having it called, but that's the sort of pass-up that happens. One would think sometimes, and as well it shouldn't, but this team, Hartenstein and Jalen Williams. And all of them collectively together.
coming out of The locker room. After halftime, surviving a TJ McConnell flurry. For the ages as well. coming off the bench. But creating the turnovers.
and turning them into points. And winning that quarter 34-20. Going on. a 19 to 2 run. That essentially ended it.
And the thunder that we have seen get built. Brick by brick. Showed up in the third quarter in front of their Frenzied fans And put The bow on this thing. Yes, we can sit here and say the fourth quarter when they hit a dry spell. What would have happened had Halliburton been out there?
And we'll discuss the Halliburton stuff later on. But the Oklahoma City Thunder deserve their flowers separate from all of that. With a head coach. that they took from their G League team and twenty twenty in Mark Degno. And building this team.
Brick by brick. Player by player. To form a championship team That came up with 68 regular season wins and 84 overall. That in front of their home fans, especially. created so much havoc and so much Defensive pressure.
To turn it into points on the other end, and then to have one of the greatest players of this century. In terms of certainly what he's been building. And certainly what he did this year in Shea Gilgis Alexander. And you put it all together. And you see a team.
That is Totally grassroots. Built from the ground up. As a unit, as a team. as a championship Squad? That got it done.
In the 2024-2025 season to the tune of 84 wins. Only The Jordan Bulls of the late 90s and the Golden State Warriors in their dynastic run had more wins combined. on the year. And together. I mean They had a coach.
of the G-League team. As I mentioned, the Oklahoma City Blue. A former Holy Cross assistant. as their head coach. And a Unit A team, a roster built by Sam Presty, who came with the team.
From Seattle. 17 years ago? And a team that once upon a time. Had a super team together based on who they drafted. in Durant and Westbrook.
and harden. And couldn't come up with a championship in the super team era.
Now Taking parts. that they built From Canada. and the West Coast Conference. In Shea Gilgis Alexander and Lou Dort, thanks to Canada. And the WCC Gonzaga's Chet Holmgren and Santa Clara's Jalen Williams, and they take Alex Caruso.
From the Lakers slash Bulls, and they take Isaiah Hartenstein from the Clippers slash Knicks. and they put it all together with their drafting. And maybe, just maybe, put a final nail in the coffin of the super team era. And come up with a team, a squad. That has a breakout superstar at the top.
And a bunch of young stud players. With a massive future in front of them. And the first parade. in the nation's heartland. for an NBA championship.
With 84 combined wins. and their first title. in the seventeen years in Oklahoma City. Congratulations to those fans. in that franchise.
That's what I thought of when I was watching it last night. Gutting to see Halliburton go down. Yeah. Absolutely gutting to see that happen. I mean for the for the The only thing I could think of with that.
The Halliburton stuff. The shining, you know how? I keep mentioning the shining every now and then here. Danny?
Well. The Scatman Crothers character. The man who could shine with Danny. Sees trouble. In the state of Colorado from his spot in South Florida, and he makes a long, long, long journey.
Long journey, an epic journey, a journey with purpose, a journey that nobody thought he could actually make. Finally gets inside the Overlook Hotel and spoil alert. within seconds gets an axe in the chest. Mm-hmm. And that's not exactly what you thought the end of the journey would be like.
Didn't see it coming. You sensed foreboding. Because it had all the makings of a disastrous finish. Physically. We have seen how many Achilles injuries have we seen?
born out of a calf strain. that you're wondering if somebody is Making coming back too soon from or wondering if they're making the right move. And he makes not one, not two, but three three-pointers. And you're thinking, this is a Halliburton night. And then with 455 to go in that first.
Quarter. Yeah. Nine points in seven minutes. It's just absolutely gutting. For a guy who did what he did.
over and over and over again. the personification of the resilience of this team. But never say die. Never quit. style of play.
The paste that the pacers would keep up. For Rick Carlo. And he goes down in a heap with 455 to go in the first quarter. And then SGA is the one to come out with a 29-12. Assist.
Five rebound, two block, one turnover game, which is the Halliburton stat line, right? Fill up the stat sheet. For yourself, your teammates, play an all-around game, don't turn it over. Instead, the patients were the one that turned it over. And the Thunder turned it into points.
It was just absolutely gutting to watch Tyrese Halliburton go down. And I know a lot of people are thinking that that photograph on the screen there Where SGA is holding up the Larry OB in front of the. Oklahoma City Thunder fans were going nuts. That this photograph might not have happened had Halla Burton. Been healthy, played the full game.
His Achilles did not give way, and I understand that that's the two cents. But unfortunately, it did happen. And I think the Oklahoma City Thunder at the end of the day. We're just the better, deeper team, and I know that's not fair to stay right now. That's the bottom line right there.
The best team won. With the best player in the NBA this year. And we'll talk about the remarkable run SGA went on and the fact that the Oklahoma City Thunder won the championship on the day that Kevin Durant got traded to his umpteenth team and learned about it at Fnatics Fest. while he was on stage. In New York.
We'll talk about that. The draft is coming up in the NBA in just two days. Jay Billis is part of that broadcast. He will be joining us next. from the airport.
I believe he's making his way to New York City for that draft right now. We'll take a break. Chris Brockman, good to see you, sir. Good morning, guys. How are you?
Good to see you. Glad you made it here today. Oh, my goodness. We'll talk about what's going on in the world of baseball as well. It's quite a weekend on that front.
I'm over baseball. We'll talk about the Fanatics Fest as well. Jay Felly's smiling because Shoey Otani pitched only one inning again. Didn't matter. They still scored 11.
And I think Otani knocked in five. Is that correct? Yep. She's.
Okay.
Okay.
844's over. 844-204-Rich is the number to dial right here on the program. Jay Billis coming up next, right here on the Rich Isaac Show. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. You chose to hit play on this podcast today.
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That's O'ReillyAuto.com/slash Eisen. Hey everybody, we're back here on the Rich Eisen Show. On the Roku channel. Good to see you over there, Chris Brockman. Hey, guys.
You thought about moving back east, I'm sure, by the car today. I thought about it. I may not want to drive the rest of the week after this morning. All good, but good to see you here. You got two cents on the finals?
I know you, you know, you're yeah, I mean, kind of echoed what you guys said. It's just heartbreaking and bummer and gutted for Tyrese. I'm just wondering, you know, kind of bigger picture when we look back on this season. Yes. You know, as historically great as the Thunder were, obviously, MVP, I think he was a scoring champ and the finals MVP.
SGA was. But are we going to remember the Thunder as champions, or are we going to think about, man, the Pacers, that was an epic playoffs and all the different games they played. Oh, and then Tyrese got hurt. Like, that's going to be the first thing you remember. And then you're like, oh, yeah, by the way, the Thunder won the title that year.
I don't know about that. Yeah, I'm not sure. I'll offer pushback on that. I think the Thunder. You've been talking about the Thunder all year, you know.
Oh, historically great team. This is a team that won 68 games. They're point differential and all the defensive metrics and all that.
So great team. And after Halliburton. you know, did the Halliburton thing in game one by jarring the game winner with one second to go. Um They were still massive favorite. You were saying that the city where Mo Green doesn't have a plaque or a signpost decided to keep the.
The Thunder, the Favorites. Yeah, the odds never really flipped. And then game seven was a toss-up after one quarter. Like that's and then halftime. Yeah, we're up by one.
Yeah. They just turned it over way too many times in the third quarter. I mean, the Thunder just took it over. They were just keeping going. Yeah, the Thunder were awesome.
They just took it over. And TJ McConnell did his best. You can't, that's the other point too, is that You know, hey, we were missing Halliburton. And I, of course, they were, and what he meant. And Obi Tompin even said that he couldn't get it out of his head once it happened.
Right.
So couldn't get going in the third either. But in terms of the stat sheet, T.J. McConnell was a revelation in the third quarter. Unbelievable. Jake Billis is back here on the Rich Eisen show, kind enough to zoom in as he's making his way to the NBA draft, fresh off of.
The ABC and ESPN family of networks coverage of a remarkable season and postseason. Good to see you, Jay Billis. How are you, sir? I'm doing great, Rich. How are you doing?
I'm doing fine. You're two cents after what you saw in game seven? What are you left with? Your impressions? I was deflated, honestly, when Tyrese Halliburton got hurt, and you could tell right away.
You know, they can't say it on the air because you can't speculate, but he knew right away it was an Achilles. That means he's going to be out for a year. And it just took the wind out of you. And it clearly took the wind out of the game. Didn't mean that Oklahoma City wasn't going to win.
Because I think they would have anyway, but that's just my thought. But it would have been, I thought it could have been an epic finish, an epic game, seven.
So that was kind of sad, but Oblama City had an amazing year to win 68 games and then rip through the playoffs the way they did. Shay Gilgis Alexander, when he got drafted. Number 11. Hands up, all those that thought he was a future MPP and would do something that only kind of Jordan and Kareem have done. Uh, going through the regular season in the playoffs, uh, being MVP, leading scorer in the league, and then finals MVP was really remarkable.
Well, I think Jerry West was maybe one of them who, you know, back in the day when the Clippers had him. He loved him. I mean, he was talking about how stupendous he was and. But you're right. I mean, in terms of what he has blossomed into and has grown into.
Um And I guess let's go here for the moment while we're touching on the subject. Certainly, with the draft coming up in two days, and we talk always about. When a draft hits nature versus nurture. Do you think SGA could have become this had he stayed put here in Los Angeles? I know that there's a large if here, and there's a lot.
Speculation, but did you think he was just in the right place at the right time to blossom into this, or he always had this? Within him, Jake. You know, I think it's probably the latter, Rich, that needs the real deal. But, you know, that question gets asked in the college context sometimes, even with Steph Curry. They would say, you know, if you had gone to Duke or North Carolina, do you think this would have happened?
And he says, I think I've heard him say no.
Now, maybe I'm wrong on that. But Davidson gave him an opportunity where he could have the ball in his hands from day one. And really blossom at that level, if you will.
So it's the same kind of thing. I mean, fit is important and environment is important, but he's got the goods too. It's just that. That's the interesting part of the draft that we're headed into Wednesday and Thursday. Is I don't think this draft is going to be any different.
We're going to look back on this in five years and we would redo it completely. And myself excluded, there are a lot of smart people looking at this stuff. And how many times can we say, all right, well, Jalen Brunson, who thought he was going to be clutch player of the year when he came out of Villanova? There were some people that thought he might have a tough time sticking in the league. And SGA gets taken number 11.
Uh, you know, you got so in Donovan Mitchell, middle of the draft of the first round, it's just so hard to tell. When they're 18, 19 years old. And I'm sure baseball has the same problem, but that's part of the fun of it: we have them slotted now. We think we know, we don't know, we just believe.
So, what are you just cycling back to the Thunder as a whole, Jay Billis? What's their secret sauce? What makes them so great? Obviously, they've got a great player in the MVP of the league, having one of the all-time great. seasons regular and Um Playoffs combined, but what as a whole is the Oklahoma City secret sauce that you think?
everybody's going to try and copycat. If they can't, Jay.
Well, if they're going to copycat, they better do it with some patience and having some smart people like Sam Presty in charge. I don't know how many people are talking about this, but I think they should. Um Sam Presti. If there's anybody better in the NBA at putting a team together. And doing it with obviously you have to have talent.
Uh but but doing it with character. I mean, you know, that team is so well put together, and they've got so many draft assets in the future. that I think that's a franchise that can successfully deal with this second apron. This is seven different champions in seven years. And with the new collective bargaining agreements, it's going to be really hard to keep teams together.
When guys are commanding this much money. But with all the draft assets that Oklahoma City has, I think they're in the best position to navigate that and still remain. up or near the top. Uh in the NBA. And look, every year this time, we start talking about: well, could this be a dynasty?
We talked about it last year when Boston won. And now the talk is: are they going to kind of tear that team apart because Jason Tatum got hurt and the payroll is going to be 500 million or whatever it is next year? But Oklahoma City is really well run. And the way they defend. Um No, Indiana moves the ball really well.
And they're an excellent passing team. And there were some possessions in the game last night. Where the balls start out on the right and it whips around to the left, and you saw maniacal rotations and closeouts to take it away. To get guys to play that hard and together on the defensive end, and they did it all season long. It wasn't just they did it in game seven, they did it every single game.
You know, they'd lost here and there, obviously, but. I didn't see any team that played defense the way they did. Uh, all year long, and that's kind of in their DNA. And the players they bring in, like, that's contagious, sort of the team. Team concept of everybody defending to the fullest, I think that's in their DNA.
And anybody they bring in, you know, they better buy into it or they're not going to be there that long. Yeah. I mean, that's a great way to sum it up. That's why I love having you on, Jay. And we were just talking before.
It's a mixture of Canada's finest and the West Coast Conference's finest, right? Just as a core. You know, it... And then they take a coach from their G-League team, right? And then they take Hartenstein from the Knicks.
They take. Caruso. From the Bulls, and obviously, he had a ring from the bubble with the Lakers. Um and and the rest of their their young team put it together. And that third quarter, I think, encapsulized it, right?
Where SGA. Goes off offensively. Jalen Williams began to get his sea legs under him, and then defensively, as a a collective unit. Certainly uh on the perimeter and then If somebody gets beyond the perimeter, there's homegrun underneath just looming large. It's a really unbeatable combination.
Jay. All the pieces fit. All the pieces fit to your point. Like the players they drafted, the players they brought in. There's a we first mentality there, and you can tell just in the way they handle their interviews.
Everything is so professional, and they really do seem. And I'm not there, so I can't tell, but they really do seem. to enjoy the success of each other. That it's not, you know, I just won the MVP, therefore look at me. Like, SGA was throwing the spotlight on teammates.
And even something as seemingly silly as when they do post-game interviews throughout the season, you know, they got basically the whole team behind the guy doing the interview. It may seem kind of corny, but that comes from the top. And then Mark Dagnall. I met him when he was an assistant to Billy Donovan in Florida. And, you know, it wasn't like I was sitting there thinking, oh, there's a future coach of an NBA champion, but you were really impressed with how mature he was.
And how measured. And I like him. I think he's like Brad Stevens, Rich. Like, he's the real thing. And talk about a guy who never gets too high or too low.
He talks all the time about winning the off games.
So they lose a game. Um, you know, they they they're competitive, they want to win, they're disappointed. But they're not going to beat themselves up, they're going to find the solution and the adjustment for winning the next game. It's not about lamenting what we did or didn't do in the last game, it's about putting ourselves in a position to win the next game. That's the way they look at it.
And I think the team responds really positive to that. And Dignal and Sam Presti set the tone for it. No, and I know you got to have stars in the NBA, and SGA is the MVP and a superstar. There's no doubt about what he has become. But so I use that as a preface to ask you this question.
Is the super team arrow dead? In the NBA now? Jay, is it over?
Well, I mean, it seems like it is, but everything's cyclical. I never saw the sort of three guys teaming up together when it kind of started in Miami, I guess, with the Heat with LeBron Bosch and D. Wade. But I don't know that it's over. But what Oklahoma City is doing is hard to do because you have to have a plan and stick to it.
And I mentioned the character piece. Like your point about you have to have talent is exactly right. But there's nothing written anywhere that says you can't have talent with character. And they insist on the character part. And I was laughing about this the other day.
You know, I've got all my scouting reports ready for the draft. And at certain points, I have high-character guys, stuff like that. And I remember when Bill Simmons was. Writing that column about the draft when he'd watch it with his dad or something like that. I had talked about a player being the ultimate character guy.
And Simmons wrote, like, I thought that was Gandhi. And I'm like, well, Gandhi didn't have a jump shop. Like, you wouldn't take only character. But you can have talent with character. And I think Oklahoma City has that.
But while some teams are firing coaches left and right and all that stuff. You're not seeing that with a franchise like Miami or with Oklahoma City. And they get pretty good results. And I happen to think that's the right way. Look, if you have somebody that you know isn't right, I'm part of the Jeremy Foley, the former AD at Florida.
He used to say, what you will do eventually, you should do immediately.
So if you think you're going to fire a guy the next year, go ahead and do it now. I understand that. But the way coaches get fired now, you're kind of going, is this part of a plan? Or are you just throwing darts, hoping you hit a bullseye at some point? Jay Bill is here on the Rich Eisen show, making his way to the NBA draft, which is Wednesday night.
You can catch that on the Family of Networks for ESPN. ABC and so much more. Do you like the Durant acquisition by the Rockets, who send Jalen Green, Dylan Brooks, the 10th overall pick on Wednesday night? And five second round choices. To the sons for Durant at age 37.
What do you think, Jay Billis? What do you like? I like it, but it's got to work in the next couple of years to sort of win a championship. You know, Kevin Durant's one of the greatest players to ever walk the planet. But he is 37 years old, and he's still incredibly effective.
But you did give up a lot. Jalen Green was the number two pick in the draft. He's a young budding star. And then Dylan Brooks provided a lot for Houston with toughness, his ability to knock down on perimeter shot.
So it's not like they got Kevin Durant for nothing. But that was a team that struggled at times to shoot. They're a great offensive rebounding team, really good defensively.
So I think it was a huge upgrade on the offensive side. For the Rockets. And it puts them right up there in the West to be a contender. When you got a guy that could play ISO ball for you at times, like he can play in a team concept. He showed it in Golden State.
But when you need a shot, you can go get it.
So I like it, but it's a two-year thing. I mean, I can't imagine all these guys are going to continue at the level they're at. past 40 maybe they do But I don't think you can bank on it. Jay Billis, before I let you go, your expectation for the first night of the draft: what are you expecting for that first round, the top? What'd you do?
I think the draft starts at three. That we're going to see Cooper Flag go number one. I can't imagine a scenario. I think there'll be a lot of trades on draft night, but I can't imagine that there's a scenario in which Dallas would trade. Cooper flag.
I just can't imagine it. He's the future of their franchise, and rightfully so. And I think Dylan Harper of Rutgers is likely to go too, whether San Antonio keeps the pick or not. But he'll go number two, and then it's wide open after that. There's some.
Sort of differing Yeah. Views on Ace Bailey and teammate of Harvard and Rutners. He's ultra-talented. But he comes with a little bit of risk, and he hasn't worked out for some of the teams. He hasn't worked out with Philly.
And then it's a question of what do you do with when you get to three, four, five, like you got. Trey Johnson of Texas, Con Kniple of Duke had great shooters, and BJ Hedgecombe. Of Baylor, these guys are all young guys. Edgecombe reminds me of like a 19-year-old Victor Ola Depo, or maybe an 18, 19-year-old Dwayne Wade. That doesn't mean he's going to reach those heights.
But he certainly can. He's got the makeup to do that.
So, who do you like as a. I mean, sleeper is just a silly word, obviously. We don't know, but. Who do you like? Who would you pound the table for and say this guy doesn't have nearly as much heat on him as he should?
In this draft, Jake, what do you like there? You know, it's interesting. Like, I think the kid from Duke Conconipole is really interesting. Like, I could see him going number three because he can really shoot it. He's probably the best standstill shooter in the draft.
The best overall shooter, both catching shooting off the dribble, is Trey Johnson, in my view, from Texas. And he's, you know, he's got a six-ten wingspan. He's a fast pitch athlete. He just doesn't. He's not an impactful defender just yet, but he's still only 19.
But Knipple is uh, he really shoots in. I mean, he's a 48% corner shooter. And shot, I think he shot like 48% from the field, 41% from three, and 91% from the foul line. He's strong. He's not an NBA elite athlete.
But when he gets in the lane, he plays up two feet. He's always around the ball, getting loose balls, he's tough. I can see him. I can see somebody. I can see Philly taking him a three because he can shoot it, but there are a number of options they have there.
I'll be interested to see what happens with ACE failing. I'm not sure I would have counseled them taking this approach to the draft. As far as the way he Yeah. To work outs and didn't go to certain places and decided not to. You know, not to show what he had.
Um, you know, he could he could go anywhere from three to eight. But he's ultra-talented, and he's one of those guys where our teams are going, well, if we take him and it doesn't work out, we get fired. And if we don't take him and he turns out to be all that, we get fired.
So uh Okay. They're going to be some tough decisions, got a three through eight. Jay, you're the man. Go fly safe and have a great draft. And so what's your plan?
Are you a first on a plane guy? Uh do you reading material? Do you have a show downloaded? Like what what what's the J. Billis flying approach?
What is that? During the season, I work. I do like to get on the plane first just to get my bag in the overhead. But actually, right now, I'm in Maine.
So I'm going Maine to New York and people actually think I'm up here to find Cooper Flag, but he's actually in Durham right now. But you can probably see behind me, there's a big lobster tank. Uh at the airport.
So I'm uh Yeah, it's Pretty impressive stuff. It was really different. I was up here for a charity golf tournament. Of course, you were. It's called Drive for Kids, which I think I can rename Three Bud for Kids.
The Dempsey Center and the Barbara Bush Hospital. And the people in Maine are really nice, but I got a lot of Cooper flag questions. I think I have to have a sign around my neck that says, you know, only Cooper flag questions after the round is over.
Okay.
Very good. Like quiet, please, and one arm, and then no Cooper flag questions until after the. I'll see you in Tahoe, if not before, Jay. Thanks for the time, brother. You're the man.
Looking forward to it. Thanks, brother. One and only Jay Billison. Maine airport is really great. Really small, homey.
Wouldn't that be aggressive to get a lobster to go and bring that on the plane? That's aggressive. Rich, I can honestly say I've seen a lot of stuff in this lifetime. I've never seen somebody eat a lobster on a plane. Emotional support lobsters.
Emotional support lobsters. Bring the thing live. An emotional support lobster. That'd forget me. I mean, NESL lobster.
It's the full-on lobster. An ESL. Bucket list. I mean, I worked on a lobster boat. Yeah.
Oh, it used to be aggressive. He had a beard and everything back. What's that smell? Yeah. Not a great smell.
You know what I mean? Not a great smell with the lobsters. Yeah. Just a lot of the stuff we talk about. It's amazing.
We're going to take a break, and I want to linger a little bit on SGA. and what he's accomplished. And what we just saw, I think we just got to put it all in perspective. Because it's unbelievable. Let's talk about coffee, people.
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Learn more at hyundaiusa.com. Call 562-314-4603 for details. We have four fictional characters, basketball characters, that we're wondering who would make the best NBA draft prospect. First up is the point guard from the Venice Beach Locals, Sidney Dean. Great handle, somewhat of a trash talker, a little bit of a gym rat, but really hustles out on the floor.
That's right. As a blacktop, really. He's not yet played an indoor game. It's all been outdoors.
So, you know, his jump shot may be pushed by the wind to go in or to go out. We'll see how he does in an indoor game. He is undersized and tends to over-dribble a little bit. And he also tends to hustle in a negative fashion. But he has played against quality competition, including Freeman Williams, Nigel Miguel, who played UCLA, Marcus Johnson was in that movie.
And then Gary Moeller, who played at UC Santa Barbara, whose dad pitched for the Dodgers, Joe Moeller.
Next up is from Hickory High School, shooting guard Jimmy Chitwood. Jimmy Chitwood, spot-up shooter, tends to demand the ball, especially in huddles. He'll make his teammates better, although not particularly supportive of Ollie when he took that free throw, those free throws at the end of the game. The underhanded free throws against Cedar Knob was the opponent. And who doesn't enjoy saying Cedar Knob on national radio?
The problem, he's not always motivated, and Jimmy Chitwood tends to get a little chummy with the alumni. And I think a little questionable relationship with his teacher, Barbara Hershey. I think something wrong. Whoa, whoa, okay. I likened him to Clay Thompson without the defense.
Okay, next up, another high schooler from Carver High, center Warren Coolidge. Physically imposing, rebounds at a high level, was coached by an NBA player, Ken Reeves, who had a wonderful fictional career with the Chicago Bulls before getting injured. Yeah, a fantastic locker room singing voice. Uh and uh reminds you a lot of Ben Wallace with uh with sort of a Barry White voice. The problem is, you know, tends to be a little unmotivated and wasn't necessarily the best player uh on that show.
Uh Wolf Perry was on that show uh who played at Stanford and then uh you may not know this but uh Jay Billis was once on that show No! All right, last one for you. He plays tons of position, guard, forward, and center from Beacon Hills High School, Teen Wolf. Jay, what do you think about his abilities? Teen Wolf, whose name in the film was Scott Howard, when he wasn't a wolf.
Um great vertical leap, plays above the rim. I think you could refer to him literally and figuratively as a beast. Only 5'3, but plays much bigger. The problem is he comes from a small town in Nebraska, so he'd have to cut family ties. And then he's occasionally violent, although his hair is perfect.
Ah yes, our friend J. Billis, everybody. Always fun when he joins our program. His hair is perfect. Yeah, we had a fun there.
I I I I I stay serious with Jay quite a bit. I I just like his his information is too good to just Screw around whenever he comes on the program.
Some people screw around people, and he's not.
So Ugh. What an unbelievable night that was last night. An unbelievable weekend at the Fanatics Fest in New York City for all of us. Um or when I say all of us, I mean You, Chris, and me, and Overreaction Monday. That's now out.
I think No Contest Wrestling will drop later on today. You, O'Shea, and Rey Mysterio, right? Correct? Yeah, we're actually, I think, we're going to save Ray for later in the week. Oh.
Zoom and live, we've got Naomi.
Okay, so that'll be today. Awesome. Later on today, No Contest Wrestling is dropping. Overreaction Monday has already dropped, all from Fanatics Festival, which we'll talk about.
So were you watching the game from the flight? Is that where you were watching the game? I'm trying to. It was going in and out, but yeah. And you were already home?
No, no, no, no, no. We were watching. I think we got home. We were also delayed. Not as bad as TJ, but.
Uh, we watched about the first half on the plane.
Okay.
Um, and I was watching on the plane as well, um, you know. Unreal watching the Hallard Burton stuff and then watching Shea. Gil just Alexander do his his stuff. Listen, um I know there's lots going around, certainly around here in LA. Boy, the Clippers blew it.
Or, you know, the Charlotte Hornets drafted him. Jerry West loved SGA, and you know he was with the Clippers organization after he was with the Lakers. Also, with Charlotte as well, if I'm not mistaken. And Memphis. Memphis, right?
Oh, here, Memphis, right. And anyway, long story short is. Listen. Um I'll just say this before we get into what SGA has become. Clippers had to go get Kawhi.
It was that simple. Kawhi was in play, Kawhi was in play. Winning a title. The Lakers had LeBron fresh here in Los Angeles, the Clippers. could get Kawhi, they're going to go get Kawhi.
Unfortunately for them. Kawhi is a a much better player and future Hall of Famer than a general manager. Yeah. Because he's the one who said, I want Paul George, get me Paul George. Sam Presti.
I guess knew that and said, we will take Shea Gilgis Alexander Danilo Galinari, and and a whole host of first-round picks, one of which They're going to use on Wednesday night. And another one. They used in 2012 to take Jalen Williams. 2022, part of me, in 2022, to take Jalen Williams. And that was Jalen Williams in the With the 12th overall pick, they used the second overall pick of their own to take Chet Holmgren.
Nice draft. And when they got Shea Gilgis Alexander from the Clippers in 2019, they also... uh snagged an undrafted free agent named Lou Dort. And Listen, we just talked about it with Jay Billis. Would he have become the SGA that he is today in Los Angeles?
Uh we don't know. But all we know is what he has become right now. I'm thinking yes, he would have.
Okay.
Yeah. All right. I don't think anything was going to stop that. As the Clipper fan in you? But what you're seeing on the screen there.
What he has done, I wrote down most of the accomplishments here. On in my book. If I hold it up for you right here, it fills up the entire page. It's a lot of writing. Of what he did this year.
This year. Two hundred and twelve points in the finals, that's the most since LeBron in twenty fifteen. His regular season. Scoring title average of 32.7 points per game. That is the most in a title winning season ever.
A hair better than Michael Jordan's 32.6 points per game in the 92-93 season. He won the scoring title, the MVP, the Western Conference Finals MVP, the finals MVP, anyone. the title. He's the fourth ever. To win the scoring title.
The most valuable player award and the NBA Finals in the same season. The others are named Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 71, Shaquille O'Neal in 2000. And before that, Michael Jordan did it four times. 91, 92, 96, and then the 97, 98 season. He's the first player in twenty five years to win the MVP scoring title and finals MVP in the same season.
His 3,172 points in the regular season and playoffs combined. That's the most since Jordan in ninety eight. You hear Jordan's name a lot. He was really good. 68 regular season wins for the.
For the Thunder, as we know. It's the second most by. a team that also featured the MVP and the finals MVP. Behind Michael Jordan's Seventy Two in nineteen ninety six. Shaquille O'Neal.
of 2000, Jordan of 92, Larry Bird of Um eighty-four all had 67 total regular season wins. The only person with more regular season wins to win the MVP and Finals MVP. is Michael Jordan. By the way, LeBron had 66 wins and Kareem had 66 wins when they did that MVP and finals MVP in 2013 and 1971, respectively. The 84 total wins or more.
And you win the uh Finals MVP and MVP. Um only Michael Jordan has more than that. Mm-hmm. In terms of winning the MVP finals, MVP and the title in the same year. Want to hear the names of those players?
I would. Willis Reed, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Hakeem Elijah, Shaquille O'Neal, LeBron James, Tim Duncan, and. Shea Gilgis Alexander. And there could be more to come. Because Think of this.
He's the first to win the MVP and the title in the same season.
Okay.
Steph Curry did it in 2014 and 2015. That's the last guy. to win the MVP of the regular season and then the title. in the same season. After Curry did that.
He made the final five more times in eight years. Seven years, pardon me. That was the beginning of making six finals in eight years and the first of four championships. Obviously. Lots more were added, including.
Former Thunder Kevin Durant, let's not forget, he's the one who left the Thunder to join the Warriors. If you can't beat him, join him situation. But SGA, man. Let's hear from him after the championship run here. It's hard to believe that I'm I'm part of that group.
It's hard to even fathom that I'm that type of basketball player sometimes. As a kid, you dream, and every kid dreams, but you don't ever really know if it's going to come true. I'm just glad and happy that my dreams have been able to come true. That's a thank you to everyone that's been in my corner that's helped me get here. I wouldn't have done it without them.
They know exactly who they are. Um So yeah, it's a win for the family. First Canadian-born player to win finals, MVP. He's the first to do all of that, everything that I just said here. And a pretty Impressive.
Individual. He was the one who. went over to Halliburton when Halliburton was on the floor as well. Oh, yeah, I missed all that. You guys intended to see it.
I mean, he was the there were a couple of Thunder players that went to sort of stand around him. Um But the first one to go over and just get down on on the floor. to talk to him and see what was going on was SGA. And then in terms of one for the family. I mean the NBA sent out this video.
I mean you want to talk about wholesome There's his wife Haley and his young baby Aries, who's born last year. With the trophies. Just hanging out. By the way, hell of a serious photo background, right there, right? Yeah, right.
You know what I mean? Oh, yeah. And look at the baby with those trophies. Are they at Sears? Are they at an NBA championship photo shoot?
I don't know. I mean, as wholesome as it gets as a. beautiful family and face forward individual that you would want. Why's the dream come true? A dream come true.
And he's building a legacy, man. He will never have to pay for a meal in Oklahoma City ever again, that we already know. And, you know, he etches his name. I'm looking here. Willis Reed, Kareem, Moses, Bird, Magic, MJ, Hakeem, Shaquille O'Neal, LeBron, James, Tim Duncan, and him is the only.
players to an MVP, finals MVP and a title, right, in the same season, right? Um There. And um I guess Curry didn't do it because was Iguadala the MVP? Iguadallo was the MVP. That's why Curry's not on this list.
Right, right. Finals MVP. Uh And Kentucky Wildcats have sent a ton of great players to the next level. It's ridiculous. He's kind of.
He's putting himself in the mix of the best ever, right? Ooh. That's a one-season list. I'm going to have to Google it. I got it.
I got it. Is there another Kentucky Wildcat on that list of names I just mentioned? There is not. There's not. There's not, no.
So, man, oh man, oh, there's a lot of talent came from that. SGA, one of the greatest. Seasons Ever. Ever. And it's possible he's just getting started because this team is young and has a massive amount.
of capital. To build around SGA and the rest of this championship Thunder team. The United States Soccer Federation presents the U.S.
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Never miss a game. What a start for the United States. Shot for distance. What a goal. Never miss a moment.
Exquisite from La Sandiegan. Can he finish? Yes, he can. Yes. The U.S.
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