Dame Time in Milwaukee (Hour 1)

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Shop in store or visit Ashley.com today. Live from the PlayShow, yet not overly ostentatious, studios of CBS Sports Radio here in beautiful New York City, sitting on top of the 10th floor, 345 Hudson Street. Welcome on in to a Wednesday edition of the Zach Gelb show across all of our great local CBS Sports Radio affiliates. You can always get at me on Instagram, where I'm straight flexing, or via the good ol' cesspool of Twitter, at Zach Gelb.

That's Z-A-C-H-G-E-L-B. We have a loaded show for you today, coming up 40 minutes from now. Basketball royalty, Magic Johnson will stop by. At 7.20 p.m. Eastern, 4.20 p.m. Pacific, Bart Winkler will join us. And at 8.20 p.m. Eastern, 5.20 p.m. Pacific, former NFL cornerback, good friend to the show, two-time Super Bowl champion, Brian McFadden will stop by.

But first up, producing the extravaganza, for the next four hours, is no other than Hot Tay Kiki. Rarely in football season do we start a show where basketball is not the lead, or football is not the lead. Today is that day with basketball overtaking the sports world as the three-year question of where the heck is Damian Lillard going to go did get answered. And I was shocked today.

Stunned. When this woge bomb did drop that Damian Lillard was getting traded to the Milwaukee Bucks, I couldn't believe it. If you would have told me that two months ago, I would have said, make sense in terms of it seems like it would be a fantasy, it would be great, it would be wonderful, but the expectation was that Damian Lillard was going to wind up with the Miami Heat. And in an era of player empowerment, nine times out of ten, especially in the NBA, the player gets what he wants. And Damon and his agent made it abundantly clear they wanted to go to Miami. Well today, Miami is the big loser because they don't get Damian Lillard, and the big winner are the Milwaukee Bucks for two reasons.

One, not only do you get Damian Lillard, but now you get to keep Giannis Antetokounmpo. Because I think it's safe to say out of anybody that you listen to on national radio, nobody is more plugged in about the Milwaukee Bucks over the last three to four years than I am. And we have seen the last few years, Giannis Antetokounmpo threatened to leave the Milwaukee Bucks. And this offseason, when he did a few interviews, and he talked about how he doesn't want any complacency in the organization, and if he senses that not everybody is all in to win a championship, he'll leave. And there's one thing to say that, and some may say, oh it's an empty threat.

There's another thing to go through with that. And it did feel like this offseason coming off of a disastrous and a failure of a postseason, where they lose in the first round and Giannis didn't want to admit that it was a failure. That was the first time where Giannis really received some backlash, coming off the highs of two years ago of having a historically great NBA Finals and a ridiculous performance that really put his stamp on the sport as the preeminent player. And the year after, okay you go down, Chris Middleton gets hurt, then you get banged up, and the team blows a game and a series, and they didn't show up against the Miami Heat, and it's uh oh, you were going up against a team that was in the second round of the playing tournament, or the second game of the playing tournament, and they were two or three minutes away from going home, and then they beat you on their way to make this impeccable run, an improbable run to the NBA Finals. But now it was the response of the Milwaukee Bucks. And Giannis, seeing today that the organization went all out and did what it took to do something that many people didn't think was going to happen, is an enormous win, not only do you have a championship window, not only do you have two of the top ten players in the sport right now, but this assures in a small market, in a fan base that always wonders, is Giannis going to stay, is he going to go, that for the foreseeable future, Giannis on to the kumpo is going to be a Milwaukee Bucks. And this is what happens when you have a good general manager and a good president running the organization. I don't believe a lot of people today are going to talk about John Horace, I don't believe a lot of people today are going to talk about Peter Fagan, but the general manager and the president of the Milwaukee Bucks deserve an enormous amount of credit.

Because think about where we are now. Small markets, what do you get told, ah you won't win championships, ah you won't be able to retain the big superstars. They made aggressive moves, originally getting Drew Holliday, believing in Chris Middleton. Giannis on to the kumpo getting better and better and better, it resulted in a championship. And now after the high of winning a championship started to fade away and it was, can you go get another championship, and you're running the risk of Giannis on to the kumpo, potentially leaving the Milwaukee Bucks, in a few years when you had the player option, this organization, this leadership, said we're not going to leave a door open for Giannis to say, guys, thanks for the memories, I'm going to blame the organization, they didn't do enough, and I'm out. Giannis on to the kumpo got his wish fulfilled today. Because the Milwaukee Bucks, even though they lose Drew Holliday, who's a nice player, but he ain't Damian Lillard, the Milwaukee Bucks are now the best team in the Eastern Conference.

Miami, you missed out. And I know Corona, the general manager for the Portland Trailblazers, seemed like he didn't want to get told where he had to trade Damian Lillard, and maybe that played a factor into it. The Celtics, I know they got Christos Porzingis, there's already injury concerns there, and Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown, as good as they've been, they've come up short on a big stage. You look around the rest of the Easter Conference, the Sixers, forget about it.

James Harden, Daryl Morey, you're still fighting James Harden, you know, as a joke. And Joel Embiid, he either keeps on getting injured, or his body, I don't want to say breaks down, but through the entirety of a series, the amount that they use him and not having a finisher catches up, and Joel Embiid has disappeared in closeout games of the postseason and in series. You look across the landscape of the Eastern Conference, I don't even think it's close right now. The Milwaukee Bucks, as long as Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard stay healthy, are the perfect blend for one another, and they create the best team in the Eastern Conference. Now, we'll have to wait and see if they could beat Denver. Denver has an unstoppable force in Nikola Jokic, who no one has an answer how to guard him right now. And also, we've seen Jamal Murray coming back a full year after the ACL and playing take his game back to the dominant Jamal Murray level that we saw in the bubble. You look at the Suns, the Suns have a talented roster with Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and going out and getting Bradley Beal. But is it the right blend of people? And do you have enough team chemistry with only one basketball?

And that's another thing. Like if we get an NBA Finals of Denver and Milwaukee, that's going to be great basketball. I don't know if the Suns are going to be able to get there because I don't know how the Suns are going to work from a chemistry standpoint. The Nuggets clearly there's no chemistry issues, but sometimes teams make big moves. Like when the Nets got Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden.

And yeah, part of me was like, let's see if it could work. You know, you look at Miami, right? That wasn't the ideal situation when they had LeBron James and Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. And you had to have people be selfless to sacrifice, change their roles, to go find the better good of the team to go win a championship and multiple championships. You go into this if you're the Milwaukee Bucks and right out of the gate, the way Damian Lillard plays and Giannis Antetokounmpo plays, the game just flows so well between the two. And the partnership gives them such a head start.

And both of these guys don't have a ton of ego. And it's not as if you're putting two great shooters together and you're saying, oh, it's just one basketball. Both of these guys are going to get better and they're already elite players playing with one another. And you look at it, the only reason why we didn't think it was going to happen is because we live in this world of when a player says in the NBA that he wants something, he usually gets it. But Miami compared to the Bucks, I'm not talking about weather, I'm not talking about where you'd rather live, things like that, I'm talking about trying to go win a championship. And I know that Miami beat the Bucks in the playoffs and Miami was in the NBA finals. But if I was just looking at what gives me the best opportunity and the best road to win a championship if I'm Dame Lillard, it's the Bucks compared to the Miami Heat. Because yes, if he got traded to Miami, the take would be, oh, the Bucks should win a championship because he's going to be the missing piece to get Jimmy Butler over the top and he's going to be the finisher and the consistent piece of offense and the clutch player.

But they haven't won yet. You go to Milwaukee, you've already had Giannis Antetokounmpo win two MVPs. You've already had Giannis Antetokounmpo win a finals MVP. And not only that, Chris Middleton is now your third option.

Chris Middleton used to be the second option where we would all say he has to be closer Chris. Now you put three guys together that have no ego, that are going to fit perfectly, and as long as they stay healthy with Giannis, Damian Lillard, and Chris Middleton, that team's going to the NBA finals. And they'll be going up against either Denver or the Phoenix Suns. So I can't express enough how impressed I am today with a great organization in the Milwaukee Bucks who continue to say, you say that a small market can't win a championship, can't retain their superstars.

They said bleep you to that. They said that line of thinking is over with the Milwaukee Bucks because guys like John Horse and Peter Fagan know how to run an organization. And they know they couldn't get complacent after winning one championship.

The last two years, we're not up to par. And now it was you got to get this third year since winning the title right. And they heard Giannis' voice. They listened to what Giannis was saying. And with all the odds looking like it was stacked against them, just like as they were a few years ago to keep Giannis Antetokounmpo and they proved everybody wrong and they won the championship. They went out there and they found a way to orchestrate this deal to get Damian Lillard to put them in another ideal situation to win another championship and have Giannis Antetokounmpo want to stay with the Milwaukee Bucks. I can't give more round of applause or two thumbs up more to what the Bucks organization did today. So that's my take on the whole thing.

Hickey, let me get you chime in on this. Your instant reaction to what transpired today where Damian Lillard is finally gone from the Portland Trail Blazers after giving them the benefit of the doubt over and over and over again. And now Damian Lillard is off to Milwaukee to Fiserv Forum where maybe he'll go stop off at fourth base or Carnivore. Dame, just hit me up if you need a reservation. Dame, just let me know if you need the good eats of Milwaukee. But now you get to play with Giannis Antetokounmpo and all Dame wanted was a chance to win a championship. Now this is the best chance he's ever had in his career to win an NBA title.

Absolutely. I think it's going to work. I think it's going to work because they're not a super team per se because it's not three all-star, all-MBA caliber players. But you look at least the leadership aspect. That's what I think was missing from the Nets, missing from the Clippers, missing even right now from the Suns with their collection of talent.

And you look right now with what the build is in Milwaukee. There's no doubt the unquestionable leader is still Giannis. And now you still have at least Dame coming to town where Dame, even though he is insanely talented and has so many accomplishments on his own, he's fallen in line. Or at least he should fall in line. I think he will fall in line.

This guy has always talked about his winning, winning, winning. Well now you're going to a team that has won recently, who has a championship pedigree, who's in the playoffs bare minimum every single year, has gotten a lot farther, more consistent than you have in your career in Portland. And I think that Dame is going to fit into what Milwaukee does compared to what we see where you try to have these superstars that play together with contrasting styles.

It meshes perfectly. This is going to be a really, really good duo. You have two elite players and then you have Chris Middleton, who's a very good player that's been a three-time all-star, has shown the ability to close.

You get to the end of games now. We've seen Giannis close in the NBA Finals. We've seen Chris Middleton close games. But now you get a guy that is known for being that finisher in Damian Lillard.

It's just the fit and the mesh of all three of these guys are insane. And you look at it, yeah, it's two elite players and then it's like Chris Middleton is a damn good player. For that to be your third option? That's an incredible third option on a championship team. No, he has to stay healthy. That's been an issue the last few years.

But if he's able to stay healthy, yes, that's a tremendous third option. And that's, again, a team that legitimately should be in the NBA Finals in June. Alrighty, let's take a break here on the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Ready.

You can jump on into the conversation. Your reaction to the Damian Lillard trade to the Milwaukee Bucks. You got Bucks-Luss if you're a Bucks fan today. 8-5-5, 2-1-2 for CBS.

8-5-5, 2-1-2, 42-27. When we come on back, we'll go through the pecking order in the East when we evaluate the four or five top teams in the Eastern Conference after the big Damian Lillard trade to the Milwaukee Bucks. We know the Bucks are on top. How does 2-3-4 and 5 follow? We'll get to that next.

You're listening to the Zach Gelb show. You know, you look around the entirety of the NBA. Denver, you could definitely see winning a championship again. The Suns, we know they have a lot of talent.

The question is, is it the right fit? They are a championship contending team. And then the Milwaukee Bucks after today, definitely a championship contending team. Like, I'll still throw Boston in the conversation as a championship contending team. I do believe, even though Miami has got to two NBA Finals with Jimmy Butler, not getting that closer, they do take a step back.

But those to me are the four teams, without hesitation, are your championship contending teams heading into this season, are the Bucks, the Celtics, the Denver Nuggets, and then also the Phoenix Suns. When we talk about fit, and what makes this work so perfectly, with Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo, and now you get Chris Middleton basically relegated to that third star role, which is a pretty damn good third star in the NBA. Like, you look at the Warriors, we always know Steph is going to be in it, but he's dealt with his own health issues before, and Klay Thompson doesn't look like you're going to get the great Klay Thompson again.

I know he had a tremendous three-point shooting season, but it's either he's so great, and then he's bad now. Where there's no in-between where you just get average Klay Thompson, and I do believe it's because of all the injuries that are piling up. The Lakers, I know they got to the Western Conference Finals last year, but it's tough for me to believe that LeBron and Anthony Davis are both going to be healthy. And we've seen, ever since LeBron has gone to LA, that he has battled for the first time in his career, injuries and a lot of injuries keeping out of the lineup, and you know Anthony Davis is synonymous with injuries.

Outside of that, in the Western Conference, I know the Kings did a nice job last year, we'll see if they can take the next step. It wasn't that long ago where we said the same thing about Memphis, and obviously that's more of a complicated issue because of everything that did transpire off the court with Kawhi Leonard. I mean with Ja Morant, and then it's like you look at the Clippers, are Kawhi Leonard and Paul George ever going to be healthy? And we know Kawhi, once again, got hurt in the postseason, and it always seems as if there is an injury problem. And also, when you go back to Golden State, it's like, alright, is Chris Paul going to fit in there?

And how much is Chris Paul still have left in the tank? So I can really only see right now, two teams in the Western Conference that I feel good about getting to the NBA Finals, it's out of doubt Denver, and it's Phoenix just because of the talent, even if you can question the fit. But in the East, you know, immediately, and it felt like the last two years going into the season, it's been either Milwaukee or Boston, and Boston made a strong move going out and getting Christoph Berzingis even though he's already dealing with the injuries.

But now, with the Bucs getting Damian Lillard, that's an elite move. And now the Bucs have to be ranked number one in the Eastern Conference pecking order. And you look then at who's two, it would be Boston for me. Three, I would say it's Miami now.

Four, it's the Sixers, just because I don't know if James Harden's going to be there, and even if James Harden's going to be there, he could show up for the first game. He could show up for like game four of a playoff series, but then when you get to five, six, and seven, he becomes a no-show. And as great as Joel Embiid has been in the regular season, he has consistently come up short in the postseason. So that's how I would rank the Eastern Conference pecking order. And if I had to throw a fifth spot in there, you know, I know that the Knicks beat the Cavs in a playoff series, but right now I would give the edge to the Cavs heading into this season. Just because when I look at the Knicks, I know that there's questions about Donovan Mitchell and his future, and if he's going to be there for the long term. Julius Randle is a big part of that Knicks team.

I love Jalen Brunson, but I don't know if Julius Randle, the Knicks fan is fed up with Julius Randle. So I would say your top five teams entering this season in the Eastern Conference in this order. Bucks one, Celtics two, Heat three, Sixers four, and then the fifth spot is a toss up between Cleveland and the Knicks. I would lean more so Cleveland than I would be with the Knicks by the slimmest of margins.

Hickey, let me ask you this. Do you agree with those five teams in that order, or do you have a different order there when you look inside the Eastern Conference? At least the top three I have the same order, and frankly I think that's all that really matters. I think once you get past Miami three I don't really see any team that could really even come out of nowhere to contend. I think it is a very top heavy East this year, and where it's like I think you're splitting hairs. I'm not a big Sixers fan whatsoever. Regular season wise they'll be in the top five without a doubt. But that's not a team that we're going to say could go with a champion. Absolutely, whether Harden's there or not does not change my opinion on them. Knicks I would probably say right now five, but again that's I think splitting hairs between them and the Cavs. Those are both teams where they can win a series like the Sixers, but in terms of actually being legitimate contenders, no. And you look at those three teams, the Bucks have got to the championship and have won the championship. The Celtics have got to the championship and lost the championship to the Warriors.

The Heat have got to the championship twice and lost both those championships to Denver and then the Los Angeles Lakers. So all three of those teams are capable of getting to a championship, but what makes this even more of a lethal move today by the Milwaukee Bucks. Not only do we know that the Bucks are capable of getting the championship, we also know they're capable of winning the championship with Giannis and Chris Middleton.

And oh yeah by the way you add one of the best finishers in the sport today in Damian Lillard. It just continues to pump up the Bucks. Now in terms of the entirety of the NBA, you know I was on a radio show earlier today, I'm like oh yeah the Bucks become the favorite to win the championship. And someone goes, although mate, what about Denver Nuggets?

I would still slightly lean Denver now after giving it more thought than Milwaukee. But if I had to say who are the three teams that you believe are going to win the championship this year, I would say one would be Denver, two would be Milwaukee, and then three would actually be the Phoenix Suns. I still wonder, can Tatum and Brown win a championship together?

And so far we haven't been able to see that. At least it's something newer with the Suns, where we've seen the Suns get to an NBA Finals and we know how phenomenal Devin Booker could be. And now it's okay, you get rid of Chris Paul, you bring in Bradley Beal, and then last year you also implement Kevin Durant as well. So I would rather believe more in the Suns heading into this season than I would with the Boston Celtics. Because I would say if you ask me the three teams that give you the best chance to win a championship this year, Denver, Milwaukee, and then it would be the Phoenix Suns for me. And I feel like, Kiki, if I know you the way that I know you, and maybe I'll be dead wrong here, you're not going to believe in the Suns because of what happened with KD in Brooklyn.

Oh no, not at all. I picked them to go to the finals last year. Did you really? Yeah. Once KD got there?

Yes. I was all in. I was all in. I thought that was a better culture for him compared to Brooklyn. Did not work out the way I thought.

I think they're definitely in the top four. Because you had a lot of animosity towards KD when he was in Brooklyn. Not even towards him, just the way the team was constructed in Brooklyn.

I mean, not to brag, I was 100% right in everything that happened. About time. And with the Nets, now I can see that from a mile away. But no, I like Kevin Durant at root for a success. I like him as a person and a player.

When it comes to at least the top three, I would put the Celtics right now slightly above them, though. Why? Better depth.

Do they? I'm still worried about the fact that it's KD. I mean, now, especially when you go Bradley Beal, you really, really harp it on the fact that you have no bench. And that was their problem last year. They were too reliant on Booker and KD to win games. And the two games, they were unstoppable. The only two games they beat the Nuggets with.

When one of them had even an okay game or a pretty good game, they lost. And now, yes, you at least have the margin of error a little bit better in the sense that you have Bradley Beal there. Did the Celtics really have this great bench? We're talking about Peyton Pritchard, Malcolm Brogdon, Lamar Stevens. Robert Williams is a solid player. Hey, don't you dare talk bad about Lamar Stevens.

Penn State legend right there. But they do. They average 5.3 points per game last year. They go 8, 9, 10 deep. They have a good bench.

They get contributions. They have better, right now, chemistry and continuity than what we've seen from, again, in a short term, the Suns throwing together star after star. This is not a phenomenal bench when you take a look at the Boston Celtics. And that's why, if you look at star power, Tatum, Brown, Porzingis, so it's ultimately going to determine if they get to a championship.

I'd rather hitch my wagon, even though I love, and I absolutely love Tatum, to KD, Booker, and also Bradley Beal. Let's go to Mario from Milwaukee. First up on the Zach Galbraith. Mario, what's happening? Hey, how you doing this afternoon, my man? Doing fantastic.

What do you got for me? Well, I'll call it from Milwaukee, but I just can kind of sum it up a little bit on how this should play out this year. As well as on paper, the Bucks always going to be a good defensive team. And now you add Miller to that mix.

First of all, I hate to give up a few holidays, but to get a player like Damon Miller, you're going to give up something. And the Bucks won a championship. They're going into a new change and new horizon right now. We won a championship with Bud, and he's more of a system coach, I think. And I think Griffin's going to be a players' coach. And with the roster he has, the Bucks are going to be trouble for our spacing on the floor.

They're going to be large, less weak. They're going to be a good rebounding team. Defensively, they're going to be great, and you're going to have to score a lot of points to beat them.

And they have depth. Milwaukee Bucks, I expect them to be their top four teams out of nuggets because they won a championship. Bucks, Lakers, Boston. Not the Suns. I'm not going to put Boston in there.

I'm going to put Golden State in there. But most definitely, the Bucks are going to be trouble for not only the East, but the whole NBA. You're going to have to be on your heels on the defensive end. They're going to be a problem at the end of the game. Going to be matchup problems all over the court. And they're going to be interchangeable from their first to their 12th man on the roster.

Bucks are going to take it. This was a good move that keeps Giannis here. Drew Holliday was potentially going to maybe retire after next year.

He's a free agent, or he may just continue to play. But he probably won't stand poor and then they'll move. And I ain't going to be surprised if they move them. They're definitely going to move them. And Mario, thanks for the phone call. And those reports are out there that they're probably going to move Drew Holliday.

But I think you forgot the biggest part here. Bobby Portis is still a Milwaukee Buck. There was nothing like being at a five serve forum. And Bobby Portis was going off and I went to a game there. And you have all those fans chanting, Bobby, Bobby, Bobby. Bobby Portis is a fan favorite. You want to talk about a good bench. The Milwaukee Bucks have a good bench. The Milwaukee Bucks have a solid lineup with guys coming off the bench like Pat Connington, Jay Crowder, Bobby Portis, Malik Beasley. And now you throw Dame Lillard into the starting lineup. And you have Brook Lopez coming back. This is a heck of a team. Giannis, Middleton, Lopez, Dame, Bobby, Crowder, Beasley.

This is just a loaded roster. And anything short of an NBA championship is going to be a disappointment this year. Notice, Giannis, I didn't say failure.

I said disappointment. It is the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. We will take a break. When we come on back, NBA royalty will join us. I think he's joined like every show today on CBS Sports Radio. So we're joining the party, the magical party. Magic Johnson is going to join us on the other side. You're listening to the Zach Gelb show.

All right. We continue this Zach Gelb show coast to coast on CBS Sports Radio. Now joining us on behalf of GSK Sideline RSV program, Sideline RSV.com.

For more information, his legendary Irvin Magic Johnson and Dr. Leonard Freeland. Gentlemen, appreciate the time. How are we? We're doing good, Zach.

How about yourself? Fantastic. Doc, I'll chat with you in just a bit about the great campaign, but I got to start Magic off with some basketball questions. Magic.

I get it. We all know that you could guard anyone on a basketball court. Right now, the toughest player to guard in the league, in my opinion, is Nicole Jokic. If you were going up against the Joker, how would you try to slow him down in the game? Oh, it's kind of difficult, Zach, because he could shoot from the outside. He can put it down on the on the floor and take you off the dribble. He can post. He can pass. I think, you know, you just got to try to go back at him on on the offensive end, because there's no way you can stop a man that can that has that many abilities in his game.

Right. Because since he can do so much on the court, you can't you can't stop him. And that's what I like about his game. He has really changed the game of basketball, being a dominant big man and also winning the NBA championship. So he's a champion this year. He's the most unstoppable player we have. So I can't stop him. Well, another play that's tough to stop that is also what a few MVPs and also has an NBA championship is Giannis Antetokounmpo. Recently, he said that if he senses any complacency from the organization, if everyone's not all in to win a championship, he'll eventually leave the box. Now, he doesn't have a player option until twenty, twenty five, twenty, twenty six. But when you hear that, does your intent to go up?

Hmm. Maybe this is another superstar that's going to leave their organization. Well, Giannis has been again, remember, he was an MVP, he's a champion, so he's just putting the organization on notice that he wants to win more championships. And that's what he's supposed to do. So he wants to make sure that they're going to bring in quality players and and stars that go alongside of him that put him in a position where he can win more championships. And also, if you don't, then I have options to leave.

So I think it's great. And he's serious. You got to remember one thing about Giannis. He's very committed to Milwaukee. He's very committed to basketball because he works on his game probably harder than any other player I've seen. And he wants to not only get better, but he also wants to win. So now it's up to the organization, the organizations who make sure that they stay competitive so that they can keep them. Talking to Magic Johnson right now, we'll chat about GSK and sideline RSV program in just a bit.

Visit sideline RSV dot com. I don't know if you saw this, but recently Gilbert Arenas had Steph Curry on over the summer and Gilbert asked Steph Curry, who's the greatest point guard of all time? And he was respectful to you, but he said himself, how do you process that one? And do you think Steph has surpassed you as the greatest point guard of all time? Well, does the number say that Zach?

Not yet. I would still say it's you if you ask me. OK, so if you got if he got more than five championships, if he got more than three finals MVP and three league MVPs, then he's the greatest. Is he if he got more than, you know, number one in assists all time in the finals, number two in double doubles, number one in triple doubles all time in the NBA playoffs, number four in steals all time in the playoffs.

If he got more than those numbers, he's the best. Well said. Let me ask you this, look at that.

Usually those debates don't end very quickly. Magic Johnson dropping the hammer here on CBS Sports Radio. No, I'm just saying if he if he got more than all those things, he's the best.

But the last time I checked, he doesn't. So but everybody has to, you know, decide for themselves who they think the best is. Let me ask you about your Lakers. LeBron and AD got to the conference finals last year. How open of a window do you think they have this year to go take it a step further and get back to the championship? I think they're the best team in the West this year. And I and I strongly feel that they're going to the NBA finals this year and they have probably more depth than any team in the West. I think that we'll see AD have an MVP type season this year. Rob Palenka did a nice job of bringing in some really good players to go along with LeBron and AD. And then they brought back all the young players. I think Austin Reeves is going to have a tremendous season this year.

We saw him in the World Games playing really good basketball for USA. And so, you know, DeAngelo Russell was back. So it's going to be a really, I think, a great Laker team. And I'm predicting right now that they're going to the NBA finals. All right, gentlemen, Urban Magic Johnson here with us, Dr. Leonard Friedland, as well.

The floor is yours. Tell me a little bit about GSK and also the sideline RSV program. Yeah, thanks, Jack. And it's great to work with you, Magic, on our campaign.

I'm Leonard Friedland. I'm a physician research scientist at GSK. I've been working in vaccine development for many, many years and I'm really proud of the work that we're doing with this health awareness campaign about RSV. Zach, RSV is a very common contagious virus that affects people of all ages, particularly the very young and the older adults. Older adults, particularly over the age of 65, 177,000 older adults over 65 are hospitalized in the United States every year due to RSV. And of those, Zach, 14,000 will die from RSV in the United States every year. It's really important to know about this virus because there are things that we can do to help protect ourselves. This year, for the first time, we have vaccine options to help protect against RSV.

The Centers for Disease Control now recommends that all adults over the age of 60 can receive a single dose of RSV vaccination based on a discussion that they should have with their healthcare provider, their doctor, their nurse, their pharmacist. And our campaign, Sideline RSV, is all about bringing this discussion to the center court. I'm learning all about basketball from Mr. Johnson. But having this discussion is really important because if you know that you potentially could get a serious infection, you want to know what you can do to protect yourself, protect your friends, your parents, your grandparents, et cetera.

And that's all about the discussion. So on SidelineRSV.com, there's great resources there to go learn. We have some videos that Mr. Johnson and I have done together. Magic, it was fun working with you on that, where it's all about raising awareness, getting the knowledge, and then have that discussion. It's really important that we stay healthy as we get older. I'm all about prevention and what we can do to keep ourselves healthy. And that's what Magic is all about, too, health and wellness. And we want to thrive throughout life. And so let's do whatever we can to keep ourselves healthy. So go learn about RSV and the options available to help protect yourself. SidelineRSV.com.

And once again, that is SidelineRSV.com. Irvin Magic Johnson and Dr. Leonard Friedland with us. Magic, one more before we let you run. I have to ask you this question. So one of my best friends from college is a die-hard Commanders fan. Steve Sands from the Golf Channel. I know him very well. I was his kid's camp counselor. He's crazy for the Commanders.

They've been beaten up, tortured for their entire life. Now you and Josh Harris and company are coming in to save the day. What's the message to Commanders fans while you guys are going to get this thing right and move it in the right direction? Well, I think that we're going to build it in the right way. Josh is a tremendous owner already with the 76ers.

He knows what he's doing. I'm so happy that he brought me onto the ownership team. But you have the right people in place. So we're going to increase the fan experience. We're going to add to the talent that we already have on the Commanders team. So we're going to build this thing to a championship organization. So I'm excited that we've taken over. But fans can expect we're going to be winning and winning for a long time once we build this thing. And build it the right way.

He is Magic Johnson and also the Dr. Leonard Freeland. Once again, SidelineRSV.com. Gentlemen, can't thank you enough. Appreciate the chat. Let's do it again real soon. Thank you, Zach. Thank you.

So there you go. Magic Johnson with us on CBS Sports Radio. Clearly we recorded that conversation earlier in the day before the Damian Lillard news. But we wanted to keep the question in there about the Milwaukee Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Because I thought two things fascinated by Magic Johnson just in that Bucks response. One, he discussed how you look at Giannis, he's never seen a player work harder at their craft than Giannis Antetokounmpo.

That's a big time statement to make. And number two, you've seen what Giannis has done recently, calling the organization out or threatening to eventually leave and just throwing the idea out there. To see them follow through today and get Damian Lillard, that's what makes good organizations good.

When they listen. And they listen to their superstar. And you don't have to listen to everything your superstar says. It's possible to give your superstar everything he wants. But when he puts the organization on blast and says that there's complacency, if I don't sense that they're all in to win a championship, I'll leave. And he made it clear he wants to stay in Milwaukee. But he said, this needs to happen. And we didn't know what this was going to be.

And I don't believe a lot of people saw this coming with Damian Lillard. But since it's now happened. Hello? That was the message. And the organization heard that message. Now, the other thing that I love from that conversation. How about the response that he had to this conversation that Steph Curry is the greatest point guard of all time. Now, when Steph went on Gilbert Arenas' show, he said, I love Magic. Just to be in the same conversation with Magic is crazy.

But of course, as a competitor, you're going to say yourself. But to hear how defiant Magic Johnson was with the stats and how he rattled them off and the accomplishments. I wasn't expecting that from Magic. I really wasn't. I thought he would say Steph's a great player.

And I'm going to say myself, here's why. But, Hickey, you could really tell in that response that this conversation over the last few months. That maybe Magic Johnson is the greatest point guard of all time, which I don't believe. That is, I still believe he is the greatest point guard of all time.

For him to go to the level that he did. A lot of times on these shows where you hear the GOAT debates, I want to throw up. Because they just get to a ridiculous standpoint. But there's always a conversation. He shut down that conversation real quick. And he said, if he passes me, here's the bar, here's the numbers.

You pass me, I'll say you're the greatest. But right now, he's not ready to say that. And you still see the competitive fire of a Magic Johnson in an answer like that.

I like it. He wasn't petty, but he just brought the information you knew. And clearly he was stewing on that for a very long time. Ready for the opportunity just to explain why he's still, in his mind, the GOAT. But did so in a respectful, respectable fashion.

I like it. Also, today when the trade goes down, where Damian Lillard goes to the Bucks. I was wondering at first, is Damian going to put up a fight here and threaten not to show up to Milwaukee. To still try to make his way to Miami. According to Mark Spears, Damian Lillard was open to playing for Milwaukee or Brooklyn. After the trade talks with Miami went nowhere. So he was considering Brooklyn as well, which we heard. There was a playoff game where I think he showed up in Brooklyn too.

I want to say that was in the first round. And if you went to Brooklyn, I don't think you're winning a championship. But you go to Milwaukee, yeah, hello, you could definitely win a championship. So Miami not getting the deal done. Cronin not wanting to work with the Miami Heat opened up the door for Milwaukee. And Milwaukee, they smelt, they go get Damian Lillard and they pounced at that opportunity.