The 2026 Made-Up NBA Awards With Zach Lowe

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“The Bill Simmons podcast live on Netflix, that Zach Low that you're looking at.”

He's at a undisclosed location. By the way, rewatchables coming tomorrow night. We are doing Eddie and the Cruisers. It's the tail end to CR month, and then Zach's got a podcast on Tuesday. We're going to do the made-up NBA Awards later in the episode Zach, game of the year yesterday.

We always say game of the year after there's a great game, but this really was the game of the year.

San Antonio DEMBER, Zahn Amazon. I like these early Saturday afternoon PT games on Amazon because they're all over the country. Like if you're in Europe, you're watching it like you're watching on a Sarah Live. We had Wemby and Joker kind of planned for the number two MVP spot. Not to mention San Antonio, trying to lay the SmackDown DEMBER trying to get to the three

seed, and the two centers just brought it out of each other. And we went in over time. It was the biggest game of the year for Denver to win. I thought it was a good loss for San Antonio as well as that sounds, but more importantly,

“two generational guys are really special sporting event.”

Like I'm still I'm still glowing 24 hours later. What more can you ask for these two guys are absolutely unbelievable. They danced around each other for a lot of the game before Wemby kind of took the Yokech assignment for most of the down the stretch. Yokech did knock our Wemby very much at all, but just sort of sometimes they would come

into contact on switches, and we'd be like, "Ooh, here we go. Here's what we paid for."

Yeah. And like Wemby just big boredom on a couple post-ups, like just eight is shot alive. And then Yokech would get them like, "Footwork the body, get a little like weirdo hook over him and just mass-to-piece performance by both guys, and you could just see the sort of strategies that both teams were toying with and I, like, maybe down the line, this could

be a thing." Right. You know, it's funny. It built on Senators way back when, George Miken, Russell versus Chamberlain, Kareem. This was the first 25, 30 years of the league you had to have Senators, and then we moved

toward perimeter guys a little bit here. We've had some great ones. Watching two Senators battle like that, even though Yokech wasn't guarding Wemby that much in the other side, but just watching two unstoppable guys go at it like that, I don't think there's anything like it.

It's much fun as it is to watch curry versus Kobe or LeBron versus KD, all the great stuff we've had over the years. There's something different when it's the Senators. I mean, Yokech made that turnaround he made in Othé. I don't even know if that was a some more shuffle by categorization or not, but it was like,

"I screamed. I yelled. I did the Yokech up." Oh, one of those guys. I was the best shot anyone's made all season.

I can't believe it Wemby couldn't believe it made it, Wemby the point of the game when he made it was unbelievable, but Wemby shot to end regulation that he missed where he had Gordon and that was like, "This is why you could not give up on Denver at any point this regular season because we didn't see yesterday's Aaron Gordon on this Denver team." We saw it yesterday, but Gordon plays perfect defense.

Wemby ends up basically just creating out of bounds on the left side, but then somehow gets this line drive shot, but because he's an alien, it was actually a good shot and probably should have gone in.

And if he made that, I'd never have seen anyone make that shot in the history of basketball

before. At least in that situation. Eight foot wingspan, half your body can be flying in one direction out of bounds and you just reach out and it's like, "Oh, my arm is actually in semi-normal position and I'll flick this shot."

No, just outrageous and Aaron Gordon played 41 minutes, guarded Wemby for a lot of the game, did everything that Aaron Gordon always does on offensive and just, I like point he and Stefan Castle, by the way, had like the big boy off where like Stefan Castle actually got into him and put it up and then the next decision to Aaron Gordon knocked him over that was fun.

Stefan Castle was like, "Yeah, Aaron Gordon, you're one of the pre-eminent like asckickers in the NBA. How about I just go right at you, is that guy fear is nothing?" He had a, I might be the third best player in this game, vibe to him, that entire time.

“The Wemby thing, it's honestly like watching a horror movie where the alien creature”

is starting to gain intelligence over the course of the movie and it's like, "This alien was scary in the first 20 minutes, but now it's certain to figure shit out, the competitiveness and just him understanding what he can and can't do." And I actually thought it affected Fox negatively.

up yesterday, Wemby when you have to put more than 30 minutes on him, which is also the MVP

argument with him too. He can give you a great 30 minutes. He's the baseball starter that can throw you six awesome meetings.

“But if I need you to go into the ninth and throw like 130 pitches, can you do it?”

See, entire New York metro station, baby, let's go right there you go. I thought he looked worn out in Ote just because he's not used to that kind of level of intensity for three hours and it was a long game too. The other thing was the Fox piece of it. Fox, who was this great clutch player in the king, who was really good, but the offense

revolved around him, how do I kind of figure out how to float in and out of this when I have an alien on my team? What's my place? How often do I take over? Should I be taking over?

Am I just kind of over here and if I'm over here, I'm not really dear in Fox. I think they have to figure that out over the next two months. Which it's weird because for the whole season, we've been praising Darren Fox for finding that exact right balance in his game and it felt a little, I mean, he missed some shots right.

He missed some like good shots for him and that's part of it. Like those go in and we're talking about a different sort of discussion and yeah, I mean, that's, you know, the three headed monster of Harper, Castle and Fox is super imposing. It gives them all kinds of optionality. They can keep two of them on the floor at all times.

Maybe in term long term, they're going to have to answer some questions about, you know, is there enough, if there is there enough ball for all of them. But right now, perfect. I'm going to just chalk up yesterday to a hiccup, but just a fascinating game all around like Christian Brown, go ahead and shoot a million corner threes.

He kind of made him pay for it.

“Denver, like do we play Valentionist, do we not play Valentionist?”

It was just an awesome, awesome basketball game. Cam Johnson, I thought, had a couple really big moments that he probably needed more than anyone in the game, really came through I thought. And just in general, and I thought, I think I need a great job yesterday.

I haven't always been high on him as an announcer, but I think he's been really good this

year. And I thought he captured the moment in the fourth quarter, just talking about the level of play, like this is like, what we're watching right now. This is as high of a level as we're going to get in basketball in 2,000, 25, 26, and okay, so you can get there, I think the Celtics can get there, like even today watching

them just house Toronto, and they weren't even making threes and they were pretty comfortably. I think there's four teams that can get to that level. I don't know if anyone else can, especially now that we have all these Lakers injuries that I want to talk about in a second. I don't know if anyone else has it in them.

It's funny you say that because in the middle of right before Luke got hurt, a thunder Lakers the other night, I got a text from someone high up in the league, not in the league office, just in the league, saying, man, another blowout, like there's two teams planted at a different level, and then there's everybody else, and I replied, and I think we're getting to the point that the only two teams that can actually push them are Denver

and Boston, and you know, it's hard to make a case for anyone else, because the level of play is just so high, and the nuggets reminded everyone, you mentioned Cam Johnson that's super on point. He's very quietly had a good last month, like playing with a lot more verb, given them what they need. If they, and they didn't have paid Watson, we'll see when he comes back. He's weak to weak, which is like the new thing. People are now weak

to weak with things now, which I don't know how to, how to, how to, we should start this with our pots. We'll just release that that might, might have a pot on Tuesday, maybe not as weak to weak, weak to weak, but yeah, and Cam Johnson had a good month, and the nuggets sort of, and a game it felt like the nuggets needed, like even though they're on a winning streak, everyone at the top of the league is on a winning streak, because the third of the

league is not trying to win games. It felt like they needed a power win, and they got

a major power win. And they never really had the lead. They were always on the fringe of

being down 15, they kept fighting enough. If I'm the spurs, I'm just looking at that, like we were in charge of that whole game, and we shouldn't let it get to a T, it went to a T, we lost, but that was a good loss. We learned some things from it. Sanitoni, it's like it feels like if they've, how many times I wonder, I have they even been down by eight points in the last three months? I can only think of like two games.

It just feels like they're in control from the moment these games start, doing whatever they want to do, and they're so good. I had a castle question for you actually, really quick. Okay. He might be on a third team all on BA for me. You mentioned this now four or five times, and I feel like you are, you are asking for permission. I feel like you're doing it for permission. I just, like, you're testing it out. You want

“someone to tell you, it's okay. Do it. And I think you should do it if you want to do it.”

I wouldn't do it, but he's, he's been unbelievable. Well, some people have Scotty Barnes on there now, but no, some people have them now that we've had some guys spell off like

walk themselves. Wouldn't give up on Luke. They're, they're actually going to do this

“thing where they appeal it, right? Because you're going to get to 60s. That's 64 games.”

They're going to do the extraordinary circumstances appeal because he was in Slovenia for the birth of his child. Can you imagine if the NBA is like, you know, what, let's get our lawyers, let's get our top notch litigate. Let's get Walktell in here. We're going to go against Luke Adonchez in his agent and we don't care that you were present for the birth of your child. We're sticking by the 65 game rule. I would love if the league

does dug in. Imagine how bad that would look. I bet he, we'll see. We'll see. That's what I'm saying. Well, can they figure that out before we have sent in the votes? Well, this is what I just, I joked about this. What are you supposed to do? Put the Balsai TBD arbitrator's ruling pending. We'll see what happens. I have a zag. So, Luke, and I, I didn't come up with this because a couple of listeners emailed this to, but since I'm obviously,

not a huge Laker fan ever enjoyed it. I'm going to, I'm going to, I'm going to pass it forward. Luke, 16, uh, technical this year, got suspended for a game. Now is one game short. Wow, so you say, maybe he deserves it. Maybe he should look in the mirror. Wow, you've been, you've been waiting. This, how about this? Maybe, maybe behave a little bit better during the, maybe set a better role model example to

to the kids out there. You hit him with behave, and you hit him with all of my 16 technicals. You hit him with all of my 16 technicals. You would have played 65 games. I ready, but we're in the on the air. We're talking about Barkley in 1990, full models. What was it old space? Was that the commercial? I'm not a role model. Was it old space? It was a Nike? No. It's not voting for Luke. It would be, I just don't understand how we're going to fill out these ballots and

not have a model. Can I give you the 64 instead of 65? Can I give you this sneaky one that people haven't realized yet? Well, Devon Booker is not going to be eligible because it looks like on games playty is going to be eligible. But two of his games are sub 10 minute games because of injury, and you've got to get to 20, I think it allows for like one or two under 15 minute games, those can count. And so he's going to max out at 64, which I don't think a lot of voters have

realized yet because I see him, and I think they are potentially going to look at appealing it too, because again, we're just like running out of guys. I actually haven't sat down. I'm peeling this too. What is there, that judge Judy for the NBA just waiting to accept the dumbest appeals ever for the NBA? I assume it's some sort of independent arbitrator that hopefully it takes, it does not take as long as the aspiration investigation. So we're filling out the 20,

26 all NBA team in like eight months from now, retroactively. But yeah, I haven't actually sat down

“and read done my list yet because I got across off like four more guys. Well, I had that's why”

I was thinking about Castle because if Booker is out, do it. Booker is out. Well, like, like, I like Scotty Barnes, but like I watched them today. I just think Castle's when I test-wise, plus I saw in person, and Castle was one of the guys that really jumped out to me this year in person. I especially since he, I think like the last two months since the All-Star Break, he's at like 43 percent from three. I just think he's turned into an awesome, awesome second guy. I got a great

meal back question from Hams in Buffalo. Luke is at 64 games. They play Utah the last game of the year. Utah is going to need that loss. Luke has should dress and pull uniform and stand in the corner of the court for 20 minutes while the lakers play four and five and Utah still tries to lose. This

would be incredible entertainment, right? I'm down for that. I mean, look, it can't get any worse.

I mean, Wizards next today. I mean, you better believe I'm not watching a second of that, but just the injury report alone. It was outrageous. And yeah, Utah, it'll be interesting to see if they're just locked into, they have the same sort of 99.4% chance of keeping their pick. If they're, if a win actually matters to them, but yeah, right? Not Luke on one leg,

“roll them out there on crutches. Like, what are you going to do? Who's going to stop them?”

Kyle Phillips, he's going to stay in front of Luke up with crutches on. I don't think so. No way. Just the term now, when I'm terminating Eddie on Friday, he's going old school with his All-MBA ballot, which I don't think I'm going to do, but I really respect it, where it's like, we have 75 years of, we had a center on each team. And now we've

thrown this way, and he's like, I don't know if I'm voting for Yoke at your Wemby for first team all

on B.A. Center, but whoever I have, I'm putting the other guy in second team to keep the history. And I'm like, I really want to do that. I really respect it. But the catch for me is, I do feel like Yoke at your Wemby could belong on the same team. I know Yoke is a center, but he could. He's not, no, I'm just saying, like, hypothetically. No, I think it's Patrick Ewing and Shaquille O'Neill. Like, Yoke is a point guard. He's, he's all kinds of stuff.

blueprint for the best team. Yeah. So I feel like that's the out, but I still feel like if this was shack and Hokem Elijah wanted something, that's two real centers, right? Yoke is, I don't know what he is. Nobody knows what he is. He doesn't, what position is he? I have no idea. Well, we did this with M. B. It in Yoke. Right? And this is part of the reason why the rule

“I think got altered is because one of them had to be a second team all in B. A center when they were,”

like, jostling for the MVP. I kind of like it. Um, and then, uh, it's like the mindset of you can't tell me what to do. I'm going to do what I'm going to do. Well, that's the thing. There's a hundred votes, right? The whole point of having a hundred votes is that everybody's going to come up to their own conclusions and have their own attitudes on us. I'm an abjailant there and I'm my second team. I don't know if he's the second team on B. A, but I'm going to have a center in the second team.

And if I'm going to have Yoke, it's going to be a first team. I'm putting a center in the second team. I'm not going to have a forward and four guards. I just think that point of you, I'm basically doing the MVP value. I'm just not doing that. Um, can we talk later? It's really quick. Sure. So do you, do you believe the timelines they're doing out? Or do you think they're being intentionally padding the weeks that Luca and Reeves are going to be out? And those guys will

actually be back sooner than that. I never ever really know what the agenda is when they just tell

you the weeks, where sometimes it'll be faster, other times it'll be slower. In this case, I just find it hard to believe Luca is going to be out for five weeks. And I find it hard to believe Reeves isn't going to play with a hurt, oblique in the first round. I mean, we've got my bigger fan friends are freaking out. We've seen the oblique stuff is no joke. Like being a hero in front of Wagner both got it last year and they were both out for a while. I don't know if it's the exact

same injury, but like that stuff's no joke. Look, the Reeves' timetable was was like pretty precise

“four to six weeks. The Luca one I think was like a maybe a little vague or I can't remember exactly.”

But um, I'm going to trust that I'm going to just ballpark a month. And okay. See we're

trusting the intel plus or minus a month and that takes him out of the first round of the playoffs.

And I think if those guys are both out, I think the lakeers clearly surpassed the rockets as the team that you the most want to play in the first round. If you were one of the best Western conference teams in the top six. And so that gets you just thinking like if you're Denver, you know what what seed do you want to chase? Do you want to chase the three seed or do you want to stick in four or five and stick with the rockets? It's like it's a whole like it's a whole calculation.

If on Denver, I want to be the three seed. Now, I want to uh, I want to play San Antonio over okay, see and right. Yeah, so that's so that's the route for Denver. It's like if for three we get Minnesota instead of Houston, but we get San Antonio into second round of four four, when they might get Houston with the three six to like I still find the five six is up in the air right play um yeah, but the lakeers obviously if those guys are out then they're not they're

not winning a first round play of series. I don't know what's interesting about that. That's just what it is. Here's the big winner. Okay, see. However, this played out okay, see winds because it's probably leading to Denver and San Antonio having a bloodbath around two and okay, see playing a significantly weaker team than either of those teams and route two. Okay, see potentially getting Portland and round one. And then I don't know Houston, Minnesota, the uh, uh, a depleted

lakeers team, which isn't going to get out of first round without those guys. Like this is

amazing for okay, see. I'm glad they caught a breach. Yeah, thank God. Thank God for them.

I mean, they finally got one. Houston's two up on the wolves for the wolves are playing as we're doing this um yeah for the fifth spot. And let me look at the tie breakers real quick um rockets tie breakers still in play um they play once more. That's right. They play on the April 10th. It's going to be ahead to head showdown. So that's going to be one of the biggest games of the season in terms of seeding. The other seeding thing that's going on um whatever is

going to happen was seven and eight in the east where you had Toronto lose today. The Celtics just like really comfortable against Toronto if that ends up being the seventh seed. They'd be the seventh seed now. Filly who everybody so terrified of just actually defecated on the court history against Detroit. It was a full defecation. It was awful. Um every time everybody's like well, Filly watch out. They just go backwards. I mean, I know I mean, I was going to say a very

“important player did not play. I get it. Um, but I just thought it was notable and you have Charlotte”

looming and I am just on multiple Celtics text threads with the who would you want to play the most in the least? Because even Charlotte, I don't think Charlotte's ready to win a playoff series. Oh, no, I don't know, bandwagon driver just you know cautiously switching lanes here. Yeah, it's it's I think a little early for them to expect to just go in and be Boston with that said.

I don't want to see their dudes. I think they played with no fear. The three point shooting. I just

“don't want to see them. There's other teams I would rather play in that spot. Um, and then”

the other one is Cleveland who thought they were playing this perfectly. And it's like, oh yeah, I have four or five. We'll play Toronto. We'll beat them. Then we'll play Detroit. We love playing Detroit. We can beat them. And now they have to play this incredibly frisk-a-lain-a-team. Lots of Hawks fans are saying you refuse to talk about now. Just who are these Hawks fans? I had like a three-minute monologue at the end of my last podcast

with Michael Pena about a Nikhil Alexander Walker, Jalen Johnson, inverted pick and roll and help beautiful it was. I got one email from a disgruntled Hawks fan. Look, if the calves, the Hawks are are a very good team. And this has been one of the few. We're going to get to this. So it's one of the great stories of the NBA season. This sort of identity post-tray young that they have. They it was like half of their identity with tri-hung and then it just blew up and became their

whole identity once he was gone and the awkwardness was lifted away from them. And they've there

what they're a million and just a few losses in their last 25 games they've been outrageous.

If Cleveland can't beat the Hawks in a first round series in which they have home court in advantage, if they're even like wobbling in fear of the Atlanta Hawks, just just break it up already. If Cleveland lost to the Hawks in round one, they will be in trade podcasts that I do you do. We do together. Everyone else does. They'll just be the number one go-to team for all-yannest trades. Like Palo pick a guy. Could have been, is the time to trade Mitchell.

Oh, the nicks are out too. Here we go. Mitchell the nicks. Like it'll just it'll set off a chain reaction. It's time. We're going to take a break. And then the 2026 made up NBA. The Bill Simmons podcast is brought to you by Fandle. The NBA postseason is here in Fandle

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We've seen some legendary athletes down the number four jersey. Now, I can't name names. But you guys know whom I'm talking about. In fact, if you look at my studio, there's a frame picture of one of my favorite number fours. He played hockey. Anyway, you know what else is game changing for? PayPal, pay in four. No fees, no interest, no impact on your credit score, just the flexibility to pay the way that works for you. And it's available at

millions of online stores. Pay in four with PayPal. Subject to approval. Learn more at PayPal.com/payinfor. Paypalink and MLS 910-457. All right. It's the 2,026 made up awards. We will be doing all of our real stuff. The MBA, all MBA, MVP, rookie, the air, all that stuff. We have weeks to talk about it. But not the

made up awards. We're always doing it the week before the end of the season.

A bunch of awards. I sent you a whole master list. I sent you some nominees. Feel free to

“chime in extra nominees. The first award, one of the most important ones. We like to,”

for the made up awards. We like to have a big one first, like in the Oscars when they bring out like the best supporting actress. Like, oh, I'm never ready. Even though I know it's coming, I'm like, I just sat down. I'm not ready. Yes. It's unicorn of the year. Normally, a controversial award with a lot of good options. This year, the nominees are Victor Wembedyama. Pitchard, LeBron, James, and Jalen Johnson. I don't know if you had any more nominees to throw in.

It's an interesting set of nominees. LeBron is obviously up there for his age. I would imagine Peyton Pitchard. We can talk about whether he deserves to be mentioned in this group or this is like, you know, blockbuster movie that just got tossed in for best picture. But I did not add any

additional nominees because the answer is obvious. And I don't know what else there is to say.

Yeah. It's almost unicorn of the decade is in play for Wembedy. Peyton Pitchard, I put in because of the bizarre stats about his two-point shooting and him near the rim and just this weird one-man post-up offense that he's been able to do. This ISO ball bang into you around that. I've just never TJ kind of veered toward a lot of this, and then Pitchard took it and grabbed it and took it

Not a lot of mystery for that first one. The next one, though. The 2011 Blake Griffin Award for most unexpected delight. And the reason we had this award, this was the year before Lab City, Blake's out his rookie year, Hurt's his knee, comes back the next year. Baron Dave, this is on this clipper same. He's probably 20 pounds overweight. The Andre Jordan's feeling it out.

“I don't remember who the coach was. Maybe it was Vinnie Donning. Vinnie. Yeah, Vinnie.”

Not a lot of high hopes. And then Blake came in and just ran a mock and was dunking on everybody.

And it was like, oh my god. The clippers have never had a guy this fun. The nominees for this award.

Uh, in no particular order. Jason Tatum has come back. The Charlotte Hornets just in general. The all star game. Bam's 83 point game. Wimbie leaping into the stratosphere. Jamal Murray being fucking awesome again. And Kauai Leonard at age 34 becoming 2019 Kauai one more time. Any other additional nominees for you? I added one. And it's the Hawks going like 14 in one in 15 games in 23. And they're last 23 or whatever it is post trian. I mean, there are like,

many runs. This is like a schedule aside. This is like an epic turnaround in the middle of season. And like just scorched earth on the entire Eastern Conference. So I put them and and they're super fun to watch the way they cut and move and pass and play against. So I put that was my only extra nominee. And so it's a heavy category already. And you forgot to mention Quinn Snyder looking like he's in Steve Correll's Rooster show as like the other teacher who may or may not be involved

with like one of the co-eds. He's just has that kind of wild tone. Well, I'm just like he's the either's mystery to him. You don't know. You don't know if he's a good guy or bad guy. My answer to

“this. I think I could recover from the unexpected delay. Yeah. Bam's 83 point game was the winner”

for me. Just added nowhere watching somebody try the score 83 points against the tanking wizards and humiliate them when I wasn't expecting it on like a Tuesday night was my number one. So what is it for you? Did you see a high may hackers junior on my podcast last week talking about this game? What do you say? He was just like we were sitting there in shock that the wizards just were continuing to let him go one out one. We were like, what are they doing? Like the guy just put up

35 in the first quarter. You're not sitting in the second guy. They were like utterly

in disbelief. Do you see what he did in the last game? They played the wizards again. He had 14 points. He had 83 but from 83 to 14. I found everything about it delightful to I found the discourse which I I was set up to feel like the discourse was going to be insufferable and I found it delightful nonetheless. I love that. I went I went serious and sappy with this one. Jason Tatum's injury last year is a flash bulb moment in NBA history. It's the same night as Cooper Flag going to

“Dallas in the lottery or Dallas winning the lottery. A night I'll never forget exactly where I was”

what I was doing when it happened the whole thing and I just given given the history of Achilles injuries. I was like my expectation. I'm going to I'm going to level set at he just doesn't play the the next season because this is you know conference on my finals and my optimistic take is going to be like he'll come back and look like you know half of himself because that's what happens in these things and for him to come back this early and look like this for a team with this many

wins is like beyond a delight. So I picked him. I didn't want to pick that because it would have been a homer pick but now I'm jealous you picked it maybe I should have picked it as well. All right we award that to Jason Tatum. I think you you want well we each make our case and then we decide so Jason Tatum would set. All right this is one another really important award. The Gold Club trial award for funniest story or moment of the season our nominees are Michael Jordan joining

NBC's NBA coverage and it turned out to just be edited from some 10 minute interview he did where he didn't say anything. Matt ish be a trash talking everyone when the sun's hit 32 wins

even though he's traded 17 first round picks and had to play Bradley Bill 100 million dollars to go

away to get into the luxury tax. Paul George's suspension helping put filly under the tax it to make a trade too. Every doc rivers press conference after the buck's got blown out where if you just left it the TV on and it cuts to dock and the thing and he just looks like he lost his dog and he's just like what did I do? Why have I here? Nobody going to Chris Paul's party. A tip it from Ramona Shelburn after what went wrong with Chris Paul and the clippers and

renouncing coach of the year award he they was asked to feed and he's like I don't care about

that award. Don't ask me about that again. It was the worst campaign of all time and then last but not least 10 Simmons becoming a fisherman. I don't know if you have any had. Absolutely loaded category. Cudos to everyone. Yeah. It's an honor truly to be nominated. Yeah. The only other one I thought of was the Wizards April Fool's Job going wrong from from last week. Great with which got even funnier when they issued a press release apologizing for it so serious that it was like

is this the White House apologizing for some like some horrible thing or something like it was just out. The whole thing was ridiculous. To me I did I did think there was a clear winner. Not a clear winner but a winner that was for me the the winner. Should I just say it or do you want to say

“who you you go? I think Ben Simmons becoming a professional semi professional amateur professional”

whatever fisherman takes the cake frame because it was framed in the story by Mark Spears. They kind of broke this or whatever terminology one is it was framed is like you know he's taken a break from the NBA and this is what he's doing while he kills time until he decides what to do it's his comeback in the NBA. Is that really what's going on so I in a loaded field I took that one. It's great. I'm going with Michael Jordan's NBC stuff which led to so many jokes and so much

comedy including on your podcast. I haven't just wanted a while I had a running bit just insights to me the awkwardie. I just thought they presented it like he was going to be this hugely important part of their coverage and then it was just this interview they clearly filmed over like Margarita's

six o'clock. Do you think there was a conversation at some point after the first level of backlash

“where NBC was like yeah Michael like this is not going well. Can we do another? Can you just come in”

for like it'll be 20 minutes just where a different outfit different location he was like no I'm good like I did it because I thought you guys would not we're not doing that. Wow it was very Megan Harish. Next award. This is a fun one the Haliburton for subonus award for most fun in season trade. Only four nominees zoo bats to the Pacers with the Clippers getting back that weird five through nine possible pick plus matthorn triple J to Utah McCollum for tray or James Hardin

and a second round pick for Deris Garble. What do you have? The first of all I like to introduce CJ McCollum is now the headliner in the trade field. CJ McCollum for tray. Press on his headliner in the description. I had a couple other nominees but what's here what are your other nominees? I just think the Jared McCain trade is is is interesting on a number of levels including how angry it made and continues to make our own Chris Ryan on a daily basis of these all the

Philly fans losing their mind about it. This came down I mean these are three of these four very interesting. I don't I don't find the tray one all that interesting. I went hard in for Garland because it's almost like a straight up challenge trade except one guy's 10 years older than the other guy so it's also just a crazy vote of no confidence in the younger guy for a team that has an enormous amount at stake right now in this very season. So I what that one beat the zoo bats one by a hair.

I agree and that's our winner for this year and we'll see five years from now who regrets that trade more? I guess it'll be Cleveland. Oh, speak of the trades. This is a new category that was created last year. It's called the Luka Trade Award for the most cataclysmic moment of the season. Our nominees. The KD Burner scandal all star Sunday. The February tanking crisis with the Utah Jazz whatever happened that two days before whenever they went nuts including me.

Chancee Phillips arrested after the first game coaches one blazers game arrested.

Jimmy Butler the knee injury bummer but also felt like an official maybe end to the curry dream on whole curse steeper wears air. The 65 game roll just completely backfiring over the course of three weeks here. America kind of turning on inside the NBA one of our most beloved institutions for the first time feel like there's some real real early in a mosque to

“maybe these guys don't like the league as much. I think they'll work it out. I'm going to”

bet on Barclay who's the best media guy we ever had and then this was this was brief. It was in November. It was when it seemed like O'Kacey was going to go 76 and 6. While the Quippers were in a free fall and we had two weeks that were weird terrified O'Kacey was going to go 75 and 7 but

No, I think you covered all of them and I will congratulate you because inside the NBA's

public perception of it being nominated here feels like if the president of the Academy for Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was like I really love this Norwegian film about death and mortality. We're putting it in the best picture nominees. Okay, we're putting it in there. I'm going tank in crisis because it's ongoing and just the noise drowned out everything else about a prolonged period of the NBA season. It is utterly embarrassing. I mean, that's late Friday night

two nights ago. Top three worst night of NBA basketball in the history of the league. I mean, every game was unwatchable and it was a stat about it was like 25 points of game was the disparity

of all the games that night and it was like one of the two worst nights ever for something like that.

The stat you're citing is by Tim Reynolds at the AP. I don't remember exactly what it was. It was something like it was here. The points spreads or the final margin had only been equal to one other time in the NBA and it was also this season. And they're going to change the rules and everyone's just talking about it constantly. So in an absolutely loaded field, I mean, you're talking about

“a coach getting arrested, rules gone, hey, why are a burner thing? I'm I'm going tanking. I think you're”

right because the story is still will not die. And every time people get tired of talking about it's something like Friday night happens and then more often again. And honestly, we would talk to about it all weekend if the Wimbee Joker game hadn't happened. So can we can we also just congratulate the players on bookending the year with Johnson Phillips at the beginning and this like bizarre two front office employees get fined and so does the team for illegal contact with

Hanson Young before he was draft eligible. That was a new one for me. Yeah, that was a couple years ago, right? Yeah, before we was draft eligible. I mentioned this in my mail bag the other day with House. We haven't talked about it. But to me, the seatbelt is off with the blazers the next three months. I agree with you. It is we're just we're going to take the speed boat out into the ocean and we're going to fucking floor at 210 like sunny crocket with the blazers. I am prepared

for anything like Janice trade, new coach, maybe they bring in a coach GM. Any sort of wheeling and dealing this new owner coming in who already has this proven thing from hockey of like I'm coming in. I'm rolling up my sleeves. Let's go. And I just think they're the wild cartoon this year. I if I had to bed on a Janice team, we don't have the odds for this, although I'm sure the

“prediction market does, which sadly he invested in one of them. I think I would bed on Portland in the”

number two spot behind the next. I would have the next one and out at Portland too for Janice Destination. That's that's a cool thing. You could make you could make a lot of money if it comes true, based on what I think the odds would actually be. And by the way, the kind of forgotten stage, you know, offstage this year all time franchise icon Damian Lillard coming back to play basketball for the blazers next year. I made all of this. Could he come back for the for the eight nine

game or the seven eight game? I have not even considered this possible. Imagine that, deemed to show up. He won three point contest. Well, you know, it's changed. We didn't, I don't want to talk about the bucks in your honest. I just don't. But I think the one thing that's changed is it's acrimonious enough now that I think he's lost the, okay, we'll accommodate whatever Janice wants. We'll trade you to whatever city you want to go to. Now I think it's like,

“hey, Janice, you're going to Portland. I think that's what's flipped. They're going to make the”

best trade for them and they're not going to worry about if his feelings are hurt or not. That would be my, uh, my take. Next award. You know, an important award, almost like a best cinematography. The 1986 Bill Waltten Award, biggest impact under 20 minutes a game guy. This is the true six man award. Alex Corruso, Hugo, Shireman, Ron Holland, Grant Williams, quietly plus 14 for the Hornets this year. Andre Drummond and my pick for this, uh, Dennis Jenkins, who has just been a

revelation for, for, for the pistons. And I think his thrown his hat into the six man award as well, because he's been the definition of the six man, a bench guy who when you actually need in the start for a couple weeks, he can do it and carry you. It's a great story. I think he went to four colleges.

He's somebody I never really noticed until at some point during this season like, wow, that,

end of the year, it's like, did this guy run a team? He's my pick for this one. Um, I do want to point out that Hugo Gonzales played one minute of garbage time today. Just, just, I just want to point that out. Uh, and the initial list of nominees you've changed year, changed it up. I mean, he had bones Island on it. And he's apparently been disqualified from, from the award here. I took bones off. I, I felt like I may be shot my wife on that one a little too excited. Like, because he was good

for about a week. My two, my two other editions is I did a basketball reference search that

“fit the criteria. I think Mitchell Robinson deserves a hello and clink of pellets, there was a”

hello. I'm going to say, I made a dramatic decision on this. I think the correct answer is Alex Caruso, but last night, watching Detroit, Philadelphia, watching Dennis Jenkins, yet again, lead Detroit with his ball handling with the shot creation, which is defense and all of it to another easy win without Kate Cunningham. I mean, you can pick whether it's him or Jalen Durin. He's the most important reason why they have not only stayed afloat without Kate Cunningham, but just death grip

on the number one seed for a week and a half now. They never slipped for a second. So I'm flipping

my vote from Caruso because Caruso, we all know Caruso. That's boring. Let's have fun. Let's over honor a guy who's really one of the stories of this particular season. Dennis Jenkins, come out from the back row wherever they sit you at this ceremony, you're getting this award. I'm really happy for him. Did a great job. And actually, I thought increased the ceiling of the pistons because one of the things I just didn't take them as seriously as a true playoff

container because I didn't really trust their bench. And I didn't feel like they had like the right kind of guy who could come in and maybe swing a game or a quarter. And you know, who knows when Kate comes back, he doesn't have the car keys in the same way. But I do feel like whatever's happening in the last four weeks, he can come into a game now and flip the game, which is what that was true to last year, too. Do you think when you're thinking about big picture, guys, who

“if you're another team, like should we target this guy? Is he he's trapped behind another asset?”

Maybe we can get this guy. I was thinking him an AJ Mitchell or the two guys that if I'm another team trying to figure out how to think outside the box with assets and picks, those would be the

two I would look at is there anybody else who would put in that category? Somebody is basically

really good, but maybe is being blocked by somebody or is in the perfect situation or maybe become available because of salary cap? Off the top of my head, I think case and Wallace would also maybe qualify for this or is he overqualified for this? I'm not just not trading him. Teams, teams or would you ever trade him if you're okay, say I wouldn't ever consider it? I mean, okay, so he's going to have a whole bunch

of different decision trees based on, you know, do we keep all three of these stars together for as long as possible on their max numbers? Do we not? What do we do? Like people are going to have to go one way or another? It depends what his number is going to be too. I mean, is he to see get to her shirts and free agency and someone throws a massive offer she did? I don't know.

“I think teams are thinking about Colin Gillespie like this. I don't know what I mean. He kind of”

has a team. Yeah, you know, but now that he came off the bench today for the first time in a long

long time because they started a George Goodwin over him and I think they're just experimenting. Do we want to now the Gillespie dreams of full-time surgery? We want to just stagger our ball handling. You know, they're like Isaiah Collier on a lower level. I don't think that he's a, you know, that great of a starter kind of candidate. But I'm sure I can think of others. The 1984 John drew a word for most stunning random statistical achievement. I knew you would

love this one. So I have six nominees and I'm sure you found a couple. Some of them are easy. Con lead in the NBA in threes is a rookie bonkers. SGA 55% physical percentage and 31 points a game as a guard. Scotty Barnes, 100 plus deals and blocks. Derek White, I don't know if he had a block today, but heading into today. He was 10th in the league in blocks. He had 98 blocks. Derek White is going to get to 100 blocks. Donovan Klingen leading the league in offensive

rebounds with 4.5 per game and then Wemby averaging almost 25 points a game in less than 30 minutes a game. He's 24.7 29.7 his per 36. I think is at 30. So those would be my candidates to you have any other nominees. Wait, did you, did you wet? Can it pull off? No, I had, I'd kindly didn't the NBA. Okay. So yeah. First of all, Derek White had no blocks today. He, there was one play where he, someone went up and he kind of deflected it, but I guess they called it either just a

deflection or maybe the guy was passing. It would be very funny if he had 99 blocks going into the last game of the season and started just chasing blocks like some guy's chase triple doubles,

pieces. He's like roping people in the shooting so he could go at the, yeah, just to just to cinch, just to cinch this random award. I mean, I guess it's not a season long thing. I thought Bams 83 point game would be in here and I, I would even put, um, it's obviously, I was thinking for the year, but you're right. Bam. So if it was single, single game is eligible, BAM would win, but I mean, that was just such a, like, outlier event. And I, at the SGA Will Chamberlain 20 point

streak, you know, it's not a year. It's more than one year. I thought that was interesting. That's a good one. I went, I went basic on this, call me basic like the teenagers do. I went conchanical leading the entire NBA in threes and walking into the league as the best shooter in

“the entire world, not name Steph Curry, which I think is what he's established himself as a year one,”

the volume, the different ways he can get shots off movement off the dribble both sides of the floor. It's just, you could not say enough superlatives for how great of a shooter he is in your one on a team that has been one of the stories of the season. So I went with sort of the just most boring counting step one of all of these. It's boring, but it's the right answer because you can

actually bet this before the season on Fandel. And I always like to, I'll do like a couple of

bets where I'll have Curry for most threes parlayed with like when be for most blocks and do those are the two chalk ones and then put other stuff. I don't think con even had odds. So when you look at it from that perspective, because they probably have 20 guys that they'll put in there and it'll be like everybody you can think of, Jalen Brown, like everybody. Condonab, as far as I remember,

“Condonab have odds. So to go from that to leading the league and made threes as a rookie, which is”

an achievement in itself. And you know, he, as a shooter, I thought just looked like peak prime play Thompson right with that, like some of the stuff, the quick release stuff that he was doing was like, it took clay tops in four years to get to that point and Con's already there. I don't know where we go from here with Con. It's not like his release can get faster. I guess he could maybe get move it five feet out would be the only, I don't know what else he could even add. He's just finished

already. Can I give you two more nominees? Yeah, that I forgot. Zion playing 51 out of 52 games in counting. I don't know what that that seems to be something. And it, another single game one that just was crazy. So maybe it doesn't qualify was the night that Colelle Ware had double digit points and rebounds and seven blocks and five steals off the bench and no one had ever done that coming off the bench ever before in history. Yeah, so I have a little oddity for you. I actually, I don't

mind when they give us those things like he's the first guy since 1963 to have 30 points, 18 rebounds,

four assists, five blocks and three steals like when they do those high spots. Thanks. Yeah, but it's a little over the top without many times. Like to me, it's like Yoke it's had a 2020. That's, that's like a real. That's one where it's like, all right, I can put that in this some sort of context. All right, two coaching ones really quick. I know that this is where you Zach gets uncomfortable. It's not uncomfortable. I'm ready. I'm ready. Well, it's the money Williams

Award for worst coaching performance. First of all, do you think Monti Williams is the right person to have this award named after? Do you think he, can you see his face on the bus? Does there somebody else you would put here? So it's got to be somebody else because that year with the pistons was, everyone, it was felt like everyone immediately agreed on day one. You know, this was a bad idea. The money was too much. Everyone got carried away. This is a horrible idea.

Anya just coach the team to the finals and 60 wins and all that. So I, I feel like we could, we could do

better. Okay. I'll work on that first. I'll talk to the committee. Dominiz Doug Christie of the

Hindenburg Kings. He made Doka had to throw him on there. Just a lot of clock toilet. The end of these games and the team seems super unhappy. Brian Keith, who did not double Bam out of a bio for three quarters during the three point game, Willie Green no longer with us. Jamal mostly, who's been on, it feels like the quiet hot seat now for a month and a half. And then,

“I listen, I get a call like it is. I think Doug Rivers is on here as well. When you have this”

many 20 plus point losses, I, as much as I love the guy. I have to just throw him on there for sake of accuracy. My winner is Doug Christie. We have the same guy. The committee is unanimous congratulations to Doug Christie. It's truly been an experience to watch the cross board. The best

I wonder if he'll get another head coaching job. With Doug Christie, we have the answer already.

He will never have another head coaching job. It will never happen. No other team will

hire Doug Christie. So, the nicest thing you could say about it. We've had NFL coaches like this, too, where you're watching the tail end of the season, the guy's going to get fired. It's like, I'm never going to see the Patriots at Jared Mail like that. It's like, we're never going to see this guy again. Doug Christie, we will never see again as a head coach. Remember, we're predicting this. I had forgotten about that about this until someone reminded me a couple weeks ago. Remember,

the brief, I disguised like a Hall of Fame level accomplished almost. But remember, the brief, John B. Line Cleveland Cavaliers era, which was over in like weeks. And then all these funny stories came out like the players like, yeah, he names plays after animals, so we're out there like Colin Panda and like, and like, and Deeter and everyone's like, what are we doing here? That was, that was a good one. See, I had this thing when I did the mail back with house about

when we go to commercial for League Pass instead of saying the people dancing for the Jumbo Tron, it's a little two minute mini documentary about players teams. That would be a funny wrinkle to it. It's just a two minute John B. Line documentary about the guy who had to leave in 40 games

“and name plays after animals. And we just think it was animals like that. I think it was animals.”

We like hippopotamus. A more positive award, the Brad Stevens award for most untenable coach, named after Brad Stevens 2015 performance when the team was built to tank with supposed to tank and just wouldn't tank. So our nominees are Joe Masulade, Jordanot and Tiago Splitter, unless you can think of anybody else. Well, all the coaches who would have been like, Jordi Fernandez would have been in this conversation a year ago. Turns out you can tank with

Jordi Fernandez is your head coach, even with Rick Carlisle is your head coach. If you try hard enough, you can tank with a Hall of Fame thousand games won all that kind of head coach. So I could not,

I had no other nominees. I think my answer. Oh, man, this is a tough one because this is basically

one of the proxies for a coach of the year, at least two, you think it's going to be second. It's between Masulade and I can't decide. So you're going to have to decide.

“I went with Joe Masulade. I think Charles Lee deserved maybe a mention here as well as”

an nominee because I don't think the Hornets had any idea. I don't think Hornets brass ownership had any idea that any of this was in play at the start of the season. In fact, I think they would have preferred like, hey, let me get another bite of the app. You know, yeah, he's got two thumbs. And he's you. Yeah, I'll go try to tell you. I'll go Joe Masulade just because he's he's the Celtics of the two seed. He's going to win coach in the year. They have gap year stamped all over them by

everybody and they rejected the label and then like just threw it in the trash. And I have to ask you then when he wins coach of the year because I think he's going to win coach of the year, having denounced the entire notion of the award, what do you think he should do when he's given the award? Do you think he should just let his whole staff come up and accept it? Do you think he should throw it in a garbage can? Do you think he should like give a like a speech about how stupid the

whole thing is? Do you think he should let the players accept it? I'm serious, like what should he did? He has preemptively said this award that I'm about to get is a piece of garbage that is dumb. So what does one do then upon receiving it? I'm looking at the odds now. Bicker

“staff is still favored. He's minus 240. Missile is plus 230. I don't think I think Bicker”

staff can win. You're right. Maybe Bicker. You know, with the way they've, I would vote from Missulade up. But with the way they've played, it says a lot about the culture that he's instilled there and didn't all that. So you have tips. Maybe maybe I'm wrong to answer your question. I think he would refuse to hold it almost like NHL players, refusing to hold the conference whatever trophy that they get because you're not allowed to touch anything until it's staying

like up. And I think he'd be dismissive of it and probably have a speech about how dumb awards are for people trying to lead their players. Make it a better feel bad. They voted for him. You know what the real award is? It's the journey. It's not a sense of destiny. It's the journey. Yeah, I think it is Missile because I still don't know how this team's going to win like 56 games. It just seems impossible. Now, I know they had health good fortune with the best

three guys in the team. Jayland, Richard, White. Those guys have stayed healthy and that's really

helped them. Tatum didn't play for the first three-forces season. I don't know. I just don't

understand how they're going to finish 56 and 26. It's impossible. They're 14 wins higher than over under. All right, we're going to take a break on Spotify. We can keep going on Netflix.

for this award. Chanty Bill Obs drafted by the Boston Celtics 1997. Watched them play for 50 games. There were some talent there. My big takeaway was I'm not sure this guy's a point guard. I don't know if I great athlete. I don't know if I see it. They turned him into Kenny Anderson. One of my more regrettable takes. I had my old website at this time and I was like, I kind of like to trade Kenny Anderson's a real-point guard. They didn't realize at that point that he had

had some personal issues going on. Bill Obs bounces around. I can't think of anybody who would equip their stock with him. Lands in Minnesota turns his career around and then goes to Detroit and the rest is history. I don't know if you have your version of a Chancy Bill Obs, where you

“learned your lesson, not to give up on great talent. Is there somebody I'm trying to do that?”

Definitely there definitely is, but I'm blanking on the spot because I was so focused on the nominees. All right. We'll do that. I'm going to see just a word. This is a really important word. lamella ball. Jared McCain, only because of Darrell, Darrell said we sold high on Jared McCain. Maybe he didn't sell high enough. Anthony Black, I can report firsthand. I gave up on this guy. Duncan Robinson, who I think we've all given up on at least four different times over the course of

his career and then he always rallies back. And then Peyton Watson, I never saw with Peyton Watson.

Never thought he'd be a guy. And there's probably others, but those were the five who else did you have as nominees? By the way, you know, who else didn't give up on Peyton Watson, but they made a very clear decision. We're paying one guy and not the other. And we paid Christian Brown and not Peyton Watson. I would nominate just late season, late season nominees. Cody Williams is like flirting with next year's list. Maybe Bones Island. The entire the entire Atlanta Hawks

franchise. And and I'm going to preemptively argue with you again in Goldsbury again. I am just going to stake my claim to the Amman Thompson portion of this argument now and say anyone who labels him at disappointment or sells their stock is going to regret it. Leading the league in minutes. Do you know that? But is that good bad? Nothing. What is it? It's not like he's having a bad season. I just wonder wonder what the next level is in. But you might be right. And we might have been too

“harsh. I think our winner for this category is Lamele Ball. I don't know if you have”

you never sold your stock as people. As someone like I'm checking my retirement counts every

day and like I've just Lamele who's single handedly paid for seven vacations that I'm going to take any couple years. So I know Brandon for me. It's a mobile. There was a moment. Even this summer definitely, even when they were foreign 14, first like 20 games of the year, when it was Lamele was triung and jaw. And I think I might have even done a podcast segment of which guy would you bail on the fastest? Who would you kind of hold on to? And Lamele was the clear choice out of the

three like that. Give this one a little longer. But the point is he was closer to that conversation then is this one of the best point cards in the league. That conversation. The seesaw had swung to this side and he's rallied out. This will be when you talk, we'll do next week. We'll do the 25 most of intriguing guys in the playoffs on this one. Okay. Yeah, we did that last year. Yeah, we did that last

“year. We did it at Grantland Way back when one of the last Portland basketball hours. Grantland?”

Yeah, remember Grantland? Great website. Funny. But we did that last week. I'll be interested to see where Lamele falls in the 25 most intriguing players of the playoffs. There's a world where

he's just fucking awesome. And basically pulls the 2009 Derek Rose against the no KG Celtics and

how many years did that series take off your life a year, a full year? I mean six months minimum. The two best first round series ever were that one and first clippers, right? I mean you still probably have like Ben Gordon PTSD from that series. That was the one where a lot of people Ben Gordon became Bitcoin where he just bought you bought in hard. I've been Gordon and it came back to budget. So you agree on Lamele? I do. Okay, I do. We'll go quickly here. The Freeman Williams

Award for biggest black hole. Go look at Freeman Williams's basketball reference.com if you

a team that wants him to shoot. And then a Malik monk. I don't know if you've watched him recently on the Kings, but he's really like, I want to get traded this summer. I need some tape and has been dialing it up. It's got to be Cam Thomas though. I just stay as long as he's in the league. I think I think he has to get this. I abstained from. I abstained from the voting because you got into it with one of the nominees over the summer. Well, I got into it with you.

I felt it was appropriate and respectful of the process to abstain from the fair enough. Cam Thomas is the winner. The 2007 Kevin Garnet Award. So this is literally an award

“with Kevin Garnet's face from the 2006-7 season. You have to like capture the face.”

Trapped star who needs help escaping the most. nominees. Steph Curry. Janice. Demontis Sabonis. Laurie Markinin. And my personal winner, Tray Murphy. Oh, wow! I didn't say that one. Come and save Tray Murphy. Get him to a real team. I've had enough. Enough of him on a not a real team. Let's put him on a real team. Let's put him on a team that has chemistry, that has guys that seem to like each other, that doesn't need five basketballs.

Let's put him in a good situation. Let's put him on the spurs. Let's put him on the thunder. Let's put him on the nuggets. Let's put him on the seltics. No, no. Let's put him on the pistons. Let's put him on the hornets and go fuck and crazy. Put Tray Murphy somewhere else. No more Tray Murphy on New Orleans. The world does not need Tray Murphy on the San Antonio spurs or the Oklahoma City Thunder. No, we don't need that. Well, from a fear title standpoint. Yeah,

fair. Okay, so yeah, for Tray Murphy, I feel bad for him. Here's my real team. Here's my thought process. Views a little early for Tray Murphy to win this award. Maybe I'm

wrong about that. Markin is finally coming out of four years of Utah purgatory onto a good

team next year. Janice is, I'm just, we're, we don't want to talk about it. It's with whatever. And Steph doesn't, I don't think want to leave the Warriors. And then I look around it. I'm like, Domanus Abonus, does DC key cries every night when he goes to sleep? I mean, do you think he actually weeps just weeps? He looks at his, he probably looks at his plus minus on that NBA site and sees the minus 15.5 or whatever it is. Do you think he watches YouTube clips of himself lighting the beam

three seasons ago just just, and his wife is like, hey, Thomas, are you doing it again? Come to bed. Are you doing it again? We're not lighting the beam anymore. He's an interesting one.

“I would still have Tray Murphy, so maybe I'll split the vote. Sibonus is an interesting one because I think”

people have given up on him as like you could actually win three straight playoff rounds with this guy as one of your four best guys. How about one playoff round? Yeah. But I mean, all four best guys just too many guys. But, but this is why, so this is how I interpreted the award who needs help escaping the most. I think he needs help in the form of another team valuing him more highly than the rest of the league and the consensus around league and then that they probably should. I think

he needs that kind of help. I don't know what the team is because the defense stuff with him is rough. On the other hand, I think he's an incredibly skilled offensive player that if you put him with

other really high IQ player, I always thought like, do you just put him on the Warriors with the

way they play in the kind of guys that they get, I'd feel like he would thrive for them. Maybe the bulls could get Sibonus if they take back Levine and DeRosen and just put all of them a rest of players who have switched teams. He's not totally Trump ruled two days ago. The bulls and kings are not allowed to trade us. This has been my rule. This has been my maybe that you know, he listened to. He did it on true social. So you have Sibonus, I have Tray Murphy. Yeah, yeah.

Oh, this is one of the big awards. Okay. The perk thinks Yokej pads is stats award for the most scalding hot media take of the year. Priced say this a couple of years ago. That was a nice little hug. That was a good one. He said that I was not, if I was not on TV with him, but I was there at ESPN. That was not even the most scalding thing he said about that MVP race. I remember. I first thought I want to apologize because I should have been keeping track of these during the

year and I didn't. So I had to kind of go off memory and some Google searches. But here,

here's what we have for this category. Six nominees, perk says in December that Kauai Leonard

was the worst for age and signing ever. That one like actually like burn my eyebrows.

“Steven A. Recently, I think this happened after the OKC game, suggesting Luke of fake”

injuries when he's not playing well. I miss him a whole thing. I miss that one. Yeah, that became a thing.

all star on that. It'd make him easier to trade. There was an OKC writer, Clemente Almanza. When the expansion thing started, who said Seattle fans before they get the Sonnex back on their history back, should have to apologize to Oklahoma City fans before they get their history back. In other words, we're going to hold your history and to you apologize to us. Mark that one down. Steven A. pushing J. Limbrown for MVP and mid-March.

I love J. Limbrown, but that one had that ship had sailed. And then Steven A. Blim,

“Blim LeBron for ruining the same dunk contest, which he was never in. But that's why he ruined it though.”

The take was he should have been in it. But what if things were LeBron, he really only has like two dunk. I mean, there's he was smart to avoid the dunk contest. He's he's like a

cockback and one hand dunk guy. I don't there was a reason he never wanted to be in it.

My winner for this unless you have any other, do you have any other nominees? I don't. The winner is the OKC writer demanding an apology from the Seattle fans. I thought that was absolutely unbelievable. I was in awe of that take. I couldn't decide what to do with that one because I don't know how to say this. It just, it feels more appropriate to deflate Steven A. Smith and Kendrick Perkins that it does to deflate him. But that was so wildly insulting to an entire

metropolitan area. And not only that, how would it work exactly? Are these handwritten letters that everyone in certain zip codes has to write? Yeah, yeah, it's usually excited. Is it the mayor? Is it like, what exactly are you asking for? And you're holding the Sonic's earned history, the stuff that happened in Seattle over the head like ransom for like a kidnapping. You guys

were in a title last year and it was like the second title for the Oklahoma City Thunder franchise.

The first one is in Seattle. All right, another really important word. The Virginia Beach

“Kings Award for most contrived story on a slow news day. Remember the Virginia Beach Kings?”

I do. Remember, and that had like a minute. All right, nominees here. Expansion being approved for 2022-29 without any bids or 22 votes from the 23 votes from the owners. That's somehow became a story. We picked the season in the cities. Well, you don't know bids or owners yet. LeBron using rich pause podcast on the ringer to try to get the lakers to trade Austin Reeves. This was an actual thing, people thought. Steven A. Feuding with the New Orleans pelicans.

This happened. Another one that I miscompletely and I googled it and I was like, oh wow, what this is real real thing. Two-day feud. Can the Jays co-exist in Boston was the thing that kept happening over and over and over again? The clippers want LeBron to replace the vacated, quiet cap space. This was a recent one. I really enjoyed this one. It would have to involve. Why somehow being somehow, somehow is contract being voided? What are the

“ads of that? Like honestly, like Ron our test, his, the trust-free role, his contract didn't”

get voided when he choked his coach. We'll find out when the elite will offer him a walk-till lip didn't rose in cad's finishes and investigation in 20 years. Yeah. And then last but not least, the reason one LeBron doesn't like Memphis. Well that's not a contrived story. That was, he said, I don't like basically said it. And then double that and it said, I don't like Memphis either. I mean, I'm walk either. Your answer for this. Or do you have any other nominees?

I don't know if these fit. I just remember a lot of media and noise about, you know, we got to wait to see what the bucks really are. We can't judge the bucks until Kevin Porter Jr. comes back and plays with you on us. Like we got to wait. We got to wait for that. Can the three guards coexist in San Antonio or do they just need to trade the air and Fox like right now because these two young guys are so good. I thought that was silly.

And it's, it's burbling up now. We're going to talk about versions of it coming up. But specifically like, did or did Jason kid not know or know about the lucatrate ahead of time or all odd nominees for me. And another one that I might actually vote for, this might have been limited to a LeBotards platform. And we all love Dan LeBotard and his show. But there was a day like a month ago

where they had, unless it was AI and I always assume everything is AI. But it was like a long clip.

I saw they finally had the discussion of like basically, are we sure air expulsion is a good coach? Are we sure like none of this is his phone? I was like, wow, spoil. Yeah, I am sure air expulsion

Steven A few thing with the pelicans because it's just just saying it out loud is like the tagline over ridiculous movie that happened. And like, but it's like, yeah, so I'd go with that one.

“I think that's the winner as well. All right. One of our big ones. This is like bringing”

up best act right now. The McCesky word for best American Wekai previous winners. Again, it's an American Wekai previous winners include Chet Hongren, Tyler Hero, Kevin Love, Mike Miller, dude, kind of a bunch of them. Dude, two of them come out and introduce the nominees like just to Tyler, Kevin Love, Mike Miller. We like, and please welcome Kevin Love and Mike Miller with Tyler Handsboro. I'm in awe of how loaded this question. It's unbelievable. It's unbelievable.

nominees, Cooper flag, just scored 51 points as a 19 year old concaniple, Peyton Pritchard, Chet Hongren, Austin Reeves, and Donovan Clingan. Anybody else who needs to be a nominee here? Well, first of all, when I told my wife about this award, she as a Croatian person was like, "Wait a second, why just American Wekai?" You know, Widen Wek wouldn't we Yugoslavians clean up before an American Wekai? That's the point. We just have to give so many overqualified people.

I had no notes on the nominees. It's an absolutely loaded field. Other than I might,

“although he's missed so many games. I think Tyler Hero has had a sneaky good season. I went with”

it, I agonized over this. Austin Reeves career year, Cooper flag, and Kinniple, what they're doing. Consistency, defensive dominance, health this year, dominant team. I'm giving Chet Hongren a repeat win for this award. It's a tough one. So I thought about it a long and hard. And it comes down to which of these guys is the most reasonable all NBA vote. If they,

one of them ended up on a third team all NBA, which means the answer is Chet Hongren.

We have Ricky the Air for flagging, Kinniple. The other guys, I think Reeves, Reeves, did you get more? Yeah, if you hadn't gotten hurt, I think there's a real chance he could have taken this. But I think it's Chet Hongren. Back to back Mekeskis for Chet Hongren. I think agents have to start working this into their contracts. For like if he gets some Okeski award, $15,000 bonus. Not a huge, not a huge bonus band based standards. But if he gets the bill

Simmons, Mekeskis award, $15,000. It would be funny if they put it in this CBA and you got like a 5% salary cap bump. We did an old ESPN or Grandland Calm I did. We actually somebody made a fake Mekeskis trophy for this. And it's one of the funniest things we ever ran. It's Mekeskis

face on this bronze, whatever. And as always, I encourage people to go onto YouTube and watch

“Mekeskia. Okay. It's the 5% you have to say as always about guys. As always. I just, as I frequently tell”

people. Yeah, listen. The Dennis Rodman award for Biggest On Going Distraction. There's not going to be a lot of mystery here. Maybe there will be, because we have Janice versus Milwaukee. We have John Morant, whatever the hell was going on with him in Memphis. Kauai in the aspiration scandal. Is that a scandal? We still don't know. And then tanking any other nominees for you here. 65 game rule. Yeah. Okay. Burner, scandal. Whatever you

were you want to say. Mark Cuban versus the Adelson's versus the ultimate regret of life. It's Janice. It's Janice because it's, it's, it's the worst kind of distraction because it will

never stop and it's reached a point of over saturation. Yeah, it's kind of a Mason made that Kauai

and aspiration is going to win this. But I think people tune this story out a while ago. And I think a lot of people included myself were like, can you just tell me what happened when when we have a final verdict? We can't escape this Janice story. This is like every time you think it's like poison ivy. Every, every time you think you've got rid of it, all of a sudden it's back again. And it's been going on since August. And it's been going on in a way that people are now like,

I think vehemently tired of it. But when he started going against them this week, because they wouldn't let him play. And they, like, I don't even think people wanted to report it anymore. Then people are just like, just fucking trade them at the end of the year. We're all done with this. Just trade them. This latest round was bordering on the absurd on a lot of different levels

my pick. The Andre Blatch Award, most were immediately regrettable, contract or extension, last 12 months, named after Andre Blatch, who signed an extension that didn't kick in for a year. And over the course of that year, they became so unenamored with him that when they were allowed to ennesty anyone in the roster, they ennested him before his extension started. Amnesty was really a great time. I love that. I think they should bring it back. Honestly,

“like you should be able to use an ennesty once every 10 years. There should have to be a ceremony”

too. Like everyone's got to go to a podium. And it's like the opposite. It's like the opposite of being knighted. You're just like something. That sounds great. Revitable contracts, Palo, Jared Jackson, Miles Turner, Dorian Finnsmith, Chris Paul, and the other nominees. Oh, I've got nominees. You want them these? Yeah. Just a couple of nominees. I was a little surprised and I wouldn't pick him nor ready to even nominate him. I was

a little surprised Dearen Fox's name did not come up. And I think the reason is if you're going to win 60 games, you just get a pass and he's been largely good. That's what I felt. I would actually just to pick a winner from my winner for this. I would go off the nomination list, like ordering off the menu. Okay. I'll take for my main course. I'll take Yakka Pertle contract extension. Like it's like almost $30 million a year. He wasn't even extension. He wasn't even like becoming a

free agent for two years. He had bad back. He has back issues. He's just fine as is starting NBA center and the Raptors are like, you know what? We don't even want you to wait. We've let a long two years. Not even six months. Here's $90 million or a hundred and whatever million

dollars. And he's had a largely forgettable injury riddle season. It never it was the most

“inexplicable contract of the summers. So I'm going off off the menu and ordering, you know what?”

A big fat helping of Yakka Pertle. I'm not perfect. Even heroes have warts. Pertle should have been on there. That's my mistake. I think it's a great choice. It made no sense when they did it. Also, like when we did the worst contract strapped with Wazan House, I was going hard on centers just because I feel like we've learned that there's this giant inefficiency with how much you should pay a center. And if you're 20 million enough, unless this guy is Wemby or Yokeage,

maybe not a great idea. And Toronto just ignored all the evidence and went all in on Moriaka Pertle. I mean, dominated by it to me. It's catered to that. It was it would be one thing if he were approaching free agency and you thought, well, we're a good team. We don't really have a replacement for him. Like he's that's the bird right strapped his honours calls it that you fall into with your own guys. This was like, what? What? Like that. Really good one.

2027, Ewing Theory Award for the star most likely to be Ewing Theory next season. Yannas, Zion, Kawai, J. K. D. Any other nominees? So to be clear what we're picking here is this

person goes to a new team and his old team thrives. Basically, K. D. In the suns this year.

“Okay. I think the suns are like a stealth viewing theory team right now, not that they're”

going to win the title. But my pick is not Yannas as much as I wanted to pick that one. I think Zion was my favorite one for this. It's a good pick. They're clearly if they keep your guy tray Murphy instead of trading them or getting him to a new place as you so want. And they keep the other infrastructure around what they have now and just excise Zion or turn him into a piece that fits better or whatever. That's a pretty solid case. I went with, I went with John Moran.

It's a little hard because the Grizzlies don't really have a roadmap to being like, what's who's the best player on the team. If not John Moran, are we going this all, am I going so far all in on Ty Jerome? But I just like the way, I mean, who knows what of their young guys other than Coward and some of their other core guys will be on the team next year. I've enjoyed watching the remnants of the Grizzlies play. They play hard. They've sort of bought into a style of

play. They play defense or super handsy. They play fast. And I could see a world where like the Moran cloud is removed and they just like become a really fun 34 win team next year. It's become a tough place. It's definitely like a trap game every at Memphis game now.

Where these teams go, they all hate staying at the hotel, which finally became the thing in the

last week. They don't really like going there. You're playing a team that's tanking and they just kind of sneak up on you. All right. So we'll split that vote. Quick aside for this was not on the list that I sent you. And I forgot about you by the way, if I forgot, even forgot about the idea. Come back. Mike Smelt. So I think was in the mail bag the last one we did. He's one to know why

given to the bad player and tanky team who's given too many minutes as a stealth way to make the team lose and brought back the 2021 season when they unleash Poco and he shot 37% and was one of

the great tanking weapons anyone said. First of all, my apologies. That should absolutely,

that next year, we will have the most viable Poco will be on the menu. He suggested Bez Mbang on Utah Jazz, who all the sudden was playing all these big minutes for the jazz as a possibility. I guess my issue with this award is I don't know if we'll ever be able to recreate Poco again, the combo of how bad he was, but then also this weird hope and love that the Thunderfans had for him like there might be something there. Maybe Preston did it again and there was nothing

there. I don't know if we see that again. Bez is among a pile of guys who are suddenly playing 40 to 48 minutes. I mean literally entire games. I think to win this award, the essence of this

award is you can't just sort of exist out there as a 3 and D kind of a guy for 48 minutes. You

have to have the ball and do a lot of super damaging things with it. I'd have to think hard about who that really is this year. I don't think the guy exists and in some cases, it's people like sense about played 43 minutes today, but he's actually good. He's trying to get 26. So it really I don't I don't maybe most viable Poco can't be in a ward or maybe it's maybe it's that you know when you see it and it's like a like when the Oscars when they bring out the guy and they give

somebody like it's Harrison Ford, it's a special Irving Thalbot or Bird Award for special achievement.

“Maybe that's how it has to go. By the way, it's not a hot take. Shrinking is a favorite in the”

little household. I just I say it every episode to my wife. Harrison Ford American treasure. It's not it's not a hot take, but I like to be reminded of it. He's so good in the show and he's just he's an American treasure. The entire set, now you're stuck it up to Mallory. League Pass brought cast team in the year. I'm not even going to give nominees. This is your your category. You care about this the most. Who was your favorite league pass broadcast team this year? So I all encompassing

the broadcast crew, the play of the team, how those two things mesh together and it's got to be Charlotte. It's got to be Charlotte with Eric Collins and Del Curry and watching that team run up and down the floor and shoot threes and dunk out loops. It's like look, we all know who the sort of pet broadcast teams are. We all love the New York broadcast, the Brooklyn broadcast, lots and lots. I love the Toronto broadcast, but the whole experience of Eric Collins just losing his mind 10 times

a game for a team that like like you watched the Wizards broadcast and they'll lose their mind over like Bob Carrington making a mid range jump shot. Like a Bob Carrington showing out for the Wizards timeout Wizards are down by 21. Eric Collins is like going crazy for legitimate basketball reasons. And the whole thing, the uniforms are great, the courts great, the honeycombs, the hornet,

“everything. Charlotte. I had them as well. It's I think the only two Brock, well, there's three”

because I Eddie Johnson does the Phoenix. There are three teams where I may realize too. Whereas switch the Brock, you can switch the broadcast feed. They'll give you one. And if it's Charlotte, if it's Phoenix or the other one for me is Denver, I will switch over to their broadcast teams to

hear their people do the games. So I never, I never voted in the top 100 that a yes pin 100 that

they used to do when we'd ranked the players, but this is how you would, this is how they would be ranked. You would just get like snap decision on two players. And you would do that a bunch of times and they would then spit out your rankings of the players that way. That would be a fun column. Some day if we really just wanted to piss a lot of people off or delight a lot of people is just like that, but for league press broadcasters. Just like, okay, it's it's fully Detroit. We listen

into it and just like, you said more than enough about Eric Collins. I want to chime in.

“I think he's spectacular. He is like everything you would ever want from your local play by play”

guy because he's like two partners like this with the Celtics too. They're overqualified to be doing the local games. Like they're really national guys. The difference with Collins is he's been in Charlotte for a while. Really cares, but cares like that in a way where it's like you're a little embarrassed for them. Like they're cheering for the team too much. Like he really cares. And like somebody will make a shot against them. It'd be like two minutes left. They're down one and then

some fuck up and somebody will hit a three against them and he'll he'll just say some crazy sentence. Oh, isn't that a chainsaw on the tibia? Like just he just has like this and the

of 10. I love Eric Collins. I'm so happy that. Yeah, so good. And that was great. I watched the whole del curry day. I thought it was so genuine with those guys. And not shout out to them. Not for an answer. A lot of what you're saying is he's enthusiastic without being like a gratuitous

homer. And part of that is unlike some other homers, never hostile to the other team or the

opposing players to no reason. Never going out of your way to criticize sometimes unjustly somebody on the other team. Who I'm blanking on her name on the nuggets broadcast Katie. Katie Winger. Katie Winger. So she's done a couple of games. I thought she was fantastic. Yeah, she's as the color person. I really thought like she had a high level smart like breaking down what was going on. I thought she was really good. Some it seems like they bounced the partners around a little bit, but I thought she

“was really. She played it at fairly high level in college. I think it seems to me that they're”

making her the air apparent for whenever Scott Hastings. Yeah. She gets Larry Bird in college whenever

he retires. Yeah, I did the rare. I never add Twitter follows anymore, but she was really

good. I was like I'm following her on Twitter. The Lou Brown award for added nowhere surprised to you more. We have Phoenix Charlotte, Boston, and post tray at Lanna, loaded category. I think it's probably Phoenix though. Who had them as a seventh seed? It would have been absurd. Every other one sort of makes sense. Right? Phoenix does still doesn't make sense. I still don't understand it. There's just you get a lot of my knowledge out of playing hard, chemistry,

good top end talent, and booker, good complementary pieces, great coaching. I mean, they're only going to finish with like whatever, only they're going to finish with 45 wins. So it's not only

they've blown the doors off. People certainly, they've blown the doors off expectations.

I still went with the Hawks. If like I issued a formal apology for my Hawks optimism on my podcast around Christmas, I sat down and I reckoned with what I had done and what I had convinced people was going to happen with the Hawks. I actually thought about filming it in the vein of Will Smith's taking questions about why he slapped Chris Rock. I was going to sit down and wear the baseball hat that he had in like fit. We just ran out of time and I was going to be like fit read fake

“questions like Zack. Why did you think Trey Young would fit with this team? I believe well, that's”

interesting. Anyway, and then they were like seven in a row 11 in a row 15 out of 16 like what's happening? I was an ultimate what's happening for me? Okay. I think you've convinced me. I'll switch my anover because we had all given up on the Hawks and left them for dead. And it just seemed like they'll make some giant weird trade this summer and that'll be it. What's weird is does all this happen if they don't trade poor zingas? Because Kominga's already, I don't know

that side looking in for them. I wonder if they kept poor zingas if that would have been a fun wild car from them. A couple more words. The ML car trying to trade for a retired Michael Jordan award for goofy his but possibly real upcoming offices and support. This is a thing that happened. He did call the bulls and try to trade for a retired Michael Jordan

“and they hung up on him and then he leaked to people that he tried to trade for Michael Jordan.”

So technically it was true. I'm not surprised they're not more a words name for ML car but that's a difference. Yeah. nominees. This is for this guessing this summer. The Warriors trying to get Kauai. We found out before the trade deadline they actually did try to get Kauai. When they traded James Hart and the Warriors came in and tried to make a bid didn't get him. LeBron becoming the Warriors player coach. Palo for Janice. The Celtics trade J. Limbran.

Or okay C says fuck it and trades J-dub. All those are ridiculous but what's the one that make. Oh give me if you have any other nominees? No. All of these broke my brain. Although Palo for Janice is not to me goofy at all on a number of levels. It's something I pitched in the fall before I forgot that Palo was poisoned. Celtics trading J-land felt more plausible last off season than now but crazy things happen is contract is what it is. I don't see now that they've reset

the tax. I don't see any scenario where it happens. And I don't that chism is like he goes to every game he loves the team. Everybody loves the J. I don't see a scenario. I mean I went with the Warriors trying to get Kauai which doesn't feel goofy since it happened but I do I mean God only knows what could happen this summer what's going to happen with Kauai was going to happen with this contract and said her but I went with that one because LeBron's not going to become player coach right

Would they bend the rule if they if the Warriors the LeBron went to Adam and were like can you bend

“this rule on the player coach? You're going to be good for business. Does LeBron want to be a coach?”

No. No. I just it's stupid. I'm going to say my answer is okay see trading J-dub. I left that one sitting there for you. I'd rather you take it. I just find it hard to believe they're going to be paying three backs. Guys and K-san Wallace and they're going to have more stuff coming and I just think Presti will proactively do stuff. And I don't think they're going to do this just for the record. Don't aggregate maybe like

Simmons things okay. We're talking goofy as but possibly real. This one had like a shred of what happens if okay see loses in the conference finals. Do they just run it back? Do they get creative? They have all these picks. Do they try to upgrade J-lon Williams who is already a top 25 guys. You're talking about last year. Yeah. Yeah. I'm talking about this year like if they lost. Yeah. I was going to say what complicates all this if they win the championship.

Does Azazapakulia word? Petulia? Petulia. Does Azapakulia word for the one NBA rule that absolutely needs to be changed. 65 games tanking. Half court shots don't count as full goal attempts a passion point of yours and league pass showing people dancing during every time out.

“Anything else you would add here? You should get to pick your opponent as the number one seed”

and there needs to be a time limit on reviews. Oh, that's really good. I'm going with that one.

Yeah. That's my pick to 45 second reviews. 45 seconds. That's it done. Every time you say you

went off the menu, Joe has systemic rouse and you think some food. Just saying that. That's right. It should be 45 seconds for the record. First of all, I do have to admit defeat on the half court shots rule. It worked. Players take half court shots. I mean, I still think it's I like the idea of having the field goal percentage cowards have to be publicly cowardly by not shooting. I enjoyed that, but I enjoy the heaps more. Me as well. So, 45 seconds. I don't even

think the ruffs go over the monitor. I think they decide in Sakakis and they just tell the raff and it's announced. I don't even need the raffs like that. I'm going to put my headphone. Well, the I end them out. And the ruffs wearing the headsets has been this weird. They are wearing them now. They're not like on again off again. What's going on with that? Why did that? You know, just to take these games, the games are too long still. And a close game at the end, if there's

three reviews, you're just going to take too long. All right. We'll go through a couple of quick ones here. But 2010, Baron Davis Award for Best Individual Mail into the season. Sorry, Baron. I went to those games, unfortunately. John Maran, Zion, Anthony Davis, Zach Levine, or Mark Cuban. I'm going, I'm going out of the box here and giving it to Mark Cuban. How is this guy

still giving interviews? And taking, first of all, nobody asked you to sell the team. You sold

the team after you hired Nico Harrison, right? The GM who that made the look at trade, who now you've been bad about that, you hired him. You picked the ownership group to sell the team to you lost your say in the whole process. You knew you had the famous line of like nothing's changing except my wallet or whatever you said. Yeah, you're a rich guy who I don't didn't seem like you need the money or maybe you did of selling the team. You sold too early.

You sold before the value of all the franchises went way up. You handled every piece of this wrong. Not to mention, you said you were going to be involved then you weren't. And now it just feels like for the entire season, he's been trying to throw his scent off his culpability in the Luka trade,

which never would have happened if he's still on the team. Like, I don't think he should

give interviews about it anymore, be my take. And so that fits the mail-in criteria for you. Yeah, because he nailed it in by selling the team. It's your fault. They trade of Luka. You're Dr. Oppenheimer in this. Wow. Yeah. Is that how take? Don't sell the team. Well, you don't want them to trade in Luka, don't you? Keep the team yourself. Invoking the father of the nuclear bomb. Well, this was the NBA trade nuclear bomb.

I went much. I went with John Moran because he literally stopped trying during multiple games

“to the point that Blake Griffin and I think his first like welcome to broadcasting moment called”

him out at halftime of a game. And then he's just disappeared. But you, you make fair quite a case for Mark Cuban. Just, how about this? Point to finger this way. Yeah, there is a lot of

Sonnex to the Oklahoma City Thunder business man group who were dying to bring a team to the Thunder. And then they moved the team. Oklahoma City is like, Oh, my God. What a, I can't believe that happened. It's like it could it? You sold it too much. You guys from OKC. All right. The shame

“bad day I worked for Sloan Conference, Statenard Darling to sure is it's the Abate, right?”

Did anyone have more fun with though? What the fuck is going on here? Stats for the advanced metrics and all the Abate lineups and all the weird shit with him or would you go with somebody else than the moves? I'm happy to, I'm happy to give it to Moosa, a couple other names that came up for me were Dean Wade, because the calves are just obsessed with what when Dean Wade's healthy look out. Dyson Daniels, Clint Coppella, Derek Jones Jr., but I'm happy to give it to Moose.

Hugo Hugo, having the like plus 17 net rating for most of the season was pretty crazy too. The, the Vitaly Potapenco award for worst deadline trade for the kids out there, 1999, Strexies and 50 games, Celtics are a bottom 10 team, Rick Patino, who was just a serial killer when he was running the team and just just leaving bodies left and right, decided to trade an

unprotected first run pick for Vitaly Potapico, who was a backup center masquerading as a starter,

and that picked turn out to be the ninth pick in the draft, which would have been either Andrea Miller or Sean Marion if they had it, and they did not have it. Worst trade, Kobe White for nothing, poor Zingus for Camingen Hields or Simons for Vusabitch, or another nominee that I don't have. Jared McCain, to soon to say, too soon to say, and they got real draft equity for him. Yeah, I wouldn't put that as the number one, but it could be an nominee.

I mean, I'm just going, I'm going, I'm zooming out and just going, the entire Chicago bull's organization for everything gets this award. I mean, I don't follow hockey and football closely enough to say this, is there a more, I ask you then, is there a more depressing franchise

“in American professional sports right now than the Chicago bull's? I think that, yeah, to flip that”

around most depressed fan base, it's down to Chicago and Sacramento, I think in the finals, even Sacramento is going to enter the lottery in pole position or fourth position or at least they have that. The bull's are ninth in the lottery standings, hoping for a Derek Rose Redux with Matus Buzellus and a whole bunch of like, yeah, but even Gettys, like last two months have been, now I guess you just throw them all the way, have been just like, okay, what was the Kobe White trade?

And why did they then trade Buzes of it to take on six more million dollars of assignments? What

was that? I don't know, and it's tempting to say, well, they got Colin Sexton who's been pretty good on an inspiring contract and he'll be on another team next year when he walks for nothing and also, I mean, wherever you want to classify that. Why did they keep dang in the three way trade they did? Why did they reroute him somewhere else? I mean, he needed 22-year-old young energetic forward and there are two big second draft swings or Rob Dilling him and Jaden Ivy

and one of those has gone completely sideways and it's just, I just, wow, it sounds like your, we should just move right next to the, let's do it. The David Con Award for worst GM performance, Nico Harrison, not eligible. I had him in there, but then the more I look that are not eligible. King GM, I don't even know who is this. It's my American, Scott Perry, Scott Perry, but it's not, it's really, but it's really the back and whoever his kids are, the GM. Like there's,

somebody can announce themselves at like a dinner and it's like on the GM and the Kings, but it's not, they're not actually the GM, right? They're not really making these moves. That'd be great if I went, if I started going to parties and just introducing myself as the GM of the Kings, I just want you guys to know. I've been quiet about it, but I'm running the Kings. King GM, Joe Dumares and New Orleans, John Horses on the bucks are our winner, Arturus,

on the bulls. So I don't think we'll have this job a week from now. It would be my guess. I just don't. It was really a bismal for five years there. And it's a, yeah, it's a, it's a, it's a, in totality multiple year award in this case.

The LeBratford Smith's first M.J. award for Saddam B.A. F.U., where we have LeBronvers Memphis,

Chris Paul for Squippers, Steven Avers, the Pelicans are Mark Cuban versus Niko and the Dumans.

“I think is my winner again for all the reasons I said earlier. That, that's my winner as well out”

of this group of nominees, because no one is rooting for anybody in the feud. Everyone is rooting

for another franchise. Everyone in Dallas is now somehow a Lakers fan after all of this. And so that was my saddest feud, too. We're running late on time. So we're going to cut the team or an award for most polarizing family member. We'll just give it to Rick Brunson right now. The 1988 Reggie Lewis, I don't know. I just like this guy award for a young guy who's not playing much yet, but you've already bought significant stock. Really important category. Yes.

Our nominees. Ron Harper Jr. Carter Bryant. Hugo Will Riley. He's like Madonna. He just says one Negro. And I can't even say it right half the time. Will Riley a Joe House absolute favorite favorite. Is not my old rookie team? No. He should be Kai Shan George Malachi Smith.

“They said that right Malachi Smith. Do you are on the next?”

And my personal pick, Neeter Hazard, I'm not even going to try to say his first name on the

Quippers. I love Neeter Hazard. I was bummed out when he got hurt and I think they would easily be the eighth seed if he hadn't gotten hurt. But the other ones, the stock's a little higher. Neeter Hazard, I still feel like is like dirt, dirt cheap. If I was getting a little price here, I'd be looking at Hugo Carter Bryant or two that I would invest in. But I think those are already a little jacked up. Did you have any other nominees before you give us your winner?

Carter Bryant is definitely they're not they're not taking on more buyers. It's just point people are behind him. They've shut the IPO and that's it. I went again off from a new sorry Joe House.

“I went for sheer Fleming in Phoenix. I like him. He should have been not. Why wasn't he nominated?”

I can't get a talk. I got to talk to myself. Yeah, that was the guy all the smart Celtic fans. We're hoping the T-Leaves were we're showing that the Celtics might take him. Then the Suns jumped them. They traded up for that pick. I think or traded up something happened. No. We got who go? Carol Dawson, a word for most unabashed tank job. Carol Dawson, the guy who invented tanking with the rockets in the Samsung Electron things. So we got Utah, Washington,

Brooklyn, Indiana, Sacramento, Memphis. I'm happy giving it to all six. It's generally want to separate anybody. It's really it's a really hard one. It's a hard feels. Yeah, we're not picking winner for that. I would pick a winner. Go ahead. I would congratulate the Washington wizards

“and I would pick them because they traded for not one, but two good and presumably playable”

NBA players pretended that they might actually play them. Actually played Tray Young for a hot second kept pretending that they might play Anthony Davis and then just issued one medical update after another about everyone's ramping up or ramping down or ramping in various directions. And basically played neither of them. And then stop playing other people too. So I mean like

the. Yeah, it took a 95 million dollars for two guys to not play them. And like are they

going to extend them? What's going to happen now? It's just a bizarre one. So in a field, it's like really 1994 best picture, but it's so it I give it to the wizards. I mean, you got to look at Brooklyn too. Just playing all these young guys they have together who don't even make sense on a basketball court together. Just throwing them out there, making sure Porter Jr doesn't play too much on the stuff they're doing. But it's loading. It's loading. If we have to pick one,

you're watching the case was good. This is, it's a slightly mean-spirited ward and I don't really care. The Dwight Howard. It's me. Sorry, dude. I can't help it. I just don't really like watching to play basketball that much award. Paolo, James Harden, James Green, Westbrook, Zach Levine, Rudy Gobert, Tray Young. I'm not saying it's a bad brand of basketball. I'm just saying for me personally, just for me. That's not really resonating. It hasn't really resonated with

me as a fan. I don't know if you have any other nominees. Again, we're not happy about saying these things. No, we're just trying to be honest. Carl Anthony Towns? Sure. Let's add them. Okay. Say you're winner. I floored it with a couple others, but my winner of this group would probably be Zach Levine. Okay. I have him as well.

Opted into his last year of his deal at 49 million. I don't know if you saw that.

start the next-art test melee. Three of the people on this almost did start the next-art test melee a couple months ago. Isaiah Stewart, the moose, Ron Howellon, Goga Patazzi, Joseavorado, don't have been clinging. Who I don't think gets nearly enough credit for how

“feisty he is. I think he's going to be involved in a really big fight at some point.”

Yokech got include him. J. Williams, not J. Dub, J. Will, Lude Dort, in the Champagne brothers, both of them. They're on separate teams. They're both

ready to go. You can see it. Who wins this for you? This is basically the who is the guy

you don't want to fuck with the most of the league award. I mean, I don't know if it's that, but I know it's the award for the guy who most wants to fuck with you award. And true. I mean, this is becoming a pretty easy decision. It's Isaiah Stewart who, when he begins running across the entire court with fire and his eyes, it's, it's over. Like it's your two late. You're too late. It's now a melee. And this is the second time he's traversed the entirety of an NBA

court. I love to get himself a piece of something. The Novak's Kyrie Irving Award, best job of maintaining good stats by not playing regularly. Just giving this to J. L. M. B. Well, listen, it's, if you're playing once a week or every once in a while, your stats are going to be really good. So congratulations, show off. Agreed. I had him too. The white chocolate was a problem award.

He was a problem. 2006 guy who sees him was so much better in 47 second Twitter highlights.

“Novak is ace Bailey, Kasha on George. Baron J. How do you say his name? How do you get on this list?”

Because if you cut 47 seconds of alley-oops and blocks from him, you would think he's like, that's fair. The next Wemby. Robert Williams, time-lord, Dan. And Nolan Traeary. Who's my pick? I have him. I think you could cut a really nice three-minute super mix of Traeary highlights and you would be convinced he's like a future on the NBA guy. So Ace Bailey and Usman Jang would have the most like basketball league versions, like they'd have turnaround jumpers and post-up moves.

For me, I get, can I go off menu again? Please. Joe Haskell Hungry again. I went Danny Wolf.

Because if you super cut like crazy Danny Wolf, Nolan passes and then some threes and some

like overhead, Nolan Patty would be like, wow, this guy is like, magic Johnson out here, point, like just running and running things. So I went with Danny Wolf. Wow, you did the triple crown there. You made Joe Haskell Hungry. You delighted Peter Schrager, because this is his favorite net and he's delighted Tommy Alter as well. Triple crown. Three, two, three. Thank you. All right, three awards left. These are the big ones. The Trevolta and Pulp fiction Award for come back

of the year. Jang. Jason Tatum, obviously. Limella Ball, Michael Porter Jr. Brandon Ingram and whoever else you want to nominate. I would nominate Sidney Bay. Nikola Tolvitch. Nikola Tolpitch. Yeah, the entire Atlanta Hawks franchise for the midseason comeback. But when you're going to award again, Sapy and Sirius, I would give the award to Jason Tatum. Yeah, this is this is one of those where it's like the SP's where he's in the front row with his family and he's getting nominated.

It's like I'll tell you what in that one. We're going to talk about that. So this is one I really wanted to give out. The 2026 LVP for least vibe of player. In least vibe of player is in the worst player, but it's least valuable. It's somebody that is working against your team at all times.

“I don't think there's a winner for this this year. I think some years you have at some years”

don't when you have 10 teams not trying. I just feel like the LVP becomes a lot harder. In a way, it could almost be given to the team, to the guy that his team's trying to tank. But he's been too too good at messing up the tank. Would almost be the LVP in the situation. You're messing up our draft pick. That makes you the least valuable. So I don't know. If you feel like we should give this out. I'm fine with it. We could skip it. You could go the other way.

And it could be a team that was at various points, including at the beginning of the season, trying to win and investigate a crap ton of resources to get you on to their team and enjoyed arguably the worst season of your entire career. Paul George, that's not who I was thinking of, but is perfectly fits that sort of thing. I was saying, and you didn't prep me for this. So

house Turner who just, can you remember one thing that Miles Turner did this year? What's like one?

“Wow. And he's shot 38. He's shooting 38% on threes. He's missed a lot of games now. They're”

tanking now, obviously. But just given the wave and stretch sign for 25 million a year,

perfect fit with Yana's blah blah blah. It just feels like I just never even noticed him on the

court the entire season. I mean, this is why you're one of the greats. I went from thinking we shouldn't have this award to thinking you laid out the perfect and Paul George would have been another one, right? But Paul George actually got them under the tax by getting suspended. So in a weird way, he was viable. Miles Turner, when you throw in the stretch, and what they thought it might do for their seat, basically like this Hail Mary to save their next two years, and it just didn't.

And they probably, as we've talked about overpaid him a little, because Seniors, unless I have an all-in-be a center, I don't want to pay 25 million year for a center.

“I think that's a good pick. Not entirely his fault. He did choose to leave Yana.”

Off to somebody, this is just off the top. So I'm sure we could go other, you know, candidates.

Final word, the 2026 league pass MVP. This is as coveted as the real MVP. I don't know a lot of people don't talk about that. Everyone's been drinking now for a few hours. They're getting one sheet, they're ready to go the after parties. But now they've got to pay attention. They guys sit and pay attention. This is so much different than the real MVP. This is, you're going back to the legacy of like Michael, we didn't even have league pass in 1987, but oh my God,

Michael Jordan, this is Kobe in 2006. Like you see, you're going to score 80 tonight. It should really be named for Blake Griffin, I think. Blake Griffin made league pass. Just a thought. Interesting. We are here. It hasn't a word named after him. I know he is the unexpected

“delay to word. So the difference between this and just being the best part in the league is this is just”

you're flicking around and you just keep gravitating toward the team, a player, and it's just somebody you know is going to deliver the goods. It's like your best postmates order. 730, and you just go, it's your go-to. It's like I'm hungry. Where am I going? The nominees are Wemby, Joker, SGA. I only have three people here. Because to me, it's either Wemby or Joker. Are there any other nominees for you? I would have the hornets as a team, but teams can't win

this. It has to be a person. I mean, certainly the last month and a half, Luca has gotten into this conversation though. I know, but it's the whole season. And if I'm going to vote for him for the season, I also have to deal with like Luca from that one month when he just seemed completely miserable and was just mad at every ref for two and a half straight hours. I did not, I did not seek that out on league pass. I thought, no, I know. I have no other names. I mean, if you're just talking purely

who do I have? This is Wendy versus Joker. Yeah. This is Wendy versus Joker. You want to go first

for me? No, you go. I never, I thought Joker would win this award 10 times in a row, 15 times in a row.

I never thought anybody would be more must watch a point in television for me. And Victor Wemby, Amma, in his third year wins this award for me. You know, I watch every team as equally as I can. You end up watching the best teams more because when they play each other, it's must watch and then by the end of the season, none of these seems the tankers are trying to win. And, you know, so I can't watch every spur game because it would be derelective duty to the other 2019s in the league.

I feel bad when I miss a spur game. I feel bad when I have to read about it. I feel bad when I have to watch the highlights of it. I feel like I've missed something magical. And if he does something magical, then I'll go back and watch that game. It'll be an extra game. But the ping of FOMO that I get has exceeded the Yokech FOMO. So Victor Wemby, Amma. That was my answer as well. If you're going to tauty the season, Joker wins for me because

I love Denver, Joe. It's just like the most reliable order you can make on postmates or Uber eats or wherever you're getting your food. What Wemby was doing in the last six weeks, I was going out of my way to watch the spurs, which has not happened. I don't think as much as I and you and I are probably two of the biggest Yokech fans on the planet, just for just watching and play basketball. He's so steady and you know, he's there. It's like, you're not going to go,

he was in his, I'm going to make my MVP case. I was like, I'm just not missing that game. I don't,

“there was no scenario where I wasn't watching it. There was no scenario where I wasn't watching the”

yesterday game against the nuggets and he just hit that point. It's a pretty rare point to get to. We've had it a few times since we've known each other, but I don't think like this where it's like

every game you might see five things you've never seen on a basketball court before.

And it's, it's both ends of the floor, obviously, not that he's good on both ends before we know that it's that he's unprecedented on both ends of the floor. It's the spurs figuring out the lob stuff in more creative ways as it goes on where they're just throwing it to him and he's getting it. And we've been put them on the floor to get the ball, like little stuff they're just getting better at. And even you mentioned, you know, for the whole season it's Yokech,

because from start to finish this guy's going to leave the league and rebounds and assist and he's one of the, maybe the most efficient high volume score in the league and the magic of his passes and all that even when the like learning to reach this level, the curiosity factor was just off the charts. Like I just wanted to see every part of all, even the mistakes and the things he was trying that didn't work. And I wanted to see, my curiosity was just off the charts.

He, it's the last rule of basketball. Like your eyes just gravitate to where he is on the TV. When you go to see him in person, you just find yourself just watching him to just even though the ball's over there, you're just seeing where he sets up. He did a thing yesterday. He was in the second quarter. Bounce Junus, try to post above. Do you see that play? The one where you just took the ball and it's apex that way. He did a jump hook and when he didn't jump and just blocked it.

And bounce Junus was like, and he just kind of whipped him to the ground. He got mad, but it was like,

I've never seen anyone do that ever. Where it was, he didn't just block it. He almost like blocked

it with his elbow. He blocked, he blocked a floater in that game. I don't remember who shot it, but he came from so far away that as he was going towards the boat, it was on the right side of the foul line. As he was going toward it, I thought he's just trying to scare the guy at the end of the shot clock. He's like, he just doesn't actually think he can block that shot. And then he blocked it and I was like, I don't even know what am I supposed to do now? Well, and as the legend grows with him,

you could see the other players in the league. Like, before it was like people at the last second realizing they should, he's there. I've got to change my plan here and there would be like two seconds of discombobulation and then they would reset the play. Now they're recognizing it as it's happening and they're just giving up on even thinking about potentially trying to make the play. Don't dribble in the paint, they'll see him and it's like a fucking shark, like you're a swimmer in

“the ocean. Like I think that's a shark fin. I'm going to go this way. They just completely bail on it.”

They don't even really, and then the guys that challenge him are just nuts. Like the guys that are like, I'm going to take it right to him. I'm going to bounce into his chest and double clutch and

try to overpower him. And it's almost like a badge of honor that they try to do it. I've never seen anything

like. You know, you know, who likes to play against him and plays that way is Shen Goon. Shen Goon, you can tell who's like, this guy, I can take this guy. I'm trying like, I like that. I like that about Shen Goon. And watching Joker try to soften and doing like, I'm going to take him this way. I'm going to put my shoulder into him and then I'm going to bring my jump hook a little bit further back and then try to flip it a little higher and that should be okay. He was solving him like an

MIT scientist trying to figure out like some sort of DNA model for something. When B was the was the clear winner this year. Yokeh, I don't know what I'll say could do. He's leading the league in a system rebound. He's doing something that only Wilk Chamberlain has done where you add up his first place in two categories. He's fifth in points. So if you just do one plus one plus five, he's seven.

“And I think that's what it is, right? One plus one plus he's seven. The only one that did that was”

Wilk in 1968, second in assists, first rebounds, fourth in points, seven. And I don't think anyone in the history league has done that for those three categories. Usually they're like one, two, 12, two, three, 15. This is his season. That's why I think I have Joker second for MVP, heading into this last week. Interesting because you were definitely flirting with the WMBMP idea. Well, I think yesterday showed the limitations of the 29 minutes of game. And there's a durability

with Yokeh said I think should, that's what I'm staring at as I think of these three guys all gets each other. It's just easier to be 29 minutes of game and have that burden versus what Yokeh just went through. Where it's like, I might have to play a 45 minutes today. Well, and it adds up

It's like a bad, I don't have it in front of me. Three, four hundred minute gap.

“All right. So your podcast is Tuesday morning. Thanks to Sam's. Thanks to Sam's club for”

helping us out with this live stream. Thanks to Gahau and Eduardo as well on the ringer side and

everybody else over at the ringer made up awards. I feel like it was in a plus. I'm glad. I'm glad you

“feel like I feel like you're brain broke like three times or we went off menu a lot, which is why”

we went up menu right now. So great. Yeah. It was great. Thanks everybody. Netflix. Thanks to the ringer.

And I will see you on the rewatchable tomorrow night for adding the cruisers and then back in the speed on Tuesday. Thanks everybody.

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