NBA MVPs, WNBA Season Kick-Offs and Dynasties, and Playoff Controversies

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
What's up, everybody?

Speaker 2 (00:09):
Welcome to another episode of the three on three podcasts.

Speaker 1 (00:11):
I'm your host.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Chris Williamson joined alongside Scherin, Nicole and Tarika Foster Brasby,
and y'all, there's been so much going on in the
world of sports, well the world of basketball, lady, I
feel like it's hard to keep up because it's just
one news clipping after another. And of course the NBA
playoffs have been exceptional, right the Pacers coming back to

(00:35):
tie the series?

Speaker 1 (00:37):
Did we see that coming? To Rika? And did.

Speaker 3 (00:42):
Sorry? Okink I was only one.

Speaker 4 (00:46):
No, I'm to recon.

Speaker 3 (00:49):
You know, we'll talk about it, But yeah, did it
what I did see?

Speaker 5 (00:53):
But I didn't see What didn't you see for a
Minnesota either?

Speaker 4 (00:59):
Why didn't a wild prediction? Last week? I thought I
was turning up lo and behold, I was not. And now,
like I don't know anything about basketball.

Speaker 2 (01:08):
Y'all knew better. And Mike Malone he probably used all
them clippings, y'all probably in it. We're like, yeah, I
took these clips everybody's saying, and I'm not saying they
were wrong because we did play like rep and then
look that motivated him. But yeah, the defending They're the
defending champs for a reason. And then Yo, w n
B A Opening Night Tuesday, WNBA Black History talk.

Speaker 4 (01:33):
About it, lad society.

Speaker 3 (01:36):
Shout out to my girl, Esther out there, merch.

Speaker 2 (01:39):
Esther holding it down left and right like she. Yeah,
I don't know how she does it, but shout out
to her and all that efforts she does because she
is a trendsetter as well when it comes to the
marketing game. And hey, I saw you Tarika talking about
how SGA was the real MVP they did against the

(02:01):
Mavericks on Monday. And I saw somebody clapping back at
you too. But that ain't that is because you know,
you get clap bags all the time.

Speaker 3 (02:08):
And you know what I said, I said what I said,
what she said.

Speaker 4 (02:13):
His voice.

Speaker 3 (02:17):
Was gonna change my mind, you know.

Speaker 2 (02:21):
And then Lisa blueterr Yo, Lisa Blueter retired. I don't
know what I was doing, but it just threw me,
threw me off, he.

Speaker 4 (02:29):
Said, I was. I was not surprised. Good job. You know,
it's an end of an era. You'll never see it again.
Go enjoy your life, get your and enjoy your life.
I thought it was one of the smartest moves I've
ever seen a coach making that level of a long
long time.

Speaker 5 (02:45):
I mean it was planning because the backup was already ready.
Oh yeah, graphic right next to each I'm gonna shut
up on the graphic though.

Speaker 4 (02:52):
Because don't you do it? Because you behind you and
agree with everything and give you all the.

Speaker 2 (03:00):
And just one of your confessions. This is your confession
that you're talking about before before we started the show. Okay,
all yeah, yeah, there's a lot of places we could
go with with that graphic, but uh, yeah, shut.

Speaker 4 (03:15):
I'm gonna behave today. I'm not doing it.

Speaker 2 (03:18):
Chris, Chris never, you never behaved. You were behaving when
we were doing our production call.

Speaker 4 (03:24):
Behave I talk about this, I'm gonna get in trouble.

Speaker 2 (03:28):
No, yeah, all right in that sense, we're gonna take
a short break and then we're gonna dive into Uh
the NBA Playoffs second round have a lot of juicy storylines,
uh in that one. All right, we're back here on
the three on three pod, and I don't think a
lot of people expect it, or maybe some people did.

Speaker 6 (03:49):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (03:49):
The fact that the Pacers came back from being down
to nothing, they took care of business at home, and
I know O, g N and Ob being out helps for them,
but playing at home the role players step up in
different ways. It was really a team effort. Tyrese Halliburn
of course doing this thing much more aggressive. And the
funny thing for me is is Tibbs going to see

(04:13):
his team crumble because of the amount of minutes that
he plays his guys. This is something that we've seen
before right in Chicago and other people like, oh, well,
you know Oji's been out half a year. You know,
Mitchell Robinson only played thirty one get whatever. But there's
something to be said about playing Josh Hart all these
minutes during the regular season when you didn't need to.

Speaker 1 (04:35):
But I'm happy that.

Speaker 2 (04:37):
The Pacers tied it up at two because I didn't
want this to be, you know, a sweep or gentleman sweep.

Speaker 1 (04:43):
And now we have a series.

Speaker 2 (04:46):
And Shari, I don't know if what's happened has changed
your perspective, but do you feel like the Pacers have
the momentum here?

Speaker 4 (04:55):
I think they do. I would like to strongly suggest
that the Knicks organization make sure they have an abundance
of crutches as bandages, slings or whatever else you would
need for somebody that's going to hurt themselves. I'm actually
disgusted at the level of injuries, in the amount of
injuries that we are seeing on the New York Knicks,
like it is unsettling to me, and it really speaks

(05:17):
to your point. I love tips, I love them, but
to your point about Chicago, it did happen, and so
this is now something that we can say, this is
a pattern. This isn't just players haphazardly getting injuries throughout
the year. There's something to his coaching style that I
believe is contributing to this. And with that said, New
York is a tough place to play. Nobody wants to
go to the Garden. The fans there are lit. They're

(05:38):
ready for the next iteration of greatness from the Knicks.
So I think Indiana's going to have a tough time there.
But I do think the momentum has shifted. And I
do think Jalen Brunson he wills himself in games to
make the big shots, to come up big in the
big moments, but he's hurt. Yeah, and at some point
we're going to see the repercussions of that. I was

(06:00):
watching it up mornings and Wendy talked about the Knicks
really having to take advantage of what's going to happen
over the next two games. They got to get it
done now because they got a couple days in between
what they have off, and if they don't take advantage
of that and have to go back into a thirty
six hour turn and burn, it might not work out
so well for them. So I am pulling for them
just because I really just love the energy that the

(06:24):
Knicks fans are bringing. I love a good storyline. I
love watching Jalen Brunson in particular, just become just to me.
If he keeps this pace, we're talking about him being
one of the greats, Like he's going to be a
name that will bring up well beyond now. So I'm
excited about what he's doing with that team. But I'm
also very concerned because even beyond this series, say they

(06:46):
do win, what happens next? Are we going to be
able to see a Competitive's Knicks team in the Eastern
Conference Finals? Based on what I'm saying, No, So I
am pulling for New York despite the momentum shift. But
if Indiana comes in gets this next game, I'm gonna
I'm going to shift my viewpoint.

Speaker 5 (07:06):
You know, I set this off camera, but literally, I
think the theme of today's show is going to be pressure,
because that is what almost every single situation of every
topic we plan to discuss centris around pressure. There's pressure
on New York to capitalize and finally get over the

(07:26):
hump that no one seems to think.

Speaker 3 (07:28):
That they're able to get over.

Speaker 5 (07:30):
But the pressure that Indiana put on them, specifically in
their full court deference, is the reason why they got
they ass whooped and part of the reason. I mean
they literally kept them the fourteen points in the first quarter,
like they brought the pressure. And I also love the
way Tyreese Halliburton in this series has started to force

(07:50):
Jalen Brunson even more to step up to the play
and show his resiliency.

Speaker 3 (07:55):
And his poise. He willed himself back, for sure to
your point, sure because he had a foot injury. Yeah,
And I think everybody and.

Speaker 4 (08:03):
Every team, I think every team at this point in
the season has to deal with being heart dealing with injuries.

Speaker 5 (08:09):
I mean literally, you don't play from October to May
and possibly into June and you just go through unscathed. No, like,
you definitely got some battle wounds that you have.

Speaker 4 (08:22):
To deal with.

Speaker 5 (08:23):
But the way that this next team has had to
rely solely on your starters for forty minutes, I mean,
it's really it's really been difficult to watch in that regard.
And it worked in game one and two, but not
so much now. And I think another thing that I
find to be truly interesting in this matchup, more than anything,

(08:45):
and more than anything, is players who you don't expect
to show up showing up. And we say that a
lot in a lot of different series. Who how's your
bench going to react?

Speaker 3 (08:55):
How's it?

Speaker 5 (08:56):
But in this series, more than any other, I think
in this postseason, bitch players are going to be the
difference between a win and the loss. You know, I
ain't expect Josh Hart to show up the way he
show up. I expect Devin Chenzo to hit some shots
every once in a while. But I mean, if it
is difficult to have to say to an injured Jalen Brunston,

(09:16):
we got to put this team totally on your back.
So New York is gonna have to have somebody else
show up tonight consistently to get them this game five
win because we know the stats.

Speaker 3 (09:28):
We know the stats.

Speaker 5 (09:30):
When you have to play a game five and a
series is tied to to typically the winner of game
five goes on to win the series. Yes, so game
five is going to be incredibly important for New York
if they want to have a shot of making it
to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Speaker 1 (09:49):
They need they need to get it done in ticks.

Speaker 2 (09:52):
Right if this game, if this series goes seven, Yep,
it's a raight right, they don't And even though it's
going to be in the garden. Yeah, those those legs,
like Dante was shooting out of his freaking mind, you know,
the last few games, and then in Game four you
can see his legs, all the legs look so heavy
where his shots were way off right, no rhythm whatsoever.

Speaker 1 (10:15):
Josh hards gasped.

Speaker 2 (10:16):
The good thing though, is heart was able to rest
twenty four minutes, which is more than he's ever rested
in this postseason. But again going back to Tibbs in
his philosophy, like he was playing Jalen Brunson and Dante
DiVincenzo with like two minutes ago in the third quarter

(10:37):
when it was a thirty point game, a thirty plus
point game.

Speaker 1 (10:41):
What is the reason there?

Speaker 2 (10:43):
You know, it baffles me because we can talk about, oh,
this is a fluke injury here, fluke injury there. But
when you know the games out of hand and you're
already thin as hell when it comes to your roster, you.

Speaker 1 (10:54):
Got to swallow that pride.

Speaker 2 (10:55):
And he's a great coach, but he has some flaws, right,
And speaking about flaws, the Denver Nuggets showed a whole
lot of flaws in games one and two in their
home building, and people were writing them off, saying, oh, yeah,
it's over r it's really hard to repeat. Like the
Warriors made it look easy, you know, as made it

(11:17):
look easy. No, Denver said, we got we got another
thing coming because Mike Malone said, here's what everybody's saying
about y'all.

Speaker 1 (11:25):
They don't believe in you. You're dead in the water.

Speaker 2 (11:28):
And then they came out games three and four locked
in Jamal Murray, Oh my gosh.

Speaker 4 (11:36):
Difference, biggest difference in these games.

Speaker 1 (11:40):
Big layoffs.

Speaker 2 (11:41):
Your read those three days that he got it was
a complete one eighty because you could just see how
he was much more bouncy in his step in the explosiveness,
and I know it helped that Aaron Gordon took the
ball up, so releaves them some pressure. But the Nuggets
have tied the series, and I am extremely entertain for

(12:02):
what we've seen, especially from Nikola Jokic. Some of the
passes he made down the stretch were just absurd. And Tarika,
I don't know if you have this thought, but I
think the Nuggets are winning the series now. As great
as Anthony Edwards has been, I think this was their chance,
and the fact that they blew two games at home,

(12:25):
it's it might be it for them.

Speaker 4 (12:28):
I don't I'm not writing them off at all because
it's not like Denver won both day games at home.
I mean, the series is a two to two game
and that's because both teams lost on a row. I
think the Game five home showing for Denver is what's
going to really let me know whether or not this
Denver team is serious about moving on and if they

(12:49):
recognized who they are to be able to play to
the level of who they are, because as.

Speaker 5 (12:55):
Of now, I'm not convinced. I'm not convinced on either team.
Both of y'all ain't take care of business. You both
lost at home. You didn't take care of your own spot,
and therefore you needed to go on the rod and
show and play above and beyond in order to maintain
staying into this matchup. Denver was a thirty three and
eighteen at home. There was no reason they should have
lost those two opening matchups at the.

Speaker 3 (13:17):
Crib, but they did so. I think Game five is
going to show us something.

Speaker 5 (13:22):
After Game five, I feel more comfortable saying whether or
not I think Minnesota can pull it off, or whether
or not Denver truly are going to let it be done.

Speaker 3 (13:33):
In game six.

Speaker 5 (13:33):
We will see. But this series, I absolutely believe is
going seven. And I did that first.

Speaker 4 (13:38):
I did not first, but I do remember what Scherie
and I said on this call that Game three was
going to be a must win for Denver, and it was,
and that completely changed even before seeing game four. Game
three completely changed the narrative of this series.

Speaker 3 (13:55):
For me.

Speaker 5 (13:56):
Denver had to wake up and they did so. Right now,
let's zero zero, I see it, it's still zero zero.
But what I do is I do find this little
tad bit interested. Yesterday, I believe it was or Sunday
Sunday night. I think it was the referees. Uh Rudy

(14:16):
Gobert didn't like a call, he did this to the
referees and he was fine, seventy five thousand dollars right.
And it reminded me of a w NBA player, Tiffany Hayes,
who did this layoffs against deliberty and she was given
a technical file, I believe for something like that and whatever.
And as much as we have or maybe not we,

(14:40):
but most definitely me, as much as I have talked
about how horrible the officiating has been in the NBA,
Sunday was actually one of the games, Game four, where
the officiating was pretty damn fare.

Speaker 4 (14:58):
Say that.

Speaker 2 (15:00):
T wold fans, they'd be like, no, we were getting
hacked left and right now, we're not able to play
any defense, blah blah blah.

Speaker 4 (15:05):
Eight that Sunday was.

Speaker 5 (15:08):
Game four was one of the game was one of
the few games this year where I felt the officials
actually they're always horrible, but they were like equally like
sustainable and horrible, like like I can deal with it horrible.
So it just the irony to me of the one
game that you you know, want to say the reps

(15:29):
is cheating was probably the one game that didn't try
You just didn't play.

Speaker 4 (15:34):
Yeah, they didn't show up. And it's crazy because what
I'm really impressed with is the fact that Ae keeps
showing up despite you know what we've seen over the
last couple of games in particular, and I've just become
more and more impressed with him. But that supporting cast, Chris,
you mentioned X factors with the Indiana series in New

(15:54):
York series, the same applies here. You know, we look
at how Gordon has stepped up when this when he
is shooting practically perfect from the field, good luck everybody,
because now you got Murray in his bag. He went
from throwing towels and heating pads to shooting it from
half court, you know, being the buzzer at halftime. So
I just think that, you know, though, Timberwolves are going
to have to find a way to have a more

(16:19):
to have a situation where more people are contributing consistently.
Carl Anthony Towns, you can't go from having from being
like super super impactful to okay, where did he go?
And you got your shots have to fall? Like there's
just I just feel like for Denver, they're supporting casts.
The Wheels are turning a bit more, and I think
that's why we're seeing them now turn a corner. In
addition to Murray just saying Okay, I'm sick of it.

(16:41):
Then Kologic is gonna be nikoliogic. He's going to do
what he does, and everybody knows that. But now we're
talking about the other, you know, branches to both trees
on these teams. I think that's going to make the
biggest difference. But I have to agree with Tarika here.
I'm not interestingly enough.

Speaker 6 (16:58):
I did.

Speaker 4 (16:58):
I did count Denver out. I just thought that the
timber Wolf looks so so good. I just wasn't sure
how Denver was going to recover. But I can't count
the Timberwolves out because Anthony Edwards is just he will
not be denied. And I think if Relentless, if anybody
else catches Wind again, we can see what we saw

(17:20):
in the first two games. I think the Timberwolves are
just that good. But say they do win and we
take them beyond this point, I don't there is very
Doctor Jekyll mister Hyde in this series, which to me
makes no sense, even from Denver. I mean, you're the
defendant champs, and I don't. I really don't know who
you're gonna be from game to game, which is a
bit strange. We're also seeing that with the Celtics, which
I'm sure we'll get to. But this has been a

(17:43):
very fascinating series to me. But it also speaks to
the future of the Timberwolves. Say this doesn't happen for
them this year, My goodness, They're gonna be a force
to be reckoned with for the next several years, especially
under Anthony Edwards leadership. So we'll see. And I was wrong, Yes,
I was wrong. I said it was gonna be a
sweet not I got no, absolutely nothing about the game
of basketball. Everybody, Yes, once again I was in correct.

(18:07):
That's all right, Yes, that's all right.

Speaker 1 (18:09):
Yeah, you can't. You can't be perfect.

Speaker 5 (18:11):
You know.

Speaker 1 (18:11):
We strive for it, but it's not realistic, you know.

Speaker 5 (18:16):
It's all you Listen, You never know what to expect
when you have the m d P and the defensive
flair of the year on the court at the same time.

Speaker 6 (18:26):
Never know.

Speaker 4 (18:27):
Shade on, shade lord out, the sunglasses. Well speak, don't
whenever you get to doing your side neck, Turrica, we
already know what's going on with you and you. Definitely
you almost got whiplashed that time. I know what you're doing.
You start looking away to the side, turning your neck
getting its shade and guess what cha ching, I concur

(18:50):
toast to you. I am in alignment sustain.

Speaker 3 (18:54):
So what's the meaning with my man?

Speaker 6 (18:58):
Oh?

Speaker 1 (18:58):
Yeah, what you talk about?

Speaker 4 (19:03):
Get it together, NBA stop this.

Speaker 2 (19:07):
The fact that Nikolae Jokic got over seventy votes, seventy
first place votes and Sga Shay Gildish Alexander for people
that don't know, only got like fifteen or sixteen first
place votes is astounding to me. I'm not saying Nikola
shouldn't have wonted because there's an argument, but that big
of a difference.

Speaker 4 (19:25):
Yeah, I don't understand that.

Speaker 2 (19:27):
And again I'm not about giving players awards for just
the narrative.

Speaker 1 (19:32):
I don't like that.

Speaker 2 (19:32):
I think maybe we've done that in the past. But
Sga was the most valuable player in the league this
season when you look at what he's able to do
creating for his guys, because he's the best shot creator
on that team, able to facilitate the fact that nobody
expected them to be the number one seed. Right, what

(19:53):
do we doing and then Rudy Gobert, great rim protector,
but Victor Winbinyama?

Speaker 1 (20:01):
Did we not watch the film all year?

Speaker 2 (20:03):
I know the Spurs were bad, but Victor, Victor is
a better defender than Rudy Gobert.

Speaker 1 (20:09):
Right, Victor, what you about to say? You in agreement?

Speaker 4 (20:14):
I am?

Speaker 5 (20:14):
I agree with you to the point that this subject
almost pisses me off, because how how do you? When
I think of defensive players of the years? I think of,
first of all, from never mind?

Speaker 3 (20:27):
Are you where you do?

Speaker 4 (20:28):
What You're done?

Speaker 1 (20:28):
I'm done, I'm done, now, I'm done, Flora's yours.

Speaker 5 (20:31):
There are three people in this league who have ever
won Defensive Player of the Year four times, the Kimba Motombo,
Ben Wallace, and Rudy Gobert. Are we for real? You're
putting Rudy Gobert in the same conversation with Ben Wallace,
the Kimba Motombo. Hell, for that matter, Dwight Howard got

(20:52):
three of them things. And regardless of what you feel
or what you want to.

Speaker 3 (20:55):
Say about Dwight Howard, that man ball.

Speaker 5 (20:58):
I'm not, for the life of me understanding what we
are seeing or what people saw this year out of
Ruby Gobert that made them think he was the best
defender in the league. I won one hundred percent believe
that that award should have went to Winby. And we
not gonna say because he plays for the Spurs, because
this ain't.

Speaker 3 (21:14):
No team award.

Speaker 5 (21:15):
Now, well, I give Rudy Gobert a credit for helping
to improve the defensive intensity of Minnesota. Absolutely because that
game that they blew them out. He need play, he
need play, and they brought the defensive energy to Denver.
So I give him all the credit in the world
for bringing that type of intensity to Minnesota.

Speaker 3 (21:35):
I didn't see it before he got there.

Speaker 5 (21:37):
But I'm absolutely not saying that men should have been
Defensive Player of the Year. It should have went to Wmby.
The man's defensive rating was out of control. The man's
blocks was out of control. I don't care that he's
seven foot twenty five. The fact is he still used
everything through his advantage. It is an indie visual award.
But I'm also saying I find it very interesting that

(21:59):
my dude be one Rookie of the Year unanimously. It
ain't not one person thought that Chet hall Room should
have won. I'm not saying that he should have won,
But I'm saying, not one person.

Speaker 4 (22:10):
Voted for him, Like, not one person.

Speaker 3 (22:16):
That's what I'm saying. The unanimous is why I'm tripping.

Speaker 5 (22:19):
It ain't that he won. I figured he would win.
I hate, but I'm thinking, like, wow, did anybody consider how.

Speaker 3 (22:25):
Ridiculous check hoolgroom islaying?

Speaker 5 (22:27):
And although I understand that you're not going to count
the postseason because it's not a postseason award, but I
think the postseason is proving the point that.

Speaker 3 (22:36):
He ain't just like a scrub.

Speaker 5 (22:38):
He ain't just like somebody that's just on the squad,
like he is an integral part of that okayc team.
They run plays through him at times.

Speaker 1 (22:49):
A vote, yeah.

Speaker 4 (22:54):
I'm doing this vote is a little lazy to me.
It's just a little lazy, you know.

Speaker 3 (22:59):
I thought for I mean for WNBA awards.

Speaker 5 (23:02):
I'm on, I'm a member of the you know, Pro
Basketball Writers Association. Y'all need to let me get in
on these NBA awards because I'm starting to fell away.
I'm starting to feel like y'all dropping the ball somewhere.

Speaker 4 (23:14):
It's laziness to me. Let's just give it to Yokic again.
Let's just just get rud of you. No like to
your point to Rica, like, what are you all watching?
And for me, I know this has nothing to do
with his actual stats. Again, I have a lot of
respect for Nicolai Yokic. I think he is one of
the greats. But the man don't even care about the award.

(23:36):
He doesn't care anything about it. All he wants to
do is good, just try to win real quick so
he can go and be with his horses. So he
doesn't even care. He's splat out telling y'all, I guess
I got it. Okay, this is all right, I guess.
Like to me, that speaks to the routine now of

(23:56):
what's happening with this particular award as it relates to him.
You are looking at SGA did something and still is
doing something very special with okay, see, very special with
a team that I would say at the beginning of
the season people did not think they were going to
be the top seed in the West. How do you
bypass at least make it closer to you all's point,
But to me, that is a most valuable player Garry.

(24:20):
We're talking about the same conference and they're number one
in the same conference as Denver. Excuse me, I don't
do you see what I'm saying. So you're taking the
team's people who.

Speaker 3 (24:30):
Say your MVP is the best player on the best team.

Speaker 4 (24:32):
This is what I'm saying. So to me, that's why
it doesn't make sense when we look at his impact,
when we look at not only his impact, but what
his team has done collectively as a result of his impact.
To me, he's undisputed MVP in my opinion, So I
will agree with Shack and again congratulations obviously to Rudy
Gobert and Nicolajokichi. But I do think we're getting a

(24:54):
little lazy with the voting, and I think we need
to be more open minded about who's actually deserving, not
who you know, over the years, we just okay, triple double,
he's just we got to give it to him because
it's that line. No, Like, if you have somebody like
yo kids who's performing the way he performs, how's this
team doing? Like there has to be other extenuating factors

(25:16):
that count for a house for somebody getting voted in
the for these particular awards. So SGA got robbed point
blank period, when we got robbed point blank period, and
Hopefully next year's awards will turn out a little bit
more in line with what we're actually seeing because this
year that it didn't happen to some degree. Yeah, but

(25:37):
congratch somebody.

Speaker 2 (25:39):
Somebody voted for Devanta Sabonis for Defensive Player of the
Year and I believe for MVP.

Speaker 1 (25:48):
That just speaks to the laziness.

Speaker 4 (25:52):
Look it up or do we know the vote? Do
we know who did it? We gotta find out how
we do that.

Speaker 1 (25:56):
Don't they release their votes?

Speaker 3 (25:57):
Unlike the w NBA they released, We got to find
out who that is.

Speaker 1 (26:01):
I don't think they've released it yet.

Speaker 5 (26:03):
In the same boat as the person who voted age
or fourth, y'all got the same all wrecked.

Speaker 1 (26:09):
That's just egregious, egregious.

Speaker 2 (26:11):
It's clearly that that voter has some loyalty to the bonus, right,
because ain't nobody looking at him as an m VP
of the Kings or Defensive Player of the Year. And
you're just you're just wasting of your boats.

Speaker 1 (26:25):
Know it was wasting.

Speaker 2 (26:26):
And then how about we're not gonna stay on this
too long because I know three is gonna get upset.

Speaker 1 (26:31):
But the Pistons keep getting robbed at the draft lottery.

Speaker 2 (26:36):
You know, they had the best best odds right to
win and they get They picked fifth. The Atlanta Hawks
got number one. That's yeah. Anyway, what about this matter.

Speaker 5 (26:48):
Chris, I'm trying to close my trauma.

Speaker 4 (26:52):
He is definitely he ripped the band ad right off.
He ripped the band right off. The bullet wounds.

Speaker 5 (26:58):
You know, we could have had like a k Can,
a cake Honey Hill, a wimping Yanna, Apollo, big Carroll,
what what, a Ja and Ivy and a Durrint. Oh
my god, we'd have been a new Okay see, I'm
I'm convinced, but it's cool. Don't worry about us each

(27:20):
write versus everybody, including the NBA.

Speaker 4 (27:22):
Oh lord, okay, what you started, chriss to the eyes
being stacked against that. I need y'all to make sure
y'all click this part right here and put some tea
grizzly behind me.

Speaker 3 (27:34):
Because I'm telling you, the city gonna put on because
y'all gonna quit doing us like this.

Speaker 4 (27:40):
You got a black woman doing this? Are you happy now?

Speaker 3 (27:45):
Now? It's all yo, just wait for it with Jamail
that Jamail.

Speaker 5 (27:50):
We gotta slot up because this is getting ridiculous.

Speaker 3 (27:53):
That's all I'm saying.

Speaker 2 (27:54):
It sounds like the Marcus Cousins out thereous oh man
a speaking of ridiculous shit. Yo, the mav blew that
game right game four. They were not okay, see was
not playing well outside of SGA. I know Luca wasn't either.

(28:16):
He was struggling. He's been hobbled, and the fact that
SGA kept him in that game, just kept hitting tough
floater shot from like almost behind the backboard. Okay, see,
maybe young, but they're superstars. They they're different, you know
what I'm saying. That's why we were talking about SGA
as being the MVP. But who do you think is

(28:40):
going to have the edge here? Should read when you
look at the next few games, possibly Kyrie?

Speaker 4 (28:47):
Where were you? I missed you? When Kyrie does not
do Kyrie, the MAVs don't have a chance in this guard.
Luca is struggling. He's on and off as well, and
I think just the level of defense they're throwing at
him is throwing a little monkey wrinching what he's trying

(29:07):
to do. But Kyrie, you're the guy I know we
talk about Luca. You are the X factor. If Kyrie
irving isn't showing up in the way that we all
know he can. The Mavericks will lose. They are going
to lose. This previous game. The combined points for Kyrie

(29:31):
and Luca were literally abominable, a disgrace. It cannot happen.
If they don't combine for a certain level of dominance,
the MAVs do not stand a chance. I want to
see the MAVs win this series. I'm like, okay, see,
but just from a fan standpoint, I really want this
for Kyrie in particular. I think you know what he's
done of of course, of his playoffs and what he's

(29:52):
meant to this MAVs team since becoming a member is
there's something to be said about that, and so I
would love to see him be able to continue. But
the reality is is if him and Luca cannot cannot
drive the car, I just don't see it happening for them.
It's an exciting series. I'm enjoying watching it. But to
your point, Chris.

Speaker 1 (30:11):
They blew it.

Speaker 4 (30:13):
Yeah, and interestingly enough, even the combo of Luca and Kyrie, Yeah,
they could have played better, and they but they still
could have won the game. So then the question becomes
from a mental standpoint, what's not clicking for you all
to be able to close the gap despite not playing well.
We see teams do it all the time, and I
think that's a leadership thing because we got your vets.

(30:35):
You know how this goes. So wherever they gotta feel
those cracks wherever they are, or they're going to lose
to a very talented and resilient Okay see team period.

Speaker 3 (30:49):
Sorry, I.

Speaker 5 (30:52):
Would agree with you that Kyrie definitely has to be
that person for Dallas. But I'm gonna shift it here
a little bit because I it was certainly an inefficient
night for Luca. I mean, he scored eighteen points, but
it was on six of twenty shooting hen for three, he.

Speaker 4 (31:09):
Had seven turnovers. Let that sink in. And then Kyrie,
of course, as you mentioned, he just had nine points.
But I love the battle back from Okac. I am
not an Okac fan per se, but I am a
fan of the underdog.

Speaker 5 (31:27):
I'm a fan of people really getting it who everyone
just basically dismissed. And I think that was this Okac team,
despite coming into the postseason as the number one team
in the West, it was this team is young sweeping
your way through the first round, it was this team
is still inexperienced and coming up against a giant, should

(31:53):
you say, in a Luca Dages in a Kyrie Irving
and a you know, PJ. Washington and all of these people,
they are still showing we are here for a reason,
like you are going to have to respect us, whether
you want to or not. And I think that is
why I'm really pushing so hard for this team to

(32:16):
continue to stop being inefficient at times as in this game. Man,
they were shooting horribly for majority of this game, but
it took a person like Sga to come in the
last quarter to really step up to show why he's
the superhero, why he is a superstar with a superstar performance.

Speaker 3 (32:36):
I love that.

Speaker 5 (32:37):
And most importantly, it all comes down to fundamentals, right,
because fundamental basketball could have won this game for the MAVs.

Speaker 4 (32:45):
Hit your free throws, throw right throws. Game is over
if you hit these critical free throws.

Speaker 5 (32:53):
And again we say all the time, you shouldn't put
yourself in a position where you know you have to
wait for last minute things that happen in order to
win a game. But I'm telling you, if I got
to bet my team on making for rethrows to win
a game at the end of the game.

Speaker 3 (33:08):
I feel like that's a good position to be in.

Speaker 5 (33:10):
So really, the mass can't only blame themselves, and you
can't all I mean it can't all. This particular game
can't be just on Kyrie, can't be just on Luca,
because despite them being inefficient, it came down to simple fundamentals.

Speaker 2 (33:26):
And you bi, okay, see shot ninety five percent from
the free throw line, right and to your point to Rika,
how do you not take advantage of the thunder shooting
twenty six percent from three and thirty eight percent from
the field.

Speaker 1 (33:43):
That's that's ridiculous.

Speaker 2 (33:45):
You have to seize those opportunities, especially because you know
Luca is not one hundred percent and even though he's
a dog and he's gonna fight, it will catch up
to you at some point.

Speaker 1 (33:55):
Quickly though, before we go to break.

Speaker 2 (33:56):
The Celtics taking down the Calves again, so they're up
multiple games on them. Jason Tatum was special jew holiday.
Jalen Brown Lebron was in the house with Savannah.

Speaker 1 (34:09):
Yeah, his wife, and uh maybe he's coming home.

Speaker 2 (34:12):
I don't know, Uh nah, I'm playing well, actually I
don't know anything of what Lebron does, so it could
go It could go either way. But Celtics finally played
in a close game this postseason, and actually one, which
is important because they haven't had to do that with

(34:33):
a lot of you know, lack of adversity. But yeah,
we're gonna take a short break and then we're going
to hit the w NBA season is here.

Speaker 3 (34:46):
It's art sees it. It's art sees it.

Speaker 5 (34:51):
Eight where yous hey, where you're supposed to.

Speaker 3 (34:57):
Be would this WNBA season? We are blit right now.

Speaker 5 (35:02):
I think this is probably the most anticipated WNBA season
that I have probably covered. It's been twenty This is
the twenty eighth season. I've been covering them for at
least ten of them. So wow, it's really finally and
actually here. And there are some big matchups going on

(35:22):
for opening week. Of course, the opening opening game is
Connecticut with against the Fever. You also have the Mystics
and the Liberty playing on opening night. The Aces are
going to be matching up against the Mercury on opening night.
So mini storylined one, we can't we won't be seeing

(35:43):
Brittany Grner on opening night because she sustained a toe injury,
so she'll be out, but that's cool. Rosters were released
on Monday, and boys, some of these teams are shaping
up to be exciting. Super happy to see kaysergadriad. She
may the Chicago Sky roster, so super super, super super.

Speaker 4 (36:03):
Thrill for that.

Speaker 5 (36:04):
Jaylen Brown is another story that is going to be
so much fun. She made the Dallas Wings roster, and man,
are we excited to see that. I think it's a
new look Connecticut team. It's probably the deepest teams in
the league as it relates to experience, so that's gonna
be fun. There is quite literally so much to look

(36:25):
forward to. Is there any storyline that is sticking out
to you, guys that you're like, this season or this
week or whatever, This is.

Speaker 3 (36:34):
What I'm watching out for sure.

Speaker 4 (36:37):
I really, I'm really excited about the Storm. I think
there's a lot of potential there for a number of reasons,
and I love a comeback story. I've been pulling for
Skyle to Diggins for a minute, so really excited about her,
and I'm I don't I don't I wouldn't say excitement,
but kind of curious about the Liberty because they got
smacked by the Chicago Sky shot out to Shytown and

(37:02):
in a way that I just wasn't anticipating and thinking
about how well they did last season, and I'm kind
of like something's off, but I'll be I'm just kind
of I have my eyes on them. For a lack
of a better term, I'm an acest girl all day.
I just think they're just an exciting team, not only
to watch on the court but off the court. And
I would love to see a three pte. I'm all

(37:23):
about dynasties, and we haven't necessarily had a dynasty like
them where you just love them just period in a while.
So they just give me a Houston comments of old teas.
I just I want to see them win. I love
their charisma. I'm really excited to see. You know, obviously
they are new additions as well of Desia making the
team and Kate making the team. I think since speaks

(37:45):
a lot to just, you know, the level of evolution
and growth that we're seeing in the league in general.
But also, you know, I get nervous. I don't know
about you guys, but when the draft comes, right after
the draft, I get nervous for these ladies because I
know everybody's not gonna make the team, and so they're
in a dogfight literally for like two weeks, trying to

(38:05):
make a roster for a team they just got drafted for.
It's just it's mind blowing to me how this has
to happen because there's just not enough roster spots. So
I'm just really excited overall for this, for this rookie
class and all of the young ladies who made it.
But yeah, I got my eyes on a storm pulling
for the Aces Liberty. Who are you want to see?
You know what comes of that? And I really do

(38:27):
think this Fever Connecticut Sun game is going to be exciting, nonetheless,
And everybody's you know, obviously waiting to see what Caitlin
Clark does because that seems to be all people do
these days. But I digress. And yes, you can message me,
DM me and comment whatever you want. Tweak you next
to me, I don't really care. And it's not that
I'm not pulling for her, but again, I just I'm

(38:48):
kind of being mindful about speaking too much about my
excitement about that game, because there's overall, there's excitement for me,
and I'm really really keen on making sure that I
celebrate not just one player and one team, because there's
so much to be said about this season. So that's
my take. But go Aces and of course go Sky
when they played their first game.

Speaker 2 (39:08):
Yeah, now the Sky. I'm really interested to see how
the Sky is going to do. You know, Teresa Wetherspoon,
Hall of Famer Angel Rees, you know, showed out and
her first two preseason games really looked great. Of course
she's not a finished product, but you got Kennedy Carter,
you know who's really bounced back after some tumultuous times
with the Dream. We'll spend some time with the sparks

(39:30):
you have Dana Evans. I think finally is getting the
keys to the car that we didn't see before in
the previous regime. So that is going to be hell
of fun. You know, you got Liz Williams, so many
talent play at Marina Marina Maybury as well. And going
back to your point about Caitlyn, it should be I

(39:51):
am dying to see how she reacts to the physicality
of the Kinetic Sun, specifically Alyssa Thomas. Right, listen, don't
play around like you need to be a big, grown
ass woman going up against her.

Speaker 1 (40:08):
The Wanta Bonner as well, you know what I'm saying.

Speaker 4 (40:10):
And Caitlyn already has a propensity to turn the ball over.
We know this. So yes, that's something that has to
be worked on, and I think these particular matchups that
you're speaking of will simply expose that that needs to
be continued to.

Speaker 2 (40:22):
Be Yeah, and again, we're not rooty for her to fail,
but I am.

Speaker 1 (40:26):
We're we're looking.

Speaker 4 (40:27):
For being realistic people like if you, Okay, she makes
three pointers, she turns up from the arc, you want
to celebrate that, but we also have to acknowledge the
other things that need to be worked on. She needs
to stop turning the ball over. Period.

Speaker 1 (40:43):
That's it.

Speaker 2 (40:44):
I turn the ball over and play some better defense.
She had a great defense to play, you know at
the end the game against the Dream in the preseason
and nice block on Deskin Henderson Crystal Dantefield. But yeah,
that's those are some of the storylines I'm looking forward to.

Speaker 1 (40:58):
Of course.

Speaker 2 (40:58):
Yeah, the Liberty, I don't know what's going on over there.
They played them, they played better. They played better against
the Sun, It's right, what's preseason it is?

Speaker 4 (41:08):
I know, but no, no, but against the Sky they
had all the people though sis, they had all the
people against the sky.

Speaker 1 (41:15):
It was strange, it was weird. It was weird. It
is preseason.

Speaker 2 (41:19):
But for Sandy Brundella to say this was an embarrassing
effort that we put out that. I know my guys
are embarrassed. That tells me they weren't. They weren't planning
for that.

Speaker 5 (41:29):
It truly was an embarrassing effort. I do not, under
any circumstance give them a pat I'm simply saying that
I too was one who accurately but unpopularly said they
were gonna have chemistry issues and we're going to play
their best in twenty twenty three, and they didn't to
start the season, and then Brianna Stewart decided to turn

(41:49):
it on and they ended up in the finals. And
so this is why I'm saying, from experiences learned that
the Liberty will be fine. Yes they looked terrible, Yes
they probably will start the season, but they will be fine.
I'm not falling into that trap again. I also have
to work the sideline on Friday night, so I very

(42:11):
careful what I.

Speaker 3 (42:12):
Say this week.

Speaker 5 (42:13):
I don't want no drama and I don't need no
players acting like they don't want to talk to me
because they mad as hell and.

Speaker 3 (42:21):
Behavior doing this segment right now and saying.

Speaker 1 (42:24):
Oh, Son, that's the easy way. That's how you stay
out of everybody's hold.

Speaker 2 (42:32):
But what I don't understand about the liberty is how
they cut Jalen's your rod. We talk about the defensive
pressure that they need on the perimeter.

Speaker 3 (42:41):
That's you know where the beauty about what Charis said earlier,
Chris to you to both of your point is that
there are two no teams that are coming to the
w which means there are twenty four new roster spots
that are going to be available, and some of these
players that have been waved will have be opportunity to

(43:01):
be on a team to a buy for a team.

Speaker 5 (43:04):
There'll be an expansion draft, hopefully now that charters have
been discussed, we'll get into that. And now that the
teams have been in the locations have been needed. And
keep in mind, Kathy said she wanted to get to
sixteen teams. Adding Toronto and adding Golden State only makes
it fourteen, so there is still a possibility that there

(43:25):
are two more opportunities for teams to come Hopefully this
now means with an additional roster spots that they may
open up and expand rosters from twelve to fifteen. I
think within the next couple of years we'll get to
a point where we will see more women with more
opportunities to play versus what we're seeing now. But I

(43:46):
do agree that Jaylen Sharra man what she has started
in college, and I would have loved to have seen her.

Speaker 3 (43:54):
People get hurt, Things happen.

Speaker 5 (43:56):
I mean, obviously we don't want anyone to get hurt,
but people get hurt. People unfortunately get into trouble. Things
happen where who you look at on that opening day
roster may not be Hol's on that roster come July,
and those players that have been waved will definitely have
an opportunity to get it to get it in again.
So just stay ready, stay in shape, stay active, because

(44:18):
your number definitely could be called again.

Speaker 1 (44:21):
Yep, that's right. We see that time and time.

Speaker 2 (44:23):
Alicia Clark is a prime example, and now we see
now she's able to do so. Yeah, this is not
the end of jalous for rod story. I am glad
that you know they kept Markeisha Davis from all miss
so they have a little bit of you know, defensive
pressure on the perimeter with with their guards.

Speaker 3 (44:40):
Is that the word?

Speaker 4 (44:40):
Again, we talked about pressure and Tarika said that we
are going to continue in that mode. There is a
storyline that's been permeating through the sports space for at
least three weeks. Now that I feel like, I feel
like the skies have opened up and the sun is
shining and as you will, so now all of a sudden,

(45:03):
the announcement has come that she has a signature shoe.

Speaker 1 (45:08):
Are you on Broadway? Are you auditioning Broadway?

Speaker 4 (45:11):
You have to make it dramatic because that's how the
release happened, like all of a sudden, here you go.
Are you happy now? Chris? Are you happy now? All
your tweeting and xing and commentary? Terika, are you happy now?

Speaker 1 (45:32):
What is browich? You s building it from some Disney show?
Are you happy now?

Speaker 4 (45:39):
What saying you all to this incredible news that has
a bit of a twang of gas lighting to it?
In my opinion, what say you?

Speaker 1 (45:47):
Let me say this.

Speaker 2 (45:49):
I think the writing the advertising advertising from Nike was
really cute and the wordplay, the penmanship was excellent.

Speaker 1 (46:00):
I do think there was a tangent of gas.

Speaker 4 (46:02):
Penmanship is very funny. I haven't had I haven't heard
anybody use that word in at least fifteen years.

Speaker 3 (46:10):
All the word penmanship. It was in book four of
Bridgerton Romancy, Mister Bridgerton.

Speaker 1 (46:19):
That was on my mind.

Speaker 7 (46:21):
I love Bridgington, not impeccable yesship. It was such a
studious But yeah, I do feel like there's a tinge of,
you know, gas lighting based on how look, I'm very
happy for Asia and the fact that this is not
just going to be a shoe, but it's going to
be a pairl line. They're going to be things for

(46:43):
the children as well, So it's a huge rollout and
it's not just limited to a sneaker. But listening or
reading the articles with her interviews where she says it's
long overdue that she had to be an advocate for herself,
that made me feel still vindicated that Nike had some

(47:03):
issues with believing in her. I do understand that it
takes about eighteen months I'm from what I'm told to
develop a shoe and all that, and there are other
things that play, But come on, y'all, y'all were sleep
on her because she should have had a shoe when
Sabrina had a shoe, or before Sabrina, I should.

Speaker 4 (47:24):
Say, am cleared throat, yes.

Speaker 2 (47:28):
Before Sabrina preach because when you combine the resume with
the personality, because we know signature shoes are not just
about accolades, it's a no brainer. Talk about she ain't marketable?
What how many deals she got to Rika, Gatorade, ruffles?

Speaker 1 (47:45):
You know what I'm saying. She was in another commercial,
target commercials, the whole.

Speaker 2 (47:49):
New York Times New York Times bestseller Mountain.

Speaker 4 (47:53):
Dew Bye to Everybody. And she is an award winning
ex or tweeter person for that too. Oh my god,
she needs an award for her tweets alone.

Speaker 3 (48:04):
What you not? And she's a business woman. She got
her own candle business.

Speaker 5 (48:07):
Too, because like, yeah, right off here in my hallway,
what you're not gonna do was tell me Asia Wilson
ain't marketable. I think of all of the things that
we heard last week, that was the one that pissed
me off the most because you weren't just saying Asia
Wilson isn't marketable.

Speaker 3 (48:25):
Your saying black women isn't marketable.

Speaker 5 (48:27):
And that is a problem for me because you're right,
resume or resume. Sure, Asia definitely should have had a
shoe before Sabrina. However, I'm not mad. Sabrina got a shoe,
got a shoe. I'm not mad the Steward got a shoe.
I'm mad none of these people got a shoe. You've
worked hard, you deserve deserve and I love that women

(48:49):
are doing the things necessary to be I'm recognized in
a space that did not always provide this sort of recognition.

Speaker 3 (48:57):
So I'm not mad.

Speaker 5 (48:59):
But you want to talk about marketable. Before Asia was
in the WNBA, there was a woman named Skyler Diggen Smith,
and that black woman was incredibly marketful and changed the
culture with our marketability. So you were about to feed
me this bullshit talking about black women out marketable and
Asia is not marketable.

Speaker 3 (49:14):
But here's the thing, Nike, you don't get a pass
because this shoe has been in the process for the
last year. Is change. You don't get a pass.

Speaker 5 (49:24):
You don't get a pass because you have built a
reputation of forever play in the face of your black
female athletes. You have done it time and time again
to the point that people felt like you are doing
the same thing to Asia. And it ain't lost on

(49:45):
us optically that this announcement came out the way it did,
and when it did came out.

Speaker 3 (49:53):
After the outrage.

Speaker 5 (49:54):
Now, I don't know if y'all plan to release it
at this time, if you plan to release it based
on South Carolina playing Puerto Rico in South Carolina at
Columbia Life Arena, I don't know. I don't know if
that was the plan. If that was the plan, awesome, right,
But if that was indeed the plan. Whoever leaked the

(50:16):
Caitlyn Clark deal, Yeah, plan exactly, because nobody was tripping,
although we had discussed it and we talked about it,
nobody was tripping until that came out. When that came out,
it really felt like y'all were playing in Asia's face,
which essentially is playing in all our face because Asia
is us and we are Asia, and we're gonna rise

(50:37):
to her.

Speaker 3 (50:37):
And that's just the bottom line.

Speaker 5 (50:39):
However, don't be mad at us for coming for your
neck because traditionally you've done things like this.

Speaker 3 (50:46):
Traditionally you have been behind the curve sometimes when it
comes to black women and black female athletes. So don't
ass like we tripping you not fin a gas like
us to make us think we.

Speaker 5 (50:56):
All y'all are all off range for no reasons because
we told Asia at the beginning of twenty three that
we we're gonna have urged you.

Speaker 3 (51:01):
So blah blah blah blah blah.

Speaker 5 (51:03):
That's fine, great congratulations and coulos the age of keeping
it a secret this long because I probably told somebody,
but I'd have told somebody, somebody would have would have new.

Speaker 3 (51:13):
Some I'm sorry. I'd have told my mama, she need
to tell her mama.

Speaker 5 (51:17):
Jesus, I'd have been on the phone first with my
mama and my mama.

Speaker 3 (51:20):
Be in church. But I mean all of community Pilgrim
on the east side of Detroit with a new I
d a damn ship. At the end of the.

Speaker 5 (51:26):
Day, I'm just saying, Nike, congratulations for doing the right thing.
But you don't get a past because optically it still
looks bad.

Speaker 4 (51:35):
Yeah, I would agree to Rika, I'm gonna and I
know she's not a basketball player, but I this as
you are to talk and I'm just hearing Alison Felix,
Alison Felix, Alison Felix, and what and when you talk
about you know, and again I I were Nike all
the time, Like I love the brand and I have
for many years. So I think for me, the disappointment
also comes from just really enjoying trying to enjoy the brand.

(51:57):
But the extension of that play in the face of
black women has gone beyond basketball. And so when we
think about what happened with Alan Sir Felix, which I
believe was completely unfair, it does cause a level of
like exacerbated outrage because people are not dumb, and so

(52:18):
it's like, don't play on people's intelligence. We can google,
we can look things up on social media. The blatancy
of disrespect, there's a pathology of it, there's a record
of it, we can find it. So I do think, yes,
obviously there were some things in the work works for
Asia before this Caitlyn announcement leaked and all of that stuff.

(52:39):
But I will say, let this also be a note
for all of us to continue to express in a
respectful way our outrage. I do think social media pushed
the needle on this. No one's gonna convince me otherwise.
You know, people collectively say, hey, this isn't right, and
Asia got behind that as well, and which helped to
further push the needle, and she again from the marketability standpoint,

(53:01):
she has a really good way of saying she's not
happy about something without being overtly disrespectful or obnoxious. She's
really really good at that. She has a level of
poise that's very, very and I don't know if maybe
it's from playing under Don Staley, because Don Staley plays
that game very well as well. She's just a master
at it. But shout out to Asia for you know,

(53:24):
keeping a cool head but also noting okay now, but
I'm excited for her. Why wouldn't I be. I hope
that this also extends a trend moving forward, especially in
the women's basketball professional basketball space in particular for black women,
with Nike in particular turning the tide in the corner

(53:45):
a bit. Shout out to Angel Reese who said, forget y'all,
I'm going to rebok I'm gonna be over here turning
up with me myself and I for right now, I'm
going where I'm celebrated, not tolerated, and again opening our
minds and eyes up to other options. There's other brands
out here. Nike isn't the only brand. Adidas isn't the
only brand, but shout out to Cannas Parker who said, Hey,

(54:07):
I want to be I want to make a difference
in this way. I've had it on the hardwood, I've
had it in broadcasting. I've done a lot of things.
Now I'll get an opportunity to also be a conduit
for black women, especially black women in the space that
I just left with basketball pro basketball, getting opportunities. So
I love how we're seeing these incredibly talented and virtue

(54:30):
excuse me, versatile black women position themselves in different spaces
with big brands. I think as we move forward in
the years to come, we're going to see a lot
more opportunities for black female athletes and varied spaces with
very brands because of it.

Speaker 1 (54:43):
Yeah, Nike, please make sure that.

Speaker 2 (54:47):
We're gonna have to wait another twenty two years from
the last black women's basketball player to get a signature you.

Speaker 1 (54:53):
I'm talking about Cheryl Swoops. Please let's not do that again.

Speaker 2 (54:59):
Right on an another note, make sure from the same vein,
make sure there are marketing campaigns around Chryl Swoops passing
the torch to Age Wilson. The commercials all all that
there's so much creative juices that you can stimulate with
those two dynamic personalities. So yeah, I'm all for it.

(55:20):
I'm glad that you got a shoe, and yeah, we're
gonna say on these companies next and best believe we
will be buying the shoe and anything else that comes
with it.

Speaker 1 (55:30):
I'm saying, oh, well.

Speaker 7 (55:31):
You you better, you better buy the shoe, worry about it,
and we have money, get all the stuff, and if.

Speaker 1 (55:37):
We don't find we're gonna find it. We're gonna put
it on on the credit card. You know what I'm saying.
We'll pay later, said fund me.

Speaker 4 (55:43):
I'm getting.

Speaker 6 (55:43):
I'm getting the shoes, the cloth, will Klarna after yes,
light away, whatever we in there here, I will.

Speaker 3 (55:55):
I'm getting them. Shout guys.

Speaker 5 (55:59):
We've been talking a lot about campaigns and brands and
things of that nature, and I'm so happy that the
WNBA is just doing all of the things for all
of their people and all of their players. So it
makes perfect sense that our jump ball segment is going
to be featured around various different pieces of those things. Now,

(56:20):
we really couldn't come together on a topic this week
that was very specific to each of us, so we
just decided to do our own things.

Speaker 3 (56:28):
So we just gonna toss it up in an errand
just let everybody go for the ears. So, Sharie, what's
on your mind?

Speaker 6 (56:32):
Man?

Speaker 4 (56:32):
Skims skims, skim skims are on my mind now. I
will I will own the fact I am not a
Kardashian fan at all. I will throw that there. I
will throw that out there, no disrespect. I just don't
fool with y'all like that. But what I do fuol
with is the Skims WNBA collab. I think that it's

(56:54):
a great move by the WNBA, and when we talk
about marketability, when we talk about opportunities formiths, I think
this is a great way not only to do that,
but to also showcase these incredible women, powerful women, incredible
athletes in their divine feminine. I think it's fun and

(57:14):
I've seen a lot of criticism on social media by
some people. I really won't address the colorism piece because
that's just an more of an extended conversation, but people
are saying, well, why do they have to be in
underwear ads? You all see male athletes in underwear ads,

(57:34):
you don't say anything, or male entertainers in underwear ads.
I don't look at this as an as these women
being objectivied. I simply don't. I look at this as
a WNBA making a statement about not only hey, we're
opening up from an image perspective what this league can
look like, but also showcasing that these women are incredible.

(57:55):
First of all, Skyla Dickens had the babies came out
of that stomach, she looks incredible. Like to me, it
speaks to just the multifaceted strength that women possess just naturally.
I love this ad. I thought it was very tastefully done.
Everybody had a different kind of look, so nobody really

(58:15):
looked the same, but there was a uniformity about it.
I think this opens This should be an eye opener
for everybody to say, hey, yes, just as much as
we love seeing them in uniform, they can come out
of that and they can be in a ball gown
or they can be in some skims. These women are versatile.
That is the essence of women. Stop trying to limit
us to one thing. Stop trying to tell us this

(58:37):
is who you are, this is only what you're going
to do.

Speaker 3 (58:40):
We literally can do it all.

Speaker 4 (58:41):
And that's why this campaign, to me, is so fun.
So whoever handled this, whoever whoever signed on the dotted
line to make sure this happened, and partnering with just
because I don't like the Kardashians doesn't mean that it
wasn't a smart move. Partnering with one of the bigger
names in pop culture. Now again you have the intersection
with or some culture. I think for the WNBA, that's

(59:02):
been a big success point for them over the last
year or so, how they are now being so ingrained
in culture, which adds relevance. So shout out to them,
shout out to scams. I'm here for it. I thought
it was so well done and looking forward to seeing
more creative kind of collapsed from the league and other
brands move forward.

Speaker 1 (59:21):
I love that. I love that.

Speaker 2 (59:23):
Nah, they they're so women are so dynamic, right, and
you had white women in there, you know, Kelsey Plumb,
Camra Brankton, you had black women.

Speaker 1 (59:32):
It was beautiful.

Speaker 2 (59:33):
And they do need to get Klonnie Brown on there,
Tim mccac because they've be hidden, right, So yeah, they
knew exactly how to get down. But for me, my
jump ball talking point is this charter flight situation. WNBA,
y'all not no not being allegations, yeah, probably never being

(59:53):
allegations that the charter flights were gym started because of
Kaitlyn Clark and her teammates walking through an airport in
preparation for the game against Dallas Wings. Then all of
a sudden, the money's there. A couple of weeks ago,
a few weeks before that, it wasn't there.

Speaker 4 (01:00:12):
Fifteen million dollars just came from the sky, just out
of nowhere.

Speaker 1 (01:00:18):
I don't know Adam silver May had something to do
with I don't know, but I don't know.

Speaker 2 (01:00:22):
I'm just saying, Tarika, sure, but the fact that the
charter flights are starting only with Indiana in Minnesota but
not everybody else, it's kind of hypocritical because remember the
league they were going after New York Liberty owner Joe
Side when he wanted to treat his players like royalty. Oh,

(01:00:45):
that's a competitive advantage because other teams don't have that. Well,
you're doing the same thing right now. Maybe it's not
going to do for the whole season, but Indiana they
have the advantage. Guess who plays with them, Kaitlin Clark
and then Minnesota who I'm convinced they did that just
to make sure see we're not We're not just favoring
Kaitlyn Clark.

Speaker 3 (01:01:02):
We're only doing that.

Speaker 1 (01:01:03):
We're doing it because everybody else deserves it, right.

Speaker 2 (01:01:06):
Uh No, you're doing that because Sheryl Reeve got on
Twitter it was talking Hella loudly about how I Llegue
only wants to focus on Kaitlyn when it came to
the preseason games and not her medicine links in the
Chicago's Cay. So that's why I feel those are the
two teams.

Speaker 1 (01:01:22):
To start it. It just, yeah, I feel very hypocritical.

Speaker 4 (01:01:26):
It's ridiculous.

Speaker 5 (01:01:27):
I love y'all so much because something you're just the
way you say what we just you've been saying what
we be thinking without having to say it.

Speaker 3 (01:01:35):
It just good job, Chris, because I felt that. I
felt that, and I agree.

Speaker 5 (01:01:40):
And I'm telling you, if I'm the villain for continually
bringing up how race it plays a part in everything,
I'll be that villain.

Speaker 4 (01:01:51):
I'm gonna put my on in my little, my little
eyemask thing. I'm gonna look like black Man's sister sick
of it too.

Speaker 5 (01:01:57):
Because I'm sick of it, and y'all gonna quit acting
like we're making this up. Y'all gonna quit at them.
Y'all gonna quit telling black people that the stuff that
other folks do ain't racist or don't have racial don't
have racial undertones.

Speaker 3 (01:02:10):
Y'all gonna quit telling us that because I'm I'm gonna
move onto my jump off. My jump off actually very positive.

Speaker 5 (01:02:22):
Announced the name of their newest franchise, the Golden State Valkyries,
now in full transparency. I knew the name like two
three weeks ago, but I was sworn to secrecy, so
I couldn't say nothing.

Speaker 4 (01:02:38):
I didn't have on social media, yeah, like three.

Speaker 3 (01:02:42):
Weeks ago, but I was sworn a secrecy, so I
couldn't say nothing.

Speaker 5 (01:02:45):
But with that being said, as we're talking about branding
and marketing, Golden State, do not fumble the opportunity to
get Tessa Thompson to come to your arena and do
something dope, start a trend, start a tradition.

Speaker 3 (01:03:03):
But please get a relationship with Disney and Marvel to
make this happen for those of you who may not
be Marvel nerds like ourselves. Valkyrie was a character in
the four comic book, and that character was portrayed by
Tessa Thompson. In the films, Valkyrie was very important to
the story. She was very important to the Avengers.

Speaker 5 (01:03:26):
She became an Avenger eventually, and at the end of
the day, we need this collapse to happen. People are
kind of talking about the name. They not understanding what
it is. It's a female Warriors. It's owned by the Warriors,
so it makes perfect sense that this would be the name.
There's also been some talk about the colors being purple
and how that's too close to the Sacramento Monarchs. No

(01:03:48):
shade to the Sacramento maninarks, t shipinacherrow, all those love y'all, So.

Speaker 3 (01:03:53):
No shade to that.

Speaker 5 (01:03:54):
As a matter of fact, it may be a nod
to what came before them, like the day and the
Sacramento area isn't quite the same, but still more than California.

Speaker 3 (01:04:04):
So maybe it's just a little shin of respect. Who
knows either way. This is a good thing. Stop trying
to find stuff wrong with it.

Speaker 5 (01:04:12):
It's a good thing. But please please give me this.
Get Tessa Thompson on the phone now and tell her
to show up. Send her all the Valkyrie merch that
is out by Player Society right now. Shout out again
to my girl esther. Yes, but you need to make
that happen. You need to get Tessa on the phone. Now,

(01:04:33):
make this Marvel collab happen, and start a tradition using
Tesla Thompson as the first person to do it. I
don't know what that tradition is. Maybe you fly something
in the arena, Maybe y'all make some little noise, maybe
there's a drum or fire or something. I don't know
what it is that you do, but start it, and
start it with Tessa Thompson. It's the best collab, best
branding you could possibly do.

Speaker 7 (01:04:55):
Love it.

Speaker 1 (01:04:56):
That would be a home run.

Speaker 3 (01:04:57):
That would be a home run. It would be a
home run, you know what I mean. Be a home run.

Speaker 5 (01:05:00):
Guys, if people followed podcasts one X the three or
three podcasts, and.

Speaker 3 (01:05:07):
It would also be a home run.

Speaker 4 (01:05:08):
If you followed the three or three podcasts on Instagram
at three or three pod and of course it would
be a freaking grand slam if you followed us not
only on X, not only on IG, but if you
went to YouTube to the Inflection Network and downloaded and
subscribed to our channels so you could subscribe to the
three or three podcasts on the iHeartRadio app or wherever

(01:05:30):
you get your podcasts.

Speaker 3 (01:05:31):
You definitely just hook us up with some stars, five
of them. Anything less than that. In my Beaumani voice,
you are a Dida hater And I've had a great show.

Speaker 5 (01:05:40):
I am going to get ready for some events later
because it's really gonna be popping, so I gotta go
get my face and stuff done.

Speaker 3 (01:05:47):
But Chris Schari, it's been a great show.

Speaker 1 (01:05:51):
It's been closed.

Speaker 4 (01:05:54):
I have nothing else to say. Girl, do your thing.

Speaker 3 (01:05:56):
I love it.

Speaker 4 (01:05:57):
Body. You snapped it, you.

Speaker 3 (01:06:00):
Were I don't know how we didn't talk about five
different sports in this show. Have a great

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Episode Transcript

Hosts And Creators

Shari Nycole

Terrika Foster-Brasby

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