All Episodes

April 15, 2024 • 38 mins

This week on BULLY BALL, Rachel and Boogie are joined once again by the great Amin Elhassan for an end-of-season NBA award show. The trio make their picks for MVP, DPOY, 6th Man, Most Improved and Coach Of The Year. Plus, they give their All-NBA picks.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark as Played
Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's that time of year. The NBA postseason is here.
Are you going with the favorites, the underdogs or the
dark horses? Anything can happen. The battles are hot and
the stakes are high. The cash prizes, well, they're huge,
So get off the bench and get in the game.
With DraftKings Sportsbook. Here's the deal right now, all new
customers who bet just five dollars on anything that's right, anything,

(00:23):
You're going to get one hundred and fifty dollars in
bonus bets instantly. So what are you waiting for? Download
the DraftKings app now, sign up using my promo code Bullyball.
That's Bullyball is your promo code. Keep the good vibes
rolling and use your owne hundred and fifty dollars in
bonus bets on DraftKings same game parlays for a shot
at an even bigger payout. Again, new customers can bet
just five dollars on anything and receive one hundred and

(00:46):
fifty dollars in bonus bets instantly with code Bullyball. The
crown is yours. The thrill and excitement of playoff basketball
and concert season is upon us. If you're looking to
get on the action in person. Game Time has you covered.
You can keep track of the playoff schedule and concerts

(01:07):
that are announced. With the game Time app, you can
secure tickets. This is great. This week La'zone ice Cube
is going to be at the Forum with a legendary lineup.
They've got e forty two short scarface exhibit AMMAC ten
pack show. I'm not going to miss that. When I
was looking at tickets last week, they were starting at
just around hundred one hundred dollars in the game Time app,

(01:29):
And if I found the same tickets for less well
somewhere else, then game Time would credit me one hundred
and ten percent of the difference. Yeah. So if you're
like me looking at tickets last minute, here's a pro tip.
They're up sixty percent off with the game Time app.
Take all of the guest work out of buying tickets.
With game Time, you can download the game Time app,

(01:49):
create an account and then use the code Bullyball. That's
code bullyball for twenty dollars off your first purchase term
supply again, create an account you want to redeem the
code Bullyball for twenty dollars off. Download the game Time
app today, last minute tickets, lowest prices, guaranteed Welcome bully

(02:13):
Ball presented by DraftKings. I am Rachel Nichols, as always,
mister DeMarcus Cousins, and who goes back today, I mean,
no hasan thank you for rejoining us. We appreciate it. Guys.
I'm going to just admit it. I'm going to come
to you. I'm going to tell you I am an
NBA Awards voter and I would like you to make
your case to me of how I should vote. This
is what we were talking about on the pod today.

(02:34):
I want some arguing, I want some lobbying. I want
to know what I should be doing with my vote.
So I may have a few opinions of myself. I mean,
I don't know if you've ever heard me have any opinions,
but I do have a few of them. To one opinion,
one opinion, two opinions, something about the MVP anyway, but
we'll talk about all of that stuff. Dude, I'm gonna

(02:58):
take that one to my grave. I'm not wrong. I'm
not wrong, and we'll talk about it today as well. Anyway.
First up, I do want to discuss probably the one
that kind of is the most unknown, and we'll get
to MVP. We're gonna build it in this podcast. We're
gonna build up from some of the smaller awards. So
let's start with six Man of the Year. Malik Monk,
the Draft Kings favorite, and he was sort of I
think the runaway favorite for a long time, but then

(03:20):
he got hurt right nasried and re entered the conversation
by by portis Norm Powell. But who do you like
for six Man of the Year?

Speaker 2 (03:28):
I mean outside of Monk, who you know I think
is more than deserving of it, but it sucks that
he is currently hurt at the moment, so you know,
it's kind of you know, what have you done for
me lately? Type so, And even with that being said, regardless,
I think this will still be my choice.

Speaker 3 (03:47):
Is Nazrie. I'm huge fan of this guy.

Speaker 2 (03:49):
I think he's ultra talented, could easily be a starter
on a contending team. I mean, super super talented. He's
feeling in the void with the big fella cat being
out right now, shouldn't avoid seamlessly at that. He just
came off a thirty point game against the Lakers, Like

(04:11):
this dude is the real deal. So I think this
is a year for him to win a six man
and then eventually we could see this guy adding different
type of accolades to his resume because he's that good
of a player. So I think the future is bright
for this kid. It's only a matter of time before
he's in the position to be, you know, be a

(04:31):
one two, three type option type player in his career.
So I think that time is eventually coming. And you know,
like I said, he has a very very bright future.
So I'm rolling with Nasried.

Speaker 4 (04:44):
Yeah, Rachel, I love Nazried.

Speaker 5 (04:46):
But the only reason why we have a Nazrie conversation
is two things. One because Malik Monk got hurt too,
because Carl Anthony Town's got hurt again. Nadrid has played
well all year long, but in terms of being six
man of the year of conversation is because of those
two injuries that happened. But when it comes to Melik Monk,
in the words of the great Isaiah Thomas, I met
the criteria. He's played seventy two games. It don't matter

(05:08):
how many games he misses from here on out, he
met the criteria. He was far and away the best
six man in the league. I was saying this back
in January. I said the Kings. Every time he comes
in a game, you feel that jolt of energy, you
feel the energy of the game change, and I like,
to me, it's not even close.

Speaker 4 (05:26):
It's it's it's Milik Monk. Then when you.

Speaker 5 (05:29):
Talk about who coming in second, shout out to Larry Bird,
you can talk about nas Reed.

Speaker 4 (05:33):
And another name we didn't mention was Tim Hardaway Junior.

Speaker 5 (05:36):
I thought he's had a very good year for the Mavericks,
but for me, it's Malik Monk. As soon as he
hit his number, I was like, there's nothing that can
happen the rest of this year that's going to change
my mind on that.

Speaker 3 (05:48):
So winning doesn't matter.

Speaker 4 (05:51):
He was wayning.

Speaker 5 (05:54):
Well.

Speaker 1 (05:54):
I was gonna say that. That to me is part
of it, though, is that he got hurt and they
really had it rough last two three weeks of the season.
So that impacts me as a voter a little bit.

Speaker 2 (06:03):
I mean, you're telling me that a team struggling to
be playing team has the favorite to win six Man
of the Year over a team with the six Man
of the Year Canada that's fighting for number one in
the hardest conference.

Speaker 4 (06:23):
I would say.

Speaker 3 (06:23):
This is what sense for me, buddy, This is.

Speaker 5 (06:26):
What I would say to everybuttle That is, they weren't
fighting around the play in when he was healthy. When
he was healthy, they were actually playing pretty well. And
then they lost him, They lost Kevin Herder as well.
I don't want to discount that. And now they struggled
towards the end of the season. But to me, that's
even more of a feather for Malik. Muggins said, Look,

(06:49):
we were playing great when I played, and then I
got hurt and things things fell apart after that.

Speaker 2 (06:54):
What I got from that is sounded like they should
be starting ni kid and he shouldn't be.

Speaker 3 (06:58):
A six man.

Speaker 1 (07:00):
That's always a question, right.

Speaker 5 (07:02):
Conversation for next year, my friend, Yeah, that sounds like
a fixable situation That just doesn't quite make sense for me. Bro.

Speaker 1 (07:11):
I'm going to give you credit, though, book, because you
were on nasried since the beginning of the season. I
think you said that he was the most underrated player
going into this past season, and he certainly proved that,
especially in the week of Karl Anthony Towns getting hurt.
So Nas, I just want you to know you've got
a fan of the big man. Over here. And you know,
if you need a little pr some agent work, Boogie
is your man. He's been with you.

Speaker 4 (07:31):
Brother.

Speaker 1 (07:33):
Let's talk about defensive player of the year, because Rudy
Gobert is the heavy betting favorite, heavy heavy Timberwolves had
the number one defense in the league. Wenby though also
considered and producer Nate and I were celebrating Stephen Jackson's
birthday and he and producer Dylan were trying to convince me.
In fact, I would say producer Dylan was trying to

(07:54):
convince both of us that Victor webin Yama would be
the defensive player of the year. And I thought maybe
he was drinking too much at this party. But I
don't know. I mean, what do you think who is
the defensive player of the year for you?

Speaker 5 (08:05):
Look, Victor Wamgham is gonna win a lot of defensive
Player of the Year awards in his career.

Speaker 4 (08:11):
It just ain't gonna be right now.

Speaker 5 (08:12):
You can't be on what of the worst teams and
on one of the worst defenses. Not that that's his fault,
because I think anyone who's watched San Antonio play has
the same question I do is do y'all know who
y'all playing with. Do you guys know who your teammate is?
Because I don't think you guys realize. But it's not
for him right now. At the same time, Rudy Gobert

(08:33):
has kind of been the default answer for a lot
of people because the Timberwolves had the best defense and
he's their best defensive player. Who could be? Who else
could be? I'm gonna give you a different name, Bam
out of Bio. The Miami Heat season, their offense came
and went. They struggled offensively for long stretches. They had
a lot of different lineups. They had one of the
most injured lineups of injured rosters of any team in

(08:56):
the league this year. The one consistent has been they
been excellent defensively, and Bam out of Bayo is the
biggest reason.

Speaker 4 (09:03):
He's a guy that.

Speaker 5 (09:04):
Unlike Rudy Gobert, can guard one through five and guard
them well.

Speaker 4 (09:08):
And he's the centerpiece of that. That's my pick.

Speaker 5 (09:10):
I don't know what the voters are gonna pick, but
if I were voting, Bam out of Baiyo would be
my selection.

Speaker 3 (09:16):
Agree with that?

Speaker 1 (09:18):
You think so you put you put Bam?

Speaker 3 (09:20):
I like that For me.

Speaker 1 (09:22):
I'm ready to vote for Rudy. And I can't tell
if Dan Levatard is sitting just off camera from a
mean down in Miami there with like, you know, some
sort of weaponry telling you say bam, say bam. I
don't know, would you vote for Bam over over Gobert.
I know for some voters, Boogie, the issue is, would
Rudy Gobert be a four time Defensive Player of the
Year if he wins this award? And what does that mean?
I know that that's like a big issue too with

(09:44):
some former players.

Speaker 2 (09:44):
My thing is this, like when you really really look
at the history of our game, and you look at
the history of these awards, and you think about the
impact these type the guys that win these award have
on these teams. I just don't get that vibe from
Rudy go Perk and this is no knocked to him.
I'm probably gonna get a lot of bad lass, you know.
I sound like the bitter old hit whatever. Like I'm

(10:07):
a fan of basketball, and I look at it for
what it is, like you can't have a potential four
time Defensive Player of the Year.

Speaker 3 (10:16):
That doesn't finish games.

Speaker 2 (10:20):
I'm never gonna be okay with this, Like it literally
like for me, I see things in black and white.
If you're the best defender on the best defensive team,
you should never be off the floor. It should never
be a scenario to where you're not able to fit
into the scheme. That doesn't make sense. So how do

(10:40):
we keep awarding this guy that can't even stay on
the floor in the playoffs? We've seen a time and
time again, Like, it does not make This is mind
blowing to me. It's easy for me to pick Womby.
Like we can sit here and say he's on one
of the worst defensive teams in the league. I think
that's more credit to Womy because now you really stick

(11:01):
out as a defender. If you got a bunch of
you know, above average defenders around you, it can.

Speaker 3 (11:07):
Make you, you.

Speaker 2 (11:08):
Know, do things at a higher level when you're sticking
out as the only guy defending and you're still exceeding
the guys that are so called the favorite, Like, it
doesn't add up, It doesn't add up.

Speaker 3 (11:23):
Bam.

Speaker 2 (11:23):
For me, that's an easy choice. This is a guy
that we've seen time and time again guard the one.

Speaker 3 (11:29):
Through the five.

Speaker 2 (11:30):
For me, that's the guy that's a great defensive player,
like Bro.

Speaker 5 (11:35):
Rachel, I'm gonna put it to you like this, there's
not an offensive lineup you can throw out there, or
I would say, ooh, bam wouldn't fit right here.

Speaker 4 (11:42):
Let's sit down and put someone else in.

Speaker 1 (11:44):
Exactly, I get it. I mean, you do have to
look at the fact that Minnesota had the number one
defense for big chunk of the season, for big chunk
of the season, Miami wasn't necessarily even in the playoffs.
Like I mean, it is a little bit about how
your team is doing. I think you're no about Wemby
and maybe, hey, he'll win plenty. He is so good
and I think that as soon as next year he

(12:05):
could be winning these for maybe the next ten years.
I mean, who knows, But awards are weird and fickle
and spends on injuries and seasons and stuff like that.
But he's so talented. It reminds me a little bit
of when the Spurs beat the Cavaliers in two thousand
and seven in the finals, and there's that footage of
Tim Duncan pulling lebron aside and said, thanks for letting
us win one. Before you took the main stage thanks

(12:26):
for letting me have one more, right, you're next, And
that was such a poignant moment, and of course Lebron
did kind of move there, and you know, I do
feel like that's what's going on with Webinama, is that
we're all just sort of waiting until next year when
he just becomes unquestionably the most dominant defensive player. It
is hard as a voter for me to figure out
what to do because you are not supposed to take
that into account that he's going to be a four

(12:48):
time Defensive Player of the Year if he wins. You
are not. It is about this regular season only. That
is what we are instructed to vote on. And it
is hard to, on the one hand, think about that
and think about, well, they've had the never won defense
and he's obviously been a huge part of that and
really the anchor of that, and everywhere he's gone. I mean,
he did it in Utah, he did it in Minnesota.
He's been consistent with the effort he's put forward. But

(13:11):
then also it is hard not to think, in the
back of your head, am I putting this guy up
with Ben Wallace who won four Defensive Players of the Year.
Am I putting him up with Hakeem Elijah Wan who
won four Defensive Players of the Year. I'm not I'm
not doing that, So it's it's hard. It's not even close.
But then you can only you know, it's what they say.
You can only play against the team that's in front

(13:31):
of you. You know, Rody Gobert can only compete against
the guys who are also competing for Defensive Player of
the Year. And if he's been the best, what is
a fourth time is he is? This is what as
hard as a voter is a little bit because you
are dealing with lots of criteria and only one you're
supposed to deal with, but the other is there and
it's loud, right, But.

Speaker 2 (13:47):
At the same time, you're giving the credit of a
great defensive team to one guy who's not that great defensively,
you can't be he's pretty good, he's pretty great, he's
not four times great.

Speaker 4 (14:03):
That's the light.

Speaker 1 (14:04):
But see again, that's that's you know, I'm not supposed
to be thinking about that, but you have. I got
one guy on my shoulder and then I've got four
times four times. You can't make him four times. That's
on my other shoulder. How's that voice? Was that good?

Speaker 3 (14:15):
Yeah? I'm just it doesn't add up for me.

Speaker 2 (14:18):
And that's that's that's just the facts behind it, Like
it has to add up and it doesn't in no
way to.

Speaker 3 (14:25):
Check for him.

Speaker 1 (14:26):
You're making me think about this. I like this. You
guys are opening expanding the mind. I was sort of thinking,
you know, Rudy might be a no brainer here. Certainly
the betters, the the guys making the odds think he's
a no brainer. But they're basically, you know, planting and
nods on who they think will win as opposed to
who deserves to win. You've been one more consideration here.
I like this, you guys are You guys are opening

(14:47):
minds and hearts. All right, let's talk about most improved.
We have Tyrese Maxi as the draft King's favorite, Jay
Dubb Kaminga also to be considered, uh maybe a dark
horse in there. But who's your pick for most improved year?

Speaker 3 (15:02):
Man? I like J douve J. J dub is talented.

Speaker 2 (15:06):
You saw you saw Lebron give him his love the
other night, Like even Lebron sees it, like you can
see this kid is going to be a star in
this league.

Speaker 3 (15:14):
He has a really really bright future. He's a huge
vital piece to that young OKC team. He's played just
he's played just as.

Speaker 2 (15:22):
Big a part and the success of that team as
you know, a guy I considered the m v P
and Shae Gilges just so J Duve for me, is
is that guy this year for most improved? I think Kaminga,
you know, had a incredible See he's made a huge jump,
but the success of the team just isn't quite there

(15:43):
to you know, put him in that category. And when
it comes to Tyrese, this guy averaged twenty last year,
twenty one a game. He's averaging twenty five. So for me,
that's that's that's kind of a trajectory of how a
good player goes through his career.

Speaker 3 (15:57):
Every year you get a little better.

Speaker 2 (15:59):
The don't that you know, J dub and Kaminga have
made like that's that's more so where it it's the
title of this which is most improved.

Speaker 4 (16:08):
So for me, I'm going with J doub Rachel.

Speaker 5 (16:12):
Let me just start by saying, cut this tape and
post it anytime anybody trying to say that bookies biased,
the Kentucky bias. This man has skipped not one but
two Kentucky guys for awards in his pick. So I
applaud you for being as unbiased an analyst as anyone
out there. But I can't believe we didn't even mention

(16:35):
my man down in Houston, Alpre and Shinggoon. That's my
most improved player. I don't care what y'all say.

Speaker 4 (16:42):
Now.

Speaker 5 (16:42):
J Dove is a really good pick. I'm not I'm
not knocking that pick. I agree with you on MAXI.
He's doing what we expected in him to do. That course,
he's spy, so he's doing exactly what I thought he was.

Speaker 4 (17:00):
And that's not a knock. That's good. You're doing your
on the time out.

Speaker 1 (17:04):
You expected him to create a need where they didn't
even have to replace James Harden And you expected that.

Speaker 4 (17:10):
Well. I expected that Max was gonna step up.

Speaker 1 (17:13):
Yes, I thought you expected that they could trade James
Harden away and not have to replace him.

Speaker 4 (17:19):
Yes, yes, No, I'll tell you why.

Speaker 1 (17:22):
I'm back. I'm looking at you.

Speaker 5 (17:24):
I said what they're gonna get before they even traded him.
I said what they're gonna get because they're not going
to get a star. No one's gonna trade them hard
a star Hard, They're gonna get a bunch of really
good role players.

Speaker 1 (17:33):
When I said, I get it. But then the idea
is they would then have to flip that to get
a star. That was a whole That was a whole
conversation around the Hard and trade was, Man, they're gonna
have to flip it by the trade deadline because they're
gonna need someone to play against Joel, play alongside Joel.
And then all of a sudden, MAXI made that disappear, and.

Speaker 5 (17:52):
I can only I can only tell y'all what I
said at the time.

Speaker 4 (17:55):
I can't tell y'all. Now.

Speaker 5 (17:57):
Did I think that the Sixers were going to be
the one?

Speaker 4 (18:00):
No, I'm not going to see it. I thought it,
But I.

Speaker 5 (18:02):
Thought he was ready to step into that role because
I've seen him over the last couple of years be
asked to do different things, and every time he was
asked to do something different, he stepped up and he
excelled in it. So I had a lot of confidence
in his ability. Having said that Albert Shing guns the
most improved player for KAMINGA, I just felt like he
started the year rough and then he had that thing

(18:23):
where I give him credit. He called out Steve Kerr
and I said, all right, here we go. But after
he talked the talk, he walked the walk.

Speaker 4 (18:29):
I give him credit for that.

Speaker 5 (18:30):
For Shehan Goon was awesome all year long, and I
think he was at a level that I don't think
any of us ever expected him to be that kind
of player. Maybe when he was drafted, but as soon
as the first couple of years, we're like, all.

Speaker 4 (18:42):
Right, maybe not.

Speaker 5 (18:43):
He came and he basically changed my mind completely about
what type of player he is.

Speaker 4 (18:47):
So that's my pick.

Speaker 1 (18:49):
I don't know. I'm mad at that either. I'm mad
at it. I think shann has been a revelation that
team didn't even make the play in tournament. Though he
got it, he got hat it, I get it, but
they didn't. And I just I look, it drives me
crazy when fans talk about the media voting on quote narratives,
because that implies that it's just made up stories, right,

(19:11):
and that's not how that works. There is emotion that
goes into playing basketball. There are waves that a team
and experiences that a team goes through. Those are real, right,
So when I voted for Russell Westbrook for MVP, I
got accused of you're buying into the narrative. I'm buying
into the fact that that team had Katie leave them
in the lurch and everything was falling apart, and Russ

(19:32):
stepped into the gap and he lifted that team on
his shoulders. And he was the most clutch player in
the NBA that year, and he delivered and delivered when
it counted over and over again. I believe in the
story of the seventy six ers this year about how
they had I mean, just you forget kind of how
tumultuous that was. You have James Harden in China, Daryl
Morey is a liar with a sign being held up.

(19:53):
You have all kinds of stuff going on. And to
your point, I mean, there was the idea of you're
never going to get a dollar for dollar back for
or James Harden. You're only getting those four quarters back,
as we like to say. And what are they going
to do and who are they going to package one
of their other first round picks with so they can
get someone to play against alongside Embiid, Because as you remember,
the other part of that narrative was Embiid's going to

(20:13):
start looking around, He's gonna want to go to New York.
He's gonna want to get out of there. They better
trade for someone quick. And Tyrese Maxey changed all of that.
And so I don't think that's a narrative. I think
that is actually what happened. And I think that kind
of emotion and that kind of story happens on a
team and can lift a team up and change what
happens out on the court. So I don't know, man,
you guys are gonna have a hard time moving me
off Tyrese Maxey. But you know, I'll take I'll take

(20:36):
all this under invisement. I'll take an under invisement.

Speaker 3 (20:38):
We're just saying absolute.

Speaker 1 (20:41):
Let's talk about coach of the Year. Mark Danielle of
Oka See is such a favorite. You do have Chris
Finch to the Timberwolves Missoula with the Celtics. Boogie, who
is your pick fore coach of the year, Shout out to.

Speaker 3 (20:55):
My guy Finch.

Speaker 1 (20:56):
Man.

Speaker 2 (20:57):
I had a luxury planning for this guy, who's a
genius the clipboard. You know, he kind of created the
two big man offense and he's continued to flourish. But
he did it in Denver. He did it in New Orleans.
He's now doing it and with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Like
I said, he's a genius with the clipboard. He's very creative.

(21:18):
He knows how to make, you know, situations work that
most coaches probably wouldn't you know, kind of deal with
with with a sensitive hand. So, uh, Finch has been
incredible this year. He's pushed his young team to heights
that weren't expected. He's he made the move was putting
the ball in Anthony Edwards's hand. He's been incredible this year.

(21:42):
So my my pig goes to Finch and he's had
a great year.

Speaker 5 (21:47):
Rachel, every every name on this list, and every name
that's going to be on everybody's ballot is more than deserving.
There's been a lot of great coaching jobs around the league.

Speaker 4 (21:57):
Hm. I'm gonna say, and this might come as a
shot a lot of.

Speaker 5 (22:00):
People, but I came to Jesus three weeks ago and
I said, man, you're fighting against this. To me, why
are you fighting so hard against it? And I'm like,
you know what, You're right, it's Joe Mizula. I want
to make all the jokes, I want to make all
the things about him.

Speaker 4 (22:16):
You know, basically.

Speaker 5 (22:19):
Do being a weirdo trying to contest Royce O'Neal's shot
and wearing jiu jitsu clothes under his half zip pull
up or whatever. But the reality is this dude has
coached this team to the best offense in the history
of the NBA.

Speaker 4 (22:32):
They've won, they clinched the number one.

Speaker 5 (22:34):
Overall seed weeks before anybody else even knew where they
were going to be in the playoff picture. And most importantly,
he got He lost the heart and soul of his
team in Marcus Smart and managed to get better. He
met his two best players, became better players, more complimentary players.
And it's not easy to convince someone who's great, Hey man,

(22:55):
take less shots. That's not an easy convinced. And then finally,
this one's huge. Anybody who's got Luke, Cornett, Peyton Pritchett
and Sam Hauser rotation minutes every night and they still
wood and asked, man, that's a hell of a coaching job.

Speaker 4 (23:10):
That man's got it.

Speaker 5 (23:12):
My soul is like, what are you talking about? Like, Nope,
Joe Mizula is not Coach of the Year.

Speaker 1 (23:16):
That's amazing. First of all, I've been at Joe Mizoula
fans since Yukon. I thought he got way, way unfair
flat last year. I was really there's a lot blamed
on the coaching situation last year that was not his fault.
So I'm glad to see him getting the proper amount
of respect that he should this year. I don't know,
man and Okay, see though, that's the youngest team I
think in the league. Is that right? Are they the

(23:38):
youngest team in the league to be able to coach
them to be in contention for number one? Yeah, it's
hard to ignore that. I do think what you guys
are talking about, though, of some of these coaches, have
they been able to manage egos has been a big deal.
And that's where I do go back to Chris finch
boogie because somebody got in Carol Anthony Town's year, and
I have to think Chris was involved in that, saying this,

(24:01):
young fellow, Anthony Edwards, you have got to figure out
a way not to feel like you are the most
important person in the room to get in the way
of Aunt being able to do what he can do.
And somewhere along the way, Kat who is a proud
guy and deserves to be by the way number one
overall pick certainly can contribute a tremendous amount to that.
Timberwolves team still had to to a degree step aside

(24:23):
and say aunt is the number one here, and he
actually came out and physically said it out loud, and
I think that is hard too for a guy to
do in front of the media, and the fact that
I can only assume the coaching staff had a lot
to do with making him still feel important, making him
feel like, hey, this is just the progression of the NBA.
You know, a new young guy comes up and this
is how it works, and it doesn't mean you're less
than and it's just that you know, to be able

(24:45):
to manage that situation. Carl gets a lot of credit
himself for that. I always don't like it when people
just give credit to coach and not the player. The
players have agency, but obviously the coaching staff had a
lot to do with that. So that's ringing in my
ear a little bit too. But it is hard to
ignore the f at that this okay, see team, okayc
team is so far ahead of schedule. We'll have to see.
This is one. That's another one. I'm I'm I'm having

(25:06):
a hard time with let's talk MVP, though, I think
it's that time. Boys, Jokich is the heavy favorite, Luca
Sga or in the mix. Yokich if he won, would
be a three time MVP. I mean, I want to
let you know that. Last week Boogie said that he
thinks that he would go with SGA or Luca over Jokich.
So I want, I mean, I want you to tell
us what you think, and then I'm gonna check in

(25:28):
with Boogie and see if he still feels that way. Go
ahead and me.

Speaker 5 (25:30):
But again, this is one of those things where there
are no wrong answers. These are all great players, right,
And I would throw in a couple other names.

Speaker 4 (25:38):
Jason Tatum is the name I would throw in there.
Anthony Edwards is the name I would throw in there.

Speaker 1 (25:42):
Uh.

Speaker 5 (25:44):
Jalen Brunson absolutely is the name I throw in there.
But hey, man, let's be real. Who's the best player
in the game, right? Like I know Rachel want to
have two different awards. Nope, it's one award and it's
one name. And this dude, and by the way, he
plays almost every night here, I think it would go to.

Speaker 1 (26:02):
The same guy.

Speaker 3 (26:03):
I do.

Speaker 1 (26:03):
But get that.

Speaker 5 (26:05):
It's k it's Yokis everybody else that's not a knock on.
Y'all y'a' have had some amazing seasons. I've enjoyed watching
everybody play, but I watched that big dude play. I know,
last week we were talking about how certain teams would
match up Agains the Nuggets, and you know what the
matchups be.

Speaker 4 (26:21):
I'm like, do you got someone to re guard him?

Speaker 3 (26:24):
No?

Speaker 4 (26:25):
Game over? And that's it. And that's that's the reality.

Speaker 5 (26:28):
It's like, the only way to beat him is if
you have three seven footers who are all going to
foul the hell out of them and hope that pisses
them all somehow.

Speaker 1 (26:35):
Where are you boogie? Where's your head at?

Speaker 2 (26:38):
That's a solid answer for me, And I mean, Jokic
is one of the best players in the NBA. I
think that's a giving but uh, that's not you know
what the MVP is about. And for me, when it
came to these three guys, I'm like, well, what separates
you know, each guy?

Speaker 3 (26:55):
Like you know, they're all you know.

Speaker 2 (26:58):
Heavy depending on the offensive end they play make for
both of us, for all of their squads, So what's
the difference? And for me, it was SGA, where he's
a guy that plays both sides of the ball. You
can't say that about Jokic and you can't say that
about Luca.

Speaker 5 (27:12):
And for me, I would say Joki is a much
improved defensive place he's not as good as the defense as.

Speaker 2 (27:19):
Much improved have to do with the guy, but leading
the league is still and is top six defenses like
that has nothing to do with the guy.

Speaker 4 (27:29):
You don't play defense. That's I'm just arguing that does
play defense. I mean not as well as SGA, but yes,
he does play defense.

Speaker 2 (27:36):
Well in terms of defensive Player of the Year. I
guess you could say, yeah, okay, so.

Speaker 3 (27:44):
But for me it's SGA.

Speaker 2 (27:45):
Man, He's he's a guy that's leading his team on
both sides of the ball, and that's something that just
can't go unnoticed for me. On top of that, he's
he's done something that nobody expected with this team this year.
We expected the Nuggets to be a team that's, you know,
going to be a title contender, going to be in
the mix. We expect that, We expect we expect this

(28:06):
from Luca. We expect the big games, we expect the
big numbers. We never expected this from SGA. He was
first team last year. He's only improved to now where
he's leading this team as one of the top teams
in the hardest conference this year with being in the
Western Conference. He's doing it on both sides of the ball.
He's averaging thirty six. It's like the numbers are crazy,
and I think this is not only his year, but

(28:29):
we now have another star, like not just a great player,
but a star.

Speaker 3 (28:34):
That we can depend on in this league in SGA.

Speaker 2 (28:36):
So I think everything is coming together for this young
kid at the right time, and I think this year
is his year. So my MV pick is that's yet.

Speaker 1 (28:45):
I mean, look, none none of these teams. If you
took this player off, if you took Yoga Johan Nuggets,
if you took SG off the Thunder, you took Luke
off the mav none of the teams would be anywhere
close sniffing to where they were. They would be lottery teams.
So obviously they're all of huge value to their teams.
With Luca. Look, he's putting up crazy numbers and it
does feel because his uses rate is so high that

(29:06):
he is powering that team every time he gets on
the court. Now he's playing against Kyrie who just you know,
last week, I think he dropped forty something. But I
think that that argument makes a lot of sense from
the people in Dallas about Okay, he's at least above SGA,
or he's coming on strong, or he should be MVP.
You go back to the okage argument, though he does
in my mind. I don't know if I haven't made

(29:26):
up a decision on who I'm voting for yet, but
I will say that if he ends up being a
three time MVP, it's deserved in the fact that he
is that skilled. When we sit there and we talk about,
you know, does Rudy Gobert deserve to be a four
time Defensive Player of the Year, that can be a
hard pill to swallow because he is not up there
with Hikeem He's not up there with Ben Mollis. I'm sorry,
he's not where you look at Nikolaiokic. He is a

(29:47):
transcendent player. I mean, I just I just I look
at what he can do, his skill set, the way
he can move, the way he can operate his passing,
and then just his dominance and the fact that he
has that team so organ nice at the end of games.
When you look at what the Denver Nuggets do and
Boggie again, you've been on that bench, you've been in
that locker room, you've been on the court with them.
It is like a machine. It is precision, and you

(30:09):
feel like Jamal and jokis just they know how they
want to get to where they want to get to
in those last thirty seconds, minute, two minutes, and that
is where playoff games are won. That is where we
get titles from. So I think this is a harder
decision than it was a month ago. It felt like
yokitch all the way and now it's sort of like, Okay, well,
the LUCA backers have a good case, and but you're
making a very good case for SGA and I do

(30:30):
think it should be a two way player and all
that stuff. But it's hard to move off who is
yes when I have to if I have The Aliens
came down, as Bill Simmons said, you know who would
you put on the court, And right now, I think
most people would say you'd Putyokic on the court. So
it's gonna be it's gonna be an interesting It's gonna
be interesting to see if this ends up being close
or not, because I think the conversation has gotten a
lot closer in the last couple couple weeks, and I'll, like,

(30:52):
you know, once I fill out the ballot who I'm
voting for, we'll have to see, all right. I want
to move on to All MBA because some of the
stuff seems pretty easy now that it's positionless. If you
guys haven't heard out there, after years of people like
me begging, pleading desperately, please make the ballot positionless because
the game is much more and more positionless, we are
finally getting that. And that is really it was a

(31:13):
travesty that you had the number two runner up for
MVP or the runner up for MV rather the number
two guy in voting not even make first team All
NBA because you had to only have one center, that
kind of thing. So I'm thrilled that this is the situation.
But then it kind of makes some of this conversation
a little bit easier. Let's start with you book who's
your first team All MBA selection? Now that you don't
have to go by position.

Speaker 3 (31:33):
Ah man, let me.

Speaker 2 (31:35):
I made sure to write this down, and I'm actually
going to make a last minute switch a tweak a
tweak because it doesn't matter what it was. But just
know I'm doing it, all right.

Speaker 3 (31:45):
So for me, first.

Speaker 2 (31:46):
Team, we're gonna go Sga, We're going Luca, We're going Edwards,
We're going Jason Tatum, and we're going to go in
Nicola Yokich. Second team Brunson, Jaylen Brown, Kevin Durant, Lebron James.

Speaker 3 (32:04):
Johannis hm hmm.

Speaker 2 (32:07):
Third team Curry, Steph Curry, Devin Booker, Kawhi, Leonard Poala
from Orlando. Yeah, Anthony Davis.

Speaker 1 (32:21):
I was gonna say, you got to say Anthony Davis
at the end of the sentence.

Speaker 2 (32:23):
Please Anthony Davis. That's that's that's my my all NBA.

Speaker 1 (32:28):
All right, I mean, what do you agree with? What
don't you agree with?

Speaker 4 (32:32):
Uh, it's similar. Let me just say this. It's the
same names, not in the same order.

Speaker 1 (32:39):
All right, who's your who's your first team? Then?

Speaker 4 (32:41):
So my first team is exactly the same. I have
your kids.

Speaker 5 (32:45):
This is my belief, especially now that we don't have
any positions or whatever. You're your All NBA first team
should be your m VP ballot.

Speaker 1 (32:52):
So this is so much that's an interesting question.

Speaker 5 (32:55):
It should be like it's the top five players in
the league, so there's that there should be no conversation,
there are no confusion there. So I got Jokic, I've
got Shake, Gilgess, Alexander, I got Edwards, I got Luca,
I got Tatum. I think that's exactly what Boogie had.
When we get to the second team, that's where it
gets interesting. So like Boogie, also have Bruns in there, right,

(33:17):
Like Boogie, I also have Gianni's there. But then I've
got Kawhi, I've got Curry, and I've got Devin Booker
second Team All NBA.

Speaker 1 (33:26):
Neither one of you has Anthony Davis second Team All NBA.
Such a good season he.

Speaker 2 (33:31):
Has, but it's not it hasn't been better than Gianni's
or Jokics, so.

Speaker 1 (33:37):
That you could his first team exactly.

Speaker 2 (33:41):
So he's first thing, this second as far as a big,
not necessarily a center, but a big.

Speaker 3 (33:48):
And then Ad feels out the third temh for me, he's.

Speaker 4 (33:50):
Yeah, third team. Let me so that Rachel doesn't get worried.
AD's on my thirteen thank you.

Speaker 5 (33:56):
Lebron is on the third team, Jaylen Brown's on my
third third team. Paulo Bankearo's on my third team.

Speaker 4 (34:02):
And this is the.

Speaker 5 (34:03):
Controversial one because it came down to three different guys
mm hmm, and it came down to I'm not gonna
say it's Fox, Sabonis, and Halliburton.

Speaker 4 (34:17):
Those are my the last three.

Speaker 5 (34:19):
And I had a lot of sleepless nights thinking about this,
but I said, ultimately, I think that what Tyrese Haliburton
does for his team, it transforms them from what should
be a lottery team to a team that is competing
for playoff positioning. And I like, I got.

Speaker 4 (34:42):
A saw spot in my heart for point guards.

Speaker 5 (34:45):
It was Halliburton or Fox, no offense to bonus, and
I went with Halliburton because I felt like Fox has
help and Halliburton not necessarily up until they got all.

Speaker 3 (34:54):
Off after all start. Though yeah, I mean he did
have this goal under the rug.

Speaker 5 (35:00):
He did have a fall off, But I still think
that what he's done and what he's did is still
all NBA.

Speaker 4 (35:07):
And I won't lie.

Speaker 2 (35:08):
Man.

Speaker 5 (35:08):
The man means money man, while we go take the
money away from all many's that's point.

Speaker 4 (35:14):
So it is.

Speaker 1 (35:14):
I believe it's around forty million dollars difference if Helburton
makes all NBA versus done versus not. That is a
difficult position. This comes back to the sixty five game
rule for me, which is that I think it is
dumb to tie it to all NBA awards. I just
do I get it. I am all with everyone who
wants the players to play. We all want everyone to play,
we all want to watch good basketball, and we want

(35:35):
players to play. I do not think penalizing guys on
all NBA by an arbitrary number that's sixty five versus
sixty three or sixty seven, and you're gonna tell me
if it's two games difference, he deserves it or doesn't
deserve it. I think that's ridiculous. And you saw it
with Tyree's Helibert, and I spoke to him at All
Star quite extensively about his injury, and he was just
telling me. He's like, I can't get the lift I
was getting, and they keep telling me I need to

(35:56):
sit for two weeks. But if I sit for two weeks,
I'm out. And for a guy who has a forty
million dollar contract difference hanging over his head, he's not
going to do it. He's not going to sit. And
the irony is that he may now by playing. By
playing on it, he may have gotten himself out of
all NBA by qualifying, because he extended how long the

(36:16):
injury was affecting him, and now he's not the player
he was in the first half of the season. And
I just I think, you know, Embiide has talked about,
you know, feeling rushed back that he had to go
play and that led to his bigger injury. And I
just think we are putting pressure on guys to play
for reasons that are not the reason that we want
them to be playing for, and guys who are truly hurt.
It is, these are human beings. They should get to

(36:37):
sit for a couple games if they need to sit
for a couple games, and it should not cost them
forty million dollars. So I don't know. I just want
everyone to be thinking about that as we go into
next year and we try to place these all NBA
votes of is there a way to detach the sixty
five game rule from at least all NBA if you
still think it should be attached to MVP. I still
think that's a little bit questionable. What if it's sixty four,

(36:58):
you know, that kind of thing. But I wouldn't attached
to NBA because I think it is affecting this discussion.
I mean, did you have Kevin Durant anywhere on your
ow NBA teams?

Speaker 5 (37:05):
I didn't. I didn't second team for me. I'm already
regretting it, So maybe you're right. You know what, since
my Tyrese, I love you, buddy, I'm sorry, I forgot
all about KD. I got caught up. Yeah, the voters
all y'all, My bad, I love y'all. It could only
be fifty. So KD is in my thirteam.

Speaker 4 (37:25):
My bad.

Speaker 1 (37:28):
So you're taking a check away from Tyrese? Yeah, million
dollars calculated that? Who was it? Who was looking for
that boats that year?

Speaker 5 (37:39):
Was it?

Speaker 1 (37:39):
In a d He said he could have bought every
member of the voting media what an suv and it's
still what he would have had so much leftover that.

Speaker 5 (37:47):
He said, a g wagon. Every single voter could have
got a g wagon and he still would have made out.
And by the way, whenever I get my vote back,
if that g wagon is still available, I'm you know,
I'll let that be out there. Well.

Speaker 1 (37:59):
I want to thank you both for trying to influence
me and help me fill out my ballot. I will say,
you guys, move me on one. I'm not going to
tell you which one, but I will. I just know
you are with me when it comes time to fill
out the pencil and make those And I think it's
going to be a fun little word season here as
we get into the playing games this week, everybody enjoy those,
and we'll be back with the playoff games next week.

(38:21):
You can catch all episodes of bully Ball on the
DraftKings Network, on the All the Smoke Productions YouTube channel,
and of course wherever you listen to and get your podcasts.
Rate us, review us, think about us, think about Tyre's
Halliburton and his forty million dollars, and we will be
back next week. Gentlemen, see you then,
Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

Stuff You Should Know
Dateline NBC

Dateline NBC

Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.