December 12, 2025 • 12 mins
As San Antonio gets ready for OKC in the Emirates NBA Semi’s, the Spurs get great news.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Appreciate all of y'all starting your weekend with me and Shane.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Here the top three rankings right now.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
I was going to hit this in a lightning round
that we had to cut because Andy usually forgets to
tell me when we are going off early. So I
did the normal three hour run sheet. But the top
three in college football, Yukon just outside of that at
number five, then Iowa State surprisingly splitting the blue bloods
(00:31):
at number four. But the top three remind me of
the era where I fell in love with college basketball.
I'm talking mid nineties, ten year old me, just digging
the hell out of.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
The current run at that time of.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Arizona who's number one right now, Michigan who's number two?
Speaker 2 (00:57):
And Duke whose number three.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
I mean, when you think of the college basketball programs
of the nineties, you don't exclude any of those three teams.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
Well, I mean you probably start with the Big East programs,
but yeah, you don't, especially because Michigan they were hot
off the FAB five years, right Duke was I think
that was still early in Krzyzewski's time.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Well, you had the you know, Elton Brand years. You
had Corey mcghetty.
Speaker 4 (01:23):
You had what's his name. Oh the guy that everybody hates,
Christian Layner.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Yeah, that was a little earlier with Leyton.
Speaker 4 (01:30):
Reading Hayley JJ. Wright played for a long time too.
He played in the nineties.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Does he stretch all the way back that far in college?
Speaker 4 (01:36):
Of course, Steve Rose, he didn't start to like one
to oh two.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
Of course, uh wo Jahowski slapping the court. And then
my favorite college basketball team of all time, ninety seven
Arizona Wildcats led by Miles Simon, the Assassin, Mike Bibby,
Jason Terry a six man as a freshman on that team,
Mike Bibby the I'm telling you the nineties, Uh, I know.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
Man, like the headband like just is like what just
sticks out to right there because I can only really
picture him playing for the Kings.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Yeah, I still see Bibby on the Vancouver Grizzlies from Vancouver.
Speaker 4 (02:09):
Yeah, yeah, from.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Way back there. Well, let's get into it.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
We have a massive massive It's hard to call it
massive because it is an NBA Cup match, but I
think we're rising to the level of calling these games,
at least once they get to Vegas, calling them massive matchups.
And I think more importantly, anytime the Spurs play the Thunder.
(02:34):
It's going to be a massive matchup for the next
decade plus. But on top of the massive matchup, we
got massive injury news the good kind regarding the Spurs
earlier today from Shams. You now have an update breaking
news here involving Victor Winmbinyama ahead of tomorrow's matchup against Okay.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
See Sham. Sharania joins us now here Sham's what's the latest?
What can you tell us?
Speaker 5 (03:00):
George sources telling me Victor roman Yama is expected to
make his return to action on Saturday against the Oklahoma
City Thunder in Las Vegas in the NBA Cup Semifinals.
The timing has worked out perfectly for the Spurs for
Wemby to make his return. You have the Oklahoma City
Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs to the best young
teams in the NBA. Wemby against Chet and this marks
(03:22):
the end of the Spurs is cautious process ever since
women Yamas sustained this cap strain that he had almost
one month ago. He actually wanted to play, I'm told
Wednesday in the Cup game against the Lakers, but the
Spurs held him out. Both sides made the decision to
get him a couple of days more of ramp up
time rehab work. He's checked all the boxes from my
(03:45):
understanding past, all the tests, he's gone through multiple rounds
of five on five sessions as well as he looks
to make his return to action on Saturday.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Excellent news, Shams, thank you so much. Appreciate it. Yeah,
excellent news. You heard it there.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
Barring in setback between now and eight o'clock tomorrow night,
it does seem like Wemby will be back for this
matchup against the Thunder And I know if you listened yesterday,
I at least got Andy to admit that he's coming
around on the NBA Cup games or the NBA Cup
(04:20):
as a full concept, and he's not alone the NBA
Cup game. So far, the group play games were up
ninety percent from last year. So we're in year three
of this. We're starting to see starting to see some
roots being formed viewership wise, of people starting to tune
(04:46):
in more to the Cup games than they do regular
season games, which is what all of this would have
been four years ago. It wouldn't have nearly wouldn't have
had nearly the draw for the casual fan to watch,
which is exactly what the NBA wants. I mean, they
want to get as many the eyeballs they know they're
(05:07):
going to get are the true fans like us that
are going to watch all eighty two regular season games
no matter what. They're trying to get some of the
more casual fans and maybe someone that is more interested
in a It's easier to understand it's a whin and
you're in, losing, you're knocked out, losing, you go home.
(05:28):
It's a very simple some of the tie breaking, some
of that is a little confusing at times, but for
the most part, it's a knockout tournament. And it seems
to be gaining some traction, not just with Andy, but
with the broader viewing audience. And it's not just the
NBA Cup that is seeing a massive boost in viewership
(05:50):
this year. This is no surprise. It's no surprise that
the numbers are up. It's pretty shocking just how high,
just how much of an increase we're actually seeing.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Spurs local ratings.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
Fandel released these you know, FanDuel Sports network streaming numbers.
Put these out Spurs games on the network. Take a guess,
how hi, how many what percent do you think they're
up compared last year? Compared to last year.
Speaker 4 (06:23):
Oh, it's gotta be at least.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Seventy buddy, how about two and twenty three percent?
Speaker 3 (06:32):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (06:33):
Quite quite. Ah my god, quite a jump in viewership.
Speaker 3 (06:37):
That's insane because, like I mean, a lot of people
are so staunch like about being so anti like extra
subscription based services, because Fandel will be a subscription based service.
But with the Spurs, we've seen a progression for the
last three years since they drafted Wimby, then drafted cast
this year drafted Harper.
Speaker 4 (06:52):
That the Spurs are not only a good team, but
they're fun to watch.
Speaker 3 (06:55):
Yep, this is one of the most fun overall teams
to watch for the Spurs. Honestly, about like, let's like
twelve thirteen years and I'm talking about when we had
like the rise of Kawhi Leonard. We still had a
really good Manu Tim and sort of a declined. I
think Tony probably declined the quickest of those three. But
you still have guys like Danny Green on there, and
the Spurs were really fun to watch at that point
before the turnover, obviously, but right now, this Spurs team,
(07:16):
and I told this Andy that without Wemby in the
on this team, this team is good enough to make
the playoffs.
Speaker 4 (07:23):
With Wimby on this team, they're a contender. And so
when you have when you.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
Have a superstar in the making like Wimby, you have
a rise in two way player like Steph Castle, you
have guys like them to sell Dylan Harper, other like
Darren Fox. You can't forget about him getting twenty five
and six a night. It feels like that they are.
They have become musty TV, not just in San Antonio,
but from most of the basketball watching aspects of the country.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
Yeah, it's it's, uh, you know, there's you see different
journalists put out their League Pass rankings every year. You know,
just the most fun teams to watch. It's not the
best teams. Uh, sometimes the most fun teams to watch,
our teams with some of the worst records. Yeah, but
the Spurs absolutely are are top three on everybody's League
(08:08):
Pass rankings now. And it's not just it's not just
the regional sports network that is seeing a bump. I
mean you talked about it's the most exciting Spurs team
in a decade. The game from November twenty fourth, Spurs Pelicans.
It was on Kens, it was on local cable. That
(08:29):
was the one that went out of the wire, the uncomfortable,
most Repelicans. The games with the Pelicans tend to go
that way for whatever reason.
Speaker 4 (08:36):
It happened earlier earlier this week.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
Yeah, yeah, well that happens when you give up forty
five points in a third quarter. Uh. That game from
November twenty fourth though, the most viewed locally broadcast regular
season game since twenty nineteen.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
So it's COVID exactly.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
It's it's not just it's not an avarition. It's it's
not just us trying to inflate the importance of what
this season is shaping up to be. I mean there is,
there are there's there are numbers and data to support
that way more eyeballs.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
I mean, it's even. It's as simple as comparing.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
You go to a restaurant or a bar during a
Spurs game this year compared to December twelfth last year,
you'd be lucky to if the game was even on
last year. Now it's on every screen and the sound
is being piped through the whole restaurant, bar, wherever you're at.
It is very, very noticeable without knowing the insane numbers
(09:40):
of how much viewership is up, but as far for
the game itself tomorrow night, look the thunder good like
the twenty four and one.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
Now, I mean, I'm.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
Some stupid they they won by forty nine the other
night and that was and that was a good, surprisingly
good Suns team.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
Shay hasn't played in the fourth quarter of half of
their games.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
Yeah, it's like watching my red raders play football this
year very much, so he doesn't have to.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
He's gonna potentially if he wins another MVP, it'll be
based on three quarters of every game because he's not
even playing the fourth in every other game.
Speaker 3 (10:16):
And I saw also that, so you probably for those
that know, the Spurs I think were either second or
third in overall defensive efficiency before Winby went out, they
dropped the sixteenth. It's a very close margin, but they've
dropped down to sixteenth, so getting him back is huge
for the defensive side. Offensively, the Spurs have averaged over
one hundred and ten points a game even without him,
and they're one of only I think they I think
(10:36):
I saw four, only one of four teams that scored
one hundred plus in every game this season, and so
offensively they haven't they haven't really missed a beat, but
the defensive aspect of it, essentially against going against guys
like SGA Jay, the Wims, obviously the matchup with Chet
Holmgren down low. This is gonna be probably the most
watched regular season basketball game in a Why it's gonna
(10:56):
be heavily viewed it?
Speaker 2 (10:57):
Oh yeah, is no, it's gonna be.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
The numbers are gonna be like what a Christmas Day
game used to pull before the NFL took over. It's
also going to be a tees for what a playoff
series because the thing about these NBA Cup games, you
notice the teams, the best teams in the NBA right
now are young. They're all on the ascension, and the
(11:23):
teams that take the NBA Cup games the most serious
are the younger teams. So it's this, it's this nice
recipe of the best teams are young and the best
the teams that take it the most serious because they're young,
are the best teams. So it's going to be a
tease for a potential playoff matchup, but also it's going
(11:45):
to be a matchup between the two teams that are
best set up for the next decade. I don't normally
do this, but ESPN released a They're twenty five under
twenty five rankings earlier today and it's basically the Thunder,
the Spurs, and the Rockets. So let's get into that
next because I think we're looking at our Western Conference
(12:08):
top three for a decade.
Appreciate all of y'all starting your weekend with me and Shane.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Here the top three rankings right now.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
I was going to hit this in a lightning round
that we had to cut because Andy usually forgets to
tell me when we are going off early. So I
did the normal three hour run sheet. But the top
three in college football, Yukon just outside of that at
number five, then Iowa State surprisingly splitting the blue bloods
(00:31):
at number four. But the top three remind me of
the era where I fell in love with college basketball.
I'm talking mid nineties, ten year old me, just digging
the hell out of.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
The current run at that time of.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Arizona who's number one right now, Michigan who's number two?
Speaker 2 (00:57):
And Duke whose number three.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
I mean, when you think of the college basketball programs
of the nineties, you don't exclude any of those three teams.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
Well, I mean you probably start with the Big East programs,
but yeah, you don't, especially because Michigan they were hot
off the FAB five years, right Duke was I think
that was still early in Krzyzewski's time.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Well, you had the you know, Elton Brand years. You
had Corey mcghetty.
Speaker 4 (01:23):
You had what's his name. Oh the guy that everybody hates,
Christian Layner.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Yeah, that was a little earlier with Leyton.
Speaker 4 (01:30):
Reading Hayley JJ. Wright played for a long time too.
He played in the nineties.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Does he stretch all the way back that far in college?
Speaker 4 (01:36):
Of course, Steve Rose, he didn't start to like one
to oh two.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
Of course, uh wo Jahowski slapping the court. And then
my favorite college basketball team of all time, ninety seven
Arizona Wildcats led by Miles Simon, the Assassin, Mike Bibby,
Jason Terry a six man as a freshman on that team,
Mike Bibby the I'm telling you the nineties, Uh, I know.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
Man, like the headband like just is like what just
sticks out to right there because I can only really
picture him playing for the Kings.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Yeah, I still see Bibby on the Vancouver Grizzlies from Vancouver.
Speaker 4 (02:09):
Yeah, yeah, from.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Way back there. Well, let's get into it.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
We have a massive massive It's hard to call it
massive because it is an NBA Cup match, but I
think we're rising to the level of calling these games,
at least once they get to Vegas, calling them massive matchups.
And I think more importantly, anytime the Spurs play the Thunder.
(02:34):
It's going to be a massive matchup for the next
decade plus. But on top of the massive matchup, we
got massive injury news the good kind regarding the Spurs
earlier today from Shams. You now have an update breaking
news here involving Victor Winmbinyama ahead of tomorrow's matchup against Okay.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
See Sham. Sharania joins us now here Sham's what's the latest?
What can you tell us?
Speaker 5 (03:00):
George sources telling me Victor roman Yama is expected to
make his return to action on Saturday against the Oklahoma
City Thunder in Las Vegas in the NBA Cup Semifinals.
The timing has worked out perfectly for the Spurs for
Wemby to make his return. You have the Oklahoma City
Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs to the best young
teams in the NBA. Wemby against Chet and this marks
(03:22):
the end of the Spurs is cautious process ever since
women Yamas sustained this cap strain that he had almost
one month ago. He actually wanted to play, I'm told
Wednesday in the Cup game against the Lakers, but the
Spurs held him out. Both sides made the decision to
get him a couple of days more of ramp up
time rehab work. He's checked all the boxes from my
(03:45):
understanding past, all the tests, he's gone through multiple rounds
of five on five sessions as well as he looks
to make his return to action on Saturday.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Excellent news, Shams, thank you so much. Appreciate it. Yeah,
excellent news. You heard it there.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
Barring in setback between now and eight o'clock tomorrow night,
it does seem like Wemby will be back for this
matchup against the Thunder And I know if you listened yesterday,
I at least got Andy to admit that he's coming
around on the NBA Cup games or the NBA Cup
(04:20):
as a full concept, and he's not alone the NBA
Cup game. So far, the group play games were up
ninety percent from last year. So we're in year three
of this. We're starting to see starting to see some
roots being formed viewership wise, of people starting to tune
(04:46):
in more to the Cup games than they do regular
season games, which is what all of this would have
been four years ago. It wouldn't have nearly wouldn't have
had nearly the draw for the casual fan to watch,
which is exactly what the NBA wants. I mean, they
want to get as many the eyeballs they know they're
(05:07):
going to get are the true fans like us that
are going to watch all eighty two regular season games
no matter what. They're trying to get some of the
more casual fans and maybe someone that is more interested
in a It's easier to understand it's a whin and
you're in, losing, you're knocked out, losing, you go home.
(05:28):
It's a very simple some of the tie breaking, some
of that is a little confusing at times, but for
the most part, it's a knockout tournament. And it seems
to be gaining some traction, not just with Andy, but
with the broader viewing audience. And it's not just the
NBA Cup that is seeing a massive boost in viewership
(05:50):
this year. This is no surprise. It's no surprise that
the numbers are up. It's pretty shocking just how high,
just how much of an increase we're actually seeing.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Spurs local ratings.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
Fandel released these you know, FanDuel Sports network streaming numbers.
Put these out Spurs games on the network. Take a guess,
how hi, how many what percent do you think they're
up compared last year? Compared to last year.
Speaker 4 (06:23):
Oh, it's gotta be at least.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Seventy buddy, how about two and twenty three percent?
Speaker 3 (06:32):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (06:33):
Quite quite. Ah my god, quite a jump in viewership.
Speaker 3 (06:37):
That's insane because, like I mean, a lot of people
are so staunch like about being so anti like extra
subscription based services, because Fandel will be a subscription based service.
But with the Spurs, we've seen a progression for the
last three years since they drafted Wimby, then drafted cast
this year drafted Harper.
Speaker 4 (06:52):
That the Spurs are not only a good team, but
they're fun to watch.
Speaker 3 (06:55):
Yep, this is one of the most fun overall teams
to watch for the Spurs. Honestly, about like, let's like
twelve thirteen years and I'm talking about when we had
like the rise of Kawhi Leonard. We still had a
really good Manu Tim and sort of a declined. I
think Tony probably declined the quickest of those three. But
you still have guys like Danny Green on there, and
the Spurs were really fun to watch at that point
before the turnover, obviously, but right now, this Spurs team,
(07:16):
and I told this Andy that without Wemby in the
on this team, this team is good enough to make
the playoffs.
Speaker 4 (07:23):
With Wimby on this team, they're a contender. And so
when you have when you.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
Have a superstar in the making like Wimby, you have
a rise in two way player like Steph Castle, you
have guys like them to sell Dylan Harper, other like
Darren Fox. You can't forget about him getting twenty five
and six a night. It feels like that they are.
They have become musty TV, not just in San Antonio,
but from most of the basketball watching aspects of the country.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
Yeah, it's it's, uh, you know, there's you see different
journalists put out their League Pass rankings every year. You know,
just the most fun teams to watch. It's not the
best teams. Uh, sometimes the most fun teams to watch,
our teams with some of the worst records. Yeah, but
the Spurs absolutely are are top three on everybody's League
(08:08):
Pass rankings now. And it's not just it's not just
the regional sports network that is seeing a bump. I
mean you talked about it's the most exciting Spurs team
in a decade. The game from November twenty fourth, Spurs Pelicans.
It was on Kens, it was on local cable. That
(08:29):
was the one that went out of the wire, the uncomfortable,
most Repelicans. The games with the Pelicans tend to go
that way for whatever reason.
Speaker 4 (08:36):
It happened earlier earlier this week.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
Yeah, yeah, well that happens when you give up forty
five points in a third quarter. Uh. That game from
November twenty fourth though, the most viewed locally broadcast regular
season game since twenty nineteen.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
So it's COVID exactly.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
It's it's not just it's not an avarition. It's it's
not just us trying to inflate the importance of what
this season is shaping up to be. I mean there is,
there are there's there are numbers and data to support
that way more eyeballs.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
I mean, it's even. It's as simple as comparing.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
You go to a restaurant or a bar during a
Spurs game this year compared to December twelfth last year,
you'd be lucky to if the game was even on
last year. Now it's on every screen and the sound
is being piped through the whole restaurant, bar, wherever you're at.
It is very, very noticeable without knowing the insane numbers
(09:40):
of how much viewership is up, but as far for
the game itself tomorrow night, look the thunder good like
the twenty four and one.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
Now, I mean, I'm.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
Some stupid they they won by forty nine the other
night and that was and that was a good, surprisingly
good Suns team.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
Shay hasn't played in the fourth quarter of half of
their games.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
Yeah, it's like watching my red raders play football this
year very much, so he doesn't have to.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
He's gonna potentially if he wins another MVP, it'll be
based on three quarters of every game because he's not
even playing the fourth in every other game.
Speaker 3 (10:16):
And I saw also that, so you probably for those
that know, the Spurs I think were either second or
third in overall defensive efficiency before Winby went out, they
dropped the sixteenth. It's a very close margin, but they've
dropped down to sixteenth, so getting him back is huge
for the defensive side. Offensively, the Spurs have averaged over
one hundred and ten points a game even without him,
and they're one of only I think they I think
(10:36):
I saw four, only one of four teams that scored
one hundred plus in every game this season, and so
offensively they haven't they haven't really missed a beat, but
the defensive aspect of it, essentially against going against guys
like SGA Jay, the Wims, obviously the matchup with Chet
Holmgren down low. This is gonna be probably the most
watched regular season basketball game in a Why it's gonna
(10:56):
be heavily viewed it?
Speaker 2 (10:57):
Oh yeah, is no, it's gonna be.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
The numbers are gonna be like what a Christmas Day
game used to pull before the NFL took over. It's
also going to be a tees for what a playoff
series because the thing about these NBA Cup games, you
notice the teams, the best teams in the NBA right
now are young. They're all on the ascension, and the
(11:23):
teams that take the NBA Cup games the most serious
are the younger teams. So it's this, it's this nice
recipe of the best teams are young and the best
the teams that take it the most serious because they're young,
are the best teams. So it's going to be a
tease for a potential playoff matchup, but also it's going
(11:45):
to be a matchup between the two teams that are
best set up for the next decade. I don't normally
do this, but ESPN released a They're twenty five under
twenty five rankings earlier today and it's basically the Thunder,
the Spurs, and the Rockets. So let's get into that
next because I think we're looking at our Western Conference
(12:08):
top three for a decade.
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