ITALKSPORTS Episode 32 - LeBron James vs. Stephen A. Smith Beef. Bronny’s Burden. Julio Jones Retires. UFC 314
The discourse commences with an exploration of the peculiar and seemingly unfathomable conflict between LeBron James and Stephen A. Smith, which I have deemed the most random beef in the annals of sports history. This contentious exchange, however, serves as a conduit to a more profound examination of the formidable expectations placed upon Bronny James, expectations that are intricately tied to his father's monumental legacy. The discussion then transitions into a fervent critique of the woeful seasons endured by the Phoenix Suns and Philadelphia 76ers, where disappointment reigns despite their roster's potential. This segment is underscored by a palpable frustration as I lament their failure to meet the lofty aspirations set at the season's inception. The episode subsequently acknowledges the retirement of NFL star Julio Jones, before delving into the anticipated clash at UFC 314, featuring Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopez, a bout I regard as pivotal yet fraught with peril for Volkanovski given his advanced age in a sport defined by youthful vigor.
Takeaways:
- The highly publicized feud between LeBron James and Stephen A. Smith raises questions about the relevance and significance of their conflict in the sports world.
- Bronny James faces immense expectations as the son of LeBron James, leading to concerns about the pressure that comes with such a legacy.
- The Phoenix Suns and Philadelphia 76ers have both underperformed this season, resulting in frustration for fans and analysts alike regarding their championship aspirations.
- Julio Jones's retirement marks the end of an era for one of the NFL's most prolific receivers, reflecting on his legacy and contributions to the sport.
- UFC 314's main event featuring Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopez promises to be an intriguing matchup, though concerns about Volkanovski's age and recent performance linger.
- The discourse surrounding Bronny James highlights the complexities of growing up in the shadow of a legendary athlete and the societal expectations placed upon him.
Transcript
And it's such a.
Speaker A:Why, why, why?
Speaker A:Why are we.
Speaker A:Why are we even paying attention to this?
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker A:It's true.
Speaker A:Honestly, we don't care.
Speaker A:I think sports fans are objective enough to see a great player from a good player from a bad player.
Speaker A:Regardless whose son you are.
Speaker A:None of those kosher were as devastating as watching Alexander Volkanovski get put to sleep.
Speaker A:Sure, health is a big problem here and it's not really fair, but I don't care.
Speaker A:You didn't meet your expectations.
Speaker A:You got Devin, Booker, Bradley Beal and Kevin Durant on the same team and you have a 0.8 chance of making the playoffs.
Speaker A:Microphone check, 1, 2, 1, 2.
Speaker A:What's good?
Speaker A:What's good?
Speaker A:What's good?
Speaker A:Feeling good, bro.
Speaker A:I ain't done one of these in a minute.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Last week hey yeah Last week, yo.
Speaker A:Last week hey yo man, yo.
Speaker A:A lot where a lot.
Speaker A:Like, like studios got closed and then after that voices got closed.
Speaker A:I got.
Speaker A:There's this bug going around.
Speaker A:You better watch out.
Speaker A:There's this bug going around, man.
Speaker A:And it's.
Speaker A:Hey.
Speaker A:It's getting us and men down.
Speaker A:Last week, men down.
Speaker A:Hey, hey hey man.
Speaker A:Yeah, at least in the shower.
Speaker A:English up NJ what's good, dog?
Speaker B:I'm good, man.
Speaker B:Fantastic.
Speaker A:Chilling.
Speaker A:How's Chelsea?
Speaker B:Oh, we're good.
Speaker A:We're good.
Speaker B:We beat Tottenham Hotspur.
Speaker B:We're number four.
Speaker B:The logistics.
Speaker A:Number four.
Speaker B:That's all we want.
Speaker B:That's all we want.
Speaker B:We're still in European competition.
Speaker B:That's all.
Speaker B:All we want.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:What's.
Speaker A:What's happening in the Premier League right now?
Speaker B:What's happening in the Premier League?
Speaker A:I heard cuz I know it's tight now.
Speaker A:Like it's, isn't it?
Speaker A:No, not tight per se.
Speaker A:But we.
Speaker A:We're.
Speaker A:We're at the end.
Speaker B:No, we.
Speaker B:We.
Speaker B:We're at the business end.
Speaker B:We've got about eight games left.
Speaker B:Yeah, eight.
Speaker B:Some seven.
Speaker B:Liverpool has all but wrapped up the league unless they lose every single match now, I bet the end.
Speaker B:Which I don't see them doing because if they manage to do that, they'll be the first team in 20 years to let Arsenal win the league.
Speaker B:And if they do that, I'll fore Liverpool fans again the race for top four is quite tight.
Speaker B:We've got Manchester City, we've got Chelsea.
Speaker B:Aston Villa as well is in the mix there.
Speaker B:But I'd like to take my chances.
Speaker B:Chelsea's above Manchester City, which is good.
Speaker B:Hey, yeah yeah.
Speaker B:Kevin de Bruyne is leaving Manchester City, which shout Out.
Speaker A:Shout out.
Speaker A:Kevin De Bruyne.
Speaker A:Shout out Kevin.
Speaker A:Greatest Premier League football midfielder ever.
Speaker B:Yeah, midfielder ever.
Speaker B:Greatest Premier League midfield.
Speaker B:Better than Frank Lampard.
Speaker B:Better.
Speaker B:Better than the Paul Scholes.
Speaker B:Better than Steven Gerrard.
Speaker B:Better than every Premier League midfielder that's ever played.
Speaker B:Kevin De Bryant is the greatest.
Speaker A:You heard it from nj.
Speaker A:You heard it from NJ and then I saw Thomas Mullers leaving Bayern as well.
Speaker B:Yeah, that's the end of an era as well.
Speaker A:Ah, what the hell, bro.
Speaker B:No, he's old now.
Speaker A:Yeah, fairly.
Speaker A:He's old and it had to happen.
Speaker A:But like, is he retiring or is leaving Bayern?
Speaker B:I think he's actually leaving the Bayern.
Speaker A:But it's akin to retirement, you see, that's what I'm saying.
Speaker A:Like, he must retire.
Speaker A:He's.
Speaker A:He's one of those guys that should just be in one franchise forever.
Speaker B:Yeah, but if he wants to chow money, let him chow money.
Speaker A:Like, I'm pretty sure Bayern can bring him back as an executive or something.
Speaker B:Yeah, but if wants to go chow money in Saudi, if that's his choice, let him chow money.
Speaker A:Ah, hey, excuse me.
Speaker A:Yeah, no, if he wants to chow Saudi money.
Speaker A:Look, look.
Speaker A:Ah, here, listen.
Speaker A:Go is making $600 million a year, dog.
Speaker A:A year.
Speaker A:Crazy.
Speaker A:Anyway, he talks sports and his name is Mukundi.
Speaker A:Yeah, what's good with you, dog?
Speaker A:What's good with you?
Speaker A:Are you well, my G.
Speaker A:Are you fine?
Speaker A:Yeah, you can just tell me down there, Mukundi, I'm well, Mukundi.
Speaker A:I'm fine.
Speaker A:What is happening?
Speaker A:Yo?
Speaker A:The most random beef in the history of random beefs is happening in real time.
Speaker A:Stephen A.
Speaker A:Smith, the broadcaster is beefing with LeBron James, the greatest basketball player alive today, bro.
Speaker A:Ah, what, dog?
Speaker A:What?
Speaker A:Okay, let's rewind.
Speaker A:About A month ago, LeBron James confronts Stephen A.
Speaker A:Smith.
Speaker A:Talking about.
Speaker A:You shouldn't be talking about my boy.
Speaker A:Why are you talking about my son?
Speaker A:Watch your mouth how you talk about my son.
Speaker A:And then Stephen A.
Speaker A:Said, I wasn't gonna respond until I saw that Josh Jefferson or Justin Jefferson video leak and everything.
Speaker A:And then he went on to respond for the following month.
Speaker A:He's been on a LeBron ain't lie.
Speaker A:Stephen A.
Speaker A:Has been on a Taylor Swift tour of this, bro.
Speaker A:And it's such a.
Speaker A:Why, why, why, why?
Speaker A:Why are we.
Speaker A:Why are we even paying attention to this?
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker A:Sure, it's a drama, and drama is always entertaining.
Speaker A:But like, how is this relevant, bro?
Speaker A:Stephen a.
Speaker A:Smith and LeBron is such a weird combination to beef.
Speaker A:You see, if LeBron was beefing with Kendrick Perkins because, you know, there's some history there as well.
Speaker A:There used to be teammates, and now Perk is a player turned analyst.
Speaker A:And, you know, there's always a rocky relationship between those guys.
Speaker A:You get what I'm saying?
Speaker A:That's a beef.
Speaker A:That makes sense because there's history, there are roots.
Speaker A:We didn't just wake up and there's a lemon tree in the back like, huh, huh?
Speaker A:And now Stephen A.
Speaker A:Is saying, it's because you.
Speaker A:It's because I don't think you're the goat, bro, as much as I'm pretty sure.
Speaker A:As sure as I am that LeBron doesn't like that, I don't think that's the reason for your beef.
Speaker A:Y'all need to tell us the real reason y'all are beefing, man.
Speaker A:It has to be deeper.
Speaker A:I, I.
Speaker A:My conspiracy, the theory that there's a deeper reason to all of this.
Speaker A:It can't just be because Stephen A.
Speaker A:Thinks LeBron doesn't.
Speaker A:Stephen A.
Speaker A:Thinks LeBron doesn't like him because Stephen A.
Speaker A:Doesn't think LeBron is the GOAT.
Speaker A:And it definitely can't be the fact that LeBron doesn't like Stephen A Talking about his son.
Speaker A:Because Stephen A.
Speaker A:I will defend him and say he did nothing but say good things about Bronnie.
Speaker A:The one thing I will.
Speaker A:And listen, I'm not the biggest Stephen A.
Speaker A:Fan, but I will defend the man when I say he said, I refuse to talk about Bronny.
Speaker A:I refuse to watch his games because of the expectations that have been put on him.
Speaker A:Stephen is the last person to talk, to say anything bad about Bronny.
Speaker A:If anything, if LeBron wanted to fight someone that said that, that doesn't like Bronny or someone that was actually talking all that BS about his son, Stevie is the last person.
Speaker A:There's a lot.
Speaker A:There's a lot of people at espn, at espn that talked about Bronnie and not in a good man.
Speaker A:There's a dude on a chair in Joburg that talked more crap about Bronnie than Stephen A.
Speaker A:Smith did.
Speaker A:And I don't get it.
Speaker A:And why are you tripping?
Speaker A:Why you need to put your dad hat aside and realize your son is a professional athlete and will be judged as a professional athlete.
Speaker A:And we will talk to.
Speaker A:We will talk about him the same way we talk about other professional athletes.
Speaker A:If a bad game, yeah, we gonna come here and say he put up a stinker if he has a great game, which, by the way, he's balling in the G League.
Speaker A:And shout out to him.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah, shout out to Bronnie.
Speaker A:He's killing in the G League, dropping 30 every other day.
Speaker A:But if he does have a good game, we will acknowledge the fact that Bronny had a good game.
Speaker A:And all the BS we were talking at the start of the year is all facts, by the way.
Speaker A:It's all fact.
Speaker A:He was not ready to be in the league.
Speaker A:Low key still isn't.
Speaker A:But he's made enough progress.
Speaker A:He's that good and that skilled and talented.
Speaker A:And obviously the basketball IQ is there simply because of his last name alone.
Speaker A:So he made enough progress in the.
Speaker A:For the.
Speaker A:For this season.
Speaker A:This season is practically over, actually.
Speaker A:So he's made enough progress that he actually looks like he belongs in the league now.
Speaker A:And that's all we were saying.
Speaker A:We were just saying, dog, a spot on the Lakers when he's not even ready to be in the league is not necessarily the best thing for him.
Speaker A:Let him go to the G League, develop his game.
Speaker A:That's exactly what he did.
Speaker A:And he's absolutely balling out right now.
Speaker A:It doesn't help.
Speaker A:It doesn't help that LeBron himself came out and said, bronnie is.
Speaker A:I feel like Bronnie is already better than a lot of guys in the league.
Speaker A:You do not say that, bro.
Speaker A:You do not say that.
Speaker A:And I feel bad for Bronnie James.
Speaker A:I'm.
Speaker A:I'm not gonna lie.
Speaker A:Let me talk about him for a second.
Speaker A:Here's this kid who wants to do nothing but play basketball.
Speaker A:And the.
Speaker A:You know how there's the massive weight, the unbearable weight of massive talent.
Speaker A:Well, he's facing the unbearable weight of his father's massive talent.
Speaker A:He has such big shoes to fill.
Speaker A:LeBron casts a big shadow.
Speaker A:And whoever his kid was in.
Speaker A:In whatever sport they were gonna play if they became an athlete, there was gonna be expectations that you have to be great because your father did this and he ended up being the.
Speaker A:Some people say he's the greatest basketball player of all time.
Speaker A:Some people say he's the greatest athlete of all time.
Speaker A:I don't agree, but I understand why.
Speaker A:So now here comes this kid, the goat's son, with all these expectations.
Speaker A:You have to be great or you're a bust automatically.
Speaker A:And it doesn't help that history is not kind to him.
Speaker A:The sons of stars are always scrubs.
Speaker A:They're always scrubs.
Speaker A:That's why Marcus Jordan is snorting coke with Scotty Pippen's wife on a.
Speaker A:On a boat.
Speaker A:We saw him do it.
Speaker A:But like billionaire.
Speaker A:Like the son of a billionaire doing son of a billionaire things.
Speaker A:That's what.
Speaker A:That's all I'm going to say.
Speaker A:Like, if my dad was Michael Jordan.
Speaker A:Yeah, you.
Speaker A:You might.
Speaker B:You.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:No, listen.
Speaker A:Because that's all I'm gonna say.
Speaker A:But already there's all this.
Speaker A:The all.
Speaker A:There's all this weight on his shoulders, right?
Speaker A:And what happens, the very same person who is responsible for that weight, LeBron.
Speaker A:LeBron is not wrong there.
Speaker A:It's not his fault that his.
Speaker A:That he's great.
Speaker A:And he aspires for his son to be great, too.
Speaker A:Every father wants to see their son exceed them to some level, right?
Speaker A:However, your greatness is already an impediment on your son's career and legacy, as is the last thing you should have done.
Speaker A:LeBron James is come out and say he is already better than most players in the league.
Speaker A:What do you think we're gonna do when we.
Speaker A:When we see.
Speaker A:When we see him?
Speaker A:What do you think we're gonna say when we see him?
Speaker A:We're gonna say, you lied.
Speaker A:And we're gonna say, Bronnie's a scrub, which is not fair to him because he's not a scrub.
Speaker A:He's clearly a good player.
Speaker A:You see what he's doing in the G League?
Speaker A:He just needed time.
Speaker A:He just needed to grow into the player that he is.
Speaker A:We can't all start out great like LeBron James, not Junior.
Speaker A:And I feel bad for Bronny, man.
Speaker A:I really do.
Speaker A:Hopefully it'll be a lot better for Bryce.
Speaker A:I'm just happy to see him balling.
Speaker A:He almost died last year.
Speaker A:He almost died.
Speaker A:Died.
Speaker A:He almost died, bro.
Speaker A:Cardiac.
Speaker A:Arrested at 19.
Speaker A:That.
Speaker A:That wasn't nice.
Speaker A:And now just to see him balling again, should be a win.
Speaker A:But unfortunately, it's clouded by all this BS.
Speaker A:Stephen A.
Speaker A:And LeBron and Bronnie.
Speaker A:Go hoop.
Speaker A:Do your thing.
Speaker A:And it's gonna be great to watch your career, man.
Speaker A:LeBron.
Speaker A:Stephen a.
Speaker A:I.
Speaker A:Get a room.
Speaker A:Damn.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:I, I.
Speaker A:Anyway, the NBA, dog, while we here.
Speaker A:The NBA is crazy right now.
Speaker A:The MVP race is going crazy.
Speaker A:The standings in the west, my bro, I saw this graphic, right?
Speaker A:And I had to save it and show you.
Speaker A:I'll try to put it somewhere in frame here because the Western Conference standings, as is, are some of the craziest you will ever see.
Speaker A:Tell me why the last couple of teams.
Speaker A:There we go.
Speaker A:There's between the first seed, between the second seed and the eighth seed.
Speaker A:There's a one and a Half game difference.
Speaker A:It's the wild, wild West.
Speaker A:It's the wild, wild West.
Speaker A:For real.
Speaker A:NBA standings.
Speaker A:Look at this.
Speaker A:So the eight seed Grizzlies have 46 wins and 32 losses.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:The the third seed Lakers have 40.
Speaker A:They have 48 wins and 30 losses.
Speaker A:That's the West.
Speaker A:That's the West.
Speaker A:And shout out to the west because, man, that trade deadline just flipped everything.
Speaker A:The Lakers are now the third seed.
Speaker A:The.
Speaker A:The warriors are now the sixth seed.
Speaker A:The Clippers are the fifth seed.
Speaker A:And it's gonna be interesting to see who makes it to the play ins and who doesn't make it to the play in.
Speaker A:My biggest disappointments from each conference.
Speaker A:Definitely askies while we here, actually, yeah, I said I'm gonna incorporate this.
Speaker A:My biggest disappointments in the NBA right now are the Phoenix Suns.
Speaker A:In the west, you got Devin Booker, Bradley Beal and Kevin Durant on the same team, and you have a 0.8 chance of making the playoffs.
Speaker A:Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, K.D.
Speaker A:beal in his prime, which was three years ago.
Speaker A:He was a bucket.
Speaker A:He was competing with Steph for the scoring title.
Speaker A:KD is a bucket.
Speaker A:Book is a bucket.
Speaker A:You got a great coach in coach, bud.
Speaker A:Make it work.
Speaker A:I don't care.
Speaker A:You got three.
Speaker A:You got two great players and an all star caliber player with a Hall of Fame coach, a champion.
Speaker A:Make it work.
Speaker A:I don't care.
Speaker A:Doesn't make sense.
Speaker A:I'm not saying go win a championship, but get to the playoffs.
Speaker A:How can be chilling in Cabo in April, bro.
Speaker A:Ha.
Speaker A:April.
Speaker A:Kevin Durant should be playing basketball in April.
Speaker A:Devin Booker should be playing basketball in April.
Speaker A:Not chilling.
Speaker A:Bradley Beal, I don't really care much.
Speaker A:He can.
Speaker A:They can trade him, but he has a no trade clause.
Speaker A:And in the east, the 76ers, why, same story.
Speaker A:You have Joel Embiid, you have Paul George.
Speaker A:You have Tyrus Maxey.
Speaker A:Man, you have.
Speaker A:You have.
Speaker A:What's this boy's name?
Speaker A:The.
Speaker A:The best player on the team now.
Speaker A:No, no, not the best player.
Speaker A:Sorry.
Speaker A:Tobias Harris.
Speaker A:As Jimmy Butler said, Tobias Harris over me.
Speaker A:Yeah, he ain't lie.
Speaker A:What's happening?
Speaker A:The Philadelphia 76ers are the 13th seed in the West.
Speaker A:In the east, this is a team that.
Speaker A:That had championship expectations at the start of the season.
Speaker A:We brought Paul George, we got Joel Embiid, we got Tyrese Maxey.
Speaker A:Sure.
Speaker A:Health is a big problem here and it's not really fair, but I don't care.
Speaker A:You didn't meet your expectations.
Speaker A:Simple.
Speaker A:So next week I will actually Have a proper conversation about the playoffs and everything else.
Speaker A:Because I want to get violent real quick.
Speaker A:Just real quick.
Speaker A:One minute to acknowledge one man.
Speaker A:One minute to acknowledge one man.
Speaker A:He has retired.
Speaker A:I thought he did that two years ago, but he has retired.
Speaker A:Julio Jones has retired.
Speaker A:One of the best.
Speaker A:One of the best receivers of his generation.
Speaker A:A lot of people forget, forget just how bad Julio Jones was, especially when he was with the Falcons.
Speaker A:There's a reason Tom Brady was like, ayo.
Speaker A:I know I'm old.
Speaker A:I know Julio is old, but bring him here.
Speaker A:Terrell Owens always says, the one player that reminds me the most of me is Julio Jones.
Speaker A:So shout out to Julio Jones.
Speaker A:It's unfortunate that you never won a championship.
Speaker A:Oh, hey, Julio Jones was on the Falcons team when they played the Patriots.
Speaker B:Why he retired.
Speaker B:This is why.
Speaker B:It's that, that, that feel that.
Speaker B:That super bowl broke him and he broke him.
Speaker A:And then Tom Brady was like, hey, yo, Doc, I'm trying to win one with.
Speaker A:Come try to win one with me.
Speaker B:Did he win one?
Speaker A:That was.
Speaker A:That was Brady's last season.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:You see?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:But anyway, shout out Julio Jones.
Speaker A:Congratulations.
Speaker A:You are one of the best receivers of.
Speaker A:Of your generation.
Speaker A:You are all time.
Speaker A:000.
Speaker B:Oh man.
Speaker A:I'm sorry.
Speaker A:But he like it enough to put a ring on it.
Speaker A:All right, cool.
Speaker A:Let us get violent.
Speaker A:UFC 314 is here.
Speaker A:Alex the Great is fighting.
Speaker A:I love it.
Speaker A:I love it.
Speaker A:Alexander Volkanovski is fighting for the flyaway title that he lost to Ilya Toporia by.
Speaker A:Yo, yo.
Speaker A:I watched Kamaru Usman get knocked out.
Speaker A:I watched Israel Adesanya get knocked out.
Speaker A:I watched Max Holloway get knocked out.
Speaker A:What happened after this?
Speaker A:But still, none of those kos were as devastating as watching Alexander Volkanovsky get put to sleep by the young bull Elliot Poria.
Speaker A:Well, Topuria is a bad man.
Speaker A:I ain't even gonna take it from that.
Speaker A:Was.
Speaker A:Yo, he.
Speaker A:Yo, he hit.
Speaker A:Hey, yo, yo, hands of stone that boy got.
Speaker A:That boy hits.
Speaker A:And he beat Volkanovsky in convincing fashion.
Speaker A:And I can't even hate.
Speaker A:However, before we got to see the rematch, he vacated his title and is moving up to lightweight, which now leaves us with a conundrum.
Speaker A:Who's the champ?
Speaker A:Well, we will find out this Saturday.
Speaker A:Alexander Volkanovski, the champion, once again trying to regain his throne and sit at the top of the light of the flyweight division, going up against the young up and comer Diego Lopez, who is a devastating knockout puncher and a Brazilian jiu jitsu Master who's been doing Jiu jitsu with his little sister in the backyard since he was 8 years old.
Speaker A:It's gonna be a great fight.
Speaker A:That's all I can tell you.
Speaker A:It's gonna be a great fight.
Speaker A:However, Volkanovski is 37, coming off of bad, bad KO losses.
Speaker A:He took a year off, sure, he took a year off.
Speaker A:Got his body right, got his brain right.
Speaker A:Says he's feeling the best.
Speaker A:Says he feels the best he's ever felt in his entire life.
Speaker A:But they always say that and then they get put to sleep.
Speaker A:Israel Adesanya said that a month ago and he said, I feel good.
Speaker A:I feel like this, the old Izzy.
Speaker A:And then Imavov did what he did.
Speaker A:I still love Izzy.
Speaker A:Still the reason I watch ufc.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:But yeah, age is a thing in combat sports.
Speaker A:And when you're fight.
Speaker A:When you're 30 years old fighting against a 37 year old, actually, Diego Lopez is young, dog.
Speaker A:My bad, my bad.
Speaker A:I had the tab open right here.
Speaker A:Diego Lopez is a very, very young man.
Speaker A:94.
Speaker A:Yeah, 30.
Speaker A:So I was right.
Speaker A:Just enter his prime.
Speaker A:Was.
Speaker A:He's in his prime fighting a 37 year old.
Speaker A:Next week away, Volkanovsky, do the right thing.
Speaker A:I'm with you.
Speaker A:Diego Lopez wins.
Speaker A:I ain't even mad.
Speaker A:I understand.
Speaker A:It's the way of the game and he's a great fighter.
Speaker A:So, yeah, a better man will have won.
Speaker A:You got anything for me?
Speaker B:N.J.
Speaker B:you guys are briny haters.
Speaker B:That's what it is.
Speaker B:This is what it is.
Speaker B:You guys are just sad that you guys are not nipple babies as well.
Speaker B:You guys are sad that Your father's not LeBron James and he's not worth a billion dollars getting cash for playing in.
Speaker A:The one thing I love the most about Bronnie is the fact that he is a Nepo baby.
Speaker A:No.
Speaker A:Because you know why?
Speaker A:I'm going to bring Race into it.
Speaker A:If one of the owners were to just say, yo, I got a son, Hugh Hoops, put him on the squad, no one would have batted an eye.
Speaker A:LeBron is the closest thing to a player owner you'll ever get in the NBA.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I think the problem is he made too much of a noise.
Speaker B:Had he just.
Speaker B:Had he just been like, oh, my son's in there.
Speaker B:How did that happen?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Had he not said three years ago, I want to play with my son.
Speaker B:If you want to draft me, draft my son.
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:I generally don't have a problem with being a nipple baby.
Speaker B:I don't have a problem with that.
Speaker B:And I just, I just don't, I.
Speaker A:Don'T, I condone such.
Speaker B:I, I, I condone such like doing the exact same with my children.
Speaker A:No other way.
Speaker A:The exact same family business.
Speaker B:The problem is, and I don't know how you feel about this, someone said to me that there are no rich men's sons in the major leagues.
Speaker A:They're not hungry, they don't have that.
Speaker B:Great, all of that.
Speaker B:And also in 48 laws of power, they say, don't try fill another great man's shoes like those King David, King Solomon.
Speaker B:King Solomon has like, oh, my dad's the greatest king to have ever existed in Israel.
Speaker B:So he's like, I'm not going to be a warrior.
Speaker B:I'm just going to be a wise man with a thousand wives.
Speaker A:So had and like a thousand concubines.
Speaker B:300 concubines, 700.
Speaker B:I don't know, like what he was smoking.
Speaker A:And of men of God, hey, like man of God.
Speaker B:So do you think it would have been different For Bronnie if LeBron had one just kept quiet about it and had not given him his same name and rather had him go to, like a different team to start off in a different team in a much less known franchise and then traded later on?
Speaker B:Would that have helped?
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:He should have let him blaze his own path.
Speaker A:I'll give you a great example.
Speaker A:Gary Payton has a son in the league, and we all love Gary Payton, but we also love Gary Payton ii, because we didn't even know about him until he helped the warriors win a championship.
Speaker A:But he blazed his own path in the league.
Speaker A:He didn't.
Speaker A:We, we never even expected him to be as great as his dad because, like, if you have no expectations, you won't be disappointed.
Speaker A:You get me?
Speaker A:And he just came in.
Speaker A:Same thing with Stephen stepfather Dell Curry at the time, if he retired, he had the highest 3 point percentage ever.
Speaker A:I think he was one of the best three point shooters in history.
Speaker A:If we placed, though, if he said, yo, I got this boy Steph, he gonna come in and he gonna shoot the lights out and all of y'all gonna be sorry.
Speaker A:We would have expected Steph to start being Steph immediately.
Speaker A:Wouldn't have, we wouldn't have let him grow to be stiff.
Speaker A:And because we wouldn't have given him time and space to grow to be stiff, we would have messed with his psyche and he probably would have never been stiff.
Speaker A:That's what's happening with Bronny.
Speaker A:Had LeBron just let him come in the league, be his own man, be his own player.
Speaker A:I don't even think the LeBron James Jr.
Speaker A:Thing matters that much.
Speaker A:Like, honestly, we don't care.
Speaker A:I think sports fans are objective enough to see a great player from a good player, from a bad player.
Speaker A:Regardless whose son you are, if you're great, you're great.
Speaker A:If you're not, you're not.
Speaker A:There's no two ways about it.
Speaker B:That's.
Speaker B:That's very true.
Speaker B:It makes me think of Paolo Maldini, greatest defender ever.
Speaker B:Well, some say he's the greatest soccer defender ever.
Speaker B:For the benefit of Isha, I'll call it soccer.
Speaker A:Thank you.
Speaker B:He played.
Speaker B:His father was a great defender, was winning champions leagues and everything.
Speaker B:Then he became one of the greatest defenders ever.
Speaker B:No one I say is the greatest.
Speaker B:Some say arguably one of the greatest.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Now his son, Paolo Maldi iii, is also a great footballer.
Speaker B:And not a single one of them did what LeBron James did.
Speaker A:Exactly.
Speaker B:They just kept quiet and let him in.
Speaker A:Okay, that's all I got.
Speaker A:Let him blaze his own path.
Speaker A:He'll be okay.
Speaker B:Too late.
Speaker A:Because if he's good, he's good.
Speaker A:But if he's not.
Speaker A:Ah, you understand.
Speaker A:Whose son is he?
Speaker A:Sorry, Mr.
Speaker A:Mr.
Speaker A:Bennet.
Speaker A:Anyway, bro, this has been episode 32, Magic Johnson.
Speaker A:32, dog, 32.
Speaker A:All right, shout out to me, shout out to me.
Speaker A:We're going a bit slow this year, but.
Speaker A:Yo, Crazy year.
Speaker A:And it's the first quarter.
Speaker A:Well, we just finished it, but like my Glado boy didn't lie.
Speaker A:Wait, he said crazy year and it's the first quarter.
Speaker A:Anyway, go watch sports, have fun, be nice to your mother, and as always, enjoy the violence.
Speaker A:Ah, Man City is coming.
