not only in this regard will help our ship
more generally in the league. I love you, your respective.
I know you're always talking about the MVP odds, but I'd
love to hear what you got for me. On the power shifting to be
a.
I think it was interesting because we talked about this in
the last seven off, but I put up a post about the odds this
week, for through our partners, NBC Partners at points, but
about
MVP odds. And who are your three favorite? Sluka Don
Cheech. Is
number one and tied for, number two are Giannis, antetokounmpo
and Joel embiid with yo Kitsch, the two-time winner third and
I get or I mean forth. And I get why he's fourth because,
I mean, the last guy to 3 people was Larry Bird.
40 years ago, it's unlikely
to and I'm saying you can't do it. It's just, that's a,
that's a mountain to climb, but
All four players. I just mentioned.
They are not American Born. They're not like they are.
I mean,
and being came out of Kentucky in America, you know,
the American system a little bit but
it is a shift in terms of
these are guys who came out of systems, where
team, basketball was more first than the kind of individualized
basketball the comes through the, a you system, and maybe
that is an impact. And it's, I know it's discussed around
the NBA. I mean, I think you've seen it.
Yeah, I think we're seeing here is a the road widening, right?
So,
And this is why in the context of our conversation around
Divas. This is really fasting, a fool of this comment by Luca
dungeon.
He was on a date, a red X podcast.
And he's like, yeah, man, I was trying to get your kids to like,
get an Instagram
and he's like no chance,
no chance. And Luke was trying to explain to JJ. You can make
a lot of money doing Tick-Tock initiative and treated all this
stuff. But like he was saying that yoga is just loves his
horses.
The guy just loves horses, and
not in the, you know,
I don't think so.
I'm like, that's why this do is the man and I feel like we're
seeing two different like like a the Divergence though
on the elite level and we're not talking about role players,
but I think that's a whole different time. I like
the cream of the crop who are the faces of the NBA talent wise,
all those players are European
or international players.
And I think that the way that they operate is just so
different than like the superstar diva way that this
generation in America operates because
I think There's like this pre-professional program where
it's very much like you discovered by Disney Channel,
you know, your child actor. And then you want to go be, you
know, a movie star or whatever. But then you eat a pan out
because the hype was too large or, you know, you become some
sort of amazing talent.
I think that this this kind of latent chain in the European
system is a good thing quite frankly because you'll get was
a second-round draft pick. Yeah,
you know. So it's like you know, yanis wasn't top five,
you know.
So so you think about like some of this lady thing I think is
a good I think for these guys
because I think expectations are a little off and the fact
that yogesh is a back-to-back MVP which is like a short list
you're talking to guys like LeBron James like
become like Larry Bird and he's not even when you think
you're going to ask my randomly on the NBA who like one of
the best players in the history of the NBA. And if you're thinking
about a three-peat
of an MVP, I don't know if people would just immediately
say. Oh, yo koj. Yeah, your plan.
I don't know. But I think I think he's got a secure his
Legacy more in the postseason. And by the way, I think that
that can start this year, they're finally healthy with
with Jamal Murray and Michael Porter jr. And knock on wood
if they're healthy, they're going to be a dangerous team.
Come the playoffs. It's a long time away but like
I think you can start to secure a little more of that, but that
said
the European system is just
you know, if you come up as an a you start, if you're Jason
Tatum or Jama rant or Devin Booker,
And by the time you're 14,
the ball is in your hands pretty much every time down
the court in an isolationist at right. Like
you're going into these games, these AAU coaches want to win
your high school coach wants to win and they know the best way
to do that is just to give their best player,
the ball all the time
and I don't know, you get these the players who come out of
the European system where it's a more team-based lot. More
cutting a lot more ball movement partially because of
the way the rules.
Those are enforced in the physicality that's allowed,
but you get a lot more of that. I think,
once they translate that to the NBA, you see yogesh is an MVP
in part because he's the best passing big man, we have ever
seen. Like he just, if you cut around, yo cat, you will be
rewarded, right?
If you cut around Dodge, its you will be rewarded.
Yanis, is kind of his own
Use the Greek break. They're just not another yacht has but
his playmaking skills are better. He's improved he sets
guys up and
it's I think that broader range sometimes
allows you to excel as an individual but lift your
teammates up in a way I'm not sure.
Maybe it just takes longer for
adjacent a time to learn that? No, I think it's I think it's
actually, this will happen that my opinion because of that
situation you described in America
And the fact that by the way, not
not like it in other countries and stuff. It's all connected.
Like, Federation all the way down. So it's consistent level
of coaching because it's run by the same organization. Whereas
in the United States like anyone can start, you know,
anyone can have a deity, anyone can like coach, Ohio,
he's kind of teams.
So you're learning all these different styles of coaching by
people who may, or may not be good coaches. And then by
the time you get to College, which really early to spend
a semester there and you're going to League. It's
a pre-professional program or just go straight to
the g-league. So let's say, for instance, you have 18
years of
wildly. Consistent coaching, right?
Then you get into the league and you finally meet a master,
you get their cholesterols, you get Erik Spoelstra, you get,
you know, coach Popovich, you get, you know, like, Brad
Stevens. Coaching you basketball now,
Steve Kerr coaching you
and they're like, wait, as I go
like where the fundamentals, we're all the basic building
blocks. You have the athletic Talent you've been playing off
of talent. Now, let's break you down,
you know, and then teach you the fundamentals and then build
you back up. Up there issue is one the Eagle Point and that
I was the number one draft pick. You know, I want the first
round draft
pick in the NBA.
What I've been doing, has brought me this far. I have
a millionaire now. I come from nothing or whatever. Like, what
do you mean you want to change my shot? When you mean? I don't
know how to play basketball.
That is hard enough
and then the second part two is like the fan expectation.
We're paying this guy, a lot of money
and it's going to take you five or seven years to get him back
to a place. You know, Bill take them down and build it back up
like
what it is. It perform we're going to trade him. We're going
to ask you to work on. Come from somebody's head and
someone's gonna get fired. And I think that's what you see in
some of these places where they give great coaching,
or people are just their patients or gets,
you know, exhausted
people are like, okay, we're not going to wait, five years for
whatever Ben Gunn need to teach these New Orleans Pelicans how
to play basketball, you know? Yep. It's like
I think that's why.
It's one of the reasons I think Kawhi Leonard got to be
a success and I think Jonathan commingle is could be the same
kind of thing
because he went there.
Who goes to San Antonio
and they can bring him along slowly and
take advantage of teaching him how to use that athleticism in
a proper way in a team game because
we already got Duncan Ginobili in part. We're going to win
a ton of games so it doesn't matter. Isn't that sort of
where Jonathan coming in and to what degree Moody is, right?
And James Weisman, and my
entire team. That's why the Warriors to me. That's why
Andrew Wiggins, that's why I'm iming opinion. He's experienced
a Revival. Will Renaissance
because he went through that system of
top draft pick be the guy but then as you're trying to
unlearn and relearn
the team is failing, and then it's like we timed you own
this, you contradict goodbye good riddance. Now he had
protection and culture and it's also the thing about cultures
that in the sense of protection,
it doesn't necessarily matter if you have one or two down
Seasons, I remember once that broke his hand because they're
like stiffen curves and going to get fired
after one Bad season, whereas like Volvo won a championship
in Frank. Vogel and championship in La was fire you
know like
a couple years later so it's the fact that there is that
stability there. It's okay soldiers not to get fired at
this. Miami Heat have a bad Seasons. You know,
he still be able to teach Tyler hero how to play basketball
stability of culture, I think
and I think that goes to ownership its
ownership. Good ownership remains like the greatest
secret weapon in pro sports, like just
let stability of ownership and stability of culture and style.
Like like you said,
The heat are the heat. They're going to be the heat even and
and the Spurs are that way to a degree. Popovich will step away
in the next
whenever Popovich wants to step away but you know, it probably
in the next few years,
but I do you really don't think their culture is changing,
right? Like it's not going to nothing is really shifting for
them. We're asked by the way,
just as a counter.
You really seeing a shift in how you Tha does things
largely, since the Millers gave up on shipping Ryan Smith comes
in and buys the team and it's not necessarily good or bad but
it is definitely
a shift in how they're
trying to approach things
because that started at the top and I think consistency
over time matters
matters so much. He's like especially if you're not in
The Knicks are going to make money
regardless because they're the Knicks and the Lakers will make
money because they're the Lakers.
And I'm about not to knock those two ownerships in
particular. But like, if you were in Miami, or if you're in
Utah, or if you're in San Antonio, or if you're in
Memphis, you need that consistency
of organization to make it really work because you can't just
reset the button and go get a free agent, like some teams game.