Transcription
The NBA All-Star reserve list is out, or whatever. Kawhi Leonard, somehow, someway, is not going to be in the All-Star game, which is just mind-boggling. And of course, people are making the comparison that, uh, his numbers are way better than LeBron's. He's played in more games than LeBron. All those things. It's his home arena, the Intuit Dome, and somehow in Los Angeles. Don't forget, Kawhi is from Los Angeles, too.
Mhm. Riverside, to be exact.
Exactly. Right. And he's not going to be a part.
No, he wasn't laughing though. That's the problem with it.
I mean, Rob G, be there.
Yeah. I mean, well, first off, saying that Riverside is Los Angeles. Crazy.
Okay, so from the area.
No, he's from Southern California. He's not.
Don't do that, because Paul George gets to claim he's from. No, he does not either.
Palmdale is not Los Angeles.
Okay, I got you, bro. Southern California.
Southern California. That's like saying you're Philadelphia. I'm also from New York. No, you're not. You're from Philadelphia. That's like the same distance. It's like, anyway.
You would know better. You're from here. But anyway.
Got spicy today, dude.
He's like, I was born in Los Angeles. Don't be giving everybody here the whole first hour.
Now he over here getting excited about that, boy. Y'all LA people.
But you know what, Rob G? And and I, what I'm going to do is I'm going to agree with you to a certain extent. When people say that they're from New York and they're really from Buffalo or Syracuse, you ain't from New York. You know what I mean? Yeah. New York. New Yorkers, as in New York City. Y'all have taken those. You can't. No other place in New York is said they're from New York. You better hurry up and clarify.
You from Buffalo.
You got 10 seconds to clarify.
People do that though.
And then they said they're from Queens. Oh, is that in your? Don't you compare us to Brooklyn. We are not the same. But anyways, yes, the All-Star reserves were announced over the weekend.
And you mentioned it. LeBron James was the big headliner, right? 22nd NBA All-Star game appearance for him. Congratulations to LeBron. Obviously, it's a big accomplishment. Extends his record that he's already had for about two years now. But if you do a quick Google search where you search LeBron James All-Star, the top search that comes right after that is, "How did LeBron get in over Kawhi Leonard?"
Because if you, you mentioned it, Rob, you look down the stats, Kawhi Leonard has him beat on every major statistical category, say for assists per game. LeBron's got that and field goal percentage, which LeBron is up by half a percent.
That's it. But in terms of games played, points, rebounds, steals, blocks, three-point, free throw, box plus/minus, VORP, everything favors Kawhi Leonard. In fact, Kawhi Leonard is averaging a career-high 27.7 points per game. He's on track to join that exclusive 50/40/90 club, and he currently leads the league in steals.
And only like 10 guys are in that, am I right? Like the, that that club. He is having one of those seasons that you only talk about, you know, years down the line. So, the question becomes.
What's the question, Rob G?
How the hell did LeBron James get the nod over Kawhi Leonard?
And you know what?
What?
Because the NBA forced the issue and put him in with the idea that maybe this is going to be it. That maybe he's not going to, uh, that that he's not going to play after this year. That this is a real possibility. Because here's my pushback to the NBA and why I think it's terrible. The fans didn't vote him in, knowing that this could be the last one, too.
His own players and peers didn't vote him in. And the idea that the NBA took it, the fans and the players already spoke. It would have been easy not to have them this time because the, the everybody else has spoken. The fans. We're all the LeBron fans. There's nothing but all these. LeBron's my GOAT. Dude, he got 1.5 million less votes and Luka got 1.5 more million more votes than he did when he was in Dallas.
So, they went somewhere, right? The votes. And they could have easily said, "You know what? The people have spoken. His peers have spoken. We don't need to get involved in this." And yet, they still did it. And I think it stinks.
Man, listen, you, you spent 20 years in Detroit. And you know what, people? I'm mad that I'm mad that my stepfather, dang it, I'mma say it for him. 50 years he worked at the GM plant there. And you know what they didn't give him? They didn't give him a parting gift. They didn't give him a gold watch. They didn't give him a Cadillac. You've been making Cadillacs for 50 years. Here's a Cadillac on your way out.
They could have at least given him the bumper.
Something. Give him a, a ceremonial gold steering wheel or something.
He didn't get anything.
No, I'm serious. And so my point is, this is the NBA's version of, hey, you put in the NBA version of 50 years with this league. Here you go. Go ahead and get in this All-Star game. You've been carrying the league. You've been the face of the league for better or for worse for the last couple of decades. And that's the pick why they got. And, and gameplay-wise, Kawhi has been spectacular. You could argue Kawhi's been a top five player the last month and a half or two. I mean, he's been incredible.
And look at what the Clippers have done.
Started off, look at this. They started off 6 and 21. You thought this is it's a wrap. This season is terrible. Fire Ty Lue. Get rid of this guy. Harden should retire. You're running ready for that. They've been 17 and 8 out of their last 25 games. They've inched their way back. Now they're in the nice spot, which would be the play-in. And, uh, and they made, you know, they made a little, little thing of 23 and 25. So they look like they were dead.
They did. And so Kawhi's going crazy. Looking like he's back in Toronto right now. Looking like at some point he might go, "I don't even know where you are." And he's been spectacular. But this is the thing. As much as LeBron's history got him in this position where he gets in, I think Kawhi's history got him out. He's always out. He's injured. He's playing. He's playing well. We like, "Oh my gosh, then he's out again. Then he didn't play." And then the lack of personality. And I think of all years.
Right? But I think it worked at a disadvantage for him where it's easier to go, "Ah, we'll put LeBron in because all the stuff I mentioned, 23 years of this, he's been a face of the league. This might be the last one. Get him in." Kawhi. You just don't know anything about him. You don't hear him. You don't see him. He's hurt you. And he's been playing well.
This is his home arena, though.
That does make it. Now, that does make it interesting that your Harden got in. Um.
So do they have anybody? Rob G.
No, the, the Clippers do not. Steve.
That's crazy.
Steve Palmer is there. He ain't even in it. Ty Lue ain't in it. Nobody in it. They might even kick Chuck Dondor out when, uh, once the team starts playing. That's outrageous to have it in your building.
They might fry the condor up, Rob G. Yeah. So, but I just think that's the thing. I think the, I think LeBron's history of being the face of the league and all the good.
But, but what you don't agree with me that given the, the fans not voting for him and his own peers that gave you a chance to make that leap without having to feel.
Jay-Z had a song, one of my favorites. It's called "Politics as Usual." This is politics as usual. Meaning this is sometimes I got to make a move as a, either you Adam Silver, commissioner of a league, or owners or coaches that makes sense for the league. And putting him in there, if this is his last one, it's in LA, it makes sense. We're going to, right or wrong, maybe they feel that the fans didn't vote him in and we're going to take care of him. I don't know that Kawhi Leonard. And here's the other quiet part, and it's loud if you're Pablo Tori. Is there some part of this scandal we don't want Kawhi there? We don't want Kawhi to be there. Don't care about that. You really believe that? I don't believe that. I do think there's a, if you put all the slices of come down, yeah, you're in, you're innocent until proven guilty. What, what exactly?
And what I don't want is if it, if it comes down to that guy or that guy, meaning LeBron or Kawhi, I'm going to say the guy who's been speaking up, who's been the face of the league, who does all the commercials, who does all this, man, I'm saying he's. Kawhi would I pick him? He never endorses the league. He never does anything.
He just plays. Everybody home. And he does. And he's incredible. I'm not knocking this.
But there are guys like that. Everybody can't be out front. You don't. You love Barry Sanders. Give me two words Barry Sanders said when he was a player other than "I quit."
"I quit." Seriously.
"I retired."
Did you lose respect? Barry Sanders wasn't that guy. He was a great player who never said anything.
But I, people adore. Leonard has gone out of his way to be a bit more adversarial. When you think of Barry, you think of highlights. Many people when they think of Kawhi, they think of load management.
No, when I think of Kawhi, I think of the greatest laugh to be played as a drop on radio history. Am I right, Alex?
Hit it, Alex.
The greatest. Okay.
All right. Well, I'll do it then. I don't even know where you sitting. I don't even know where you are.
No, we want the real one. The, the long with the.
Tell me that's not the greatest laugh of all time. It's only great because we never heard him talk, let alone laugh before.
The first time I heard that, I was like, "This is gold."
I watched it 42 times. I made my wife watch it 30 of them. And the best part, you didn't laugh the first time you heard it.
Is there anything we don't know about you? I'm a fun guy. Sound real fun. And what would you like people to know about you?
Um, I'm a fun guy. Uh, obviously I love the game of basketball. I can't give you a whole, um.
I mean, it's just more questions you have to ask me, um, in order for me to tell you about myself. I just can't give you a whole spill.
I don't even know where you sitting at.
What is that?
It was just the. It wasn't even that funny. Like he's been around at that point for like eight or nine years.
I've never heard of. I'm with you. I'm like.
And then that's the part that makes him laugh out loud.
Oh, that's great. But I do think again, this is the ceremonial 50 years at GM. Here's your gold Cadillac, Mr. Wade. Shout out to, uh, my step-pops Wade. Here's your Rolex. And I think this is LeBron getting that. And dang it, why my great, my step-pops ain't get one?
They could have given him a K car from Chrysler.
They could have what? What? Could have went to Kroger's and got.