In short
NBA talk focused on (1) Dillon Brooks’ trash talk backfiring after Kevin Durant breaks his ankle, (2) Jayson Tatum returning to Madison Square Garden after a right Achilles tear, (3) JJ Redick criticizing the Lakers’ execution in a loss to OKC, and (4) Max Kellerman/others debating Cooper Flagg vs Luka, plus Ant-Man vs KD for the 2026 playoffs.
Guests/backgrounds
The episode is hosted by Joe and “Uncle Ocho,” with “JJ Redick” and “Max Kellerman” referenced as commentators; Brian Windhorst is also referenced for the Ant-Man vs KD claim.
Key claims
Brooks’ antics don’t affect KD’s game—yet the hosts argue Brooks still “made you go into that bag.” Tatum’s return jitters are normal but he’ll be fine; the Celtics- Knicks game will be physical. Redick says Lakers players weren’t doing their jobs (Vando/ Ayton issues; early timeout/sub). Kellerman prefers Cooper Flagg over Luka for defense/“one-through-five” potential; Windhorst prefers Ant-Man over KD for 2026 playoffs.
Notable examples
Brooks’ “nasty” ankle-break clip; Tatum’s Achilles injury location at MSG; Lakers down 42-42 then 69-47 after a big run; Redick calling a timeout 16 seconds into Q2 to sub Vando; KD’s recent playoff history (one series win since leaving Golden State) and Ant-Man’s multiple series wins.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VODylan Brooks vs. Kevin Durant: Trash Talk and Consequences
0:46 to 3:18
Discussion on the impact of trash talking in basketball, featuring Dylan Brooks and KD.
“Hey, man, better watch who you talking to sometime.”
Jayson Tatum's Return to Madison Square Garden
3:19 to 7:22
Analysis of Jayson Tatum's return after injury and concerns surrounding it.
“Just under a year after tearing his right Achilles tenant in Madison Square Garden, Jason Tatum will make his return Thursday when he and the Celtics take on the Knicks.”
JJ Reddick Calls Out Lakers Team Performance
7:23 to 9:20
Exploration of JJ Reddick's critique of the Lakers following a poor performance.
“he's going to play since his return if we just keeping it 100.”
Evaluating Lakers' Challenges and Player Performance
9:21 to 13:20
Discussion on the Lakers' struggles with key players absent and overall performance.
“Reddick crawled out the entire team on ruin.”
Analyzing Coaching Styles
14:00 to 15:00
Discussion about the meticulous nature of coaching and preparation.
“Hell, my nose probably only I can read it.”
Lakers' Recent Performance
15:00 to 18:00
Analyzing the Lakers' disappointing home game and player expectations.
“my coach told me one time, I said, Sean, sometimes I got a lot to them.”
Defensive Expectations and Player Performance
18:00 to 21:00
Discussion on player performance under pressure and expectations from a top draft pick.
“But I think that's why I couldn't coach him.”
Debating Cooper Flagg vs. Luka Dončić
21:00 to 22:40
A spirited debate on the potential of Cooper Flagg compared to Luka Dončić.
“Hey, I remember my brother, my grandma, my brother did something.”
Luka's Greatness and Defensive Skills
22:40 to 25:00
Exploring Luka Dončić's skills and how they compare to other players.
“you know what I mean He a hell of a shooter, a hell of a scorer.”
The Reality of Losing in the NBA
25:00 to 28:00
Discussing the psychological impact of losing frequently in the NBA.
“Yeah, he's been everything they imagined.”
Show all 16 chapters
Casual Banter and Set-Up
28:01 to 28:24
Participants engage in light-hearted conversation while setting the stage for deeper discussions.
“I know y 'all probably ain't got nothing in front of y 'all.”
Debating Ant-Man vs. KD for Playoffs
28:25 to 30:04
A lively debate unfolds around Brian Windhorst's claim of Ant-Man being a better choice than KD for upcoming playoffs.
“Hey, your girl, she seen my lady at the gym.”
Evaluating KD's Playoff History
30:05 to 31:58
The group analyzes Kevin Durant's playoff history and the perceptions surrounding his performance post-Golden State.
“I think the way Ant-Man competes, you know, he let it be known.”
The Impact of Team Dynamics
31:59 to 34:20
Discussion revolves around the dynamics of teams and players, specifically regarding KD's past teams and their playoff results.
“So we got to have somebody that's great and everything.”
Shifting Perspectives on Aging Players
34:21 to 36:29
Exploration of how aging impacts player performance and the perception of veteran players in the league.
“Yeah, right now, it's a lot of people who would take Ant-Man over KD right now.”
Future of the NBA
36:30 to 38:46
Predictions and discussions about the future of the NBA, focusing on the evolution of teams and star players.
“meaning defensively you know, rebounding I mean, his thing was in the Golden State, he was a tremendous help defender, like you said, he was 7 foot tall I mean, what 7 footer you know if he's sitting in a chair?”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00Shannon Sharpe:Dylan Brooks taught all that trash to KD just to immediately get his ankle broken. Take a look at this clip, guys.
0:06Chad Johnson:This was nasty.
0:14Let's go, baby.
0:22Let's go.
0:25Chad Johnson:Wait, kid. Hold on. Did y 'all see how when he caught the ball, he looked left like he was going toward the pick and he rejected real quick? Hell, Dylan Brooks didn't know what the hell was going on. That man stumbled twice. He touched earth twice, and he just calmly knocked down the middie. Hey, man, better watch who you talking to sometime. Yeah. Hey, Slim Reaper. He ain't playing no games out there. I like to see when dudes do. But I like to see when dudes talk stuff. I like watching Dylan Brooks play in his antics, him being emotional. But, hey, man, sometimes they don't do nothing but turn some guys up, bro.
1:05Chad Johnson:It turns some cats up, man, to the point. Yeah, after the game, KD said that, you know, Dylan Brooks ain't got no effect on his game. That's a lie. That man, hey, he made you go into that bag. You know, somebody go to talking to you. It'll make you pull out what you got. Oh, yeah. And the funny thing about it, Dylan Brooks, he go at everybody, especially the better players when he competing against you know the kds or the lebrons he's gonna antagonize you he's gonna get in your ear a little bit try to throw you off the rocker
1:32Shannon Sharpe:but but them great players they don't they don't bother that don't bother them that might bother lesser tier players you don't play at that level you think dylan brooks is the first guy to try to get up i don't know sir yeah i mean think about lebron he had how he had to deal with a uh land stevenson blowing all in his ear doing all the foolishness yeah he they these guys used to it. Cameras called KD saying, my worst season is better than your best season.
2:02Chad Johnson:Hey, there's some truth in that. It's levels to everything, Joe, but when you out there competing and you a talker, Dylan Brooks always been a talker. You ain't said none of that. He always been one that going antagonize you. You're going to get this work. I don't care what your seasons look like. Whether it's better than my best or not, I'm going to talk this shit. I think that they by them getting traded for one another pretty much, I think that's kind of, you know, it may be a little something there.
2:31Shannon Sharpe:A little bad blood, Joe, you think? It may be a little something there. Boy, you trade for Dylan Brooks with Kevin Durant. As much as you talk, you ain't bothering him, D-Lyman, did, JoJo. You know who to bother? Hey, D-B, come here. No, I ain't talking to you. I'm talking to him. I'm talking to safety. I'm talking to you, too. You're a chump, too.
2:55Man, look, I love it.
2:58Shannon Sharpe:You know, that's what Dylan Brooks is doing is more to get him going, himself going, than impact. Because when you're dealing with those level of guys, that issue ain't got nothing to do with them.
3:10Chad Johnson:Right. But if they end up meeting in the playoffs, it's going to be some smoke. It's going to be some smoke. Trust me.
3:24Shannon Sharpe:Just under a year after tearing his right Achilles tenant in Madison Square Garden, Jason Tatum will make his return Thursday when he and the Celtics take on the Knicks. Tatum said he's not exactly looking forward to it. Tatum said, I mean, yeah, I thought about it. I'm not like thrilled to go back to and play there. The last time I played there, obviously it was traumatic experience for me. Obviously, I knew at some point I would have to get over that hurdle and play there again. So it's going to have to be this Thursday, but it's not like I'm thrilled about it. but it's part of it. I've decided to come back and play.
3:56Shannon Sharpe:So I'm not necessarily skipping certain games. I can't play back to back right now, but I decided to come back and play. So it's just another game on the schedule. Joe, are you concerned about those types of comments? Normally guys like, man, I was a little jittery to go back out there the first game back because I am coming back with many thought I was going to miss this regular season, but he's like, he's not looking up as a specific place. Normally, guys, it's not the specific place. It's like the first game. Now, if the first game was back then, his first game back, Joe, I can see it. But now you've been playing two, three weeks.
4:32Shannon Sharpe:And so I'm going to get your point.
4:34Chad Johnson:Go ahead. I don't think – I think he's going to be all right, man. He's been playing great basketball since he's been back, especially over the past, what, maybe five or six games or so. But it's natural if you had an injury somewhere and you get back in that environment or in that same place, that he's going to think about it, Uncle Ocho. You know what I mean? Playing in Madison Square Garden, thinking like, damn, last time I was here, you know, it was right here in this particular spot where I was laying at when I tore my Achilles. It's going to be in the back of his mind, but I think he's going to be just fine.
5:07Chad Johnson:I think he's going to be just fine. He looks great from his movement and how he's been playing. He's been shooting the three ball better, getting to the rack. I don't think – I don't think – I think he'll be all right. Yeah. I think he'll be, hey, Unk, I ain't never been injured. So it's hard for me to say what he would be thinking about. Obviously, if you had an injury and you're going back to the place where the injury actually happened, I think it's in the back of your mind. But being a competitor, you really can't let it get in the way that you actually plan and perform at the highest level.
5:43Obviously, you want to go out there and do what you do. So I don't know. Joe, you and Unc, y 'all be better to kind of assess that. Now that he's talking about it, I was like, and it never dawned on me.
5:58Shannon Sharpe:Also, in 99, I broke my collarbone in Oakland. The next time I played in Oakland, I went 96 yards down in the middle of the field and scored a touchdown against the Reds, 2 ,000 for the Ravens. That was my first time back there. It didn't dawn on me until now. Okay, okay. it didn't even dawn on me that like man this is where I broke my collarbone last time I was here it didn't cross my mind until we started to like he started like I tore my Achilles in Madison Square Garden and I'm coming back like I said now maybe it would have been at the forefront of my mind if my first game back would have been in Oakland but because so much time had passed I'm just happy to go Going back to Oakland.
6:46Shannon Sharpe:Hey, look, and I agree with you, Joe. I think the mere fact that he's been there for three weeks and he's gotten better and better and better and better, I don't think he has anything. Me personally, I don't think he has anything to worry about. I think that tendon is as strong as it's going to be.
7:02Chad Johnson:But I do think, you know, considering that the Celtics are playing the Knicks, that's going to be a physical game, Uncle Ocho. You know, it's going to be a playoff game. See them big wings that they got? That's why the Knicks went out and got OG. That's why the Knicks went out and got Bridges. Because of what? To play against Tatum and Brown. So it's probably going to be probably one of the most physical games he's going to play since his return if we just keeping it 100. I mean, because it ain't but a couple games left. Everybody's still kind of jocking for position. You know what I mean? So it's going to be pretty intense.
7:42Shannon Sharpe:it is and man when you think about it Joe I didn't realize until like seeing like Jason Tatum's there Jason Tatum like 16
7:54Chad Johnson:man that boy tall man
7:57Shannon Sharpe:here I was thinking all this damn time he like 6 '8 nah that bofo like 16
8:01Chad Johnson:that's the advantage and that's the advantage that they have because you can play Tatum at the 4 and have your five out there. Obviously, when they had Porzingis or Al Horford, they would play him at the four and play one of those guys at the five. But they got a – I won't say a totally different team, but they got different type of bigs now. Obviously, they got Vucevic. He can shoot the three. He can spread the four. But the other kid, I can't – what's his name? Quader. Quader. I like him. Defender, rebounder, rim runner, lob threat. going to play hard, and that's what they've been missing. That's what the Celtics have been missing.
8:43Chad Johnson:It's going to be a good game tomorrow.
8:47Shannon Sharpe:Yeah, it's going to be tough because you know what? And you can't take anything away, you know, out of the matchup because I think the Celtics beat the Knicks during the regular season last year and the Knicks damn near swept them. Yeah, they did. They ain't had nothing. They ain't big-body brunson. Yeah, they have no answer. Think about it. No matter how big of a lead they had, Nick would just methodically just track them down.
9:16Chad Johnson:Yeah, because even the game Tatum got hurt, I thought he was playing great. But, hell, they were still losing. Playing unbelievable. They were losing when he got hurt.
9:31Shannon Sharpe:After the Lakers lost last night, J.J. Reddick crawled out the entire team on ruin. He wasn't doing his job. I took his ass out. He didn't say ass out. On Vando, it was a confluence of things he did wrong. Damn. On Aiton, he can't catch the ball. Redick also said, also got on the sideline with Vando. Redick called timeout just 16 seconds until the second quarter to sub Vando out for the game, telling Don't Connect to check in in his place. Vando walked over and let him hear it. Joe, are there cracks starting to show with the lead?
10:05Chad Johnson:Well, I don't want to say the cracks are starting to show. Man, you got to look at it from this standpoint. I mean, you got two of your best players out, you know, who makes the game easier for everybody else. Now, if those guys are out and you putting Vando and these guys in advantageous situations to where now they got to do stuff offensively that they're not accustomed to doing or, you know, basically playing both ends of the court. But, like, yeah, it's going to be some mishaps. It's going to be some, you know, some grunts, some players disgruntled because of, you know, there's not many opportunities, man.
10:44Chad Johnson:These ain't guys who you just throw the ball to and they can go get you a bucket. They play great. You're great players. You know what I mean? So now that Luka and AR is out, I mean, hell, Bron didn't play. Damn, Ocho, what y 'all want us to do? What y 'all want me to do?
11:00Shannon Sharpe:That's what Vandal said. So, hold on. No Bron. no AR, no Luka and then you hadn't played Dalton Connect since Hammer was a hatchet and now all of a sudden you're going to 16 seconds? I just got in
11:17Chad Johnson:and we playing and we playing against OKC, the best team in the damn league. They just beat us by 50 the other day and now they came back and got us by 37 go ahead Ocho I say coach got to know man You got to know. Oh, know your personnel, Joe. Know your personnel.
11:38Shannon Sharpe:You're too honest. He can't be that honest. Because he ain't lie. DeAndre Ayton got the worst hands I've ever seen before. You know what?
11:44Chad Johnson:I noticed that too, man. Because I'm like, he do be missing a lot of them little... Yeah! But, man, I mean, I don't think that was a... Well, I think for JJ, it was a situation to where he could make a point. You know what I mean? Like, listen, I'm going to put my foot down. We're going to get our ass kicked tonight, but I'm going to chew off in these dudes' ass tonight. But that just goes to show you, look how those guys look.
12:10Shannon Sharpe:Look how those guys look, OKC look, when Shea and Jalen Williams weren't playing. Look how they look. Now look how Lakers players look. When they big guns don't play. Look at other teams when their big guns don't play, how they look. Well, damn. And y 'all talk about the Lakers. Ooh, the Lakers loaded with what? With what? With what? They got two. How many, how many, Joe, be honest. How many quality minutes are those guys getting up there on other contingent teams?
12:47Chad Johnson:None. I mean, for the Lakers, you just got too many key guys out. I mean, look, Marcus Smart out with Luka Braun. I mean, damn, what you expect?
13:01Shannon Sharpe:I just expect, Joe, if I throw you the ball, you to kick it. That's all I want you to do. And don't let it go out of bounds. And the man said it was a confluence of things that he did wrong. Well, damn. Other than having Jersey took in and chuck it in the game, that's the only thing he seemingly did right. That's what J.J. said.
13:20Chad Johnson:I mean, with them, you arguably playing against the best defensive team in the league, man. These dudes, they stingy. They ain't giving up nothing. Okay, see?
13:29Shannon Sharpe:No matter who hurt. Well, okay. I can understand that. But here's the thing, Joe. Like you said, you was in the right spot. Even I'm going to be where I'm supposed to be. So if we cut the tape on, I'm where I'm supposed to be. So I can't let who we playing dictate how I play, Ocho. I'm going to be where I'm supposed to be. I'm going to do what I'm supposed to do. it seemingly I could be wrong I could be totally off base but JJ wasn't pleased JJ because the one thing about the little while that I did work with him he's a very very serious guy and he ain't got no problem he gonna tell you nah that ain't what happened nope he very meticulous with notes I mean he come out there and he know like he should have he should have been a lawyer because his notes are immaculately wrote yes yes like he's writing a dissertation.
Read the full transcript
14:26Shannon Sharpe:Absolutely. I'm like, well, damn. My nose don't look nothing like this. Hell, my nose probably only I can read it. Somebody get his nose, they're going to be able to read everything because it's so, I mean.
14:42Chad Johnson:To the T.
14:43Shannon Sharpe:To the T. Yeah. Yeah, he got nose like that. So I'm.
14:56Shannon Sharpe:I'm just concerned about sometimes, like I said, my coach told me one time, I said, Sean, sometimes I got a lot to them. Sometimes I got to tell them they're good when they're not. Sometimes I got to tell them they're doing a good job when they're not.
15:13Chad Johnson:Hey, listen.
15:14Shannon Sharpe:I mean.
15:15Chad Johnson:Think about it, though. Think about it. I think with the Lakers getting embarrassed last night at home, fellas,
15:25Shannon Sharpe:I think that's really what set J.J. off. You know, you making, you know, brush that under the rug on the road,
15:33Chad Johnson:but when you at home in front of that Laker crowd, you got to, regardless of who.
15:42Shannon Sharpe:Just play hard. Just play hard, Joe. Joe, they quit. Joe, you do your – hold on. At one point in time, the score was 43. It was 42-42. I look back up, the score was 63-47. That sounds about right. No, 60 – yeah, like 69-47. But anyway, I think they went on like a 23 – a 25-5 or a 27-5 run. Jeez. Yeah. The score was 42-42. And then they go on a 25-5 or a 27-5.
16:21Chad Johnson:Man, but listen. Lakers depleted. The OKC Thunder, they're healthy. They're fully healthy. They ready for the postseason. Okay, Ocho. They ain't playing no games.
16:32Shannon Sharpe:Joe, can I just get you to play hard? Can I get you to be where you're supposed to be? If I throw you the ball, catch it. Even if you miss the shot. but Joe if I throw you the ball and it goes out of bounds then what am I supposed to do if you're not where you're supposed to be on defense if we call them for a pick at the top bro why I gotta keep go set the pick why I gotta keep doing that why I gotta keep saying get over them lights bright over there in LA huh all the jokers that have been playing they've been in the NBA while Rui's been in the league far too long Whoa, whoa, whoa. They've been in the NBA for a while.
17:11They ain't been in the Lakers under them type of lights and that type of pressure for a while. It's a difference. Your big gun's out.
17:19Shannon Sharpe:Your big gun's not playing. Rui has been in those situations. Rui was on the team that went to the Western Conference Finals against Denver. Rui was in the situation when they played, when they were on the road, and he hit big shot after big shot. Joe, you remember he hit big shot after big shot against Memphis. He and AR, damn near single-handedly. He killed him that game. Because, hey, LeBron's like, nope, he kept beating him. Kept beating him. And then LeBron got him back. When they got back to L.A., LeBron said, y 'all done.
17:53Chad Johnson:Y 'all done.
17:54Shannon Sharpe:It's over. It's over for y 'all. And he had that monster game the last game. But I think that's why I couldn't coach him. That's because they expecting –
18:06Chad Johnson:They was expecting too much from Aiden last night. Just keep it 100. I mean.
18:11Shannon Sharpe:From a number one overall draft pick that's seven foot tall, that's in a contract year, I'm expecting too much?
18:17Chad Johnson:Yeah, because the guys who he typically play off of, hell, they ain't out here tonight. I ain't like Aiden can get the rebound and bring it up like a point. He got the, you know what I mean? Like. But I gave him the ball, Joe.
18:30Shannon Sharpe:He gave it back to him. That's what I'm saying.
18:33Chad Johnson:I'm saying. And he been playing like this, is what I'm saying. I'm saying, but the fact that you've had A.R., Luke, and Braun out there, hell, that shit go by the wayside. But now that they ain't out there, now it's very glaring because it's magnified.
18:47Shannon Sharpe:Yeah, everything gets magnified when those guys are not there to cover it up.
18:50Chad Johnson:So now, yeah, you're going to use him as a scapegoat. Yeah, he's sick of aging stuff. Yeah.
19:00Shannon Sharpe:Yeah, he's an A.K. can't catch the ball. and that's how it is sometimes i mean you got been playing like poop but you had guys to pick the poop up there you go now when there's nobody there to pick it up or cover it up you're like well damn is everybody just gonna let their dog just go out here because i'd be walking i'm like bro it makes me mad the guy hold on you pick the poop up put it in the bag and then throw the bag on the ground you could have just left it down there i mean how so joe how sorry do chat how sorry do you have to be? You pick up behind your dog and then instead of carrying it and putting it in the trash can at your home, you throw the bag on the ground with the poop in it.
19:40Chad Johnson:Hey, that's why I walk my dog at night. Don't take that down. We're going to let go.
19:47Shannon Sharpe:Come on, Joe. See? Joe, get some bags to pick up. Come on, Joe. Don't be that guy. Hey. Oh, my goodness.
19:56Chad Johnson:Hey, that's why I walk my dog at night, old Joe. Hey. Oh, you don't pick up after the dogs, Joe? I ain't got no bag or nothing, man. We just out there. Get the bag, Joe. Joe, come on, Joe.
20:10Shannon Sharpe:Man, that man be dropping some loaves. I got you. Joe.
20:14Chad Johnson:You know the Mastiff?
20:18Shannon Sharpe:I've had two Bull Mastiffs. I've got a Borable. I've got a Nikita. Yes, I got the giant-sized bag. and some of them sometimes it be like a dare cream cone get up you know for a dog to go in front of you that means he trusts you because that's the most vulnerable that's why the dog is looking at you people are like well why the dog is looking at me because he's like okay you got me right because you know I'm in a vulnerable position just like if you were on the toilet somebody come beat the brakes off me
20:50Chad Johnson:that's why you lock the door
20:52Shannon Sharpe:you don't want somebody to run down on your own shoulder Hey, just let me put my clothes on. Hey, and don't let it be runny, too, boy. I'm damn sure he's picking it up, Uncle. I'm sorry. Yeah, I got it. Hey. No, sir. Hey. Hey, I remember my brother, my grandma, my brother did something. My brother ain't have no shirt on. Granny, you going to beat me like this? You damn right. Shut down on him. He thought he going to put it. He thought he granny going to let him put that T-shirt on. Uh-uh. Gratis. and you know my granny had to tell him yeah i had to shut down on that boy ass
21:30Chad Johnson:yeah well my grandma was a snitch that's why i got it from guys my grandma tell it yeah
21:36Shannon Sharpe:but uh but jj told the truth max kellerman said that he would rather have cooper flag over luka donchich coming into the nba i would rather have cooper flag over luka I like his style of play. I like Luka as a better playmaker, but Luka isn't a defender. Cooper is excellent. Cooper Flagg is one of these actual that can defend one through five level players. He's an athletic, and he has a style I like, which can lead to winning in a championship. He can be the best player on a championship team. I would say he's the best teenager since LeBron. Well, that's not really going out on a limb.
22:15Chad Johnson:because his numbers his numbers are better his rookie year than LeBron but I mean don't get me wrong I'm a Cooper Flagg fan I like him I like everything about him he's been thrust into a situation but man do y 'all I don't know a lot of people don't remember when Luka first came into the league bro he probably was about 20 pounds slimmer you know what I mean he used to go through that lane and dunk that ball you know what I mean He a hell of a shooter, a hell of a scorer. Obviously, he understands angles. He has a high IQ for the game. But you can't take that for granted, man. It ain't like he's 6 '2", 6 '3", out here now.
22:57Shannon Sharpe:Let me ask you a question. If I take Cooper Flagg and I take Cooper Flagg and I put him on that Dallas team and I remove Luka, can he do what Luka did with doing to the Clippers? No. No. with Kawhi, PG, and all those defenders. See, I think some people, you lose sight of just how great Luka is. And I get it. He's not the – and mostly times, guys – because I think when we get guys that can score a bunch of points, you get a guy like a Kobe, you get Jordan, you get LeBron, that's averaging 27, 28, and you're like, man, look at him locking down on both ends. More times than not, guys that can score a lot of points didn't play great defense.
23:38Shannon Sharpe:Right. It takes too much out of you. Okay, I'm going to go give you this work on one end. All of a sudden, I'm going to sit in the chair and try to do what I do for 36 to 40 minutes a night. He wasn't known for being a defensive player coming up.
23:54Chad Johnson:Luka coming into the league. He never was known to be a stopper. What European player is known for defense? There you go.
24:03Shannon Sharpe:They might block some shots. AK-47 Andre Korolinko with blocks and shots, but he wasn't sitting on that chair. I mean, to sit in that chair? You take it for granted. But look, I'm not saying Cooper Flagg. Like I said, I saw Cooper Flagg and I saw him coming out of Maine, but what I was impressed was when I saw them joker scrimmage against the men's national team that was taking their ass to Paris and trying to get that gold medal and what he was doing to those guys? I said, oh yeah, he's going to have no problem in the game. That's 12 or 15, however many players we've seen over there, that's our best we got.
24:43Shannon Sharpe:That's Bam. That's Bam.
24:45Chad Johnson:That's AD.
24:47Shannon Sharpe:He's giving them work. Oh yeah, he's going to be just fine.
24:51Chad Johnson:He adjusted well. He probably got off to a rocky start to start his rookie year. What you talking about, the second half of this season? Yeah, he's picked it up tremendously. He's been balling. Yeah, he's been everything they imagined. Yeah.
25:05Shannon Sharpe:And more. But he had to grow up. Because like you said, he tired of losing. I ain't losing high school. I ain't losing but a handful of games in college. And here we go. I done lost more games in a damn week than I lost my whole college career. Man, losing sucked, man.
25:22Chad Johnson:The NBA ain't different, bro. It's a reality.
25:26Shannon Sharpe:And think about it. You can win. Think about this. I mean, going 62 and 20. 20 damn games? Some of these guys lose more games in an NBA season than they lost all the high school and all the college.
25:45Chad Johnson:And you don't know how a guy going to be able to deal with that, Ocho. You know what I mean? That losing can break you, bro. It'll make you lose sight of where you're at, how you got to where you're at. You know what I mean? Imagine imagine being on a team bro and y 'all only win eight nine games out of 82 man you gonna you might lose a little bit of your swag you know what i mean i'm gonna tell you i know i always bring this up talking about when i first came here to land and we only won 29 games man it's hard to enjoy outside the outside of basketball you can you don't want to go nowhere you don't want to see nobody no you don't want to hang out you know what i mean that's that's tough yeah
26:28Shannon Sharpe:guess what happens when they see you hell if you was home that's why y 'all win more games your ass wasn't out in the club that's what you get I didn't go out that much I mean we were losing like that's why y 'all losing hell all y 'all in here damn man we ain't supposed to have no life I said you know what you're right let me stay my black ass home let me take my ass home we're losing drunk Right, right, I swear, boy. Hey. Go ahead, Ocho, what do you want to say? Nah, shoot, I only had one winning season in 11 years. Damn. Shit, I ain't had no choice, Joe. So you going out regardless, Ocho? Hey, no, I didn't really go nowhere.
27:12I'm just saying, you know, I showed my face, but I didn't allow it to affect me and what I had.
27:17Chad Johnson:I'm saying, was it something to do in Cincinnati, Ocho? It's something to do in... Yeah, but Cincinnati, one of the greatest cities of all time in comparison to Atlanta. and Houston. Yeah? You saying it can compete with Atlanta and Houston?
27:31Shannon Sharpe:Yes! No, that's not what he's saying, Joe. He lying, ain't he? He sure is. Telling a story.
27:39Chad Johnson:My grandma, she don't like me.
27:41Shannon Sharpe:Yeah, you can't say lie, boy. Telling a story. Hey, Joe, listen to him. It's like that, Joe. No, it's not. Joe, it's a hidden gem that most people don't know about unless you from there or you play there. You wouldn't understand. I told Speed say he from Cincinnati and he say the women terrible. Now that's what he's saying. He from there.
28:05Chad Johnson:Y 'all excuse me for a minute.
28:08Shannon Sharpe:You going to get you? You going to get you?
28:10Chad Johnson:You see?
28:12Shannon Sharpe:You see my glass?
28:14Chad Johnson:You see my glass? I know y 'all probably ain't got nothing in front of y 'all. Unk look like he on the road somewhere. I'm on the road. I'm on the road.
28:22Shannon Sharpe:But I'll be back. I'll be back soon. I'll be in the air.
28:25Chad Johnson:Hey, your girl, she seen my lady at the gym. Yeah, yeah, yeah, Shelly. And she got the glasses off to her. She said, make sure Joe get these glasses. And I said, what better time for me to put on my toast with y 'all? I know y 'all ain't got nothing going on. What you drinking, Joe?
28:45Shannon Sharpe:Hey, Joe, Joe, let me tell you how you need to take it. Hey, put some ginger ale in there. I don't know if you've ever had it with ginger ale. Yeah. it's real nice you know we only use ginger ale when we sick my grandma said get some ginger ale you do know I'm like running 104 freeva she got everything going on but you know the mold people you get sick you just need to go boo boo
29:13Chad Johnson:what boo boo got to do with me sick my stomach can't hurt
29:18Shannon Sharpe:go boo boo
29:19Chad Johnson:what is that okay
29:21Shannon Sharpe:Okay. Brian, Joe, let me know. I know, Joe, let me know what you think about this. Brian Windhorst said he would take Ant-Man over KD for the playoffs, and it's not close. We're not talking historically. We're talking for the 2026 playoffs. I think Ant-Man, I don't even think it's a debate. Duran has won one playoff series since he left Golden State. Ant-Man has won four series in the last two years. Joe?
29:49Chad Johnson:Boy, that's the – That's a good argument. I can't own you.
29:54Shannon Sharpe:And it's closer than you think. Like he said, we're not talking about historically. We're talking about right now. He says Kevin Durant has won one playoff series.
30:04Chad Johnson:Yeah. One. Listen, man. I love both of those guys' game. I think the way Ant-Man competes, you know, he let it be known. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm out here to kick LeBron ass. I'm out here to kick KD ass. I'm out here. I'm going at these boys. Y 'all hear what he told Obama? Yeah. Talking about y 'all better watch out.
30:24Shannon Sharpe:Yeah.
30:24Chad Johnson:I'm a bad boy. Huh? Man, you got to love that, bro. You got to love that. Not only that, he goes out there and backs it up. He plays hard defensively. He guards. And then he can take over a game. I can see where, Brian, I can see where he's at on this. Yeah.
30:42Shannon Sharpe:It's not as far-fetched as people think. I think the thing is that people look at it historically and they look at the time of Kevin Durant at Golden State. and KD is a bad boy. Don't get me wrong. But until there's this perception, be it true or imagine that KD in the postseason hasn't enjoyed a level of success outside of Golden State. Be it true or imagined. But the facts line up.
31:14Chad Johnson:I think
31:14Shannon Sharpe:he got, remember, he got swept. He got swept and the Nets. The Nets got swept by Boston. Yeah. He got swept in Phoenix. Yeah. Hey, look what he was playing with, though. That's not even... Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa. See? You see what he did? When did they ever say that about LeBron? Do they ever say, look what LeBron was playing with, Joe? What did they say? We talked about Ant-Man and KD. Yes. You make it seem... What Ant-Man got? Wait, look. What Ant-Man got? Yes. You do realize that KD got swept with Kyrie. Was Kyrie any good? Absolutely. What about Devin Booker?
32:04Shannon Sharpe:Devin Booker any good? Okay. I'm just asking. I don't know. Joe, the basketball official. So we got to have somebody that's great and everything. You the soccer guy. That's you, Ocho. Come to soccer, Ocho the guy. Basketball, we go to Joe. Joe, is Kyrie?
32:24Chad Johnson:Yeah, yeah, he's some good. Y 'all know he's some good.
32:27Shannon Sharpe:In Brooklyn, they got swept. Boston swept him. Is Devin Booker any good?
32:32Chad Johnson:Yes, sir. You talking all NBA players. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think the most disheartening thing when it comes to fans and people who speak on the game of basketball, No, stop it. No, no, no, no. Dylan.
32:51Shannon Sharpe:No, I'm not. Go ahead. I'm going to finish your point, but I just saw something coming. Dylan with Katie. Dylan with Katie is that they lost to the Warriors,
32:59Chad Johnson:and then he went and joined them. That's why I said the same thing. I think that's what people do. People have a hard time respecting that. Although. Yes, he was up 3-1. Yeah, yeah, 3-1. He was up 3-1. You're supposed to put them boys away. but although he didn't go to the Warriors and piggyback, I mean, hell, he still led him. He was the MVP of them two champions. He was the finals MVP twice. What you mean piggyback? Yeah. He was the finals MVP. If it wasn't for him, hell, they wouldn't win.
33:30Shannon Sharpe:No, he wasn't no passenger. People didn't stop saying that he was a passenger. Kevin Durant was not no damn passenger.
33:37Chad Johnson:Hey, I ain't gonna lie. Brown was at his apex there, boy. Hey, listen, that's the only player you
33:42Shannon Sharpe:You probably could have went in guy that was going to get you. That was the only one. And that's why they went in guy. Because he was giving him. There's no way that team, that 73-9 team, after LeBron walked them down 3-1, they were psychologically done. Kyrie was at his apex. They had no answer. They had no answer for Kyrie. They had no answer for LeBron. It was over. They had to go get a neutralizer. And Kevin Durant was it. now y 'all said uh Kyrie was hurt and no no no James Harden was gone Kyrie was not hurt when they got swept by the by the uh yeah the Celtics don't do that now Kevin Durant is great he's historically great but the facts of the matter is the facts of the matter it's kind of like y 'all have revisionist history and y 'all try to run and blend everything together don't do that they got swept Boston swept then he went to he went to Phoenix Phoenix yeah just saying so it's not as far out of the it's not out of the realm of possibility I can see why Brian Windhorst said what he said
35:03and
35:04Shannon Sharpe:And you wouldn't be wrong if you disagree. Right now. Excuse me.
35:08Chad Johnson:Yeah, right now, it's a lot of people who would take Ant-Man over KD right now. Yeah.
35:16Shannon Sharpe:I just said, you know what, Joe? And I could be wrong. And I want to show you what you think. It seems like as a player gets older, even though if he gives you the same numbers that he once gave you, they don't impact the game like you once did.
35:30Chad Johnson:The numbers don't. I think although KD he's forever going to be an efficient scorer I mean he makes it look easy but there was once a point in time where I ain't saying he was all defensive player but he was blocking shots he would play some defense I mean hell he's 7 foot you know what I mean
35:55Shannon Sharpe:especially Golden State he was doing a lot of real protecting in Golden State
35:58Chad Johnson:I think now he just got that thing cruise control on offense to where, you know what, I'm going to give you out 25 to 28 a night, you know. I'm going to give you a few rebounds, a few dimes. But for the most part, I mean, at 37 years old, he'll buck it still.
36:16Shannon Sharpe:Yeah, he still give you 23, 24 points a night. 20, 25 points a night. And he's still shooting in the 50s.
36:25Chad Johnson:He need them young bucks to do the bulk of the heavy lifting. meaning defensively you know, rebounding
36:34Shannon Sharpe:I mean, his thing was in the Golden State, he was a tremendous help defender, like you said, he was 7 foot tall I mean, what 7 footer you know if he's sitting in a chair? And he's not he's not a Lajuan, that's not what he's not a David, I mean, you know, he's not that type of defender, he's just not but what they asked him to do, he did very well in the Golden State but this notion that Kevin Durant, oh he went to Golden State and kicked. No, he didn't kick. Hey, had he not gone to Golden State, they're not winning no two more championships. They're not winning those back-to-back championships in 17 and 18.
37:09Shannon Sharpe:That ain't happening. And if he doesn't get hurt, they don't win back-to-back. They win three-peat.
37:14Chad Johnson:Yeah.
37:15Shannon Sharpe:I don't care what people say. Toronto not beating them. Not if Kevin be healthy.
37:19Chad Johnson:Oh, serious. It's hard when you, because offensively, he just had too much firepower. You couldn't double nobody. You just kind of had to live with it. Because, look, I played against them guys in the playoff series when I was in Utah, the Warriors, in their first championship run. We played against them in the second round.
37:40Chad Johnson:Boy, we're getting to it, Joe. They smoked y 'all, Joe? What do you mean? Like a blunt? Huh?
37:48Shannon Sharpe:They was on that pack? They was on the pack, too. Listen, hold on, Joe.
37:51Chad Johnson:They swept their first round series, so they had been waiting 10 days. We won seven games against the Clippers, and we won game seven. We had one day of rest, and then we had to play. Shit, the man, they tore off with us. There wasn't nothing we could do with them boys.
38:10Shannon Sharpe:I don't know. Look, I think once KD, a point guard, I think that's what they're missing this year. and guess what it's going to get harder and harder for these older guys to win championships Joe this league is getting younger and younger and these guys are good
38:31Chad Johnson:that's why I think these dudes some way somehow I don't know how I think Bron, KD, or Giannis I don't know how two of them are going to end up on the same team two of them are going to end up on the same team watch what I tell you
38:51Shannon Sharpe:they might need to do that to combat OKC and San Antonio what
38:58Chad Johnson:because OKC ain't going nowhere no time soon partner none
39:03Shannon Sharpe:zero
From the publisher
Shannon Sharpe, Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson and Iso Joe Johnson react to Dylan Brooks touches earth after talking trash to Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum speaks on being nervous about his return to Maddison Square Garden, and JJ Redick called out the Lakers after the loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, and much more!
Subscribe to Nightcap presented by PrizePicks so you don’t miss out on any new drops! Download the PrizePicks app today and use code SHANNON to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup! Visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/NI...
0:00 - Dylan Brooks talked trash to KD just to get his ankles broken
3:23 - Jayson Tatum makes his return to MSG
9:30 - JJ Reddick called out team after last night’s loss
21:36 - Max Kellerman would rather have Cooper Flagg over Luka
29:36 - Brian Windhorst said he’d take Anthony Edwards over KD in the playoffs
Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.)
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