Hour 2: Rich Calls in from Vacation to Talk LeBron with Guest Host Seth Rollins, plus ESPN’s Vincent Goodwill

23:08Rich Eisen:Well, Lex Luger was the total package. Yeah, but kind of, like, past his prime Lex Luger. Yeah, I mean, we could go down the road, you know what I'm saying? There was a lot of NWO people. I will be the NWO Wolfpack then. You know, don't turn your back on the Wolfpack. You might wind up in a body bag. I do respect your professional wrestling reference. Are you a wrestling fan, Vincent? I mean you know back in my day the attitude era and everything else like that's when I was you know back you know I was I was I was in it everybody was in it all right who's your favorite did you have a you have a your number one guy or girl that that that beer guzzling dude who was always giving the middle finger to people and everything else like you know Stone Cold was my guy anti-hero ah that's fair Stone Cold was is there anybody in the NBA that you would liken to stone cold steve austin is there any any personalities that you're like oh that's my anti-hero now oh that's jimmy butler jimmy butler when when jimmy not maybe not now because jimmy's hurting he's got to come back from that acl but as far as anti-hero it's probably jimmy butler that definitely gives you attitude era if not attitude era maybe gives you some early dx vibes you know when dx really first came on the scene and sean michaels was was was not yet bad back sean michaels and was delivering the super kicks in the jeans and they were giving the obscene gestures in the center of the ring that that's probably jimmy butler oh okay that's fair that's fair so let's go back to the lebron thing you know you you kind of gave it from an analyst perspective let's put yourself in the goat shoes put yourself in lebron's shoes what do you think was going on and his thought process that got him to Philadelphia?

24:52Because I imagine there were a bunch of other suitors out there that were interested in bringing him in, and he could have had the pick, the litter, really. So in your mind, if you were LeBron James, what took you to Philadelphia for two years and$8 million? You know what it is? He told us it's about being happy. It's about playing with joy, all that stuff. It's about winning another championship. Because if you wanted to play with joy and all that type of stuff, He could have gone to San Francisco and played with Steph Curry and Draymond Green. It wouldn't have been a chance of winning there, but he could have played with some great beards, played with Steph Curry, replicated some of those Olympic things that they had a few years ago, and it could have been fun, right?

25:32Going back to Miami would have presented some level of nostalgia. That's where the best of LeBron James ever was. Cleveland, a lot of people felt like was a way for him to close the book. I didn't see it that way. I felt like he closed the book a few years ago. He won the championship in 2016. he took him to four straight finals his obligations to them were finished and picking philadelphia you're saying this is the best chance for me to win a championship whether we believe that is something completely different but it looks like from philly's talent perspective with joel and beat there and tyree's maxi there and jaylen brown once they acquired jaylen brown we heard from shan sarani earlier that that perked his ears up a little bit more so that to me says not just Philly because I want to live in Philadelphia, but it says I want to win another championship to try to get to number five, to put myself in a conversation, further conversation with Kobe Bryant, with Michael Jordan for the, you know, whoever your goat is and everything else.

26:28I don't think it changes my opinion on those things, but to some people, maybe him winning the championship for a fourth franchise may tilt some things. Oh man. All right. Now you kind of Led me down a couple paths there. You know, he thinks, he being LeBron James, that this is the best fit for him. You didn't seem to lean that way on that answer, so let me prod you a little bit. Do you think this was the best basketball fit for him when it comes to winning a championship this or next season? I mean, LeBron's a basketball savant so far, being for me to disagree with him. I thought Miami was the better basketball option from the standpoint of having Giannis, having Bam, like having that organizational know-how of a franchise that knows how to coach, how to build, how to find players on the edges and how to probably maximize where LeBron is at this point in his career and in his life where he won't have to do all the heavy lifting.

27:25Maybe that's the case in Philly because there's so much talent where he only has to do so much heavy lifting, but there's so many questions about how the talent fits with Joel Embiid, how healthy is he going to be? How is Jalen Brown going to go from being and wanting to be the first option in Boston to maybe being number three, number four, like whatever it's going to be. And Philly, there's a lot of questions, but maybe he's looking at this stuff and saying, I'm signing a two-year deal with them. This is a two-year process. Maybe we work the Kingside and go for a championship in my 25th season to complete my, this has a complete storybook ending.

28:03Who's to say? But the man clearly feels like he has great basketball left in him and that he can help lead that talented team to a championship. Yeah, 25 years at that level, that is unprecedented. If that is in fact, I mean, 24 years is bonkers. So 25 years is an extra one, like a little cherry on top. Another little hint you dropped there was that you think him winning another championship here with Philadelphia here with this fourth squad doesn't change the GOAT debate for you. So let me ask you, is LeBron already your GOAT, and that's why it doesn't change anything? Or do you have somebody else in your head who's the greatest of all time?

28:43Well, full disclosure, I am a child of Detroit and the bad boys. So I say this with a closed heart. Michael Jordan is the GOAT, even though I hate him. I don't think there's anything that's going to change my mind about Michael Jordan being the GOAT. The fact that LeBron even puts himself in the conversation, I only think there's maybe three guys that you can have in the GOAT conversation. I think it's Michael, LeBron, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and whatever you have is what you have. For me, it comes down to how great are you at your absolute best. And I don't think there's been a player more complete, more any adjective that you can point out than that black cat, Michael Jordan.

29:23Like, there's nobody that's been better that played at a higher level for a sustained period of time. LeBron's sort of case, if there's a case, is going to be longevity, 20 plus years, winning the all-time scoring championship over Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and doing it where he's still playing like a reasonable version of himself going into year 24, 25. That's not my criteria, but some people have that criteria and I respect it. I would just say that they're wrong. All right. All right. That's fair. I'm with you, by the way. I'm with you. I'm a Jordan guy through and through. Midwest dude grew up in the 90s.

30:01So, I mean, you know, you watch Jordan win six titles in a decade. I mean, you know what I mean, boys?

30:07Rich Eisen:You know what I mean? But I also respect, like, at a certain point, like if your answer is LeBron James to this question, as the years went on, your argument only got stronger. You know, we have a different era. Look at it differently than someone in LeBron's era, you know. It's okay. We can say we're smarter. Everybody's entitled to be wrong. I'm glad you threw Kareem's name out there because he's someone who definitely, as the years go, doesn't get the recognition and the props that he truly deserves. So, yeah, he won at every level. They changed rules because of the man. He had the most unstoppable weapon in the history of sports, maybe, is that Sky Oak.

30:43Rich Eisen:So, you know, Kareem definitely belongs in any GOAT conversation. It comes preference at a certain point. What do you value the most when you have these mythical arguments? Like some people will say Hulk Hogan because what Hulk Hogan did to bring wrestling to where it was, to where it is, you know what I mean? He's the GOAT. And then some people will be like, man, look at The Rock. You know what I mean? Some people will say, look at Ric Flair and what Ric Flair did. And then some people will say The Undertaker because The Undertaker did it for like 30 years, which could be LeBron's case. Like everybody has their criteria.

31:17Rich Eisen:Don't forget about Austin. Yeah, you know, some people would say Seth Rollins. Some people would say Seth Rollins. There is a generation of kids who will say that. Nobody's saying that. Hey, Vinny, I got to look at this from the Boston perspective and how much worse the Jalen Brown trade looks right now. But what happens if they get Giannis and how different the East looks now? Like, does LeBron go to Boston if that's the case? Because clearly it seems like he made this decision solely on the best spot to win a title. That is a great, great question. I'll tell you this. He wouldn't be in Boston right now.

31:50He would not be in Boston. I mean, he does not like Boston by all accounts. But if the Celtics had Giannis, it seemingly that's the best spot to win. Yeah, but I don't think he necessarily had the relationships there. Like his agent, Rich Paul, is Tyrese Maxey's agent. Like, clearly he has a relationship with Bob Myers, who heads up the entire operations for the 76ers. There were other tentacles in relationships. And at this point, when you're making these type of decisions, it's relationships more than it is just looking down the checklist of pros and cons of can I win a championship here but you raise a valid point what happens if the Celtics don't send Jalen Brown to Philly is Philly the choice is Miami the choice does Miami have more tentacles there to go make another move to go grab another superstar to make it more palatable it's an interesting what if for which we don't have the answer and we have like another what two and a half months before we even see these guys reconvene again before I even have to start thinking about going up and down I-95 to go see the 76ers every other night.

32:56Rich Eisen:The point is moot because he didn't do none of that. No, it's true. He's with us. And the other thing too, Vinny, you know, Adam Silver was like, hey, can you hurry up and make a decision because we need to finish the schedule. So if you're the league, where do you put Celtics Sixers or Celtics Knicks? Do you put it on opening night? Do you put it on Christmas? Like how does this now affect things in terms of the broadcast? four times you can play them on national tv no matter where it is you can do it on christmas day you could do it on valentine's day you could do it on groundhog day you can put them wherever you wonder if it's going to be the opening week you like to let things simmer and build a bit especially while the nfl has center stage in october november we know the nba starts to gather traction around christmas give lebron a little chance to get some lather with that team some equity and then on Christmas Day, maybe you put Philly and New York.

33:54Maybe you send LeBron to Cleveland, the Spurned Cavaliers, on Christmas Day. There's a bunch of different ways that you can say this. I will say this. The Knicks will probably be hosting somebody on Christmas Day. So somebody will be traveling to Madison Square Garden. It's just a matter of who. Well, a lot of hypotheticals, a lot of questions out there. But the thing we know for sure, gentlemen, LeBron James will be playing basketball. in a Philadelphia 76. Are you stunned? We're kind of stunned here, I think. It's a bit jarring. I still can't imagine it visually, Vinny. Like, I can't. In my brain, I can't get there.

34:31I've already seen it. Well, clearly TJ can see. TJ didn't already bought this. The jerseys are already purchased. He had an Elton Brand jersey here.

34:40Rich Eisen:Ready to go. It's not a game, Vinny. I don't do this for fun. You know what I'm saying? Like, this is upside down. I don't even know what I'm doing here. You know? So, not only that. Take another shot. What else? What are you doing? What else do you got back there? I'm just saying, I also got, you know, an Iverson Nats jersey. You know, this is before we became. I was prepared for it. Oh, my goodness. How long have you had this? I will say this. Years. Decades. This is decades old. The last time Philly won a championship, I wasn't born. Maybe you guys are due. You're the one team in the Eastern Conference or one of the, maybe I think the Charlotte Hornets being the other, that has not made an Eastern Conference final since 2001.

35:20So maybe y 'all are just doomed, right?

35:22Rich Eisen:But I'll tell you guys about that. 2001, game one, the Sixers beat the Lakers. It was the Iverson stepover game. That was a Wednesday night, if I'm not mistaken. I went to a club called LAX in Hollywood. I had a full Sixers sweatsuit on, and the club was packed with Laker fans, and I saw a guy with a Sixers had across the dance floor. We saw each other and made our way like we were running through a field a week to get to each other. We dapped each other up. We told each other we loved it. Let's go Sixers. And I've never seen that dude again. And this was 2001. But we had that moment. Two Sixer fans in the club, man.

35:56Rich Eisen:It was great. So hold on. In the middle of June in LA, you are a full sweatsuit? How much weight did you lose in sweat? It was thin. It wasn't like a heavy sweatsuit, but it was a Sixer top, Sixer pants. I was decked out. Iverson stepped over, Lou. You couldn't tell me nothing that day. Okay. That was y 'all championship. That was it, because then we didn't win another game the rest of the series. And that was the last time you saw the finals. That was it, man, but it was glorious. It was glorious. I tell you, it was glorious. I was the man in Hollywood that night, let me tell you. All right, everybody.

36:32Well, Vincent Goodwill, thank you so much for joining us, my man. Appreciate your takes on LeBron. Hope to talk to you soon, and all your wrestling knowledge, too. That was pretty awesome. I appreciate you guys, man. Thanks again, man.

36:42Rich Eisen:Big thrill. All right, Vinny, don't let him hold you down, bro. We'll chat soon.

36:49The Iverson step-over game. Yeah, that was that night. That was the last. I was a big Allen Iverson fan. Yeah. I loved Allen Iverson. I think everybody was. I had the shoes, the Reeboks. Did you have an arm sleeve? A rocking arm sleeve? No, I never had a sleeve. I did not have a sleeve. I think. He made that popular. He did. I don't, you know what? I think it was one of those things where he had the sleeve, and at the time, like, as a youth, it was hard to access the sleeve. Like, I didn't know how to get the sleeve. Oh, you should have taken the tube sock.

37:17Rich Eisen:Take a sock. Yeah. Yes. You know what? You're jarring memories now. I did do that. I did do that. I did do a fake sock. Yes. Oh, God. Fake sleeve with a sock. Absolutely. A hundred percent. Cut the end off your sock and then pull it all over. Whoa. You just unlocked a memory of mine that I totally spaced on. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Wow. Oh, man. Iverson was for the culture, man. He was great. And I said this earlier, I think this week, if Allen Iverson had been 6 '4", and he was tall, said a 5 '11", and kept his skill set. Also, if you didn't like AI, that said a lot about you. What's that? If you didn't like AI as a hooper, that said a lot about you.

37:59You didn't know. You didn't know ball. Yeah, you didn't know ball. Iverson was awesome. Gosh, so much LeBron. Let's sign him to a 10-day so he can get a ring. Get back, put him on the roster. There we go. Load it up. Charles Barkley, let's bring him back. Come on. You know what I mean? You think he's still got the cross? You think Iverson can still hit somebody with it?

38:17Rich Eisen:We wouldn't bet even at 51, he could put up 12, 13, 14 a game. Why not? Wow. He was that nice. He was that nice. All right. Well, you heard it here first. Like Vinny said, it's NWO. Everyone's joining. Everyone's joining. NWO 76. The Wolf Pack were amazing. Oh, man. Well, more LeBron, I'm sure. We'll be back on the Rich Eisen Show with Seth Rollins right after this.

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40:40Get started by posting a free job at LinkedIn.com slash Eisen. And guys, I think we're going to give it another go. We got the man. Hopefully he's got some better signal this time. Rich, are you there? I am. Hey! All right, we have to know. We have to know. We've been living in suspense, Rich. You've got to tell us. What narrative are you buying into? okay start from the beginning i don't know if you could tell the role i'm playing right now

41:11Rich Eisen:i'm playing the role of husband waiting for wife to be done shopping yes your greatest role of some remade school here in kingston new york where there are some very uh nice boutique shops it's beautiful so me snagging this internet connection i think i'm gonna have to buy a vintage belt now. But at any rate, where were we? Oh, yeah. OK. So you are reading the proclamation from the governor, Josh Shapiro, who I have been told is a frequent consumer of the Rich Eisen Show. So that proclamation right there on the screen, he sent it to me. He texted it to me, all fired up, saying this is amazing.

41:56Rich Eisen:And I responded by saying, congratulations, and Knicks in six, for emphasis, E-R-S, to spell out Sixers. And so there's two ways to look at it, that they still have to come at the champs or the other narrative that I think I might be buying into is nothing's more powerful in team sports than a team that has just won the championship, given license, legitimate license to enter the next season as nobody believes in us. They have that. Nobody believes in this card in their back pocket now. And I think that's potent. I'm actually looking forward to it. So I think that's the way I might look at it.

42:42Rich Eisen:There's another way to look at it, like the obnoxious New York sports fan way of looking at it to the Nixon Sixers thing. that it's just going to only now, LeBron being in Philadelphia, make it more expensive for Knicks fans to get the tickets to these playoff games. The cost of a ticket and a train ticket might be still a little bit cheaper than getting into Madison Square Garden for a home playoff game. I don't know. That might be something Knicks fans are going to have to deal with, maybe save up a few pennies now between now and um um and next uh playoff season but uh it is exciting tj i am excited for you thank you um because lebron now adding his name to the lore of philadelphia sports um icons which is what he would be i think if he strolls in and taps out of his career by leaving a trophy in philadelphia or at least being part of it um you know depends on if you believe in Brock, but he will have no true significant impact on the upcoming NBA season.

43:53Rich Eisen:So I don't know. I don't know. But it is better for Eastern Conference basketball. It is better for what used to be what we call the Atlantic Division, right? Oh, yeah. Or it might still be called that, but nobody really even pays attention to divisions anymore. LeBron having multiple appearances in Madison Square Garden now. LeBron going up to Boston, Boston going to LeBron, New York going to LeBron, and the Sixers. It is going to be fun, and I do look forward to it. Yeah, Rich, it still is the Atlantic Division, by the way. And it's Boston, New York, Toronto, and Philly all made the playoffs last year.

44:35and they're all going to be battling it out to win that division to crown it it's kind of amazing

44:41Rich Eisen:and also be honest with the heat now and lebron with your sixers and halliburton coming back also rich and coming back i i definitely did i you know i'm excited but i'm not going to get too far you know ahead of my squeeze because the knicks have something the sixers don't you guys you have that chemistry the sixers are going to have to build to get to that next level so So as excited as I am, you know, I was caught up in that Knicks, you know, that Knicks drive to the title. So I see how good you are. And I know just getting LeBron is not going to be the only thing that's going to put us over.

45:14Rich Eisen:This team is going to have to gel. And that's something the Knicks have already done. That's a very reasonable approach, TJ. That's very reasonable. I think that's really reasonable. I'm proud of you. That's the position I'm proud of. Oh, is that right? I don't believe this for one second. I think this is what you're putting outward to the universe. You are full of spite. And you are just, you are ready to explode. And you want to proclaim greatness in championships right now. These guys know I take a laid back approach to this. Like I'll hype up the Cowboys, but in reality. That's just you in your old age now.

45:50Rich Eisen:That's you in your now being one year older now. That's true. What a late birthday gift it is for you, TJ. And a late birthday gift for you too, Brock. because now you get to be the Celtic fan hating on LeBron. Now you have like a legitimate reason to not like him as opposed to just having just something weirdly personal with the guy. I think it's great for you too. You know, like my one-sided beef with the Miz? He has that with LeBron. Yeah, yeah. That's me with Aaron Rodgers. I have that with Aaron Rodgers. I'll get you a 23rd laughing emoji from him, Chris. Well, we'll see who gets the last laughing emoji this year, and I'm guessing it's going to be me.

46:23Rich Eisen:Why wouldn't it be me as the Knick fan with the defending champion? Well, we know defending champs do not repeat, so we know there's going to be a lot. It's been a while. Data tells us that there will be a new champion. Take that for data. Okay. Wow. I love this for your guys' show. I love this for the Rich Eisen Show. I feel like next summer, you guys are going to be at each other. The Rich Eisen Show Podcast. You know when you're locked in, focused, and fearless. Welcome to the WNBA. You're vision arrows. You can't look away. Every assist, every stop, every logo three. From beyond the logo. Every did you see that moment.

47:05You bet. What records are going to be broken this season? All of it right here. Lock in. It's the WNBA on ESPN. All season long.