It’s a monumental moment in sports media history as Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith reunite for the first time IN NEARLY A DECADE. The icons, who forever changed the landscape of sports media, discuss EVERYTHING you’ve been waiting so long to hear.
#SkipBaylessShow #nfl #nba
0:00 - 1:07 Intro
1:07 - 7:39 SAS New Contract
7:39 - 12:10 First Time Meeting
12:10 - 15:01 Forever Changed Sports Media
15:01 - 19:23 Tim Tebow Playoff Win
19:23 - 25:09 G.O.A.T.?
25:09 - 35:38 Luka/Lebron Pairing
35:38 - 42:00 - Lakers Finals Appearance?
42:00 - 48:11 - Cowboys
48:11 - 50:12 - Aaron Rodgers Overrated?
50:12 - 53:51 - SAS For President
SUBSCRIBE to get the latest Skip Bayless Show content: https://www.youtube.com/@SkipBaylessShow?sub_confirmation=1
About The Skip Bayless Show:
Each week Skip will go in on the hottest topics in the world of sports and share behind-the-scenes stories from some of the biggest moments in sports history. Expect A-list interviews and responses to YOUR no-holds-barred questions.
Follow Skip:
https://x.com/RealSkipBayless
https://www.instagram.com/skipbayless/
https://www.facebook.com/RealSkipBayless/
The Skip Bayless Show
https://www.youtube.com/c/SkipBaylessShow
#SkipBaylessShow #nfl #nba
0:00 - 1:07 Intro
1:07 - 7:39 SAS New Contract
7:39 - 12:10 First Time Meeting
12:10 - 15:01 Forever Changed Sports Media
15:01 - 19:23 Tim Tebow Playoff Win
19:23 - 25:09 G.O.A.T.?
25:09 - 35:38 Luka/Lebron Pairing
35:38 - 42:00 - Lakers Finals Appearance?
42:00 - 48:11 - Cowboys
48:11 - 50:12 - Aaron Rodgers Overrated?
50:12 - 53:51 - SAS For President
SUBSCRIBE to get the latest Skip Bayless Show content: https://www.youtube.com/@SkipBaylessShow?sub_confirmation=1
About The Skip Bayless Show:
Each week Skip will go in on the hottest topics in the world of sports and share behind-the-scenes stories from some of the biggest moments in sports history. Expect A-list interviews and responses to YOUR no-holds-barred questions.
Follow Skip:
https://x.com/RealSkipBayless
https://www.instagram.com/skipbayless/
https://www.facebook.com/RealSkipBayless/
The Skip Bayless Show
https://www.youtube.com/c/SkipBaylessShow
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00Here we go.
00:04For my first ever official guest on this show, I thought about Michael Jordan.
00:10I thought about Tom Brady, but there was no doubt in my mind who my first official guest
00:16ever on this show had to be, this man.
00:20I don't even need to say his name, but nobody in my lengthy career has meant as much to
00:27me as this man has.
00:30I've said many, many times over many years, he became my brother, and it is now an honor
00:38and a privilege to be back on the air with this man for the first time since June 22nd
00:45of 2016.
00:48Did you miss me, Mr. Smith?
00:51What's going on, big time?
00:52What's up, Skip?
00:53How you doing, man?
00:54I thought you'd give me a big, hell no, I didn't miss you.
00:57I was waiting for that.
00:58I'm not going to do that.
00:59I'm not going to do that.
01:00What's going on, man?
01:01Long time.
01:02How you been?
01:03I'm probably not as great as you are, because we got to start with congratulations to you.
01:09Big new deal.
01:11What did that deal mean to you?
01:15Very humbling, to say the least.
01:19Very few people on the planet Earth know my story better than you.
01:25It was just announced.
01:26We're doing this interview just hours after it was announced, and I reached a new long-term
01:31extension with ESPN.
01:35You got to start back to the origins of where it all began, and it all began with you.
01:38It all began with you and Jamie Horowitz, my former boss over at First Take, pushing
01:45for me to be on First Take, being limited to one appearance a week to start off that,
01:53and even that, you had battles just to get me on the air, and then ultimately insisting
01:58on having me on five days a week.
02:01There's no way on Earth that that happens without you.
02:04There's no way on Earth that that happens without Jamie Horowitz.
02:09It starts there.
02:10I can look at my career, and I can look at what I've achieved as a newspaper writer,
02:14and being in radio, and .com, and television, and NBA Countdown, which was once NBA Shoot
02:21Around, and all of this other stuff, but we all know to be in the position that I'm
02:25in today to sign a contract that I signed today, it doesn't happen if it were not for
02:31First Take, and First Take never happens if it was not for Skip Bayless and Jamie Horowitz,
02:36and so I'm forever grateful, and I'm forever humbled because it's a lot of luck that comes
02:42with something like that, to have people to see your talent, to care, and in your case,
02:49to trust, because trust is a really, really, really big thing with you, sitting across
02:56from somebody five days a week, knowing the kind of issues that you have to tackle, having
03:02to know that even without you knowing the words that are going to emanate outside of
03:07somebody else's mouth, because there used to be like a round table of potpourri of people
03:10that you used to debate against and what happened, you wanted me because of trust, and the fact
03:16that you knew that it was going to be somebody that would bring the same energy, the same
03:20fervor, but most importantly, you knew that they weren't going to try to undermine you
03:25while doing so.
03:26That was a very important thing.
03:27You always emphasized that to me, and I've taken that with me for the rest of my career,
03:32so I thank you, my brother, I truly do.
03:35I appreciate those words.
03:37I wanted you because, to start with, you have the greatest gift of gab, that's what I call
03:44just the gift on television I have ever encountered or worked opposite of or played off of, and
03:55you get this, you know this, and you got me from the start, and you knew I had love for
04:02you and respect for you, and from day one, you let me go back at you because you trusted
04:10I knew where the out-of-bounds were, and I love and appreciate you for that because it's
04:17rare that you can find that in this business, and the first time it meant so much to me
04:25was – you probably won't remember this – but you called me, this would have been
04:29in 2014, maybe early 2015.
04:34You had come back to ESPN.
04:36We had been through, by that point, a couple of years on First Take, and you had gotten
04:43your first big new deal with ESPN, and it was a good one for the time.
04:49It was 2014.
04:50Yeah, 2014, and you called me.
04:54I was on my way back to New York from Bristol to see my now wife, Ernestine, like a big
05:00sister to you, and I was just so happy for you because you had worked so hard to get
05:07that deal, and now you've worked even harder, and you've taken it up and up and up, and
05:13you've done nothing but great things for the state of this industry that we're in,
05:20and I appreciate you for that.
05:23It's been a climb.
05:24It's been a struggle, and I think that sometimes, you know, you're just forced to sit back
05:29and reflect, and you think about the things that it takes to get to where we both have
05:35gotten in this industry, and there's so many things that's misunderstood, there's so many
05:39things that people don't see, there's so many things that are said and stigmatized about
05:46us being in the chair.
05:47I mean, hell, you know, you got our boy Dan Levitar blaming us for the industry, you know,
05:51for crying out loud.
05:52You know, you got stuff like that going on, and, you know, we come from a journalistic
05:56background, and so we have opinions, but A, we have educated opinions, and B, we have
06:02formulated opinions based on years and years of experience, and so just like a player can
06:08lean on their experience inside a locker room, as a player, we can lean on our experience
06:15covering locker rooms and being in press boxes and having to travel and having to be courtside
06:21and having to be at games and listening to a player and a coach and a GM and an owner.
06:26I often laugh so many times when people say, yeah, yeah, yeah, what the hell do you know
06:30or whatever?
06:31And I'm like, well, I've been around for 30 years, do you realize that the difference
06:35now compared to then is that I don't have to call anybody, they'll call me because they're
06:39trying to control spin that's disseminated over the airwaves.
06:44Why you think my head is down half the time on national television when you see the camera
06:47coming on me?
06:48Because I'm getting a text for every single damn segment for crying out loud.
06:52Information just comes because everybody wants their perspective.
06:55And a lot of times people don't see that even with the advent of podcast as well and podcasting
07:02and all of this other stuff, people don't realize it's different for you all than it
07:06is for us who were journalists in the business before we transitioned to being pundits and
07:12commentators.
07:14Those sources don't leave.
07:16There's always more that come.
07:18And on top of it all, they're looking, it's not even so much about you being a special
07:22individual.
07:23It's the platform you have that folks are trying to have some impact with.
07:29And as a result, the information just comes into perspectives come, which puts us in a
07:35very unique position.
07:36And that's what I see in the industry right now.
07:39Can you remember the first time you met me?
07:43Because I do think I remember the first time I met you and you probably don't remember
07:47this.
07:49I may not remember if it's in the newspaper.
07:50I know we met at Fox in the late nineties.
07:53I can tell you that.
07:54I know that we were together on with Jim Rome and his show, Last Word.
07:58I remember all of that.
08:00That's where it started.
08:01That's where it really, really started.
08:03That's where I can be.
08:04I'm sure we ran across one another in the past.
08:05I was writing for the New York Daily News, a high school reporter, and then the Philadelphia
08:08Inquirer.
08:10Obviously you had been everywhere.
08:11You was in LA.
08:12You was in Chicago.
08:13You was in Dallas.
08:14I forget where you are at that particular moment in time, but you were definitely making
08:17inroads into the world of television, doing sports reporters and other things.
08:23You were making a big name for yourself.
08:27We ran across each other and they put us on the air together and we went at each other
08:31straight up from day one.
08:34Straight up.
08:35We didn't have a problem.
08:36We were like, hey, that was a great segment after it was over.
08:39That basically was the start of us.
08:43I first was introduced to you in the Chicago Bulls United Center media room.
08:48I think it was 1999.
08:51You were covering the Sixers.
08:53Jordan had retired in 98.
08:55I went out that night only to see your man, Allen Iverson, play at the United Center because
09:00the Bulls were horrible.
09:03A sports editor by the name of Dan McGrath at the Chicago Tribune, where I worked, introduced
09:08me just briefly in passing to you in the media room.
09:13I was immediately impressed because you were suited and booted.
09:19You were maybe the only reporter that I knew, certainly beat reporter, covering a nightly
09:26daily basketball team who wore a coat and tie to games.
09:31I was highly impressed with that.
09:33I believe you later told me, or maybe it came out on the air when we had Larry Brown on,
09:38that Larry pushed you to go upgrade your wardrobe to cover the team so that you would create
09:45more respect in the locker room, right?
09:48Well, it wasn't so much that because the respect was already there.
09:53What it was is that I used to admire, I thought that Larry Brown, Pat Riley, Chuck Daly, God
10:01rest his soul, I thought they were the best dressed coaches in the business.
10:06They just came suited and booted every single game.
10:09They were dressed to the nines.
10:10I remember I was looking at Larry and admiring his suits and stuff, and he had pushed me
10:15to upgrade.
10:16Then Billy King was his VP of basketball administration at the time because Larry Brown had just arrived
10:20a couple of years earlier before he was promoted to GM.
10:23Billy King was a sharp dresser in his own right, and he would tease me about it.
10:28Aaron McKee, they called him, nicknamed Blue.
10:32Everybody called him Blue because he always was wearing something blue, blue suits and
10:34all this stuff.
10:36Aaron McKee is one of the best dressed dudes in the NBA.
10:38He was sharp as a tack.
10:40I saw Larry Brown wearing these suede shoes one time with a suit.
10:44I was like, what's that, coach?
10:47I said, I'm going to go to the mall and get me a pair of shoes, and I drove down to King
10:51of Prussia because Pat Croce was the president of the 76ers at the time.
10:56I went to King of Prussia, and I came strolling down the stairs, and there was somebody there
11:02at the bottom of the staircase.
11:06I was getting ready to ask him a question, where's the shoe department?
11:09He said, Stephen A. The guy says, I'm such and such.
11:12Pat Croce and Larry Brown told us to expect you.
11:15I said, excuse me?
11:16They said, here's a bunch of shoes.
11:19I was like, what?
11:21I looked at it, and I said, okay.
11:22I was like, how much does this stuff cost?
11:25It was shoes like $500, $600.
11:26I'm like, what?
11:27I'm not paying that money.
11:28That's too expensive.
11:29What the hell?
11:30I don't make that kind of money.
11:36The salesman said, they said you would say that, and they told me to tell you, dress
11:43for where you want to go, not where you are.
11:47I remember that I had family members that had told me that before in the past, and I
11:51said, damn it.
11:52I really got to pay this money, and man, I wasn't making that kind of money, but I
12:00dropped it on those shoes, and before long, the suit game followed, and everything else
12:05came about.
12:06Good.
12:07It worked.
12:08Yeah, it did.
12:09Yeah, it did.
12:10Right?
12:11Yeah.
12:12Okay.
12:13You mentioned what Levitard said to you.
12:14He also asked me on air about this, that you and I, from a period of about 2011 to 2016,
12:20ruined the television sports business.
12:23What was your response to that?
12:25I told him, what the hell is he absorbing himself from it for?
12:29I said, you want to talk about me and Skip?
12:31What about you?
12:32You had strong opinions, Levitard.
12:34You sat up there and clowned around.
12:35You did a whole bunch of stuff.
12:36Why are you acting like it was us?
12:39It really bothered me when he said that because, listen, for better or worse, I think you could
12:47be hyperbolic.
12:48I think you could be crazy half the time.
12:50You know how I am with you, but I've always acknowledged, man, me and what he says now,
12:55I always tell a story of when you and I used to do old school, new school on Sunday mornings
13:00with the great Bob Lee.
13:02And I said, we were both in a bureau cam in New York City.
13:06And I said, Skip knows the story.
13:07Skip will tell you.
13:08He'll nod his head in affirmation.
13:09He knows I'm telling the truth.
13:11And I forgot what had happened.
13:13And Skip comes on national television and says, there should be an 11 o'clock curfew
13:18for athletes.
13:19Athletes shouldn't be allowed outside after 11 o'clock.
13:22And I said-
13:2312.
13:24Go ahead.
13:25It was 11.
13:26It was 11, Skip Davis.
13:27Trust me.
13:28I'll never forget this story.
13:29And you said 11 o'clock and I started screaming, how old are you, Skip?
13:33How old are you?
13:35So I'm sitting there and we're going back and forth and Bob Lee is having a blast.
13:39And I come out, we both come out of our respective bureau cams and I looked at you and I said,
13:44that was some great television, man.
13:46That was really hilarious.
13:48You know, I said, that was good for you to say, man, that's a good thing.
13:51And you looked around and then you looked at me and you said, I'm serious.
13:56I'm serious.
13:57Nothing good's happening after 11 o'clock.
14:01And I tell everybody that story because I say, that's when I knew that Skip Bayless,
14:06he's not playing.
14:07He means this stuff.
14:08He ain't laughing.
14:09He's not joking.
14:10He really, really means this stuff.
14:12And I said, and that's when I knew that if we were ever on television together, we would
14:15win because I knew we thought nothing alike.
14:19And in the years to follow, as I've had different partners and different responsibilities and
14:24all of that other stuff, I've always told people working with Skip Bayless every day,
14:29understand that took a load off me.
14:30Like I can go out to the West Coast for an NBA finals.
14:34I don't have to be at the morning meeting.
14:37Skip can, I said, I was usually there, but I said, I didn't have to be, if I needed mornings
14:42off, Skip had me.
14:44Because he knew exactly what we were doing.
14:47I'll touch this subject.
14:48There's no way Stephen A is going to agree with this.
14:50I'll touch that subject.
14:51There's no way Stephen A is going to agree with it.
14:53I said, he knew instinctually.
14:55You didn't have to ask.
14:56He knew.
14:57And that's what made us, us.
15:00All right.
15:02We detonated for the first time when we got back together.
15:06This would be after old school, new school, after Fox Sports Net.
15:10Yep.
15:11Jimmy Horowitz brought you on to first take as a permanent resident.
15:18And we were right in the middle of the Tim Tebow run in 2011.
15:24And I can't have you on with me without bringing up my greatest moment in my career, which
15:31could have been your lowest moment in your career, was Tebow's touchdown pass in overtime
15:38in the home playoff game against your Pittsburgh Steelers, Ben Roethlisberger and Mike Tomlin,
15:44that won the game for the then Denver Broncos.
15:47Do you remember that moment?
15:48Well, first of all, I'll never forget it for several reasons.
15:53Number one, at the time, I mean, you know me, I mean, I'm happy, I'm good now and all
16:00of this stuff.
16:01You know, I've been single all my life and had a very, very beautiful, sexy woman in
16:05my life at that time.
16:07And, you know, I was having a really, really, really good time most evenings with Husky
16:12Availes.
16:13And I would always make sure there was a little action going on.
16:17Tim Tebow threw that damn touchdown to Damaris Thomas.
16:21He threw that pass over the middle, that slam pattern, and that man scampered 80 yards.
16:28He did.
16:29You know, Ike Taylor chasing him, futilely, I might add.
16:33Literally, literally, I collapsed on the floor and I laid there for over two hours.
16:44I mean, I didn't move.
16:45I was so damn depressed because, first of all, I'm a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, so I was
16:51really upset we lost.
16:52Secondly, I was upset because we lost to Tim Tebow of all people.
16:59And last but not least, I knew what was waiting for me the next morning.
17:06And it took, it is the only time in my career, the only time in my career, I literally, after
17:13I finally got up from that living room floor and I was unable, I just was unable, I was
17:18in no kind, I was just so, I couldn't eat, couldn't have sex, couldn't do nothing.
17:21I was just, I felt that it was just the most awful feeling I've had, one of the most awful
17:27feelings I've had in my career.
17:29And I remember spending like a legitimate two to three hours trying to conspire to come
17:36up with a way that I wouldn't have to come into work the next morning.
17:39I mean, I was really, I was not joking.
17:42I was trying to, like, man, I can't call in sick.
17:44That's too obvious.
17:46Maybe I can get a flat tire.
17:47Maybe, you know, I could, you know, I don't want to get into a vicious car accident, but
17:51if I'm not going at a high speed, not getting in a car accident or whatever, I mean, I could
17:56show the picture of the car and I could, I could delay going into the office.
18:00I was like anything to not face Skip Bayless on this day.
18:06It was-
18:07Absolutely.
18:08Without question, the worst day of my first Tate career, without question.
18:12So you actually thought for a moment about causing a car wreck on purpose just so you
18:18could miss work.
18:19I mean, not a vicious one, but something that would enable me to be, to not be hurt.
18:26Not be harmed, but would enable me to escape having to face you that next morning.
18:33It was like Tim Tebow, I just, I still can't get over what happened in that game.
18:40I still can't get over it.
18:42It was, it's a miracle.
18:44It really, really was.
18:45And remember our video, all he does is win by the great DJ Steve Porter.
18:49Unleash Tim Tebow.
18:50Unleash.
18:51Unleash.
18:52Let him play.
18:53I'm like, oh, damn.
18:54You know what made the video fly were your facial expressions of exasperation.
19:00Exactly.
19:01Exactly.
19:02But you know, it was all he does.
19:03Listen, all he does is win.
19:05All he does is win.
19:06I mean, he cut it up nice, but it was like, what a nightmare.
19:10I mean, I still have nightmares about that day still.
19:15And I love Tim Tebow.
19:16I know you do.
19:17Yeah.
19:18All right.
19:19Let's talk a little bit about current sports.
19:24I did see this the other day and I, I gotta ask you about it because I'm still not sure
19:28about it, but I think I saw that you came full circle all the way around and finally
19:34decided that LeBron is actually greater than Jordan.
19:39Is that what you said?
19:40Or do you want to?
19:41Yeah.
19:42I'll make sure that he got it right.
19:44Cause Lord knows in social media and beyond, they'll get it wrong.
19:47I have never seen a greater player than Michael Jordan.
19:52At his peak.
19:53He is one.
19:54He is one of one.
19:56But I've also never seen someone for as great, as great for as long as they have been great
20:03as LeBron James.
20:04To be from his rookie campaign to his 22nd year in the league, um, and to be as great
20:14as he has been, it's just undeniable.
20:16I mean, facts are facts.
20:18Now don't tell me that LeBron James at his best eclipsed Michael Jordan at his best.
20:25I'm not trying to hear it.
20:26I'm not trying to listen to it.
20:27I know what I saw with my own two damn eyes.
20:29It ain't happening, but, um, Jordan gave you 13 years in Chicago, gave you 15 overall.
20:37He did.
20:38LeBron is in his 22nd year, averaging 25, 10, and seven.
20:41It is undeniable.
20:43You know, he went to play at a month of the month of February in 2022, just like he won't
20:47play at a month in February in 2005.
20:50That's 20 years apart to play at a month.
20:53It's unreal.
20:54It's undeniable.
20:55So I do think that he deserved the respect to categorize it that way.
21:01But Michael Jordan will, it will forever be my goat.
21:04I can't imagine seeing anybody that I would say would eclipse Michael Jordan.
21:08Not with what I saw with my own two eyes.
21:10Okay.
21:11Is it fair to say that LeBron is then the longevity goat or king or however you want
21:17to call it?
21:18I said, he's the greatest.
21:19He's the greatest in the category of longevity.
21:22There is no greater person.
21:23There's no greater athlete than LeBron James.
21:25I will totally concede that.
21:27But we have to point out for perspective, LeBron has now played 585 more games than
21:33Jordan played, because as you well know, Jordan's career virtually ended in 98 in Chicago.
21:39He came back three years later for ceremonial years, sort of ownership stake in the Washington
21:46Wizards that went awry.
21:48That's why he came back.
21:49Yeah.
21:50Okay.
21:51All right.
21:52So help me out here.
21:54People say I pick on LeBron, I overpick on him, I'm too harsh in my criticism.
21:59But I'm watching LeBron James in year 21 and 22 shoot the ball so much better than he did
22:09for his first 20 years of his career that it haunts me, it perplexes me, it deeply frustrates
22:17me that he was such a poor shooter from three and the free throw line.
22:23Like I did the average, there were 19 years before last year, in which if you took the
22:29average from three of those 19 years, he was 31% from three.
22:34Well, you know, and I know by his standards, the greatest scorer in the history of basketball
22:39is, that's pathetic, 31%.
22:43And I don't know why he couldn't have gotten better from three and especially from the
22:49free throw line for 20 years until now.
22:52I don't know what got into him, but he did get in the lab and put in the work to make
22:57himself a better shooter in his 21st and 22nd years.
23:02Well there's several incentives that point to that.
23:06Number one, when you can shoot, you don't have to work as hard to score buckets.
23:13And he didn't mind doing that as a six foot nine, 250 to 260 pound juggernaut throughout
23:20his younger years.
23:22But now that he's eclipsed age 40 and there's more wear and tear in your body, it's a lot
23:31easier when you can shoot the basketball from the outside than having to be a man amongst
23:37boys, even though he is a man amongst boys because of his physical prowess, obviously.
23:42You know, the bottom line is it's easier.
23:44That's number one.
23:45Number two, Anthony Davis was there and they had made a commitment that he was going to
23:48be the focal point of the offense.
23:49And so with Anthony Davis being who he is, that also encouraged LeBron James to shoot
23:55better from the outside because if anything was going to be done on the interior, primarily
24:00you wanted it to be Anthony Davis that was delivering those goods for you.
24:03So that's number two.
24:05And then number three, now that Luka has arrived in Los Angeles, I mean, Luka's going to have
24:13the ball in his hands.
24:14So essentially in football parlance, you're talking about LeBron James being a wide out.
24:18You're talking about him catching a deep pass, meaning that if you're Luka, you got the ball
24:22in your hands and you're such an outstanding passer, just watch Luka.
24:25He makes some magnificent passes and what have you.
24:30He's going to find you.
24:31He's going to find guys.
24:32And then you look at an Austin Reeves.
24:33He can shoot.
24:34You look at connect.
24:35He can shoot.
24:36Okay.
24:37So you see some of these Gabe Vinson was here, he gave a key threes and stuff like that the
24:41other night.
24:42All of this going on and you've got Luka who requires double coverage.
24:47You're not single covering Luka Doncic, okay?
24:51So because of that, you know, you sit up there, you throwing over the head passes to people
24:55like LeBron James, like others, like Austin Reeves and others.
24:58And LeBron James is getting more opportunities from the outside as well.
25:01So all of that plays a role.
25:03Plus he went in the lab and worked on it, but all of those things contributed to him
25:07becoming a better shooter.
25:10Okay.
25:11So what are you seeing so far, still pretty early on from the Luka LeBron pairing?
25:21Do you like what you're seeing?
25:22Is it surprising you?
25:24Excuse me.
25:25Not only do I love what I'm seeing, I'm shocked by what I'm seeing.
25:30And skip to touching your wheelhouse.
25:34When Luka had first arrived and everybody was talking about what's Luka and LeBron going
25:42to do, Larry Brown, Hall of Fame coach, former Philadelphia 76ers, Indiana Pacers and all
25:48that stuff.
25:49Larry Brown texted me.
25:50And all he said was, great players learn how to play together very quickly.
25:57So all he said, he said, when you're great, trust you me.
26:00You got great, what about, I'm not talking about, he said, he wasn't talking about talent,
26:03great basketball players, meaning guys with IQs, basketball IQs.
26:07He said, when you have that, trust me, they learn how to play together quick.
26:12So I wasn't worried about them offensively.
26:14We were worried about them defensively because they were porous to begin with.
26:18On top of it all, losing Anthony Davis, having Jackson Hayes in the middle, and pretty much
26:24not much else.
26:27Had you viewing the Lakers as undersized and wondering what you going to do against Houston
26:33with a Shagun, against a Memphis with some of the bodies that they have, and Jackson
26:38and that big rookie that they have out of Purdue.
26:42And what are you going to do against Jokic, of course, in Denver and stuff like that.
26:47And then you've got Oklahoma City with Hartenstein and Chet Hogan.
26:50What you going to do?
26:52And we asked those questions and we didn't realize that JJ Redick has proven to be one
26:58hell of a coach.
26:59I mean, he kind of knows what the hell he's doing.
27:02And we knew and we saw how efficient they were going to be offensively.
27:06Little did we know that over the last seven weeks or so, in terms of efficiency, the Lakers
27:11are the number one defense in the entire NBA.
27:13Since the trade deadline.
27:15Yep.
27:16So even before that, because it was like 13 games, it's like 13 out of the 21 games.
27:21So it was like a seven to eight game stretch before Luka arrived and then Luka obviously
27:26arrived and it hasn't compromised them anyway.
27:28And then all of a sudden, Skip, I go to a couple of games and I start seeing things
27:32that you don't get to really, really appreciate on TV.
27:35Like for example, Dorian Finney-Smith, Rui Hachimura, you know.
27:43Jared Vanderbilt.
27:44Jared Vanderbilt.
27:46Right.
27:47You know, Skip, these guys ain't 6'2".
27:50You know, they're like 6'7", 6'8".
27:52They are.
27:53And yeah, it's not like they can, they're not big as big as Jokic or whatever, but they
27:58have athleticism, they have strength, they have some size and they have the quickness
28:03and the athletic ability to get out and defend the wings.
28:08So I sort of incorporate that strategy front and backing Jokic and then getting out to
28:13a Porter, getting out to an Aaron Gordon, getting out to a Jamal Murray and stuff like
28:18that.
28:19You're like, wait, wait a minute now.
28:20This defense.
28:21And then not only that, I can honestly say this, and this is a big deal because I thought
28:25that Darvin Ham was a damn good coach, took him to the Cardinals the first year, second
28:30year, first round, but both losses were to Denver.
28:33And I looked at Darvin Ham and Skip, I've never seen the Lakers in the Frank Vogel era
28:41and the Darvin Ham era play defense like this.
28:46What I mean is they get after you and the arguing and the sniping that comes to the
28:53bench when guys miss an assignment, you're seeing guys explaining themselves to a third
29:01or fourth assistant coach.
29:02It's like the accountability factor that J.J. Reddick has created is symptomatic of who
29:10I know him to be from doing television work with him.
29:14He's detailed oriented.
29:16He's no nonsense.
29:17He doesn't mess around and he's big on accountability and he's got the team buying in.
29:26And that's what I've noticed.
29:28And I'm pleasantly shocked that their defense looks as formidable as it has looked.
29:35Okay.
29:36I'm with you.
29:37There are certain nights I have seen Luka get torched by this player or that player,
29:44but somehow the rest cover for him in zone concepts.
29:48And Luka can steal the ball a la Larry Bird, as you know.
29:53He can get his hands on balls in the passing lanes.
29:56He can disrupt.
29:58And so the mindset is still a defensive mindset, even though he can't shuffle his feet like
30:04some can.
30:05Even LeBron at 40, he is still moving his feet.
30:09He will lock in and lock you up.
30:12So to me, they're able to overcome whatever on ball deficiencies that Luka might have.
30:20And they are becoming a force on defense.
30:23And I can't believe those words are coming out of my mouth.
30:25Well, this is the thing.
30:27I saw Luka about a week ago.
30:32He's on the perimeter, really, really trying to defend.
30:38You know, he's not spectating.
30:40He's not watching and looking at the four other guys and saying, get it done so you
30:43can give me the ball and score for you.
30:45That's not what's going on here.
30:47Everybody has bought in.
30:48And you see, again, the level of accountability that JJ Redick has fostered is what I've been
30:59impressed most.
31:00I saw LeBron James the other night asking one of the assistants, what defensive assignment
31:07do you want me to take right now?
31:09What do you want me to call?
31:10Who do you want me to guard here?
31:11What do you want me to do?
31:12Do you want me to do that?
31:14I'm not saying those things have ever happened.
31:15I'm saying they have never happened.
31:17I'm saying it wasn't as conspicuous as it is now.
31:22We see it now.
31:23And we see them looking over to the coaching staff, which, by the way, has two former head
31:28coaches in Scott Brooks and Nate McMillan on the squad.
31:31These men know what they're doing.
31:33And that's what I've been noticing.
31:35And I can't say enough about it.
31:37I really can't.
31:38Okay.
31:39Although, JJ wasn't known as a defensive specialist with a defensive mindset.
31:44And I don't want to leave behind Darvin Ham.
31:47I'm a fan of Darvin Ham's.
31:49I still believe if he were still in place in that chair that he could be doing what
31:55JJ is doing.
31:56I can't take anything away from JJ as a first-time-ever head coach.
32:00Well, here's what you can say.
32:02I can certainly believe that defensively, because that's Darvin Ham's specialty.
32:08Offensively, that was not the case.
32:11JJ Reddick and LA's offense is night and day compared to what it was with Darvin Ham.
32:17I expected it to be reversed, meaning they'd be successful because of their offense rather
32:22than their defense.
32:23I expected that.
32:25And I think the reason why we can't avoid giving JJ Reddick credit is because everybody
32:31that expected him to have any kind of success, it was because of what his mind would ooze
32:38offensively.
32:40That's not what's happening here.
32:42It's also defense.
32:44And that's where it can't be ignored.
32:46I know.
32:47But Stephen A, he's got two Magic Johnsons running his offense now.
32:51He's got two basketball geniuses running his offense.
32:55I don't know how much you need to coach offense with those two running the show.
33:00You can say that, Skip, but Phil Jackson taught you this.
33:05Don't mess up a good thing.
33:06You can mess up something that's good.
33:08That's true.
33:09There is something to be said about you messing stuff up.
33:12So we've got to be mindful of that because that's what we're talking about here.
33:16We're talking about a rookie coach who's never been a head coach on a collegiate level, never
33:23been a head coach on a high school level, wasn't a head coach.
33:26I mean, he's coaching his son.
33:28You know, a little league coach for crying out loud.
33:30I mean, he got to get in the jacket.
33:32It is, I think it's seven or eight year old son's game.
33:34This is what we're talking about here.
33:36And we're talking about him going from that to coaching the Los Angeles Lakers and being
33:42a coach of the year candidate in his first year.
33:47That says a lot, man.
33:49It does.
33:50And by the way, speaking of sons, you okay with Bronny being on the team and sitting
33:54on the bench and going on the road occasionally?
33:56Well, listen, it is what it is.
33:57I mean, we all know that LeBron James is the greatest player of this generation.
34:04We can't deny that.
34:06We know he's underpaid because he deserves more money than he's getting paid because,
34:09you know, you got your cap and all of that other stuff and first and second and third
34:14aprons and he can't get the money he so richly deserves.
34:17And so, you know, and nobody was shy about it.
34:21You had Golden State Boston contemplating Bronny being a second round pick.
34:25And then, you know, the Lakers get him.
34:27And obviously it was, you know, Rich Paul took care of that and made sure he was going
34:31to land with LA because that's where LeBron wanted him.
34:33And so in that regard, because of the transparency of it is why I don't think we should really,
34:40really have a problem with it.
34:43If they tried to be slick about it and act like that wasn't happening, that would be
34:47different.
34:48That's not what they did.
34:49And so because that's not what they did, I don't really have a problem with it.
34:52All I will say now is that now that that moment has come and gone, Bronny was doing very well
34:58in the G League.
34:59I personally think that Bronny has potential to be an NBA player.
35:02And I think that, you know, with the success that he's had in the G League and learning
35:07the game from the greatest basketball savant of the modern era, which many consider LeBron
35:13James to be, along with the coaching and tutelage and all of that other stuff, I got
35:19a lot of confidence in him that he will be in the pros someday and that he will deserve
35:24it.
35:25It's just that now everybody knows what it is for the moment being.
35:29And some people are more receptive to embracing that than others.
35:32All right.
35:33Fair enough.
35:34All right.
35:35Bigger picture.
35:36How far can this Laker team go with Luka and LeBron?
35:41I don't know what you think of my Oklahoma City Thunder.
35:45Can they get past the Thunder?
35:46Who do you like in the West?
35:48I'm willing to bet they're going to get to the conference finals.
35:53Can they beat Oklahoma City?
35:55Yes.
35:56Will they?
35:57Not so sure.
35:58Shea Gilgers is Alexander.
35:59Shea Gilgers is Alexander.
36:00He's a superstar.
36:01He's a superstar.
36:02He's the truth.
36:03Without question.
36:04Right?
36:05And the pieces they have around them, the pickup of Alex Caruso and Harden Stein in
36:10the offseason is huge.
36:12Because Skip, I looked the other day, man.
36:14There was like nine or 10 different defensive categories that Oklahoma City was number one
36:19in.
36:20Like nine or 10 different categories.
36:22I mean, they were even number one in loose balls.
36:25Loose balls acquired.
36:26I mean, it was ridiculous.
36:27Everything, anything that had something to do with defense, they were number one.
36:30And so one could easily argue Luka, LeBron, and the crew, they ain't faced that yet.
36:34No.
36:35They haven't faced that kind of challenge.
36:37The flip side is that Oklahoma City is unproven.
36:41They're young.
36:43And you're going to have to go out there and show who you are and what you're made of.
36:47Now we know Shea Gilgers is going to do his thing.
36:49We saw him do it in the playoffs last year against Dallas.
36:52Where was his help?
36:54He didn't have it.
36:55We know Jalen Williams could play, but he didn't have that great of a series.
36:59We know Jordan Roseboys can play.
37:00Stephen, I remember that game six at Dallas, it went to the last drop and Shea Gilgers
37:06lost, to quote you, lost his damn mind and he fouled P.J. in the corner on a three-point shot
37:12and lost them the game, which he never, ever does.
37:15He's such a smart player, high IQ player.
37:19And that's how close it came to them getting it back to a game seven and an OKC.
37:24So I think they got a little scar tissue that will benefit them.
37:27But we all know that you're from Oklahoma City and we all know how you favor your thunder.
37:33Here's my disappointment in you.
37:36When are we going to point the finger at Sam Presti?
37:38Sam Presti is a fabulous executive.
37:41I know that.
37:43But Skip Bayless, he got to close the deal.
37:45He got to close the deal, man.
37:46You can't, you can't.
37:48I'm going to go down the list and I'm going to, I'll probably forget a few names,
37:52but let me go down the list.
37:53Sam Presti, as the boss of basketball operations for the Oklahoma City Thunder,
37:59he had these five dudes together.
38:01Kevin Durant, James Harden, Russell Westbrook,
38:04Serge Ibaka, Reggie Jackson.
38:05OK, he had that going on together.
38:07Let's not forget Stephen Adams.
38:10Let's not forget him.
38:11OK, he had those players.
38:14Also, he's had Russell Westbrook with Carmelo Anthony, Russell Westbrook with Paul George,
38:19Russell Westbrook with Victor Oladipo.
38:21You know, you look at these players, right?
38:24Now you got Shea and he clearly is exceptional at building a roster.
38:2917 years and you don't have one championship?
38:32Not one?
38:33Come on, at some point in time, it can't be about being competitive.
38:37It can't be about just getting there.
38:39It's got to be about getting over the hump, which is why I've said
38:42over the last couple of weeks, I said, let me tell you something.
38:44Y'all call me crazy.
38:47But if I'm Oklahoma City and I got some picks, because they got everything.
38:52I mean, they just wiped the floor.
38:55I mean, the Clippers for the Paul George deal, the Russell Westbrook deal.
39:01Let me tell you something, man.
39:03With all the assets they have, if I got to give up a few of them to bring Kevin Durant
39:09back home and pair him with Shea and pair him with Chet, Hartenstein, Caruso, and if
39:18I got to bring that brother to Oklahoma City to deliver me a championship, I can't use
39:23all the assets anyway, if I'm saying Presti.
39:26But at some point in time, we got to at least ask, when you going to close the deal?
39:31Instead of allowing him to just celebrate the fact that his teams are competitive and
39:34in the mix all the time.
39:35At some point in time, you got to close.
39:37Okay, you mean you wanted them to go get Kevin at the trade deadline for draft picks?
39:42Personally, I thought about that.
39:44But since you're the number one seed and you're rolling, and Hartenstein and Holmgren and
39:49Caruso are all there, I don't blame them for that.
39:52But my biggest deal is that if you don't win it this year, you got to give up those
39:56assets and go get somebody like a Kevin Durant.
39:59You got to-
39:59I don't believe he'll do that.
40:01And by the way, to defend him only on this score, remember when he had Durant, Westbrook,
40:08and Harten, his ownership, starting with Clay Bennett, wouldn't pay the freight to keep
40:12James Harten, right?
40:13Right.
40:13Because he was going to get a max deal-
40:14Now you remember that story, right?
40:15You know how much that was for, right?
40:18Remember that?
40:18No, I do.
40:20Four million dollars.
40:20And I don't get it.
40:22Four million dollars.
40:23Yeah, all right.
40:24That is a disgrace.
40:26Yeah, okay.
40:27I'm not talking about per year.
40:29Let's let the audience understand.
40:30It was four million dollars total for James Harten's contract.
40:36And you let him walk out the door.
40:38You did.
40:39Inexcusable.
40:40Okay.
40:41I believe they're going to win the West and at least get to the NBA Finals.
40:45I don't know that they can beat Boston right now because I still think Boston is better
40:50than Cleveland, even though Cleveland showed me a lot the other day against Boston.
40:54But I still think it's going to be Oklahoma City and Boston.
40:58If Boston prevails, I won't hold that against Sam Presti if his team gets to the Finals.
41:03Because they are set up to be dynastic to me.
41:07Because that team is still so young.
41:10Chad Holmgren's still just a baby.
41:12And maybe you want to add a piece.
41:14I just don't know that you want to add a superstar piece to it.
41:18Because it has a college rah-rah mentality and all for one, one for all.
41:23And I don't know that they want Kevin Durant in the middle of that.
41:26That's totally fair.
41:28And it totally matters if you win.
41:32If you win.
41:33But when you haven't won, then that's a different matter.
41:36Because what cannot happen, in my estimation, what I find grossly unfair, you can't keep
41:42knocking on the door, knocking on the door, knocking on the door, and that buys you security.
41:47At some point in time, you got to win.
41:49Everybody else got to win.
41:51You got to win too.
41:51You do.
41:52Yeah.
41:53Well, he wins in the offseason.
41:55He just hadn't won during the season.
41:56Oh, damn it.
41:57During the season is what matters.
41:58Oh, it is in the end.
42:00All right.
42:01Speaking of not winning for the last 30 years, my Dallas Cowboys haven't even made it back
42:06to an NFC Championship game in 30 years running.
42:11And I had to stomach a quote from our man Jerry Jones the other day that said,
42:17I'm not looking at free agency as a place to fill voids.
42:22Your thoughts on Jerry saying no to free agency?
42:29I'm worried about Jerry.
42:30Yeah, me too.
42:33I think I'm not going to accuse him of being Biden-like, a former president, but-
42:39I have, but go ahead.
42:40There is slippage that I'm not in.
42:43How do you not go out and get Derrick Henry?
42:45How do you not negotiate CeeDee Lambs and Dak Prescott's deals early enough so it's not
42:50chomping up extra cap space?
42:53Good question.
42:54Makes no sense whatsoever.
42:56Now, over the last few days, they've cleared about 57 million in cap space,
43:04if I remember correctly, which is a good thing.
43:06That's good.
43:07Is it?
43:07Yeah.
43:08That's good.
43:09But what are you going to do with it?
43:11You got to go out and get people.
43:13And that's what we got to wait to see what Jerry Jones does.
43:16But the Cowboys haven't been in the NFC Championship game in 29 to 30 years, actually.
43:22It'll be 31, by the way.
43:23Get that out your system.
43:24Ain't no way in hell they get into an NFC Championship game.
43:26Agreed.
43:27So since that's your reality, Jerry, and I've asked this question, where's his children?
43:36Where's his children at?
43:37I mean, what purpose do you serve?
43:39I mean, if you are a Steven Jones, what's up?
43:43I mean, that's your daddy.
43:45I mean, he can't just be saying anything.
43:47And you know what?
43:47You can't be sounding like him.
43:50You can't be at the NFL meetings, and you sounding like you're your daddy in terms of
43:57your father saying that ain't making much sense to Dallas Cowboy fans.
44:01Not smart, but that's what they've given us.
44:04So it is what it is.
44:06Stephen A, Howie Roseman went out one year ago right now, and he won the draft, and he won
44:14free agency more important.
44:17And quietly, the new regime in Washington a year ago was right there with Howie Roseman
44:25in dominating free agency.
44:28They completely on the fly rebuilt their team around a quarterback who, as you well know,
44:33became the greatest rookie quarterback we've ever seen in Jaden Daniels.
44:37And by the end of the year, Philadelphia was the best team in the National Football League.
44:42And the second best team by the end of the year were the Washington Commanders.
44:48That's what Jerry Jones is going to have to deal with.
44:51And don't let Shadur Sanders fall to the New York football giants, because that would be
44:57something else you'd have to deal with for twice a year.
45:00Do you really want that?
45:01I don't know if I want to.
45:02I don't know if I want to wish that on Shadur Sanders.
45:04He might be better off in Vegas with Pete Carroll.
45:07Okay, you could be right.
45:08But I don't like, but Shane, I know his name is Shane, but I say, I call him Shane, the GM
45:14for the Giants, because he should be ashamed of himself for what he did with Saquon Barkley.
45:18So I call him Shane.
45:19And I don't know if I want to go into an environment like that, personally.
45:25Okay.
45:25That's how I feel.
45:26But I wouldn't want a rookie in that kind of environment.
45:29I don't trust the GM.
45:31Okay.
45:31But you do have a neighbor who's, that worked.
45:35I think he's a player, and I think you could build around those two, for sure.
45:39But I don't know what, if Dion wants his son in the Big Apple, or he may want him in Las Vegas,
45:44that would be great, too.
45:45But my point is, at least you got to deal with Philadelphia and Washington for a long time,
45:51because Jalen Hurts ain't going nowhere.
45:54And he will only work harder and harder to get better and better.
45:58So I'm looking at Jerry, and I'm fearful that he's gone a little around the bend,
46:04just not quite all there.
46:06I have used the Biden-like analogy, and I'm not sure his children or his wife can unseat him.
46:17He is in charge, and 80, what is he, 82 years of age?
46:2182.
46:22Yeah.
46:23Okay.
46:23And they're just going nowhere slowly.
46:27Because look, I've always liked Dak, but I've never loved Dak.
46:32And as you well know, he's 2-5 in the postseason.
46:35And last year, he was the highest-paid player in the league.
46:39They're going nowhere.
46:40And I love CD, so he got his money.
46:44But if you give Micah the most money any defensive player's ever had in the history of pro football,
46:49he doesn't have enough Lawrence Taylor-like impact to measure up to that kind of a deal to me.
46:57So where are you going?
46:58How are you going to threaten Philadelphia or Washington?
47:01Because I can't see it.
47:03That's fair.
47:04That's fair, Skip.
47:04But Micah's the heart and soul of the Dallas Cowboys.
47:08He really is.
47:09Well, then maybe that's the problem.
47:11I don't know.
47:11I'm just saying, well, he's been injured some, but when he's on the football field,
47:15he gets after the quarterback, and he makes things happen.
47:18And their defense looks significantly more formidable.
47:20So we can't ignore that either.
47:23Okay, but Stephen, do you remember the first three home games this past year?
47:28Remember what?
47:29New Orleans went in there, and they became a bad football team, but it was over by halftime.
47:34The Baltimore game was over by halftime.
47:36The Detroit game was over by halftime.
47:38That's when you ran down their throats.
47:40I mean, you had, listen, you have Kamara running the football.
47:43You had Derrick Henry coming in, running for nearly 200 yards.
47:46This is ridiculous.
47:46Running the football down their throats.
47:48What can you do?
47:49I don't know.
47:51So is it possible they're going to become the worst team in the NFC East?
47:57Yes, it's possible.
47:59I still think it'll be third place, but it is possible that the Dallas Cowboys could
48:04just nosedive and stink up the joint, the Cowboys.
48:07It is.
48:07Yep.
48:09All right.
48:10Okay, last quick sports question.
48:13Are you ready to admit that Aaron Rodgers has always been a little overrated?
48:18No, I'm not ready to admit that.
48:20I don't think that he's overrated as a talent.
48:22I think that in his prime, he was a bad man.
48:26That's what I stand by it.
48:28I ain't backing up from that.
48:29But I do think that sometimes, you know how they say, the higher you climb up a tree,
48:35the more you show your ass.
48:36And I think that him wanting to be somebody that wasn't just a quarterback, but that was
48:41running the organization, et cetera, et cetera.
48:43He found himself in a position where he was burdened with the power that he swore he wanted,
48:49but didn't necessarily want.
48:50And so as a result of that, he was in over his head because he wasn't paying attention
48:54to detail and prioritizing things the way that he should have.
48:58But it doesn't take away from the fact that he's one of the greatest passers of the football
49:01I've ever seen.
49:03He's four-time league MVP.
49:04He's absolutely spectacular.
49:06I think he's far from done as well.
49:08I think he's that lethal.
49:10He's that legit.
49:11He had a down year last year, Skip.
49:13A down year last year.
49:14And still through 28 touchdowns, just 11 interceptions.
49:18Okay.
49:19But you're a bad man the last three years in Green Bay when it mattered, when it counted.
49:24I'm not absolving him from that.
49:25He was just bad to me.
49:27I'm not absolving him.
49:28Two losses to the 49ers.
49:31You can't score 13 points on a road team in a blizzard.
49:35It's your blizzard, damn it.
49:37You wasn't farming the cold weather and blizzards in Hawaii, Wisconsin.
49:40So he should have been able to handle it.
49:42The fact that he didn't is definitely an indictment.
49:44Okay.
49:45And remember, it has now been 15 long years since he won that long ago far away Super Bowl.
49:52And he was the MVP.
49:53And I give you that.
49:54But remember, that was a road wildcard team that came from nowhere without a whole lot
49:59of pressure or expectation.
50:01And that did happen.
50:02But it was 15 years ago.
50:04Fair enough.
50:05No argument there.
50:06I think, to use LeBron's word, that he's washed.
50:09But we'll see.
50:11Yeah.
50:13Final question.
50:14I read a lot about this.
50:16I got to get it straight from your mouth.
50:18Yep.
50:20Exactly how interested are you in running for president?
50:26Well, listen, you know I love my politics in terms of just being a conscientious observer,
50:31reading current affairs, opining about it.
50:34That's fine.
50:35I have no desire to be a politician, Skip Bayless.
50:39I just agreed to a new contract with ESPN.
50:43It's going to pay me well.
50:44That is not the only opportunity.
50:45That's not the only opportunity I'm going to have.
50:48There's going to be other things coming down the pike that you'll learn about soon enough.
50:52I like my life, man.
50:54I'm not trying to mess it up, especially for no damn politics.
50:57These people will turn on you.
50:58They will backstab you at every turn.
51:02So I'm not trying to go that route.
51:05What I would say, however, is this.
51:08Skip, again, I have no desire to run for office.
51:14I think I can take them.
51:16I don't care who it is.
51:17I think I can win.
51:19I really, really do.
51:20I believe you believe that.
51:22That's right.
51:23That's the great way to say it because I don't believe you believe it, but I believe it.
51:28I believe that I could beat anybody in the Democratic Party.
51:31I believe that I could beat anybody that Trump puts out there because he's not getting a third
51:36term.
51:37The Constitution is not going to allow for that, no matter how much he's trying to finagle it.
51:41And so I'm of the mindset that, fine, I can do it.
51:47I don't want to.
51:48I have no desire to because I like my life, but I will confess to you, if my pockets were fat
51:54and I had nothing to worry about in terms of my quality of life and all of that stuff,
51:58and a whole bunch of folks clamored for me to the point where they said,
52:02you're the one.
52:03You're the one that we want.
52:05You're the one.
52:06All right.
52:06Like this.
52:07I would consider it.
52:08All right.
52:09Okay.
52:10So the door is still cracked open.
52:12Cracked open.
52:13Cracked open, but it's not me.
52:15I'm not qualified.
52:15I don't know all the issues.
52:17Health, these foreign dignitaries.
52:18I don't even know how to pronounce half their names right.
52:21I don't know this stuff.
52:23But I do know what the American people want.
52:26I do know what they deserve.
52:28I do know that if you put the right people around me,
52:32I don't have any problems making decisions.
52:34I agree.
52:37You won't remember this, but you called me once in 2009.
52:40You're trying to figure out exactly which way to go in your career.
52:43I told you I was on vacation in Oklahoma City and my wife, Ernestine, who wasn't yet my wife,
52:49was saying, we got to go.
52:50We got to go eat.
52:51We got to see these people.
52:53I said, no, I got to talk to my man, Stephen A.
52:55I told you in that conversation, at some point,
52:59you need to talk politics because you're good at it.
53:02On the air, you need to either have your own show
53:05or become a featured guest on somebody's show.
53:09And you are slowly but surely, obviously on your podcast,
53:12you are doing that more and more.
53:14And it is a real strength of yours.
53:17Yeah.
53:17Thank you so much.
53:18I enjoy doing it.
53:18I love sports, man.
53:20I never want to leave sports, but I never want to be limited to it either.
53:25Yeah.
53:25I'm just not there anymore.
53:27If I didn't have other outlets, sports would bore me.
53:31Yeah.
53:32I understand.
53:33It's really good that I have these other outlets
53:36that fall in line with my professional career, commentary and things of that nature,
53:40because I know that I have a lot to bring to the table in that regard.
53:43And I'll have even more as I study more and I get more entrenched in it.
53:47But it's not going to be at the expense of what I do sports-wise,
53:50because I love what I'm doing.
53:51Okay.
53:52So this time we just spent together did the opposite of boring me.
53:56It was a rare treat.
53:58I want to thank you for your time and especially for your friendship.
54:02And I will look forward to speaking to you again soon.
54:06All right, my man.
54:07You take it easy.
54:07Okay.
54:08Okay.
54:09Thank you, Mr. Smith.