LeBron James on Playing in the NFL, Jordan's Pick-Up Games and Favorite Career Milestone | Ep 123
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And if you struggle with sleeping too hot, Sleep Number has the right temperature solutions for your best night's sleep. Make sure you stop by a Sleep Number store. Check them out. Dude, I'm pretty pumped. I'm nervous, but I'm pretty pumped. I've always wanted to ask him just everything on my mind. I know. It's going to be hard. You're not going to have that much time. I'm not. I don't even know what's on the rundown. I'll take care of the rundown. You just free ball it. LeBron, do you think I could play in the NBA? You don't want the answer to that.

He saw me try and dunk last week. Yeah. All right, let's fucking go. Welcome back to New Heist, ladies and gentlemen. A wondrous show produced by Wave Sports and Entertainment and brought to you by Reese's. New chocolate lava big cup. Big Ed Kelsey is going to go fucking nuts over that. Ed's salivating right now. We're your hosts. I'm Travis Kelsey. This is Jason Kelsey out of Northeast Ohio.

Cleveland natives. Bearcat alumni as well. Shout out to the Bearcats. Hopefully they can get it going here. Boys basketball, women's basketball here in the old Big 12. Come on now. Come on now. Subscribe on YouTube, 100+, wherever you get your podcasts. Follow the show on all social media, at New Heights Show with 1S. Jason, tell the people what we got coming. 92% is we got a banger. We got a banger. We got a guest. It's been a long time coming. And with the playoffs here.

The stakes could not be higher for him to come on the show. He's the king himself. King James is here. That's right. Northeast Ohio's finest. Get ready for some fun. Yeah, he's going to help us recap the wild card weekend. We'll talk a little Cleveland. Lots and lots of other fun because I've always wanted to talk to the king about everything Cleveland and everything basketball, man. So this is going to be a fun one, man.

This is going to be a fun one. Yeah, before we get into LeBron, we just wanted to take a second and stop down –

and say that our thoughts are with everybody in the LA area. Yeah. We've all seen the footage. It's insane. At this point, no people personally who have been affected by these fires and this tragedy. So our thoughts are with you. There will be a link in the description if you want to support. That's redcross.org slash NFL. I really don't know what's going to happen in even just the coming days, let alone the coming weeks and how this is going to get rebuilt. So just let you know we're thinking about you. Everybody, yeah. We know this is not –

Did it feel special out there in Arizona at the Rams game? You know, I was walking through the – so normally we're out on the field and we're not in the concourse area. But because of transition, we couldn't have that set on the field in Arizona. And when I was walking through the concourse area, I saw like the LA Fire Department hat that the Rams were co-signing with. I'm like, God dang, man. Like –

I don't know. It just like hit me right in the moment. Oftentimes football can be a distraction from some of these things. And I always enjoy playing when there was crazy things happening outside of the game. There's a way to kind of just not have to think about it for a little bit. So I don't know. Hopefully the Rams went in on Monday, you know, gave the fans and some of the citizens some much needed escape from the things that are happening. But shout out to everyone that's involved in this.

helping prevent, rebuild, you know, just the emergency responders that are there helping out the people that are in need. Yeah. It was pretty powerful seeing a lot of the LA fans in that place. I really thought Big Whit killed it in his speech. That ain't the first speech I've heard from him. He always kills it. He's always away with words. And he's obviously really personally connected to all this stuff being out there in LA. So yeah, yeah.

Let's get on to LeBron. Let's pick up some spirits and get this conversation going. Joining us today, the 6'9", born from Actio, the number one pick of 2003 NBA Draft, 2004, 20-time NBA All-Star, four-time MVP, four-time NBA champion, three-time gold medalist, and the NBA all-time leader in career points. That's right, 92 percenters.

of Northeast Ohio's finest, Mr. LeBron James! Let's go! Oh, my God.

Yo, Jason, that might be the greatest introduction of all time. Falling at the end with the powder. Oh, my goodness. You guys are fucking unbelievable. This dude is just wearing the powder, too. Right, right. Who's going to clean that shit up now? Kylie is not going to be happy about this. Jason, you got to blow the powder away, Jason. You got to study the technique, man. Don't put way too much in there. Yeah.

All right. This guy looks like a fucking ghost, man. That shit's great, dog. You started doing the powder what year? Was it your rookie year? No, I don't remember if it was my rookie year at Triumph, man. I think it was maybe second year, maybe third year. But I used to just go up to the counter, man, go up there and put a little powder because, you know, I like the resin on my hands and make my hands stick with the ball. I was going to say, was that like a shirt move? Yeah, yeah. I just went up there, do a little bit of something, and then just went to the game.

And then, you know, I started doing a little bit more and they started like doing that towards the scorer's table. And I seen them kind of like, you know, getting ready for me to do it. And then I started doing like this and I threw it up a little bit one time. It got a little bit more exciting. I was like, you know what?

Fuck it. I'm just going to have it. Yeah, yeah. It's iconic, man. It's fucking iconic. Hell yeah. All right, well, we're going to get into this right off the bat because I think this is incredible. Super wild card weekend. LeBron, you've been working with DraftKings. Yeah, yeah. You went five for six.

Look at this pit. Look at these picks, Tramp. This guy knows some football, baby. This guy knows some football. He has the Chargers to win, Baltimore to win, Buffalo to win, Eagles to win, Commanders to win, Rams to win. That's crazy. That's crazy. Are you – I mean, we know you played football back in the day at St. Vincent St. Mary, man. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Has it ever actually, like, crossed your mind what you could possibly do in the NFL? Not.

Absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely. Like, like, has it, have you ever like taken it like a serious thought? Like, man, what if I just did one year? Yeah. The only time I've like really taken it like super duper serious, I believe it was, I think it was 2011 when we had the NBA lockout.

you know, and I didn't know like when we were going to make the deal with the, with the owners and, and get our league back going. So I actually thought about it a little bit back then. I was still young enough, you know, to get out there with y'all. But, you know, that's the, that's the,

Only time I've actually seriously considered it, I've had serious dreams about this shit all the time. All the time. And my dream never actually, the ball is never kicked off. It's like me in the warmups. It's me coming out, running my routes. And then right when the game started, I was like, fucking wake up or some shit. I'm like, okay. That lets me know I'm not supposed to be out there.

There you go. Time out. Come on now. It's all of the dreams. Yeah, we know exactly where. Just to let you know, you're still young enough to get out there and get up there. Hell yeah, man. We can see how you can get up and down the floor. Exactly. Who do you think your biggest comparison would have been in the league? Everyone always likes to say Gronk or maybe even Calvin Johnson. I was about to say Megatron, probably the closest. Yeah, yeah. It's probably like a mix between, you know, Gronk or –

Randy Moss a little bit, but he's a lot smaller than me. He runs a lot faster, but he's a lot smaller than me. But like Megatron, we kind of have that same like stature as far as build or whatever the case may be. Ooh. Tony Gonzalez with him and his size. And obviously he played basketball as well. I used to love his celebration when he used to dunk on the goalposts too. Oh, I was trying to say. Oh, actually I saw you do it too, by the way. Oh!

I tried. I tried. I just smacked backboard on that one. I don't know if I got up to here. Just smacked the glass. Oh, my God. I used to be able to fly. I know. The NFL had a nerve to fine you for that shit. I'm like, come on, man. Relax. You already know, man. Relax. It was fine, well-worthy. Actually, Tony G helped me out with that one. But instead of throwing any money at me, I just told him to send it to the foundation. Yeah, yeah. Send it to the foundation. There we go. Shout out to Tony G for that, man. Give it up for Tony G. My dog. Yeah.

The only game you missed in that parlay was the Texans-Chargers game. I mean, we know you're a big football fan. I guess, how do you watch the games? How do you stay knowledgeable of all this stuff? You're a busy dude, man. I try to watch as many NFL games, college games, high school games, and

And, yeah, I'm very knowledgeable about the game. I remember playing it, obviously, but, you know, just watching you guys out there and seeing the way y'all play, it's not just like as a fan, which I'm a fan of the sport, but also kind of like, you know, my IQ about the game. So the Chargers-Texans game, I was off on that. I felt like, you know, the Texans, they hadn't played consistent football all year, you know, and obviously losing Stephon Diggs and losing Tank Dale, you know, I just felt like... Big pieces. You know, big pieces. And, you know, my boy...

You know, my boy CJ Stroud has been struggling a little bit this year. He had a rookie of the year last year, Ohio State alum, but he was struggling too, losing those big guys. And I felt like the Chargers was coming in on so much. I felt like they had it. I felt like they had an opportunity. Coach Harbaugh has been coaching those guys really well this year, but

We all know the name of the game. And sports, especially in football, man, is turnovers. And that defense for the Texans, they turned them boys over multiple times. You know, that's the game right there. Yeah.

Yeah, their defense balled out. Some tough ones for Herbert too, man, through some hands and deflections. Those are just daggers, man. You mentioned Ohio State, man. I got to ask, man, did Trestle ever come and knock on the door? No, absolutely. I know basketball was always there, but did Trestle ever come and knock on the door? Absolutely, man. Trestle knocked on the door plenty of times. They wanted me to come up there and be a two-sport player, i.e. Travis Hunter. Oh, man.

We saw what Travis Hunter did this year, you know, with Colorado. But definitely they knocked on the door. It's like if you come down to Ohio State, we want you to play both sides. And I would have definitely thought about that. My best friend at the time, Sheehan Cotton, went off to Ohio State, full ride to Ohio State. And he played for Ohio State football. So that would have been super dope. I could have like roomed with him, played football during the fall, basketball during the winter and spring. So that would have been dope.

Man, Buckeyes, man. That would have been crazy to see you in a Buckeyes jersey. That would have been dope. Maurice Claret was coming from around that Northeast Ohio area too. I believe they had just won it. Yep, yep. You know what's crazy? Ohio Mr. Football, when Maurice Claret won his senior year, I was top three in runnings for Mr. Football as well. But he went crazy, man. He went to Warren Harding.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. He went insane his senior year. And then his freshman year went on to Ohio State. And they was able to beat that juggernaut over the Miami Hurricanes that year. Yeah. You know, for the national championship. But Maurice Correa was a beast, man. Beast. Was that? Absolutely. 2002, right? This was 2000. This would have been 2003-4. 3-4? Yeah, yeah, yeah. 3-4. Yep, yep.

Man, oh man, that team would have been nasty. Something that happened over the weekend is, you know, we thought we could relate it to you because you're a big book guy. You're a big book guy. AJ Brown was seen reading a book on the sideline of the game.

Did you catch this? I did catch that. I was watching the game and I did catch that. I can say I've watched the NFL for 35 plus years of my life. That's the first time I've seen guys eat Skittles, Marshawn Lynch. I've seen guys with the oxygen tanks.

I've seen guys meditating. I've seen guys slam helmets. I've seen a lot of shit. That was the first time I've ever seen a book been brought out on the bench. First time. You ever seen that in the NBA? No, no, never. No? No, no. No, like...

Just something to ease the mind. Just go ahead and read a few passages. By the way, when A.J. Brown said the reasoning for why he did it, you know what? It was great. And then they showed the clip when Saquon had the touchdown run and he slid. And you see Devontae and A.J. like messing around with him. Like, man, go score that. He's like, no, man, chill. I was like, the chemistry is still there. So, you know, the chemistry is still there. They've been playing good football. That's all that matters. You know, I think that's 10 in a row for them. They got it going. So...

Hey, if it's working for them, let them keep going, man. Whatever works, you know. I'm with you on that. No doubt. What about this Bills-Ravens game? Staying on the topic of these playoff games, man. We got Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson. You had the tweet during the game. Henry, King Henry. Yeah, man.

Man. There's anybody that can call somebody a king. I think what do you like in this game? I mean, it's a tough one, man. Obviously, I think Buffalo, you know, has I don't want to say it's not surprising anymore, but they lost a lot of pieces in the offseason, you know, and a lot on the offensive end, too. And then they lost a lot in their secondary, too. You know, Micah Hyde left and Poirier left and Tredavious White left.

you know, and, you know, all those receivers there. So it was a lot of like, okay, will they be able to get to this point where they are? Well, they still got Josh Allen and Josh Allen has been, he's been unbelievable. So, you know, for Lamar, listen, this is,

This is what they want. You know, this is why they grabbed Derrick Henry. This is why they, you know, made the change with the offensive coordinator to be able to get to the point where they could play either Buffalo or play Travis and them boys. Like, listen, if you want to be crowned, you have to, you know, beat the top teams in the AFC. And the top teams in the AFC over the last three, four, five, obviously, two.

20 years if you're talking KC. And these fucking guys. It's Buffalo or it's KC. So, you know, this is, you know, in order for Lamar to get to where he says he wants to get, he has to go through Buffalo. He has to go through KC. So let the games begin. I can't wait to watch that one. Yeah, he's been knocking on the door, man. He has been knocking on the door for sure. Yeah, he's been knocking on the door, yep. Henry definitely helps, man. He was running. He was like a Clydesdale running through that hole. He was fresh. I haven't seen him all season. I don't know how old.

Man. That was amazing. Absolutely. It looked super fresh. Absolutely. King Henry. I've been loving the commercials of you and Kevin Hart, man. I'll tell you what. Just when I thought, because it was a celebration one in the middle of the season. I was like, man, every time it came on, I was dying laughing. But the new ones, you guys got some heat, man. You and Kevin are absolutely hilarious together, man. I can't wait to keep seeing these things unfold. No, absolutely, man. Me and Kevin, this is one of my best friends, man, when it comes to this. And when we get on set...

you know, we have a script and then it gets to the point where we just like, man, let's just riff and let's see what comes out of it. Let's just do it. And whatever comes out of it because of our chemistry, you know, it's great working with KF, working with DraftKings, being able to, you know, do things like that where it's just easy for us and we knock those things out very easily and they're happy that people love them, you know, because it's definitely fun. It's definitely fun. You already know. I can only imagine how fun it is. The Cleveland connection is great. Always. Exactly. Always.

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found wherever candy is sold. All right, before we get back to more LeBron James, it's time for a little look ahead. Look ahead is brought to you by DraftKings. Joining me now is intern Brandon. Come on in here, intern Brandon.

I'm here. What's up, Bubba? How you doing? Hey, buddy. Thanks for helping out. You're in the middle of talking to LeBron. It's pretty crazy. Pretty crazy. It feels weird to interrupt LeBron James. It certainly does. I'm not going to not say that. All right. We've got eight teams left heading into this weekend's slate of games. Let's have you, Intern Brandon, construct same game parlay extra for

for your favorite picks for the weekend. For those who are unfamiliar, same game parlay extra is also called a SGPX, and it is a parlay where at least two of the bets are from one game, and at least one pick is from a different game. First pick, I am looking at the Commander's Lions game. I am going to be honest, the Lions have not scored under 30, I think, since November. I'm going to go with the Lions in this game.

I feel very confident in them. I am concerned about their defense. Jason, should I be concerned about their defense? The Lions defense? Lions defense. I mean, they're banged up, but they're still healthy in the secondary, and they play man-to-man coverage, which allows them to load the box. They looked really good against Minnesota. They'll double McLaurin a lot, and they're going to pack the box to stop the run. So I think the Lions will win this game pretty handily. I just think that they're a much more talented team up front. But...

I've been wrong about the Commanders all season, so... I feel the exact same way. Yeah. I feel the exact same... I'm excited to watch it. Next pick from that same game...

I am going to go with Jameer Gibbs to score a touchdown. He has had a TD in five of the Lions, eight home games this year. And I don't know if I trust the commander's D line. I love the way the Lions use him. If it's a rushing or receiving touchdown, I feel like he is an incredible red zone weapon where you don't know where he might be springing from. Yeah. I'll be surprised if he does not score a touchdown. Let's see. Last pick, last pick. We are going to look at the game. I think we're all waiting for, uh,

This is Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen. It's at home. It's in Buffalo. I'm going to go with Josh Allen over on passing yards, 250 and a half. 250? 250. I know. I know. He didn't crack 200 last time they played. I wouldn't say the way their offense functions that I'm expecting a big passing yards or

number but i think the game's going to be close and i think that alan's going to have to throw for over 250 so i bet he probably goes north of it but like this is a game where i'd go at over alan's rushing yards if that was an option because i feel like in games where he has to win he usually rushes for more they're going to have some designed runs in crucial situations isn't it going to snow i don't know i didn't check the way oh you're right i should check the

I'll check the weather. If I see snow, we're flipping passing rushing. We'll flip passing rushing. You can check out all of those odds for the playoffs, those games, any games over on DraftKings Sportsbook. Jason, do you want to take us home? All righty. Now that everyone knows about some of the awesome bets that are available at DraftKings, you're ready for the big game. That's right. Those of you who haven't checked them out yet can get a new customer offer. That's right. All new customers who bet $5 will get $200 in bonus bets instantly.

Download the DraftKings app and sign up using code NEWHEIGHTS. The crown is yours. Once again, Look Ahead is brought to you by DraftKings. Now back to LeBron James. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER. In New York, call 877-8-HOPE-NY or text HOPE-NY 467-369. In Connecticut, help is available for problem gambling. Call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org. Please play responsibly. On behalf of Boot Hill Casino and Resort in Kansas, 21 and over.

Age and eligibility varies by jurisdiction. Void in Ontario. Bonus bets expire 168 hours after issuance. For additional terms and responsible gaming resources, see DKNG.co slash audio. Well, let's move on to your football career a little bit. We talked about it a little bit ago. Receiver at St. Vincent St. Mary. I believe you ran a 4-4, right? Yeah. The highlights are incredible, but we need to settle something. We've started this debate, and I'm sure you're aware of what we're about to ask. You know what's going on.

What is easier to do, an NFL player going to the NBA or an NBA player going to the NFL? From a guy that literally could have played both. Everybody knows you could have done both. So I respect this decision. This is a great debate. And obviously, I've been hearing and seeing people's responses and seeing people's questions or whatever and going back and forth.

I want to say that I think it's easier for a basketball player to try NFL. There's no question. Over the NFL player trying to get into the NBA. I just, and I know we got some great athletes. I've seen, I've seen Keon Coleman's highlights.

When he played, you know, and it's a lot of guys that's played basketball. I've seen Zay Flowers play his high school highlights as well. Zay Flowers, super athletic, fast, quick guard, you know, but I would say basketball to football. An NBA guy decides to go play the NFL. Yes, it's going to take a transition period. You know, for me, it would have been like,

getting used to being hit again. Like, like I remember just like in high school, I was to go from summer from summertime playing basketball, playing a ball and then going into the fall. I had to get used to getting hit again like that. Three practices. Once you put on the shoulder pads and the helmets like getting hit again is the most important thing. And then like, you know, getting the cadence back, you know, getting getting your routes back and all that. But once you get into a groove, you like, OK, you know, I got it. It's like riding a bike.

Football going to basketball is such more, you know, coordination and running and jumping. And it's like consistent, you know, it's consistent. It's a way different. It's consistent. You know, with football, you know, you say hike, you know, whatever your cadence is. Boom.

It's quick, quick twitch. And then settle back, reset, quick twitch. Settle back, reset. Six seconds at a time. Yeah, exactly. Six seconds at a time. But in basketball, you can go on for four or five straight minutes with no timeouts, no breaks. And you got to keep your mind fresh. You got to breathe. Jason isn't built for that one. I was about to say, listen, I could have definitely played in the NBA. No question about it.

I got to know if there's one player outside of yourself who you think would be able to make the cleanest transition into the NFL, who would it be? I would say off top of my head, I would say Russell Westbrook or Anthony. I think Russ unbelievable strong safety or free safety. You know, his ability to kind of like defense.

I think so. I think so. You know, and Russ, he comes with that natural aggression off top. He does. You're right. You're right. He got that Derwin James type aggression. He's trying to hit somebody. And I think Ant Edwards, I've seen a lot of his Little League football highlights. And also, I think he played in high school as well. Oh, I got to check those out. He look like he can make the transition as well. But off top, I think Russ for sure. Yeah. Yeah.

Anthony Edwards has a bit of that mentality as well. Yeah, yeah, for sure. That's what I was saying too. Yeah, for sure. As fellow Ohioans, we got to talk about Cleveland. Did you know Trav saw you play when you were in high school? Oh, yeah, baby. Cleveland State, baby. Have you guys ever talked about this? Yeah, yeah, I did. We talked about this a couple times. He came to Cleveland State and watched me rock out, man. Man, I was in middle school, man. I was just trying to see the king, man. I was trying to see before I went pros, man. I wasn't sure if you were going to land in Cleveland. Luckily, you did, and I got to see you play countless amount of times.

up at the Gund Arena, then the Quicken Loans Arena. But yeah, man, saw you down at Cleveland State. How many times did you play at Cleveland State? I can think of two off the top of my head. Yeah, yeah. I think I played at Cleveland State probably about five times.

You know, I know I played a few times early on in high school and then definitely a couple of times in my senior year. So it was definitely it was definitely a fun time being up in Cleveland and playing up there. And I even played at the Gund arena to my senior year. Like, yeah, you know, play. We played against Warren Warrensville Heights, you know, my senior year. And I'm

I don't like to talk about this too much, but my game, my senior year, had more fans than the Cavs had that year. I think the only time they had more fans was when MJ played in Cleveland. That's too funny, man. That's too funny. That was good. I'll tell you what, man. For whatever reason, man, I was still like –

one of the biggest Cavs fans, even though they were the worst team in the league. Darius Miles, Boozer, all those dudes. Ricky Davis, man, all those guys. You always get a few highlights a game, man. It's still me. It's still me, right? Oh, yeah, for sure. Yeah, for sure. Like, you knew

they didn't win a lot of games, but they're going to give you a couple of plays here. Ricky D, you know, D Miles, Smush Parker, Booze, like all those guys on that team. You know, it was fun to watch, even though you know they wasn't that successful there, man. But it was fun to watch. Well, you turned them up, baby. But you bring up a good point with, like, you bringing more fans to the gun than the Cavs did. I don't think people now...

realize just how big you were in high school. Like, unless you grew up in that, it was so crazy. Oh, man. Right. The level of expectation and fame that you had at St. Vincent St. Mary's. Like, I've never seen anything like that to this day. No, you're right, Jason. And the funny thing is, like you say, like, and this is before social media, so you couldn't really. That's what it is. Unless you was there in real time, it was crazy.

You didn't know. It was just word of mouth. It was like, okay, I heard about this kid from Northeast Ohio. Like I heard about this kid. It was like, okay, well, like who's trying to make a trip to Akron, Ohio? Who's trying to come to Cleveland? It's like, you know, but like if you happen to be, you know, going to the Canton Football Hall of Fame, or if you happen to be going to Cleveland to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, or if you happen to be in town,

and I happened to be playing. It was a show, baby. And you understood what the hype was all about, you know, why it was so much conversation. So I can only imagine if social media was around there, we would have – like, it would have been too much for Northeast Ohio at that point. That's interesting, yeah. It's really like you were the last of, like, that legend era of, like, word of mouth. Yeah, yeah, for sure. Man, back when you were playing, when I was playing, like, back –

Guys had to literally be the absolute best to get some sort of highlight tape. If you if like there was nobody just out here, just get it, just putting their highlight tape on YouTube and getting looks or getting clicks. No, no question, Trav. Like right now, like if you if you you could be anywhere in the world now and because of the phones and because of the things you can capture, you

You could be recruited and get accepted. Back then when we played, if you didn't have a coach to come see you live, it was going to be hell. And you showed up that day. And you had to show up because they was all over the place. Like they was not just going to come and keep coming back. If you didn't show up like, and you had to perform in front of those coaches and you knew that

you knew those games that those big time coaches was there too. So it put even more pressure on you to show off. So, yeah, absolutely. You're right about that, man. We had to like us three being Northeast Ohio kids, like we had to show out when those coaches was there or we didn't know if they was going to come back. Just missed the train. Yeah, you missed the train. Yep. Not only were you from the Northeast, you ended up going to the Cavs. You ended up bringing the first title to Cleveland. Man. What was it?

Like 50 years or whatever it was? I think it was 57 years or something crazy. Yeah, exactly. I wasn't alive yet. Why do I get this pressure? That's crazy, man. I do got to ask, of your four championships, where does the one in Cleveland rank best?

I mean, the first one, it's hard to top the first one. Ain't that the truth. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. We all remember our first one. And we know the feeling that we had when we won our first one because of like all the disappointment before that. You know, all the hard work, the dedication, the things that people don't see, the nights that we cry about what the fuck we could have did better in order for us to get that first one. And then you were able to prevail. That first one is so, so special. So, so dear. Yeah.

But, man, there's nothing better for me than that Cleveland one just because of everything. Like you said, the 50-plus years of no championship in Northeast Ohio. You know, the seven years I was there beforehand and it took me to leave and to come back to it, like to understand or appreciate it even more. Being down 3-1 with the greatest team, 73-9 Warriors with Steph and –

Clay and Draymond and, you know, and coming back and winning that game and winning that series for the city of Cleveland for Northeast Ohio. That's why you saw the emotional Cleveland. You're getting me fired up right now, man. You're getting me fired up right now, man. You saw me crying on the court. It was like it all just like –

Like that one, 2016, I would become an old man someday. We will all become old men. You know, we got great beards. They're going to be all gray at some point, you know, coming in on the sides. Yeah. Yeah. That, that year, that's one year. I would never forget 2016. That's it was unbelievable time. I came back and went to the parade, man. It was absolutely epic dog. I appreciate you again for doing it. I know I told you a million times, man,

It's the greatest parade, man. Absolutely. For Cleveland one time, baby. Cleveland would be the only sports town to win a series 3-1 and then baseball the exact next series. Lose 3-1. We could have been on top of the world forever, man. We could have been on top of the world forever. But it's all good. Cleveland, by the way, the Cavs look amazing right now as well. They got another opportunity. We are rolling. Yeah, I hope they keep it going. They got an opportunity to do something special. So, you know.

You know, I'm glad I was able to put on first, set the trend, and hopefully we keep it going. Go Cavs. There you go, baby. Well, now that we're in the NBA, you went viral a couple weeks ago, I guess now. Who owns Christmas? Because according to you, I love the NFL, but Christmas is the NBA's. We are sneaking in on that territory. Listen, listen, listen. I saw the fucking numbers after the fact. Yeah.

You guys kicked our ass, all right? Okay? From a viewership standpoint, y'all kicked our ass. You had, you know, the games weren't as great as they should have been. They should have, yeah. Well, you have fucking Beyonce coming up there. I think Beyonce, oh, he's got my home.

and Travis, you guys go there and kick Pittsburgh's ass. You know, Beyonce comes out there. But I had, you know, when you go out there, you got your little brother and he might get beat up one time. You're like, hey, we didn't lose that fight. We stand here. We didn't lose. That's how I felt. I had to stand up. I had to stand up for the NBA. Hell yeah. Hell yeah.

You've had a couple of huge milestones recently. Recently passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for most points in your career. That's crazy stuff right there. And obviously you and Bronny became the first father-son duo ever to play in a game. I mean...

What career achievement means the most to you? Besides the titles, we already talked about titles. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like this type of stuff. Yeah, yeah. Which one is the biggest deal to you? I think besides the titles, you know, obviously the titles ring right up there. There's something that you, you know, when you get into it, that's all you play for. When you're able to get with a franchise and y'all all believe in the same thing, it's like. Special, man. Yeah, we are competing for championships in it.

every year without a question. And when you're able to accomplish that, it's like, that's exactly what the hard work and dedication for. But for me, you know, obviously when it comes to the titles, that's one separate thing, but to be able to be in this league and play in this league and also being able to do it alongside Bronny right now, that's like one of the biggest accomplishments and probably the number one accomplishment I've ever been able to do. Like to, to work with your son,

That's so crazy. A lot of people and like not not only sports, you know, but I've heard it in business and walks of life. And this is the greatest thing you could ever, ever have. And, you know, to see him every day, you know, grinding and going through the going through the process of trying to become who he wants to become while I am, you know, sitting there and just watching him and doing the things that he wants to do and being able to just take it all in.

It helps me get some of the minutes and hours and years back that I did not have with them because I was playing so much and on the road and doing my own thing. Traveling. Exactly. So to be able to get some of this time back now, man, it's pretty special. He's handled the hype and the scrutiny and everything so perfect and so well. Yeah. You had the hype coming out, but there wasn't the expectations of being –

of being as great as you and and yeah and and i didn't have to deal you know we go back to the social media i didn't have to deal with the social media trolls either growing up oh that's interesting you know and i didn't have to deal with my father being this guy that's on the pedestal i have to deal with that brani has to deal with all of that and if you ever meet brani then you'll realize you'll be like i'm such an idiot to

look down on him or not want him to do great. He is the most chill, easy, fun kid in the world. He goes to work. He goes home. He takes care of his body. He plays his video games. He reads a little bit and then he comes back and does the same thing. And he, he's like the best big brother that his little brother, little sister could ever have. So, you know, but he's dealing with all that too. So, you know, but that's going to make him, I think it's going to make him to be even greater because he's,

Having to deal with all of the things that he's dealing with and still being able to come back from a life-threatening situation and still have the motivation. Still have the motivation. He didn't have to. Bronny doesn't have to play basketball at all.

It's not like he needs the money. Yeah. He's a smart individual. He can do whatever he wants to do. He can do whatever he wants to do. Like if he wants to be the CEO of my company, he could be that. I'll give that to start teaching him right now to be that if he wants to. But he's like, this is my career. This is my goals. And this is my aspirations. And I want to play ball. This is something that I love. And I'll,

I love that kid. He's awesome. He's awesome. Can't wait to see him. Keep, keep going, man, man. Appreciate it. At what point do you even realize that that's something that can happen? Like, I look at my kids. I'm like, bro, that's insane. You're playing with your son in the NBA. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. He also has your first daughter when you were like 30. That's fair. But either way, I just think it's amazing. And,

I don't know. It's got to be like, at what point do you like, I might be able to actually play in the NBA with like, was there a moment or like, it was, you know what? It's a video clip of me. I was, that somebody sent to me not too long ago. I think it was about seven years ago. And it's so weird. It's either seven or five years ago or whatever. I think Ronnie was either in the seventh or eighth grade. And it was my first,

15th year in the NBA and I felt incredible. I think that was the year I played all 82 games. I played every playoff game. I think I played like 105 games total that year.

And I came out of that season. I felt so damn good. And I think somebody caught me like, you know, do you ever think that was possibility that you may stick around to possibly play with one of your kids? I was like, man, the way I feel right now, there is a possibility. And it just hit you right there. It hit me right then and there. And God, God willing and.

bat crazy shit to me, it happened. Yes, absolutely. It absolutely happened. But yeah, it's pretty cool, man. Dude. Yeah, that's awesome. Thank you to our sponsor, Accelerator. Trav, what flavor are you sipping on over there? I'm sipping on a cherry ice pop. Ooh,

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All right. Well, we're going to get to this. We got to ask, but you don't have to answer. We're going to rattle off a bunch of questions. Feel free to tell us to fuck off. Just tell us to fuck off, man. We got to know the answers to these ones. Yeah, we usually end all of our conversations with this. So we got a list of questions. Again, you do not have to answer, but we do have to ask them. There's a story about you playing in an infamous pickup game with Michael Jordan when you were 16 years old.

What was it like? Is that true? Like, can you tell us how you played? Yeah. So when I finally was able to get on the court, first of all, MJ, Antoine Walker, and the rest of those guys did not let young guys get on the court at all. And I was 16 years old. I was sophomore in high school. And it takes a while to get on the court. It's usually when the older guys, they get tired and they don't want to play no more. They're like, whatever. But I did. I did.

And I was able to get on the court alongside. I was on the court with Michael Jordan, Antoine Walker, Penny Hardaway, Ron Artest, Michael Finley, all these guys. Who guarded you? Nobody. I was unguardable.

I was 16. There's a, there's a, uh, 16, the baby fro. Yup. That was the baby fro. I was in Chicago at, uh, MJ's, uh, court. It was called hoops. There's a clip right now of actually metal world piece talking about that moment as well. Like, Oh man, I got to check it out. I, when I finally got out there, I was like,

I'm busting ass, man. I was nervous. I was nervous as hell. Like being out there with MJ and the rest of those guys. But are you kidding me? I was like, oh, I'm about to go crazy. And I did. I did, man. That's awesome, man. I did. That's awesome, man. I wish I was in that gym that day. That's crazy stuff, man.

Well, you see all these shoes behind me, man. You already know I'm a sneakerhead. Oh, I know. I know. I've collected them over the years, man. Was it always Nike? You used to wear the T-Max at St. Vincent, St. Mary. I think I've seen you wear the old Iversons. Yeah.

Was it always Nike? Trav, no, it was not. It was not always Nike. It was Nike when I was a young kid, when I was a young lad. Obviously, you know, I've been in love with Michael Jordan my whole life. So, you know, I saw him. Penny Hardaway, you know, Ken Griffey Jr., Bo Jackson. I watched all these unbelievable sports figures. So as a kid growing up, it was Nike. Once I got into the AAU program, started playing basketball, Adidas took us over. Mm.

You know, and it became Adidas. It was Adidas like from seventh, eighth grade to pretty much my junior, senior year. They sponsored us every year. We played in all the Adidas tournaments, big time tournament in Vegas and all over the United States of America. So yeah,

it was Adidas. And then my senior year, the process began. The recruitments, the Nikes came in and Adidas was still there. Reebok came in and won. All these companies came in

And I took on three pitches. I did a Adidas pitch. I did a Reebok pitch. I did a Nike pitch. The best pitch that I got where I thought I was going to end up was actually Reebok at one point. Reebok. I went to their meeting. I went to their meeting and I sat down across from their CEO and the guys that was running basketball. At the time, I don't know if you guys remember this, but Reebok had the NFL as well. Yeah.

That's what it was when I first got into the league. They knew my love for football as well, so they had all the NFL jerseys, all the Pro Bowl-looking jerseys. That was going to be the next year. I'm sitting across from the table. I'm a senior in high school. I actually have to have... I'm going back to class the next day. They flew me in. I'm going back to St. Vincent St. Mary the next day, my senior year. The guy...

slides over a check to me at the end of the table. It's me and my mom and Maverick Carter at the end of the table. And he says, if you don't go talk to any other companies, this is yours. And I look at it. I look at it. $10 million fucking dollars. Oh!

10 million. Just right there as an 18-year-old? I was still stealing change out of my dad's fucking piggy bank to go get some candy and shit. I was a high school senior, man. They gave me a check for $10 million, and if I promised not to go see anybody else, I told them I need a break. They stepped out. I need to fucking break. I can't believe that. I can't believe that.

I sat there. I need to time out. My mom looked at it. And me and my mom were living in an apartment and, you know, Section 8 housing in Akron. I'm going back. I don't have shit, whatever. And my mom looked at me. She said, son, trust your gut. If they're offering you this, then who knows what the other companies may offer you. Okay, mom. Yeah, ma. She's composed. Yeah, she's super composed. She's like...

We ain't got shit already. So it's not like, you know, it changes our life at this moment. Yes, maybe in the future, but I want you to trust your gut and, and,

Do what you think is right. That's awesome advice, man. So they came back in. Boom. I said, thank you. I will, you know, I will definitely like to continue our conversation, but I will be remiss if I did not take those other pitches from the other companies. I may have cried on the way home because I had to leave the team. Yeah, man.

You're questioning. Man, I hope I just made the right decision. I was like, I could have bought the building that me and my mom was living in for that goddamn money. What? Easily. You already know. I got a similar, my rookie year, or my rookie contract. I'm coming up on redoing my rookie contract. And I decide, potentially, I'm like, okay, I might do this myself. I might forego it, just be my own agent, negotiate my own contract. And thankfully, my agents were like,

They talked me into like, no, no, no. We need to, you're going to want an agent. Trust me. They sent over the first offer and I was like, all right, where do we sign? They're like, no, no, no, no.

We can go high. We can go high. Oh, man. That's funny as shit. Yeah, that first time you get a check like that thrown in front of you, you never forget. You never see that many zeros in your life. Never, never, never. Man, that's too funny. Have you seen this tweet from 2015? LeBron is 30. This fuckery will go on for much longer. Thank God.

Yes, I saw that tweet throughout all of my 30s. All of my 30s. And I laughed at it so hard. You put it up in the locker and you just put it right there? And you know what's funny? When I turned 40, the same fucking guy said, LeBron turned 40. This fucker won't go on much longer. That's fucking gold, man. So good.

So good. Look at that. That's so good. Oh, my goodness. Oh, my goodness. He's going to be really upset when I turn 50. No doubt. No doubt. That shit was fucking classic, man. Ron, did you ever hoop in a Heights gym? I don't think I hooped in Heights gym, man. Ah.

I don't think so. You know what? I was actually thinking about that. And if I don't – I know it was never a game. I never played Cleveland Heights in Cleveland Heights, but I might have been there for maybe a summer league game or just for a run or something. Man. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Either way, man. It's Northeast Ohio forever. I want to ask one more question, and I know you've talked about this before. How did you do this? From the expectations that were on your feet – Trav, you touched on this –

I just never seen anybody. And I don't know that I ever will handle every step of the way with such just like class and grace. Like, I don't know, man, it's just been remarkable to watch the whole journey and to see the whole thing happen. And I know it's not over yet and keep on going, but I appreciate it, man. What is the wisdom to anybody else? Listen, Jay Traff, man. Well,

knowing where I came from, you know, you come from Hackney, you come from Cleveland, you come from Northeast Ohio, you know that you are one or two and three in a billion. And if you get that opportunity, man, you won't,

You can't fuck it up. You just can't. Yeah. Got to lock in, man. You know, being from a single parent household and just me and my mom, I have no siblings, you know, seeing the struggle that my mom went through and things of that nature. That was another thing that I was like, okay, you can't fuck her up. Like you just can't, you know, because now you're given this opportunity. Yeah. Then I started thinking about my career. I was like, what do you want to be in

how do you want to be remembered? Like, do you want to just go on and just play ball or do you actually want to be remembered when you're not playing ball? So like, I took that into consideration. I took that into serious account. I was like, I want to be the greatest that anyone has ever seen in the sport ever. And then I was like, okay, but in order for that to happen, not only do I got to put the work in on the court, I

I have to make sure that I take care of the business off the court as well. Like you can't be a shit show. You can't be a piece of shit. You can't be doing things that affects anything that has anything to do with your profession and being available to your teammates, being available to the franchise, being available every time you get out there that caused a distraction. I felt that. And when I started to start my family, that was another part. I knew Savannah was the one I started having kids. I was like,

I didn't have that male influence. My dad wasn't around. I was like, OK, I can't fuck that up. So like all of this is like piling on, piling on and piling on. And yes, with the weight of the world on my shoulders. I remember I did an interview. I wasn't even in the NBA. I think I had just got drafted. I did an interview with like Bob Costas or something. I think it was him. And he said, like, how does it feel to know that if you're not a first round ballot Hall of Famer,

people will look at you as a failure. I was like, God. I said, first ballot Hall of Fame. I'm like 18 years old. I haven't even played the game yet. People look at me as a failure. I was like, oh shit. I haven't even thought about that. I haven't even thought about that.

Oh, my God. There's people out here that really want me to fail. Oh, my goodness. And I use that as motivation. I was like, I got something for y'all. I got something for y'all. So, man, it's a lot. But it's also just like to the young guys out there that feel the pressure, that, you know, feel like it's maybe too much. Like if you just put the work in.

don't be an asshole, be a good person, you know, and dedicate yourself to the craft. The game will always be kind to you. That's always take care of your body. Eat well, you know, uh, give your faith, you know, to the higher above because we're, we're nothing without them. Um,

obviously, and just be a good person, man. It's not hard. It's not hard to say, thank you. You're welcome. How you doing? Have a good day. All that type of good shit. Oh, yeah. It's nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with that. Leading your life in the right direction, baby. There it is. You get rewarded. Yeah, you get rewarded every time. It's been inspirational the whole way, not just as a player, but, I mean, off the field, what you've done from a business side. Man, I appreciate it. Like Trav –

I know you know this, but the impact you've had on players, not just in basketball, but other sports. Oh, yeah. Seeing the success you've had all walks of life. The empire you've created around yourself, the trust you've been able to have with the people around you. I mean, all that stuff. You know, I've taken notes since the jump, man. I keep a lot of people very similar to me, close to me and around me in the business profession. And I...

Took notes from you on it. So I appreciate you doing the right things always. And I appreciate you coming on tonight. Thank you for taking the time. Yes, sir. New heights went to a new height today, baby. Let's go. Got the king, man. Let's go. Thank you very much, dog. Tell the family we said hello, man. Absolutely. Best of luck to you in the next game, man. I'll be watching. You know we'll get after it. Yes, I already know. I already know.

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Holy shit. Man, it's just never enough time with my guy, man. I mean, that flew by. I just want to just grill him. I just want to grill him. And I never want to grill him whenever I'm hanging out with him. Like, I never want to just bring up... I'm not bringing up nothing. So, was Nike always... You know what I mean? Just like... Put him on the spot. If you had any advice for someone getting into business venture...

Perfect. Perfect. That's what I was going to do. Yeah. Just keep grilling him. Oh, man. He's the best though, man. No doubt. What a good dude, man. Ah, that was the Cleveland kid in me. Whenever we talk to just some Northeast Ohio guys or girls, it just comes out of me. I feel like I'm like 15 all over again. It's fun stuff right there. There is flour everywhere. Hilarious. Absolutely hilarious. You're like George Washington. Yeah.

Oh, look, it's George. Quick divisional round. Look ahead. Let's talk a little football. Even though we just talked the previous week with LeBron and DraftKings, any surprises from you specifically on last week's matchups and the outcomes? Nothing that surprising. In the playoffs, anybody can win. That's why it's the playoffs, right? So nothing that surprising. Playoffs. Tampa was one of my sleeper teams. I really thought Baker Mayfield –

The only part of the season where they dipped down a little bit was when Evans and Godwin got hurt. And they weathered that storm pretty well. I keep thinking Washington doesn't have the roster this year and they keep proving me wrong. So I'm going to stop thinking that, you know what I mean? Like I just, I keep thinking they're just a year away from having the guys to really get it done. But man, Dan Quinn, Jaden Daniels has been playing out of his mind all year. It's taking care of the ball, man. And they're stopping the run. I thought Bucky Irvin was going to have a hell of a day. And he,

Play well, but I don't know. I keep thinking that there's, you know, somebody is going to have a game where they just kind of dominate the trenches on both sides of the ball and it's just not happening. Tampa Bay didn't play bad. Like it was a good game. They had a couple of mistakes at the end that really hurt them.

But Washington also was – I mean, they had a couple fourth down calls that kept Tampa in it. You know what I mean? I think – did Washington punt? They punted like what? None? No times. No punts. No turnovers. They were moving the ball. They were putting together sustained drives. I've been impressed with Washington all year, but I didn't think that this would be their year to compete with the big dogs. And I've been proven wrong, clearly. Jaden Daniels has had a tremendous season.

Their whole defense has been galvanized.

On an organization and team that I think has lacked a lot of, you know, hope and like leadership a little bit. Like with the whole Dan Snyder thing. And I think Rivera is a phenomenal coach. I just, it felt like that organization was missing something. And for this to turn around this quickly has been remarkable. Shout out to all those guys, man. And Bobby Wagner still playing lights out. It's been awesome to watch. My man Zach Ertz is out there balling. Ertz. Man, I love seeing him get after still in his career, man.

For sure. You know, shout out to Baker on a great year. I know it's not the way those guys wanted it. I'm just happy that he's found a home down there in Tampa playing well. I mean, I'm right there with you. I thought that was the one upset that I didn't see coming. And they got to really – I mean, I think they're the ones playing the Lions, right? They're playing the Lions this week. This will be a big one. Yeah. I mean, if you can stop the run –

Well, this is the one, like, I don't know, man. I just, they play so well. Like, they're so well coached on offense and defense, Washington and Detroit. But like, every time I think they're going to get run on,

Dan Quinn and this defensive line shows up. Bobby Wagner starts making plays. The Eagles had a couple big counter runs on them early the last time they played Washington. Saquon had a big run. He was over 100 yards in the first quarter damn near. And then right after that, you see Bobby start scraping over the top of the tight end and ruining that play. It's a vet, man. To put it in, Jonathan Gannon used to use this word all the time. They're salty, man. They find a way to get it done. They're a resilient group.

And now they find themselves, you know, playing in the divisional round. And it's been an incredible year for Washington. I mean, I would be beyond shocked if they get it done against Detroit this week, too. But I mean, at some point, it's just they're having a great year.

The quarterback is playing really well. They're well coached. And it seems like they're a great group together. So kudos to Washington for getting it done. Shout out to the commanders, baby. Let's let's speak in the next week. Let's go ahead and talk some some divisional around football, baby. OK, OK. Well, we got Chiefs Texans. How do you feel? Twenty five days since you last played on Christmas. How about that? Got to feel pretty fresh.

Well, I mean, I've been getting after it. I've been getting after it. Never, never too fresh. You got to keep the wear and tear on the body. You can't let your body get out of the zone. You know what I mean? You got to stay in the zone. You got to, that's why we were in pads this week. We had one or one practice in pads and we got after it ones on ones a little bit. And that keeps you in the groove, right? That keeps you feeling football. It keeps you kind of having that endurance, that muscle memory that you need to come out and play fast, man. But,

The Texans, I mean, you want to talk about playing fast, that D-line, that defense, it's a real deal right there. And they showed it this past weekend against the Chargers on what they can do, and they can create turnovers. They're a tough team. They're a tough team, man. And I'm excited for the challenge, man. Their secondary is very good. They can match up with pretty much any team in the league. Their defensive line plays very aggressive defensively.

They're well coached with D'Amico Ryans. I, you know, Matt Burke. Dude, it's crazy how many staff members I know for the Texans.

D'Amico Ryan's I played with. Burke, the DC, was with me in Philly with Jim Schwartz. Corey Unlin was with me in Philly. Billy Davis was the DC with Chip. Nate Olley's the defensive line coach. Like, dude, I know the entire fucking defensive staff. I was doing one of their games and he just kept walking by. I'm like, God damn, you old motherfuckers are over here. They're well coached. They play physical. They play fast. They got a great group. Really do. So it's going to be a challenge for you guys. Shout out to Houston.

And good luck this week. What's the keys to victory? The keys to victory? Man, I haven't fucking heard about that. Play physical. Just give the generic. Don't turn the ball over. Don't turn the ball over. Yeah.

Get out to a fast start. Start fast, finish strong. It's like the head coach for the Keys to Victory just has like a running like seven list of like what it could possibly be. And it's just how do I rearrange into three keys? Turnovers is always there. Take care of the football.

Which, I mean, playoff football. Got to control the line of scrimmage. Got to control the line of scrimmage. Big boys up front, you guys control this thing. That's going to indicate the outcome right there. Yeah. No, man. Got to play complimentary all three phases. Got to play together. Like it's football. It's not that hard, ladies and gentlemen. Everybody knows that those are the things that you got to do. Okay, so the same thing that works every week for victories. Got it. Okay, do those. That's the one, Jason. That's the one.

No, obviously this team plays very, very well together, man. And it's going to take all 11 on the field. I just said another one of them right there. You can't stop. It always comes down to that. It's just the same thing every single time. Got to punch him in the mouth. Got to punch him right in the mouth. Let's talk a little Eagles, Rams. Yeah. Rams coming into town. You think Saquon scores instead of slides this week? Dude, I was like...

just go score baby and i what was he's like i didn't want to put the defense back out on the field is that was the uh i mean yeah you never know what happens i remember i remember a play similar play happening where we ended up scoring a touchdown the defense goes back out there and somebody gets banged up and misses the next week so it's like yeah i mean i mean that was the thing i'm going down at the one though yeah get all of my yards i can but then i mean i don't know man that's why he's

Where he's at and I'm here. Anyways. Selfless. Selfless. Absolutely selfless, man. And he's been like that the whole year. So he's just the ultimate team player. I expect nothing less. Definitely would have scored if it was me. But that's why I don't play running back in the NFL and get 2,000 yards. There you go. You did average nine yards a carry though in high school. I ran all over that turf over in Lakewood. Yeah.

I was flying on that AstroTurf. These kids nowadays don't know what turf is. Yes. You ever heard of AstroTurf? It's carpet over a parking lot. People don't even know. It's carpet over a parking lot. People call what we play on now turf, an AstroTurf. I'm like, no, this is different. This is field turf. No, this is completely different, right? This isn't carpet. You don't have to put strips of tape so that your skin doesn't get scrubbed off.

We bring extra bottles. When the trainers bring extra bottles of, was it peroxide? Yes. All right. Because we're fucking all day just fucking dumping it on wounds. Everybody leaves with a raspberry. If you didn't leave with a raspberry, I don't want you playing. But I'll tell you what, when you're young and it doesn't hurt your joints, it's fun because you're fast. You are flying on that stuff. Yeah.

Everyone brings tennis shoes instead of cleats. It's like a reminder to everybody the day before. And don't come with your cleats tomorrow, guys. I had those little nubs. I had like actual AstroTurf cleats. Dude, yeah. Those are the best. Yeah. Well, that's impressive. Yeah. I just had basketball shoes.

It works too. There you go. But yeah, no, I'm excited about this game. I mean, the Rams, obviously I was just there this Monday. They played a phenomenal game against the Vikings, Matthew Stafford. They're clicking on all cylinders right now in LA. So it's going to be a great game. It's in the link. The Eagles got the better of the Rams last time they played, but the Rams have, have been,

have been getting better. They played so fast this past week. And I don't know if it was having the week off the week before where they rested some of their starters or,

But they look like a very, very good football team right now. Oh, yeah. Matthew's still slinging that ball as good as he ever has. Slanging it around out there. So, yeah, it's going to be a tough game for the Eagles. But, yeah, it'll be a fun one. Let's keep this thing moving, man. Hopefully we can get this dub this weekend, man, and keep our playoff hopes alive, baby. Hey, yo. Our Super Bowl hopes alive.

Finally, last week, we promised we would do a blind ranking of Will Ferrell movies this episode. Oh, yeah. Let's get it going, baby. That's right. So, intern Brandon.

Please do the honors. I'm trying to remember all of Will's movies. He's got so many. So pulled these off of his top 10 on IMDb. So is this in order? Are we seeing one? No, no. You're seeing them. These are just numbers. These are just numbers. Don't mean anything right now. Just the first movie. Please. I kind of feel like you would have gone in order. You don't. I'm sneakier than that. Give me some fucking credit. Movie number one. Stepbrothers. Stepbrothers.

This is a top. This is definitely a top. If not one, it's top three. I'm trying to figure what's better than Step Brothers. Dude, it's so fucking good. Like, I could watch it right the fuck now, which is damn near every movie Will's in, but. I know. I'm going. It feels weird to put the first movie we see at number one.

that's a risk but we wouldn't be wrong that's no it's definitely not wrong i mean this is a lot of people's number ones it might be my number one i'm trying to like i love old school i really do love old school stepbrothers but that i feel like that wasn't as much gets better and better every time an anchorman i'm also sorry if this is will if this is will ferrell a movie like old school he wasn't the lead that's fair that's fair to say you

You know what I mean? I will say this. Although he made probably the most impression on me as a kid as Frank the Tank. Does he get considered, like his Wedding Crashers, a Will Ferrell movie, even though he's not the main guy? Wedding Crashers. He's like, Mom, the meatloaf! Oh, yeah. No, you can't put him in there. He's in a lot of ones. When I think of Wedding Crashers, I don't think of Will. Yeah, you think of Vince Vaughn. Think of...

God dang, what's the other guy with the crooked nose? Wilson. Owen. Wilson, Owen Wilson. The crooked nose. Jesus, Jason. I'm going to put it at two or three just because I think Anchorman's my favorite movie. Anchorman's my favorite. I love it. Let's go two. All right, two. Second movie up. We're going to forget about one. Talladega. You're in my wheelhouse right now, Brandon. You are in my fucking wheelhouse.

I mean, it's got to be three. If we're going Anchorman's one, it's so good. And it's one of those that every time you see it, it just gets better. God, it's so good.

It's got to be three. It can't be one. I'm just curious what else is on this list. He's had so many movies. It's hard to remember all of them all like off the top of your head. I got, I think it's either three or four. I can't go lower than that. Yeah. It's three. I'm going three. It's two. If it's not one. It's so fun. It's so fantastic. So it's got to be three. I love the ballad of Ricky Bobby. Next movie. Oh, so good. The other guys.

Great movie. Great movie. God damn it. Does this go four? I mean, this one's more of an underrated one and I don't exactly know why because it's absolutely incredible. Dude, it is so good. I'm going to say it's below Elf and Anchorman for me. I also think it's probably below Old School even though he's not the main in Old School.

It's just more of an iconic movie. This one never got the level of notoriety that all the other ones did for whatever reason. I don't really know why. Because it was absolutely hilarious. Movie reviews or ratings. I just watched the movies and this is up there for me. I'm going six. I'm going six. No, that's got to be five. I'll go five. I'm missing so much. I'll concede. His movies are so good that I can't even imagine putting anything at 10.

This is where we're going to have to start putting some of these movies down there, Travis. We have to. All right, next one. Next movie. Old school. See, just because it's... God, he's front and center. It's Frank the Tank. He goes streaking to the quad. You're fucking crazy, man. Do you think KFC is still open? You're fucking crazy.

I love you. We're going streaking! But you're fucking crazy. Yeah, Frank, the whole town knows you had a good time last night. I think Elf and Anchorman are one and four. Those are the two that we got to leave. No way, not four. No, I'm saying Elf and Anchorman are one and four. I'm saying seven. I'm saying this is seven. Old School is seven? Yeah, I'm saying seven. Just because he's not the main? Yeah. If I'm just rating the movie, I'd put it up higher. Can we go six? No, dude. There's so many good Will Ferrell movies we're missing.

But this movie is fantastic. It is. It's Vince. The cast is incredible. The movie is great. Are we rating this on a Will Ferrell scale or just like the best movies that Will Ferrell has been in? I've been going off of a Will Ferrell scale. Come on now. Give me a number. Just go seven, dude. Seven. I will reluctantly. I just disagree with it being seven. All right, then go six. Fine, six.

I kind of want to go four. Then go four. Fuck it. Just get me through this. Jesus. All right. We'll lock it in at four. Next movie, A Night at the Roxbury. That's what I'm talking about. Well, this is a guilty pleasure for us. This one is... I'm so pissed that we didn't talk this because it started off on SNL and it fucking became a fucking... Full-on movie. Yeah.

And then I used to work out at Jake Lazor's gym, Unbreakable, on Roxbury Road. There we go. Shout out to Jake Lazor and Unbreakable. Okay, Larry Legend. Shout out to Larry Legend. I love this movie.

It is an all-time favorite of mine. Chris Tatan. It is so fucking good. I feel like Night at the Roxbury, even though it's one of our favorites, objectively not one of his better films. I think you got to go seven or eight. I'll go eight. Eight? All right, eight. Locking in at eight. Next movie, Elf.

This is where we've ran into triples. We have to leave one open for Anchorman. I got you a little bit. No, 100%. I front loaded it. I got you. So I say six. Cool. Kicking and screaming. See, this is what I'm saying. This is what I'm fucking saying, man. I mean, it's a good movie, but I feel very confident this is outside of that top six we have right now. All right, seven then, because it's up there for me. You're putting this at seven? Seven? Dude, I love kicking and screaming. Is it better than Blades of Glory?

Is it better than Semi-Pro? No. I think this one's 10 for me. All right. I think it's a good movie. I mean, listen, there's not a bad Will Ferrell movie. Night at the Roxbury should have been 10. Wait, where did you put that? 10. 10.

This is 10. Interesting. I love that fucking movie. Next movie. It's so good. Semi-pro. I'll go nine semi-pro. Nine. This is, yeah, we're on the same page. I fucking love Jackie Moon, though, man. What a character. Jackie Moon is electric. All of these movies are fantastic. Next up, we have Blades of Glory. Seven. Dude, if you do not have Anchorman with this last film. He's such an asshole if he doesn't have Anchorman. He did IMDb top 10, so it has to be Anchorman. I don't even need to see it.

All right. Last movie. Anchorman. Yeah. I feel good about this list. Do you remember Anchorman 2? Yes. Oh, yeah. Dude. It's actually really good. It's so. You want to talk about a movie that gets better as you get older. That movie is so fucking funny. Oh, my God. That shit is fucking gold. Look at that cast.

Man, I got to fucking grill my guy Paul Rudd about that movie, man. I need to know more. I feel pretty good about this list. It's a solid list. This is a pretty solid list. Would we change anything with it not being blind? I'd probably switch Night at the Roxbury and either Kicking and Screaming or Semi-Pro. I think that one was kind of just a silly one where these ones actually like the character was like...

I don't know. I just felt like those characters were better. Night at Roxbury is a guilty pleasure of ours, though. People are going to want Elf higher. Elf's going to get some tweets. Well, initially I was wondering. Elf for four, but he's got so many great movies. I don't think Elf is better than... I mean, I might put it above other guys, but...

Probably other guys in old school for me. I'm not putting it above old school. Old school is too iconic to me. I love Talladega Knights with a passion. I feel very confident. Anchorman and stepbrothers are one and two though. Yeah. I think we killed the first, the top three. Any issues with the list, please tweet at J chat 85. I think that was Jake. Please let him know.

Tell us how you feel. Tell him specifically how you feel. Tell him he fucked up. Get him. That wraps up another episode of New Heights. That's right. Thank you to LeBron James for showing up and coming out. Yeah, that was incredible. The best. Still kind of crazy that that even happened. Make sure you're subscribed on YouTube to the New Heights channel and follow New Heights on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts.

We will be back with another new heights, Wondery exclusive episode dropping tomorrow. You can listen to new episodes of new heights early and ad free right now by joining one three plus in the Wondery app or on Apple podcasts. Once again, new heights is a Wondery show produced by wave sports and entertainment and brought to you by Reese's new chocolate lava, big cup. How about that?

man, Kelsey's going to have a fucking time of his life. Follow the show on all social media at new heights show with one F for fun clips throughout the week, guys. And thank you to our production for always making us look great and getting guys like LeBron James to come through, man. Golly, what a guy. And thank you to the 92 percenters for tuning in. Hope you guys had a good one. And thanks to our production and crew for always. Thank you for, did I say thank you? It'd be really funny if I just didn't edit any of that.

I'm an absolute imbecile. Thanks, guys, to everyone. The end. Leave it in. Who knows if people even fucking watch the end of the clips. Everybody's already logged off of their computer. They're already tweeting about what LeBron said. They abandoned us long ago.

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Hey, y'all. It's your girl, Kiki Palmer. And let me tell you, we're kicking off this new year with a whole new mindset. You know how everyone's all about new year, new me. Well, baby, this is Kiki Palmer. We're taking it to a whole other level. We're talking new year, new perspective. And honey, it's going to change your life. I said,

I sat down with astrology queen, Chani Nicholas. Y'all, if you want to understand yourself better this year, this episode is it. And then there's my chat with the incredible Da Vinci where nothing was off the table. If you're looking to level up your mindset this year, his words are definitely going to hit different.

If you're ready for that new year, new mindset energy, you've got to tune into, baby. This is Kiki Palmer. Catch it on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. And for the full experience, head to my YouTube channel. If you're looking for more podcasts to help you tend to your well-being, check out New Year, New Mindset on the Wondery app. Let's make this year our best one yet, baby.