NBA

The league currently in the midst of its playoff series.

“You know, when I... Or off air, when I brought up the VAR thing, he was like, "Ah, oof, that's tough." And it's like, "Oh, you know about this." It's like, oh yeah, he definitely does. They're trying to be the best replay system, you know, in the entire world.…”

The professional league where scoring trends and analytics have significantly evolved.

“That's, that's a real good question, Pat. [laughs] It's crazy. I think about how long I got a chance to play. When I first came into the NBA, I used to think, like, 25 points a quarter, you know, that's gonna give you 100, right? But what started happening is …”

Mentioned in the context of ongoing playoffs.

“You know, I have, uh, certainly done that. Uh, it j- it's outrageous here. It really is. Uh, I just went out to the bathroom, you know, uh, to run. In the hallway, you run into literally the people that are creating the schedules, and then you got the other si…”

The league is discussed regarding its history of finals, MVP announcements, and the current no-repeat championship streak.

“... but, but, uh, if they break the no repeat streak in the NBA now, and he wins another finals MVP, and they're still pretty young, I mean, like, the, the historical stakes for him and for this Thunder team are, are now very big, and they, they will begin to …”

The professional basketball league where these players and teams compete.

“... he's definitely not the second-best center in the NBA.”

Referenced as the league where the Cavs had to face two of the five best defenses.

“W- Wade was not bringing enough defensively to really justify it. I thought they could've reorganized their rotation a bit. But this is what happens in the playoffs, man. You shrink your rotation, you gotta stretch for answers. These are, this is, you know, th…”

The league governing the playoff series being discussed.

“... immaculate, yeah, basketball team, and now they have freaking, like, I... Nobody can take their eyes off this dude. P- people who know nothing-”

The league is being criticized for its inconsistent disciplinary standards and perceived favoritism.

“You know? The point is, even if it was something to him, as long as you didn't suspend him for the game, you could've made up for it to some degree by giving him a stiff financial penalty. Right. You could've done that. The fact that the league didn't even do …”

Discussed as a league where players still do not feel comfortable coming out as gay.

“knowledgeable and sophisticated on this issue, and our teams understand it completely. I would've expected them to be supportive, and they are." And I think David meant all that, and I think all that meant a lot at the time, and nothing about the significance …”

The league in which the playoff games and player statistics are being analyzed.

“James Harden, according to our friend Keerthika, James Harden is now 4 and 14 in game sixes in his career, the second-worst record in game sixes in NBA playoff history, uh, with a minimum of 10 game sixes played. Um-”

The league in which the Thunder and Spurs rivalry is expected to become a dominant force.

“Yeah. Uh, let, let's... We have a lot of time to talk about people's off-season plans. Let's get to what we really wanna talk about, man. OKC versus San Antonio. This is what we've been wanting. This is the new rivalry that is going to encompass all of the NBA…”

The league whose salary cap and contract structures are being discussed.

“Yeah, but like, but I... We may have to bring in Cliff for this one, 'cause I'm, I'm gonna end up pissing him off. But like, it really wasn't, um, like some egregious list of, of miscues hereAnd only a week before they got smoked by the Knicks, they were being…”

The professional league where these athletes compete and entertain.

“He... W- the, the very fact that there's, like, a mischievous smile there while looking up like that, whatever i- is, is the motivation at that point, he's enjoying the fact that he's dominating your ass. That's the thing. I don't care about whether, like, it'…”

Mentioned in the context of broadcast rights and scheduling ceremonies during game seven.

“... had been... Amazon and the NBA had been intentionally, like, waiting, delaying, planning on doing this whole ceremony before game seven, and they just, he just-”

The league compared to the NHL regarding player conduct after playoff games.

“Not being able to get over that hump Correct. Correct. And I- they would've lost the series if Anthony Ether- Edwards was 100% healthy, I believe. Mm. But it would've been maybe more competitive, because when you see, like, they won game one, which was a littl…”

Discussed in the context of the league's MVP award drought for American players.

“Are we, are we as a country washed? Because this also is on the heels of Shams announcing SGA back-to-back MVP, and I think it's been like nine years, I believe, eight years since an American has won the NBA MVP. So-”

Mentioned as having their event planning affected by a leak.

“And NBA had, like, waited-”

The league where the coaching changes and playoff series are taking place.

“That's where I was going. I, I don't mind Jamal Mosley. I mean, he had five years in Orlando. He took them to the playoffs the last three years. Only won 46% of his games, but took them to the playoffs the last three years. Two of those three years were winnin…”

The league where Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jaylen Brown compete.

“[upbeat music] Game one of the Eastern Conference Finals is tomorrow night here on ESPN in the app. Tip off 8:00 Eastern. Coverage begins with NBA Tip-Off featuring Ernie, Kenny, Shaq, and Charles. That is at 7:00 Eastern.”

The professional basketball league where both players compete.

“an athlete, did he complain then? Did he complain when, how many times that we can't even count, when I talked about the brilliance of this young man, his philanthropy in the community, the kind of things that he's done, and I've been raving about that all of …”

The professional basketball league that changed its lottery rules due to the Wizards' tanking.

“We did that, the Bloody Marys. That, that was, put us in the right frame of mind. Um, huge thanks to Ernie Grunfeld, to Tommy Sheppard, to Jan Vesely, to Johnny Davis, all the way up to this moment, finally, with, uh, incredible infrastructure. Uh, a brain tru…”

The professional basketball league where LeBron James continues to produce at an advanced age.

“Yeah, I, that's be- better-- I appreciate you cleaning that up, 'cause how we'll look back on it probably won't be with as e- enough respect and, and reverence for what he was able to do, uh, and the nuance of, like, what he was able to do. Um, how should we l…”

The professional basketball league used as a benchmark for revenue and salary comparisons during WNBA negotiations.

“She accounted for the fact that the NBA season has more games, the games themselves are longer, and there are fewer WNBA teams. Then she crunched all those numbers and estimated that the average WNBA salary should be about a quarter to a third of the average N…”

The majority owner of the WNBA and the benchmark for revenue and salary comparisons.

“In the beginning, the NBA owned the WNBA. They're still majority owners. And in their 2002 negotiations, the NBA commissioner threatened to cancel the upcoming season if they couldn't reach an agreement.”

Referenced in a quiz question regarding the death of Jason Collins.

“Oh, the NBA.”

Referenced as a group of athletes who are frequently targeted for theft in these types of scenarios.

“Oh, yeah. That happens to, like, NBA players all the time.”