Knicks Win the NBA Finals, Spurs Collapse & Team USA World Cup Hype

The New York Knicks are NBA Champions for the first time in over five decades, and Jalen Brunson's Finals MVP performance has basketball fans talking. Spencer and James break down how the Knicks got it done, what went wrong for the Spurs, and whether Victor Wembanyama's first Finals appearance was a learning experience or a warning sign.

Plus, Giannis Antetokounmpo trade rumors are officially heating up. Could Milwaukee finally move their superstar? The guys discuss the Spurs, Celtics, and other potential landing spots before diving into Team USA Soccer's dominant World Cup performance and America's chances of making a deep run on home soil.

🏀 Knicks win the NBA Finals
 📉 Spurs collapse under pressure
 👽 Wembanyama's Finals fallout
 🔄 Giannis trade destinations
 ⚽ Team USA World Cup reaction
 🧠 Jalen Brunson joins elite NBA company

Timestamps

00:00 Knicks Win It All
04:00 Spurs Collapse Breakdown
12:38 Giannis Trade Rumors Begin
15:41 Best Giannis Landing Spots
17:33 USA World Cup Breakdown
25:24 Brunson Trivia Wrap-Up

#BigGameEnergy #NBAFinals #Knicks #JalenBrunson #VictorWembanyama #Spurs #Giannis #NBATradeRumors #NBA #USMNT #WorldCup #Soccer #SportsPodcast #BasketballPodcast #NBAPlayoffs

Transcript

Speaker 0:00

Big game energy. It is June 15th. James and Spencer hanging out with you, and there is one thing to discuss today, James, and it is the New York Knicks. After 53 years, New York City's being burnt to the ground as the New York Knicks are champions once again. Wow. Jalen Brunson goes for 45, and he is finals MVP.

Speaker 2 0:23

I did pick the right team to win. Maybe not in six, but in five. Go figure. But no, this series, Spence, I'm not gonna lie, this whole series threw me for a loop because you saw that the Spurs were the better team it seemed like 69, 72% of the game. Or the series. They led-- That's how much they led during the series and somehow still found a way- Especially if you ask Wimby after the game. Oh, yeah, I know. You asked that? You know what, yeah the... We'll get into him in a little bit, but, for the Spurs, they looked dominant the whole part and it just... It was a tale of two different sides of, like, how you're gonna play this game of basketball, and, Spence, we saw it. The Spurs were inexperienced from coaches to players, and I'm not saying the Knicks were experienced in the finals, but you had Mike Brown, who's been to the finals as an assistant and a head coach. You've had guys a nucleus core that got at least some type of championship pedigree with Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, and Jalen Brunson with Villanova. They're, the Three Musketeers, and then you bring KAT. And this team that really... I'm just shocked at what a job Mike Brown did really overall, 'cause this is basically almost the same team with Tom Thibodeau, and they were at the Eastern Conference finals last year, lost to the Pacers. But overall, Spence- I was more impressed with j- just Jalen Brunson and them saying "Hey, we're just gonna play our game and we'll figure a way out." And besides game four and five, Jalen Brunson was so inefficient. Was he dropping the most points in the series? Hell yeah. But he was like dropping 45 on 45 shots, 30 on 30 shots. Like- Right it was, like, and I don't wanna say it was Mamba mentality, but damn he, they were figuring out ways to win. And, they did it with Kat really not being a real factor after game two. What'd he score in game five? It was only, like, four points. It just, for a guy they're paying big bucks, to have a, to have him only score minimum points every other game after game one and two was, it was shocking. But Overall, man, I'm not gonna go as far as what Stephen A. Smith said. Stephen A. Smith said that the Knicks saved basketball, because I don't believe that. I just believe that what the Knicks did showed that "Hey, you gotta just find a way to build a real nucleus core, and if that means your star player needs to take $100 million pay cut, then do it. If your second-best player only needs to score two points a game because they know that OG Anunoby is the most efficient Knick on the team, then do it." And they figured a way out. And I think at the end of the day, I'm not gonna say team up with your best friends, 'cause the Heat did it for a time and the Warriors did it for a time, but the Knicks have done it. They traded all the picks for the best friends. They s- they all took cuts. We got fathers coaching the team, the- Just imagine

Speaker 3:15

how bad it must feel to be Donte DiVincenzo.

Speaker 2 3:18

Had to sacrifice him, for a title. Man. And I know he's happy. But no, overall, the Knicks' series with the Spurs, it just showed, man, that veteran and core presence, man, from head coaching all the way down just made a difference. And I don't think re- you know what's crazy? I don't think the Knicks did anything that was like, wow, the Knicks are such a better team than the Spurs. It was just the little details they got ironed out. And now the Knicks are NBA champions and I can't wait for them to, h- like try to, go back-to-back, but you know how this goes. They probably already got the title odds out, and guess what? The Knicks are probably the sixth-best odds to win this all.

Speaker 4:00

Yeah. So it's like- I will say on the other side for the Spurs, Wemby, everyone kind of has said this is gonna be okay for him. This is his, for LeBron, he had 2007 against the Spurs where he got swept. For Wemby, he's gonna have 2026 where he got gentleman swept by the Knicks, and he'll be back to this point in his future. But- For the rest of the guys on the Spurs, wake-up calls for everybody. All right? Dylan Harper, the only positive wake-up call I have here is that he is definitively your second-best player. He needs to- Horrible never come off the bench ever again. Mm-hmm. All right? Now, that being said, who does he need to replace? De'Aaron Fox played like a terrorist in this ch- in this championship series in the finals. Li- listen to this, James. 12.8 points a game- Mm-hmm three rebounds- Mm-hmm six assists- Mm-hmm on 34% from the field and from beyond the arc. De'Aaron Fox was horrendous, and you look at that contract, $50 million next year, and it's gonna be upwards of $60 million in the final year of his contract. Can they even trade De'Aaron Fox at this point after what he did? That remains to be seen, but they have got to make sure that he is not getting minutes over Dylan Harper ever again. That cannot happen.

Speaker 2 5:22

No, you're right. Don't get me wrong. Hey, De'Aaron Fox did seal the game-winner, in Game 3 in New York. But besides that, he was horrible. He was inefficient out the ying-yang, and I know he's gonna get more scrutinized over anyone over what happened in Game 4 because the running He could've ran out the clock. Maybe the series is 2-2 now. And-

Speaker 5:42

Yeah

Speaker 2 5:42

And, again, the Spurs led 72 or 69% of the series and still found a way to, to lose. And, it reminds me of the stupid childhood book, the hare versus the tortoise, and somehow the tortoise end up winning the race even though the bunny is so much faster and blah, blah, blah. But it's okay, man. Hey, again, we talked about this last week. The Spurs, they will be fine. They got a young core with Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper and Victor. They'll- Yeah they'll be fine. They just gotta find- Stephon

Speaker 6:12

Castle also had a pretty bad series. Oh, yeah. He's 38% from the field, 30% from three. Yeah,

Speaker 2 6:18

he was

Speaker 6:19

horrible game five 14 points a game. They were not good- No at all across the board. It was... Wimby- Even Wimby was good had some bad games, but he... 26 and 11, y- you'll take that all day. Yeah. That's pretty good numbers from Victor. Yeah. And then of course, Dylan Harper, like I said, 18 points, three assists. I'm doing a little stat stat sheet watch right now, but it's just when you compare the stats between the Spurs and the Knicks, you look at the numbers and you think, "Okay, how was this 4-1 Knicks?" And it just truly was. The Spurs just could not close the deal at all. Not- Yeah yeah, they did in game three, but four different times they have big leads- Big and they blow every single one of them, including game five in your own building. I-

Speaker 2 7:02

Yeah.

Speaker 7:02

All the time all time choke job for the Spurs.

Speaker 2 7:04

Yeah. And I know for a fact, I'm not gonna be hot take-y over here and be like, "Mitch Johnson should be fired or he should have, be on the hot..." I'm not gonna go that far. Yes, the players execute and X, Y, and Z, but Dude, you mighta low-key cost the Spurs the title, man, because either it's your mismanaging the minutes with Dylan Harper over a guy who's making... You mentioned De'Aaron Fox making 50 million, so you gotta put the veteran in, but he played more like a rookie than Dylan Harper. You got that. You got the 15-0 run, no timeouts, no this, no that. Hey, man. And you know what's sad, I think, about the Mitch Johnson thing, is that, you see photos of, oh, Gregg Popovich is in the building supporting the Spurs, and he's got a hand in all of this, and it's like, Did, Mitch Johnson not listen to Gregg Popovich if he gives advice, I'm pretty sure Gregg Popovich mentioned something like, "Hey, man, if you see this, I know this is your team, but let's pull the horses and let's pull the reins on this," 'cause man, 15-0 runs, no calling timeouts. Man.

Speaker 8:03

To be fair, do you think Gregg Popovich can even speak words right now? Last time I saw him he was in bad shape.

Speaker 2 8:09

Yo,

Speaker 8:09

I mean that with all due respect, but it was like

Speaker 2 8:12

I know. Like he, like you got better odds of Joe Biden g- giving you a full speech than- Yeah, I

Speaker 8:17

mean- that's about what we're dealing with right here is those

Speaker 2 8:20

two

Speaker 8:20

guys.

Speaker 2 8:20

Yeah. I don't know if this is nice, man. How do you feel about the Knicks fans? Not the reckless ones. I'm talking about the Spike Lees, the Ben Stillers, the OGs that been waiting for this. I'm... Hey, you're kinda in that boat. You waiting for your Texans to win one. How do you feel, man, for those that have been just waiting for a Knicks... Tracy Morgan and the

Speaker 8:38

guys. Yeah. Look, it's always cool whenever a team that hasn't won in a very long time, or at all, when they get a championship. It's always kinda cool to see, and I am happy for those Knicks fans. That's really cool. But I will say I forgot, and I had a friend point this out recently the fact that, yes, the Knicks, it's great to see them back, and it is good for the NBA overall. Again, I don't know about saving the NBA. I'm with you about- Yeah Stephen A. Smith being off his rocker for that. But with the Knicks Being back on top of the basketball world and it being New York, it, it just, I'm reminded that we're gonna have four more months of just the Knicks being the greatest team of all time. They are just... Oh, of all the teams, we've had eight straight years with a different champion. The Knicks, though, they're gonna be the ones to back it up and go back to back. And it's gonna be based off of nothing, and it's just gonna be because they're New York, because it's the New York market, because everybody and their moms is a Knicks fan. Yeah. They're gonna get all just the crazy biased coverage, and it's just gonna be nauseating. But at least for a little while and for the two weeks I was cheering for them to beat the Spurs, because F the Spurs always. I'm happy for 'em, but I am gonna be careful what I wish for in the future, 'cause I think I might have a little bit of regret.

Speaker 2 9:57

Yeah? A little bit? I... I'm okay. I got no regret. I picked the Knicks to win the finals against the Spurs. I'm happy, man. 'Cause you know why? 'Cause I usually do this to you, man, all the time. It's always one or the other, man. I find a way to beat you in all these pick 'ems, all the time.

Speaker 10:12

Oh, yeah, just like you did with your Masters Tournament, just like you did with March Madness. Oh, okay. Got it.

Speaker 2 10:18

Oh, damn.

Speaker 10:18

Got it. Yeah,

Speaker 2 10:19

Damn Br- hey, Brady the GOAT,

Speaker 10:20

He lost three times hey, you always wanna talk about whenever I'm beating you. But whenever I actually beat you, it's-

Speaker 2 10:26

No. man.

Speaker 10:27

I actually beat you and it's nothing, 'cause we ain't even heard you say nothing- Yeah for months because I've been kicking your ass recently. But I'm humble about it.

Speaker 2 10:34

Hey, man, all I say

Speaker 10:35

is, hey, get ready. Especially at Masters. You're a better golfer than me, and I cooked your ass in that Masters pool, bro. Yeah. I beat you by as many strokes as you beat me in real life.

Speaker 2 10:43

Yeah. F you, Bryson DeChambeau.

Speaker 10:45

I'm just saying.

Speaker 2 10:45

You rank 50 YouTube golfer now. You're not even a pro anymore. Gosh, get off of my screen. But yeah, no, overall, no, it's been... i'm just glad the finals went the way it did. We didn't get the Thunder and the whole flop con- imagine if the Thunder would've been in this fi- we'd had a flop contest- Oh between Jalen Brunson

Speaker 11:03

and SGA. And dude, it's funny. Jalen Brunson is the, it's the meme of Hey, you look great today." "Oh, thanks." "Hey, you look great today." "Hello, human resources?" Whenever we're talking about Jalen Brunson versus Shai. And it's so interesting to me, 'cause Shai is definitely the better player. But he- he gets all the flak for it. And Jalen Brunson gets a little bit, but everyone's "Oh, but he's Jalen Brunson. He's clutch." Yeah, he is clutch. He's small. He's really good." Yeah. He plays for New York." Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding,

Speaker 2 11:32

ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. Hey, matter of fact, you started talking about guys being small. How do you think, bro, Becky Hammon feels, bro? Walk, dog walking. Don't get me wrong, she owned up to it. She took it like a champ, "Yo, man, I meant what I meant, and if he wins, then I gotta take it back."

Speaker 11:45

Yeah. I... She set herself back with that. She's not getting no head coaching job anytime soon now 'cause of that. That's... I, I- Yeah I straight up think she might have been, like, into rumblings for it in the future. Nope, not anymore. You think- That set her back.

Speaker 2 11:58

You think Becky Hammon would coach NBA? I know she was a coach. Not anymore. I think she was part of Spurs team. She was trying to. Hey, you know what would be funny? If she did get the opportunity, let's say she did, right? For whatever team I don't know, the new expansion team. Her first draft pick, 6'1" guard. Yo, dog. I'd be like, "Oh, damn, bro. That's cold." But no, man, I'm... Man, I can't believe it. And now with NBA finals done, we get draft night, we get free agency, we get- All the fun jazz

Speaker 12:29

Yeah. We got a lot of time to discuss what will be coming up in the summer, and it should be a very interesting summer. Now that the season's officially over, all heads are turning to Milwaukee and what's gonna happen with Giannis. Yeah. There were rumblings around this weekend that there's gonna be a deal done by the draft, which is only in a couple weeks. We shall see where he would go. Yeah. James, we haven't really talked about Giannis' actual destination, so let's just put it out there right now. We only have one topic tonight. Where do you realistically think Giannis ends up next year? Money- Milwaukee or another team, and if it's another team, where you think?

Speaker 2 13:07

I just, you know how they always trade these superstars. You gotta put them to the other conference. But when you go to the other conference, I just don't see packages available unless, you have to really deeply cut some of these roster spots. Now, I get we always joke about the Thunder with all the picks, but the money-wise doesn't make sense. The Spurs, unless they can get rid of De'Aaron Fox and it's money swap

Speaker 13:31

thing. Now, that could be interesting. You trade De'Aaron Fox, that makes the money match, and you sprinkle in however many picks the Bucks want. Yeah. Maybe they throw in a Kelden Johnson, who didn't do anything in the finals also. Yeah maybe you do throw in a... I don't know. They'll probably ask for Stephon Castle. Yeah I think I might do that.

Speaker 2 13:49

You might, yeah. So you just gotta kinda see... Y- you... There's a lot of teams

Speaker 13:53

that- Windy and Giannis would be- Yeah absolutely terrifying. I think we've- Yeah talked about this before, just kinda-

Speaker 2 13:58

Yeah

Speaker 13:58

floating around stupid ideas. But that's actually pretty realistic right now, I think.

Speaker 2 14:02

Yeah. Imagine. Them two teamed up. They running the Spurs, and it's bro, are we watching NBA or FIBA, bro? 'Cause, yo, they just running a European basketball team just right out of the blue. But no, I think they talked... Before the Knicks won, it was always Knicks, Heat somebody else. And I just, I don't know, Spence. I just don't see... I definitely now don't see him going to the Knicks because-

Speaker 14:26

No, definitely not.

Speaker 2 14:27

Yeah. Ro-

Speaker 14:27

you can roll that one out.

Speaker 2 14:28

Yeah. So it's like, how many times have the Heat been interested in somebody and they never get anyone? Besides signing LeBron James They never get the trade packages for KD, for Giannis, for this guy, except Jimmy Butler. Yeah. But they signed him technically. Yeah. I don't know where Giannis can actually go that would... i, 'cause they said Portland was out of the mix. They said, a lot... Of course, Lakers fans always think they're gonna get him, they, hey, they might trade- Austin Reaves for Giannis straight up. Get lucky again.

Speaker 14:59

I think they have to make the money work somehow with that one. But I'll give you my two teams. I think I could see the Spurs. I think that's interesting with where they're at right now. I think they could definitely look at things. But the team I think if first off, if I really had to pick right now, I just have this gut feeling that he doesn't leave at all. I think he goes- Yeah back with the Bucks because they always just do this weird song and dance every single off-season, and something always happens at the last minute that he ends up back in Milwaukee. I could see that happening again. But if he gets traded, I actually think it would be somewhere in the conference. I think there's something going on up in Boston, and I think Jaylen Brown's on a big enough contract that he could be shipped out. Mm-hmm. There's chemistry potentially that's a problem there. Make the money work, trade Jaylen Brown to the Bucks or maybe you third-party him somewhere and you get- Yeah Giannis in Boston. It's a big market, historic team. He pairs up with Jayson Tatum. That could be a duo that's very dangerous, and you got shooters around him. I don't know. I think that would be one that makes a lot of sense for me, but- We'll see. A lot of teams have been rumored for him. But I've heard teams like the Blazers- the Rockets, the Heat, the Warriors. The way this is gonna go down, I, I could see it being some random ass team that no one's even talking about, like the freaking Hawks just come out of nowhere and the Hawks trade for him. Something stupid. Yeah, there you

Speaker 2 16:23

Hey, man, the Hawks are the second-best team in the league. They beat the Knicks twice. Who- That's true.

Speaker 16:27

Numbers don't lie.

Speaker 2 16:28

They did

Speaker 16:29

beat them more than anyone else this postseason.

Speaker 2 16:31

Yeah, man. Gosh, I still can't believe the Knicks really lost those two games by one point each and somehow found a way to win every game except one. And they, yeah, they coulda lost all five of these games to the Spurs, but they coulda won that one in game three as well. They had the opportunity. But no-

Speaker 16:47

You just hate to see it, but you really don't.

Speaker 2 16:50

Yeah, for you, being a Rockets fan, yeah, sucks. And-

Speaker 16:53

Yeah, I was definitely just kinda I was hate watching the Spurs the whole time and I was just like, surely Victor Wembanyama isn't gonna choke this, right? Surely." There's- Surely a little bit of like reverse jinxing going on in there.

Speaker 2 17:05

Definitely.

Speaker 17:06

Cause I do not ever want the San Antonio Spurs to succeed. Signed Houstonians. And screw the people that are like, "Oh, Texas teams always." No. Yeah. I can't stand that. They are rivals.

Speaker 2 17:17

I had a friend text me, he was like, he was like, "Man, you jinxing the Spurs." I was like, "Man, I'm from Houston. I don't give a crap about the Spurs." I ain't a Rockets fan, but it's like you mentioned, when you from one city, you do not care about these other cities.

Speaker 17:30

That's facts.

Speaker 2 17:31

That's just what it is.

Speaker 17:32

Facts.

Speaker 2 17:32

Like- Mm.

Speaker 17:33

All right, James. Let's do a quick little huddle, because I do, I wanna get your thoughts on something. Oh, wow. You were locked in on the Team USA match on Friday night. Now, let me tell you, James, I don't... I can tell that you aren't always the biggest World Cup watcher. You definitely don't watch a ton of soccer, so this was one of the first matches you've watched in a very long time. I'll tell you, as someone who watches pretty much every big USA match, this was the best match of- Dude all time.

Speaker 2 18:02

Dude, it was electric. What

Speaker 18:03

were your thoughts?

Speaker 2 18:04

Dude, it was so electric. So this is me, and I know, like I said, I'm not the biggest soccer guy, or I'm not the most strategic. But I always believe in one thing in soccer, you always have to be the aggressor, in my opinion. I just feel if you put more shot... it's just like the analytics in basketball, you put up more three-pointers, you'll somehow score more points. And-

Speaker 18:23

Time of possession, shots on goal

Speaker 2 18:25

and dude, USA, yo, they saw that Paraguay flag, and they were like, "No, we the real red, white, and blue, and we gonna shove it down your effing throat." Man. And dude, it just went from one to the other. I don't even know the guy's name, 'cause it's low-key not American, but I don't know how he got on the American team, but dude was a baller. And-

Speaker 18:45

Oh, you talking about Florian Balogun?

Speaker 2 18:47

Yeah. There you go. Yeah.

Speaker 18:48

Okay. Let me tell you his story, 'cause this is great. He was actually born in Brooklyn. Mm-hmm. His mom is British. His father is Nigerian. His mother was in the country eight and a half months pregnant visiting family, and he was born here, and they couldn't get back home un- for another month. So his first month of his life was in Brooklyn, and then he grew up the rest of his life in the UK. So he had eligibility for Nigeria through his dad- UK through his mom, and then the USA through his birth spot. And he chose, between those three, he chose to play for the United States, basically just because of one month of his life. And that was who the hero was against Paraguay. Mm-hmm. Now, Gio Reyna, I don't know if you... Do you know the backstory of Gio Reyna?

Speaker 2 19:37

No, I... You-- Look, the only thing I know about this USA team besides now, Landon Donovan got, got his hair back. Yo homie was bald on the broadcast, and he- Yeah he got back. But Christian Pulisic, only reason why I know him, 'cause he's a decently good golfer. I've watched him golf on YouTube. Really? Yeah. He's cold-blooded. So other than that, I know nothing about these guys except- He is- I'll say this, Spence. Spence, I'm gonna say this, and I know you always try to make sure I don't say crazy things, but man, when the starting lineup came out, I looked at my wife, I said, "There's a lot of Black guys on this team. Are we playing soccer or basketball, bro? 'Cause we about to run this mother..." Like bro, I was just so excited. I was excited.

Speaker 20:17

It's funny about that is the fact that on that note, this USA team, compared to teams from the past, this team is way more technically skilled and doesn't rely on athleticism as much as the past teams have. These guys actually know how to have tactics and apply them, and they make good passes, they have good runs and Christian Pulisic is by far the most talented player in the United States' history. I know Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey have some time playing overseas. Mm-hmm. But they weren't playing at clubs like Chelsea, at clubs like Dortmund, and now at clubs Milan that Pulisic has had, and he's not just role players for them. He is- Yeah the t- the team is revolving around him in the attack, and he was very aggressive. He doesn't always play aggressive. In 2022, he was not this aggressive. He was going after it, he was making runs, splitting defenders. He was amazing. Balogun was amazing. Gio Reyna, though I am so happy, 'cause I was adamant that Gio Reyna got screwed in 2022. Mm-hmm. But then it came out after the fact that he had training camp issues with his attitude and his effort, and then his parents went on scorched earth p- negative PR tour against the old head coach Berhalter, so much so that they were, like, bringing up stuff from Berhalter's past from the '90s to try to get him to be fired from the US National Team. It was a big deal, and so people were saying, "Should Gio Reyna even be on the team?" Mm-hmm. Because his parents are being like pageant moms, basically. He got in the 81st minute, and he had the statement goal in the number four, where he, from the outside of his boot, just flicked it in. Ah. So much fun. Yeah. I rewatched all the goals from that game, like five different times. It was so much fun. Yeah. And I cannot wait for the game against Australia this week.

Speaker 2 22:09

You mentioned that you watched all the goals. Once we got a 3-0, I looked at my wife and said, "Hey, now I know this... I know the Knicks came back by 29, but usually 3-0, it means this game is cooked. We got this done." But no, they... Yeah, no. It was electric and I had a great time. Shout out to Tubi, man, letting me watch it for free, bro, 'cause-

Speaker 22:30

Hey, there we go.

Speaker 2 22:31

Yeah, man. Shout out to them, bro. They let me watch that thing for free. But man, I'm excited. Man, I saw the odds went up for us to win the World Cup from, like 5500 to 4100, so

Speaker 22:43

I'm like- Okay.

Speaker 2 22:43

Yeah. I'm like, "Yeah."

Speaker 22:44

All right.

Speaker 2 22:45

Let's get it,

Speaker 22:45

man. We're moving in the right direction. No, I don't wanna, I don't wanna win the World Cup. I don't think that's realistic. I wanna make the quarters. Yeah. I wanna get out of the round of 16 and go as tie the farthest that the United States has ever gone. We've never gone past the quarter finals in a World Cup. That happened in 2002 after we beat Mexico in the round of 16 at the infamous Dos a Cero. So I would love for that to happen this year, but it's a bigger field. Should be a little bit of a easier path. They should win their group after three big points, and especially after Turkey tied with, Oh, I'm sorry. No they lost to Australia. So there's an opening for the United States if they beat Australia. They take a commanding lead and they win the group, and then they get a favorable match-up for the round of 32. Just saying, this United States team could really make some noise in this World Cup on home soil.

Speaker 2 23:39

Man, that would be electric for- America All right. Let's finish this no huddle up. Guess what? You talked about soccer, we talking more soccer. Let's go. Now, Spence, hey man, you gotta help me out. This guy, man. Chris Richards went 83 for 83 completed passes, are the most passes with 100% accuracy by any player in a FIFA World Cup match since 1966. Spence, what the f- is a completed pass?

Speaker 24:07

Oh, it's just where... it's just, it's... Don't overthink it. It's just he kicked the ball- Just a kick the

Speaker 2 24:12

kick?

Speaker 24:12

to the other, to his teammate, and his teammate didn't have to fight away a defender to it too hard or it did g- it didn't get contested. The, his teammate easily controlled it. And- Okay Chris Richards was spectacular. He was someone that a lot of people that watch this United States team were very skeptical that he could perform in defense against Paraguay, 41st ranked country in the world. He was spectacular. So we'll see, as the competition gets a little tougher, how he holds up, but through one match, A plus.

Speaker 2 24:41

A plus. All right, man, moving on to another A plus setting. The USA team you mentioned scored four goals in one game the other night. They-

Speaker 24:49

Most ever.

Speaker 2 24:50

Yeah. They scored more goals in one game than they did the last World Cup, where they only scored three goals in four games. Yep. Spence, yo, how many more we dropping?

Speaker 24:59

I think we are going to get at least four more in the group stage. I think we go two-one against Australia. I think we go two-oh against Turkey.

Speaker 2 25:09

Ooh, man, we gonna be dropping buckets, man.

Speaker 25:11

Nine points coming out of this group stage, entering the thir- round of 32 with just some swagger. And patriotism.

Speaker 2 25:19

We got freaking America. We got the hot dog eating contest soon. We got it all, man. In America. All right, Spence, last one. Now, we all know the Knicks won the finals. Jalen Brunson was named NBA's Finals MVP. Now, Spence, I'm gonna tell you, Jalen Brunson enters an elite class of NBA players. He is one of four players that have won an NCAA title, a Naismith College Player of the Year award, an NBA title, and an NBA Finals MVP. Can you guess the other three NBA players right now?

Speaker 25:54

Okay, give me that list one more time.

Speaker 2 25:56

All right. Jalen Brunson and three others have won an NCAA title, a Naismith College Player of the Year award, an NBA title, and an NBA Finals MVP. Can you guess the other three?

Speaker 26:08

Okay. That is tough.

Speaker 2 26:11

Is not. It is really not.

Speaker 26:12

It's really not?

Speaker 2 26:13

It's really not.

Speaker 26:14

Oh, okay.

Speaker 2 26:15

It's really not. Like I'll say it like this. Don't think anyone knew, 'cause everyone kinda plays like one year and done.

Speaker 26:20

Oh, okay. Michael Jordan.

Speaker 2 26:22

There's number two.

Speaker 26:23

National champion, player of the year, finals MVP. Man, I wish I could say Hakeem Olajuwon

Speaker 2 26:28

I wish you could

Speaker 26:29

Yeah, he should have. Damn you, Jimmy V.

Speaker 2 26:31

Damn you.

Speaker 26:32

Not Magic Johnson, right?

Speaker 2 26:34

No, he's got most of them. He just doesn't have the Naismith 'cause- That's- Larry Bird won the year he did

Speaker 26:38

Damn

Speaker 2 26:38

Or the year he won the title.

Speaker 26:40

Okay Man, I'm trying to think of some old... Oh how about Dwyane Wade?

Speaker 2 26:46

No.

Speaker 26:47

No, I thought Marquette might've won one in the early 2000s with him

Speaker 2 26:50

We're talking big men, tall guys.

Speaker 26:52

Patrick Ewing?

Speaker 2 26:54

No.

Speaker 26:54

Oh, he never won a finals. That's a terrible guess.

Speaker 2 26:57

Yeah, that was bad.

Speaker 26:58

All right.

Speaker 2 26:58

Just don't say LeBron James, I'll be okay.

Speaker 26:59

Yeah,

Speaker 2 27:00

leBron James. Just come on.

Speaker 27:01

Did David Robinson do this?

Speaker 2 27:03

No, he did not. All right, last guess and I'm giving it away

Speaker 27:07

Pistol Pete.

Speaker 2 27:08

Nah. I said tall guy. So who do I say number third, number three player I should say? Mr. Bill Walton himself, Bill Walton. And then number four, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Those are the four players that have won an NCAA title, a Naismith College Player of the Year, NBA town, an NBA Finals MVP. So you know what that means now, Spence? Jalen Brunson's a Hall of Famer. That's what that means now.

Speaker 27:41

Yeah, he was a Hall of Famer the moment he won the finals, let's be honest.

Speaker 2 27:44

Yeah. His... Hey, Jalen Brunson Finals MVP is more impressive than Kawhi's too. That's all I'm gonna say. They're way more impressive than his two. I will give him that. Yeah. Go Jalen Brunson. You deserve to be in the Hall of Fame. Not Kawhi. Aw. Screw you, Kawhi.

Speaker 27:59

I hate that you're saying this when we're at 33 minutes, 'cause that is just asinine. I hate that so much. But let's wrap it up. James, good stuff this week. We'll be back on Thursday. Mm. And we'll be... We'll jump into some football probably.

Speaker 2 28:14

God,

Speaker 28:15

we really have to. Maybe a little World Cup update.

Speaker 2 28:16

Yeah. We're gonna have to make it, shoot. I didn't even know how to complete a pass that was in soccer. We're gonna have to go to football.

Speaker 28:22

But dog days of summer are almost over, James. We are getting there. Yeah. Getting there. But we do have a little bit more of a hurdle to get through, so we are going to be getting ready for football season. So until Thursday, I am Spencer. For James- we'll see you next time on Big Game Energy.

Speaker 2 28:38

And always bet the over, like Brandon Soulsby.