The Crossover Show

BAM ADEBAYO DROPS 83 WHERE DOES IT RANK ALL TIME

• Anthony Calatayud & Kryon Dooling

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0:00 | 30:40

Bam Adebayo just delivered one of the most unbelievable scoring performances the NBA has seen in decades. The Miami Heat star dropped 83 points in a historic night, instantly putting his performance into the conversation with the greatest scoring games ever.

On this episode of The Crossover Show, we break down Bam Adebayo’s incredible 83-point game and ask the big question — where does it rank among the greatest scoring performances in NBA history. When you talk about historic scoring nights, names like Wilt Chamberlain and Kobe Bryant immediately come to mind. Wilt’s legendary 100-point game and Kobe Bryant’s unforgettable 81-point performance are two of the most iconic moments the league has ever seen.

So where does Bam’s 83-point night belong in that conversation?

We also dive into other major NBA storylines including Kawhi Leonard’s incredible season, Kevin Durant still dominating at age 40, and the latest drama surrounding Jaylen Brown and NBA officiating.

If you love NBA debates, basketball history, and breaking NBA news, make sure to follow The Crossover Show for more conversations about the biggest stories in basketball.

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Bam Adebayo Drops 83 Points  
1:32 Bam’s Historic Night Breakdown  
4:05 Where Does Bam’s 83 Rank All Time  
7:10 Comparing Bam 83 vs Kobe 81 vs Wilt 100  
10:18 Was Bam’s Performance One of the Greatest Ever  
14:02 NBA Reaction To Bam’s 83 Point Game  
18:20 Kawhi Leonard Having the Best Season of His Career  
22:15 Kevin Durant Still Dominating at Age 40  
25:40 Jaylen Brown Frustrated With NBA Officiating  
29:10 Final Thoughts on Bam’s Historic Performance

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SPEAKER_02

Bam had a historic moment. We will forever know. 83 points for Bam out of bio. It goes Wilt, it goes Bam. It goes Kobe. We talk a whole bunch about Bam's 83-point game, plus a little bit of Wemby, a little bit of Jalen Brown not getting the calls he wants. He got ejected in their game a couple of nights ago. The call. We talk about Kawhi Leonard having the best season of his career in C in year 14. Wow. Which is unreal, KD. I mean, I I love what he's doing right now. So we'll talk about that in a little bit. But make sure you're subscribing to the pod. Make sure you're subscribing to us on YouTube. And go check out the app, WDFL channel 18, locally in Miami Dade and Broward counties. But go check out the app, download the app, show us some love there too. And uh with all that said, KD, let's get into the action. Let's start the show.

SPEAKER_00

It's not the game. Yep. Turn it up. Welcome to the Cross of Knight Doodle. Let's do the NBA.

SPEAKER_02

Historic night the other night. Funny enough, we had just finished talking about Bam, giving him a round of applause for being the only other Miami Heat to have 10K points in his career. And then Bam goes off for 83, a second place record uh in the NBA uh pantheon of points. KD, your thoughts on Bam out of BIOS 83.

SPEAKER_00

83.

SPEAKER_01

It's a lot to digest because like the way we kind of view Bam as an energy player, a utility player, somebody who's really, you know, dynamic on the defensive end, um who's a lob threat, who's been able to extend his his range from the three-point line, you know, in the last two seasons, I would say. Um, but I think like he's like broken through a threshold that we didn't know he was capable of. See, because when you look at Bam's game, you you just see the energy and the athleticism in his body. But you if you look at the minutia, the details and his movements, his rhythms, and his cadences, like the guy is super skilled on the ground. I heard Michael Beasley say like he's like a 0.4. Yeah. And he has the ability to play off the bounce. That's why he's able to get into, you know, dribble handoffs and, you know, pass it and follow it and get into his roles really well. Um, he's he's got a good round game. Uh, but I think he's taken another step in his career, and that's what you want to see. You want to see an all-star player be able to go to another level. Uh, think about like Jimmy Butler and who he was as a utility player in Chicago and kind of getting through that threshold in the playoffs, being becoming playoff Jimmy and being a 20-point a night score. Um, so you've seen examples of that, and I think Blam has hit a paradigm shift in his NBA career.

SPEAKER_02

It's just been crazy. And I I was watching that same night, it was Tuesday night. Um, we had just you know recorded the day before. And it was gonna be a game of all right, the Wizards are in town, they're terrible, they're trying to lose. Like, let's see what happens. He'll probably win and we'll keep it moving. And I was actually watching Spurs Celtics. Wemby was going off, Jalen Brown got ejected. You talk, you see that? I did. Uh we'll talk about that in a second. I want to put a pin in that. But Celtics, Spurs going back and forth, back and forth. All of a sudden, my dad texts me, yo, bam, 31 at 10. And I thought he was gonna say at half. And I was like, first quarter. I was like, wait, wait a second, what? Yeah, so I was like, all right, it's the Wizards, they'll probably, you know, take them out, probably rest them a little bit, they're probably up crazy. And I kept looking. All right, he's got 43 at half, and I was like, Yeah, damn.

SPEAKER_01

Tom, you know, you know what I noticed too? Uh, from the way that Spolstra coached that game, one, uh, and the way that his teammates, you know, sacrificed for that moment, like that is the epitome of heat culture. Really?

SPEAKER_02

Because people Tim McMahon on on ESPN was saying that that's the opposite that heat culture is completely done because of what they did.

SPEAKER_01

No, absolutely not, because like it's no, um, it's it's it's like this, like, right? Like, that's a legacy franchise. Yeah. And he had an opportunity to make, you know, a part of history. And they supported him in that, and they put the player first in that moment. They already took care of the result, which was the win, right? They were winning impressively, but they wanted to help Bam get over that hump. And that shows like it's not a one-way street. Like, they care for their guys, even if they're chasing some individual accolades, as long as it's in the team construct, and his whole teammates, all his teammates bought into that as well. It was a communal event.

SPEAKER_02

There was a lot of people really upset about the way that the 83-point game was had. And it's funny to have the differences in timelines where you're looking at stuff and people being like, wow, what an incredible feat. Turn the other side saying, Well, he shot 43 free throws. Yeah. And it's like all this back and forth of like, man, do people like hoops anymore? Do we love hoops? Because we like complaining a lot instead of actually watching the game. And I get it. Is it the most ethical way to get points? Probably not. But again, if you look through all the different games that have been that high, were they ever ethical?

SPEAKER_01

Hey, what's going on, good people? My name is Keon Doolin, one half of the crossover show. Yeah, I got a comment for you. I need you. I need you to like and subscribe to the channel. A lot of you guys are watching it and we appreciate it. A lot of you guys are commenting and we appreciate it. But we need you guys to like, share, follow the crossover. Once again, my name is Keon Doolin. We need you. Yeah, I mean, look, if you've never played, you don't understand the theory of like feed the hot hand. Like, if somebody has it going, like you seek them out, right? And like you don't have these moments all the time. You don't, you know, you can't like dwell in the matrix. You know, that was a moment, and his team supported him with that. And like for me, I feel like Bam has broken through a different paradigm where I can't see him going back to being just a 19-point a night score. Like, now I think he can be like more aggressive. He's like been unlocked to a certain degree, and I think he's gotta kind of ride that momentum.

SPEAKER_02

And I think that's an interesting point because when you think of our one kind of criticism of Bam would have been his aggressiveness on the offensive end. And he talked about his ability to have so much more of a game than just a regular 6'9, 6'10 forward would have, right? Hit when he was getting damn near triple teamed or triple teamed in the uh in the front court and was basically taking the ball out, would get through, be one-on-one with the guy, spin move, up and under, take it hard to the rack, euro step out of the way. He was really putting stuff on full display, and of course they were hacking him because they couldn't, they couldn't do anything, they couldn't hold him, right? When you shoot 43 free throws, yeah, like that's insane. Yeah, that's tough. He was applying pressure. Like, yeah, you can't stop him, you gotta foul him, right? And it's just interesting when you start looking at the history of all these games, right? Uh Lillard's got a 71-point game in there, Embiid's got a 70-point game, Lucas got a 70-point game.

SPEAKER_01

B Book, I think.

SPEAKER_02

Book's got a 70-point game. Uh trying to think who else. Uh Will's got a 70-point game, also got the 100-point game. And the Kobe 81-point game, you were you were in the league. Like, you you what would you that night when either if you had a game or you guys were off or whatever, and you put on the TV or you heard, like, hey, Kobe, Kobe's got 81. How was that like for you?

SPEAKER_01

You know what? It's it's like you gotta be in the moment. You gotta like, just because you hoop and you play ball and that's how you make your living, like you were a fan of the game before you became a professional at the game. Right. And so, like, when you get an opportunity to see history or to see greatness and witness it in real time, like it just it's fulfilling as a sports fan. I think social media and the internet has, you know, kind of highlighted a lot of negativity, but they're still watching as well. So it's watching it almost like Yeah, it's like you you you you're hating on it, but you're loving it at the same time. So I guess it feeds the algorithm. So I'm not mad at that. But like to see a guy like Bam Man, who's been, you know, just getting better every year, who's giving himself to the team, who's a complete player, especially on the defensive end. He's his scoring has gotten better, his ability to stretch the floor has gotten better. Now, from a confidence standpoint, I think he's broken a certain threshold. And that's what separates like good players from great players. It's the confidence and the self-belief in yourself, and he has that belief from his teammates. So I think he's just gonna continue to trend up now.

SPEAKER_02

And funny enough, you see greats, legends of the game is that are still active right now. KD had nothing but love for Bam. Giannis had nothing but love for Bam. And Giannis had actually an interesting point where he was talking about, you know, wow, I saw when Bam had the 83 points, like that's incredible. And then one of the reporters in the scrum was like, yeah, he shot 43 free throws. What do you think about that? And he's like, Man, to be honest, we we won't remember that stat in in two years, in five years, in 20 years. He's like, Do you guys know Kobe's stat line outside of the 81? Do you know how many free throws he shot? Do you know this? Do you know that about about the particular game? And it's like, no, you just remember that Kobe had 81. And then in this, you're not gonna remember, oh, Bam went 36 for 43 from the free throw line, and you know, he shot the ball another 43 times from the field, that he had 86 shots. We're not gonna remember that in six months, nine months, 18 months. Like all this stuff is just condensed into what was the final number?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, 83. Yeah, and he was applying pressure. It wasn't like they were doing a hack of bam, it wasn't like they were just like fouling him as he was walking up the court because they did they weren't they were confident because he would miss a free throw. Right, right. Uh he applied so much pressure. And like guys are capable of going off like this, obviously not for 83 often. Right. But like when it's a night, it's a night. And no matter what you do, you gotta try and foul them or trip them or do something or triple teen them. And they tried all those things and they couldn't stop the they couldn't stop the fire.

SPEAKER_02

And when he was going for that 31 and then 40 some out in the first in the first half, and then all of a sudden he was at 50 something, and it's like those buckets were gotten. He obviously drove to the hoop a lot and was able to get fouls and ones or whatever, but he was hitting threes. Yeah, he was in midis, he was in in the lane, finishing dunks, steals, like he was doing it all in a way that it was like LeBron-esque when he had 61 against the uh then Bobcats back in the day. Yeah, we're not gonna let them minimize this moment.

SPEAKER_01

I think they've been trying to, though. They have. I mean, I've I've I've heard a lot of the conversations around this. Um, it's like sometimes when it comes from an an unlikely place, people can hate on it, right? And they can say, oh, it's rigged, oh, it was gambling, oh, it was this, oh, Asia was in the agency building, right? Like, oh, his mom was there. Like, no, like I don't I don't believe that the this was fixed. I think he just had one of those nights. Yeah. And man, you team helped him get there, right?

SPEAKER_02

Like you saw Spo, hey, foul. Like, let's let's get him let's get him the ball back.

SPEAKER_01

Let's put him down in the history books.

SPEAKER_02

What did you think of some of the stuff that was going around where if the heat, because obviously there was a lot of blowback that night, right? I feel like it softened the last day or so. Um, what did you think if the heat and Spo and Bam would have been like, all right, let's get him to 81 and then take him out at 81, tying the record with Kobe, because now Kobe's, you know, been passed, and like that's kind of honoring his legacy. What do you think about that?

SPEAKER_01

No, I don't think you factor in Kobe's legacy when you're talking about a Miami Heat player, right? Um, let me tell you something. Kobe would not take his foot off the gas. And you know, and you know Kobe personally, like listen, man. Kobe, Kobe was trying to destroy you. Uh, if you talk about the Mamba mentality, you wouldn't want him to like uh dumb himself down. Kobe would, you know, Bam, I heard Bam's quote, he said that Kobe would probably say, Hey, let me go see you do it again. Right? And that's that's that's the kind of impact that Kobe has. It's lasting. And uh man, I miss Kobe's energy. I really miss him being on this planet, man, because he inspired us, uh motivated us, encouraged us. Uh, he was always like engaging with us, especially after Colorado. Like Kobe was one of the most present people coming into the arenas. In a way, he wasn't prior to that, he wasn't like that prior. He was a little bit introverted and, you know, kind of a recluse, you know, so to speak. But man, like kind of going through that and coming out the other side, I think he like understood who he was becoming and this impact that he would have on people. Hey, man, I miss the mamba challenges that he would do. And he would, you know, hey, Giannis, I'm calling you, you know. You know, like I miss that. I miss his energy.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. Um, you would figure that Bam, they if he was alive today, he would be happy that Bam broke the 81.

SPEAKER_01

Absolutely. Absolutely, for sure. I mean, the game is growing, man. And um, look, we talk about like all these international players, but that is a homegrown American talent, right? Straight out of the South, you know, uh, straight out of the University of Kentucky, you know what I mean? Um molded down here in Miami. They took him to another level. And man, when I look in his comments and I see D. Wade and I see Adonis and I see, you know, all these people who have had an impact or input in his growth and development, man, they're all just so proud and happy for him. And I am too. Bam, I'm glad you did that down here in South Florida. Um, you will be gone, you will go down in history, buddy. Easily.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, easily. That's it. We talked about it that day too, when we talked about him being the only other 10k point scorer, like that 13's gonna be in the Raptors, not just for Merino. Yeah, like it's gonna be Bam up there one day, Olympian, Olympian, you know, uh uh 83-point game. Like we we talk about that very flippantly just because and bro, you played in the NBA, KD. What was the highest points that you scored in an NBA game? 25. Okay. Let's do the how many 25s are there in 83. You know what I mean? You're gonna need at least three of them, and then you'll have to carry the risk. You have to carry the risk. Can you just put into perspective? Um, you've been in the zone, you've been unconscious on nights where it's like, oh, I got it tonight, right? Whether my hand was fired, my shot, whatever it is. To get to 83 points. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

I've I'm I've I've never, you know, had a game that I played, even being in the zone where I dropped more than 50 points, even you know, in youth. High school, college, youth, whatever. No, I never dropped 50. You know, I never maybe 40 a couple times, but like it's so difficult to score. It is so difficult to score. Um, yeah, man. I I'm kind of speechless. Yeah. Like 83 points in a game. It's uh it's a storybook.

SPEAKER_02

It sounds fake. Yeah. It sounds fake, and like look how many great, unbelievable, legendary talents have picked up a basketball that have never scored 70? Mm-hmm. 75? Yeah. We're talking about 80 points, 83 points. Like LeBron, MJ, D like go down the list. Yeah. KD, yeah, Cap. I know. I know Magic Burn. Unbelievable, man. All bam bam. All that. And then Bam sits in the history books forever. Wilt, bam, come.

SPEAKER_01

I think why people are hating because they don't they didn't expect it to be him to do that. Right. And he was an unlikely candidate, you know, candidate for the masses, and they're they're having a hard time digesting it.

SPEAKER_02

It's just an incredible feat, man. We saw history, and I so at that point I was like, all right, let me switch over because the Spurs Celtics game was good too. Yeah, for sure. And then it was like, all right, let me let me catch this second half of what's going on with Bam and them. And then like, yeah, just towards the end, it is what it is, man. You're trying to chase a record, you're not gonna the the Wizards are already saying that they're not gonna, they're waving the white flag. Oh, for sure. From walking into the building, they're waving the white flag. For sure. You play stupid games, you win stupid prizes, and you get put 83 on your head, and that's it. And you gotta eat that.

SPEAKER_01

Absolutely. I mean, think about what the Wizards did, man. I mean, look, Sar had like what 28 points. Yeah, he was going shot for shot with Bam in the first half. So, I mean, I think the Wizards are putting themselves in a in a in a unique position because like when you got AD, you got Trey, you got these young guys like, you know, developing and getting an opportunity to play, they're gonna be a problem next season. Yeah, but get a decent pick, like all of a sudden.

SPEAKER_02

They're gonna be nice. I agree. Yeah, they're gonna be able to do that. They got the front office is heading in the right direction. Some of the the pieces and the moves that they're making. But man, I just want to clap it up again for Bam. Yeah, shout out to Bamboo. We're so proud of you, champ. Incredible, incredible history book, just once in a lifetime thing. Like we it took us 20, 2006, it took us 20 years to see somebody score 80 again. Yeah, and who knows in the next 20 what we're gonna see. So it'll be something. We'll see. Going over to that Celtics game, a bunch of good games tonight. We got the Nuggets and the Spurs doing battle. We got the Celtics and the Thunder playing, but I do want to get to that that little push on the sidelines that got uh JB ejected. Jalen Brown got kicked out of that game, double tech, uh kind of went crazy on the ref who didn't make the call. Clear push out. Um, your thought on him getting ejected and what Boston's looking like because obviously Jason Tatum coming online a little bit more, didn't have a great game against the Spurs. And then what's his treat for playing the Spurs? Boom, you get the thunder right after.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, it's a part of it. You know, I'm still watching and monitoring his movements and his body. How do you feel like he played? Because he he missed a lot of shots. Yeah, you can like the legs are gonna be the last thing to kind of come back. Like you're con like once your condition and your cardio gets a little bit better, your legs will get a little bit stronger. Um, obviously it's JT, so he's gonna have like a formidable defender on him. Um so he'll have to like, I talked about this last week that he's gonna like his body is gonna have an adjustment once the adrenaline kind of shifts down a little bit. Um But it was a foul. JB definitely got he definitely got fouled. And I don't think like his outburst was just about the moment. I think it's about the lack of respect that he's been getting, um, the lack of calls that he doesn't get, um, and the perception that the league and the game has around him. And so I think he just wanted to, you know, take that opportunity to make it known. To let people know. Yeah, like come on, like that was a noticeable foul. Right. Right? You know, you got some people who got nicknames as the foul merchant. Like there's guys who get to the free throw line a lot, but it was a very obvious hand check. And when you see the hand extend, push him out of bounds. Yeah, the rules, you know, state that's a foul. Right? So I think it put the refs on the spot a little bit. So I think that's why they kind of got him out of there. But yeah, like they pick and choose, you know, who can get those certain calls. And that's part of the human element of the game. Uh Wemby on the other side at 39. They play the Nuggets tonight. Yeah, he's trending.

SPEAKER_02

He's trending. Boy. Yeah, he's trending. He's going up. It's up with him. Hey, I I try I'm trying to f and I'm asking people, whether on the Levitar Show or here, I'm trying to figure out what is Wemby's flaw. What is his flaw? And and I'm and I'm gonna preface that by saying we asked Coach Stan Van Gundy, who you obviously know, and coach said, I think he's you can turn him over easily. He's got a high dribble. He sometimes gets in trouble with his ability to create turnovers. And I'm like, man, that's your one flaw that in two or three years in the league that you're kind of turnover prone, which is kind of natural in the adjustment of playing in the NBA from all the other all the other leagues that you're in. Um, but that's it. Yeah. We're talking about turnovers, that's it.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, yeah. No, I mean, look, Stan Van, uh, you know, his his basketball philosophy is almost gospel to me. So I'm I'm always let Stan have that. That's my OG. Uh, but if there's, you know, aesthetically just looking at Wimby's game, two things I think that he could get better at is he could get stronger, right? I think that's something that comes, you know, with age and experience. Um, and then the second thing is that like, you know, he's just gotta go through the process and he's gotta learn how to be a champion. And that comes with time, that comes with perseverance, that comes with winning the conference, that comes with winning a championship and then being able to repeat that cycle. So some of the things that he needs is just experience. Um, he could get stronger, especially, you know, from his lower body, but he's gotten stronger. Yeah. Right? You know, and he's gotten more flexible and he's gotten more durable, and you see his mean streak and his motor actually like elevating that much more. It's very difficult to find flaws in Wimby's game. Which is crazy because he's three years in the NBA. I I really don't see a flaw. Even his, you know, lack of strength, it's for his body type. He's not gonna be a bruiser, he's a finesse, he's a he's like a like Kevin Duran and Jamal Crawford with the slender bill, but he's just like seven almost and five.

SPEAKER_02

Um, yeah, it's it's it's hard to put muscle on that kind of frame. Yeah, like the bigger you are, the taller you are, the lengthier, like you're not even if he puts on 20 pounds of muscle, you won't see it. Yeah, but you'll but he'll feel it. He'll feel it. And then you'll see the the repercussions of that when people are trying to body him and they're bouncing off him, and then he's back into the basket, and all of a sudden you see somebody shoot back. Yeah, that's where you'll see that muscle gain. Yeah, not in his frame because he's just not built that way.

SPEAKER_01

He's built like a I don't know, like an alien. Yeah, and then he doesn't need to like gain weight because like you don't know how durable somebody with that body style can be. If you add weight, he just needs to really get stronger, more flexible, more durable, get his core strength, you know. Kick the ball out the hoop. Yeah, pretty flexible. I know. How much more flexible game? Mandas are split at 7'6. I know, I know, I know, I know. Yeah, come on. I mean, we're nitpicking. But that's what up, that's my point.

SPEAKER_02

That's my point, right? Like, we're nitpicking. Can he get stronger as a flaw?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Every shooting, dribbling, back to the basket, defense. He's a defensive player of the year every year he plays.

SPEAKER_01

Every young player needs to get stronger. Facts. Right? And it's not bigger. Sometimes it's like strength comes from like core. Sometimes it's you might have to strengthen your glutes. Sometimes you might have to, you know, get your feet stronger, you know, um, your your hands stronger so that you can grip things. Grip, right? Yep. Um, you know, you got to master recovery because there's a lot of games and things like that. And you don't want to.

SPEAKER_02

Especially coming off of injury, he had the the blood clot, too.

SPEAKER_01

There's a lot of things that he can work on aren't really necessarily on the court. Those are off the court things that he needs to work on.

SPEAKER_02

On in the coming he's working on him. No, I'm sure he is. It's just it was that's the one thing I was thinking of was like, man, you can't find a flaw with this guy, it's crazy. Um, to the point that we were talking about with Bam meeting the threshold and like guys who got to a certain point, and maybe it wasn't points that pushed them there, but it was just stepping into a new leadership role. And when you talk about Jimmy, when it was that D Rose, Joe Kim Noah, like that version of the Bulls, where Jimmy was like a piece, do all dang, do all dang, but like he was a piece, but he was like a bench guy. He came in, did the dirty work, like you said, and Tibbs was like, wait a second, like this guy, there's something here, yeah. And obviously he turned into what he became. And you saying about about Jim, uh about Bam doing that, kind of we were talking before the before the show, Kawhi was very much like that. Where was he got traded, yeah, right? He was supposed to be on Indiana. They would traded him over to San Antonio, and then he started playing. All of a sudden, everybody's like, Whoa, this guy is yeah, the best defender in the league. So much so when Braun, at the peak of his powers with a big three, looked over his shoulder and saw Kawhi coming and said, Damn. Yeah, yeah. And Kawhi was what, 20? Yeah, 21, 22 years old. Yeah, Kawhi is Kawhi is the same. He's having his best season, KD, after 14 years in the NBA. He's having his best season this year, 50, 40, 90. They were how many games under 500, now over 500, just scored 153 points. He went 45, he shot 15 to 20 from the floor. Like, who is this guy?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, he's the claw. I mean, he's the claw. And and think about like the terms and the conditions that he's doing this under. Right. There's a lot of things that are going on behind the scenes that have a real impact on him and his family and the organization. And for years, we've talked about his durability or lack thereof, and he has showed up and showed out this year. Like Kawhi has, you know, been everything and more for that Clippers organization. Um, Tyrone Lou has done a masterful job of, you know, allowing him to listen to his body and protecting him and shielding them from certain things. Um, but yeah, it's fun to watch the claw, man. He's so funny in his sense of humor because he's so quiet, right? And like just to see him from a leadership standpoint, obviously getting Darius Garland, there's a curb that they have to like kind of you know rigor through. But what are they five and oh since he's been there, something like that?

SPEAKER_02

They get rid of they get rid of Harden, they get rid of Zubots.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

And then Kawhi goes crazy, and now they're above 500 for the first time on season.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

But most people will tell you, and don't let anybody tell you otherwise, like when Kawhi is healthy, he was known as being a top three to top five player for the last like umpteen years when he's healthy.

SPEAKER_02

Bro, and in 19 when he took Toronto to the to the playoffs and took him to the championship and beat the big three. Obviously, there was a lot of a lot of injuries there between I think Klay got hurt, KD towards Achilles in that same series. Like, there was a lot there. But the fact that he put Toronto on his back. Yeah, all that starts the line.

SPEAKER_01

Let's go.

SPEAKER_02

He was the best player in the league that season.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and I ain't mad at that. I'm not mad at that. And I'm telling you, like, most guys know that it's just he's had injuries. He's got a degenerate, he's got some issues that like he's gonna have to grapple with. Yep. Like after he finishes playing, he's still gonna have to like live with you know those things in his body. So, like, big shout out to Kawhi Man, the claw, and the Clippers, and you know, kind of the work that they're putting in under all the circumstances.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, again, in those circumstances, obviously there's a lot. My colleague Pablo Torre with Metal Arc um has been doing crazy investigations, crazy work, doing a lot of stuff there with the aspiration situation. Uh, Adam Silver hasn't really come out and said anything about it as of now. Um, we're speculating, kind of going into the future here after the season. Figure the if the Clippers maybe make the play and maybe don't, all of a sudden that now leaves them open to kind of what the next steps are. And from your professional uh hypothesis, what would you think would happen or would be the punishment? Is it a Kawhi only situation? Is it a Balmer only situation? Is it a boat situation? Does Adam Silver come down and lay the hammer?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I don't know if you can, you know, Adam, Adam, you know, that's why Adam gets gets paid big boats. Um, but Adam is, man, he's wise, he's smart, he's been around quite a bit, he's a lot tougher than people give him credit for. Um look, man, you got to be real careful because if you like kind of peel back some of the layers in the onion, I I'm I could almost assure you that there are other teams who have been circumventing the cap. Doing a little something. Yeah, in in multiple different ways. And so, like, you don't necessarily want to kind of go down that rabbit hole. I think they've done a great job systemically with raising the cap up so you can't have a Donald Sterling and there's somebody who won't pay playing those right up. Yeah, you know, so as you know personally, yeah. So with that being said, I think what Adam is gonna have to do right here is he's gonna have to navigate the situation. Um, obviously check the temperament and the temperature of all the NBA owners and how they view it.

SPEAKER_02

Big point.

SPEAKER_01

Um, because ultimately he works for them, you know, and so we'll have to see how that goes. But look, if it's not illegal, um, you know what I mean, if it's no crime, no crimes committed, I would say, you know, leave it alone. Sweep this one under the rug a little bit. Sweep that shit under the rug. We got a golden goose right now. Keep it rolling, like nothing to see here, nothing to see here. Look over there. We don't know what's going on. Nothing to see here. And then Bomber is such an he's an amazing owner. Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_02

And he built the stadium, no public funding, no nothing. He said, This is my money, I'm gonna build it right here in Englewood. We're done. Absolutely. And so from all intents and purposes, it's an incredible stadium. It is. Everybody who went to All-Star Week was like, yo, Intuit Dome is crazy.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, it's it's an amazing facility. So um, we'll have to see how it plays out, but I'm just praying and hoping for the best.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I mean, like you said, if if he comes down to that point though, KD, like you gotta have equal punishment, right? It can't be, I don't want to see something where it's Kawhi spending 50 games, suspended 80 games, suspended the season, and then Ballmer doesn't get anything, right? Like there needs to be a little bit of equity when it comes to the punishment, right? If we did the crime together, all of a sudden they give me all the time and then you walk. Like that can't happen.

SPEAKER_01

What I mean, if in a perfect world, you know, I don't know if that's the right word to use or the right phrase to use, but um, bomber should take full responsibility for it because ultimately, you know, the players are reacting, right? Um to the options that are available, and they wanted they they they felt it was so necessary that they would create a company and make it happen. Uh but you don't want to penalize Bomber too much because like it sets a bad precedent for everybody else. He he brings a he brings a great deal to the game. Um, so you can find him, right? The best way to like kind of hurt somebody with that much money is to like maybe take a piece of their money, you know, slap them on the wrist and say, hey, you know what? Now let's not miss let's make sure this never happens again. The next time somebody does it, it's gonna be very punitive.

SPEAKER_02

It's gonna be very interesting. Come uh come summertime, free agency around the corner with Balmer, with Aspiration, with all the stuff that's happening there with Pablo Tory because continues to drop. Yeah, Pablo is not letting me have the deep bag. He is like Santa Claus for aspiration. Say, hold up, you think I'm done? I got one more hero.

SPEAKER_01

Man, Pablo, man, hey, we need this game now. We gotta have something to cover, champ.

SPEAKER_02

Come on, Pablo. Do you love the NBA public?

SPEAKER_01

It seems like you do. No, he does. He's just trying to protect the um integrity of the game. And I think we need reporters like that who do investigative reporting and things like that. So his place is necessary and he's taking his place. He's doing a fantastic job with the story.

SPEAKER_02

All right, fam, that's it for us. Uh, next week, back with another two-pack of the crossover. A little quick. Uh-uh. Like Timmy Hardy used to do that double break. Bing beep. Bing beep, the Texas two-step, what do you call it?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, UTEP, UTEP two-step. UTEP two. Timmy had an unfair advantage because you know, my boy Timmy holds like me. So he didn't even have to really open his leg. He could just bing bing it. That was a bad man, too. You got some Timmy stories or not? I do not. Okay. I do not. You don't or I do not.

SPEAKER_02

Okay. All right. All right. That's the crosser right there. Uh, NBA veteran Keon Dooley. Go check him out at Keon Dooley. You can check me out at 10 Day Tony across all socials. Make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you're watching, not subscribing, please subscribe. Or he's gonna have to tell a Tim Hardaway story. Come on, now. And he doesn't want to. I don't want to do it. Don't do it. Don't make him do it. If you subscribe, he may do it. So if you subscribe, again, keep your eye out. But uh chose to love KD. Um, it's just a beautiful thing, man. Yeah, man. Hoops the beautiful thing. Yeah, man. Congrats again to Bam, man. Yeah, 83 points. 83 points for Bam. Legendary.

SPEAKER_00

It's not the game. Yep. Turn it up. Welcome to the Cross of Tunis. Tune it. Let's do TV.