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How far would teams go for Victor Wembanyama?

The crew from The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz discusses the anticipation some franchises have for Victor Wembanyama.

The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz discussed the great prize of the next NBA Draft, Victor Wembanyama, who you can say is just a little bit tall.

The discussion came about after a recent ESPN profile on the big man revealed that the people around Wembanyama are actually trying to downplay his height, claiming that he is actually shorter than he really he is. Witty marvels at the fact that Wembanyama is 7-foot-5, and perhaps not even done growing(!), while also pondering if part of the reason people are trying to list him at a shorter height is that it could cause injury concern.

Stugotz notes that the Spurs are giving “max effort” to win the Wembanyama sweepstakes, losing their last 14 straight games. The Spurs are still one game behind Houston for the worst record, but in actuality this year that doesn’t matter as much as being one of the three worst teams as Witty points out, the NBA has flattened the odds to get the No. 1 pick for the three worst teams. Witty says there are four teams — Houston, San Antonio, Detroit and Charlotte — clearly all in on being woeful for Wemby.

Dan laments that breaking the record for losses basically gains you nothing, because that would be fun to watch. He says you would have such a great race if somebody knew that yu could get the next LeBron, a 7-foot-5 Giannis just by losing. He says if that were the case, we would see a professional basketball team finish with ZERO wins. He says that if we had a confluence of events where the worst team just got Wembanyama, you would have an NBA team with zero victories and if at the end of the season there were multiple teams with zero victories you would have them scoring in their own basket.

Stugotz helpfully suggested they should play a tiebraker series for Wembanyama, where whoever loses gets him. However, Witty wants to go a different way — what if you gave it to the team that wins in that scenario? You go from losing all season to the whiplash of trying to win all of a sudden. Jessica is the real winner of this debate, however, as she suggests that the worst teams at the All-Star Break play against each other for the No. 1 pick. You’re welcome NBA, All-Star Weekend fixed!

Meanwhile, this also happened ...

SHOW BREAKDOWN

Local Hour: Salute To Columbo

  • Greg Cote believes he’s still young enough to start a band after going to a John Mellencamp concert. Jess and Greg’s love of Columbo leads us to a discussion on detective, cop, and spy TV shows and movies. Witty agrees with Stan Van Gundy on Banshees of Inisherin. Billy is excited about a new Jason Statham movie, and we discuss the recall of Fabuloso.

The Big Suey: The Kook Meter

  • Dan tries to compliment Nick Wright but struggles as we discuss whether or not the NBA All-Star game dying is all of our faults. Billy and the rest of the crew pitch better ways to motivate the players. Then, Jeremy Corbell joins us to discuss the inevitability of aliens on our planet.

Hour 1: Seeds!

  • Billy and Greg bond over the Jimmy Buffett concert experience before Greg shares his latest Back in my Day. Then, David Sirota, founder and editor of The Lever, joins us to discuss the train derailment in East Palestine, OH. He breaks down the lack of regulation, how money and lobbies influence our National policy, what Pete Buttigieg and the Biden Administration can do now, media coverage, and more.

Hour 2: Tapping Into Nostalgia

  • Today’s show is going to CRUSH with 70+-year-olds today. The crew discusses how we seek out old TV shows to watch. Then, A-ROD has some strange habits to start his life as an author. Plus, as teams across the league try to tank for Victor Webanyama, we pitch some other ideas for competition like Michael Jordan playing televised darts. And should Aaron Rodgers do a Decision-style show to reveal his next team?

Postgame Show: Check Please

  • The dog’s name was WHAT?!?!?!

Watch more below!

VIDEO:

Check out the Le Batard and Friends YouTube page for more and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also follow the show on Twitter @LeBatardShow.


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