00:00But I got to start this bad puppy out here with LaFra James.
00:04And I'm going to tell you why.
00:07LaFra James has done nothing to move the needle when it comes to viewership for the NBA.
00:15So I saw him in Cleveland.
00:17And I saw him, you know, they had some sort of ceremonial video for him for all of his time there when he was with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
00:27And I'll make this point to you.
00:28There's no doubt that LeBron James has done nothing, in my opinion, to move the needle when it comes to viewership of the NBA.
00:37And here's why Jordan will always rule.
00:41Michael Jordan put the NBA after taking what Magic Johnson and Larry Bird did and elevated viewership because it was compelling.
00:53LeBron has actually lost viewership.
00:57The Lakers have not been that great under LeBron James.
01:04Now, if you want to talk about the Mickey Mouse NBA title they won during COVID, fine.
01:10But the one thing you could say about Maverick Carter and LaFra James has been that this has all been orchestrated.
01:17It's funny.
01:18When I watch Steph Curry, Steph Curry, to me, is genuine.
01:23Nothing looks orchestrated.
01:25I enjoy watching Steph Curry.
01:28I love how Steph Curry represents himself and has changed the game.
01:32You can ask yourself this.
01:33And by the way, I want to come back full circle here and say this about LeBron.
01:37Is LeBron James one of the only players in the NBA in the history of the sport that you could play him at the one, the two?
01:43You could play him small, off.
01:45You could play him on the pivot.
01:47Isn't he one of these guys that he could play really all five positions?
01:51There's no doubt he's one of the top five players the game has ever seen.
01:55I'm talking about elevating the sport, bringing people, needle movers, Tiger Woods, Tyson, Tom Brady, the NFL, needle movers.
02:10And what I mean by needle movers are people that are compelling.
02:14Whatever you want to say.
02:16Here, one of my favorite things in sports is this.
02:19You know, I get asked this question all the time about the politics in sports today.
02:22My favorite word is compelling.
02:26Whether you like Trump or not, it's not important to me.
02:30I love the word compelling.
02:32I love people who are with an opinion.
02:36And I love people that move the needle.
02:39That's what my business is.
02:42My business is about covering people that move the needle.
02:46LeFraud James never moved it in the NBA.
02:49You know, one of the coolest things that I had when I was a kid growing up was watching Magic and Larry.
02:55Do you know what David Stern did?
02:57David Stern sold race.
02:58He stole greatness.
03:00He sold legendary franchises with Celtics and with Lakers.
03:06I was a Magic Johnson guy.
03:07I'll always be a Magic Johnson guy.
03:09But it was compelling.
03:12Then you moved into Jordan.
03:14The NBA was must-see.
03:16It was appointment-setting television.
03:18It was wonderful.
03:21LeFraud James, when he leaves with Maverick Carter, his business partner, the NBA,
03:28ask yourself, all the things that LeBron has done in his career,
03:33will we ever say he's better than Michael Jordan?
03:36No.
03:37Michael Jordan has played basketball in over 20 years.
03:41And Michael Jordan is still the most compelling figure the NBA has ever produced.
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