OKC Thunder are NBA CHAMPS! 🏆 Dynasty Talk? + WNBA EXPANSION! 🏀

OKC Thunder are NBA CHAMPS! 🏆 Dynasty Talk? + WNBA EXPANSION! 🏀

We got one of the best finals. Definitely since I’ve been covered in the NBA in the last 10 years.
Caruso had to show them all how to open a bottle of champagne. That’s how young they are. They don’t know how to open bottles of champagne.
It drives me crazy when people already start talking about is this a dynasty. Well, they’re a dynasty of one right now. So, a lot can happen and it’s been a long time since anyone’s repeated.
If Hallebertton does miss the whole of next season, what happens to the Pacers in that time?
You draft for talent, right? take the best player available, especially if you’re a bad team. And Ace Bailey was the best guy available. I’m assuming he’s going to play, right? Like the NBA, it it kind of works that way.
We got some news coming out of the WNBA. They are expanding to 18 teams over the next 5 years.
It just feels as though everything is going well for women’s sport.
Welcome along to this Sporting Planet, the World’s View of Sport. Today, coming to you from the UK, America, and Singapore. Now, this is the show that brings together international voices, international sports fans. We’re passionate about sport and we live and work in the regions where these major events that we’re talking about are taking place. This week, we are crisscrossing the globe from one of the world’s biggest aquatics events right here in Singapore to North America for the NBA finals. And basketball’s biggest tournament went down to the wire with a series deciding game seven. Who doesn’t love that? And it was the Oklahoma City Thunder who came out on top. first title in franchise history. That is awesome. We’ll find out how they did it and what the celebrations were like in Oklahoma with someone who was there a little later on. And over 2 and a half thousand athletes are heading to Singapore for those World Aquatics Championships from over 200 countries. It’s the first time a city in Southeast Asia has hosted this tournament. We’ll find out how the buildup is going and who we should be looking out for. That’s all coming up on this episode of This Sporting Planet. Todd Harris from the USA alongside Edward Russell in Singapore and of course Natalie Sawyer in the United Kingdom. And there’s only one place we can start this episode, guys, and that’s with the NBA Finals. The Oklahoma City Thunder played the Indiana Pacers in the NBA Finals. And guys, it went the full distance all the way to game seven. Of course, it’s the best of seven. And it was the Thunder who came out on top. They claimed the NBA championship, winning 103 to 91 in the deciding game. It’s the team’s first title since the franchise moved to Oklahoma City from Seattle. That was in 2008. And remember, if you go back in the annals of history of the NBA, Seattle won the NBA title back in 1979. So, the folks in Seattle maybe a little bit hurt that their team has left and now they’ve gone on to win a title. We’ll talk a little bit more about that in just a second, but we wanted to hear what the reaction has been like in the great state of Oklahoma. And we dropped a message to sports reporter and anchor at KC5 News in Oklahoma. Hannah Hoover and she sent us this reply.
Hey Todd, Natalie, and Edward, we just wrapped up a show here, so I thought I’d hop on your show, say hello as well. Uh, talk about the Oklahoma City Thunder because that’s all we talk about around here at least for the last week or really the last couple of months. But it’s hard to believe that just a week ago, OKC won an NBA title for the first time ever in franchise history. It means everything to this team. It means everything to this city because this was a team that had 68 wins. Who is at the top of the league, but there was still that underdog mentality of they’re young and can they do it? And they and can they sustain it? And they did. And so we all just kind of shook our heads in disbelief because it felt so surreal when the trophy was presented. It was just electric inside of the Paycom because you know that’s how OKC they do things. It is loud and it is rocking at the Paycom Center and I didn’t hear anything like it all season long. But it was so fun to watch the expressions of these players on the team because they really are what you see is what you get. They are the same person on the podium as they are walking throughout the building and just so humble. So it always is encouraging to me and fun to watch a team who is just so real and classy get a win and go all the way. The parade was electric as well. My favorite part was seeing the players jump off the buses and let the fans touch the trophy. They really had a ton of fan engagement and that was really special because like I said, this city loves their team. And what does that mean for the future? Well, it means they’re keeping a lot of players moving forward and and maybe there will be a dynasty right here in OKC. Thanks for having me on, guys. Hopefully I’ll talk to you soon. Bye. And our thanks to Hannah Hoover, KCO News in Oklahoma. Uh guys, your thoughts. Did you catch Evan Edward? We’ll start with you. Uh what did you think? I know you love your NBA. Unfortunately, your team did not make it to the finals, but that’s okay. It was it was compelling nonetheless. It went all seven. You can’t ask for much more. You can’t no surprise who I was cheering for. The team that didn’t knock out the Knicks. Okay. See? Um, but yeah, on the on the subject of Shay Gilchrist Alexander, SGAA, I love how, by the way, when the American commentators can’t pronounce names, they just abbreviate them or just give initials like Giannis. We’re just going to call him Janice. I don’t care he has a surname. Um, but Shay, 26 years old. I mean, what an incredible a run that was. He ended the final series averaging 30.3 points, 3,172 total points in the regular season playoffs combined. That’s the ninth most in a season, most since Michael Jordan 30 years ago. only the 15th play in NBA history to win the MVP and an NBA championship in the same season, the first since Steph Curry back in 2015. But look, I know a lot of his points came from free throws. You know, I’ve been reading all the kind of like internet criticism about the fact that, hey, you know, a lot of those points came from refereeing decisions and then free throws. But I think two things really stood out for me on Shay. First of all, his balance and his body control. I think there was one moment in the finals when it looked like he was falling over. His knee hit the ground and yet he still managed to find a way to stay on his feet and hit the shot. Not many in the league have that kind of balance. And the second thing I think is not just balance in terms of his body, but balance in terms of how he approaches a game as well. Um, in game five, he was in supreme scoring form. I think OKC were down four with about 3 minutes or so remaining and he turned it around. Seven straight points um really to to get the result in the end. And then in game seven, look, he did well, but he didn’t get as many points, his own personal points in scoring as perhaps he was used to. But then he changed his game altogether and he decided to play the playmaker and he set up his uh he set up his teammates instead and that ultimately led them to to winning game seven. So he seems like a pretty humble dude as well. I don’t know if you have a bit more insight, Todd, as to what he’s like as a person, but I do feel like this is just the first of many many accolades both personal and team to come his way.
N how about you? Do you know what I love most about this is that one, as you rightly pointed out, going to the final game of a series just goes to show how nip and tuck this was, how close it was, and the beauty of it going to a final game is wow, you just can’t call it, can you, when it goes for a seventh game. I love it. You know, we’re so used to sports over here in in in the UK and and in Europe that a lot of it is done and dusted in one game. But seven, you can be the king of the court in one game and then you can be the villain in the next. I mean, I just love the drama that it all brought. And um yeah, I mean, talking of of SGAA, as you’re all referring to him, and Jaylen Williams as well. I mean, what a duo they are, the dynamic duo that they are. Um I I saw an interview that he did afterwards where he was talking about being humble and how you know that you will have moments of doubt even though you know you’re an elite player but you’ve just got to refocus every game and and know that there will be tough times but just remember how you got here, why you got here. Um and he used LeBron James as a great example where where LeBron had in the past said that sometimes he likes to watch videos of himself, the good and the bad, just to kind of remind him of himself really. And that’s what exactly what Jaylen Williams was saying that he was doing too, that we had to go through the bad times, watch bad bad games, but also watch the good so that we remembered how we got to where we got to.
Yeah. And I think Ed brings up a good point when he was talking about balance of SJ Shade Gil just Alexander um is the team has such balance and you know Oklahoma City, you flash back six, seven years ago, they were terrible. I mean one of the worst teams in the league and this team has been on a slow burn the way they built it. So, a lot of credit to their front office for their stockpiling draft picks. They made some savvy trades. You think about this team. At one point, this team had Paul George, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, and Kevin Durant. They’re all gone and now they win a title. So, to me, that says someone’s very smart in the front office. They’ve done a great job and they’ve built balance. And and what I wanted to refer to about what Edward said was, you know, when SGA is not the main focus, and I think Indiana did a great job of limiting him uh to having amazing nights of going out for, you know, 30 and 30 or whatever big points. Um the the rest of the team stepped up. So, he’s not it’s not just a one-man band team. OKC is really built for the long haul. Now, it drives me crazy when people already start talking about is this a dynasty? Well, they’re a dynasty of one right now. So, a lot can happen and it’s been a long time since anyone’s repeated. So, I just think uh in the world of the NBA, um Ed, there’s still hope for your Knicks, but I just think to go back to back in this day and age with salary cap restrictions and and player empowerment where players could just jump and move it here, it’s really hard to keep the band together and and do it year after year.
Yeah. Well, Knicks need a coach first, that’s for sure. But as a as a neutral, I don’t know. Are you a neutral actually, Todd? Have you actually told us who you support?
I’m I hate to say this, but I am a Portland Trailblazer dieard. We haven’t had a good year since back in ‘ 77. And that was brings up a good point. I didn’t want to get on this rant, but I feel like this title belongs to the Seattle SuperSonics. I I I remember when they were bought by their owner and he said, “We’re not moving the team.” And within a year Oh, yeah. We are moving that team. Better offer in Oak Oklahoma City. And now Seattle’s been without an NBA team for so long. So, I digress. Back to back to Natalie. Go ahead.
Well, no, Todd, I was going to ask you then, just for those who might not know the geography, Seattle to Oklahoma, how far is that?
It’s a long distance. That’s half the country. and and being a Portland guy, Seattle was always an arch rival, the Pacific Northwest region, so the whole West Coast. But it’s just I think Seattle needs a team and I’m sure they’re going to get a team in Vegas eventually because everything eventually ends up in Vegas. But I mean, happy for Oklahoma City. I’m happy for that state. Um I have a son that’s a doctor in Oklahoma, so they’re all happy. U it’s it’s good times for to be in Oklahoma. But I got to think the people in Seattle are thinking, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. This is the roots.”
Well, this is what I was going to ask. Would there still be Seattle SuperSonics fans who will will still be celebrating the success of this Thunder team or are they just it’s a bit like over here we got the MK Dons and we’ve got AFC Wimbledon. You know, originally it was AFC Wimbledon and then they were bought out and moved to Stadium MK and the Milton Kees, but then AFC Wimbledon came again and they have the original fans who stuck with them, but some will have moved with the MKdons and I just wondered if that’s the same even though geography is a bit difficult. Yeah, I don’t think I can speak for all the folks in the fine Emerald City, but I will say they were very bitter when the team left, especially when they took the team and Kevin Durant, their their prize pick. U but I think now enough time has passed and there’s talk that Seattle will get an NBA team when expansion comes around again. How soon that will be, I don’t know. But that team is such a loyal fan base of basketball that it would be crazy not to put team back in there. But I did like the idea and I saw how excited Edward Natalie got about the playoffs and it going seven games. Can you imagine the Premier League had the playoffs and the two top teams Arsenal and Man City went at it for a best of seven?
I like how you named Arsen I like threw that in there for you one of the two best teams. Very nice. No, but going back to my point because I was going to say as a neutral and as a as a Trailblazer fan definitely you had no stake in the final whatsoever.
Um how saddened were you by the fact that once Hallebertton went off it kind of failed to be a contest anymore?
Yeah, I mean he was such a great story. Here’s a guy that was on the Olympic team for the US team back in Paris and barely saw the court. Uh, and a lot of people said, and there was a some poll that went around, I don’t even want to name it because I think it’s silly that he was the most overrated player. And he came out throughout the playoffs to the Ed’s Knicks detriment and showed people just how talented he is. And I don’t know if he stays healthy if they win, but I think it’s a little more competitive game. I still think Oklahoma City was the best team in the league. They deserve the win. And I think the best team win. I don’t think Indiana lost it. I think I think Oklahoma City won that title.
Yeah. I mean, I don’t think many even believe that the Pacers would get that far, right? I mean, Eastern Conference, it was supposed to be Boston or the Cavaliers who who would top it. Um but yeah, Terry Hallebertton, as much as I hate him as much as I hate the fact that he did that Reggie Miller choke celebration after after getting the Knicks out um just towards the end of that buzzer, like he he really just took every game by the scruff of its neck, didn’t he? He he was more than just their their leader. He was their commander-in-chief. he was their figurehead. Um I think as postseason saw four shots at the buzzer they either won games or sent them into overtime.
Um and you talk about one player teams and you talk about how hard it is to keep teams together if Hallebertton does miss the whole of next season.
I mean what happens to the Pacers in that time? Are they going to be able to have another finals crack when he comes back in say 26 27? How hard is it going to be to keep that core group together? Yeah, I think that’s a great question and and that’s the problem with today’s NBA is there’s so much player empowerment and not necessarily a problem, but it’s a new school of thinking. I you know, if this was the Chicago Bulls in the ‘9s, they’re coming back. They’re going to run it back together again. And the trophy ceremonies, there was always two Pete, three Pete, we’ll win multiple titles. Now, it just seems to be more of a hey, let’s pause. Let’s enjoy this moment. We might not get back here again. Because you look at the last what, four or five years, there have not been repeats in the NBA. And also the great question is what is going on with these Achilles tendon injuries? Tyresese Hallebertton, Damen Lillard, Jason T. I mean is this the new I guess it’s the equivalent in Major League Baseball the Tommy John surgery but that’s a that’s a very very serious injury. Used to be the ACL tear was the worst and now it seems to be the Achilles because they’re saying he’s going to probably miss the entirety of next season.
And you even saw it pop, didn’t you? It was oh it was awful in that game. Um, and I did read some of his teammates afterwards saying that it did affect them. Um, which you can kind of imagine, you know, teammates, your mates, your friends at the end of the day. And it’s understandable that an injury like that, some of you might just get affected by it. And I’m not saying like at the end of the day the Pacers should have won the series overall. But I can just imagine when you lose someone of that importance and that significance that it just lays heavy on a lot of people. Yeah, absolutely. And I know Adam Silver is kind of saying that they’re going to do an investigation into what has brought about all these Achilles injuries because I mean he was saying that actually the workload hasn’t really increased that much and he thinks maybe these guys just doing too much work in the gym whereas in the olden days that have a bit of rest and the muscles can at least recuperate a little bit. Um they’re just going too hard. Um there’s also an injured player exception rule. Is that right Todd? that basically says if if they can prove that they won’t have a player for the entirety of a season, they’re able to sign a free agent for for half of that absent players fee.
Yeah. And there can be some what they call mid-level exceptions there. So, and I and I think that’s fair play because if you you’ve invested so much money when you’re talking hundreds of millions of dollars into a key piece of your team and he goes down in play, I I think they you know that can sink a team for years if not longer. And so I think Ty Tyres Hallebertton is that kind of player to the Indiana Pacers and I I would like to see that happen. But you know I think the season personally I love more basketball but I think it’s a little long. I would love to see them cut it back to 75 and then go back to the playoffs. It used to be the first round of playoffs was a best uh three out of five and so it was a little shorter. So games weren’t going seven rounds, seven, you know, seven games potential of 21 games and getting to the finals. So these guys could be playing close to over 100 games. um it makes a little tougher and if you go back to 75 then you can eliminate may a few of the backtobacks and that’s what a lot of players say are the hardest are the are the backto-back games you’re on the road in New York the next night you’re in Philly and then you’re maybe playing DC or Boston so makes it a little tougher but you talk to the older guys in the league they didn’t have chartered flights they didn’t have you know the things that they have today so the technology is a little bit different but I don’t there’s always a good debate there
uh here’s a question for you as well Todd uh and Ed you probably can answer this as well um again if I’m break kind of comparing it to Premier League teams. What is what is the stature of these two sides that reach this NBA finals? Who who are we be can we compare them to in the Premier League, for example?
I’ll take a crack at this first and then I’ll let Edward uh finish it off. This is what I love is I’m a small market guy. Uh Portland is a small market team. It’s not New York, it’s not Boston, it’s not LA. It’s a small market. So, for me, it’s awesome. And if I’m Adam Silver, the commissioner NBA, I got to be happy about this because I’m seeing, hey, look, small market teams can win a title here as opposed to the Premier League where when was the last time a team out of the big six even got a sniff? You’d have to go back to Lester or something like that. Lester, Lester City. But in mostly it’s those top six teams. So, I’m pulling for Burnley to win it next year, but we’ll see how that plays out. But I think it’s a great story and I love to see the small market teams win. Um, does that attract bigname free agents that want to go play in Oklahoma City or want to go play in Indianapolis or Portland? Probably not because they can do better on advertising and offc court revenues in a Boston and New York and an LA. Which, by the way, you guys saw the headlines. LA Lakers $10 billion. Yes,
that’s their sale price.
And Ed told me he didn’t have money for the tube the other day. He was sitting on that 10 billion.
That’s a good point, Todd, about actually where do players want to live? I mean, in England, you know, people make fun of the fact, oh, no one wants to live in Manchester because it rains all the time. No one wants to live in Stoke or whatever it is. But England’s quite a small country. So, even if you do live in the Midlands, you can still head into London for the weekend or whatever it is. But in the US, you’re you’re going to be stuck out in in Indiana or something, you’re pretty isolated. Yeah. It’s a smaller town. And I mean, if you’re if you’re someone that comes from I don’t say a big city, but you come from an area a bigger city growing up, that’s what you’re used to. And you know, we just saw it in the NBA playoff in the NBA draft, excuse me. Um, Ace Bailey, kid that played his ball at Ruters in New Jersey, and he told a couple teams, or allegedly told at least one team, “Do not draft me. You have a top pick. Do not draft me.” Well, the Utah Jazz, if it was them, they didn’t listen. Danny A said, “We’re drafting you because you’re best player available.” And I was just literally watching video of him getting off the plane in Salt Lake City, and he said all the right things. I’m blessed to be here. The mountains are magnificent. I’m really excited to get going and go to work. So, um I you know I think there’s there’s beauty in everywhere. Uh you can name me a terrible city here and there, but there’s a beautiful spot. So, um I I think you can find happiness there, but if you’re a guy of LeBron James stature, you’re going to go to the biggest market. I mean, I can’t imagine a Michael Jordan or a LeBron James or Luca Donets playing in Charlotte or Portland or Sacramento. It’s just I guess they belong on a bigger stage and I think the league wants them on a bigger stage. But every player in this Thunder team, they’re under contract, aren’t they, for next year. So, they’re not going to be broken up just yet, unless some big trade happens.
Yeah. And that’s what’s going on right now. The after the draft, the uh open season on free agents is starting and there’s going to see a lot of movement. I think a lot of it as of this recording is going to hinge on what happens with Janosto because Kevin Durant has already left Phoenix and he’s gone to one of his desired destinations. He’s basically told them where he’ll be traded to and he’s at Houston. So, now Houston becomes they’re in the Western Conference. They will be facing off with OKC. So, they just got a whole lot better and they’ve got a ton of young talent as well. Well, the dust had barely settled on the NBA finals before attention was already turning to next season. Who’s going to run it back? Can OKC do backtoback? Of course, they will have the league MVP in SGA and the NBA draft takes place shortly thereafter the finals and that’s where all the top talent comes through where teams can retool and of course Dallas taking the number one pick in Cooper flag out of Duke University. So, we turned our attention to someone who was in the no. That of course being Dave Dufour. He is the NBA daily host for The Athletic and he’s been taking us through some of the biggest stories from the last couple of weeks.
No one had expectations for this to be a great finals, right? People were setting themselves up to be, you know, not even disappointed. They just set themselves up to not care in the way that they talk. Oh, these teams are boring or what. I I look, we got one of the best finals definitely since I’ve been covering the NBA in the last 10 years, but but in my opinion ever. It was so unexpected. I think it made new stars and we got I mean, as sad as it is, and it was devastatingly sad to watch him get injured. But what we also got a great all-time what if with this series. I mean, Tyrus Hallebertton straining his calf early on. I mean, do they just close it out? Like, do the Pacers win it in six? Yeah. Right. That’s what I start thinking. And then he so he’s hurt. He has this amazing start to game seven and then goes down. And you know, I just I don’t know. I’m going to think about this one for a long time. That’s it’s a good question though.
A couple things I could do without as a as a basketball fan. I could have done without them showing Tigers Hallebertton’s injury over and over. I know as a network person all that it just that’s the drama stuff. You know what? Don’t just once is enough. Think of it like Joe Thyman. His when his leg snaps, we don’t need to see that. Just let it I felt like growing up there was like this gentleman’s agreement where if a guy gets hurt you you pan away if you can not show it over and over and over again especially to basketball fans who we are educated on the Achilles tendon. We know we know what it looks like
when it when it happens. It is such an obvious injury. Obviously now the NBA I’m not going to call it an epidemic because you know it’s an acute injury but there is because of the style of play these guys. I mean, there’s too many games. The games are probably too long. Um, international play, they’ll play 40-minute games. NBA 40. And just the style of play in the NBA, it’s above the rim. It’s all over the court. It is 94 by 50 ft. It is a ridiculous sport for the human body. And this is why we’re seeing this.
Cooper flag. He was always going to be the prohibitive favorite to go number one. And he does. He goes to Dallas. But there was some great action after him. I mean, the first three picks seemed like they were pretty much locked in. And then I think the big turn, the big surprise was when Utah takes Ace Bailey at five and all of a sudden Utah’s you look at their body of work in the draft through two rounds. They look fantastic of the piece the pieces they picked up.
Yeah. I mean, listen, if the Ace Bailey thing works out, I there’s been a lot of hand ringing about, oh, did he show up to Utah or whatever? Um, I’m assuming he’s going to play, right? Like the NBA, it it kind of works that way. Um, you draft for talent, right? take the best player available, especially if you’re a bad team. And Ace Bailey was the best guy available. Danny A not being scared to take him, I I think is in line with what we’ve seen with Danny A as an executive in his career.
Um, and you try to make it work. But the other thing is like the NBA is a business. If it doesn’t work,
fine, they’ll move him. I mean, he’s still a valuable trade asset no matter what. Um, that’s the thing about this draft, I think, for for Utah is that they got a few guys that have value and they haven’t had that on their roster.
Help me understand what my Portland Trailblazers did, taking Coward, who I was like, this kid out of Washington State, he’s fantastic, and then trading him away.
So, basically, the way that the NBA does these trades, it makes it seem like they like like Portland’s drafting coward. The truth is that trade was already agreed to. So, so basically they’re just they’re making the selection, but it’s fake. I mean, this is why you see guys there is no photo from Luca Donuch’s draft year with him in a Mavs hat. He’s wearing a Hawks hat and which is silly. I mean, this is something that has come up every single year, right?
But, but it’s confusing. Also, think about being a casual fan of the NBA. You tune in, oh, hey, this is my guy. I I loved him in college. Oh, he got he got drafted by Portland. Cool. Oh, I’m going to I’m going to follow his career and then you go to tune in, it’s like, what? He’s in Memphis
for the NBA fans around the world and in the States. What’s next on the NBA calendar? I mean, we’ve got the NBA finals are over, the draft now. What’s next on the NBA calendar where you can get your basketball fix?
Well, we got free agency kicking off uh actually today and uh that’ll go on for the next few weeks, although a lot of the deals again, NBA free agency kind of boring now. A lot of extensions, a lot of kicking the can down the road.
I mean, summer league’s coming up and summer is coming up around the country. There’s two I think one in Vegas. There’s one in Salt Lake City. I think there’s one
and one in Sacramento. California Classic. Yeah. I don’t know how I just jumped
I just jumped right over summer league. I’ll be there in less than two weeks. I I don’t know. Maybe I just shut it out in my mind. I you know that’s when all the rookies will debut. So we’re going to get uh actually I think we’re getting Dylan Harper versus Ace Bailey. I think um on opening night and Cooper Flag facing off against
Bronnie James Jr. the match up everyone has waited to see. You know, I’ll say this,
Bronnie James got better over the course of the season last year. And I I’ll tell you, Todd, if people will pay attention, I think he’s going to become I think he’s going to become a decent NBA player.
And as always, my thanks to Dave Duour taking time out of his busy schedule, the NBA writer for the Athletic. And as always, you can watch my full chat with him over on the Sporting Planet YouTube channel. All right, guys. So, we’ve heard from an expert. We’ve talked a little bit about the playoffs, the run of the OK City Thunder. Um, Ed, I guess I’ll go to you first. What do you think the the state of the NBA is right now? Do you think they’re in a good place right now or is there is there any reason to panic?
I definitely think there are a lot of eyeballs on them. That’s for sure. I mean, I was just at the NBA Rising Stars Invitational over the weekend. I was uh hosting that. A real pleasure to host for the NBA. And I got to say, when the NBA come to town, oh boy, did they come to town. They put the NBA branding everywhere across the stadium. That’s for sure. They had a nice shiny trophy and they even brought some stars with them. Um, actually I met you guys recently so you know that I’m I’m not the shortest guy in the world. Uh, but boy oh boy when I was standing next to some of these guys there was threetime NBA Allstar Damantis Sabonis from the Kings 2.08 m. Even Lauren Jackson, you know, female basketball legend, two-time WNBA champion. She’s 1.96. Good thing is though, Yaing was here earlier on. He wasn’t there on the day that I was there because he’s 2.29 m which is Anyway, but my my feet
Yeah. I got home and I needed I needed a neck rub because uh having to crane it the entire time speaking to these guys was was very tough. But no, it was the league’s first regional high school basketball tournament. It features boys and girls teams from 11 countries across Asia Pacific. And um you could tell their love for basketball, their love for the NBA. In the end, Japan won the girls tournament, Korea won the boys one. And no surprise really because I think those teams, those countries are particularly strong, not just in basketball, but all sports, whether it’s basketball, whether it’s baseball, whether it’s football. Um, I think the only thing missing actually when we talk about NBA growth elsewhere in the world is a bign name a bigname Asian player like Shi Otani is for baseball, there hasn’t really been one in basketball I can’t think of since Jeremy Lynn and Lin Sananity. Although on the subject of the draft, Todd, uh, there was a there was a Chinese player who got drafted 16th overall by your team, the Trailblazers, Young.
The thing is they didn’t they didn’t draft him initially. They drafted the guy in the draft and then they traded him and then they got Young Hansen. So he’s already in Portland. So, Rip City, I hope he can deliver it. But he’s young. He just turned 20 years of age. 7 feet tall, though. You can’t teach height. Ed, you’re a strong 61, though. I’d put you at a shooting guard any day.
Thank you very much. And I love the fact that his name is Hudson, but he’s just become Hansen when he moves to America. Exactly. Exactly. I I was just going to ask Nat um you know in the UK the NBA seems to be a big draw and the London Lions are the team in the city that kind of gets all the attention and they’re reporting now they’re going to go back to Euro basketball going to play in the FIA Euro Cup. So is the NBA or is basketball getting any traction or is it still footy footy footy?
Well listen are you talking about footy footy or soccer footy? What are you talking about? Soccer footy. Yeah.
Um listen you know what what it’s over here. It’s all about football. It’s all about the Premier League, EFL, etc., etc. But I promise you, like we talked many moons ago on one of our podcasts, like American football, the NFL is massive here. And that’s the same for the NBA. You know, we have the odd game that comes over. We’ve I’ve I’ve been to the O2. I’ve watched the NBA play over here. Um, it’s it’s growing. And I I work with people that are obsessed with the NBA to the point where I’m like, how do you have time to be obsessed with this of all the hours that you’re, you know, put in with work and then having to watch it all? It is definitely growing. It has to be said. Um, and why not? You know, I think Europe is a market they’re going to want to desperately get into more and more like we’re seeing with the baseball. I mean, they’re coming over, aren’t they? Uh, a lot more, too. So, they just suddenly thought, hey, those those NFL guys knew what they were doing. Let’s copy what they’re doing. But I want to ask you, Todd, you mentioned it earlier on. I know we’ve touched on the draft, but this stockpiling of of picks that you mentioned that the Thunder have, how, why, how’s how’s this all come about? Well, this has been done over several years and so you got to give credit to their front office as I said before and they’ve had a couple great guys, Sam Preston, a few people come through there that have really had been the architects of this thing. And when you trade away big talent, so you’ve got a team like an LA or New York or Boston and they are a win now kind of franchise. They’re they’re not in a rebuild ever. Um, and they need someone as they get close to the the trade deadline. They’re going to pick up someone like a a Russell Westbrook or a Paul George and they’ll pay a lot of money or they’ll say, “We’ll take him off your hands and his contract because we’re a big market. We have the money and we’ll give you our first round draft pick next year. We’re that confident that he can deliver a title to us now.” Well, they did that a couple of times. As I mentioned, the litany of talent that have gone through OKC with Harden, with Kevin Durant, with Westbrook, uh with Paul George. So, there’s like, “Yes, thank you. We’ll take that. Yes, we stink. We know. Yes, thank you. We’ll take your fresh draft. Yes, stink. We know.” And then over the course of the last two years, yes, we’ll take an SGA. Yes, we’ll get somewhere else. Yes, we’ll draft a young kid here. And they have built a team basically from the ground up and they’ve done a great job and they’ve added some complimentary players like an Alex Caruso and some others. And so they have basically built this team the way they want it and from the ground up and they’ve done a masterful job. So I think that what that says the the rest of the NBA, it’s not just about money. Of course, you can go out and pay 50 million for someone. Uh are they a hired gun though? I mean Kevin Durant on I think is 16 now with Houston. So, he’s just bouncing from team to team that he thinks are contenders. If it works out, great. If it doesn’t, nah, I’ll just demand a trade and I’ll move on. So, I think OKC is doing it the right way. And if I’m commissioner um silver, I’ve got to be pretty happy with what I’m seeing.
I really like the fact as well, it’s a young team, so you know, who knows what they can go on to do. I know you don’t want to talk about dynasty, dynasty, however we say it. Um, but what I also loved the celebrations in the locker room afterwards. Did you see how Caruso had to show them all how to open a bottle of champagne? And that’s how young they are. They don’t know how to open bowls of champagne.
I think they better start getting used to it.
Yeah, that’s true, Edward. They might might take lessons on that. And and hold on. This Sporting Planet breaking news. So, we’ll go to the glasses for this one. We got some news coming out of the WNBA. They are expanding to 18 teams over the next 5 years with Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia also joining Portland, and Toronto. They’re getting new teams. WNBA Commissioner Kathy Inglebert says the demand for women’s basketball has never been higher. I think um Edward, you could chime in as well, but Natalie, I think the investment in women’s sports, whether it be soccer, football, basketball right now, uh tennis, and golf, I I don’t think we’ve ever seen it this high. No,
I would totally agree with you. It’s Listen, we just got to get on board with it. We we should have been on board with this years ago. To be fair, we missed out, but now it just feels as though everything is going well for women’s sport. If I can compare it to the WSL here in England, so that’s the women’s super league in football. Um they’re going to be expanding to 14 teams for the 26 27 season which will mean that two will come up from the WSL 2. Two will go down. Then they’re also going to have a promotion and relegation playoff to decide that final place. So yeah, the demand clearly is there. We want more of it and the and the investment funding is there as well, which is brilliant. Yeah, I think it’s great that I think these traditionally male-dominated sports have realized a that they need to expand to the women’s side of things and also sports that were very American centric like we talk about uh baseball and basketball have realized they need to expand across the countries across the continents as well. And just on that subject, October 2025, the Nets against the Phoenix Suns live in Macau. So, we’ll see.
Uh well, you know what, it’s not too far away from here. Asia’s quite a big place, so it’s not on my doorstep, but yeah, it’s it’s not too far. But then again, right, we’re talking about Adam Silvin. We’re talking about these investigations into overplaying and uh injuries that come from that. They’re traveling to Macau for one game, so they better have a lot of leg room, I guess. Um
Edward, you traveled from you traveled from Singapore to New York City to see Madison Square Garden, your Knicks play. Surely you can make it to Macau.
And I traveled from Singapore to London to meet the This Sporting Planet team as well.
There you go. Right now, before we move on, I want to mention two things from the little red dot here in Singapore. First of all, congratulations to Shannon Tan, who won the German Masters this weekend. It’s a second ladies European tour title. And our good friend and colleague Colette Wong interviewed Shannon a couple of weeks ago for the women’s sports special. So, if you do want to catch that, you can listen to it or watch it on our YouTube channel. And additionally, coming to Singapore, the World Aquatics Championships. It’s all kicking off 11th of July. That runs through the 3rd of August. Then they had the masters event following from the 26th of July to the 22nd of August. It’s a big deal. It’s the first time a city in Southeast Asia has hosted the championships. So we are very very excited about that. In fact, these championships are the World Aquatics largest and main event. It keeps growing every year. Last year in Doha, there were 199ations represented. Apparently this time there’s going to be 209. So we’re talking over 2,500 athletes across three venues. One in Sentosa, which is this small little island off the south coast of Singapore. one at our temporary uh car park built swimming pool which is called the World Aquatics Championships Arena and one at the Main Aquatics Center. Um but all of the world’s best athletes from the pools, from uh the diving pools, from the water polo pools are all going to be coming here in Singapore. Any athletes that you guys are looking out for from your particular regions?
Plenty. Um, look, if I start, if you don’t mind, Todd, I’m gonna take you back to Paris, and you know who dominated the pool in Paris. Oh, yeah. When it came to those Olympic games, very much one of the poster boys for France, Leon Marshon. We’ve all got to look out for him. Four goals at those Paris games. Um, he’s also had five wins at world championships in 2022 and 2023, world record holder, isn’t he, in the 400 individual medley as well, and has broken countless Olympic records. So, clearly, you’ve got to look out for him and see what he can do. And if you’re talking from a Great Britain perspective, loads and loads of big names to look out for. In particular, you’ve got Tom Dean, James Guy, Duncan Scott, but one name missing sadly will be Adam Pey. Uh he won’t be there as he continues to take that break from sport to uh focus on his sort of mental health issues, but loads of people to look out for
and I think with the USA, I mean, everything starts and finishes with Katy Leiddki. She is the queen of the pool. And how long does she want to go? How many more medals does she want to collect? Um sadly the world championships in the Olympics that’s when swimming really comes to the forefront of attention here uh because it comes at such a busy time in the summer where you’ve got things like the tour to France and you’ve got everything gearing up for college and the NFL season. You got the Major League Baseball All-Star break coming up. So it’s it’s a busy time. It’s a crowded calendar, but uh anytime Katy Leiddki gets in the pool, it’s always a big story. I just saw her. It’s a great thing if you jump on YouTube. She gave the commencement address at her alma mater Stanford. And of course, she converted a lot of things in life to what’s it like and being in a race and being behind or what’s it like being out in a long race, 5,000 meters or whatever. And she’s just she’s so smart beyond her years. I just she’s just one of my favorite athletes to cover first and foremost. And just such a talent. So I think uh we’ll see how she does worlds obviously and and then the big focus will be on her in Los Angeles two years later.
Yeah, absolutely. Actually, in terms of the two swimmers I was most excited to see, it was Leon Marshon and Katy Leiddki. Um, not every country has announced the team that they’re bringing to Singapore and most countries do are will be bringing a mix of kind of more experienced athletes, the one which we’re used to seeing at the Olympics and the World Championships and um, some who are going to have a a good start here and get some good experience on the world stage. So, it’s going to be a mixture of old and young. We’re waiting to see uh, which other countries say who they will bring. We haven’t actually heard, we have heard who the UK is bringing. We’ve heard who the US is bringing. Uh we haven’t heard who China is bringing but I would assume that they will bring Pan Xanlur who’s the Olympic champion the current world record holder of the 100 meters free. I say current world record holder I mean at the Olympics he absolutely killed that world record. I think he beat it by almost uh a whole second didn’t he? So really excited to see him and it’s just going to be a fantastic event and uh yeah enjoyable for everyone in this kind of part of the world because we rarely get these big events coming our way.
Yeah. Yeah,
I’d be remissed if we didn’t mention the Aussies for Kate Almond. We got to mention the Aussies because they always bring a good team as well.
That is it for this episode. Make sure to subscribe to the show via your favorite podcast provider so you never miss out on an episode. And do make sure to leave a comment as well and a review. Uh we can even bring you video versions of us on Spotify. How about that? Tune in to that if you so wish. And you can also watch the show on YouTube as ever. and we’d love for you to get involved in the discussion. So, do leave comments. Let us know what you think on everything that we’ve just discussed in this podcast.
Yeah, if you do head to the YouTube channel as well, you can hear an exclusive chat uh that Sahel Chandok had with former England captain Sir Andrew Strauss uh during one of the sides most successful periods of course England in the midst of that test series with India at the moment. So, an Indian uh interviewing an Englishman would be very interesting indeed in that context. uh they were chatting about the future of franchise cricket, the current England vers India series and of course paddle which uh dominates both their lives from what I understand as well. You will not be able to watch that anywhere else. So make sure you head to the this sporting planet YouTube channel to watch it in its entirety. And we’ll be back on Wednesday the 9th of July. We’ll be previewing the open at Royalport Rush where we’ll be speaking to someone who has not only played the course but has also finished tied for third at golf’s original championship. So you won’t want to miss that. So we look forward to speaking with you, hearing from you, and seeing you. Until then, for Natalie Edward and myself and the rest of this Sporting Planet team, we’ll see you next time. [Music]

Welcome to This Sporting Planet, your definitive source for The World’s View of Sports! 🌍🎙️

Get ready for an electrifying episode of This Sporting Planet! 🎉 We’re taking you courtside for a deep dive into the thrilling NBA Finals that went all the way to a decisive Game 7! Witness the Oklahoma City Thunder claim their first franchise title! 🏆

Join Natalie Sawyer (UK), Todd Harris (USA), and Edward Russell (Singapore), along with Hannah Hoover, a sports reporter from KOCO 5 News, for all the electric championship celebrations and what this monumental win means for OKC.

We analyse the Thunder’s balanced team and the standout performance of Finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander! The big question: Does this mark the beginning of an OKC dynasty?! 🤔

The discussion also covers the heartbreaking impact of Tyrese Haliburton’s Achilles tendon injury on the Indiana Pacers’ playoff run and the growing concern over these injuries in the NBA.

BREAKING NEWS during the episode! The WNBA announced a massive expansion to 18 teams! 🏀 We break down what this means for women’s basketball, plus the ongoing NBA free agency and draft, featuring expert insights from Dave DuFour of The Athletic.

Finally, get ready for the World Aquatics Championships coming to Singapore! 💦 We discuss the excitement for the host country and which global stars, like Leon Marchand and Katie Ledecky, are set to steal the headlines as they did at the Paris Olympics!

Tune in for all the action, analysis, and breaking news! 🎧

Here’s what we’re chatting about this episode:

00:00 – 00:45: What’s Coming Up!
00:45 – 01:50: Introduction
01:50 – 02:49: NBA Finals Results
02:49 – 04:38: Special message from OKC’s Hannah Hoover
04:38 – 06:43: SGA’s phenomenal MVP season
06:43 – 08:06: The thrill of a 7-game finals series
08:06 – 09:26: OKC’s road to a championship winning team
09:26 – 11:46: The history of the Seattle Supersonics and OKC Thunder
11:46 – 13:46: Halliburton’s heartbreaking injury
13:46 – 16:20: The NBA’s achilles injury epidemic
16:20 – 19:30: A big year for small-market teams
19:30 – 20:03: Introduction to Dave DuFour
20:03 – 25:20: Dave DuFour’s thoughts on recent NBA news
25:20 – 27:34: NBA’s growth outside of North America
27:34 – 28:46: NBA’s UK market
28:46 – 30:54: Todd explains “stockpiling” drafts & OKC’s winning formula
30:54 – 31:27: WNBA breaking news
31:27 – 32:55: The success of women’s sports & global expansion
32:55 – 37:04: Upcoming sporting events in Singapore & the World Aquatics Championships
37:04 – 38:50: Coming up next time!

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