Isaiah Blakely
Appearances
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
yeah and that came across on tv i'm watching from my couch and it was some people compared it to summer league but i would actually say a defensive summer league like especially the first weekend of summer league those crowds are freaking awesome now credit credit it's a smaller arena they're right on top of the court and um and especially that first weekend because that you know thomas and mac is just packed cox pavilion of course even more so because it's tiny um
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
Um, it's, it's, it's fine. Uh, they get plenty of Raja and, um, I don't know if they've had, uh, Parker tiles or Tyler Parker. Yeah. Have you been on the real ones before?
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
And, and those, and those are people who don't get to see the NBA very much. And they're, they're, you know, getting in for pretty cheap. And it's a really raucous time at times at summer league. I was thinking more, it was almost like kind of like the first COVID year where they came back, but arenas weren't allowed to have full capacity yet.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
And so it was a little sedate or more like an all-star crowd. Like when I go to all-star NBA all-star weekend, all-star crowds are pretty sedate, right? Like even when something exciting happens, it's kind of like golf collapse. So there's never really a roar. And I don't know, like, so that's what came across on TV to me. And it matters, right?
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
Because like for somebody who has been in the skeptical camp with this, again, I'm not anti-cup. I'm just not entirely sold. enthusiasm is the thing that counters whatever skepticism I have, right? If the players are enthused, Giannis certainly was. Like, the Bucs wanted this. Giannis clearly freaking wanted this.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
That matters a lot. And then the fans are the other part. So there has to be an emotional investment. It has to feel like the stakes are real. And...
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
the players showed that but you didn't have the the um you know the the the proportional to your point the reaction from the crowd right and then so that intensity if the environment doesn't have it then the whole thing feels a little less vital i guess um and i don't know what you do about that because again in defense of the league and on this on the scheduling part of this
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
I don't know that you could just hold open all these dates at all these arenas.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
Yeah. Not knowing which two teams, which four teams are going to be in the final four and which two teams are going to be in the final. That would be a lot of arena dates to just freeze. Sure. In the hope of putting these in a home market. But I think everybody could agree if that game had been in Milwaukee or Oklahoma, it's a much different atmosphere. And same for the two semis.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
Yes.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
Shame on us for not having you sooner. It's okay. A quick programming note before Tyler and I dive into everything else. The G League Winter Showcase, big event going on right now in Orlando. Lots of big NBA events this week. NBA Cup, Winter Showcase. That's going on in Orlando through the weekend.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
here's here's yeah infamous uh somebody just needed to like consult the dictionary it's not even famous you know what i mean it can't like you got it's in it's infamous no um there were some nice touches though like uh first of all like the enthusiasm as i said of yannis and the bucks clearly wanting this like that is a great endorsement of the cup and uh of the player's
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
belief in this as being really important. It's interesting, too, like, honestly, I couldn't help but think, like, as a guy who grew up in Greece, who is steeped in soccer culture, where this is such a bigger thing overseas, where there are multiple championships you can win. I was having this conversation with Jose Calderon the other day.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
He's now working for the Cavs, but obviously a longtime player in the NBA. Jose's from Spain. And he was talking about the different titles and cups and things you can win playing in the leagues abroad, soccer or basketball and how like coaches get fired for losing something like the NBA. That's not, that's not going to happen here.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
It will never be that level. But I did, it did strike me as like, for Giannis who grew up more in that soccer culture, is this easier to just embrace and think, now this matters. All of these things matter. Because he's a guy who's won the Larry O'Brien trophy. He's won the big championship. And the thing that I always wondered was if you're Steph or LeBron or any of these guys who have won
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
the big one in June. Will it matter to win one in December? And yeah, clearly it did. That's good. That's, that's great. I liked the touch of the, uh, they brought in the kids. I can't remember if it was like boys and girls club or whatever they, uh, to give them all the, the, the medals, whatever it's that they all got.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
That was, that was nice. Um, by the way, did you, did you, did you at any point buy a bottle of water while you were in the arena and did they put a cap on it? Or do they take your cap away?
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
And among the players there is two-time NBA dunk champion Mac McClung, who I had the chance to chat with yesterday.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
I thought of this because during the course of this week, among the things that happened to the NBA, Matt Ishbia, the Phoenix Suns owner, announced he was slashing all the concessions prices, all these... $9 popcorn, now $2. $9 bottles of water, now $2. Everything's $2. Cool. Awesome.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
As some people rightly pointed out, we shouldn't necessarily be praising billionaires for just cutting things to the prices that they should have been in the first place instead of gouging us. Fair. Fine. I'm still going to say, as I did on Blue Sky, kudos to him for doing it because he didn't have to. And none of the other owners, to my knowledge, or the other teams are, but they all should.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
And yeah, it's kind of a duh situation. you know, kind of gesture like, yeah, of course you could be a little kinder to your, you know, to your fans who are paying a shit ton of money just to come to the game in the first place.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
So I don't want to overpraise him, but it did got the, the, the tangents that spun off on blue sky were just, you know, among other things, the fact that they take your cap away because we cannot be true. We, the public, we, we cannot be the one washed masses trusted by, with a water bottle with a cap on it because it could become a projectile. So they have to take the cap.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
for a bit uh that interview is at the end of today's episode so stay tuned for that after tyler and i are done uh really fun catching up with mac mcclung talked about uh just the the g league life and being on a two-way trying still of course to to find his footing in the nba permanently and uh is he going to defend his dunk title again i might have asked um All right.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
It might be the single most insulting thing at an arena. The most subtly insulting thing.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
Speaking of beverages, the Bucks did not partake of their champagne or their NBA-sponsored beer. I guess Darvin Ham or Doc Rivers or the staff decided, like, we're just not doing that. And I thought it was an interesting messaging here, subtly, because, again, my agnostic skepticism hat on.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
i have said like the problem i have had this conceptually is like does it matter does it really matter it's it's a title one in december and then we immediately go back to like is jimmy butler gonna get traded and right you know uh who's who's gonna challenge the celtics uh in the east and is anybody gonna be able to to knock out the thunder in the west and whatever like we talk about all these other things
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
But then the players play like it matters. And then afterward, Giannis says, copying from the Kobe Bryant script, the job's not finished. Because what he really means is I want to win the championship. Yeah. And then the Bucs decide not to celebrate. Which, again, that's fine. Psychologically, competitively, cool. You have a bigger goal. But it does...
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
subtly diminish and telegraphs the idea that yeah this isn't as important it's just not and i like again that's an obvious thing right and i it's an unfair standard for me or anybody else to apply to make this as big as larry o'brien trophy in june but the the muted celebration does i think convey something that maybe is not ideal
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
I don't know. Are places open that late? Could you did you find an alcoholic drink at that hour?
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
We are recording on Friday the 20th. This is our last show before Christmas. We'll be back on next Friday, the 27th. Huge Christmas slate coming up, which which just got me thinking, Parker, I don't know if Tyler, I'm going to do that. I'm going to I'm going to enter Parker tiles and Tyler Parker just freely throughout this.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
Especially in L.A.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
Yeah, which is also a little silly, frankly, baseball, but it's fine. We accept it.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
The flip side of this, of course, is that if it is a thrill to win, then it's supposed to hurt to lose. And I don't know that I saw or perceived much of a, oh, man, this is devastating on the part of you're a Thunder fan, right? Like that's a fair assessment. You've got multiple Russell Westbrook pictures behind you. Absolutely.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
The office there.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
For sure. But, like, I don't know. Did you and anybody else in your life who are Thunder fans feel like, oh, my God, like, we lost the cut?
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
So that's back to my point about does it matter or not. I'll leave it there because people are tired of hearing me make this point. But... But yeah, they lost and they moved on.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
As well as you can against Giannis.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
Did Parker tiles ever play on, on Christmas? Probably only in like some tiny town in the, in the South of France or something.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
Well, and Chet's not going to answer all the shooting woes or not shooting woes, but just he's not going to change the fact that they need more shooting. But as a big who can shoot threes, him being on the court changes things too.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
And on a night where they really struggled offensively, having that much more spacing and a guy who can knock down threes who happens to be seven feet something kind of matters, right? Yeah, yeah. This is the thing. Let's talk about your Thunder here. I mean, they've been the consensus favorite to win the West since the summer, rightly.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
They're 21 and five right now, as we record, best in the Western Conference, second only to the Cavaliers overall. They are weirdly, if you look at the standings, do you realize they're riding a six game winning streak?
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
I know. Wait, didn't they just lose the other night? Oh, yeah, that's right. The NBA Cup final doesn't count. It's just a mirage. Yes.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
So I just, yeah. Later this season, they'll have a bad shooting night and a low scoring game. And we'll say it was the lowest scoring game of the season. And people say, no, no, no. What about the NBA? Nope. Doesn't matter. Doesn't count.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
It's going to be very confusing just in the discourse when they have one of those nights and we're trying to say it's the worst shooting, worst score, aside from the cup, which doesn't count. Like, we're going to have to put that in parentheticals every time. Very strange. But you have lived through, I imagine, cheered through various versions of the Thunder over the last 10, 15 years. Yeah.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
This is a different version of a Thunder potential powerhouse than the Durant Westbrook or Durant Westbrook Ibaka or Durant Westbrook Ibaka Harden. I'm curious, just kind of actually just big picture perspective here, just just almost like vibe wise to like. Right.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
Among Thunder fans, what's like the affinity for and belief in this team compared to like those early years of the early years in Oklahoma period of Durant Westbrook?
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
Uh, Tyler, uh, one of the big, uh, Christmas traditions in the, uh, in the, the Parker household. Uh, I know we talked before we started recording, you're going to go back to Oklahoma where you're from. We're going to talk a lot about Oklahoma city and the thunder in this, in this show. Um, are there, are there, what are the standing important like traditions either now or growing up?
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
I think it's almost like, tell me if this is wrong, but it's almost like emotionally it's like higher highs and lower lows, right? Or higher highs and bigger doubts or concerns, right? Like this team is very steady and almost sedate, this Thunder group. Because Shea is not Russ. No. Jalen Williams is not Kevin Durant. Like there's no analogy here at all.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
Incredibly talented, very deep, very well constructed. They don't have the explosiveness of either game or personality.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
that the durant westbrook era had right and so um but at the same time this this group feels in some ways more predictable solid i don't know what the right word is and i mean it in a positive way like they seem more reliable in some ways because you're not worried about the thing you just mentioned which was always the tension is westbrook taking too many bad shots that are now detracting from durant being clearly the better player and the more efficient scorer
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
not for nothing, maybe too calm in that, right? Like, I mean, there's been a lot of, all the hand-wringing recently, right, about ratings and why does the NBA not feel as exciting right now and all that. The Thunder are super good and like the defending champion Celtics, a little dry. Right. Sure. And, and that doesn't mean that they don't sometimes play exciting basketball.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
Although, you know, Shay does not have the, the explosiveness, right. Of, of West. Like there's not, there's a thrill watching Westbrook love him or hate him, be frustrated by him. There's a thrill watching Russell Westbrook in his prime. There's a thrill watching Kevin Durant, uh,
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
I don't know that you get that same like charge as whether you're a Thunder fan or just a general NBA fan from this team. And again, to the point of them not being playing on Christmas or small market woes and all this other stuff of, you know, lack of promotion interest. Like Shea is still almost a complete unknown to the public. Yeah, I think a lot of that's by by design by him.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
Well, Russ wasn't exactly the most giving of himself to the media, the public either. But he's so but he but even the snarliness was part of the appeal.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
In other ways, right. He's not going to sit down and have a half-hour thoughtful conversation with the local beat writers, but he's going to convey a lot in a very short amount of time, odd to court it off. And this group is very restrained.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
Very cool. Very nice. Um, Huge slate of games. I don't know if you will just be parked with the family watching 15 straight hours of NBA games. Starting with Spurs-Knicks, then Timberwolves-Mavericks, Sixers-Celtics, Lakers-Warriors, Curry versus LeBron. I don't know if this is the last Christmas we'll get with them. We're getting close. And then Nuggets' sons capping off the whole night.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
ESPN's Tim Bontemps did his first MVP straw poll, which came out, I think, this morning. Jokic is the pretty safe leader right now. 57 first place votes and 827 points.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
Shea was second again. 24 first place votes, 678 points. So a clear... Distance behind him with a lot of season yet to go. And Giannis was third. I bring this up because I was one of the 24 people who put Shea at the top of my ballot. No guarantee that that's where I'll end up, folks, when all of a sudden done in a few months. But but I had Shea first.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
And a lot of that is that because like for me and. This this framework has shifted for a lot of people over time as the voting pool has changed. But I am still of the belief that the wins have to matter a lot. It is not simply a statistical race. It's not simply with this guy won every stat category and every advanced stat category. Ergo, they're the winner.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
If that were the case, we wouldn't need to vote. You could just plug it into a spreadsheet. The fact that the Thunder are also the best team in the West by a good margin, and he's putting up the numbers he is. The results matter to me. Denver's kind of depressed win total right now is factoring in for me. But again, a lot of season left to go.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
I just want to quickly footnote here because we were talking about the history of the Thunder and this version of them that has the best chance to go and win it all or at least get back to the finals since the peak Westbrook-Durant years. I think this is one of the best, quickest, maybe the best, quickest rebuild I've seen in the 28 seasons that I've covered the NBA. Quick review.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
2016, they win 55 games, lose to the Warriors, Durant leaves, as we know. The next three seasons with Russ as their centerpiece, they win 47, 48, 49. They never win a playoff series. 2019, they trade Paul George and Westbrook. Um, just pull the plug entirely, but they end up with Chris Paul who gets them to 44 wins in the COVID season.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
So that's a, that's a 50, that's actually a 50 win equivalent, which is a damn good season. 50 is really good in this league. 2020, they trade Paul George to Phoenix, uh, Paul, uh, Chris Paul to Phoenix, uh, I hope I said Chris Paul the first time. With Chris Paul, they won the 44 games. I'm like, I've got too many notes in front of me.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
Notably absent from this slate of games are your Oklahoma City Thunder, Tyler. How are you feeling about the Christmas slate? And as an Oklahoman, what is your level of just absolute disgust, grievance with the NBA for not putting the thunder on Christmas? It actually, on a serious note, it is kind of a thing. We are still in this mode where
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
Great. 2020, they trade Chris Paul to Phoenix to really start the rebuild, right? Yeah. So they've not really had a down year yet. No. They've been petering out. Durant's gone. It's just Westbrook. That's Westbrook and Paul George. Now they get rid of both of them. They win 22 games in a 72-game season in 2020-21. 22 wins, then 24 wins, then 40 wins, like just shy of getting to 500 in 2022-23.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
They had only three losing seasons after that, and only two that were truly awful, right? Because 40 and 42 is at least competitive. And they go from 40 wins to 57 last season. Now here they are on pace for 66, despite not having Chet and Hartenstein play together yet. Only 11 games from Hartenstein, only 10 from Holmgren. Um, like this is just a absolutely fucking masterful rebuild.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
And I know Presti gets praised plenty. He doesn't need more, but they've done all this and they still have like 800 draft picks to deal and plenty of flexibility, optionality, however you want to refer to it. Uh, Caruso and Hartenstein were incredible offseason pickups, and yet we're still sitting here going, ah, they could use more shooting. Well, guess what?
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
They're in position to be able to go do that because this has been one of the most masterful rebuilds with the ability to keep adding that I think we've ever seen.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
And everyone has their misses.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
It feels like the NBA does not want to fully invest in certain small market teams on certain marquee occasions. They will be mad about me saying that. But we all knew this was going to be the best team in the West coming into the season.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
I had forgotten until you just said it that Carmelo... I know this. I know Carmelo was there. I remember this. I do remember... It just... It had slipped my mind that there was a Carmelo era in Oklahoma.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
I hope Thunder fans realize, and I'm sure they do, and appreciate just how...
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
good they've had it right since the moment almost since the moment they arrived right like there was a couple bad seasons there as they're kind of ramping up with the young guys with the young Durant and Westbrook but like most rebuilds take much longer most tank jobs take much longer a couple of 20-ish win seasons followed by an immediate leap to 40 and then 50 like it just doesn't happen very often unless you just stole LeBron James or somebody of that caliber from somewhere like it doesn't
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
it doesn't normally go this way. You don't normally just have like a couple of bad seasons. And I, and I do, I remember during that time, there was a lot of hand-wringing about like, Oh my God, how long is this going to take? It took nothing at all. Like you blinked and they were back. And obviously, you know, the, the, the Paul George Shea deal has a lot to do with that, but for sure.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
Before we go, we're we're running a little long here, but this is all great. And I don't I don't want to stop. I'm just having too much fun, Tyler. We'll get to the Mac McClung interview in a minute. But before we wrap, I actually did want to just quickly because it was unveiled this week, all star voting just began and the all star game itself has been remixed once more.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
I waited on this very briefly, I think, when it was just a quote unquote report as opposed to the actuality of it a couple of weeks ago.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
still 24 All-Stars now divided into three teams of eight right there'll be a fourth team that will be the winner of the Rising Stars game on Friday night that's the rookie sophomore game so we will have a tournament on Sunday instead of an All-Star game East versus West or team LeBron versus team whoever we will have four teams of three of eight players each I don't I guess it's I guess it's eight teams for the rookie sophomore as well
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
two teams will play each other. The other two teams will play each other. The two teams that win will be in the final and, and potentially we'll have an eight all-stars versus eight rookie sophomores with a veteran pride on the line, I suppose. Sure. They're playing to 40 points. It's not a clock.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
So this, this thing could be over very quickly unless they actually decide to play some defense, which is really the question, which is really how we got here in the first place.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
So I am on record as saying, and I believe this truly, I like this. If you're going to try to fix the thing, if we're going to acknowledge that it's broken, this is as good a fix as, as I could see partially because it will be shorter. If it's going to be just a crappy exhibition, at least get it over with quickly. No clock. Right.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
First team to 40 points, which could happen very fast in an all-star setting. Um, And I do like the idea that the vets against the young guys might bring out a little bit more of a pride factor. Sure. I don't know. People's reactions this week have been all over the map. I am too jaded to have a proper assessment of these things.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
Usually I have been to 20 all-star games and they've been getting progressively worse. But I am actually an optimist on this one. I am bullish on this proposal. I think I might be in the minority based on what I've seen on social media. Where are you on this?
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
they're they're not as it it doesn't feel like that you're um experiencing uh an entity moving as one you know what i mean i mean no no one's asking for these guys to play like dean smith's offense or like right phil jackson's triangle but i mean yeah a little bit of of kind of coordination that implies that as a five-man team as opposed to just like let's just take turns like making fancy moves and and throwing up you know 40 footers or lobs to to to wemby or durant or
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
whoever, like have it at least it's supposed to, it's a, it's a basketball exhibition, but it should still look like basketball. And if you don't have the offensive players actually trying to run a little bit of stuff with each other, just basic stuff. If you don't have your defenders actually trying to defend, it's no longer a basketball game.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
It is just some weird exhibition where we just like throw lobs and shoot deep threes. And like, I know there are some fans who are fine with that, but I just don't think it's interesting enough. for a full 48-minute game that sometimes lasts three hours as an event.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
Just a little less of it and maybe contested. The reason we love the game, the real game, is because when you see a spectacular dunk or a spectacular play of any kind, why is it spectacular? Because it's like, how did he get that shot off with a defender in his face? Or how did he split that double team? Or, you know, how did he, you know, that that backdoor cut?
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
None of that means anything if you weren't trying to stop it. And I always have to say this. I can't believe I have to always give this disclaimer. No one is asking for game seven level intensity or even playoff level intensity, even game one of the first round intensity. I'm not even asking for NBA Cup level intensity.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
We're just asking for them to try enough to make it look like a game where you're trying to stop the other team. And when people say, but oh, injury's Folks, there have been all-star games for literally decades where nobody got hurt, and they played harder than this. This is my 28th season. I have seen this thing erode over time.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
The players themselves, so Durant and Booker and Anthony Davis all bemoaned this new format or pooped on it and said, like, ah, what about the east-west of my youth? Guys, you killed that. You're the ones who are part of the era that killed it with your indifference.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
you don't get to now complain about and nitpick about the way the NBA is trying to manipulate it to make it more interesting again when you're the ones who put them in this position. And I should also note in this rant,
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
It was Adam Silver and Chris Paul when Chris was still president of the Players Association who had a phone call after one of these shitty games like seven, eight years ago and talked about it and said, you know what? We got to do something. We got to find another way. And after that, they tried the elementing and they did the player draft and various other tweaks.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
And there were some short-term little bumps, some nice effect initially, and then it fell off a cliff again.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
And I liked that part too.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
It did.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
again we're just asking them to try a little harder play as if this is a competition not one that means a ton not that there's major stakes on the line and i get it it's it's a long weekend the nba puts these guys through the ringer they've got all these appearances and all these events plus they're you know partying their butts off too and there's like a lot a lot going on by the time you get to sunday night you just want to like wrap it up and go home i get it
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
But this is part of the NBA schedule and part of making good with your fans and your corporate partners and everybody else. You've got to put on a better show. And I'm glad we share this optimism that this might actually be the thing that makes that Sunday event interesting again. I don't care if it looks if it doesn't look like all star games of the past. That thing is already dead.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
The players killed it. If there's a way to at least make the finale of all-star weekend, interesting, this little tournament. Cool. So, you know, kudos to the NBA and, and then, and the players association for coming together and finding something that's it's, it's different. And I don't know, we'll see how people greet it when it happens in February in San Francisco, but,
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
I think this is a good attempt. I'm with you. We should wrap it up there. Folks, make sure to stay tuned for my interview with Mac McClung, which is coming up next. And again, The Real Ones is off on Tuesday, Christmas Eve, but we are back on Friday, December 27th. Tyler Parker. Parker Tiles. Fat Whisperer. Thank you. Thank you so much for joining The Real Ones. This has been a blast.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
Thank you. Happy holidays to you and the family. Happy holidays to our producer, Isaiah. Thank you all for hanging in. Happy holidays. Merry Christmas to everybody else. And stay tuned for my interview with Mac McClung. Now, very pleased to be joined by the two time NBA slam dunk champion and recent G League MVP, Mac McClung. Mac, how are you, man?
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
I'm doing great. I'm doing great. You are among the stars of a new docuseries about the G League, The Break, presented by The General. Very cool. We get to see a little glimpse of life in the G. Can I say that? That sounds like I'm trying to be too cool. It sounds like I'm trying to be one of the... You sound great.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
Do guys in the G League call it the G?
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
I'm on safe ground. You're on a two-way deal this season, so that's new for you. How is it different now? This is year four for you in the G League. Year four, trying to navigate just this whole... this whole scenario of the G league trying to make it to the NBA. You've bounced a little bit back and forth. What's different about where you are now on a two way deal and back with the same team.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
You're with the Orlando magic slash Osceola magic. How is that different for you than the first couple of years of doing this?
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
Does it give you a little bit different perspective going into the season where, OK, I'm starting on the two way as opposed to like picking it up midway through? So there's actually it seems like the fact you have that, that the magic extended that and also that they brought you back. That's kind of like a vote of confidence, right?
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
Like, you know, we've seen something and you obviously you had a phenomenal year last season. that maybe they've seen something where now you come into this season with maybe a little bit different expectation? And do they convey that at all? Do they say, look, we're going to need you at certain junctures during the NBA season with the Orlando Magic as opposed to the G League team?
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
Is there a different framework? And how does that change the way you're kind of approaching the season?
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
I mentioned the, uh, you winning MVP last season, it was a really a breakout year. And just statistically you were off the charts. What do you think, um, clicked or clicked differently? Like, I know it's a little hard, like with the G league, cause like day to day, month to month, the roster changes all the time, right?
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
It's like, there's a lot more volatility in the G league in general, but was there something in particular that kind of, you know, you know, allowed you to make kind of that, that leap last season. What did that mean to you?
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
Um, do you have a sense of like, you know, all right, I've, I've, I've accomplished this much, right. And you, you, you know, the scoring really came around last year.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
Is there, when the, uh, coaches from the Orlando magic are talking to you, is there a, a, a, a sense of like, you know what, um, we're going to need you to do X, Y, Z, or we need to see a little bit more on the playmaking side or maybe defensively. Are there, are there, you know, is there a, a kind of a, a outline there of, of,
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
like kind of boxes you need to check perhaps to get on the NBA roster permanently or just on a more regular basis. I know a lot of that's just opportunity, right? You know, sometimes no one's rooting for anybody to get hurt, but sometimes it's just a matter of how a season unfolds. But do you have a sense of what it might take to get that foothold and keep it?
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
You're at the Winter Showcase, which is going on this week and through the weekend. Do players in the G League see that as an important time to shine? Like, this is a tentpole event for the league in that all the GMs, all the scouts, like everybody's gathered in Orlando to see all of you guys play. And, you know, we've just entered –
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
the unofficial trade season in the NBA, like there's going to be a lot more movement transactions coming up over the next couple of months. Are you guys conscious of that as players? Like these guys are all here to see us. And like, this is, you know, whether it's to be called it by the magic or whether it's another team that might be interested via trade or other avenues.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
Do you see this as like, this is the stage, like this is the time to make the impression.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
Yeah. Um, when the crowds get bigger, do you, do you feel that, that we talked about this when you and I sat down and chatted a year and a half ago, but like in moments like this, is there more pressure to dunk? Like, I know like the slam dunk competition is its own thing. The games and the competition and basketball is a, is a different thing in some sense.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
But, um, when you walk onto the court every day as the two-time slam dunk champion, um, How do you balance the putting on a show or trying to put on a show and do something splashy versus just trying to make winning plays?
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
When we talked in 2023, it was just like, just I think a few weeks or maybe a month or two after you'd won the first slam dunk title. And one of the things I was curious about was like, how does this change your life, right? You went from being, you know, certainly not anonymous.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
You were a viral sensation and an Instagram star before winning the slam dunk competition, but you put yourself on a lot more people's,
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
radars that weekend and a lot came with that there was a lot more people just recognizing you asking for autographs um you know crowding you at airports and all the restaurants whatever all these things also great sponsorship opportunities there was just a lot that came with it and it seemed like at the time you were really trying to figure out just as an individual like how do i how do i manage all of this this instant fame and then
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
Things, I imagine, calm down a little bit and then you go and you win it again. Was it different the second time? Are you and are you did you was it a whole new deluge of attention, opportunities and all that comes with it? Like, are you are you handling it differently now?
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
Yeah. What's the best thing to come out of it?
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
You dunked over a couple of them, if I recall, correct?
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
I love that. This is going to sound a little bit like a stretch, but bear with me because I think this works. So this weekend, your team's going to be playing the South Bay Lakers and Brawny James Jr.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
You and Brawny probably have almost nothing in common, except both of you kind of became viral sensations or Instagram stars, social media sensations before you were actually in the league, NBA or G League. And it's different. Obviously, Brawny grew up as the son of LeBron James. So I don't want to stretch the analogy too far.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
But can you relate a little bit, you think, to, I don't know, the spotlight and the pressure and just the kind of the unique lens that we're viewing him through? Because we knew who Brawny was. long before this. And now he, like you, is just trying to carve out a career, right? He's just trying to establish who he is. He's got to get out of his dad's shadow.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
I'm not saying you have to get out of the shadow of the slam dunk titles, but there is a little bit of that tension, right? Of wanting to be seen as a player and not just a showman. Do you think there's a little bit of a, you know, could you relate a little bit maybe to what he's going through right now?
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
I would be remiss if I didn't at least ask whether you have any thoughts about defending your back-to-back dunk titles. That process, I think, will be starting pretty soon, if it hasn't already, with the league reaching out to folks and seeing who wants to get in there. Are you planning to defend the title?
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
Sorry to ask the most obvious question possible, but I felt like I had to check the box.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
what up it's the real ones now we're back senior writer at the ringer happy holidays everybody uh raja's off doing dad things at a basketball tournament with his son so hanging out with me today one of my favorite ringer people you might know him as parker tiles vagabond journeyman hooper
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
I mean, every year we think that, oh, not every year. A lot of years we think maybe the dunk contest is just over because it feels like it's gotten stale. There's nothing new. And then you come along and you lift a place up in Utah and then you did it again in Indianapolis. And I think it restores belief in the competition itself.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
But as you just alluded to, it takes a ton of preparation and to try to do something that is either new or just new.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
spectacular in a way that we hadn't seen before like the bar is really high and it's tough because people like me you know the media the fans we are expecting we're hoping for every slam dunk contest to blow us away and so you know i'm sure there's a lot of thought that has to go into that and just the the creative process too of thinking well if you're going to do it a third time
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
What can you do now that you haven't already tried, right?
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
I will say, in the league's partial defense here, and I used to, back when I had my podcast, The Full 48, back at Bleacher Report, I started this tradition of every August, I would bring on Evan Wash and Tom Corelli, the schedule makers, the schedule czars, as I dubbed them, and we would deep dive on how you built this, and I would tweak them
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
All right. Well, selfishly and on behalf of a lot of fans out there, I hope you do it again because we've really enjoyed you so far. I will leave on this note. One of the things you mentioned in the docuseries, The Break, you're reading a book. There's a quote in there about happiness. That is something to the effect of that.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
You're no longer trying to find happiness, that you're just going to appreciate where you are and the happiness will find you. So on that note, what is happiness for you now at this moment?
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
uh folks catch him on the break presented by the general and uh probably this weekend i think those games are either streamed or or shown on tv get to see uh you take on brawny james and uh good luck in the rest of the winter showcase and with the magic appreciate it thanks mac i appreciate you howard good seeing you man
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
on behalf of various fan bases, why do you guys hate Toronto? You know, because Raptors fans have always been out of shape during those years that they weren't getting on Christmas. And we would go through it. And there is a little bit of both art and science to this whole thing. And in the NBA's defense, like there's a lot of considerations. And so some of it is, yes, who do you want to promote?
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
Some of it is like the Knicks have just become a standard on Christmas. Like that's just, it's like, you know, the Lions and Cowboys on Thanksgiving in the NFL, right? Right. And you know that the garden is always going to be a great atmosphere. So there's that. The rest of it, it's a lot of like you're pretty much always going to have LeBron in the LeBron era.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
And you're always going to have Steph in the Steph era. And you're now they're playing each other. And I don't blame them for that at all. Like wherever those teams happen to be right now, like like, yes, by all means, these are the standard bearers of your league and have been for the last decade plus.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
I'm fine with that. Kevin Durant is part of that generation to like the guys who are starting to age out and who we may not have for much more than another year or two or three at most. I get all that. And to their credit, yes, Mavericks, Luka, perennial MVP candidate. He's on there. Celtics, defending champs, on there. Wemby, of course. And the Wolves, you mentioned Anthony Edwards.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
So there is some, there are small markets represented here. There are younger stars represented on this list. slate. But yes, it's, it still feels like an oversight to not have the team that had the most wins in the West that was widely favored to win the West and has the guy who finished what second, I think an MVP voting last season in Shea.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
That little line we draw right at the top of the U.S. there between here and Canada. It's funny because he's the one guy, like we keep talking about all the international players. If you didn't know that Shea was Canadian, you wouldn't know that Shea was Canadian. Totally, totally. Not in the same way you know that Jokic and Doncic or Giannis are from somewhere else.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
So this is not to dismiss any subtle differences between the U.S. and Canada or not so subtle differences. No. I don't want to piss off Canada.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
You might know him as the intrepid reporter who got the one and only exclusive interview with the bat who got swatted by Mano Ginobili years ago. You might know him as the world's foremost authority on arena toilets. Can't wait to get into that. Or just as a super talented writer who always finds a unique angle on whatever he happens to be exploring that day. The pride of Oklahoma, Tyler Parker.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
They're making a bet in August, right? The schedule is built, and they actually work on this for months even preceding that.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
It's a really complex process, and there's arena availability issues, and of course you have to balance the schedule with X number of games against all your opponents, and now you've got the NBA Cup, which presents another set of variables and challenges, and they have to be flexible around the Cup semifinals and final because... They don't know who's going to be in it. Right.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
So trying to flex games on Christmas, I think, would be incredibly difficult, if not impossible. So I get it. But yeah, the Thunder probably should have been there from the beginning. And the Sixers, who could have known that Joel Embiid and Paul George would get hurt?
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
Maybe that's just not a bet you should make. Maybe play the odds with certain stars who are always injured and don't bank on them bringing in the eyeballs on Christmas. I don't know. That feels like nitpicking to an extent.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
But your thunder did get some shine this week.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
They were in the final of the NBA Cup, which they lost to the Milwaukee Bucks. And I don't want to dwell too much on the NBA Cup myself. People who are wonderful fans and our listeners who listen to this podcast have heard me plenty on the NBA Cup. Some of them are very supportive of my skeptical agnosticism, as I call it. Some of them are tired of hearing it. But Tyler, you were there. I was not.
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
I watched from the couch. You were in Vegas. You wrote about it on TheRinger.com. People should go check that out. And you were just immersing yourself in the atmosphere of it all and just kind of trying to take it in and assess, like, what is this thing?
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
Your main takeaway, your impressions after, what, four or five days in Vegas from the semifinals through the final, what did you walk away feeling about the Cup and the whole event?
The Ringer NBA Show
NBA Cup Thunder Takeaways and New All-Star Format With Tyler Parker. Plus, Mac McClung on the G-League, ‘The Break,’ and His Dunk Contest Future. | Real Ones
Welcome to The Real Ones, sir.