Sam Smith

Thank you.

Looking forward to it.

You know, Phil mentioned before the word cagers.

When I was growing up in the New York City, seven daily newspapers, two of which I delivered every day basically, but one of the shorthands for basketball was cagers.

That's what they called basketball players were cagers.

And the reason they called them cagers is

is that the game was so physical and so rough in its early years that they literally played in cages to keep the fans and the players separated because there was so much violence in the game.

And so you talk about evolution of the game.

These guys were literally playing in cages, and that's why they called them cages in the 50s and the 60s.

I just want to add, every time Michael got there, to the finals meaning, the opportunity to win a championship, he finished it off.

And LeBron had a great run.

I think he was in the finals eight times, which is an extraordinary accomplishment.

But he didn't only finish it off about three or four times.

And from a writer perspective, one of the ways we sort of judge greatness is in basketball terms.

I get the old make the right play and team sport and all that.

But can you give the ball to somebody and he can finish it off for you?

And LeBron has never been that kind of player.

He doesn't like to get to the free throw line at the end of the games because he gets a little nervous at the line.

We talked about, you know, Elvin Hayes was kind of like that, one of the great scorers in history, but didn't want the ball at the end of the game.

People are different, and some people just don't want that spotlight on them.