The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Nick Wright Takes Down The Oklahoma City Thunder | Hour 1
03 Jun 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What are Nick Wright's thoughts on the Oklahoma City Thunder's future?
This is the Dan Levitar Show with the Stukas Podcast. This episode of the Dan Labattard Show is presented by DraftKings. DraftKings, the crown is yours.
The 2026 NBA playoffs are the most watched playoffs in the last 28 years, according to NBA PR. I don't know what's accurate there. I'm going to assume that with streaming and social media, they can funk up all of the numbers there. But Nick Wright is very excited about the basketball. So who's going to win this series, Nick?
The Knicks. The... It's been nine days since we saw them play, which I think has quieted a bit of everyone's excitement about them. But the last time we saw them play, they had just finished what was, by any statistical metric, the most dominant month of basketball in the history of the NBA playoffs. All they do is blow people out. Mitchell Robinson's right pinky notwithstanding.
They're incredibly healthy, they're incredibly rested, and they are one of the few teams that actually gave San Antonio real trouble this year. You add to that that San Antonio made it pretty clear
you know they won their championship and celebrated as such a few days ago i think the knicks win tonight and steal home court and i think that you that the two-month playoff slog for the spurs of a five game series then a six game series than a seven game series and all these additional minutes which are already showing up greatly in Wimby's rebounding numbers if nowhere else.
He is wearing down and I think you saw that at the end of the conference finals. And I think the Knicks are going to be the champions, which is interesting because we seamlessly transitioned as a collective in the media from the Thunder are going to be a dynasty to something I've never seen before, which is fretting about the Spurs dynasty typically
we at least wait till they win their first championship before we are preemptively anointing teams as dynasties. This one, we didn't seem to even wait for that.
Nick, that's not fair though, is it? That they already won their championship? Like the Spurs are allowed to be thrilled with a grueling seven game series win on the road at the champs, right?
No, certainly they're allowed to do whatever they want. But in my analysis of it, I think that was a cathartic emotional moment and you saw them react as such. And I think that has a knock-on effect to the finals.
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Chapter 2: How do the Knicks compare to the Spurs in terms of likability?
I have them at plus 250 because I just liked how they looked against either the banged up Thunder or a Spurs team that I was at MSG in March when they gave Wimby absolute fits. There was about a six-week period of the regular season where the Spurs with Wimby only lost one time. And it was to the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden when the Knicks basically dominated that game.
Jeremy, can you go out to the whiteboard, please, and assemble for Nick and for us a list of which team here is more likable, more unlikable? I'd like some details on this as we head into a fairly anticipated NBA Finals. Can we play the sound of Tim Legler talking about Chet Holmgren? Because one of the things that Amin and others were saying is,
Well, the Spurs don't have any playoff experience, don't have any playoff experience. You know who did? Chet Holmgren. He's a champion. And what did he do with that playoff experience? He was more scared than I can recall an NBA player ever looking. And here's Tim Legler talking about that.
Because there is no denying he was shook. He was rattled. It affected the way he was processing the game. And it completely took away his aggressiveness. He started to look like a guy that was afraid of failure. And when you start to play that way as a professional athlete, that's exactly what it's going to look like. You don't take chances anymore.
You'd rather play it safe and disappear than to try and have it not work out. Drive at Wimby and have him block your shot. Nick, when was the last time that you can recall seeing a player that America knew was scared while they were playing an NBA basketball game?
man that's a great question i don't there there have been moments where obviously harden has looked you know like he was just not there and that the moment was too big i don't remember a player that the an all-nba player an all-star a guy on a max contract from the beginning of the series just being so psychologically beaten by his counterparty who I think in Chet's mind hates him for no reason.
Like this was not a war that Chet opted into. And if you're the Thunder, this is a terrifying turn of events because there is... If you bring Chet back, there is nothing that can give you confidence that this wouldn't happen again short of, I guess, him dominating Wimby in a couple regular season matchups because this was not a player
If you bring Chet back, and he comes back next year, and actually has a couple pounds of muscle on him, and his defense, which is great, is even better, and his shooting, which is very good, is even better, it will all feel meaningless
against 28 other teams because he was excellent against 28 other teams all year and I do worry the comp that I go to and this is you know for I guess the older people my age or older in the audience the comp I go to is is this series could it be for Chet versus Wimby Nick Anderson at the free throw line
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Chapter 3: What statistical evidence supports the Knicks' dominance in the playoffs?
Well, what are their biggest strengths? They have 12 capable NBA players, all of whom are either dogged defenders, great defenders, or at least very capable defenders. Okay, in the regular season, that is a massive asset. You are sometimes playing 12 guys. Your bench unit plays big minutes and will dominate the other team's bench unit.
And if you are a defense-defense team, you are more likely over the long course of a regular season to have teams just be like, you know what? This is a pain in the ass. We got another game in a couple days. We'll get them.
It's a weird thing to say, though, Nick, given that they're the actual defending champions.
It's not that weird at all. It's not that weird at all.
Nick, they're not just a defending champion. They didn't have their second and third best player and lost in a game seven at home to the best player.
What do you mean they didn't have their second and third best player? Ball handlers.
What are you talking about? Sorry, ball handlers.
No, okay, well, that's the other thing. I thought you were saying Chet wasn't there. Sorry, I wasn't trying to yeah-but you. I thought, I mean, Chet kind of wasn't there.
Tony, you know that moment at a party or a tailgate where everything just sort of clicks? I know it well. It's usually when I show up, everybody goes crazy. Yeah, you usually take all the credit for it, but it's because Tony usually walks in with Cuervo. I walk in like this. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Cuervo is the thing that turns hanging out into this is the night. It has that effect on people.
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Chapter 4: Why is there skepticism about the Thunder being a dynasty?
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Don Levitard. The elephant went into a 7-Eleven and bought a pack of cigarettes. But my question to Ron is this.
Stugatz. That joke didn't really land the way you wanted it to, did it? We all just stared at you.
It didn't land at all. This is the Don Levitard Show with the Stugatz.
So, okay, let me give the evidence for it, and then I'll respond to that rebuttal. By the way, they didn't have Jalen Williams all year. And it didn't matter. And AJ Mitchell makes the same amount of money as Bronny. The idea that AJ Mitchell is now all of a sudden, he's a good player, but that, oh, how are you going to win without AJ Mitchell?
They didn't, he was their third, they, okay, but let me make my actual point with the evidence of it. Three years ago, or two years ago, pardon me, This team was the number one seed, a regular season juggernaut.
And in round two, got clocked by a made-on-the-fly, at the trade deadline, Dallas Mavericks team that, aside from Kyrie Irving, also had very little playoff experience and no championship experience and had a rookie starting center. Two years ago, they played well below their seed. Last year, they were a, what was it, 68 win?
absolute juggernaut and they went to game seven in round two and game seven down at halftime in the NBA Finals. This year, they were a 64 win, 65 win regular season juggernaut and they lost in the conference finals. They, and if we want to play the Yeah, but they didn't have J-Dub game. That's fine. Give them this championship and take away last year's win in game seven against the Nuggets.
Aaron Gordon's walking around on one hamstring and Tyrese Halliburton's out for the game. So I think that if we want to say injuries cost them this year, then you got to play the game of did injuries give it to them last year. They are an excellent team. But they are the historical comps that we were getting were Jordan's Bulls.
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Chapter 5: What emotional factors affect teams after playoff victories?
Not get the shit kicked out of him in game six.
Oh, no, but there have been no close games in these playoffs. All the games are like this. Like, whoever wins is going to win by a lot.
Because there are no all-time great teams. You are correct, Dan.
They ran into Wimby. Nick, they ran into a guy that we all know plays basketball differently than anyone we've ever seen.
Wimby was not special in Game 7.
He was in Game 1. He was in Game 1. The only close game in the series, he was in Game 1.
He was unbelievable. And an all-time great team would overcome that. They are a really good team. But I don't think they are some... I don't think all of a sudden the Thunder, it's like, all right, this is a blip. And now, no, because they, the... We are in the second apron world. Clay Bennett has a history of not wanting to pay a super high tax bill. Hartenstein's got a team option.
Dort's got a team option. I think Chet, I personally, if I were them, would rattle the cage on if Chet is the centerpiece of a Giannis trade, what does that do? How many years in a row Are we going to say the team that just won is just going to keep winning and then they don't even make it back to the finals?
Before we recognize whether you want to say it's what LeBron did for a decade or what Steph and the Warriors did for half a decade, the reason those things happened was because LeBron at that point, Steph at that point, and the teams around them are simply drastically better than any of these teams we're seeing right now.
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Chapter 6: How does the betting market view the Knicks versus the Spurs?
This time it's different. This time with the Spurs it's different.
The distinction I'm simply making with you, and I'll get off this in a second, is that you're saying that Denver and Milwaukee never got close again, and I'm saying OKC just got close again. They just ran intoā Not to winning the championship. Nick.
No, they didn't. Nick. They didn't. Nick. They're going to finish. I mean, Denver and Milwaukee both got to game sevens of round two, and you're saying that's not close. You're saying it's not close. You're saying it's not close. No, I thought you were agreeing with me on that. True. True. Yeah, I just... You know what I think is... Listen, I'm a Neanderthal. I'm a weird guy, I guess.
I don't think any team that didn't play for the championship was close to winning the championship. I think in order to be close to winning the championship, you have to play for it. I guess I'm an idiot.
I'm just a dumb guy.
How close was LaMelo this year? The play-in game away.
Yeah, it's totally the same thing. The play-in game away.
You're absolutely right.
I put my sword down. It's the same thing. No, no, you're right. You're right. LaMelo and Wemby, same thing.
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Chapter 7: What role does playoff experience play in the Spurs' performance?
Slide to Miami so you can see it. I mean, I don't know. The next... The Knicks best player didn't cold cock an opponent and then skip out on media after the worst game of his career. Is that on the list, Jeremy? He says, won too much since 99.
I mean, this is... I can't read anything. We'll come back to Jeremy in a second. He was setting that up for 30 minutes. We'll come back to Jeremy in a second. See...
See if we can find a magnifying glass.
See, that would work. Hey, Jeremy, guess what? We know what you're writing now. You know why? Because it's not in size 10 Arial font.
Give me a break.
Let's play for Nick Wright, Amin's assessment of we came so gloriously close to Nick Wright at the Sports Espy's having to hand Pablo Torre some sort of Emmy. And it didn't happen. And there have been some accusations that you went rogue and didn't read what was on the card and just took Pablo's name out.
Yeah. Go find that out, Pablo.
Let's hear from Amin, though, on what he thought. And this is going to be insulting to Nick because his wife is his stylist and she's very good at it.
Oh, I f***ing dare him.
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Chapter 8: What insights does Nick provide about Chet Holmgren's future with the Thunder?
Not interested in either of your guys opinions on it. And I'm surprised to mean, I'm glad you guys showed me the picture because I did see him in person, but the eyes were so glassy in cocktail hour, I didn't know if he knew what color I was wearing. I will say this.
um i was prepared and i assumed i would be handing pablo or what's that what's skullduggery matt sullivan the guy who does all the work i thought i'd probably give him the actual me but regardless um i don't know that uh because i saw the group photo after that was a small that's a small theater Fox, you know, First Things First, which was nominated, we had five tickets total.
Meadowlark brought 30 folks to watch, I guess they did see history of the first time ever a show has been double nominated in the same category, and yet shockingly, the prestige journalism actually won. Who could have seen that one? You mean E60? Wait till next year. Wait till the Emmys get a hold of the O's episode. Oh, man. Could be triple nominated. Good to see you guys.
That suit, by the way, I got married in so you all can go to hell.
See you later, Nick. Nice to see you, as always, sir. Don Levitard.
I want to address Tony and all men who would wear that shirt in public.
Stugatz. Don't do it. This is the Don Levitard Show with the Stugatz. Sid Rosenberg liked the suit.
Yeah, I was going to... So did Crown Royal. I have Sid Rosenberg up in queue so that you guys can see. I was going to play it for Nick, but he wanted his dismount. He wanted to get out of here the way that he wanted to get out of here. But I was left reeling by the realization that this is the color that Sid Rosenberg was going for.
I do believe that Mike Ryan has this correct when he says that Sid Rosenberg... is trying to get to maximum tan, and that's the reason that he is the color that he is here. Can you guys put that on the screen for me so that we can see the shade of purple that Sid Rosenberg is? That is ridiculous.
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