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The Zach Lowe Show

NBA Finals Are Here! All the Info You Need from Podcast Row

03 Jun 2026

Transcription

Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.

Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?

6.224 - 9.511 Zach Lowe

Coming up on the Zach Lowe Show, not your normal episode.

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Chapter 2: What insights does Gary Payton share about the NBA Finals?

9.531 - 25.543 Zach Lowe

We are here in San Antonio at the NBA Finals. We're at the arena. They're setting up the t-shirts. The Jumbotron is on the court. I don't think it's supposed to be there. And we have a potpourri of guests for the NBA's first ever podcast row. Their answers to the NFL's radio row at the Super Bowl, I guess.

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25.923 - 42.07 Zach Lowe

We got Ian Begley and Tim Legler to go X's and O's on the finals and the Knicks and all the things about this series. And then we have some luminaries from NBA past, present, and future talking about this series, telling stories about their time in the NBA, their times in the finals.

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42.05 - 60.16 Zach Lowe

Gary Payton, legendary Seattle supersonic and champion with the Miami Heat, has some good stories about that and the Lakers. We've got Big Shot Bob, Big Shot Robert. He's going to tell us which one is actually right. Robert Ori is here to tell a lot of great stories and pick this series. And then DeAndre Jordan and I, we have a ceremonial...

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60.14 - 77.924 Zach Lowe

burying of a certain hatchet that we will get into, and then we talk about DJ's career, the Clippers, the Nets, the Knicks, or Kyrie, Katie, and DJ really going to go to the Knicks? He answers that question. We get into all of that and more, including deep dives on this incredible Knicks-Spurs finals with Tim Legler, Eddie, and Begley.

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78.144 - 107.574 Zach Lowe

That's all coming up next on a special finals San Antonio podcast row edition of the Zach Lowe Show. All right, live from what they're apparently calling Podcast Row at the NBA Finals in San Antonio, one of the all-time great Hall of Famer, one of the all-time great defensive players, a formative character in my NBA upbringing, Gary Payton, how are you?

Chapter 3: How does Tim Legler analyze the Knicks' offensive expectations?

107.814 - 120.808 Gary Payton

Good, I'm good, good. How are you? You ready to be at the Finals? I'm always ready to be at the Finals. This is going to be a great situation, great moment. Two great teams, I think, young team, one young team and one in the middle, so I'm going to see what happens.

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120.788 - 136.654 Zach Lowe

Defensive player of the year, one of the best defenders of all time. The two main offensive cogs on these two teams could not be any more different than they are. If you had to switch on to Victor Wembanyama, what would you prime Gary Payton do to try to guard him on a switch?

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137.005 - 154.597 Gary Payton

Well, what I would do is I would just try to keep him on the perimeter. You got to keep him out there and try to make him dribble the basketball and not try to steal the basketball, make him uncomfortable. You know, and I think that until he gets a bigger size and stature and can push me down, I would be underneath him a lot.

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154.617 - 160.768 Gary Payton

I would try to make him uncomfortable and try to steal the ball, hit at his hands and do things like that and just keep him on the perimeter.

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160.934 - 175.915 Zach Lowe

Was there anyone on the flip side who, from your time, was like, if anybody, most similar to Jalen Brunson in terms of trying to time up their footwork, old school game? I mean, you guarded a lot of great guards. You had playoff battles with John Stockton over and over again.

Chapter 4: What are Robert Horry's thoughts on his Hall of Fame candidacy?

175.935 - 178.939 Zach Lowe

Is there anyone that Brunson reminds you of? And what are the challenges of guarding him?

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178.979 - 198.878 Gary Payton

You know, John was the best to me ever. But I think Nick Vaginasso reminds me of Bronson a lot, you know, because they both are lefties. They both can get to where they want to get and score the basketball. But Bronson is in a different era. We can hand check. We can be more physical, you know, and then it wasn't a lot of doubling. It wasn't a lot of zones.

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199.298 - 210.988 Gary Payton

We could take him back on the other end of the floor and punish him and make him play defense instead of just letting us be on offense and be always the target. You got to have him to be the target and wear him down a little bit.

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Chapter 5: What challenges does Ian Begley see for the Knicks with Tom Thibodeau?

210.968 - 229.798 Gary Payton

And that's what I would have did to him. And that's why it was great for me. Because when somebody went at me, I can go back at them. I can call my own playing ice on him and then make him play. And then if people come and I can see them, I can dish it and get it to my guys. But I think Nick Van Essel was just like Bronson. They can go, they can shoot the mid-range.

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229.858 - 242.805 Gary Payton

I think Nick shoot the three a little bit better than he did. But I'm just saying he is right there. His mid-range game, once he gets you into that spot, he's just like Shea. They're deadly from the free throw line in.

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Chapter 6: How does DeAndre Jordan clarify his infamous kidnapping story?

243.426 - 247.194 Gary Payton

But, you know, a lot of pushing off has been happening in this game.

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247.234 - 251.944 Zach Lowe

Yeah, what do you think of that? What do you think of the pushing off? That's been a big debate in the last six months.

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251.924 - 269.967 Gary Payton

I don't like it because it doesn't give a defender an opportunity to guard anybody. It always gives the offensive player the most advantage when he's pushing off and putting you off balance. I think you should let them play with their heads up. We wouldn't have let that happen because I think of our hand-checking rule and we would have kept our hand on their hip.

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Chapter 7: What predictions do the guests make about the NBA Finals series length?

269.947 - 284.285 Gary Payton

And if they would have pushed off, they can see us getting pushed off in the upper chest. But they're seeing now when you go down and you roll your shoulder and extend, that's a legal play. But I don't think it's good for the defender because he can't guard that.

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284.485 - 287.589 Zach Lowe

All right, let's talk finals, playoff history, Gary Payton.

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Chapter 8: What are the historical playoff moments discussed by the guests?

288.13 - 308.312 Zach Lowe

96 finals, Sonics, Bulls. The famous stories at midway through the series. I think you're already down 3-0 maybe. 3-0. you go to George Carr and you're like, hey, man, it's about freaking time. Just let me guard Michael. So what do you remember from that conversation? And had you asked already before the series even started, like, no, man, game one, put me on Michael Jordan. I want to do it.

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308.853 - 335.688 Gary Payton

Yeah, that was it. I had one defensive player of the year, and he was an offensive guy at the NBA. So I had – I wanted to do that, but I was hurt. And he didn't want to – he didn't want to – to exalt me, exert me, and then have no offense for us because I was our offensive guy too with Sean. So he didn't want to do that and wear me down. So when the time came in game three, I told him no.

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336.088 - 350.709 Gary Payton

I went in there right when we were on a plane and I said, I don't care what you say, I'm guarding from now on. No matter who you assign me to, I'm taking him. I'm taking him. I don't care who you assign him to, I'm taking him. And then it changed for us in the next two games, and we made it a series.

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351.53 - 360.282 Gary Payton

But, you know, I should have guarded him in game one, and hopefully I wish it would have been different, but we can't go in a time capsule and go back.

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360.262 - 366.472 Zach Lowe

Are you still in touch with Sean Kemp? Like I can close my eyes and see the left side pick and roll Gary Payton, Sean Kemp. Are you guys still like close?

366.492 - 386.303 Gary Payton

Every day. I talk to him every day. I talk to him every day. It's about my phone call with him in a minute. So I talked to him yesterday. I talked to Sean, him and Detlef. I talked to a lot. We're best friends. Like I go see Detlef in Palm Springs where he's at right now. And Sean is in Seattle. I'll see Sean Friday. We're together Friday in Seattle. So I'm with them too a lot.

386.553 - 390.278 Zach Lowe

So the city of Seattle still means something to you personally.

390.358 - 390.839 Gary Payton

Absolutely.

390.899 - 393.803 Zach Lowe

When that team comes back, do you want to be involved with it somehow?

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