Podbit · The Bill Simmons Podcast
The late-'80s Pistons traded Adrian Dantley because Dennis Rodman needed more minutes — and they won two titles after. That's the historical parallel for San Antonio: Fox is Dantley, Harper is Rodman. Someone will eventually have to move.
Where this was said
At 1:11:01 · chapter starts 24:46
Joshua from the mailbag proposes an NBA brothers 2-on-2 All-Star tournament, and Simmons works through eight pairings: the Thompsons, the Harpers (Dylan and Ron Jr.), the Wagners, the Williams brothers, the Holidays, the Wallaces, and the Currys. Simmons likes the Thompson twins at minus-140 in the finals against the Harpers. Lowe loves the concept but would make Giannis choose only one brother, creating generational family trauma in the process. The Stutz email raises the Luka-Brunson Mavericks as a rival to OKC's Durant-Westbrook-Harden team as the century's biggest 'what if we kept this together' tragedy; both hosts go with OKC because all three won MVPs and made the Finals together, providing proof of concept. The Dantley-Rodman parallel emerges as the best historical frame for Fox and Harper in San Antonio: eventually the younger player's minutes demand forces a trade, and Detroit won two titles afterward. The Fox contract discussion ($221M for 4 years) lands it as a top-5 worst contract candidate given signs of declining athleticism.
Running all eight recent champions through a simulated bracket, Simmons and Lowe both independently landed on the 2023 Nuggets as the winner. Jokic's playoff heater — roughly 31-14-11 with 50% from three — makes that team nearly impossible to beat.
Nikola Jokic's 2023 playoff run featured approximately 31 points, 14 rebounds, and 11 assists per game while shooting around 50% from three.
In the 2026 playoffs, OKC needed 7 games to beat a Denver team missing Michael Porter Jr. (one arm) and Aaron Gordon (one leg), raising questions about their postseason dominance.
In Simmons and Lowe's simulated tournament of the last 8 NBA champions, the 2023 Nuggets defeated the 2026 Knicks in the finals, making them the best team of the group.
Denver won't trade Jokic, but if they did, Utah's package — headlined by the No. 2 pick and Markkanen — is the only offer close to sufficient. OKC and Houston have interesting assets too, but the Jazz are the one team that could make a true 'screw you' offer.
16-3 in the playoffs. Greatest point differential in playoff history. A 53-year drought ended. The Wembenyama collision. The greatest comeback in NBA history. Zach Lowe makes the case: this is a maximum-prestige championship.
The 2026 Knicks went 16-3 in the playoffs, posting the greatest point differential in playoff history and ending a 53-year title drought.
Thomas's wife deferred her CrossFit career — she's in the global top 1% of athletes — to put him through law school debt-free. He wants her to chase the dream now; she wants the emergency fund and house down payment first. On a $200K lawyer income with no debt, the opportunity cost is just a few months of slower saving.
Underground calisthenics battles are exactly like UFC meets a rap battle — 150 people crowded around a circle, fighters walking out with masks and chains, nicknames like 'Extra Money' vs 'Calisthenics the Prince,' and people throwing money and betting. The battle set: 100 burpees, 50 muscle-ups, 75 dips, 75 squats with a 65-pound dumbbell. This is the next big spectator sport.
Rico Verhoeven controlled the undisputed heavyweight boxing champion for approximately 10 rounds — and had his appeal upheld when officials admitted the fight was stopped after the bell. The result was never overturned. Rogan calls it either incompetence or corruption, and argues the money behind Usyk made an upset politically inconvenient.
Rogan lays out a blunt case: boxing's 3-judge system is structurally broken, and the judges know who the promoter wants to win. Glory's 5-judge format is the right model. Corruption doesn't have to be conscious — just knowing Usyk is the cash cow is enough to tilt the scales.
With the Usyk-Wilder fight stalling and Fury-Joshua coming too late, the real fight the world wants is the rematch. Rico is a free agent. Usyk vacated his belts. The story is unfinished and both Rogan and Rico know it. His Excellency Turki Alasheikh already called for it ringside — the question is money.
Rico texted Jason Statham during the Canelo-Crawford fight. Statham showed Rico's highlight videos to promoters. Two days later, Rico was on a call about fighting Anthony Joshua. When Joshua pulled out, Rico pitched Usyk himself — Undisputed vs. Undisputed. Usyk said yes in two weeks. The whole thing started with one text.
Every heavyweight who faced Usyk tried to move to the right — straight into his power hand. Rico and Peter Fury identified the obvious solution: move left, away from the left hand, and smother him with size. It sounds simple. Nobody had done it. That one adjustment was the foundation of 10 dominant rounds.
MMA fans boo when fights go to the ground. They love stand-up. Kickboxing is pure stand-up. Yet it barely exists in America while boxing and MMA are enormous. Rogan's diagnosis: no promotion machine. If the UFC got behind kickboxing the way they've built MMA, it would explode. The talent is there — the storytelling machine is not.
A nation of 17 million people gave the world Ramon Deckers, Peter Aerts, Badr Hari, Melvin Manhoef, Rob Kamen, Ernesto Hoost, and Rico Verhoeven. Rico's theory: the country is so small that every gym shares knowledge freely. In the US, you need a flight. In Holland, you drive 40 minutes and spar the national champion.
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