Podbit · PBD Podcast
Stephen A. Smith asked what NBA team wins being led by three white guys. Adam flipped the question: the real story is that the top 10 NBA players are now mostly non-American — Giannis from Greece, Luka from Slovenia, Jokic from Serbia. The NBA globalization nobody's talking about.
Where this was said
At 1:38:20 · chapter starts 1:34:00
Patrick plays a clip of Stephen A. Smith questioning whether the Los Angeles Lakers can compete with three white players as their top stars, leading to spirited reactions around the table. Vinnie, who identifies as an Italian-American, objects to the framing and asks what would happen if a white commentator said the equivalent. Patrick counters with a Guardian article documenting that Mark Cuban's Dallas Mavericks — statistically the whitest team in the NBA across his ownership — won the 2011 championship by beating LeBron James's Miami Heat, with Dirk Nowitzki delivering 48 points in the decisive game. Tom identifies Emmanuel Acho as the NFL veteran turned media pundit behind the 'WNBA doesn't need Caitlin Clark anymore' argument that comes up in the next segment, providing biographical background on his brief NFL career. Adam delivers the episode's sharpest reframe: the black-white NBA debate is a distraction from the fact that the top tier of the league is now dominated by non-American players — Giannis from Greece, Luka Dončić from Slovenia, Nikola Jokić from Serbia, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander from Canada, and Victor Wembanyama from France — representing a globalization of basketball talent that no one is talking about. The crew rounds out with a spirited discussion about Jaylen Brown's trade to the Philadelphia 76ers for a declining Paul George.
During Mark Cuban's ownership, the Dallas Mavericks had at least 3 white players on their active roster in 15 out of 21 seasons — and won the 2011 NBA championship with that roster composition.
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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