Speaker
J. Kyle Mann
Appearances over time
1 episodes
Episodes
1
Podcasts
Quotes & moments
Among Division I players who averaged over 20 paint touches per game this season, AJ DeBonza ranked 3rd in downhill paint touch scoring efficiency, behind only Ibuka Okorie (#1) and Darius Aikufu (#2).
J. Kyle Mann projected that Darren Peterson, taken 2nd overall by Utah, could average over 20 points per game in his rookie NBA season.
Keaton Waggler shot 40% on pull-up threes in pick-and-roll situations in college, a key data point supporting his fit as a shot-creator for the Clippers.
Sacramento's pick Darius Acuff shot 44% from three as a college freshman on tough volume — Joe House comp's him to Damian Lillard. Bill Simmons sees a 25-and-7 guy by age 25. Kyle Mann wants to temper expectations as a third star, but nobody's hiding their excitement.
Utah takes Darren Peterson at #2 and suddenly has a starting five that could threaten the playoff picture. With Triple J, Kessler, Markkanen, Peterson, and Ace Bailey as a sixth man, Kyle Mann says they're 'way more talented' than Phoenix right now. The Jazz could be a 6-seed.
Kyle Mann called his shot: he mocked Jaden Quaintance to the Spurs in May just on fit, before any intel. If healthy, Quaintance's defensive dominance at Arizona State as a 17-year-old could make him a retroactive top-5 pick. For a Spurs team that needs size next to Wemby, he's perfect.
Analytics and improved scouting have essentially eliminated bad lottery picks. Bill Simmons and Kyle Mann note that the first 12 players taken were universally the right calls — no Kendrick Browns, no wild swings. The draft has become too competent to be fun.
Bill Simmons argues fewer than 10 players since LeBron have prompted the 'kind of a LeBron body' comparison — and AJ DeBonza is one of them. At 6'9" with paint-touch efficiency ranking 3rd among all Division I players, the physical upside is undeniable.
Washington drafted AJ DeBonza first overall and then signed Trae Young to $212M the same week. Joe House challenges anyone to name one teammate Trae ever made better. Bill Simmons points out no team was willing to trade for him — the Wizards found the sucker at the poker table.
Chicago lands Caleb Wilson at 4 and Dalen Swain at 15 — a draft night that Kyle Mann says might be the overall winner when the dust settles. Simmons declares Wilson the first legitimate Bulls star since Derrick Rose, and Swain has the upside of being swappable for Josh Giddy or better.
After a 46-point game versus Purdue and 40% pull-up threes in pick-and-roll, Waggler walks into LA. Simmons compares the trajectory to Shay Gilgeous-Alexander at Kentucky — the pieces are visible even if the MVP version isn't. Kyle Mann says the upside past pick 5 basically narrows to 2 or 3 guys, and Waggler is one of them.
OKC takes Maura at 12, and Kyle Mann draws a direct line from Wemby's dominance in the West to teams scrambling for big men who can fight back. Maura instantly becomes one of OKC's best passers and provides Hartenstein insurance. It's the 2026 version of the mid-'80s center arms race.
Dallas picks Mures Johnson at 9 over the higher-ceiling swing, and it's the right call. Simmons's analysis of the last 5 drafts shows that 'playoff guys' — switchers, energy players, winners — consistently outperform the upside rolls. The era of being tantalized by Kevin Knox types is over.
Memphis picks Boozer at 3 and the draft party erupted — the city wanted him. Kyle Mann argues he's a modernized version of his father combined with Kevin Love-level intangibles: can space the floor, pass to role players, and bring the grit-and-grind identity into the analytics era.
Bill Simmons breaks down his World Cup MVPs: Messi with 5 goals in 2 games has the highest approval rate of any athlete alive, Team USA is a legitimate contender for the first time since 2010, and five African nations making the final 32 is a record. The France-Germany round-of-16 matchup is the headline.
Simmons argues the broadcast should drop to the first 14 picks with 10 minutes between each, cutting the family living-room interviews that nobody watching the draft actually wants. While real basketball — trade rumors, draft mechanics — is happening, they're asking 'what does this moment mean to you?'
Joe House called the Giannis trade 'a rare lose-lose' — Miami moves from the play-in 10th team to maybe the 5th or 6th seed in the East, while Milwaukee dumped a legend for picks and a now-famous Hugo Gonzalez sub-plot. Simmons points out the Bucks should have traded Giannis a full year earlier.
If you asked who's looked most like young Kobe over the last 30 years, Darren Peterson is the answer. But Peterson reportedly told his coach he wasn't playing 15 minutes before a big game. The talent is there. The question marks are real.
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