NBA podcasts - favorites?

[ono]

The worst by far is Truehoop by ESPN. There's a really annoying bell that chimes every minute and one of the hosts Mum is always on the line. Discussion very rarely seems to be about basketball. I just can't get my head round it.

[Dupp]

road trippin` with rj & channing

Just started listening to this. Its really good.


For those who haven't heard it id recommend listening to episode 18. Tim Duncan is the guest and its pretty awesome.

https://www.uninterrupted.com/watch/abQiHKWp/episode-18-tim-duncan

[NoStatsGuy]

easily jalen and jacoby. sometimes i like me some zach lowe.

i think bill simmons is funny aswell at time

[NormanDale]

I may be unusual in this, but I generally don't like podcasts where they interview current players, coaches, and GMs. They usually aren't that interesting as people, and they are basically prohibited from saying anything fun or interesting about the league. I much prefer guests like Van Gundy (on Lowe or Simmons or elsewhere), or when friends banter like Jalen and Jacoby or Simmons and House.

That's why Road Trippin's biggest strength is their avoidance of NBA "analysis." That would be super boring. As it is, they are sometimes funny, though I get tired of it pretty easily. The Kyrie flat-earth episode was also just a horrifying reflection of the American educational system--and not even because of Kyrie. There were 5 people on there talking about science, and none of them had a clue about the basics of how the scientific process works. The Bill Walton episode was great, though. That guy is batsh*t crazy, and while RJ is clearly used to it, Allie kept trying to ask questions that were completely (and hilariously) ignored.

[AgentDRL]

I listened to the Bill Simmons podcast recently with Michael Rapaport. Every other word from Rapaport was an f-bomb ! And he has some issue with one of Bill's colleagues (or former colleagues) who's name escapes me. It was a quite a funny podcast! Enjoyed the ones where Kevin Durant was a guest on them as well

But yes, my favorites are:

Bill Simmons
Jalen & Jacoby
The Lowe Post
The Vertical with Woj
The Ringer NBA Show
Dunc'd On

I have given Chris Broussard's In The Zone a listen on occasion, and I'm not sure about that one. I'm not a fan of his interview style I think. The last one I listened to is when he had Eddie House on.

But I'll definitely listen to some of the other suggestions in this thread.

[rich316]

I've been listening to Simmons forever, and I think he's awesome. I don't understand the hate people have for him - he roots for his teams but he's extremely realistic about their flaws. He predicted that the Celtics would lose to the Wizards. He has the great insights of someone who has been obsessed with ball his entire life and is extremely passionate about it, and doesn't rely too much in stats. He was a mega Lebron hater at first but has come to respect him.

I don't enjoy shows where they just give you a laundy list of stats, like Dunc'd On can be.

I also like NBA A to Z - Sam Amick is great.

Jalen and Jacoby was the best in the biz for a few years, but I feel they have fallen off. They spend too much time on celebrity gossip, sound effects, and congratulating themselves - it was innovative when it started, but they have gone overboard with it. Their sports insights seem very shallow these days too.

Woj seems like a tool, but his guests are incredible so it's worth checking him out too.

[AgentDRL]

I've been listening to Simmons forever, and I think he's awesome. I don't understand the hate people have for him - he roots for his teams but he's extremely realistic about their flaws. He predicted that the Celtics would lose to the Wizards. He has the great insights of someone who has been obsessed with ball his entire life and is extremely passionate about it, and doesn't rely too much in stats. He was a mega Lebron hater at first but has come to respect him.

I don't enjoy shows where they just give you a laundy list of stats, like Dunc'd On can be.

I also like NBA A to Z - Sam Amick is great.

Jalen and Jacoby was the best in the biz for a few years, but I feel they have fallen off. They spend too much time on celebrity gossip, sound effects, and congratulating themselves - it was innovative when it started, but they have gone overboard with it. Their sports insights seem very shallow these days too.

Woj seems like a tool, but his guests are incredible so it's worth checking him out too.

Definitely see what you mean about Dunc'd On - it's very statistics heavy. Nate Duncan and the guy he does it with are very knowledgeable about the salary cap, it does amaze me. It's far more complicated than I gave it credit for.

Yeah, what I liked about Jalen & Jacoby initially was the 'behind the curtain' look at NBA life that Jalen used to give. He doesn't do this as much anymore, but I suppose you can only go so far with it. And yes, the sound effects are getting slightly OTT for me now, but I can tolerate them. It'll be interesting to know what they'll talk about once the Finals is over. Is Jalen going to tell Jacoby to 'Keep it Moving' when Jacobi asks an NBA question, then state that "We don't force basketball topics on this show when a meaningful ball isn't bounced until October/November" (like he does when an NFL topic is brought up during this offseason)? If the podcast turns into an NFL show for 6/7 weeks before the NBA season starts, I think I'll respectfully give it a miss. But completely get they have followers of their podcast that are NFL fans also.

With regards to Woj, I found the podcast he did with Jerry Krause brilliant. But to be fair, the guests he has on are very good in my opinion.

[RightToCensor]

For all the Bill Simmons fans, there's a YouTube channel putting out most (if not all) of the B.S. Report episodes from 2008 to 2011.

https://youtube.com/channel/UCyEcO6ik7uzW_rWhCYgs2gw/videos?feature=hovercard

Just to post something FInals related, here's his podcast with Dan Lebatard after the 2011 Finals:

Watch on YouTube