LeBron calls Kyrie ‘most gifted player NBA has ever seen,’ Mavs-Celtics preview, WNBA | THE HERD

LeBron calls Kyrie ‘most gifted player NBA has ever seen,’ Mavs-Celtics preview, WNBA | THE HERD

covering the NBA for over 30 years Rachel Nichols and Rachel I’m just going to say this I’ve never taken my wife to Paris I was just seeing pictures I just watched a great documentary on Netflix about an art thief in Paris and the whole time I’m like he’s stealing stuff and I’m thinking I got to take my wife there and Rachel was nice enough to say I’ve had the great pleasure of going there and so you said it was the best city you’ve ever been to best city in the world I’ve been to many many International cities if you have a chance to go to Paris not in the summer because it’s very hot and many things are closed but in the spring and fall it is fabulous and there’s you know cheap flights at those times of year and I’m telling you it’s the place to be favorite city in the world it’s beautiful yeah people may raise their eyebrows but I think within the industry if you ask players that’s viewed as not hyperbolic yeah I mean it’s so interesting because so many players are in awe of him and speak so highly of him but he had chances to go to many of those teams he was a free agent just last summer I mean that’s what’s interesting about LeBron talking about this it’s not like Kyrie was unattainable right he was a free agent this past summer and interested remember he showed up at a Lakers game before he signed his maver contract I mean he was expressing his interest and the Lakers definitely could have made the cap space for him and could have had the cap space to outbid what Dallas ultimately paid him Dallas didn’t pay him the max money in years so it was all there and the Lakers elected not to do it and I don’t know the conversations that went on between LeBron and management but they elected not to do it so when he sits there and says I wish I was his running mate that could have happened just as recently as nine months ago but it didn’t happen and it was interesting in Boston just a few minutes ago uh Kyrie was asked about this quote from LeBron and he said he said he sure knows how to stir things up and get people talking about us which we know LeBron is the master of that um I I would argue Rachel I I let’s let’s pretend I’m jeie bus and Rob pinka for a second and I I will defend the Lakers on Kyrie yeah because I said when Dallas made the move they had to okay they moved off Brunson y Jaylen immediately goes to New York and starts crushing it’s a bad look for Mark Cuban yeah it’s like okay we sat here for years on Dirk and couldn’t get him a guy so I thought of the time you got to take a big swing yeah but the Lakers I could see Genie saying listen we already feel a little owned by LeBron because of his contract we saw what Kyrie did in Brooklyn where they felt trapped I could see the Lakers and I think they’re prudent in saying listen we’ve got a guy that we love in Lebron but there’s some maintenance here we’re not going to do that with two so I I can Commerce is funny that way what’s good for the Mavericks I don’t think was great for the Lakers I can see themselves talking themselves out of it I can you’re 100% right that I can see them talking themselves out of it I think it was less about would he be better for the Lakers of the Mavericks he was a big risk last summer it didn’t quite work out in Dallas when he first got there anybody else want him besides the map no I mean it was really there wasn’t a ton of Interest around the league obviously he showed up at the Lakers game he and LeBron had been talking but it was a big risk and it was a big risk for the Mavericks too it was a risk for them to give up as much as they did to get him when he had an open contract for that summer and it was a risk for them to resign them and they wanted to take that leap and the Lakers did not want to take that leap and there is no question it was not an easy decision but the Dallas Mavericks even before he got there had faith that between playing with Luca and Jason kid who had such a great relationship with him already that they could turn Kyrie back into the exceptional player that he had been before and it was just great timing because Kyrie has done a lot of work personally to personal growth to make him a better teammate and just sort of functioning at his highest level and he again he talked about that today too is in terms of his relationship with LeBron he said there’s a lot of leadership things I picked up from playing with LeBron and he said also at times in series it really sticks with him the way LeBron would just sort of demand excellence and say this is it you know whether we’re losing we’re winning this is the time you got to go for the jugular and there’s sort of the famous story of LeBron and game seven of the 2016 finals halftime just going at everyone and being like this is the got to be the greatest half of basketball of your life and I think that the Mavericks could certainly find themselves in one of those kinds of positions throughout this series and it’ll be interesting if Kyrie is using LeBron’s sort of tactics to help be a leader and rile up his team so that connection is still there and it was impressive hearing him talk about it today but he’s a Maverick now and you know he signed the contract they’re not getting rid of him he’s really happy in Dallas he and Luca have formed such a great Bond so LeBron may want him but I don’t think he’s available to the Lakers now he was he was last summer yeah so I had said um I think it was on May 15th the day I said it I think it was around there that I said there’s been 10 players we have a Graphic for it there’s been 10 players in my life that have changed the way we view basketball Kareem had the Unstoppable shot magic the uh unicorn point guard Larry Bird the best shooter in the league at forward Steph Curry changing range Shack size and power and I said yic and Luca are probably not there yet because they don’t have multiple titles but yic and Luca are doing things that I’ve never seen yic is literally the most skilled big of all time yeah he makes he makes Shaq feel unskilled he makes AEM feel less skilled um and Luca is offensively everybody talks about acceleration right he de accelerates he literally changed the way offensive players view the game and I don’t think Luca and joic maybe it’s fair to put him into this group yet but I think they’re on the precipice they’re really close to you does what is a title cement for Luca oh I mean I think that title would be just furthering the expectation we already had for him we all when he got into the league we knew how good he was he had won the Euro basket title he had won the MVP of the finals as an 18 old kid playing against grown men and it was just obvious that this kid had all of the intangibles so I think it will be fulfilling an expectation that we had of him and really bringing him to that upper echelon Next Level he’s never won an MVP right so I think that puts him in that conversation I think you know there’s just a lot of things that he could get catapulted up to from stop being the guy who just has so much potential to being one of the guys yeah you know I I there’s something I loved there there is something about European players so the European as you know you’ve traveled there more than I have the European culture is different the you have the French school system they drink wine with their parents earlier it’s a more liberal more smokers kids grow up faster it’s just different than our culture uh the train system you know everybody speaks multiple languages these European guys crack me up like I mean it just wouldn’t shock me at all if I went on a vacation uh somewhere anywhere overseas and I walked into a place and and lucu was there having a bar and a smoke yes and it’s like there is an Elegance um and a you’re your ability in Europe unless maybe you’re a soccer Prodigy then it’s different but there is something about European players not that they’re aloof but um there’s an elegant sort of they really do they never ever fully this isn’t a criticism yeah they’re Europeans they’re proud of it yeah that’s the Home Country they come here they embrace it they love America but they but then they go home and they go home and they cherish it yes and I just I’m fascinated by it they Embrace what we offer they’ll talk to the crowd they’ll play it up I don’t know if our our domestic soccer players feel like that there they’re not as dominant right there’s something about joic and there’s something about Luca I don’t know how to explain it I love it though I think they’re from smaller countries where that national pride is more communal right I think a lot of people have pride in being Americans I’m not saying that but America is so diverse and so huge that you don’t necessarily feel a great connection to every single person in this country right and I think in a smaller country with more of a monoculture that they feel a greater connection to the whole than maybe we have the opportunity to do and you can see it Luka was asked just this morning morning he’s had that bad knee he’s played almost a 100 games straight and he said oh are you going to play for team Slovenia in the Olympics and he said if I can I want to that that there is that you you see it with jokic if I can I want to and that feeling I think makes them really good teammates because they are used to being part of these like Incredibly Close national teams right we we’ve seen it you know with the French team over time we’ve seen it with the Spanish team we’ve seen and the argentinians right we’ve seen it with so many guys uh so I think when they get here that transfers they know how to be part of a group in a way that’s really great and they are so resilient to crows that’s another thing luuka talked about today because you know the Boston Garden is going to be insane it’s going to be insane I’ve seen interational basketball games where there’s like fireworks indoors oh there there are fights that break out where they have to clear the arena while the guys are playing I mean it is incredible and in a place like Boston Garden you can have players who it’s not that they get so overcome by what people are saying to them it’s they can’t hear anymore right and they’re scattered because they can’t communicate the way they want to and then they get off their game in general and Luca is never going to do that he was talking this morning about a game in Greece where it’s just he’s like that’s the craziest I’ve ever seen it he’s like nothing here in America so they they just come from a different culture and they’re used to different things and you see those skill sets in the NBA so I I I want to finish it up with the WNBA question because I I I said this at the top of the show that I hope the WNBA is more like country music uh than soccer American soccer fans country music sort of they just Embrace everybody I loved you calling out the ethens of the world that was perfect the perfect sorry to Ethan but yes whereas our American soccer fans sometimes want to pass code if you want to be part of the club yes and I think the WNBA is in an acceleration um stage and I think they should put their arms around the casuals um but it’s different like you’re loyal nobody paid attention do you she comes in now everybody pays attention there’s a little animosity um you’ve covered it and watched it more than I have um where where are I I kind of call I I said when Phil Knight did his Manifesto to start Nike it’s kind of legendary number nine and I’ve used this at my company the volume I’ve told people number nine is it’s not going to be pretty right stuff gets messy when you’re exploding and growing of course and I think they’re a bit in a messy stage now but I but I think it’s fun we have antagonist Pro I think the I think the girls get it I don’t think we do that that’s what to say I think the messiness is being projected onto them frankly I think they’re fine I I think some of the messiness I do think look there’s some people on television some men some women who absolutely know how to talk about this league and have been great and then there are some people who have been commentating on them that basically want to turn all of this into an episode of the Kardashians they call them jealous they call them Petty for doing things that if you’re a man you’re hard-nosed and competitive and flagrant fouls that’s the you need to do that once in a while that’s part of the game and then now it’s you know so I I I don’t think there are some people out there who have done them a lot of favors but there are some people who have and I really appreciate what these women are doing and going putting themselves out there under this kind of crazy microscope they have you know it’s interesting with Caitlyn Clark and Angel ree Angel pointed out the other day you can’t have a rivalry that helps the game without me you have to have the villain you have to have the bad guy and we’ve seen that at a couple points in the NBA game if you look at what happened with the bad boys and Bill lambir and Michael Jordan it was an ERA Michael Jordan was the Mover he no one’s going to argue he was the most popular guy Caitlyn Clark is the most popular in that league right now so no one’s arguing about which side has more fans but he couldn’t have built his Legend without the bad boys without all of that and that is where Angel ree sort of what she was talking about essential yes to Michael Jordan’s toughness resilience and iconic stature they were essential to it and and a different comparison I’m not comparing them to bird and magic in terms of their playing style and and maybe Caitlyn will shoot up to have an amazing career and Angel won’t be quite a bird or magic level player but whether that happens or not I think you can compare bird and Magic to where they got the NBA off of tape delay right they popularized the NBA in a way that had never been popularized before and suddenly was on TV in front of us live people can’t believe that the NBA Finals used to be on tape delay listen Caitlyn’s getting him on private Jets now that’s what they’re literally now moving off commercial she’s getting them on TV in places I mean that’s the most important thing is she’s getting them on ABC and and on so many of the sort of big really Premier spots people forget golf needed a catalyst our oldest sport um magic and bird the NBA needed a catalyst UFC Conor McGregor it’s okay yes this is not a criticism everything outside of the NFL and maybe baseball because of its lower in history has needed a catalyst and it’s important none of this happened overnight that’s right it’s not like she showed up and they were like oh my God Charter Jets we never thought of it this has been a negotiation point between the Players Association and the league they were already in the process of setting it up same thing with the broadcast stuff I mean she didn’t change what network these these women are on but she changed the positioning they got beforehand the amount of hype going into it and the ratings so I just think it’s okay to talk about both it’s okay to talk about K Caitlyn Clark being the Mover in all of this and it’s okay to talk about the fact that angel Reese and some of the foils that Caitlyn has had since she came into the league are also essential to this process because we love rivalries right we love athletic rivalries and I’m not talking about cat fights I’m talking about sports we love rivalries in sports and we’re getting that with Caitlyn Clark and I think it’s so fun if you pitched a script in Hollywood and didn’t have a villain they would create one yes that’s called character development that’s what they’re doing yes uh so great to see you again great to see Rachel hi everybody it’s me Uncle Colin subscribe here to get the latest from the herd including exclusive behind the scenes videos and more wherever you may be however you may be watching thanks again for making us part of your day

Rachel Nichols joins Colin Cowherd to react to LeBron James calling Kyrie Irving the “most gifted player the NBA has ever seen.” She also predicts whether Luka Dončić or Jayson Tatum will win their first NBA Finals title and previews the Dallas Mavericks-Boston Celtics battle. She then discusses how Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark have impacted the WNBA, especially with their growing rivalry.

#TheHerd #NBA #LeBronJames

SUBSCRIBE to get all the latest content from The Herd: http://foxs.pt/SubscribeTHEHERD
The all-new FOX Sports App, built for the modern sports fan: https://tinyurl.com/y4uouolb

►Watch the latest content from The Herd: http://foxs.pt/LatestOnTheHerd

▶The Carton Show’s YouTube channel: http://sprtspod.fox/SubscribeCartonShow
▶First Things First’s YouTube channel: http://foxs.pt/SubscribeFIRSTTHINGSFIRST
►UNDISPUTED’s YouTube channel: http://foxs.pt/SubscribeUNDISPUTED
►Speak’s YouTube channel: http://sprtspod.fox/SUBSCRIBEtoSpeak
►The Skip Bayless Show YouTube channel: http://sprtspod.fox/SUBSCRIBESkipShow
►What’s Wright? with Nick Wright YouTube channel: http://sprtspod.fox/whatswright/youtube

See more from THE HERD: http://foxs.pt/THEHERDFoxSports
Like THE HERD on Facebook: http://foxs.pt/THEHERDFacebook
Follow THE HERD on Twitter: http://foxs.pt/THEHERDTwitter
Follow THE HERD on Instagram: http://foxs.pt/THEHERDInstagram
Follow Colin Cowherd on Twitter: http://foxs.pt/ColinCowherdTwitter

About The Herd with Colin Cowherd:
The Herd with Colin Cowherd is a three-hour sports television and radio show on FS1 and iHeartRadio. Every day, Colin will give you his authentic, unfiltered opinion on the day’s biggest sports topics.

LeBron calls Kyrie ‘most gifted player NBA has ever seen,’ Mavs-Celtics preview, WNBA | THE HERD

The Herd with Colin Cowherd
https://www.youtube.com/c/colincowherd