Bill Simmons’s new podcast breaks down the NBA’s most important games, players, and teams, extending and reinventing his New York Times no. 1 bestselling book from 2009. Playing off the NBA’s dramatic changes during the past decade, Bill uses new commentary and fresh interviews with players and top media members to determine how the league has evolved and where it’s headed.
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The Prologue
Bill Simmons remembers the day when he learned “The Secret” of basketball from Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas, then built his New York Times no. 1 bestselling book around the premise in 2009. Only one problem: 10 years later, we’re in the middle of the player empowerment era and “The Secret” might not matter anymore.
Chapter 1
Future Hall of Famer Steve Kerr joins Bill to discuss a quarter-century of learning “The Secret” in Chicago (with Michael Jordan and Phil Jackson), San Antonio (with Tim Duncan and Gregg Popovich), and Phoenix (with Steve Nash), and then how Kerr watched it unfold during his historic run as the coach of the three-time champion Golden State Warriors. Were they the greatest team of all time? And why couldn’t it last? Does “The Secret” have a shelf life?
Chapter 2
Will we remember the 2010s for Curry or LeBron? Is Curry already the greatest shooter of all time? Has any modern superstar ever had more career-related “what ifs”? Is Curry STILL underrated? And where does he rank on Bill’s 100-player Hall of Fame Pyramid? These questions and more are broken down in our first Pyramid Podcast with The Ringer’s Ryen Russillo.
Chapter 2b
No 2010s NBA game unleashed more “what ifs” than Game 6 of the 2016 Western Conference finals. It’s impossible to figure out Stephen Curry’s phenomenal decade without hashing through everything that happened that night. So what happened? In the pilot episode of TBOB Rewatchables, recorded earlier this year on The Bill Simmons Podcast, Bill re-lives that historic night with The Ringer’s Chris Ryan and Joe House.
Chapter 3
Was Shaquille O’Neal the one Pantheon player who could have been top five if he really wanted it? Would vintage Shaq have been better or worse in 2019? Were Shaq and Kobe always destined to turn on each other? Was Kazaam better than Steel? And where does Shaq rank on Bill’s 100-player Hall of Fame Pyramid? These questions and more are broken down in our second Pyramid Podcast, with Northwestern University’s director of sports journalism, J.A. Adande.
Chapter 3b
With the Shaq/Kobe era crumbling against a hungry 2004 Pistons team, Shaquille O’Neal tried to save the day with a memorable throwback performance. It ended up being his last great Lakers game. What did that night say about Shaq, that bizarre Lakers season, and a now-underrated champion from Detroit that wouldn’t roll over? Bill breaks it down with his former ESPN colleague J.A. Adande.
Chapter 4
Is Harden the NBA’s best scorer since Michael Jordan? Was the Harden trade the NBA’s biggest “what if?” ever? How much should Harden’s playoff stumbles matter for him historically? Where does his beard rank among the NBA’s greatest facial hairstyles ever? And where does Harden rank on Bill’s 100-player Hall of Fame Pyramid? These questions and more are broken down in our third Pyramid Podcast with Bill’s former Grantland colleague, ESPN’s Zach Lowe.
Chapter 4b
Up 2-0 in the Western Finals and riding a 20-game winning streak, the seemingly invincible Spurs are demolished by Kevin Durant and a Thunder team that peaked at the perfect time. How did the series flip? Was this the best-played and most-loaded series of the decade? Was this OKC’s Apex Mountain? Why was the last minute of Game 6 so emotional? Were the 2012-14 Spurs historically underrated? And how the hell could OKC ever trade James Harden after Game 5? Bill breaks it all down with The Ringer’s Joe House.
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts / Art19 / Spotify / Google Podcasts
