By: VINCENT MENDOZA / STAFF WRITER
Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March of 2020, athletes have begun inserting themselves in sports media and building their own platforms at a rate we had never seen before. Prior to 2020, retired athletes appeared in sports media but primarily on established television networks. Prominent examples include NBA on TNT with Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal, as well as Undisputed with former co-host Shannon Sharpe.
Fast forwarding to 2024, it is rare to scroll through social media without seeing a podcast featuring active and/or retired athletes. Whether that’s former NFL punter Pat McAfee, Los Angeles Clippers forward Paul George or brothers Travis and Jason Kelce, you are bound to see one of these on your X timeline or TikTok “for you” page.
On March 19, JJ Redick, retired 15-year sharpshooter and current studio analyst and color commentator for ESPN, paired up with the biggest name in basketball to shake up sports media. Redick, alongside four-time NBA Champion all-time leading scorer LeBron James released the first episode of their podcast Mind the Game on YouTube, presented by Uninterrupted and Four Three Two Productions.
According to Redick, the main mission of the podcast is to celebrate, promote and teach the game of basketball. Not only will Redick and James cover the NBA but they will also cover men’s and women’s college basketball, WNBA and FIBA.
The first episode of Mind the Game revolved around a question Redick posed to James: “What makes a great basketball player?”
From there, James went on to list four key factors that make a great player: knowing the history of the game and the greats that came before you, discipline and sacrifice, basketball IQ and a true love and passion for the game.
After which, James and Redick broke down a series of basketball plays heavily used in modern offenses. One of the examples James gave was “thumb down,” which was defined as “a half court set in which a ball-screener receives a down screen from another offensive player before initiating a pick-and-roll with a ball handler.”
Even as an avid viewer of the NBA and basketball in general, many viewers may be left completely lost due to James and Redick being on a completely different stratosphere, in terms of basketball IQ. Although viewers may not understand exactly what is being discussed, the experience of listening and absorbing what James and Redick are saying has evidently captivated their audience.
Around the 26 minute mark of the episode, Redick transitioned into a discussion surrounding competitive stamina. Redick noted that during a Los Angeles Clippers vs Lakers rivalry matchup played on February 28th in which the Lakers ended up winning, competitive stamina played a huge part in their victory.
In that game, the Lakers found themselves down 21 points early in the fourth quarter. Coming into the final quarter, James had a total of 15 points. He ended up scoring 19 points in the fourth quarter (finishing with 34) while also dishing out precise passes out of double teams, propelling the Lakers to 116-112 victory.
Redick, having broadcasted the game with ESPN, remembered saying that the energy levels and competitive drive had been lacking from the Lakers. However, once James got going and his competitive stamina had ramped up, the energy from the Los Angeles crowd and Lakers bench had also gained momentum.
The last ten minutes revolved around basketball IQ. Redick posed the question to James: “due to Steph changing the game with the three-point shot, does the game require more basketball intelligence vs when you were younger?”
James chuckled and took a different approach to answering the question. He explained that teams can get away with a lack of basketball intelligence in the regular season, first round and even second round of the playoffs. However, the outcomes of the Conference Finals and NBA Finals heavily depend on basketball intelligence.
Redick and James then went to bring up Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, who in his young, six-year career (not including this year), has racked up four Eastern Conference Finals appearances (2018, 2020-2022) and even an NBA Finals Appearance in 2022. James said that many fans, players, analysts and media personnel have extremely high expectations for Tatum but many have yet to appreciate Tatum for all that he’s accomplished in his young career.
Just one week after the launch of Mind the Game, the first episode has already totaled three million views, 160,000 likes and approximately 11,500 comments, while the channel has gained roughly 360,000 subscribers. James and Redick have received their flowers from fans and viewers across all social media platforms and posts surrounding the podcast.
Nowadays, many fans believe media outlets only discuss a limited amount of topics, such as the GOAT debate and discussions revolving around large market teams. The new style of discussion presented by the duo gives fans a break from all the usual basketball topics and allows them to learn from some of, if not the greatest minds in basketball.