点击查看原文：Why Wemby, Spurs are more interesting than you think
Why Wemby, Spurs are more interesting than you think
Columnist Mike Finger, Spurs beat reporter Jeff McDonald and sports editor Nick Talbot discuss why Victor Wembanyama says a top-six seed is his goal, why he thinks his height is boring and how the Spurs will fare in their first week.
Suggested reading:
What does Victor Wembanyama think about all the talk about his height?
What would make this season a success for the Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama?
How ‘country boy’ Keldon Johnson became keeper of the Spurs’ culture
Who are the 2025-26 Spurs? Get this season’s roster breakdown here.
Spurs sport a powerful rookie tandem in Dylan Harper, Carter Bryant
Here is the transcript of the podcast:
Mike Finger: [music fades in] From a highly secure network of top-secret locations across South Texas, this is the last preseason edition of the Spurs Insider. Season opener coming Wednesday. We’re we’re we’re getting excited. The whole group’s getting excited. The Spurs are ready to play. We’re bound for Dallas in the coming days.
I am Mike Finger, joined as always by Express News Spurs beat writer Jeff McDonald and sports editor Nick Talbot. We may have some breaking news in the middle of this pod. The listeners are going to be able to to live vicariously through us and know what it’s like to deal with Tom Orsborn and technology if he gets here in the next 30, 40 minutes. You’re going to be able to hear him log on just as we go. If not, uh, we’ll weather on but without him. But Jeff, we’re recording this on Monday afternoon. The the season opener is less than, I guess a little over 48 hours away. Is there anything to tell the listeners that we have not told them already about this big San Antonio Spur season coming up?
Jeff McDonald: You mentioned everyone’s so excited about the series, or the season starting, but Tom, T.O. is so excited, he’s not even here.
Mike Finger: Yeah. He’s fighting traffic. He was, he had some, uh, today was the last Victor Wembanyama media availability before the season opener, and he regaled the reporters as always with tales about height and, uh, and uh, just basketball and non-basketball. And somebody who works for this media company had to like write about that and put it online for the the listeners and readers to read about, and Tom is doing that. So if he can fight through traffic and join us by the end of this, he will, but uh, yeah, I think Tom’s excited.
Nick Talbot: See, yeah, he he chose to do the, uh, the posting today on the website and I am, but I care more about our podcast listeners and I know they want to hear my voice, so I I got the heck out of there and I I got to my, uh, laptop and my podcast mic and I’m here ready to go.
Mike Finger: One thing that Tom Orsborn did, uh, post, it’ll be on Expressnews.com by the time this makes its way to our listeners’ ear buds, is uh, is more height talk, Jeff. I know you’re you’re big on that. We’ve we’ve talked about on the podcast. We’ve I even uh, on on Friday night, the last preseason game, did I I made an effort to to talk to Victor about it in French even, uh, which he really enjoyed. Uh, but what’s the latest breaking news on the height of Victor Wembanyama?
Jeff McDonald: Uh, he’s he’s, uh, finally revealed his true height. No, he hasn’t. Um, what was the quote, the quote today that some…
Mike Finger: Well, first first of all, he was asked when asked how tall he actually is, he says, “I’m taller than everyone else, that’s all you need to know.” And that’s true.
Jeff McDonald: Um, but he also, uh, new friend of the podcast, Jared Weiss was asking him questions along the lines of like, are you surprised that people even care what that number is? And, um, Victor said, um, he said, um, you know, over the years, it’s become a non-subject to me because in my opinion, there’s so many more interesting things about me. And he’s right.
Mike Finger: That’s true.
Jeff McDonald: And he’s right. Like the fact that he’s 7’10 is like the one of the least interesting interesting things about him.
Mike Finger: And to continue to be armchair psychiatrist, so I was mentioning before the show, I I think that goes back to why he doesn’t want to be 7’5. Because he it sounds silly, but it’s like there are so many more interesting things about me and I can do so many other things. And if you if you just throw this freakish height out there next to me, that’s all people are going to want to see. Maybe that maybe I’m making too much of that, but I think that’s part of it. He just wants to be a regular guy who has a regular 7’3, 7’4 guy who has other interests and other abilities.
Jeff McDonald: I I get that.
Mike Finger: Just yeah, he just wants to be a 7’4 chess player.
Jeff McDonald: Yes.
Nick Talbot: Do we know what his Elo rating is? Anyone ask?
Jeff McDonald: I know, but like we can do that. I’m sure he’ll be…
Nick Talbot: Find out his find out his Elo rating. He’ll love to discuss that.
Jeff McDonald: Chess.com, I’m sure he I’m sure he’ll want to discuss that more than 7’4, 7’5, 7’6.
Mike Finger: Uh, he was he was also asked today about, uh, you know, what how why it’s so easy for him to stay off social media. Like he can just put it away. Um, and he says he doesn’t like it whether he had a good game or a bad game, because he said when you have a good game, it’s just like free dopamine. That was a quote. Free dopamine, you know what I mean? And then he says, goes on to say that he’s trying to train his brain to be happy with big rewards and not small rewards because, uh, he’s sure that will have an impact on his long-term goals is what he says. So he’s trying to train his brain not to be attracted to the short-term dopamine hits that you get off social media.
Jeff McDonald: It’s very…
Mike Finger: Sports writers, podcast hosts, podcast listeners, sports writing readers could take a a cue from that, I think. I think we’d all be happier if we live like Vic. Um, the uh, the the silliness of around his height had made it across the ocean. You know, it it had been a thing here in the United States over the summer and into the early fall. And our our friend of the podcast, Maxime Aubin, was asking him in French, or I detected after the preseason game on Friday that Maxime was asking him about his height because I heard the numbers 7’4 and 7’5 in the middle of the, uh, in the middle of the question.
Jeff McDonald: That’s not French.
Mike Finger: And Victor…
Jeff McDonald: That’s just English with a French accent.
Mike Finger: I know, I know. I know, but that’s what Maxime said. That like he was he was giving the height in English. And, uh, and we sure Maxime is even French?
Jeff McDonald: It might be a huge hoax that he’s pulling. Like, uh, he’s he’s he actually grew up in Alabama and he’s he’s fooled L’Équipe and he’s fooled all the French into thinking that he’s he’s actually a French report. I don’t know. That’s funny. But, uh, after this was over, Maxime and Victor had a little back and forth in French. I Victor standing up to walk away and me being, you know, just a jackhole said, uh, 7’4 or 7’5? And Victor looked at me and he said, you just said pick and roll. Which was truly hilarious. I mean, the dude is a funny guy. Pretty good. Um, anyway, hopefully we will have basketball stuff to talk about instead of height stuff pretty soon. I think we will. Um, big game.
Jeff McDonald: Well, Victor did have one thing that was actually like not silly. It may be a little newsworthy. You know, they’ve been trying some of the reporters out there have been spent all day trying to try, uh, like, um, nail down Mitch Johnson and the players they brought over about what what, kind of something we’ve discussed on this podcast, what constitutes a successful season in your mind, Mitch Johnson or Julian Champagnie or Carter Bryant? Like what what when you look at the season ahead, how how are you going to determine what’s a good season, what’s a bad season? What what defines success? And every nobody nobody wants to quantify that, right? Like if you say it’s x number of wins and you don’t get it, then you’re, you know, you’re setting yourself up to, uh, you know, for for to publicly fail. So everyone just dances around the question. Mitch says it’s about just continuing the pro, you know, pablum, continuing the progress that we’ve made last season. But everyone, no one took the bait until Victor Wembanyama got up there and said, um, basically it’s not a successful season if we don’t make the playoffs. I’m paraphrasing here, but this is what he said. Not a successful season if we don’t make the playoffs, and I’m not not even talking about the play-in. Playoffs, outright. That and that is a quote, that means a six-seed. So he he’s the one guy that would put a number on it.
Mike Finger: The I I I would say that, um, you know, and Tom Orsborn has that story up about, uh, Victor talking about his expectations for success with Victor saying playoffs, and I guess that means a six seed. But I would quibble with that a little bit because you can make the playoffs without making the six seed. And maybe maybe he sees it that way, but I think if you think it through, uh, like if you if you finish in the seventh seed and win the play-in and make the playoffs, even if you finish in the ninth seed and win a couple play-in games and make the playoffs, I think that’s still qualifies as making the playoffs.
Jeff McDonald: Well, but he’s…
Mike Finger: And I think Victor might be okay with that.
Jeff McDonald: Victor said, I guess a six-seed.
Mike Finger: But I think he means playing in an an actual playoff series.
Jeff McDonald: Right. He says, he says getting into the playoffs and not the play-in. So he’s he sees, I mean, that’s that’s that’s the barometer he’s setting. I’m not saying it’s, uh, I would set that for them or or, um, you know, that’s…
Mike Finger: I’m going to debate Victor here.
Jeff McDonald: a legitimate goal, but…
Mike Finger: I’m going to debate Victor here and say, and I I’ll be ridiculous again. I’ll be a jackhole again. Um, would you rather make the six seed and be swept in the first round by the third seed or or make the ninth seed, win two play-in games and win the first round series? You see what I’m saying? Like, I think getting into the playoffs, however you get there…
Jeff McDonald: Of course, sure, of course. But that that’s the goal he’s setting.
Mike Finger: Yeah.
Jeff McDonald: You know, they asked his goal or his definition. We, you know, not our definition.
Mike Finger: I will say one it brings up a point about one of the things I enjoy about covering Victor Wembanyama and interviewing Victor Wembanyama is we have been sort of, um, uh, there’s expectations in a 40 something, uh, year old sports writer’s head who’s been doing this for a quarter century going back to college and knowing what kinds of questions get honesty and what kind of questions get cliches, where we’re kind of conditioned to expect the deflection, where expect we’re we’re conditioned to expect the, uh, non-answer, you know, the answer without really answering it. And Victor constantly surprises me with what he actually is willing to answer. It’s like he hasn’t it might be a cultural thing, it might be just a Vic thing, but he’s far more willing to kind of go out on a limb and be honest about stuff than, you know, forget veteran players, but like college players, rookies. He’s he’s um, it’s cool that way. Of course, if you would have bet on one guy to be specific about his expectations this year, there’s there’s 18 players on the roster. Jeff can name all 18, I believe. There’s readers out there who have asked him to do that. Um, there’s there’s uh a coach and and several assistant coaches, there’s a GM, there’s a there’s an ownership group and of all that group, I think the one guy who you’d expect to give you an exact number or an exact expectation is Victor Wembanyama. And he gave it.
Jeff McDonald: Yeah, yeah. Um, nobody else is going to, nobody’s going to say playoffs are bust. If we don’t make the playoffs, this season, nobody in the Spur situation is going to say if we don’t make the playoffs this season is a failure. They will say, that’s our goal to make the playoffs, we’re just trying to continue, work the blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Victor’s the only one that would say, yeah, if we don’t make the playoffs, I consider this this season’s a failure. And I think also part of it is he’s the one guy with the goods to back it up, too.
Mike Finger: Yeah.
Jeff McDonald: You know, like, so you, are the confidence even. He’s a guy that can have the confidence that, yeah, I’m Victor Wembanyama and I like this team and we can we’re certainly capable of making the playoffs and so I would think we’re going to make the playoffs. He’s the one guy that could say that.
Mike Finger: I will I will couch that, uh, what we just talked about with, um, there’s the other side of the the the answers that we sometimes get that are clearly, um, unrealistic. Like I remember one of the years when, um, when they went 20 and 60 or whatever, our goal is to win the preseason, one of the preseason. Some of those, no, like like the these last couple of years that have not gone well. And there’s always like the the the raw raw guy at media day who is saying, yeah, we we expect to make the playoffs, which is is is, that’s I don’t count that the same way as Victor saying six seed.
Jeff McDonald: Yes, yes.
Mike Finger: I mean, some some of that you can dismiss. But when Victor says it, you take it seriously and you you figure that he’s put some thought behind it. And uh, I think there’s a lot of listeners out there that would agree with him.
Jeff McDonald: Yeah.
Mike Finger: They’re it’s time to…
Jeff McDonald: We’ve been under…
Mike Finger: Go ahead.
Jeff McDonald: We’re we we have said, you know, play-in is all right. If they just get to the play-in, that’s a that’s a good step forward. But Victor’s telling us we’re wrong.
Mike Finger: Yeah. Um, I wouldn’t put it past him to prove himself right.
Jeff McDonald: Wouldn’t surprise me.
Mike Finger: I know, I think, I will say this, I would be surprised, maybe not shocked, I would be significantly surprised if they skipped the play-in all together.
Jeff McDonald: Yeah. Um, that seven to 10 range seems realistic and it seems like a true step forward for this team and it seems like a successful year for this team. Like if they get into, especially if in that they’re in that seven or eight position playing in the play-in, like that’s a that is tangible progress.
Jeff McDonald: Right.
Mike Finger: After after years of kind of moral, not moral, moral victories, stuff like that. Um, and maybe Victor will be disappointed if they finish in seventh and play in the play in and then get into the playoffs that way. But I think most, I think most of our listeners would agree that that would be a that would be a a good nice year. Um, and they need to start quick, Jeff. Yep. The the schedule is setting up for them. How many games of the first six are against teams that had losing records last year?
Jeff McDonald: I wish, I wish I had that in front of me, but I think it’s something like four…
Mike Finger: For sure the first four.
Jeff McDonald: Yeah, I think it’s something like 14 of the first 17 or 15 of the first 17, uh, were non-playoff teams last year.
Mike Finger: Yeah. So that that’s about as good as you could ask for to get off to a jackrabbit start. Yeah. And it starts with Dallas. Not having Daron Fox hurts a little bit, but everyone has injuries this time of year.
Jeff McDonald: Do they?
Mike Finger: I I I think you you’re expected to even without Daron Fox, to to make hay while the sun shines in the fall. It’s still 90 degrees outside in South Texas. Keep making hay early in the season. This week against the Dallas Mavericks, we’re going to actually stop start talking about games like we’re in a regular season podcast.
Jeff McDonald: Yeah, that’s right.
Mike Finger: Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday, the New Orleans Hornets, the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday, and then a back-to-back at home against the vaunted Nets and Raptors. That’s four games before we meet again on the podcast.
Jeff McDonald: I’m… Are we are we tired of them opening against Dallas? That’s three in a row now. Victor Wembanyama has never opened a an NBA season not against Dallas. It’s weird, but it’s I don’t know. It’s weird. This one’s this one’s going to be pretty pretty interesting, pretty good. Lots of eyeballs on it. I know there was a lot of eyeballs on Victor’s very first game, uh, as a rookie, but this one, this one, you know, he’s coming back from the blood clot. That’s that’s going to have people watching. You’ve got Cooper Flagg, the number one pick, uh, that’s going to have people watching. Spurs have the number two pick, Dylan Harper. So it’s a one versus two matchup with Wby coming back against, uh, the the, uh, you know, prospective rookie of the year this year. It’s and it’s a National TV, ESPN. I don’t know if we’re allowed to plug them. Uh, 8:30 start, so we’re going to have to drink our coffee. Uh, but it’s it’s going to be a good one, I think. I think it’ll be…
Mike Finger: Four, four number one picks, is that right? And a number two pick in the game? The Mavs have three of them, don’t they?
Jeff McDonald: Kyrie and…
Mike Finger: I believe that’s correct.
Jeff McDonald: And um, you know, the last two rookie of the years plus the guy who probably will win it this year.
Mike Finger: Yeah. Probably the last two rookies of the year plus the top two contenders this year.
Jeff McDonald: Yes.
Mike Finger: Maybe? Maybe. Two of them. Two of them. But endless storylines for for Nick Talbot to post on Expressnews.com.
Nick Talbot: I could write those three takeaways now.
Mike Finger: Yeah, one thing the… He posted some good stories today. One thing the listeners can look forward to this year are timelier triple takes from Jeff McDonald. They’re going to come so fast. You’re going to you’re going to finish watching the game and you’re going to you’re going to take a quick break, maybe head to the, you know, men’s room, women’s room. And and before you know it that triple take’s going to be up and posted. Jeff’s going to be all over it. Whether, you know, who who who who needs who needs to wait for the press conference. Jeff can get his insight up right away.
Jeff McDonald: I’m gonna have to guzzle those Coke Zeros. It’s going to be exciting.
Mike Finger: Uh, I I’ve an update, a podcast update. Uh, I received a an SMS text message from Tom Orsborn. He’s not going to make it. He said he’s still at the Vic, meaning not Victor Wembanyama’s house, but the victory capital. Victory Capital Performance Center. Still posting updates to expressnews.com for our readers.
Jeff McDonald: They need to put the they need to put the podcast down and go click on that stuff.
Mike Finger: And uh, you know… Maybe they should. You can do both at the same time.
Nick Talbot: There’s a good story on Keldon Johnson in there today.
Mike Finger: Yeah, you want we can talk about that. That was fun. I had a nice 20-minute conversation with Keldon after the game, just me and him.
Jeff McDonald: We’ll tell the listeners about, well Tom’s taking care of the readers, you take care of the listeners and tell us about talking to Keldon Johnson when you left your laptop all by itself in the press conference room unguarded.
Mike Finger: As you know, the security there is tight at the at the Frost Bank Center. I don’t worry about it. They won’t even let me back there with my uh, credential on, so…
Jeff McDonald: Before before Jeff tells his Keldon Johnson story, which I do think we want to hear, it’ll be great because two great, two great fellas, two great San Antonians, Jeff McDonald and Keldon Johnson. Uh, one of the highlights of the preseason involves Jeff McDonald and his press credential, which, uh, and he hates it when I bring this up, but he’s entering year 19 covering the San Antonio Spurs, and the photograph on his press credential might not date back 19 years, but it goes back a long time.
Mike Finger: I I believe it predates my time on the Spurs to be honest. I I believe it does. I believe it was taken…
Jeff McDonald: Because when the Spurs do their, when the Spurs, uh, uh, make their laminated credentials, season credentials every year, they just ask for photos from Nick Talbot, the sports editor, and I think he emails them over the JPEGs that have existed in the in the system since 2004 or whatever. But anyway, Jeff gets accosted going to, I’ll let you tell that story too, but Jeff gets accosted by security, uh, trying to get into the tunnel before after a preseason game, and when the security guard looks at your credential and then calls the other guy over, what did he say?
Mike Finger: Uh, this picture doesn’t look like you. And then I died. I was like, I’m like covering up the top of the head. Look, what about now? What about now? It’s got hair. This This picture has hair on it. It’s got it’s got youthful exuberance in the photo.
Jeff McDonald: Yeah, that’s true. It’s got an optimistic outlook on life. And then I look at this man and it’s just dead eyes and and and baldness. Yeah, that was what it was. It was the optimism, the youthful optimism. Yeah, it doesn’t look like you at all, sir. You look, you look dead inside.
Mike Finger: I will say, and and they’re they’re breaking in some new fellas, new new staffers this year, which I guess all teams have to do every year. But you could also say which I would have said, like I’ve been coming in here since the building was was built. Uh, you shouldn’t have to look at my credential. You should know me by now, but you know, there’s new people. They’ll learn. They’ll learn who Jeff is. Tell us about your 20 minutes with Keldon Johnson.
Jeff McDonald: Yeah, like, you know, I’ve been thinking about him a lot since Media Day when he sat down in front of us and just without prompting said, uh, man, seven years. I thought, man, it has been seven years. That is a long time. Um, This seventh season, it’s been six years since he started.
Mike Finger: That was his seventh seventh season. So, um, just I’ve been thinking about him and how much he’s just grown up with the city. I mean, he’s he’s gotten to into that, um, that that tier where you know, he’s not Tim, Tony and Manu here for decades, but he he’s in the like the Patty Mills, Danny Green area where he’s been here a long time and he’s become such a part of the fabric of the team, the fabric of the community, the the the, I know it’s a trite word but the culture of the team and so I was talking to him a lot about that and how he came here as a, you know, 19-year-old kid just not knowing what what to expect or you know, he’d never the biggest place he’d ever lived was Lexington, Kentucky, you know, just and never really been out of that, you know, Virginia where he grew up and then Lex and then Kentucky. And just what it’s been like for him this these years and how much he’s, um, just assimilated to become what I wrote in there is one of the Spursiest Spurs players who’s ever Spurred. You know, he’s in that category. And I talked to him a lot about, you know, we’ve all had this conversation, but I kind of talked to him a lot about his his ranch and his chickens and his goats and, uh, his cowboy hat that he bought at the boot barn. And, um, you know, it’s a it’s, uh, and he he just talking about how much he loves it here, you know, and the fans here and a lot of the team, a lot of players that talk about how much they love playing for this group of fans and they play for the fans. When I put the team name across my jersey, I’m playing for something bigger like all that is hokey from coming from a lot of people. But I think we’ve known Keldon long enough to realize that he absolutely, um, means that. And so it’s just a story about how how basically Keldon Johnson became Mr. Spur, like before our eyes before we even, uh, could blink.
Mike Finger: That’s great. And I think Nick, if you hear clicking in the background, that’s Nick Talbot editing. And it might I think I think Jeff story’s going to run relatively soon. It might run before this podcast comes out. You should you should look forward to, you should look look for that in your newspaper. It might be him deleting everything I just said.
Jeff McDonald: I think back to Kel… I think back to Keldon, um, I met him and I can’t believe it’s been six years, but um, uh, he was drafted the same year as Luka Šamanić, right?
Mike Finger: Yeah, that’s in there too. Like it was, he wasn’t even the most highly anticipated rookie the Spurs brought in that year.
Jeff McDonald: Yeah, that cool it was. And uh, that the the place I met, this this means nothing and I don’t know why I’m mentioning it. just it it crosses my mind while you’re telling that story. Uh, the first thing he did, the first place I saw him in San Antonio was he made an appearance at the Boys and Girls Club on the east side. And uh, it was I remember it was right after, it was in the middle of or right after the Kawhi uh, saga and I remember showing up there and there were kids drawings of Kawhi on the on the bulletin board there and there were these two new Spurs. It was Luka and Keldon. And who was the, there was a second round pick there too. Quinndary, uh…
Mike Finger: Weatherspoon.
Jeff McDonald: Weatherspoon. Yeah. It’s funny the things that old men like me remember. But, um, uh, I just remember, like I’d never met Keldon before. Maybe he had done an introductory press conference, but I don’t think that I I’d met him. And just loved being around those kids and was so excited to be at this event that, you know, the Spurs, the Spurs do that that type of stuff all the time. But it was kind of their, uh, the the rookies’ indoctrination to to Spurs stuff and charity stuff and whatever was to show up and just talk to these kids, the Boys and Girls Club. And just like you were talking about how he had no idea what to expect. He’d never, um, lived anywhere other than where he grew up in Virginia and and one year in college at at Kentucky. And, uh, I just I remember that day just how young he looked and how, uh, sort of excited he seemed to be around. And to think that day that we come to this day where he’s, you know, Jeff McDonald is writing about Mr. Spur and the longest-tenured guy. That’s, that’s cool. I have nothing cynical to say here.
Mike Finger: Yeah.
Jeff McDonald: I wish I did. I wish I did. But it’s, it’s that’s one of the cool things to, um, to get to watch when you’re you’re around things like this. You know, the Spurs have been through a six-year playoff drought, but you still see growth. Yeah. You still see guys who learn to love a place and and learn to get better as a player, as a citizen, all that cool stuff. It sounds so freaking hokey, but…
Mike Finger: I, that’s that sounds hokey writing it, but it’s it’s the truth, you know, with Keldon Johnson, it’s the truth. And you can’t really imagine this version of the Spurs without him. Like, you know, heaven forbid he gets traded or something one day, it’s going to be weird. More so than other people. And I don’t know, like you might people you might say, well, you don’t put him in the Patty Mills, Danny Green sort of sort of category. Like those guys were around for the winning and the championships, they meant more to this city because they were here for the winning. But I would argue like it almost, um, makes Keldon more impressive to me in that he’s held it together through the longest playoff drought in franchise history. Like he’s been here for the losing and he’s still that guy that is going to, you know, wave that flag for the Spurs and be, um, you know, be the be the be the center of the locker room, the center of the the culture. And that’s sometimes it’s easy to be that guy when you’re winning, it’s harder when you’re losing. So I give him a lot of credit for that too.
Jeff McDonald: We might have brought this up on the on the big Zoom event last Friday, which we thank, uh, those of you who joined us for joining. It was a lot of fun. We talked in the studio for an hour, I think. Um, that was worthwhile. It was a fun fun time. Uh, but about the, I can’t remember if this if we talked about it there or on a previous podcast, but Keldon is now, um, the, um, he he carries on the Spurs Way sort of, uh, using the transitional property like he wasn’t there for the Tim Duncan years, but he was around some people who were around some people who were there for the Tim Duncan years. Like there’s no more guy for a long time, who was it Patty was the last Spur of the Spurs Way torch who had actually been on championship teams.
Mike Finger: Yeah, I think that would be the…
Jeff McDonald: And it’s guys who…
Mike Finger: That would be the seven degrees of Kevin Bacon to get, uh, Keldon to the to the Tim Duncan era Spurs is Patty.
Jeff McDonald: But it’s not, he’s the closest to it, you know, because he he played with Patty, he played with, uh, uh, Dejounte and Derrick, who played with who were around with for more of those tight, like the who were around for with with LaMarcus. I guess Keldon probably played with LaMarcus too.
Mike Finger: Yeah, he played with LaMarcus.
Jeff McDonald: with that group. And so Keldon it’s it’s not firsthand Duncan years, but it’s basically secondhand. And you’re running out of the secondhand guys.
Mike Finger: Yeah.
Jeff McDonald: You know, like like now you’re you’re third and fourth hand. So, um, it’s it would be really nice to to see him play in a playoff series at some point. You you you said it. He’s been through all the losing. It hasn’t been his fault that there’s been losing. It’s been a credit to him that this franchise and that locker room and the people around have made it through the losing without going crazy.
Mike Finger: Busy. Yeah. You know, without you know being depressed. I think Keldon’s been a great… I think lots of guys in that locker room are thankful Keldon’s been around, otherwise they’d be miserable.
Jeff McDonald: Since the since the Spurs joined the NBA, there has not been a player until Keldon Johnson to play six seasons with the team and not make the playoffs. So like, if they were ever if they were to accomplish Wby’s goal and make the playoffs this year, I think I it’s fair to say it would be happier than than than Keldon. He might he might even like scream in celebration. So something like if they were ever if they were to accomplish Wby’s goal and make the playoffs this year, I think I it’s fair to say it would be happier than than than Keldon. He might he might even like scream in celebration.
Mike Finger: You and and this is this sounds silly too, but you have to, you know how well-liked and how good of a player, good of a person you have to be to make it six years with one franchise that’s never made the playoffs. Like if you were if you were a jackhole to continue the word of the day, like if if people didn’t like you, you wouldn’t be around for six years with with no playoffs. Um, and if you couldn’t play, you know, you could you’d cut ties with that too. Yeah. Um, yeah, I I hope he makes it. I hope, I hope he gets to play in the playoffs. And I think he will. I mean Victor got his back.
Jeff McDonald: I hope he I hope he sticks around forever because I don’t I don’t know if he wants to move all his chickens and goats if he has to go to another team.
Mike Finger: That would that would require, I’m not sure if uh what is it, two, two guys in a truck, you know, the moving company.
Jeff McDonald: Yeah, yeah.
Mike Finger: I’m I’m not sure they handle chickens and goats.
Jeff McDonald: College Hunks Move All Your Junk or whatever they call it.
Mike Finger: College Hunks. He might need three guys in a truck at least for the chickens and the goats. But I think he’s clear on.
Jeff McDonald: That was that was his thing Friday night. He finally had to go because he had to go check on his goats because he said they they keep getting their head stuck in the fence and he was just covetching about that. Oh, he’s like they’re just a bunch of dang kids. Like like they do the the same dumb stuff over and over. These are the things like all the other guys, it’s Friday night, they don’t have practice the next couple days. All the other guys are kind of talking about going out. He’s got to get home and check on the goats.
Mike Finger: He is puro San Antonio, man. Speaking of of the same stuff over and over, it’s regular season we’re we’re looking at regular season, it’s a regular season game week. So we got to do this stupid stuff over and over and bring back the end of podcast predictions. We got four games.
Jeff McDonald: This is why Tom’s ducking it, so he doesn’t get on the record.
Mike Finger: I think so. Four games this week. At Dallas, at New Orleans, home against Brooklyn, home against Toronto. Podcast recording the next morning, Jeff. Uh, what’s the record when we when we record the next podcast?
Jeff McDonald: Maybe I’m just, you know, blinded by the five and 0 preseason or they looked pretty great. I’m going to give them like three and one over the first four games. I don’t know where the one will come. I don’t know where the one will come. Maybe Dallas, but I’ll I’ll give him three wins out of those first four.
Mike Finger: I would I was going to do the same thing. I think there’s probably a loss there and there somewhere. But maybe not. They haven’t lost all preseason.
Jeff McDonald: I don’t know if but I’m going…
Mike Finger: I’m going to go officially three and one.
Jeff McDonald: I don’t know if I’ve ever given them a three-in-one week since we’ve been doing this, so already I’m starting to be optimistic for these guys.
Mike Finger: I’ll be even more I’ll be even more specific uh with the and I’m going to give the loss at at New Orleans. Um, you know, New Orleans uh, before everything falls apart there, I think that things will fall apart there eventually like they always do with the Pelicans. But they tend to be, look pretty good early when like Zion’s healthy and everything. Um, so that’s the loss. They beat Dallas for the first time in three. It’s the third time’s a charm with the openers. Uh, they finally get the Mavericks back and they win that back-to-back at home against Brooklyn and Toronto, lose at New Orleans. Uh we’re gonna let if if Nick’s still here, um and not edited deleting all your paragraphs from that story, he can take over for the Tom uh prediction and we’re going to put Nick’s record on Tom’s uh uh uh docket. And that’s that’s that’s going to that’s going to um…
Nick Talbot: Oh, it’s a lot of pressure. That is a lot of pressure. I’m putting it to be on the record.
Mike Finger: Well, that’s that’ll teach, that’ll teach Tom not to skip.
Nick Talbot: It’s like, it’s like when your buddy goes to the bathroom and at the bowling alley and you take his turn for him. There you go. Nick, what do you got? Nick/Tom, what do you got?
Mike Finger: I think they will go three and one as well. If they can get that win over Dallas and either drop the game to the Pelicans or the Nets, I think they get the Raptors for sure. Um, the Nets game is a little early, so maybe that throws them off a little bit of schedule, but Brooklyn could be off schedule too there. So, uh, yeah, either I think fingers pro on point with the Pelicans, so but definitely three and one with what just losing a game because it’s the NBA. Someone’s going to snipe you eventually. Um, some all good things come to an…
Jeff McDonald: Important to make hay early, like we said. Uh, you important to I feel like the spirit of Greg Popovich is watching me talk about how important it is to get off to a good start. That was one of his favorite pregame questions. Um, that’s I think that does it.
Mike Finger: It’s been an upbeat…
Nick Talbot: I was gonna say one note for our listeners, to make sure you get to the game early because parking will be bad for the season opener. All the dorks are going to be there.
Jeff McDonald: Yeah, me me included and probably Victor. All the the Comic-Con is next door on Sunday.
Mike Finger: So that’s a good tip. It’s not right.
Nick Talbot: Yeah, about 15, 10 to 15,000 people will be there on Sunday at the Freeman.
Jeff McDonald: And that’s a that’s a 1:00 p.m. start for the Spurs.
Nick Talbot: Yeah, it’s a 1:00 p.m. start and a nine and the con is from 9 to 4. So…
Mike Finger: Sports editor/nerd Nick Talbot alerting alerting the listeners to all the other nerds who are going to be at Freeman Coliseum. So get there early and get your parking spot. Jeff, you need to be early too to make pregame press conference.
Jeff McDonald: What if what if Victor missed the home opener to go to Comic-Con?
Nick Talbot: He’ll he’ll probably be there on Saturday because that’s when Billy Dee Williams is there. Lando.
Mike Finger: We’ll have it in the newspaper if that happens. Um, okay. Uh, that sounds good. That’s important uh tidbit to to know from Nick Talbot. Get there early on Sunday if we’re going to see you there at the arena. And it’s been a positive last preseason edition of the Spurs Insider. I feel like we’re gaining our old groove back.
Jeff McDonald: And I think it’s because we didn’t have Tom bringing us down.
Mike Finger: I think it’s…
Jeff McDonald: That might be true. He’s usually such the dark cloud of everything, is he?
Mike Finger: But he is doing the work. He is picking up the slack for you. He’s doing a great job on the expressnews.com where you can join us as well. And until next time, take care of each other and keep it real. [music fades in]