LeBron and Giannis to captain NBA All-Star squads, starters are announced I The Rush
The NFL coaching carousel is spinning round with Frank Reich landing the head coaching job in Carolina while Nathaniel Hackett heads to New York as the offensive coordinator of the Jets while Dan Quinn decided to stay put in Dallas as the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator. LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo will each captain a team in the upcoming NBA All-Star Game and Charles Barkley had some pointed criticism of one of the elected starters. Plus, LeBron is pulling even with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in more ways than one.
Video Transcript
JARED QUAY: While most of us are going to take a break from our jobs over the weekend, some NFL coaches are going to be hard at work. Like former [INAUDIBLE] Coach Frank Reich, who was just hired as the Carolina Panthers' head coach. And Nathaniel Hackett, who will join the Jets as their new offensive coordinator. And maybe Aaron Rodgers, whisper?
- The rumor mill is churning.
JARED QUAY: And in Dallas, Dan Quinn will remain the Cowboys defensive coordinator after interviewing for the head coaching positions with the Panthers, Cardinals, and Colts. Quinn was the head coach once before down in Atlanta. Does 28 to 3 ring a bell? Yeah, being a head coach can be too much stress. Someone else can captain the ship.
- Oh, captain, my captain.
JARED QUAY: Your team captains for February's NBA All-Star game are LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo. The league revealed the All-Star game starters from both the Eastern and Western conferences, but we still don't know which guys are playing for.
[GRUNTS]
Because captains LeBron and Giannis will select their squads playground style just before the All-Star game begins.
- This should be interesting.
JARED QUAY: I think the most interesting selection is the injury-prone Pelicans star Zion Williamson. Zion has missed 20 of the Pelicans' 49 games played this season, but he's got plenty of votes from fellow NBA players, media members, and the fans, making him a starter. Not surprising, Charles Barkley has some thoughts on the selection.
CHARLES BARKLEY: We let the fans vote. Look what happened last time they got to vote for President.
- All right, uh-- hey now.
JARED QUAY: Of course Chuck offered a follow up comment to clarify.
CHARLES BARKLEY: I don't mean-- I don't mean the old guy. I mean the guy before the old guy. I'm sorry. Sorry, President Biden.
JARED QUAY: Chuck is wild, man. You know what else is wild? This is going to be LeBron James' 19th NBA All-Star game, which puts him in a tie with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most All-Star game appearances in NBA history. Fun fact, it would have been an even 20 for the captain, had he not broken his hand punching Ken Benson of the Bucks, which left him unable to play in the 1978 All-Star game.
OK, so that looks like a sucker punch. But let's rewind the tape real quick. Oh, Benson elbowed Kareem in the gut. OK, it makes a lot more sense now. Because you know Kareem was all about peace and love and whatnot. From a competitive standpoint, I get it, though. My man Kareem was unstoppable. The only way to stop that skyhook was to elbow the captain in the tummy.
Sometimes you gotta get duct tape and just tape one of his arms up to his torso so that he couldn't move. You know, he'd still get that hook up off you, but it'd be a little easier to steal the ball, you know?