The 3rd Down Conversation
A podcast hosted by D Turnipseed that delves into sports, entertainment, and pop culture. The show features authentic discussions on topics such as the NBA, NFL, College sports, as well as trending topics in the entertainment world. Providing listeners with insightful perspectives and proper context.
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The 3rd Down Conversation
Courtside Controversies: Criticism, Media Impact, and Era Appreciation
The episode centers around the dual themes of criticism and appreciation within the NBA. We discuss how the sports media narrative affects player legacies, and why this impacts public perception of athletes today.
• Navigating the balance of criticism vs. appreciation in the NBA
• The influence of media on how player legacies are shaped
• How current players are often undervalued against historical legends
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What's up? It's the third down conversation, your place for sports and entertainment. I am your host, d Turnip Seed, and on today's episode, is the NBA getting too much negative criticism? Why does? Why does sports media have so much control Over player legacies? And, lastly, should we show more appreciation To this current Era Of the NBA? I'm gonna jump into all that and, as you know, I'm real, I'm authentic and I'm always in context.
Speaker 2:Let's ride. Is being the face of the league something that you actively wanted, or is it something that everyone else decided for you, and what has that responsibility meant to you?
Speaker 3:No, anna already said he don't want it. I know, yeah, see he ain't trying to deal with it. And I mean Channy Fry said it the other day too. I mean it's unfortunate, but like I don't know, why do you want to be the face of the league when all the people that you I don't know? Why do you want to be the face of a league when all the people that cover our game and talk about our game on a day-to-day basis don't know everybody? You have that responsibility. It's just weird. It's weird energy from the people that you know I don't know. Channing, he said it perfectly, couldn't have said it no better and said he don't want it.
Speaker 1:I mean, obviously, I didn't ask for it. So you just heard a clip from LeBron James speaking on why no one wants to be the face of the league. But before I jump into that, that's something I got to address first. Lebron stated in that clip he did not ask to be the face of the league. They say LeBron be capping, and boy, he's capping on this one. I mean, dude has chosen one tattooed across his back like a nameplate. He chose number 23, he adopted Michael Jordan's pregame powder toss and he embraced the nickname King James. I mean, that's like asking your significant other, are you hungry? They say no, your food arrives and they spend the whole time eating off your plate, like dude clearly wanted to be the face of the league and that's okay. Embrace that now that that's out of the way. Lebron is continuing to talk about in that clip what Channing Frye brought up. I've got a previous episode talking about NBA nostalgia, which is what Channing Frye was hitting on a little bit, but that was a bigger point to what he was trying to explain and LeBron has continued to, you know, expand and expound on the things that Channing Frye was saying and pretty much what they both were saying is the way the game is covered today.
Speaker 1:Too much criticism, too much negativity around the game. In the world of professional sports, praise and criticism well, they work in tandem. If you're getting a lot of praise, you better believe criticism is around the corner In general. That's just how life works. Sure, criticism can be a bit extreme. We've all seen some extreme versions of uh you know, criticizing the players play and it just goes a little too far. But when players are overly praised, we don't see the player saying, hey, that's too much praise, y'all give me too much credit. We don't hear that. And why would we? I mean, you know, praise feels awesome Criticism. On the other hand, it causes you to self-reflect. Kobe will use it as motivation, mj will use it as motivation and I'm pretty sure LeBron James uses it as motivation. Mj will use it as motivation and I'm pretty sure LeBron James uses it as motivation. However, two things can be true. Can criticism be too much and over the top? Yes, but is criticism also necessary? Yes, I mean, think about it.
Speaker 1:The NBA is a product that they want consumers to buy. So in essence, it's a product. So let's look at it through that lens. If I bought a product and it's not living up to my standard of what I think it should be. Then I got a right to complain. I got a right to express my grievances and, as the person selling the product, I shouldn't say you're ungrateful or you're being unappreciative. I mean, what's that old saying? The customer is always right. The NBA should adopt that Chick-fil-A motto. It's my pleasure. Now don't get me wrong. Some criticism is too far, some goes over the top. But if I'm consuming a product and I'm like, hey, they shoot too many threes or hey, they're not playing any defense, that's well within bounds. I mean, lebron himself said teams are taking too many threes.
Speaker 1:Kendrick Perkins recently said that people are becoming too comfortable criticizing the league and disrespecting the league, and he probably has a point about that. He probably has a point. But I can make an argument that the league disrespect started with the players load management. Imagine taking your family to an NBA game. Your kid is dying to see Steph KD LeBron. You get to the game, you got your sign, you got your jersey and their favorite players in street clothes and they're not playing due to load management. Y'all gonna have a similar stat line tonight. Wells fargo don't care about loads management regions. They don't care about load management. That money gone. I can't get that back.
Speaker 1:What about the all-star game and what it has become? The nba is trying everything to keep that weekend exciting and entertaining for the fans. They're going through all kinds of extremes. Next thing they're going to try is a one-on-one tournament possibly. So when we talk disrespect, it ain't just people that's criticizing it, it ain't just fans dumping on the league. The players have played a role in that as well. I hope you guys enjoyed that first segment and if you haven't had a chance, go ahead and hit that like button. Go ahead and hit that subscribe button, and a five-star review will sure help a brother out. Remember, shows will drop every Tuesday and follow me on socials at the Third Down Conversation. Now let's continue the show and jump into segment number two.
Speaker 2:You can't be the juror and the judge. You can't make the rules of Michael Jordan's six rings, because when Michael Jordan was Michael Jordan, he didn't have six rings yet. That's what he finished with. But when he was idolized, he only had one or two. So what's happening is you're looking at the resume that you guys put out there and you're saying, okay, you need six rings. Right, you got to get the six rings. Okay, I got to get the six rings. Now I need to make a decision to go here and get these rings because I can't get it here. So now they're sacrificing individual awards to get these rings. Then you say, well, you don't have the individual awards, you can't get no scoring titles. He has 10. He has 10 scoring titles. You can't do that, so he gets penalized there because he doesn't have these accolades. Then what ends up happening is if you have a player that's saying, okay, let me get these scoring titles, You're like oh you're selfish, yeah, you're selfish.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's pointless stats, meaningless stats. So there's this game that's being played here.
Speaker 1:You just heard a clip from Gilbert Arenas and what he's speaking on is how sports media moves the goalposts. I have done a previous episode about Kobe Bryant and his lack of MVPs due to sports media, and this is just more to how sports media controls players' legacies. As Gilbert stated, you can't be the juror and the judge. If a player chases rings, the media would say he's lacking in accolades. If a player chases accolades, the media would say he's not a winner. Now, I don't believe LeBron is a GOAT. I don't believe Kobe is a GOAT. I will give the nod to MJ, but I can also see why Kobe or LeBron will never be considered the GOAT, and that's because sports media controls it. They flat out robbed LeBron of being the defensive player of the year In 2013,. Marc Gasol won defensive player of the year. Many believe, including me, that it should have been LeBron James. Here's proof LeBron James was named first team all defense, while Marc Gasol was named First team all defense, while Mark Azar was named Second team all defense. I mean, that's a blatant robbery. How is the defensive player of the year On the second team Like? Make that make sense? And we all know Kobe should have More than one MVP. All these things Are controlled by sports media. They all vote on it and, as I stated in my Kobe Bryant episode, check it out. It's a good episode, by the way. But, as I stated in that episode, why are players legacies in the hands of people who have the power to hate them?
Speaker 1:Here's another example of how sports media has impacted a player's legacy Steph Curry, clearly the best player on that Warriors team when they won their first championship, without question Warriors team. When they won their first championship, without question. But that finals they give the finals MVP to Iguodala and we all know, as casual fans, we all know that Steph is the best player in their team, that Steph was the driving force, that he should have got that finals MVP. But the fact that the media gave it to Iguodala, all of a sudden, everybody's questioning Steph as the main guy. And then he goes back with KD and they win some more and it's like, well, he didn't get the finals MVP, as though, like it didn't count. Then he goes again and finally wins.
Speaker 1:It gets his MVP and he's so emotional about it, screaming what are they gonna say now? Because when they talked about him all the time, they was like, well, he don't have any finals MVPs and he doesn't have any because of the media, like that's, that's nuts that they have that kind of power over a player's legacy and they shouldn't have it. I mean, when you think about it, a lot of these sports media individuals. They went to school for journalism, they learned how to write compelling stories, but as far as watching the game, there's no major, there's no minor for that. We can all watch the game and see yeah it's that guy, but they don't care about that.
Speaker 1:They care about stories, drama. Please remember to like, subscribe, follow, drop a comment, leave a review, five stars, please Remember. Shows will drop every Tuesday and I want you guys along for the ride and also follow me on social media Instagram, twitter, youtube. At the Third Down Conversation.
Speaker 4:Twitter, youtube. At the third down conversation. We have to just accept the error that we came up in and played right. Respect the error that we grew up on, right. Respect the game that we grew up on. Respect the players we grew up on. I just think we so stuck into this. You gotta pick a side generation in this, everywhere. So we can't appreciate two goats at the same time. It's it's so mj versus braun or braun versus coven who's the goat, who's the best like? So now you got to. If I say one is the best things everybody else gonna say now I'm lying.
Speaker 1:So that's the the culture that we actually in that was a clip from cam, from Camillo Anthony from his podcast 7 am in Brooklyn. It's a good pod. You should check it out. Mello's right, and I'm guilty of this, like I think we get so caught up in making whoever we feel should be the goat that we lose sight of the era that we're currently in. It's not about picking a side. This is what this whole GOAT debate has become. It's become politics and everybody's picking a side. I'm over here. I'm over here.
Speaker 1:This guy isn't a GOAT because he don't have MVPs. Well, this guy isn't a GOAT because he went and joined Miami. Well, this guy isn't a GOAT because he went and joined Miami. Well, this guy isn't a GOAT because he played with Scottie Pippen the whole time. It's something, but here's the beauty of it it's something against all three of them. Yeah, I'm saying three Kobe in it, but it's something against all three of them. So why not just appreciate All of them? Why not show that, that admiration for All of them?
Speaker 1:And as humans it's hard for us to appreciate other humans Just, naturally, it's just not in us. It's not in us. We're not built that way. That's why we need Christ. Melo is just. He's spot on. I mean. Think about lebron james. He's six, nine, he's a point guard, can pass the ball better than anyone that I've seen. He's 40 years old, averaging 25, and 8. That's crazy. Yes, the defenses aren't as good. Yes, the floor is spread out, but he's 40 and still playing at a very high level Easily top 10, easily top 10. Kevin Durant, a 7 foot shooting guard that can handle the ball, that can pull up from 30 and get to the cup. I think the chances are slim To see another Kevin Durant and another LeBron James. Very slim. Steph Curry 6'3 point guard. That's really a shooting guard. He is the greatest shooter ever. He revolutionized the game. We have to show these guys appreciation. Russell Westbrook the passion and the energy he plays with that's clearly being displayed when he's on the floor. That guy deserves appreciation. So we have to get out of this culture of not appreciating these guys and I do believe it's sports media's fault. Yeah, yeah, I got a bone to pick with sports media. They just it's just a narrative. They create that. I just.
Speaker 1:We also have to get out of the business of comparing errors. I think that's so pointless. Like the 80s, 90s, 2000s, what the 2020s, the 2010s, comparing those errors, I think are pointless because the game continues to change, how it's played, how it's called, so why compare them? This whole I'm done with the 90s and all that stuff was just. It didn't make sense. But it all stemmed from the fact that the 90s was attacking. You know, this new age of basketball, the new age, had to fight back.
Speaker 1:But again, comparing errors pointless. Show more appreciation to those errors because they got the game where it is today. Show more appreciation to the current players because these guys are one of a kind, because these guys are one of a kind. If you want to compare players and errors, I'm cool with that. That's just talking ball. We don't have to cut one player down to lift another player up. Even though I'm guilty of that at times, I admit that. I can admit that I try to do better. I probably fail, but I will say in all seriousness that we for sure need to show more appreciation to the players in the NBA. Currently, this has been the Third Down Conversation. I am D Turnipsy, jesus loves you and I'm out Peace.
