On today’s show we’re joined by one of the best basketball players of the last generation, former All-Star and current NBA on TNT analyst Chris Webber. C-Web has seen his broadcast career take off since joining Turner and he’s currently working alongside Ian Eagle calling the Pacers-Wizards Eastern Conference semifinal. In this podcast, we chat with Chris about his broadcast career, his desire to get into coaching, and how the playoffs have shaken out so far. Topics include…
-How being close to the game as a broadcaster helps to prepare for an eventual coaching career and his desire to follow the paths of Mark Jackson and Steve Kerr.
-What it’s like to work with EJ, Kenny, and Charles at Inside the NBA and why it’s even funnier behind the scenes.
-Why this year’s first round was the best ever.
-The struggle in Indiana and what’s really going on with the Pacers. It’s not all Roy Hibbert’s fault that the Pacers are reeling.
-Walking the line in being able to be critical of players having been there before and having conversations with current players about some of his analysis.
-Why the Wizards have a core group that could eventually be Finals contenders.
-How many teams left have a legit shot at a championship.
-HIs reaction to the Donald Sterling controversy and why he hopes it motivates the NFL to change the Washington Redskins nickname.
For more from Chris, follow him on Twitter at @realchriswebber.
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UPDATE: Because Webber’s closing comments on the Donald Sterling controversy were worth printing for you to read, a partial transcript is below, specifically with his comments hoping for Adam Silver’s actions leading to the change of the Washington Redskins nickname…
Webber: I think it was wonderful what he (Adam Silver) did for the league. I feel sorry for Elgin Baylor, one of the greatest players and an architect of this game, having to put up with that for years and then going to court and no one coming to his rescue, none of us. No one in the media said anything about it and we should all be ashamed about that, jumping on the story late when he told us earlier.
Very honestly, this is my personal opinion, I hope it puts pressure on other leagues. Mainly the Washington Redskins. I have family who are Native American, I have friends who are Native American. We talk about the N-word, we talk about homophobia, the NBA has handled so much under Stern and so much under Silver that hopefully their leadership leads into other sports because they definitely set a precedent. They’ve been a great example of how to have leadership. It’s not just about a guy getting arrested on a DUI like football loves to talk about, but it’s about these owners as well.
And when you have a group of people that are saying “Please don’t use that name, that hurts us, that hurts our kids. We don’t like seeing a big Indian nose on a Cleveland team, we don’t like being known as Redskins and having this leathery face look on here, it’s not respectful.” The people love God, they worship God, worship the earth, worship animals. Everything about them is spiritually tied and about respect. And so hopefully, a few of the guys that have all the money and the power in the world learn that if your margins slip a little bit you’ll always get them back, but it’s about the respect of people.
I very specifically hope the NFL looks at it and says, “we don’t want to offend anyone.”
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