Despite his repeated criticisms of him, Bill Simmons has come to appreciate LeBron James’ candidness.
Most of the time, anyways.
On the latest episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast, the show’s host and Ryen Russillo engaged in a lengthy discussion regarding the recent narrative regarding the NBA’s “face of the game.” And while Simmons called B.S. on James’ assertion that he never asked to be the face of the NBA, he did admit that he’s enjoyed the four-time MVP’s recent mastery of the news cycle.
“I like that he’s candid though,” Simmons said. “He has such a big platform now, when he talks about stuff candidly, it really does have reactions that last two to three days sometimes. He does make people think.”
But when it came to James’ approach to the Mind the Game podcast that he previously hosted with now-Lakers head coach JJ Redick, The Ringer founder was less enthusiastic.
“The Mind the Game pod — some of the dialogue about, ‘we had to do this pod to save basketball discourse,’ I take stuff like that probably a little bit personally,” Simmons said. “Going back to Grantland and The Ringer, we’ve tried to elevate discussion on pods and writing and all this stuff and I think a lot of people have. So when somebody’s saying ‘nothing’s elevated,’ you’re kind of like, ‘well, I mean we’re trying.'”
@rBillSimmonsPod Bill says he took it personally when LeBron said he needs do the ‘Mind the Game’ podcast in order to save basketball discourse pic.twitter.com/ss6CzQTsp8
— SLO HOOPS FAN 🇸🇮 (@SloHoopsFan) March 3, 2025
Russillo responded with a slight counter, noting that despite the thought and care he and Simmons both put into their content, there are certain aspects of the NBA they’ll never be able to fully grasp in the same way an active or former player can. The host of The Ryen Russillo Show, however, proceeded point out that that only makes the players who don’t seem to have a grasp of the game all the more glaring.
“There’s so many players that I’ll listen to and go, OK wait, you have a problem with me? And I didn’t play. Like, have you heard your shit? Have you heard how dumb all your arguments [are]?'” Russillo said. “There’s one person in particular that I’m thinking of right now. Like if I really wanted to do a 10-minute monologue destroying this person’s takes and how f**ked they are — and I don’t know what the motives are behind them. But I really don’t wanna get in a fight with anybody about that kind of stuff.”
As for Simmons’ point regarding Mind the Game, this isn’t the first time he’s expressed disdain for James and Redick’s short-lived podcast, which strived to take basketball fans behind the scenes from an Xs and Os perspective. Ultimately, the Sports Guy’s issue wasn’t with the podcast itself, but rather the idea that basketball discourse needed saving.
That’s hardly surprising considering Simmons’ place as the preeminent NBA podcaster and an undeniable tastemaker when it comes to the way fans consume the sport. In any event, Mind the Game is no more, while Simmons has been left to dissect a particularly exhausting season of NBA discourse.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.