Ryan Ward on Kobe, LeBron & Life on the Lakers Beat: Behind the Purple and Gold

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Hey, what's up, Ryan, man?

What's up, CJ?

Man, appreciate you coming on, man, taking the time out today, coming on, on the show, man. Really do. So, man, let me ask you, man, what's your take, man, on this year's Lakers team? And are they built for a run, or are we still missing something?

Still missing something? Like, it's, it's pretty clear when you get, you know, your butt kicked by Minnesota. And what was it, 5 games?

Yeah, 5.

Yeah, that was, uh That was pretty eye-opening. I mean, I knew there was flaws, but I thought that, you know, with Luka and LeBron, them being as great as they are, that maybe that could kind of erase some of those flaws or at least cover them up for a little while. I didn't think they were going to win the title this year. I didn't even think they'd get past the second round because their defense is just sorely lacking. No big in the paint. You know, Jackson Hayes got exposed right away. Which was way faster than I expected because he played pretty well like leading up to the playoffs. But then, you know, just the fact he's not a rim protector at all and he's just kind of limited to being a lob threat, that was it. And there was no depth behind him. Alex Lin was a complete zero. And then the other guys, they couldn't— they decided to, you know, keep Lin and have the other guys, Koloko and Jemison, I think they had to— what were they, two-way players? So they had to make— give them an actual, like, full-time NBA contract, right? And they weren't willing to do that for some reason. I think they just put too much faith in Len and Hayes, and that clearly blew up in their face. So they got work to do because these teams that they're gonna face for the next, you know, we'll say decade of, uh, Luka are young and good, and I think they're only gonna get better. I mean, OKC is incredible. Minnesota is on the rise, obviously, two straight Western Conference Finals. And then, you know, you got other teams like Denver, they might be on the downtick. You got Jokic, you're still in it, you know what I mean? And you got guys like Aaron Gordon, Porter, who I wouldn't be surprised they traded this summer. But yeah, it's just, they want to compete with these guys for the foreseeable future. You got to do something. You got to get a rim protector. You got to get better perimeter guys. 3-and-D guys, it's out there. It's just going to be difficult for them. It's not going to be an easy thing to pull off, I think.

Yeah. And you know, with that being said, you missed the tape. To me, I think another team that's missing one piece, man, is Houston, man.

Oh yeah, yeah, man.

If Houston get that one, you know what I'm saying, like we were saying about the Lakers before we came on, like that one piece, you know. No, but man, if they can get somebody like, uh, Kevin Durant, Kevin Durant or Giannis. Oh yeah, come on, man. Somebody, a bona fide— now, uh, Jalen Green he will score, but we see in the playoffs how he was.

I don't think he's good enough.

He's—

he is what he is. I don't think he's gonna get any better, you know what I mean?

That bona fide, you know what I'm saying? Like, yeah, get you some buckets, you know?

Where is Giannis? Actually makes the most sense because he can do it on both ends. Udoka would love him, you know, because he plays defense and offense, and, uh, he just— he checks both boxes. They're ready to win right now if you just insert Giannis right in there. That'd be scary. And like you were saying, you know, before we came on, uh, Golden State, right? I don't think they have the assets to get him. I think Houston and OKC are probably the two biggest suitors just because they have so much to give up, um, whereas draft picks, young players— I can't believe I'm saying that about OKC, but it's true. They've just got a stockpile of picks and, you know, young guys like a Jalen, you know, picture they sent out, Jalen Williams. If they package all that together, I mean, why would Milwaukee say no? You know, if Giannis is determined to leave, it's just, it's crazy to think about because if they do that, OKC could be the team to beat for the next 5 straight years.

You know what I mean? But let me ask you this, Brian. So let's say, which what it look like, they're going to the finals because they just manhandling Minnesota right now besides that Game 3 blowout. But if they win the championship, Do they look into that trade or do they feel like they good enough with what they got and keep the assets that they have?

I think you're gonna have to, right? Because every other team around the league is gonna be like, well, they are the team to beat. So we've gotta retool to beat these guys. Well, they go and get that piece, you know, Giannis, like it's gonna scare the crap out of everybody. And the East is just floundering now. It's right. They're gonna, you know, Boston, you don't know what's gonna happen now that Tatum's probably out for a year. They got that huge payroll. Yeah, I think they're probably going to trade Jrue Holiday and Porzingis, or try to at least. And then, um, the Knicks I think are pretty good, but I still feel like they're missing something too. Like, I think if they were somehow to get past Indiana, which I think they can, I think they're gonna get crushed in the, in the Finals. It's going to be embarrassing because the West, the West is just so much better, you know.

It's just, and it has been like that for years, man, you know. I mean, you know, Back in the day, a lot of the people used to go to the East to get away from all this competition in the West. But to you, you know what I'm saying, because you front hand and up the center, you tell me, man, have you seen more like the Eastern Conference stars coming over to the West and everybody just getting it in?

Well, look at LeBron. I mean, that's what he did, right? I mean, the Miami thing flamed out, which I still don't really understand why he left there. I thought he could have played there for, you know, another I don't know, 5 years maybe, and they could have won more titles, but he just kind of gave up on them. I thought they were built to be, you know, sustained. But I mean, he did that, goes to Cleveland, just checks that thing off the, you know, his, uh, his checklist of things that he wanted to accomplish, and then comes to LA. But now he sees how hard it is to compete in the West, right?

What do you go to, like 9 conference finals or so many, uh, finals in a row? Like 10? Yeah. Nice.

Something like that. Yeah. Well, he's 10. He was, what is he, 4 and 6? So he went to 10 finals.

Yeah.

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But that— a lot of it, like you say, was in the East where the competition just wasn't as stiff as it was in the West. The West have always been like that juggernaut. You're gonna beat each other up. You know, it's like football. You get KC and Buffalo, now you got the Ravens waiting in the cut. They gonna beat up on each other, you know. So by the time we get to you, we be ready because that's what they do over there. They beat up on each other over there. So let me ask you, Ryan, man, you've been around a lot of teams. What makes this roster unique or challenging to cover? Don't, don't, don't get too out there, man. You know what I'm saying? That's cool, man.

I ain't trying No, no, I'm fine. I, I'm at the point where I'm just— I'll say whatever the hell comes on top of my head, but, uh, whether that's good for me or not, uh, but, uh, it's tough because there is so much manufactured drama around the team, right? I'm not saying the team does that to itself, but it's— they're always going for the big names, right? They're always in rumors. There, there was always off-court drama of some sort. There's— they've got so much attention on them, whether they're bad or good. It's, it's like this— why, it's not the same amount of attention, but it's— even when they're really bad, they get more attention than, say, the Denver Nuggets, right? Like, they're still, you know, on front page. Yeah. And that— I've always said that I've always liked to see— I like to cover another team just for a year just to see the difference. And I think it would be a drastic difference because I'm in Denver right now, right, with family. So I go to Denver games when they play the Lakers, right? I get credentials and I go and I get— I see the difference. It's a huge difference. It's just the way they deal with the media in the back. They just really take care of you here. But in LA, it's like there's just so much going on all at the same time that it's— I don't feel like they can control it in a sense. So they do kind of have this kind of a— I, I don't know how to— you kind of have to experience it to really know what I'm talking about. Yeah, but it's like I, I felt that drastic difference, but it's incredible. I wouldn't give it up for anything, you know what I mean? Like, I just, I'd do it for free. I mean, I honestly would because I just love the, the team and I love the just being able to say I cover the NBA, you know, and then all the experience, all the experiences I've had, you know, the Kobe 60-point game, you know, it's mostly like, you know, covering Kobe, right? Just going through that whole— because it was such an interesting time in his career, good and bad, right? Like, bad because, you know, the— after the Achilles, just, you know, kind of a slow decline and his body just kind of failed him, right? And then, you know, the 60-point incredible performance that was just I've never covered anything like that before. I don't think I ever will again. But seeing that, you know, and then going through, you know, his tragic death, which is awful, and seeing, you know, how that affected the entire community and more so the world. I mean, it just— it was a huge loss for so many people. And you saw how important he was. It's a crazy thing, man. It's a crazy experience. I mean, that's why I say, like, you don't know what the hell is going to happen this summer because crazy stuff happens all the time. And like I told people, like, uh, the difference between the Lakers, which might keep them behind all these teams that are going a different way, is all these teams now that are very successful are building organically, right? They're not making big swings for trades and stuff. They're drafting the right guys. Like, look at OKC.

It's, it's OKC. Yeah.

Outside of Shai, who they did trade for, but they traded it, you know, when he was super young and totally unproven. Right? Um, they just built and built and built, and it's all organic guys, and it just works, right? I mean, outside of like Shea and Caruso, I think are the only like kind of big ones in it. I mean, Caruso, seeing him be successful on another team, I'm just like, why did they let this guy just walk? Like, I, I just— there's so many guys like that in the league now. The, the, uh, Josh Hart, Caruso, uh, even Randle now. Like, I, I wasn't a big Randle guy, but seen what he's done with Minnesota.

Yeah.

Or even in New York, you know, he was, he was incredible. Every guy that they've let walk, young guy, has gone on to do something.

Do something.

Ingram, Clarkson, Hart, Caruso. I mean, the list goes on and on.

They do, they do. It's just like the Cubs in baseball. They let go all them pitchers back in the day, and all of them went to the Braves or somewhere else and became, uh, uh, Cy Young Award winners, or champions or whatnot, because I'm from the Chicago area, so they used to do the same thing. What you talking about, man? I get it, I get it. So let me ask you, man, about this. I, like I was telling my son the other day, I say, man, this defensive strategy that OKC has presented to Denver, to Minnesota right now, we're putting Caruso on the big man. So now when you do the pick and roll you got another dog out there. You ain't going against that big man because, you know, as a guard, you taking it back out. Like, man, they, they making it hard on Anthony Edwards. They made it hard on Jamal Murray. So tell me, man, what you think about this defensive strategy that they went to?

I don't think it is much of a strategy. I think it's more of just having guys that play with effort, right?

It's—

I think the biggest thing— I mean, you're, you're old school like me. Like, we— I grew up watching Jordan. And then going into Kobe's era, right? And back then, I mean, defense was kind of— everybody played defense, or at least a lot more than did today. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And today defense is kind of a joke. And then when you see teams that actually do lock in defensively, they do this, right? They, they— you get guys like Caruso that don't settle for screens and he goes around them. He figure it— figures out a way to get around them all the time. Um, and the other teams don't know what to do. They're just like, well, I'm so used to being able to score easy.

Yeah, right.

And then when they get some kind of resistance, it's just— they're stunned. And then you get guys like Anthony Edwards can't do anything all of a sudden, you know. It's like, well, that's defense for you. That's why they say defense wins championships, right? And I think now it's probably more, you know, evident than ever. I mean, look at Boston last year. They played defense and they kicked the crap out of everybody. I think the same thing happened with OKC. I don't think anybody's stopping them now. Houston plays good defense.

Look what they did. Defense solid.

Yeah, yeah, they— I mean, they were giving Curry and Co., you know, a lot of trouble, right? And, uh, they probably should have advanced, but, you know, that's the way it goes. I mean, it went to get 7 games, so it could have easily gone the other way.

But yeah, like we say, they got them bona fide— they ain't got that, that bona fide that's gonna get me over the top, you know what I'm saying? Score when you got crutch situations like that, man. But yeah, you said something earlier about Kobe, man. Let me share this. Like, you know, you say you went from the Jordan era to the Kobe era. And so being from Northwest Indiana, I'm from the Chicagoland area like I told you, you know, play with Big Dog. I know Big Dog and Glenn Robinson III, that's my little cousin. So, you know, sports is, is our thing around here. But I'm gonna take you back a little bit, man. I went from the Magic era to the Jordan era to the, you know, Kobe era and Shaq now, man, in 1991. Now at this time, Ryan, man, I was the 11-year fan.

Bulls-Lakers?

No, no, no. Well, well, of course I was hurt, especially after we won the first game and then we lost. Oh yeah, I'm in the Chicagoland area, you know. Hey, I'll fought, uh, purple and gold all the time. So I was the oddball, you know, for years. But it wasn't that, man. It was the announcement that he made. Because you talk about Kobe with the emotions, you know what I'm saying, and how— oh, Magic. Yeah, man. You know, I was telling my mother yesterday, I say, yeah, I said, man, I'm gonna talk to, uh, Ryan Ward. He beat writer for the Los Angeles Lakers. I'm a little excited. And so she told me, she said, yeah, I knew the story. She said, yeah, I remember when he made the announcement and I was at work and you come calling me and I thought something was wrong because I was boo-hooing, man. I was crying like, you know, I was crying like, uh, I lost a friend, you know what I'm saying? But man, that hurt, you know, that, that hurted me just as you was talking about with Kobe, you know. It's just like with Tupac, they actually like, where was you at when Tupac died, September 13th, 1996? I knew exactly where I was at. And so it was the same thing with Kobe, man. I was on my way to work, uh, Ryan, and, uh, my son, my oldest son, who, man, and I don't know what I did wrong in life, and I hope you listening, uh, Corey. I raised a son to be a Boston Celtics fan. He is a die-hard Boston Celtics fan, and I don't know how that happened. I think he did it to spite me, man.

Yeah, I think he did it to piss you off. Yeah.

'Cause I hate everything. Magic may have got over it, him and Bird cool. I ain't never got over that. I don't like the Boston Celtics, I don't like the Boston Bruins, Red Sox, Boston baked beans, I don't like none of that. You know, just because of that, man, that rivalry back in the day, and I held that. Garnett and Ray Allen then went over there, I didn't care. Somebody told me, well, you know, I wanted to see Garnett and Ray Allen win the ring. Not at our expense. I didn't want to see it, you know. Come on now, the Celtics? Come on, man. Come on, man. But yeah, man, man, boohoo like crazy, man. I held it in for that day, Ryan. And so that morning I'm watching SportsCenter. Oh my God, I mean, I'm crying like a well of tears, man. But you know, the most part is my wife. My wife walked past me and she just looking at me like because she liked Kobe, but she wasn't a Kobe fan because they Michael Jordan, you know what I'm saying? When you from this area, if it ain't— that's right, this area, if it ain't Michael Jordan, it ain't popping. So I hate Kobe because Kobe tried to act like Mike too much.

That's why I didn't like him in the beginning. I wasn't a Kobe fan in the beginning. I was a Nick Van Exel fan and, uh, and an MJ fan. And, uh, MJ used to— I mean, motivated me to play ball, right? So when I see this guy, this arrogant, cocky kid just trying to emulate everything, and I'm like, what a phony. That's what I felt in the beginning, and I really didn't like him. And then the whole Utah thing with the air balls, right? And I'm like, why is he shooting and Nick Van Exel is not shooting this? Because he was clutch. Nick Van Exel was clutch.

Nick Van Exel, he was a beast.

I bet you Nick Van Exel was so pissed after that. Like, why did this kid shoot 4 air balls? You know what I mean? I didn't get one shot, not one. But that obviously turned everything around for Kobe. That was that moment, right, where he was like, flip that switch. He's like, that's never happening again. And obviously it never did. But then he won me over. He won me over. Like, I think it was maybe a year or two after that, I was like, okay, okay. Because I was— I had this debate going with a buddy of mine who I used to play ball with all the time. We're like, okay, who's the next MJ? Because that was a big discussion at that time, right? And there was all these options, and I unwisely picked Vince Carter. I was like, Vince has that fadeaway. Vince is all over the place. Dynamic score. And my buddy Lee could see it the entire time. He saw it in Kobe the entire time, and I didn't. And then he just convinced me, and I was like, Okay, and then it kind of changed my, my mind about a lot of things. Like, I was like, you know what, you could be dead set on something and something down the line can change your mind completely. And that's exactly what happened with him. And now I'm all, all Kobe. I mean, like, just, just see that Kobe?

Yeah, I see it, I see it.

You see that? Yeah, yeah. Oh yeah, I saw that. The first thing I saw when I came.

Yeah, you know what I'm saying? I don't play with my man because what people don't know about that, you know, especially younger people. They know '24 Kobe. They don't know this number 8 Kobe. That boy was a monster. We could talk about, you know, much love to Shaq, and I ain't knocking Shaq on nothing, you know, won the Finals MVPs when they won back-to-back, uh, to back. But man, the Finals was actually in the West against the Sacramento Kings, against—

oh yeah.

San Antonio Spurs, you know what I'm saying, against the Blazers. And man, that number 8, that man right there, oh, he carried the mantle, bro, you know what I'm saying? If they don't know who that is, then they don't know what, what's popping, man. They seen the more mature, uh, assassin Kobe in, uh, in 24—

polished, um, killer, right? Like, that's— oh man, what My favorite moment, Lakers moment of all time, it still is to this day. Excuse me. Is Kobe's alley-oop to Shaq in the 2000 West Finals. Just them digging themselves out of that hole and then him throwing the assist to Shaq, which was just unexpected. I was like, that's it. And then everything just took off from there. And people say, why isn't it when they won the title? Because that was the beginning of all of that, right? That was the start. And I loved that squad before the Eddie Jones, Nick Van Exel, Cedric Cephalus, Eldon Campbell. I mean, all those guys, I loved all of them. They were— that's what really got me and my buddies into basketball because that's when they just came up together, right? But then in typical Lakers fashion, they trade all the young guys for, well, Glenn Rice, right? Was it Eddie Jones and Campbell for Rice, right?

Rice. We got Rice.

And that started that whole thing where they just, they don't invest in young guys. They build them up and then they trade them. It's like people will keep asking me, do you think they'll trade Austin Reeves this summer? And everything to the contrary is like, oh no, no, that's not happening. You know, beat writers are saying this, this, or that. And I'm like, dude, this is their thing. This is what they do. They build up young guys, make them an asset, and then trade them for proven guys because they're impatient, because they want to win now. And I, I get that, but that's not the way the league's going. The league is going in a different direction, and the Lakers are still, you know, kind of doing these old-school tactics which haven't worked, right? I mean, Luka, Luka's amazing. That, that's an amazing move. That's— you got to do that, right? But, uh, trading Austin, I don't know. If that's the smart thing to do. And I wouldn't be surprised if it happens. I really wouldn't.

So let me ask you, for Austin Reeves, what team do you think that he can go to and be a good fit and help them right away?

Oh, I think go to a ton of teams. I would say damn near half the league you could go to, because he— that, that's that guy. They— I mean, what a story, right? Like, coming up undrafted, purposely didn't want to get drafted, said I want to go to Lakers because it was a good fit. Where I don't think anybody thought that was a good fit at first. And then he just proved himself step after step. I mean, he's—

he's—

it's— and he's just relentless. And the guy just keeps getting better and better every year. And he got a lot of crap for, you know, uh, not playing great in the playoffs, but he's still— yeah, I mean, they— it's— playoffs is a different beast, you know? Like, it's— and that the— plus the Lakers had nobody that could defend, you know? It's just They were just a flawed basketball team, right? And it's— and they got exposed.

So, so let me ask you, man, like, when the trade hit, like you said, that was, you know, how can you deny a Luka? You really can't. But like, me personally, I didn't think, you know, we were talking at work and things like that, I didn't think that LeBron would be able to take the back seat, you know, because he been that man, he been that dude. Forever, you know, everywhere he been, you know, even when he was in Miami, Dwyane Wade said that he had to take a seat back and let LeBron, you know, that was prime LeBron in Miami though, right?

That's probably the best we've ever seen of him, right? But in LA, it's been different. It hasn't been great. I mean, everybody, you know, does him up for the numbers and all that stuff, but it has been a somewhat steady decline little by little, right? And I didn't think he'd take a backseat because they're too alike, right? Their games are very similar. But he did. But it was— it still didn't blow exactly. Like, there was times where LeBron was making mistakes where I'm just like, damn, that was bad. Like, you don't see him do that. Like, these inbound plays that did just go haywire. I'm like, this guy's supposed to be one of the smartest basketball IQs in the league or ever. And he's doing these little things. I'm just like, what is going on with him? It's like he was off because he was so used to being that facilitator, you know, having the ball in his hands all the time.

All the time. Yeah.

And it just, it was better to put the ball in Luka's hands because Luka could shoot. I mean, not saying LeBron can't completely shoot, but Luka's a way better shooter than LeBron, right?

Man. And shoot it deep too.

So it changes the defense and the way that they attack. So like they're gonna, you know, just totally go after Luka right when he passes half court, unlike LeBron where they give him some space. Yeah. And they can defend some guys. So that's why you had other guys like DFS, right, who said he was butt naked wide open, right? That was his famous quote because Luka just makes it so where defenses don't know what the hell to do.

Yeah.

They're just so focused on trying to contain him. That it opens up everything for everybody else. And they got the guys like Gabe Vincent got going, you know, uh, DFS got going, Reeves at times got going. It just— that's what amazed me about that guy. He just creates so much space and so much havoc for opposing defenses that you could pretty much put anybody around him. But the only problem is then there's the other, the other side of the basketball floor, right? The defense is just non-existent, you know, for, I mean, for damn near the entire team. So they have to address that. If they don't, it's just gonna be more of the same. And you're gonna waste another year of Luka's prime, you know?

Prime. Yeah. You know what? As you said that, I was telling my son yesterday as we was watching OKC and Minnesota, and I'm just watching Alexander, man. I'm just watching him just out there, just dissecting the defense, just going to work. And I say, man, He don't let no— because, you know, my son play basketball. So we actually, we coming to a summer league game this year because you was talking about earlier before we came on, I want him to see the different speeds at the different levels, you know what I'm saying? Like, yeah, it's different. So I wanna— so we coming up there in, uh, July, man. So I want to show him that aspect of the game and everything because he fit to go to high school now. But I was telling him, I was like, man, he don't make nobody speed him up. He gonna go at his pace where he want to go, and he gonna do his thing. And you brought up Luka, and I'm thinking about Joker too. All three of them go at the same thing, they'll pace, you know what I'm saying? But they get to where they want to on the court and get buckets. That's for sure.

It's a hell of a thing, man, to be able to, to have the entire game go by your speed, right? And Shai's different because he he's got a different kind of penetration, right? The way he gets in there in the paint and he does these floaters and these little, you know, jumpers. I wouldn't call him prolific from outside like Luka, but then again, Jokic is like that too, right? Because he doesn't really shoot from outside very often either because he doesn't need to, right? Neither does Shay really, but Shay can hit them. He just doesn't do it to the volume of Luka. Like, Luka's jacking up like 8 to 10 threes a game, right? That's where Shay is probably like 5, I want to say 5 to 7.

And I'm gonna be honest, and it's just me, and it's just me, Shay won the MVP. But man, if a man averaged a triple-double throughout the year, man, that's kind of hard. I want to know how close that vote was, man, because that's hard to deny, man.

I don't think it was as close as it should have been. I remember seeing the votes, and I think Shay just killed Jokic in first place votes, and that's what did it. But it's, it's like, it's, it, that happened in the Jordan era too, remember? Because remember when Jordan was just winning it every year?

Oh yeah.

And then, and then that one year that Karl Malone won it and he got pissed off and he just bit— he was so mad that he goes in the finals and just kills him, right? He's like, okay, you can have that, I'm gonna take Finals MVP.

Magic snuck a couple of men in the '80s too, you know, because yeah That was before, that was before Jordan was Jordan, right?

Like, I think it was that year that Jordan won Defensive Player of the Year, right?

And 88, something like that.

And the scoring title and like just every accolade you could possibly have for a guard, right? Um, that's when it just, he just took off after that. That was it. And then got Pippen and, and then it just was over.

Yeah, he got Pippen to stop getting all them headaches when they went against them Bad Boys, man. You know what I'm saying? Once he stopped getting them migraines and start getting out there balling, you know, because them Bad Boys, and they was out there for them boys' heads, man. We was talking about defense earlier. That's what they— but even the old Laker teams, you know, the early Lakers team, they were Showtime. Of course they were Showtime, but they played defense though.

Cooper, because they, they had to, because if they're good, if they were going to contend with Boston, because Boston played defense, and then New York, New York had their stretch. Remember when Riley went over there and they became a bruising team? Like, they took basically Chuck Daly's, you know, page out of Chuck Daly's book and like, hey, look, we gotta play physical if we're gonna beat Jordan. But then Jordan just figured it out, figured out how to play through contact. When I see guys nowadays that they're like on the floor, like, you know, LeBron does it every once in a while, I'm like, dude, what are you doing? Get up. When you're like— I just, so many times I I saw as a kid, like Jordan just going through all the contact. Like my favorite Jordan play of all time is that against the Knicks, and he's on what, like— okay, so we look at from the baseline.

I know exactly what you talk about, on the right side.

And he— I think was it start?

Yeah, he reversed. I was like, dunked on you. Yeah.

And it's like right here on the rim, right? And he throws it down like that. It just— I'm like, that guy was just Just incredible. I mean, that's why I think the GOAT debate's ridiculous. It's like, if you watched Jordan in his prime, or just, just Jordan, it's just so much better in my opinion. Yeah, I don't think it's— you put them together and then you like LeBron doing this thing, you know what I mean? Like, uh, when he's on the floor like checking to see if his act is working, I'm like, who does that, man? Who does that?

I know, right? Hey, I got my son sitting out here, right? So, you know, when I first started my podcast and everything, me and him, you know, I was bringing in family. So me and him did one, we was doing the sports one. So I asked him, I say, who do you consider the GOAT? And he said, uh, LeBron. And I said, who? I'm not— no, no, no. He shocked me. So I turned around, I say, are you serious? He said, yeah. I said, man, get off my podcast show. And we laughed about it. But, you know, taking nothing away from LeBron, his accolades, his numbers, it speaks for itself, you know. I mean, yeah, yeah, taking nothing away. But like I said, I've been a Magic fan not only in sports but what he doing in the business world, you know, with Starbucks, the movies and all that, and flipping all that stuff. Magic just, you know, that's just been my guy for 44 years. That's all I'm gonna say. But you go from that and I Big Magic fan. I never would conform to the Jordan thing, but it wasn't until after when he came back and won the second 3-peat.

When he won the second 3-peat, he lost, he lost to Orlando, and then the next year he came back, man.

When he came, man, you know what, at that point, Ryan, I had to admit to myself Michael Jordan is the GOAT. No matter how much I love Magic, no matter how much I love Kobe, you know what I'm saying, I had to give Hands down, Michael Jordan is the GOAT, man. And that's just my assessment. I know a lot of people would disagree. My son over there looking at me now like, whatever. But me and Ryan Ward said that I just don't get it.

I, I just don't get it. It's just, it's just, you know, it is a— it's a generational thing, right? Like, I'm sure like people growing up way back when was like, Wilt was the GOAT, and then Bill Russell, and then Kareem, you know, Kareem doesn't get enough credit, you know what I mean? Dr. J, you know, um, just goes on and on. And every— even Jordan said this, he's like, I, I would never call myself the best ever, right? Because it just disrespects the era before me. Whereas LeBron comes right out and says it after the 2016 or whatever. I'm like, dude, if you were the GOAT, you do not have to say that you're the GOAT. Because it's just known, right? It's just known because if you say it, you're like compensating for something or you're saying because you know people won't say it, right? Like you're trying to get that narrative going. I just, I never understood that. I'm like, dude, that's— it's so— it's like an insecurity thing with him. And like I said, I think LeBron is incredible. He's one of the best ever, but he'll always be a step below Jordan and Kobe for me. I think those two are above any— you can even put Kareem up there. Because I think Kareem gets disrespected because of— because he was kind of a dick when he— when he was— when he was playing, right?

Yeah, that's exactly what it was.

That's, that's the only thing. And you know what, I actually interviewed him once years ago and he was super nice to me, but I could see how you could ruffle feathers with him pretty easy. And plus, back to when he was playing, he just was a shy guy and he just didn't understand why the media was the way that it is. And I get it. Imagine having a microphone in your face and camera in your face all the time. That's got to get old. You're answering basically 80% of the same questions over and over and over again. So I get it. I get him, you know, having a little edge. But, you know, there's other guys like Magic who just embraced it and just became, you know, this bright shining star. I mean, he's one of my favorites. So you got Magic back here, see?

Yeah, yeah, I, I got him up there, you know what I'm saying? You can't see my— I gotta, I got Kareem, Shaq, Kobe, Magic, with two great Laker coaches, Phil Jackson and, uh, Pat Riley. Yeah, yeah. So, uh, I get it, man, I get it. But LeBron, hey man, if you ever hear this, no pun intended, bro, you know what I'm saying, you one of the best, but not the best, not to me.

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So let me ask you, Ryan, man, Life Inside the Beat. What got you into sports journalism? Was it always hoop, or did you find your lane with the Lakers over time?

I never thought I would be a writer or do anything like that. I just, you know, I was all about sports growing up, and I never even thought I would have any kind of career in anything to do with sports. I had no idea what the hell was going to— I was actually going to be an artist, like I was going to try and go into that. Because that's what I was good at, but I didn't like it. Like, I was good at it, but I didn't love it. You know what I mean? I didn't have a passion for it. I could just do it. You know, I got it from my mom. My mom's an incredible artist too. And then I got out of high school, you know, did some college courses. There was just nothing that was like hitting me like, hey, this is where you got to go. So I started working really bad physical labor jobs and I was just like, I can't do this the rest of my life.

I just—

I can't. I gotta have like a moment or something. It's so, it's so funny because it's such a weird way to figure out what you want to do. But I was running this fantasy football league with my buddies who I still buddies with now, and this is like, you know, a long time ago. I used to write the column in the middle and I would just rip everybody before every week, right? Like I would just setting up the matchups and I'd say, well, oh, he's garbage. Well, this, this— but I would do it in a funny way. Like it just Yeah, flowed. It was off the top of my head. And, um, and my buddy Tom hit me up. He's like, dude, that was a really good read. And I'm like, what are you talking about? He's like, what you just wrote. I'm like, are you serious? He's like, yeah. And then it just— it was like a light bulb moment. I was like, well, I'm good at writing when I'm writing about something that I care about and that I love, right? And it just— it flowed from there. And I started a free blog on this thing called Blogger .net way back when, before it like was a boom in that department. And, uh, I started getting a lot of traction with it, and I started figuring out how to make money from it. And I got people that were buying advertising all over the site because it was getting traffic, because people were liking what I was writing. And then it just got more and more. And then I started— I made like a Dodgers one, I made like a Raiders one, all the teams that I liked. And I just kind of branched out that way. And I was just like, well, I'm just going to make all these sites and just make money off of these. And this is what I'm going to go into. And then somebody offered me a job. And I was like, OK, this just got real. Like, this is— I could do this. And this is before it became kind of a mainstream thing. Because I never went to college for it or anything. I just kind of learned on my own. Because the internet's an incredible thing. You just got to know what to look for and just get curious and, uh, and just keep searching. If you, you want to get good at this, you want to get good at that, well, it's all there. You just got to put the time in. And I put the time in, and the next thing you know, I'm— I got this job with examiner.com, it was called, uh, which I think has changed to AXS Tickets or whatever. And they own the building, Staples Center. Well, yeah, I still can't call it crypto, man. It sounds so weird.

I know, ain't it?

Yeah, it just doesn't make sense. So it just—

I know, I'm for the stable setup, man.

Yeah, yeah, I totally, totally there with you. But so they own the building, so they had credentials for this job. And I'm like, you serious? You're gonna give me credentials to go to this game? And they're like, yeah, they did. But they warned me, they said, we've done this before and we've had the Lakers ask not to come back because they— whoever they sent asked stupid questions or just like, just were total fanboyed out, right? So I was terrified to ask questions for about 5 years. I just was like, I, you know, if all it's gonna take is one bad question and I'm out, it's not worth it. I'm just gonna experience this and do writing, you know? And a lot of guys do that. A lot of guys sit back and they they just watch and they write afterwards. And then there's others that are up in the front asking all the questions. But those are like the big guys, the ESPNs and Fox Sports and stuff like that. The Athletic now. But so I just did that and then I jumped on with Lakers Nation at the same time and they were huge. The biggest site in the world, the Lakers site, right? And they still are. And so I just kept going on that trajectory and and then it just got crazier and crazier and more surreal. And like, next thing you know, I'm interviewing Kareem, Ice Cube, just Jerry Rice. I mean, it just, it was 'cause I went into the NFL side of things too. And it just got wild. And I just, it just made me think, literally anything is possible if you just determined to do it. You know, you don't need degrees and all these accolades to do it. You know, you just figure it out, man. It's all there, right there. I just wish I would have been able to start it younger, right? Because when I started, it was just the beginning of social media and all that stuff. It was all in its infancy phase, right? And now it's just super established and kids can just jump in and kind of be where I'm at right away. Which sucks, but at the same time, go for it, man. If you get that opportunity, that's cool, man. We'll never look back, ever.

Hey, hey, man, I'm, I'm happy for you, man. I'm happy for you. So let me ask you, man, your first Laker interview that you had, whoever it was, as you said earlier, you, you know, saying I, I didn't ask no question. How was it when you met that superstar, that star of the Lakers, man? How was your adrenaline flowing, man?

Oh, nervous, shaking, literally shaking. And sweating. And, uh, but ironically enough, the first, like, major interview I had was over the phone, and it was with Eli Manning, of all people. Eli Manning and his dad Archie Manning at the same time.

Wow.

And I, and I was told, um, it was for a Father's Day thing, right? So that's why it was both of them. They were promoting Gillette something or whatever, and I had— they're like, okay, well, as long as you plug this you can ask questions for 10 minutes, I think I had, right? So my dumbass self, 10 minutes, or I'll just set up 10 questions, right? Like, dude, such a rookie mistake. Um, you always over-prepare, right? You never know where it's gonna go. I got a good example of that after this. But, uh, so I, so I go 10 minutes, we're done, or 10 questions, we're done in 4 minutes.

Wow.

6 minutes of just dead air. And I'm like, I'm like, okay guys, well that's, that's all I got. I got off the phone and I felt so stupid. And I, I remember I did it at my mom's house. I went to my mom's house to do it in because she— my dad's office was like really enclosed and quiet, you know.

Yeah.

So I did it there and she gave me a Corona to pound before I did it too. So my, my nerves were down, you know. Oh man. It worked. It worked. But I was like, that's a risky thing to do, man. But so then I realized after that, always overprepare. Always have more questions than you think you're going to ask because you never know where it's going to go. Because sometimes PR people will tell you, hey, you got 10 minutes, but then you can really flow with the guy. Yeah. Or girl. And it just goes. And the perfect example of that was 2, Julie Serving and Jerry Rice. I interviewed Julie Serving. I had 15 minutes. We talked for 45 minutes on the phone.

Wow.

We just flowed all the way into his whole career, his relationship with Charles Barkley, like just crazy. I mean, we just kept going and going. And I'm like, I'm not saying anything until he says he's done, you know?

Yeah. Hey, I'mma let you flow, Doc.

You know what I'm saying? You talking to Dr. J.

You can say as much as you want to, man. Yeah, I get it. I get it. How was it with the greatest wide receiver of all time? Now, I grew up a Cowboys fan. I grew up a Cowboys fan, but I like Jerry Rice, you know, although Cowboy fans and 49ers fans to get along. I still don't like the Dwight, uh, the catch, Dwight Clark catch from Joe Montana against my Cowboys back then. I was—

no, they're saying he was throwing it away. He was throwing it away, man.

Greatest touchdown catch of all time.

But that was crazy.

But yeah, man, I get it, man. I know, you know, saying it had to be some nerves and things of that nature, man. So, Brian, man, let me ask you, man, as we wind this down, and I thank you for your time, man, coming on, man, throwing these nuggets with us. The highlight reel, and then there's the grid. What's a typical game week like for you?

It used to be really grueling, right? Like, I say this, it's a young man's game to do that beat, right? Like, the guys that do the beat and they go on the road and everything, that's the real beat, right? What I was doing is just local, right? So I was just going to practice, to games, practice, to games, you know, just like that. And that kicked my ass, like, big time. Because what you would do is you go to a game, right? You go like 3 hours before, right? So you're there 4 o'clock, 5 o'clock, depending on traffic, which sucks too. And then, uh, you're doing all your pregame stuff, you're, you know, taking— that was one of the coolest things, man, is it's when I would go to a game, what I would look forward to the most is the beginning because I got to go to— sorry, the garage is opening— I got to go and I get to sit courtside and just watch the guys shoot around for, you know, half an hour. So I get to watch Kobe do that for hours and hours and hours, and that was just awesome. I've got all these really cool pictures and videos of him with like perfect form and just practicing. He would just practice one spot like for like a half hour straight, just crazy meticulous. Like, I'm gonna get this down and then I'm moving to the next spot. Whereas all the other guys doing half-court shots and shit, like we've been playing around.

Yeah, totally.

Totally focused. Like, hey, look, I missed this shot last game or something. I am not resting until I hit like 20 in a row. You know what I mean? It was just amazing to watch that. But so you would do that. You go in the back, you'd get something to eat before the game, and then you go to your press seat. And then, you know, the game goes on. Afterwards, you got like 10 minutes to go in the back, put your stuff in the back, and then jet to the press conference room, right? And then you just hear the coach talk. And then the players, and that can last all night. Like, it's— oh yeah, because it just depends on what happens. Like, if the game— if they win, everybody's excited, so they kind of get it over with quick, right? But if they don't, it can be grueling. Yeah, because you're sitting there, you're waiting for the coach, and he's just ripping the guys in the locker room, right? Like, you should have done this, should have done that, or whatever. We didn't hear it. But we knew it was happening because it would take him so long to get to the podium. And we're like, oh no. So Byron Scott, Luke Walton, Phil Jackson, D'Antoni. I mean, damn, Mike Brown, I think at one point. Frank Vogel. I mean, dude, it's so many coaches.

There has been a lot of coaches, for real, for real. I remember Magic tried to coach at one point. And he tried to do a TV show. Hey, Magic Man, what's up? Hey, so that didn't work. Neither one of them worked out. Now, as screwed a businessman he is, and the greatest— those two avenues didn't work out too well for my man MJ.

Well, they say like the guys that are great, like beyond great, like next level great, they led by example. So they didn't tell you— they couldn't tell you what to do on the court. That's why it's always the role player guys that are the best coaches. Phil Jackson, role player. Pat Riley, role player. Steve Kerr, role player. Like, it's just all those guys. Or it's the guys, the video guys in the back that are breaking down film all day, like, uh, Spoelstra and, uh, I would assume Dagnall and David Adelman, you know, guys, guys like that. I mean, I know those super young or whatever, but yeah, so it, it was a process and it didn't— you do, you do your, uh, you know, whatever, whatever you had to do, write an article, transcribe quotes, which would just— I wouldn't get out of there until 1:00, 1:30. And then it takes me an hour to get home. And then the very next morning, I'm up and I'm at the practice facility. And this is part of the crappy part about doing the beat or whatever, is they would sometimes tell us, oh, hey, practice is at 10:00 or 11:00 or whatever. And then we'd be on the road, like half an hour away. And they'd be like, oh, practice is opening in 5 minutes. Like, what do you do? It's like, what? It happened all the time. All the time. They just don't care about your time. It's just like they just want to get it over with. And practices happen less and less and less now, which kind of sucks for the players. I think that's why I think Luka took a while to get acclimated, because he didn't have practice time until the playoffs came around. And they're practicing every day. But during the season, yeah, it's just— or get to know his teammates. It was, it was a struggle. It was a struggle. So, uh, yeah, so you do, you do that 3, 4 times a week and you are just dead. Like, you are so, so tired. That's why I say it's a young man's game. You don't see a lot of older dudes doing that. It's just, it's so much. It's a lot.

Let me ask you right there real quick, uh, a sidebar note. So after you, you know, we know Hollywood is jumping off, you know, especially after big wins. And I ain't never been to Hollywood, but I know Hollywood is the place to be. So you say you be tired or whatever. So how often after the games, big games, you know, people gonna be here and there, how often do you get out and mingle in Hollywood, man? The nightlife?

Well, I mean, I grew up there, so I did all that stuff way before I got to, you know, where I was at. I had my fun. I had a lot of fun before, during, and after. But Hollywood, you just— I don't know, I think downtown LA and Hollywood, you kind of get over at around like 25, 23, 25, and then you just start doing like, you know, like bar hopping or whatever. But it's— LA's not like anywhere else, man. It is so different. Like, you know, Colorado here is just, it's just night and day. I always say when anybody asks me about it, like, what's it like living there to here? I was like, it's like going 100 miles in a Ferrari and slowing down to 40 in a Honda Accord. You know what I mean? It's just the pace of life. Nobody's in a rush to get anywhere, right? Like, it cracks me up because like, you'll be at a stoplight, right? And the light turns green and everybody's just like, oh, okay, here we go.

Where is LA?

It's like you're here in— oh yeah, because everybody's like, it's a rat race, right? Yeah, everybody's trying to get everywhere. And you, you don't realize how much that's ingrained in your brain until you go somewhere else and you live somewhere else. And you're like, I remember the first like few months where I lived here, I was like, What the hell are you doing? Like, move!

Get out the way! Get the hell out the way!

And everything's like a two-lane highway. It's like you can't get around people, so you're just stuck. It's like going at tractor pace, you know what I mean?

It's like, geez.

But then I came to the conclusion in the end, I'm like, you know what, they probably got it right, you know what I mean? I bet you these people are a lot less stressed out, a lot less jerks on the roads, you know? Yeah, space life is just different, man.

Hey, I, I, I know what you mean with that traffic stuff, man, because like I say, I'm 30 minutes outside of Chicago, so we go to Chicago quite often, man. That is total night and day from Chicago and Indiana, the way people drive, man. It is crazy. Let me ask you, um, Brian, man, before we get out of here, man, you've been in the Kobe era, you've been in the LeBron era, you know what I'm saying, and you've seen them lift banners. What era do you think has brought the most electricity to the Staples, to the Forum, or to crypto arena?

Oh, definitely the Kobe, uh, Shaq. And then I think Kobe-Pau kind of replicated it in a way. It just, uh, I think it was the superstar power of Kobe and Shaq in the beginning. And then when Kobe and Pau got together, like, Pau obviously wasn't a superstar. He was just a really good player., but their team that they put together was so cohesive. I miss that team so much because they just fit. Every guy fit. Like OKC right now, every guy just fits, right? Lamar Odom, Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujačić, just all kind of role player guys just fit around Kobe. And Kobe embraced it. Like, I think Kobe was such I mean, you can call him a ball hog, you call him ball dominant or whatever. And he went through that stretch, you know, 2006 where he's just tearing everybody apart, right? Averages like 37 a game or something. And then obviously the 81 points. But he got that out of his system and he kind of decided, I want to win, right? I want to get back to winning. I don't care if I'm scoring 80. I mean, it's like when he was like totally content with coming out of the game after 62 against Dallas, right? He's like, no, I'm good. 3 quarters. I just outscored the entire team by myself. We're going to win. You know what I mean? Like, I think he told Brian Shaw, like, oh, I'll get it. I'll get back to this. And he did it like 3 weeks later against Toronto, right? Just destroyed Toronto. But once he got that out of his system and he got back to like, I want to win and I know I can't do it myself, kind of like Jordan did, kind of the same way, right? He knew he needed supporting cast to do it. He couldn't do it all himself. And then gets— gets Powell. That's like instant success. They went to the finals that year. They just went up against a better Boston team, right?

Ah, yeah, we talked about Boston.

Yeah, yeah.

But then, like you said, we had Trevor Ariza. Then we had— yeah, yeah. And then you get that. Yeah. That was big right there. I mean, yeah, Trevor, he was good, you know what I'm saying? But when you get that defensive— actually, and then he helped us win— what was that, Game 7 when we won, when we beat Boston?

Because Kobe, Kobe was struggling that game. Remember Kobe, uh, he couldn't hit his shot, so he went and crashed the glass. I think he had like 15 boards or something that game. But it was Metta. But Metta is that classic guy where it's like you see him shoot and you're like, no, no, no, no, no, and then yes, right when he makes it, right?

Yes, I know for sure. And you know, and it was a shock that how they came and fit together, you know, saying, because when our test— when he was over there in, uh, Houston, man, them boys was going nose to nose like that. Oh yeah, you know what I'm saying? Get at it, man.

Well, that's like— Kobe loved those guys, the ones that got in his face, like the, uh, Tony Allen, uh, Rajon Bell, you know, those kind of guys that really played hard defense on Shane Battier. He loved all those guys. Bruce Bowen.

Yeah, yeah, you know what I'm saying? I forgot who— oh, the boy from, um, my man. Yeah, he called himself the Kobe stopper. Really? Is this such a joke? Yeah, that's dope.

I think he even joined the Lakers after that, like for one season, like a heartbeat.

Yeah, uh, you know, I was watching— I was watching something not too long ago. I think it was Williams, um, what's his name? No, they played for Toronto.

Lou Williams.

Lou Williams. I was watching a little reel from them one day and he was talking about how, uh, Kobe came in the locker room and took all their shoes.

You can't wear Kobe's shoes. Yeah, they were really bad there, there though. I don't blame them, man. They were awful. They were held together by tape, you know what I mean? I think it was like Nick Young Williams and a bunch of like guys that are not even in the league, you know.

Oh man, yeah, we know Nick Young, man. When he took that 3-point shot, he hit it and shot the camera.

Yeah, I love that guy though. That guy was awesome. He was one of my favorite players to cover because he was so nice. He was so like, like he'd dap you up when you came into the locker room. Like he just went out of his way to like be a nice dude. A lot of the guys don't do that. They don't give you the time of day, you know, and you remember that stuff and you remember the guys that are really cool. And he was one of them. Him and Meta were really, really cool, really cool people.

Yeah, yeah. I wouldn't mess with Meta, especially after the, uh, Brawl for It All at the— yeah, we saw what that boy could do. So, man, yeah, I only got one more question for you, man. And I appreciate you taking all this time with me, man. It's been a joy. What advice would you give someone trying to break into sports media today?

If you're trying to get rich, this is not the job for you. No, but I would say, you know what, it's the one thing that I've seen a lot of guys flame out fast is, you know, and we get these really smart kids from like USC, UCLA, you know, like all the kind of like primetime schools in LA. Yeah. And I'm like, okay, we got this. He's got to be, you know, determined and, you know, really like go-getter. And they quit after like a week. Like they just can't handle it. And I'm like, this job, if you are truly passionate about basketball or sports, it's going to test your passion every step of the way. And you're going to know fairly fast whether or not you have what it takes. Or if you really want to do this, right? Because they don't realize all the times that you sacrifice, like, and you sacrifice time with family, you know, significant others. Like, it's just, you're working on holidays. Sometimes it sucks, you know, sometimes it sucks. But then again, I always say to my, you know, to whoever complains about that, I was like, oh, so you'd rather go like dig ditches for, you know, 8 hours in the, in the hot sun Yeah, you know, break— breaking down your body for 40 years or whatever, like, it's just— or sit in an office chair in a cubicle doing crap work that you cannot stand every single day. It's just like, step back and put it in perspective. This is— I, I get up every morning, there's something new that happens, you know what I mean? There's some, some crazy— you know, Luka gets traded to, like, you know, like, you know, Kobe does something crazy. It's just, it's an adventure. It really is an adventure and you got to embrace it. I do wish that it was a bit more physical activity because you are kind of parked on the edge of your chair. Yeah, because you're doing a lot of writing, you're doing a lot of editing, you're doing a lot of behind-the-computer stuff. And that, at least I'd say, is the only real drawback. But if you really want to do it, you get disciplined and you And you figure out how to make it work. And like I said, you're gonna know real quick. You're gonna know about a week or two whether or not you want to do this because it's long nights, sometimes it's early mornings, and your phone kind of controls you, right? Like, because the notifications— it's like when Luka got traded, I was just about to dig into Panda Express after working like 10 hours straight, you know? And I'm like, no, that's not real. That's not real. Yeah, I blew it off, right? And then I'm like, I'm like, okay, well, I gotta double-check that, right? And I'm looking to see if the name Shams is spelled correctly, you know, because, you know, they try and trick you on Twitter. Okay. And then I was like, no, that's legit. And then all of a sudden my phone starts blowing up. Oh my God, dude, it happened! It happened! Ding ding ding ding ding ding! What do we do? What do we do? What do we do? But those times are exciting. Like, it's like, you're like, oh Okay, you know, what do we do? What content do we get out? Do we film a video? Do we write an article? We lock into this crazy kind of chaos mode, which you do it enough, you get used to it. But in the beginning, it's nerve-wracking as hell.

You don't want to make mistakes.

But once you get good at it and it becomes kind of second nature, it gets that adrenaline going. You start having a good time. Then you look forward to those times, you know, and you get into it.

Yeah, man, man, sound like you built yourself a great life out there, LA, man, covering them LA Lakers, man. Hey, I really appreciate having this conversation with you, man, for being a Laker fan since 1980. I might be telling my age, but man, it's been a joy talking to you, man. So Ryan, man, what can we find you on social media, man, on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube?

It's all the same thing. I got it kind of uniform. It's Ryan Ward LA on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Blue Sky, which I don't go on much because it's hard to grow on there. So I'm like, I don't even know if I ever bother. TikTok on there too. It's all the same thing. So, uh, @RyanWardLA, you can find me.

Hey, my man say he ain't hard to find. Hey, big salute to Ryan Ward for stepping up in the booth today. You can follow his work covering the Lakers all season long. I know for me, it's deeper than the box score. It's the energy, the legacy, and the story. Hey, this your boy CJ Moneyway with my man Ryan Ward. Catch us at a Lakers game one day. We out of here. Peace.

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