Show Notes
It's Big Shot Bob's birthday, and the fellas are treating themselves to a full plate of NBA offseason news before diving into some early football talk. Robert Horry turns 56 and gets the royal treatment from Rob and Harp right out of the gate, then the crew steps around the Enes Kanter WNBA drama entirely (on purpose) and gets into real basketball: the Wemby-Jokic showdown at the FIBA World Cup, James Harden's new deal pushing him toward the $500 million club, and whether a ring even matters at this point in his career.
From there it's a run through NBA free agency - Klay Thompson heading to Miami and immediately getting into it with people on Instagram, DeMar DeRozan's veteran-minimum move to Denver, and the five-team trade that sent Peyton Watson to Cleveland and Dennis Schroder to yet another team. Rob and Harp also break down ESPN's early East and West power rankings and argue about where Houston, Denver and the Hawks really stand heading into the season.
Football gets its turn too. Deshaun Watson is Cleveland's Week 1 starter, but he's not exactly getting a warm welcome from Browns fans - the guys dig into why, and Robert shares what it's like handling a hostile crowd as a pro. There's also a wild new ruling letting former NFL players return to college football, a debate the guys can't fully agree on, plus a Big Shot of the Week that'll actually make you feel good about people. They close it out old school with a Shootaround battle covering birds, cities, banners and number one picks.
00:00 Rob Horry's 56th Birthday Kickoff
03:12 Addressing (and Skipping) the Enes Kanter Talk
04:38 FIBA World Cup: Wemby vs. Jokic
08:52 James Harden's New Deal & the $500M Club
16:02 Klay Thompson Signs With the Miami Heat
20:15 Nuggets Sign DeMar DeRozan
21:40 Five-Team Trade: Peyton Watson to Cleveland
24:35 ESPN's Early Western Conference Power Rankings
27:03 ESPN's Early Eastern Conference Power Rankings
32:08 Deshaun Watson Named Browns QB1
39:20 New Ruling Lets NFL Players Return to College Ball
45:02 Week Zero Picks: North Carolina vs. TCU
47:35 Big Shot of the Week: Rebuilding a Stolen Bakery Stand
48:33 Shootaround: Teams Not Named After a City
50:35 Shootaround: National Champs of the Last 25 Years
53:03 Shootaround: Teams Named After Birds
54:35 Shootaround: Franchises With Multiple Championships
57:22 Shootaround Finale & Birthday Sign-Off
More from Big Shot Bob Pod with Robert Horry
NBA SEASON IS BACK!!! And the crew is... mostly back. Harp phones in from the casino floor at Harrah's Cherokee Valley River in Murphy, North Carolina, Robert Horry is squeezing us in before a flight, and Rob Jenners is just glad real basketball tips off tonight.
Episode 280, and B-Dawg is somewhere out on the ocean on a Carnival cruise, so it's Robert Horry and Rob Jenners holding it down. Bob's calling in from Vegas, where he's working the Lakers preseason game for season ticket holders. That gets the guys talking about the new ownership, what it means to be a Lakers legend, and why Bob respects teams like the Rockets that keep bringing back the older guys who never saw the big money. (Also: Bob is never getting on a cruise ship. Jaws, the Titanic, the Poop Cruise and a 6'2" shower for a 6'9" man. Case closed.)
Friday Shoot Around. Harp is somewhere recovering from a week of NLDS parties, so it's Big Shot Bob and Rob. Rob opens by telling Bob he never has to apologize for springing Allie Clifton on him Tuesday, and then it's straight into the story everybody kept asking about: Gregg Popovich marrying Mary Beth Budenholzer. Bob knows her personally, and his take is simple. Love is love, Pop needs somebody right now, and if anyone deserves a roast it's Bud.
Harp is across the street working the Braves-Dodgers NLDS game, so it's Big Shot Bob and Rob this week. Rob had a surprise sitting in the waiting room, though. Allie Clifton jumps on in the middle of her walk to talk WNBA playoffs: the Dream and Angel Reese, Becky Hammon's "play like ass and only lose by 10" speech, and who actually got her MVP vote. Then she reminds Bob he never won Defensive Player of the Year, and the Ohio State vs. Alabama trash talk starts.
Episode 278 gets recorded with a playoff game going on about 500 feet away. The Braves and Phillies are playing the NL Wild Card at Truist Park, so B-Dawg spends the first part of the show downstairs dealing with the chaos before he finally makes it in. It's been a day, and you can see it on his face.