Brady Klopfer, our trusted colleague, was one of only two SB Nation team bloggers credentialed for NBA All-Star weekend. He joins Mindcast to give us a hilarious behind the scenes look at the weird frivolity that transpired with the game in Los Angeles.
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Annotated list of topics covered, add time with ads, etc:
1:00 - Welcome Brady!
7:00 - All Star weekend in LA is just a weird, wild party. Also, all the players must have been out the night before, etc. Street parties, concerts. Surviving on arena food.
10:00 - Brady lives in LA without a car, which is crazy.
11:00 - Capturing the national drama swirling around all the political stuff swirling around Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry.
16:30 - Media Buzz about those stupid Fox news comments.
17:00 - Players relishing the chance to share their thoughts. “We will not shut up and dribble.”
23:45 - The vibe with media at the scrums. When Brady finally got a question. Were there fights a la the reporter fight? (It almost happened again at Steph’s presser on Saturday)
30:00 - Nate buries our son Pat McCaw under an avalanche of shade. Ooooooh man. How you gonna do the McGOAT like that?
35:00 - The humanity of seeing these players up close.
36:50 - Which non-Warriors players were the most interesting to speak with?
40:20 - Continuing to be depressed about our government, and how we can’t avoid talking about it. It says a lot about our world and lack of leadership that basketball stars and high school survivors of a tragedy are showing more grace and poise on a national stage than our “elected” “leaders.”
46:45 - Being able to talk about basketball in the context of “we might all die tomorrow.”
48:20 - We realized we hadn’t even talked about the game.
49:50 - It was fun to watch the players take the game fairly seriously.
1:02:00 - The NBA’s ability to make fun of itself and have a sense of humor, and how that’s super needed.
1:03:10 - HOW DO I ALWAYS MESS UP NATE’S TWITTER HANDLE??????