The Atlantic Files #216: 2022 NBA All-Star Wrap-Up

This week on The Atlantic Files:

The 2022 NBA All-Star weekend has come and gone! The dunk contest got very ugly, the 75th NBA Anniversary dedication at halftime was great and the actual All-Star game itself was even better. It’s time to wrap everything up in a bow and get ready for the last half of the NBA season!

This week on the Atlantic Files, we welcome friend of the pod, BJ Boyer, to the show and we talk about what should get taken out and what should stay for future All-Star Weekends, who was snubbed from the NBA’s top 75 list, Georges Niang’s comments on the Ben Simmons saga, Goran Dragic heading to the Brooklyn Nets, and all of these rumors surrounding LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.

The NBA All-Star Weekend is always a mixed bag of events and entertainment. Some years we get the greatest dunk contest ever and other years we get dunk contests that make us wonder why we even have it anymore at all. The good parts of the All-Star weekend experience included the 75th Anniversary event, the new format of the rising stars portion, and the All-Star game itself with the Elam ending.

Speaking of the NBA’s 75th anniversary, the NBA made a top 75 players of all-time list to go with it. There were plenty of snubs from this list and even some people that didn’t deserve to be on it. So it’s debate time to see who did and did not deserve to be out there with all of the legends.

Then, due to some questions and comments due to the live stream, we get into whether or not Kobe Bryant is overrated, if Joel Embiid and James Harden are now the best duo in the NBA, and even our NBA Finals predictions!

Following all of the craziness, we get into more crazy arguing when it comes to Georges Niang’s comments about Ben Simmons, James Harden, and the trade when he was on Duncan Robinson’s podcast. His comments were spicier than anything that came out of the introductory press conferences.

Finally, we ask BJ about the Los Angeles Lakers. The rumors swirling around LeBron James being mad at Rob Pelinka and the Lakers and his comments about going anywhere to play with his son.

Timecodes:
0:00 – Intro
2:10 – 2022 NBA All-Star weekend pros and cons
15:07 – Is Kobe Bryant overrated?
25:50 – Is Karl-Anthony Towns the best shooting big man ever
30:07 – James Harden and Joel Embiid the best duo in the league now
34:13 – Are the strip clubs in Philly good for James Harden
36:47 – Snubs from the NBA’s Top 75 list
40:48 – Can you trust Ben Simmons in crunch time
47:35 – Georges Niang’s comments on Ben Simmons and the James Harden trade
1:00:51 – Does the Goran Dragic signing really mean much
1:02:15 – Who should the Sixers target in the buyout market
1:05:53 – 2022 NBA Finals predictions
1:09:10 – The state of LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers

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