The Bill Simmons Podcast

HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons is joined by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and sports media mogul Casey Wasserman to discuss L.A.'s Olympic bid (5:00), modernizing the Coliseum (11:00), the biggest Olympic concerns (17:00), L.A.'s underdog status with the IOC (25:00), Trump's involvement in the bid (34:00), connected car-share technology (40:00), and L.A.'s Olympics legacy (44:00). Then, The Ringer's Jason Concepcion joins to give his thoughts on Kyrie's trade request (1:01:00) and NBA players determining their own destinies (1:11:00). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons is joined by Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron to discuss her new action film 'Atomic Blonde' (5:00), auditioning with a poor English accent (11:00), Johnny Depp’s presence (16:00), Tobey Maguire's gambling (22:00), chatting with De Niro (33:00), consulting Patty Jenkins on 'Monster' (39:00), overcoming a neck injury (47:00), working with Seth MacFarlane (54:00), and the loss of irony (1:02:00). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons is joined by The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor and Joe House to discuss Carmelo Anthony potentially going to OKC (5:00), Kyrie Irving's decision to demand a trade (14:00), the importance of All-NBA honors (18:00), John Wall vs. Kyrie (25:00), LeBron's blindsided act (35:00), David Griffin's best moves (43:00), Dan Gilbert's dysfunction (50:00), potential trades for Kyrie (56:00), LeBron's media strategy (1:03:00), and the big-picture move for LeBron (1:12:00). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons brings on former Ticketmaster CEO and House Eats 3 judge Nathan Hubbard to discuss the booming business of nostalgia-rock concerts (5:00), James Dolan's desire to improve acoustics in arenas (18:00), the best bets for future Super Bowl performances (27:00), Taylor Swift's chance to perform at the 2018 Super Bowl (32:00), Dave Matthews Band and the emphasis on touring (37:00), the real reason season tickets exist (46:00), the impact of adding more arenas in Los Angeles (56:00), and how Twitter owns the moment (1:07:00). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons brings on old buddy JackO to discuss Aaron Judge's slump after the home run derby (7:00), the Yankees' trade for Todd Frazier (12:00), the scariest hitters in the Yankees–Red Sox rivalry (26:30), and the genius behind 'Mike and the Mad Dog' (34:00). Then, The Ringer's Shea Serrano joins to break down the Best Worst Movie Dunks of all time (49:00) and explain what's going on with the Spurs (1:03:00). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons brings on NBA All-Star Jimmy Butler to give his thoughts on his exit from the Bulls (4:00), D-Wade's impact (11:00), tampering in the NBA offseason (18:00), idolizing the Jordan brand (26:00), Karl-Anthony Towns's unique skill set (31:00), his return to Chicago next season (37:00), Thibs's love for basketball (43:00), secret pick-up games in L.A. (53:00), and D-Rose's next destination (1:05:00). Then, The Ringer's Mallory Rubin joins to discuss the long-awaited return of 'Game of Thrones' (1:15:00). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons sits down with editor-at-large Bryan Curtis and New York Times best-selling author Jim Miller to discuss the shake-ups at ESPN (02:30), whether there is a business problem or a content problem (05:30), how the network has approached digital content (14:00), the deals with the NBA, MLB, and the NFL (25:30), the acquisition of Adrian Wojnarowski (40:30), 30 for 30 (54:30), and the demise of Grantland (66:00). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons answers the most pressing NBA summer mailbag questions. Topics include: LeBron on the Lakers (4:00), the best championship parade moment (12:30), CP3's Ewing Theory potential (16:00), Rookie of the Year odds (20:30), Paul George's trade value (30:40), Jamal Crawford's decline (35:00), Sidney Crosby's connection with Tim Duncan (46:00), the famous Monte Carlo scrimmage (51:00), Rob Pelinka's rise (1:01:00), San Diego's attractiveness to the NBA (1:13:00), and Russell Westbrook's style of play changing next season (1:20:00). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons is joined by John McEnroe to discuss the current state of the New York Knicks (5:00), the parallels between basketball and tennis (11:14), tennis at the collegiate level (24:44), McEnroe's first Wimbledon (27:03), the infamous tantrums (35:25), growing the game of tennis (49:40), and the 1980 Wimbledon men's singles final (1:05:05). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons is joined by Chris Ryan to discuss NBA events from the past few days, including the Gordon Hayward signing (2:25), the Paul George trade and the best-case scenario for OKC (10:28), teams' challenges and advantages with regard to the salary cap (30:10), and the Point Blake L.A. Clippers (50:55). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Daryl Morey discusses Houston's monster acquisition of Chris Paul, his 12-year Rockets stint, free-agency stories, and ways the NBA should improve its game and yearly calendar. Then, music legend Jimmy Iovine (46:05) remembers his amazing career and talks about his new HBO documentary, 'The Defiant Ones.' Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons brings on Joe House to discuss why the Clippers should hit the reset button (5:00), LeBron's L.A. suitors (14:00), the end of NBA tampering rules (18:00), Carmelo's fit in Houston (24:00), Blake Griffin on the Suns (29:00), Kyle Lowry on the Wolves (35:00), Andrew Wiggins's defensive problems (39:00), Gordon Hayward's chance to be a Celtic (44:00), Otto Porter Jr.'s market value (52:00), Paul Millsap on the Spurs (58:00), and Andre Iguodala's impact on the Warriors' future (1:04:00). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons is joined by Judd Apatow to discuss the state of American politics (5:00), his attempt to humanize Muslim Americans in 'The Big Sick' (19:00), his return to the stand-up comedy circuit (24:00), the 'Freaks and Geeks' experience in today's TV landscape (30:30), the binge-watching culture and lack of conversation around shows (38:00), Garry Shandling's greatest comedic moments (44:00), LeBron's comedy chops (53:00), the forgotten art of DVD extras (1:02:00), and Ray Romano's role in 'The Big Sick' (1:09:00). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons brings on longtime friend Joe House to break down the best and worst moments from the 2017 NBA draft. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons brings on Kevin O'Connor to discuss the Lakers' decision to cut ties with D'Angelo Russell (5:00), Brooklyn's best moves (8:00), Dwight Howard on the Hornets (11:00), Kristaps Porzingis's trade window (16:00), the Celtics' plan in free agency (21:00), Ben Simmons skipping summer league (27:00), and Josh Jackson declining workouts (30:00). Then, they go through all of the potential draft scenarios and select the best fit for each lottery team in the 2017 NBA draft (34:00). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons is joined by Malcolm Gladwell to discuss the ridiculous rate of offseason story lines in the NBA (5:00), LeBron James's right to act in his own self-interest (13:00), dealing with juggernauts in the NBA (23:00), billionaire owners' spending habits (33:00), Tiger Woods's painkiller problem (36:00), trimming the NBA schedule (44:00), Tom Brady's concussions (53:00), solving the public-use problem for golf courses (1:02:00), and the Bill Maher controversy (1:06:00). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons brings on staff writer Kevin O'Connor and executive editor Chris Ryan to make sense of why the Celtics traded back in the stacked 2017 draft. Then, Ringer staff writer Mark Titus joins to discuss who won the trade between the Sixers and Celtics (46:00), Jayson Tatum's rookie of the year potential (43:00), Luke Kennard's NBA fit (56:00), Josh Jackson's desire to win the dunk contest (1:02:00), and NBA draft diaries (1:05:00). Finally, Bill's dad calls in to give the final verdict on Danny Ainge's draft record and decide whether the Celtics made the right move to trade the no. 1 pick (1:08:00). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons is joined by Will Ferrell to discuss the NBA Finals (4:00), the cable TV domination of 'Step Brothers' (13:00), the amount of denials before 'Anchorman' was made (19:00), working on 'Old School' while on 'SNL' (26:00), flubbing his first line on 'SNL' (34:00), his favorite 'SNL' sketch (40:00), the modern 'SNL' format with big-name actors (48:00), filming a Lifetime movie with Kristen Wiig (53:00), the way his kids act with Will Ferrell as their dad (1:01:00), Lonzo Ball on the Lakers (1:11:00), and the chance LeBron comes to L.A. (1:15:00). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons reports live from Oakland with 2017 NBA Champion and Finals MVP Kevin Durant to discuss the initial moment right after the confetti fell in Oracle (3:30), running the pick-and-roll with Curry (12:00), the shot in Game 3 (23:00), appreciating LeBron's journey (28:15), Curry's high-level play in the playoffs (33:30), Kyrie's "bag full of tricks" (34:00), Obama's congratulatory text (43:30), the Warriors free agents this offseason (49:30), building winning habits with the Warriors (58:00), the nonsense of comparing different eras (1:04:00), Rasheed Wallace's stretch five game (1:08:30), three-on-three in the Olympics (1:20:00), Iguodala's big Game 5 dunk (1:25:00), and Patrick McCaw's bright future (1:29:15). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons reports live from the road to discuss the NBA Finals with help from his old friend Joe House. Topics include: Cleveland's historic Game 4 (5:00), Kyrie's similarities with Isiah Thomas (9:00), Durant's place amongst the greatest forwards in history (14:00), the superteam misconcepcion (21:00), LeBron's long-term game plan (29:00), Kevin Love on the trade block (37:00), the NBA Finals officiating(42:00), Blake Griffin's fit in Boston (52:30), pre-draft NBA trades (58:00), the Bad Boy Pistons vs. 2017 Warriors (1:06:00), and whether the Cavs can come back down 3-0 (1:11:00). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices