Following Savannah James’ entry into the podcast world, LeBron James is now following suit with his own podcast venture. Just a week ago, Savannah dropped the first episode of her podcast, ‘Everybody’s Crazy’, with Crown + Conquer founder April McDaniel as her co-host. Now, James is partnering with former NBA sharpshooter JJ Redick for a new podcast, Mind the Game. The show will debut on Tuesday and is expected to release one 45-minute to an hour-long episode per week.
“I’m really proud of what we’ve done to innovate in sports media… When I do a project, the only thing I think about is whether me and my friends would watch it. That is definitely the case with ‘Mind the Game.’ Everything doesn’t need to be designed for internet culture and clicks,” James told The Athletic‘s Andrew Marchand.
Produced by James’ Uninterrupted and Redick’s ThreeFourTwo Productions, the show will be available on YouTube and all podcast platforms starting Tuesday. The two hosts want their podcast to feel as organic as possible and have no advertising sponsor as of now. Unlike most podcasts on the internet these days, Mind the Game is supposed to be a “pure conversation about basketball,” breaking down the on-court action rather than narratives that unfold off the court.
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Mind the Game will be all things basketball
Mind the Game will be a departure from talk shows such as ESPN’s “First Take.” Instead of debating subjective topics, this podcast will center more on the technical aspects of basketball. “This is like two wine masters, sommeliers, talking about wine, not necessarily you or me arguing if I like Burgundy or Bordeaux better,” said Maverick Carter, the co-founder and CEO of Uninterrupted.
In one clip that Marchand saw, the two hosts are seen discussing the intricacies of guarding a pick play while casually sipping red wine. In addition to dissecting the finer points of the game, they will also explore other topics, such as youth basketball and the Olympics. “It’s meant to be a very free-flowing conversation about the sport and about the game. If you look at it in a very simplistic way, it’s just about basketball,” said Redick, who occupies a seat on ESPN’s lead NBA commentary team.
The former Orlando Magic guard also teased that the show will have a few guests once in a while. This new collaboration provides a unique chance for fans to hear from some of the greatest minds in the league.
