1. The Nets pulled off a wild and breathtaking play in their 123–109 season finale win against the Cavaliers on Sunday afternoon.
The play started with Blake Griffin catching a loose ball near the Cavs’ free throw line and then flipping it no-look behind his back to Kyrie Irving, who immediately dished it to Mike James, who threw it off the backboard setting up Kevin Durant for a dunk.
The play, of course, was called perfectly by Brooklyn’s play-by-play man Ian Eagle, who capped off Durant’s dunk by screaming, “NEXT LEVEL!”
The replays from angles all over the court were just as impressive.
After the game, Griffin, who has a second career as a comedian, said, “Listen, I don’t like to pat myself on the back, but I did get that thing started.”
Griffin then added, “I was yelling at everybody to take off. I passed it to Kyrie. I was yelling at Kyrie to pass it to Mike and I told Mike to throw it off the backboard. Kevin just dunked it. I didn’t tell him anything. I don’t want to take credit for it. Those guys did it, but I was just kinda orchestrating from behind.“
James was a little less confident than Griffin. “My instinct was to throw it off the glass,” James explained, “but I was a little nervous because if it would’ve been bad, I think my Nets career as a player would’ve been over.”
2. Saturday Night Live host Keegan-Michael Key spoofed Michael Jordan and The Last Dance in this great skit from this weekend’s show.
3. How on Earth did the Falcons not throw this poor guy a bone and give him a tryout after this incident? Juantarius Bryant, who played cornerback at Austin Peay and was first-team all-conference in 2019, went undrafted. He’s been trying to get an NFL tryout since then. He thought he had his chance recently, but it all turned out to be a cruel prank.
4. Kenny Mayne wrote a first-person story for the Los Angeles Times today about his departure from ESPN. Mayne, who famously starred in a bit with then Bills rookie Marshawn Lynch, shared this tidbit:
“I have five remaining shows to do for ESPN as you read this. May 24, a week from today, is the finale. Marshawn Lynch said he’d come on the show. “I’ll f— wit that,” he texted me.
5. There isn’t a ton of new ground to cover when it comes to Marv Albert’s retirement news. He is the greatest basketball play-by-play person ever. Period. End of sentence. No discussion needed.
He has what might be the most famous signature call of all time and also the simplest call of all time: “YES!”
• Became voice of the Rangers in 1965.
• Became voice of the Knicks in ’67.
• Has called 13 NBA Finals.
• Has called eight Super Bowls on the radio.
• Has called NBA, college basketball, boxing, NFL, NHL, MLB and tennis.
Albert will call it a career after working the Eastern Conference Finals for TNT.
6. The latest episode of the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast features two guests.
First up is Rich Eisen of NFL Network and Peacock. Eisen talks about navigating his post-ESPN career, tells stories about his old SportsCenter days and legendary anchors and shares his thoughts on Kenny Mayne leaving ESPN. In addition, Eisen breaks down his responsibilities hosting the NFL draft and what it’s like hosting NFL Network’s three-hour schedule release show. He also discusses the Aaron Rodgers situation, streaming-only NFL games, the reunion of “Bennifer” and much more.
Following Eisen, Rolling Stone chief TV critic Alan Sepinwall joins the podcast to talk about his newly released list of the “100 Greatest Sitcoms of All Time.” Sepinwall explains the rankings of such shows as Curb Your Enthusiasm, Friends, The Simpsons, Schitt’s Creek, The Big Bang Theory and much more.
You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Stitcher.
You can also watch the podcast on YouTube.
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: In honor of Griffin’s impressive comedic skills, if you’ve never seen his stand-up routine, you should check it out.
Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Stitcher. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram.
